Orphaned bush babies rescued
Over the past month and a half, Flag Animal Farm has rescued four bush babies and their mothers.
Crackers, Cream, Ham and Jam may sound like the menu for your Christmas starter, but they are actually the incredibly cute quartet of bush babies rescued by Flag Animal Farm.
Over the past month and a half, Flag Animal Farm – in its role as the voluntary North Coast depot for the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) – has rescued four baby bush babies and their mothers.
They have since been moved to CROW’s head office in Durban.
The first family came in dribs and drabs from a local estate, with Crackers, then Cream and finally their mother finding their way to the farm.
Tragically, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the mother was already too sick to be saved and passed away shortly after.
Crackers and Cream are thriving in their new surroundings however, and recently welcomed a pair of cousins in Ham and Jam.
“From the story of Crackers and Cream being posted on Facebook, came the message to help save Ham and Jam and their mother,” said Flag Farm co-owner, Genevieve Chisholm.
“So many of our rescues reach us this way, the power of social media is incredible.”
The message said animals were being traded at a school in Ndwedwe, and Chisholm initially thought it was bush buck involved.
“IPSS Medical Rescue were amazing, they went out to the school and a few hours later I got a photo with the trio and realised it was bush babies instead of buck!”
“They arrived badly dehydrated because they had been kept in a hot box for two days and fed only mielie meal.”
The mother was barely able to keep herself alive in the conditions and unfortunately rejected her babies, Ham and Jam.
After rehabilitating the mother, she was released into Simbithi Eco Estate where Chisholm has the support of a retired wildlife vet.
The remaining foursome will be raised together into adulthood over the next year, after which they too will be released back into the wild.
If you see wildlife in distress which you think may need help, you can contact Chisholm on 071 674 1192.
She asks that you WhatsApp her instead of calling.
Follow The North Coast Courier on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & YouTube for breaking news
WhatsApp Broadcast Service: https://chat.whatsapp.com/BdGZsGJEAf04AXZ2yLWi8T
Stay in the loop with The North Coast Courier on Facebook, X, Instagram & YouTube for the latest news.
Mobile users can join our WhatsApp Broadcast Service here, or if you’re on desktop, scan the QR code below.
