Baby Hyenas

I don't think I really did credit to the baby hyenas in the last post. Hyenas get such a bad rap in the movies and popular culture (think of The Lion King) but I'm here to say they are very cool animals. Every morning I feed them two bottles of milk each. Noon they get another two. And at 5:00 they get one bottle and some big pieces of meat. Here's me doing the noon feeding.

You can see they're small because they're just pups. When they're fully grown, they'll be about twice as big. They make all kinds of funny sounds when they drink. They get soooo excited when they see me coming.

As they drink, they look directly into my eyes. What cute faces!

One of my favorite things about them is their striped legs. They look like they're wearing striped socks. What an odd combination of parts, but it all comes together in a weird wonderful way.

Well, I hope I've cleared up any misunderstandings of hyenas personalities. They're cute, personable, and strangely beautiful. I'm so privileged to spend time with them each day.

some pictures

This is my bungalow. Some people think I live in a tent or something, but I have this one room and bath guest house. It's perfect for me.

This is Minky. She was three days old when I got here. I visit her and her mother (a Weimerramer--I know that spelling is wrong) every day. She has my heart.

One of my jobs is to feed the two baby hyenas a bottle of milk three times a day and a big bowl of meat once a day. They're like puppies--big weird puppies with striped legs. But they're sweet and  I found that I really like them. They big and dopey.

This is one of our newest animals--actually I think there are five of them. They're always tangled up with each other so I cant count them. They're GENETS--think of a mixture of a cat and a weasel. Very tame and will climb onto your shoulder if you're patient.

So that's a few of my favorite animals here. Hope you like the pics. B

Merry Christmas at Harnas

My WiFi here is very slow today so I don't know if I'll get any pictures, but I definitely wanted to write since it's been several days since I have.

Christmas at Harnas is very low key. Last night we had a big buffet and then Santa showed up to give everyone a present.  Today we're having a brunch and the bushmen children will be putting on a live nativity scene--with real goats and sheep and a lame miniature horse. Should be fun. In between the meals, life goes on as usual. The animals don't know it's a holiday and must all be fed.  I counted up yesterday, and on an average day, I make 65 bottles for various baby animals. There are three different recipes for milk--for example, some get a mixture of cow's milk, cream, egg yolk, and several kinds of protein and vitamin powder. Mix well and heat before putting it in bottles and feeding it to the right baby. Yesterday I got up to feed at 6:00 and did my final feeding after the festivities at 11:00. Up again at 6:00 today. It's hard work but it's so fulfilling to be making a difference.

I also want to say how lucky I feel to be here among my favorite animals. My guesthouse is situated perfectly among the animal enclosures. Many mornings, I wake up and see herds of wildebeest, springboks, or impalas. I'm only 100 yards from a lion enclosure and less from a baboon enclosure. Out my front window is an enclosure of 5 cheetahs that often hang out right by the fence because the ostriches (spectacularly stupid animals) wander about. I'm sure they're thinking "so close but so far." I'm amazed at the variety of animals surrounding me--and that's just as I stand by my front door. I'm so lucky and I try to remind myself of that every night as I fall into bed exhausted. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Well, I see my picture hasn't downloaded yet, so I'll just post this and hope for better internet tomorrow. Merry Christmas everyone!

Baboon walk

The other night I joined the volunteers for a baboon walk. There are 4 babies and about 9 or 10 teenagers. We release them all from their enclosures and run for the bridge. Surprisingly, they follow. They're so excited to get out and play. Some walk by themselves and some ride on dogs--as above--and some ride on us. I got some great pictures on my phone, but I can't get the pictures so send to the blog. I'll work on it.

After about a half hour of walking, we sit down and the baboons play around us. One female, Olli, became my best buddy and groomed me, throwing my hair up and going through it carefully. Then she did my arms and lifted them up so she could look at my armpits. It was quite the ordeal--a voluteer took some pics for me and said she would send them but hasn't yet, but when she does, I'll put them up. Then we walked home and amazingly got them all back in their right homes.

I haven't had much time to write lately. Marieta has me doing some special projects for her and working pretty much full time since people have left for the holidays that she usually counts on. This morning for example, I was up at 6:00 and got ready. I went to the food prep area and made 15 bottles of milk--from three different recipes--for 15 different babies. Then I had to go around and feed everyone--some within walking distance, like the baby hyenas, and some I had to drive to. That's right--I've got KEYS now, to rooms, gates, trucks, and enclosures. I'm the real deal now, working full time. All animals, all the time.

That takes me to about 10:00 when I have a couple of hours to go see Atheno and write this blog before I have the noon feeding--same thing. Then I do another one at 5:00 and a final one at 10:00, although I think I'm going to ask Marieta if someone else can take the late one since I'm dead on my feet by 8:30. It's just one set of animals, so it will be easy.

So things are great. I'm working very hard but feeling valued. I know Marieta wouldn't let me do all this stuff without trusting me. It's an honor and privilege to do it all. Okay, off we go.

All My Cheetahs

Ah, so many cheetahs and the day is so short. But I always make it out to Atheno's enclosure. He's WAY out there and I walk through the desert summer sun because I absolutely adore him. I open the gate and lock it behind me. He hears me because I only have to call his name a few times and his head appears above the grass as he runs toward me. You probably think I'm crazy, but I believe he remembers me from year to year. We find a spot under a tree (usually with thorns, so getting down on the ground is a feat) and he lets me pet him while he purrs. Turn up your volume on the video above so that you can hear it clearly. Nothing like it. I listen to videos like these when I have to go home. They help me make it to the next time I can come to Harnas.

I've also been visiting Koema, Sesa, and Sesadi every day. When I was here a year and a half ago, they were all small kittens--the last two only a few days old with their eyes not even open yet. I spent a lot of time with Koema, as he was bigger, playful, and in need to lots of love and attention. Now they're all living together in one enclosure, three happy boys. They surround me and purr and I can hardly find enough hands to pet them all. Today when I went in to see them, Sesadi and Koema were on the roof of a little shed and wouldn't come down from their spot where they could watch the world, so I had to be content with Sesa--he's the one that was neglected by his mother out in the wild cheetah enclosure and had his tail chewed off by a mongoose. He can never be released because cheetahs need their tails to maneuver when they hunt.

There's just something about cheetahs. I'd have a house full of them if I could--but of course that wouldn't be fair for the cheetahs, so I'll have to be happy with coming here and loving them as much as I can.

Expect the Unexpected--baboon edition

I arrived at Harnas late yesterday afternoon and spent the evening saying hello to old (human) friends. But today was set aside for moving around the farm, saying hello to old and new (animal) friends.

The day started off as it often does at Harnas--with the unexpected. I awoke to a large clattering outside, got up and looked out my window. I was surrounded by big baboons. Since this is not the first time this has happened to me (how many people do you know who can say that?) I first made sure all the doors and windows were locked. Then I took a couple of pictures. This one above is of a big male sitting on my wall, eating cat food out of the bowl that sits outside my house. I watched them all for awhile, aware that I couldn't leave the house until they were gone. Mature baboons have the strength of 7 men, so they're not to be fooled with. After about 30 minutes, some bushmen realized what was happening and they came with rakes and chased them back into their enclosure. No word about whether the power was out or if they just decided to come visit.

I spent the morning running around in the hot sun, seeing animals of all kinds--cheetahs, lions, hyena pups, civet kittens, dogs, cats, etc. I'll say more on those another day.

I was watching the teenage baboons play in their enclosure when a volunteer came by with the brand new baby baboon--Johnny (the J pronounced here like a Y, so it's more like Yonny). He's so tiny and we immediately bonded. The vol asked if I could watch him for awhile, and I agreed (of course), so I got to play with him for about an hour. He loved to climb the tree and jump into my arms (sometimes on my face). Finally, he became exhausted and fell asleep in my arms. What a treat. When he woke up he gave me baboon kisses (which include sticking his tongue in my mouth) and then I took him to his caretaker for his bottle. What a wonderful day! The pros and cons of loving baboons!

More tomorrow on my cheetahs--just let me tell you that Atheno came running when I called his name and greeted me with love and purring. What a glorious experience!

Windhoek

Well, I'm foggy and groggy from the flights, but I made it to Windhoek. Two hours to New York, layover, 15 hours to Johannasburg, layover, two hours to Windhoek, Unfortunately, I didn't sleep on the long flight, despite taking an ambien. I had a nice seatmate--a woman who teaches microbiology at the university in Joberb--but eventuaally she went to sleep and I watched silly movies like Wonder Woman.

Tonight I'm meeting my artist friend Annika Funke who has painted so many pictures I have up in my home of wildlife at Harnas. I sleep under a large blue painting of the lion Zion watching over me while I sleep. She and I are meeting at the famous Joe's Beerhouse at 6:00.

Sorry for my friends back in the states and in Europe, but it's hot here, summer in full bloom. I love it. Tank tops and shorts from now on for the next three weeks. I'll soak it all in.

The transport picks  me up tomorrow morning for the long drive to Harnas. Can't wait to see Marieta and all my babies. Who will I go visit first???? It's a tough decision, but I think it will be Atheno. I love that boy. We're kissing cousins.

Heading back to my second home

Dear Blog Readers, I'm sooo happy to say that I'm headed back to Harnas on Wednesday and will arrive (finally!) on Friday late afternoon. I'm traveling alone this time. My friend Cornelia from Germany was supposed to join me in Windhoek, but I got a message today saying she had broken her foot, was in the hospital, and was going to have surgery.

So disappointed!  This means I will have to give twice the attention to all our animals to make up for her absence. And no one could make up for Cornelia. She's an amazing animal-whisperer. I've seen her nurture baby animals like no one else except Marieta herself.

But I will do my best. I'll be at Harnas until January 4 and arrive back in the States on the 6th. Three and a half glorious weeks without hearing about and losing sleep over our childish, embarrassing, and insane President here in America. I plan to go dark on the news.

I'll keep my blog while I'm there, so I hope you'll join me and hear about my adventures. It's always something at Harnas. Look for my first one in a couple of days.

See you on the other side of the world!!!