A new baby

This morning I rode out with Erin to check on the animals in the Lifeline, and at the gate entering the area, I shrieked and pointed. There was a baby springbok--couldn't be more than a week old--straddling the fence, head hanging and limp body, stuck, and--I thought--dead.

Erin stopped the car and I jumped out to check. As soon as I touched it, he started kicking. I untangled his long legs and cradled him in my arms. We headed back to the farm to get help. We don't know how long he was out there, stuck like that, but we all agreed he would have died soon in the sun.

He must have been dehydrated--don't know when his mother lost him. He might have been an orphan if one of the cheetahs got his mother. He drank a whole bottle of formula.

The rule around here is that if rescue an animal, it gets named after you. Since it's a boy, I named him Bobby.

Two days ago another antelope-type baby was found, a duiker named Simon. They're about the same size, so they're together and already friends. Simon licked Bobby from head to toe. It was a beautiful thing.




Bobby on left, Simon on right

 It's a wonderful event to happen on one of my last days here, and I'm so happy he was found and rescued. I do with I could stay longer and be the one to care for him, but I trust the people here at Harnas to do a great job and raise my boy to be strong and beautiful. He couldn't have been luckier to find a home than here.