News - November 2007CONTACT US: WE ARE OPEN EVERY DAY EXCEPT MONDAYS, FROM 9am to 5pm. NO NEED TO BOOK!! BAR AND RESTAURANT OPEN EVERY DAY. PREDATOR FEEDING EVERY DAY AT 4pm. Dear All, "When Good Pets Go Bad...." Martha the sheep has acquired the dubious distinction of being the first Bally Vaughan Sanctuary animal with a criminal record. She was detained at a road block last week when it was discovered her travel papers were not in order. Receiving a phone call to tell me, (and I quote), "We have your sheep under arrest" was a mind-boggling start to my day! Fortunately the issue was finally resolved and she is now safely home, operating under a pseudonym. Disappointingly, her husband Maurice immediately left the family home underneath the restaurant to move in with the goats, abandoning his tiny daughter Margaret, rather than standing by his wife in her time of trouble. In between the daily dramas at the Sanctuary, I now find myself trying to be a domestic goddess too - from necessity rather than choice, thanks to Harry the House Caracal being unable to restrain himself from getting involved in household matters. After he crept up on an unsuspecting lady polishing the floor and tapped her briskly on the bottom with one large furry paw and sent her into orbit with fright, I have had to face the housework alone..... No wonder I cant find anyone else to do it; you need the strength and reflexes of an S.A.S commando just to keep the feather duster out of reach of three caracals who are convinced it is a feathered assassin that must be vanquished at all costs. Pushing a mop around the bathroom floor with a forty kilogram snarling predator attached to the mop head isn't easy either. As the caracals sleep on the bed and view any attempts to straighten the covers as a licence to try to scar you for life, just plumping up the pillows is like going in on a lightning insurgency attack - stealthy advance from the doorway, snatch pillow with one hand, other arm extended to waking caracals in supplication, hold pillow over head, twirl on one leg, shake pillow, start yelling "No, Harry! No!", flail wildly with free arm, fling pillow at caracals and exit. Trying to be a gracious hostess doesn't really happen either. My mother hasn't accepted a social invitation from me since Harry secreted himself beneath the flowing tablecloth at a family luncheon and sank his teeth into her inner thigh between courses. (I dont get invited to many family functions either - I think this probably dates back to my brother's wedding reception when Ngozi the lion seized my new sister-in-law's beloved Maltese poodle in a classic death grip beneath the bridal table. The speeches unfortunately failed to drown out the strangled yelping, loud growling and my frantic hissing, "Drop the poodle! DROP THE POODLE" emanating from beneath the snowy white cloth.) For a long time, the psychotic Squirrel Nutkin lived in the pedestal under the bathroom basin and would leap out of his hiding place and savage anyone who touched the soap which upset some guests, especially if they had already had the startling experience of Savanna the Serval appearing from behind the toilet bowl with a sibilant hiss as they were at their most vulnerable. It is a miracle that Dr Vinay Ramlaul continues to take such good care of us all when you consider what he has to cope with . There are certain house rules, however. One of them is, no farm animals on the bed. OK, that's reasonable I suppose, even if Simone the piglet really wouldn't be any trouble if she could sleep on the pillow. Another one is his unbending refusal to allow his electric toothbrush to be used as a grooming tool for Grumpy the bushbaby, who suffers from Big Hair and has yet to find a satisfactory product to tame it. Those of you who visited us recently would have enjoyed the attentions of our little band of mongooses, led by the valiant Dasher. The mongooses were roaming free within the Sanctuary grounds and had established a den inside an old anthill. One morning we discovered the mongooses gone. After a week of anxious searching we received word that they were on a nearby farm and that a gang of children were planning to stone them with their catapults. We leapt into the truck, piled high with cages, nets and sacks and raced to the rescue. After an hour I had three of them caged. But Number Four was not to be persuaded out of her hiding place in a drain beneath an old bridge. It was a boiling hot day and as the temperature rose, so did the stench from the drain. There had been a bush fire a couple of days previously so the entire area was covered in sifting black ash which soon smeared me in sweaty black streaks and in my haste to leave I had no hat and no water. A friend visiting from England had invited me to lunch at one of the best restaurants in Harare that day - an oasis of lush gardens, a gourmet menu and attentive service...but no, instead of being a Lady who Lunches, at the appointed hour I was still squatting under a bridge in the middle of nowhere, filthy, dehydrated and sweating profusely under a large green bath towel that I had draped over my head to protect me from the sun, covered in angry red bites from an enraged army of ants that I had accidentally sat on, my hand bleeding after a lightning attack from Dasher as I got him into the capture cage - as always, the Bally Vaughan Sanctuary had other plans for me that day. I had brought some duck eggs from an abandoned nest with me as a bribe for the mongooses and there was only one left to tempt Number Four out of the drain. It was now mid afternoon and I couldn't leave the single mongoose under the bridge without her family. I had to use this final egg to the best advantage. First of all I waved it about in front of her to attract her attention. She emerged a few centimetres.Then I rolled it about in the dust. Her whole body appeared. Then I held it up for her to see clearly. She took a step forward. Then, I tapped the egg on the side of the drain and it exploded. The uniquely revolting stench of rotten egg rolled in sulphurous clouds around the drain and up my nostrils. Instantly a battalion of small, black flies boiled up out of nowhere and descended upon me. I was having A Very Bad Day. I wondered why I was bothering to catch the mongoose, because when I did I would surely strangle her. The bridge is situated on a dirt road that has a fair amount of pedestrian traffic. Everyone cheerfully complied with my request to detour round the bridge, even 2 policemen, but what amazed me was that not one person asked what I was doing - they simply waved and walked on. I had to wonder - was my reputation as a mad woman so well established in the district that the sight of me crouched like a troll under a bridge with a towel on my head came as no surprise? Several hours later we returned in triumph to the Sanctuary with our mongoose family, to discover we had no power, and no water. I ended my supremely Zimbabwean day bathing in a bucket in the dark. I am sure many of you met Sheila the baby baboon at the St John's Fair. She did a wonderful job of promoting the Sanctuary, despite being on a wild sugar high after stealing an entire block of fudge from a visitor to our stand. As always my gratitude and thanks to Waylon Lewis and Mike Trask for putting together and manning the stand all day and for all the work they do raising awareness of the Bally Vaughan Sanctuary. Sheila spent a happy weekend with them, attending dance rehearsals at Reps Theatre and avidly watching "The Weakest Link". I am sure she would give Anne Robinson a run for her money! Our sincere thanks to the management of the St John's Fair for donating our stand - we are very grateful for the opportunity to create awareness of our work at the Sanctuary. Thanks as always to our dedicated volunteers Les Ives, Sylvia Carter and Dianne Twiggs. Our new overseas volunteer arrives shortly - Charles Brakspear will live and work at the Sanctuary and doesn't know it yet but will be taking over babysitting the tiny terror, Grumpy the Bushbaby who is the best example of 'small man syndrome' I have seen. As always, we continue to find room for new arrivals. Jeffrey the Terrapin joined us, an enormous black billy goat called Jack, several tortoises, two spotted eagle owls took up residence in the owl hospital, the usual quota of rabbits, guinea pigs and chickens came in from families leaving the country. Grumpy the Bushbaby was brought in, rescued by the Follet-Smiths from someone trying to sell the tiny creature on the street. Grumpy and I are soul mates - we react exactly the same way to being woken up - instant and all-consuming ill-humour, startling variations of bed-head and the inability to communicate beyond hostile grunts until the consumption of a large mug of coffee in my case, and a syringe full of condensed milk and baby cereal in Grumpy's. Rob Follet-Smith brought Grumpy straight to us after having him checked out at the Twenty Four Hour Hour Veterinary Surgery, and offered to sponsor the tiny foundling. What a difference between the responsible and caring attitude of the Follet-Smith family, and that of a teenager in Harare who found a serval kitten and was adamant that he was going to keep it in an aviary in his garden. The serval died. What is astonishing is that the boy was told by a vet and by someone in the wildlife business that it was "fine" for him to keep the serval in these conditions! It wasn't. We are very proud to be a Z.N.S.P.C.A accredited Sanctuary and work closely with this organisation. As our family grows so our resources are stretched to the absolute limit. We go further and further afield in our quest for meat for our predators and do whatever is necessary to acquire essentials to stay operational. But it is a constant challenge and there are days when it is hard to see a way forward. This month alone four of our freezers used for storing predator meat have required repairs. Our water pump sprang a spectacular leak, the kitchen geyser died, our security lights blew out in a storm, the mongoose pen had to be renovated, we started work on the crocodile enclosure and with the onset of torrential rains there is constant maintenance and repairs associated with the rainy season. In true Zimbabwean spirit, however, we always "make a plan". It is only due to the generosity and constant support of our sponsors and donors that we are able to keep operating at such a high standard and these exceptional people have my heartfelt gratitude. They take time out from the stress of daily life in Zimbabwe to remember the Bally Vaughan Sanctuary Family and to ensure that everyone here gets the very best care possible. Where would we be without Rudolph de Wet and Seldex Fleet Management, Dave and Jenny Adams, Radiator Services and Belts 'n Hoses,Donald and Carol Hobbs, Steve Curle, Gordon Grierson and Milborrow Animal Health, Hamish Cameron, Rodney Beckley of Smooth Runnings who so kindly serviced our vehicle even though we ended up at his garage by mistake! Larry Pope of Land Pro, Richard Vaughn, Catherine Carter, Vicky Campion, Karen Gent, Jim O'Toole, Alec Taylor, the Middleton Family, the le Bretons, Cora and Mark Ruck, Darrell Miller of Koala Park, Hannes Cruger, Stoff Hawgood, Miles Peech, Emma Robinson, the Verhey Family, Mike Kellow, Rob Greebe, Sue Roberts, the Prinsloos, Sarah Cornish, Steve Watt, Greystone Nursery School, John and Sally , Mel Phillips, Tanya and Richard Betts, Anne Marie Witkowski. A special thanks to Moira Potgeiter who sent chocolate and inspiration when it was needed most. TO ENSURE THAT THE BALLY VAUGHAN SANCTUARY FAMILY BENEFITS FROM YOUR CONCERN AND INTEREST, PLEASE CONTACT US DIRECTLY ON THE NUMBERS AT THE TOP OF THIS EMAIL, OR ON THIS EMAIL ADDRESS IF YOU WISH TO ASSIST THE SANCTUARY OR HAVE ANY QUERIES. The Mwanga Lodge Office at Newlands DOES NOT take bookings for the Sanctuary so please contact us directly. Thank you. Please consider sponsoring a member of our Animal Family as a unique Christmas present for someone! You will receive an email sponsorship certificate and photograph of your new family member, and will receive our newsletter. The assistance you give to our cherished birds and animals allows them to live happy, fulfilled lives at the Sanctuary and gives them a future at a time when they are so desperately in need of help. We do fantastic kids parties - we offer self-catering options and either a half or full fun-filled day's activities for children of all ages at an extremely reasonable price.We also offer a wonderful venue for all private functions. These school holidays we will be holding our Game Ranger Days for children between the ages of 7 and 12 years. The children spend the day being Bally Vaughan "game rangers" - feeding and caring for the animals and learning what a typical day in our Sanctuary entails. Please book on the above numbers. We currently charge an entrance fee of Z$750 000 per adult, and Z$500 000 per child. There is nowhere like the Bally Vaughan Sanctuary - a visitor enjoying a sundowner on the lawn the other evening watched our treasured rescue donkeys and sheep grazing peacefully before him, the gentle and dignified rescue horses and irascible Zorse drinking from the dam, a fish eagle perched motionless on a dead tree above the water, Sheila the orphaned baby baboon pottering about in the stream with Kevin the Greyhound and the enigmatic Eleanor the Small Dog, Kadiki the lioness playing with her motley assortment of toys in her big enclosure beside us, the evening chorus of Khan the leopard and Blossom the hyena mingling with the base roar of Mac the Lion, Strauss the cat yawning and stretching before his night of silent, secret feline adventures and Grumpy the bushbaby muttering and grumbling around his dinner of soya milk and cereal on the table before us, the two little white chickens roosting in their usual place on the box of books in the curio shop. The visitor was overwhelmed by the sense of peace and harmony, "a little oasis in the middle of the chaos". Unfortunately, a few minutes after he made this profound statement, Biscuit the donkey assaulted Martha the sheep and Kevin the Greyhound was compelled to enter the fray causing Sheila the baboon to fling herself onto the table in a screaming panic, upset the drinks, enrage Grumpy and earn herself a sharp-clawed clip around the ear from Strauss. But for a few minutes we experienced the idyll! I hope you will join us and appreciate both the reality and the ideals of the Bally Vaughan Sanctuary this festive season. We are determined not to compromise the health, happiness and trust of our beloved animal family - thank you for making it possible for us to achieve this. "Here I stand. I cannot do
otherwise." With love and thanks to you all Sarah and The Bally Vaughan Sanctuary Family
__________________ Website
designed
|
