Bush buck rescued from Ballito beach

A bush buck unexpectedly became trapped yesterday on the rocks between Santorini residential complex and Willard beach in Ballito.

“We received a call about a baby duiker in distress just before lunch,” said Specialised Rescue Unit’s (SRU) Quintin Power. He said they managed to guide what turned out to be a fully grown male bush buck up to a nearby garden where they safely kept it until nightfall.

A group of about 15 people made up of the SRU and volunteers from the public safely herded the bush buck to the natural bush at Waterberry where it is believed to have come from. “Bushbuck are very prone to stress and we were afraid it might die if we tried to load it onto one of our vehicles,” said Power.

He explained that there were many possible reasons for the bush buck to wander out like that.

“I personally think it got spooked by a car or a person and ended up at the beach.

“It could have been trying to find females to mate with because it is that time of year, or it could be that it was disturbed by the increase in human traffic near its home since the coffee shop at Waterberry has been reopened.

“The rescue was a community effort but Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife had been consulted,” concluded Power.