Two pictures I wish I had

My last full day at Harnas for this trip. I leave tomorrow morning for a day in Windhoek--then the next day on to home--via Addis Ababba (in Ethiopia_, a short stop in Dublin (for fuel), and a layover in Washington DC.

Today I was just going about my business, feeding my babies, and I had an amusing experience. I was taking the baby baboons their bottles and got to the enclosure and noticed they were a bit wired up--running around, screaming--you know, baboon stuff. I also noticed that it was a mud fest. I got in the enclosure and found out why. The sprinkler nearby (the industrial type, not the gentle backyard type) was turned wrong, and it occasionally sent a stream of water into the enclosure, soaking everyone and everything.

Suddenly, it shot through the enclosure and the baboons (five of them) went NUTS, screaming and running for their lives. I didn't want to get hit by the water, so I stood in the one dry corner and was joined immediately by five soaked, muddy, screaming baboons. They all jumped on me and I had three in my arms and two standing on my shoulders, holding my head (hair). It was hilarious, and I smiled and thought, first--I wish I had a picture of this, and second--this is a pure Harnas moment. I'm wet, muddy, covered in lunatic baboons, and no one would believe me. I slid to the ground and we sat there. Eventually the sprinkler turned its spray and the baboons, one by one, got off me. I tried to get them to drink their milk. The sprinkler happened again. Ditto response. And it happened a third time. I was pretty trapped. But a bushman came along, readjusted the spray, and everything calmed down.

I don't have a picture, but this is one of me holding two baboons about the same size a few years ago. Add three baboons, mix with water and mud, and make everyone scream, and you'll have the picture.

The second picture I wish I had happened not long afterwards--and is also a pure Harnas moment, but much different. Every day I walk out to see my favorite cheetah Atheno. When I got there, I called for him, but lately he's been waiting for me to find him under a shady tree. I did very shortly--I know his favorite spots. I sat down and stretched my legs out in front of me, and he moved over to me, lay down, and put his head in my lap and began to purr. I stroked his cheeks, chin, and head and he kept purring. We sat like that for about 10-15 minutes, and I told him I had to go home tomorrow but that I loved him. He kept his head in my lap, stretched one paw over my legs, and we just sat there for awhile. I so wish I had a picture of that idyllic moment. Just me and my guy in perfect natural harmony. But I couldn't have reached for my camera in my pocket without disturbing him, so I just let him be and I made special note of every sensation, every sound, and every emotion I had. It was perfect.

I do have a short video from the other day, though. This is will give you an idea of our moment together.

So time to go home again. I miss my dogs, American toilet paper, and good water pressure. But I love it here and am so happy that I was once again able to spend time with all my Harnas friends. See you on the other side of the world. BB

Some short tales

COCK FIGHT AT DAWN
See this rooster?

He's my nemesis. Every morning as I walk to the food prep area, I stop at the enclosure that holds many birds, including 2 big beautiful macaws that I feed peanuts to. But while I'm focused on them, this rooster sneaks up behind me and attacks me. I scream at it, charge it, and wave my arms wildly--but it continues to attack. I have a fairly good sized wound on my leg where it caught me from behind one day.

One day I saw Marieta at the same time and yelled to her, "This rooster is trying to kill me!" She said, "RUN!" So I did--and bloody thing chased me halfway home. I could hear Marieta's laugh all the way. With all the dangerous animals here, it would be a shame if I was most wounded by a rooster. Pathetic

INTERSPECIES FRIENDSHIP

In the morning, I open the little kitchen where I prepare my bottles for various babies, and greet Willem, a baby duiker that was orphaned. He's sleeping under a table on a blanket--so cute. Soon after, a 6-8 month old puppy, Alaska, enters and goes immediately to Willem, curls up next to him and starts to lick him. She's a natural mother (she also grooms the puppy I showed in an earlier post). The two of them often go nose to nose, and sometimes wander the garden area together while I work. I keep an eye on them through the window, and  Alaska is like a nanny--following Willem everywhere and making sure he doesn't get hurt. It's adorable.

MY NEIGHBORS

Outside my front door you can find a variety of animals. Five cheetahs live across the road, but you might see baboons, goats, mongooses, cats, dogs wandering around. One pair that is almost always about are ostriches--a male and a female. I give them wide berth because I remember that they can only kick in one direction--a powerful kick--but I can't remember if it's forward or backward. They get fairly close, though, and sometimes I have to wave my arms and shoo them away.

Did you know that the females are brown because they sit on the nest during the day, so they blend in with the dirt. And the males are black because they sit on the nest at night. Fascinating. This one today, a male, looks like he was smiling at me, but I doubt his intentions were friendly.

FINALLY, AN UPDATE

Here is the picture I didn't have before of the baboon Ollie grooming me on our baboon walk.

Unfortunately, I have bad news about Ollie. First let me tell you about her. She loves grabbing the sides of your face and staring into your eyes. We think she's looking at her reflection in them because she does the same thing with sunglasses. Then she makes funny faces, especially wagging her tongue back and forth as if to amuse herself. She's special.

She's been sick a lot. They figured out she had liver disease and was occasionally taken to Windhoek to be treated. This past week the vet said that he thinks she has cancer. She's having surgery later this week to verify, and then Marieta will have to make a hard decision about her.

Beginnings and endings--they are ever present here at Harnas.

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!!!

Another Goodbye

When I began this trip,the days stretched out in front of me forever, and it seemed impossible I could fill all those hours. Yet here it is, seemingly a blink later, and I'm walking around Harnas saying goodbye once more to the animals I love.

I began with Zion and Trust. Trust still won't come to the fence--blames me for the shock he got--but he comes close and makes noises. Zion came right to the fence and let me scratch him. Any day that starts with petting a lion is going to be a good one.

I spent the morning with Koema, introducing him to new volunteers so that he'll have people to love him once I'm gone. There are some good people here now, and although it breaks my heart, I turn his care over to them with trust. There will be some tears, though, when I kiss him for the last time.

Koema and his soccer ball

Carolyn and two of her vol friends came by the garden and played with Koema. They get to do pretty much what they want on their last day. They said what they really wanted was to see the tiny cheetah babies. (Marieta has been keeping them pretty tight, but they knew I had access.) I told them they had come to the right person and took them into Marieta's kitchen, let them see and touch the babies, and take pictures. I think they enjoyed it. I've tried to stay out of Carolyn's way and let her have the authentic Harnas experience, but once in a while, it's nice to use my position to do something good for her. I hope she's had a great time, and I hope she'll remember these weeks for the rest of her life. Harnas had a huge impact on me, and many volunteers come to me and tell me the same. They thank me for the book. It means so much to me. That's what I did it for--to spread the word and spirit of Harnas.

Now before I start yelling Hallelujah, let me continue with my day. After lunch I took two volunteers who had approached me yesterday out to see Atheno. They had heard about him on a German TV program, but didn't know where his enclosure was or how to approach him. I took them out, called for him, and like the star he is, he came strolling out of the grass purring. He stayed with us for about 30 minutes and let them take pictures, cuddle up, and pet him. I think they'll be back.

It's been a good day. I know I'll come back some day--don't know when yet, but in the back of my mind, I'm thinking maybe Christmas of next year. I have to have some kind of goal to make it back so that the depression of returning to real life isn't so overwhelming. I feel more at home here than I do in my so-called real life. There are no politics, stresses, or race riots here. I know it's a bubble, but it's a good one. I wish it would never end. But I also wish I could bring you all here and introduce you to my babies. I wish we could all sit around in the grass, playing with cheetahs during the days--and drink wine while we listened to the lions roar at night. BB

A Little of This, A Little of That

Some news from around the farm: Coco, the baboon pictured as a baby with me below in 2010 has grown up and found she'd rather live with people than with other baboons. Every day she climbs a tree and jumps out of her enclosure and can be found wandering around by the lapa, knocking on Marieta's kitchen window, or peeking into the kitchen looking for a handout. She's about the size of a border collie and is rather polite. But she is, after all, a baboon, and some people don't feel comfortable looking up from their lunch to find a full grown baboon sitting next to them.

When I was here for three months at the beginning of 2010, Coco slept with me each night and we became close. I don't know that she remembers me now. She usually approaches me, and I hand her one of the peanuts I always carry with me to feed various animals. She accepts it gratefully and politely, but I don't' see any light of recognition in her eyes. She doesn't bite me, though, so I'm happy with our relationship. Marieta is working on a solution to this daily problem.

Second item: Murray the Warthog (aka Happy Meal) has a gaping wound in his hind end. It just showed up. No one knows if a dog attacked him, he got himself caught on a wire, or Missy Jo the Leopard reached through her fence and snagged him. But it looks gory. The volunteers who are part of the veterinary program here are working with him. I feel so sorry for him. He's such a sweetie. So I have been spending some time on the lawn with him, allowing him to get warthog spit all over my pants. He seems to enjoy it.

Third, we're introducing Koema, the 10-week old cheetah, to Sesa and Sesadi, the 10-day old cheetahs. Slowly. We let him sniff them so when they're ready to be playmates, he'll be used to them. Today, he got a good whiff of them and then started to lick them. Good sign.

Finally, Marty, Kaatje, and I talked Marieta into a walk this afternoon to see all the lions. We took the dogs--five of them. Most of them grew up with lions and are just vaguely disturbed when the lions rush the fence aggressively. But one of them, Monster, (a black lab/dachshund mix--don't ask how that happened, we don't know), had never really had an encounter with a full grown lion, let alone three of them rushing the fence. He took off running and disappeared into the bush. I''m sure he'll find his way home, but there is the slightest chance he's in Botswana by now. Poor baby. He may never be the same. We laughed till we cried. (Don't think I'm cruel. I'm going to check on him now.) BB

I Would Have Made a Terrible Mother

So Kaatje and I, the two  major caretakers of Koema, the baby cheetah, realized tonight over a glass of wine, that we were spoiling our baby cheetah. We're both covered--hands, arms, faces (yes, faces)--with cheetah scratches and love bites. This has gotten out of hand. We bleed. We scar. We are embarrassed. Tomorrow we start with more discipline and more dominance.

Koema loves us. He licks us and plays with us and purrs and is generally a wonderful 9-week old cheetah. But he also takes advantage of us. Lick once, bite twice. Pounce with kisses and then scratches. We're both a mess.

So tomorrow the Terror of Harnas will be met with a united front against his terrorism. We are speaking, moving, and disciplining in a dominant way. Sure, it's cute now when he's a ten pound bundle of adorableness, but what will it be like when he's 150 pounds of pure adult cheetah. Tomorrow. The Day.

Or so I think. It will be a battle of wills, I'm sure, but the winner is yet to be determined. He is, as you can see, pretty cute.

On another note: Carolyn is well and back to work. She looks like a new (or the old) woman. It makes me so happy.

On yet another note: today is my birthday. I wasn't going to tell anyone and just enjoy the day, but curses to the internet. Apparently, Facebook has announced my secret. But that's okay. I spent the day spending time with my favorite animals--the ones that are deep in my heart. First thing, a visit to two lions who were cubs when I was first a volunteer in 2007, Zion and Trust. Trust is still mad at me for what happened last week. We were visiting at the gate. They were making gurgling noises and I was petting them, when Trust got too close to the side fence and got zapped by electricity. Now he comes when I call but then turns his back on me and refuses to let me pet him. Zion seems to sense the tension. He lets me pet him, but then he growls and paws at the ground. It's a conflict I'm working on. He blames me, it's clear, but I'm determined to convince him the shock was not my idea.

Then I spent time with Pride and her cubs, Atheno, and  of course, the new terrorist Koema. In between I did errands for Marieta and fed many of the cheetahs that the volunteers are not currently allowed to have contact with. It was a full day. At six, I met with Marty and Kaatje for a glass of wine and then dinner--and despite my best effort, the staff knew it was my birthday. I had a candied pear with cream for dessert. Perfect. BB

A Bug Going Around

The past two days have been hard. I think I mentioned that there was a stomach bug going around with both the volunteers and the animals. It's unusual that people and animals transfer a disease, but it's been happening. Yesterday morning my goddaughter Carolyn got it. I guess it was inevitable since she's living in such close quarters with so many others, many of whom are sick, but it broke my heart. I took her tea and bread and ginger ale, but she has to get through it herself. And it's so hard to be away from home when you're sick. I ache for her.

Today she's doing a bit better--no more throwing up. (I"m sure she loves the fact that her physical symptoms are part of my blog, but that's what being a star is all about--no more privacy.) Anyway, she's keeping water down, but she wants to stay one more day in bed. I worry about her constantly and run down to the volunteer village as often as I can. I don't know how you parents do it. Worry is exhausting.

The animals, too, have suffered. One of the year-old cheetahs name Inbar came down with diarrhea yesterday and was rush to the vet, along with a baby baboon named Iggy. The vet said it's the same thing that has killed two other animals. The two are back today with medicine. The cheetah's enclosure--which he shares with his four siblings--had to be burned today. The vet said it was the only way to get rid of whatever it was. They're all back in there now with medicine squirted into their mouths twice a day.

Marieta is concerned enough that she's quarantined the cheetahs from the volunteers. They can no longer have physical contact or feed them until this thing calms down. That means that I have a real job now. Another woman who comes here a lot and is visiting now name Kaatje and I are in charge of cheetahs. We feed all of the cheetahs that are on the inside of the farm--the five siblings, Jeannie, Mauritz, Pride and her cubs, and of course Koema. (Atheno is being fed by the outside tourguide.) We are the only two that are allowed contact with the baby Koema. We DO NOT want him to get sick. So we all wash our hands constantly and make sure no one can come near him.

I appreciate the urgency of the situation but I feel sorry for the volunteers. Touching and interacting with cheetahs is the high point of being a volunteer, and at least for now, that's off the table. Personally, I feel honored that Marieta trusts me with her babies. Today was pretty exhausting, though. But I feel needed, and that's good.

So in order to leave you on a positive note, here's the star of my blog, Koema. (Well, Carolyn would have been the star, but I doubt you want to see a picture of her, pale faced, in bed.) I have pretty close to a million pictures and videos of him at this point. He begs to be committed to film.

Pride and her Cubs

For those of you  who have read my blog before, you know the story of the cheetah Pride, but I'll summarize here before I give an update.

Pride was a cub 10 years ago when I came as a volunteer. She was the full grown cat, a year later, with whom I spent the night out in her enclosure--the most magical night of my life--and the reason I have a tattoo of a cheetah paw on the inner side of my right wrist. It's to remind of that night, and remind me that no matter what happens in my life, I've had that experience, and it's more than anyone deserves.

Once she grew up--hand fed--Pride was moved to the Lifeline Project, an 18-square-miles area where she could live a life in the sort-of-wild, hunting her own food and surviving on her own, closely monitored with a radio collar. She's been amazing there, killing a springbok one minutes and then purring and coming to caretakers who want to check her health. She had one litter of two and when died, adopted a third orphan. Recently, she had a new litter of cubs--three--and has been back here at the main house in an enclosure while her cubs grow to the size where they feel they can have a shot at surviving in the Lifeline.

A few months ago, Harnas resuced a cheetah cub about the same age, a wild female that got named Desert, because that's where they found her. When Pride's cub Nick got bit by a spitting cobra (as bad as it sounds) and had to be removed, the put Nick in with Desert during recovery. They bonded, and so when Nick went back to Pride and her other two cubs, Desert went too. At first there was some hissing, but eventually all was settled in Cheetah Land, and now Pride is caring for her own three and one adopted cub. She's amazing.

I go to visit her as often as I can. The cubs are wild and will hiss at me if I get closer than a yard or two, but Pride still comes to me and purrs, and lets me put my arms around her. She's a special cat. Here she is with her four babies.

Okay, I've tried for half and hour to upload one photo of Pride and her cubs. Can't do it. Internet isn't worth a damn here. Of course we're out in the middle of the Kalahari  Desert, so . . . .

Picture a big girl cheetah and four half as big babies. There you have it.  We'll try another day.

New Arrivals

I didn't write yesterday because it was an eventful day--and here's why:

The universe takes away--like the little baboon--but it also gives. Within the last week, in the large cheetah enclosure, a female cheetah gave birth. Marieta knew it was about to happen and had moved the female into a smaller, separated place so the males wouldn't kill the babies (as they do--even house cats will kill the offspring of another male). So when it became clear that the female had given birth, they started to look for the cubs to make sure they were okay. They didn't show up, so finally Marieta sent some men in to look for the cubs.

They found one cub dead, and another one, male,  that had had its tail bitten off by--probably--mongooses. There was a third one, a female, that was fine. But the mother wasn't taking care of them. Maybe she was too young, maybe she just didn't have the maternal instinct. Whatever the cause, the cubs were destined to die if Marieta didn't do anything. So she took the two living cubs and brought them back to her kitchen and started feeding them with her unique concoction of milk, cream, protein, vitamins, and calcium. They're drinking well and seem to be doing all right, considering what they've been through.

They're very small right now--about the size of your hand--and their eyes are not even open. They don't do much but drink milk and sleep. I've reached into their box and snapped this photo and petted them for a bit, but I try not to do it too often because they just need to sleep and get stronger.

No names yet. Sometimes Marieta picks them herself and sometimes they have volunteers vote on it. I'll let you know. Meanwhile, Marieta is going to Swakopmund tomorrow for a few days to see her son Schalk and his family. She's taking them with her so they have constant care.

That means I'll have a little more responsibility with Koema--babysitting him during the day and making sure his feedings take place. Marty--Marieta's right hand woman--will do most of the feeding, but I'll be around to do my share.

And in case I haven't said it before, I'm just head over heels in love with Koema--who will now have younger silbings to play with in a few weeks. I've taken dozens of photographs and believe that everything he does is perfect. I disregard all the bruises and bites he has inflicted and give him kisses whenever he'll let me. I understand, finally, why parents spoil their children. Here's one of the many photos I've taken of his face--which--have I mentioned?--is perfect.

Even Warthogs Deserve Love

Here is my constant lunch and dinner companion. The volunteers named him Happy Meal, but that's insulting to all warthogs everywhere, so I've renamed him Murray. I don't know why. He LOOKS like somebody's great uncle Murray.

You can see him here sleeping on my feet, leaving warthog spit on my feet. It's not the worst thing I've been covered in today, though, so I cope. Before he settles on my feet, however, we have to go through about 10 minutes of his "rooting" around on my legs. Picture a wet vacuum with a bit of nibble in it. Finally he lies down and makes lots of noise while he sleeps: he snorts, he has a sort of nasal whine, and he occasionally farts. Music to accompany dinner.

I wish I didn't have to give you bad news, but I do. The baby boy baboon didn't make it. Marieta took him to the vet in Gobabis three days in a row, but he was so small--born premature--and he had this virus that made the milk just go through him. He stopped breathing in the middle of the night. We're all devastated, of course. We were all putting everything into his care, but it was not to be. With over 400 other animals to care for, we go on. Here's a picture of him on his last day:

My favorite animal??

So if someone said to me that I could take just ONE animal from Harnas home--which is a stupid idea because wild animals make bad pets. But just saying if I had a perfect habitat for it, and my dogs were okay with it, and it was legal and all. If I had to do it--put a gun to my head and make me choose--it would probably end up being Atheno.

This first picture is of him as a cub when we first fell in love in December 2011. He grew up into a magnificent male cheetah--big and powerful--but to me he is always the sweet cub he is in this picture. He lives out in an enclosure that's a good walk, and you have to really mean it to go there. So sometimes the volunteers don't visit him as much as he deserves. They're also a little intimidated by him. Did I mention he got BIG.

I love him, so I go out to his enclosure every single day right after lunch, brush him with the special brush I brought along just for him, listen to him purr, and talk. He's a lot cheaper than a therapist, and he does a better job.

Today I had an especially wonderful day with him. I got to the enclosure, entered, and called for him to come. A few minutes later I saw his fabulous form making his way through the tall grass to me. We greeted each other and then I went over to the shady spot and sat down cross-legged. He came over and first put his head over my shoulder, as he usually does. I wrapped my arms around his back and we hugged for a few minutes. Then he stepped into the space created by my crossed legs and collapsed into my lap. His head rested on my leg. He purred and I rubbed his head, his cheeks, his back. And he purred like nobody's business for a long time.

Then he stopped. He had fallen asleep in my lap. This huge, powerful cheetah trusted me enough to fall asleep on me. I was afraid to move, to breathe, afraid he'd wake up and this magical moment would end. He slept for about ten minutes and then rolled off and over, showing me his white belly.

It was the best moment I've had since i got here at Harnas. And that's saying a lot. This is why I come.

An Update and a Walk

First an update: the baby baboon made it through the night and went back to the vet today. He just got home attached to an IV. Marieta gives her all for every little one, and this one is getting the full outpouring of love and energy to help him.

This morning Marieta suggested I go on a cheetah walk that the volunteers were taking, so I joined them and was happy to see that Carolyn was among the vols. We took out four of the five cheetahs who are about 10 months old (one refused to get into the truck so she stayed home). A few of the vols were in the truck with the cheetahs. I climbed on the roof and held on for dear life along with Carolyn and two others. We parked a couple hundred yards down the road and let out the cheetahs. They knew just what to do--walk a bit, lie down, and submit to pictures from the vols.

I got some good ones of Carolyn and her friends. I'm going to try to upload one here. BB

Our House is a very very very fine house

This is my cat. She apparently came with the bungalow that I'm staying in. I wasn't here 5 minutes last Friday night when she came mewing at my door, begging to be let in. I did, of course. She's slept with me every night since, helping keep me warm. I'm sure she has an official name, but I've been calling her Black Beauty--or BB for short. Where else do you get a cat with a room?

Some anxious news today: the baby baboon isn't doing well. He was born to a mother who was (they thought) even too young to be sterilized, premature. The mother didn't know what to do with him, and he was failing. So Marieta went in a took the baby to save it. The mother--once Marieta's baby and a baby I helped grow named Coco--handed her over willingly.

This morning I went into Marieta's kitchen and held the baby boy for an hour, bottle fed him, and talked to him, but he was weak and having diarrhea. Marieta took him to the vet today in Gobabis--about an hour away. She's still gone so I don't know what the vet said.

One of the things that I love about Marieta is that she believes in the individual life of each animal. Sure, she's believes in the survival of the species, but she also believes that this little one, this individual life, has a right to go on. So I don't know what you believe, but I'm just asking you to think positive thoughts, pray, hope--whatever--that this little boy whom I held and kissesd this morning, survives. His eyes are so human.

And so as not to end on an anxious note, while I've been writing this--at a table outside the lapa in the setting sun--a half-grown warthog has been rooting around me, sort of sucking on my jeans and trying to get me to pet him (perhaps the least attractive animal alive). Right now I think he's sucking on my foot. Hilarious. You just never know here at Harnas. BB