THERE are many wonderful goings-on at Crag’s View Wild Care Centre, situated in Port Edward.
The centre, which rehabilitates injured or abandoned wild animals, has recently released a magnificient Lanner falcon and an unusual purple crested turaco back to freedom.
The centre’s spokesman Ina de Koker said that when the turaco first arrived it could hardly balance, and it took quite a period of time for the bird to regain its balance.
“We released it and monitored its recovery for about three weeks before the bird stopped returning for support food,” she said.
Crag’s View took care of a woolly neck stork after it arrived at bird rehabilitator Michelle Pearson from Shelly Beach with an injured leg.
Ms de Koker said the bird’s leg is now completely healed. “The bird is still on support food, as it is an immature bird, and we are waiting for it to fly off with the other wild woolly neck storks which visit Crag’s View regularly,” she said.
Two male baby grey duikers were admitted to Crag’s View only a few days apart. Ms de Koker said the youngest duiker, which was two or three days old, was taken from its hiding place outside a villa in the San Lameer Estate, as the woman thought it was abandoned in the villa’s garden.
She explained that unfortunately the woman had removed the little duiker and taken it into the villa for the night. “This means if the mother came back for it after sunset she would have thought her baby was taken by a possible predator and would not return again,” she said.
The second baby was rescued by a farmer’s fiancée who looked after it for a week before she brought it to Crag’s View. “Both are doing very well and have healthy appetites,” she said.
Work on Crag’s View’s very own dam for waterbirds is well under way. “After the earth moving equipment removed the porous sandstone, workers have been manually removing the excess loose material to prepare it for the concrete,” said Ms de Koker.
Two of the Wendy houses are nearly complete but more materials are needed before the wooden structures can be completed.
Anyone who can assist can contact Ms de Koker at 071 5455054.
