Bushbaby makes a steady recovery after being seriously injured by dogs
A couple who wished not to be named rescued the tiny animal after it was attacked.
MBOMBELA – In the early hours of Monday morning a bushbaby was taken to The Vets @ 66 after being mauled by dogs. The animal lost one of its arms in the attack. The other was badly broken and it also suffered injuries to its tail.
Vet Dr Karen Barker spoke about the challenges which come with deciding whether to save seriously injured wild animals:
“When it comes to wildlife it’s always difficult to make a decision. You have to consider whether they will survive rehabilitation in the wild.”
To obtain this information, the vets contacted a wildlife expert. This individual informed them that a bushbaby can cope well with one arm in the wild. This information made Barker and her partner Dr Jo-Anne Gibb even more determined to save its other arm.
To raise money for some of the costs involved with the animal’s treatment, an initiative was started on the clinic’s Facebook page. At the time of the interview, the initiative had managed to raise R2 300. According to Barker, this money would go towards covering the cost of supplies used during treatment. “At the moment the animal’s injured arm is being treated with a splint. That said, if surgery is required there will be extra costs involved.”
In closing Barker issued a stern warning against the owning of wild animals as pets. “Wild animals should be kept wild. It is illegal to keep them as a pet without getting the necessary permits. Even then it almost always inevitable ends in heartache because we are just not equipped to properly care for them.”
