Tidbits

It's my last full day on Harnas for this trip. I leave tomorrow for Windhoek and for home on Friday, arriving midday on Saturday. It's been a wonderful trip. I've tried to cover a lot of stuff, but here's some tidbits I've missed.

We've had a baby vervet monkey around the past few days. His mother had to be separated while she recovers from an infection, so the baby is with us. They'll be reunited as soon as the mother is ready. Meanwhile, he jumps around like a crazy thing. It's amazing how much baby animals can do from birth, considering how helpless human babies are.

The baby warthogs are out and running around the garden now. They're only about the size of a kitten and they are so adorable. Unfortunately, they'll grow up to be arguably the ugliest creature on earth! It must be evolution at work that ALL babies are cute. Perhaps mothers wouldn't feel as compelled to care for them if they were ugly.

Nearly every evening an hour or so before sunset, I take a pack of dogs for a bushwalk. Last night there were five, and it's my job to keep them together and near me. The one in the picture above is named Spice--a chow cut to look like a little lion, appropriate for Harnas. We often walk past the volunteer village to a big waterhole there. The dogs chase off the springboks and wildebeests and take over the place, jumping in, swimming, drinking, and cooling off. Then we head back home, where they do the same thing at one of the smaller waterholes near the lapa. It's good exercise for us all, and it gives me my daily dog fix.

I captured this image of Max, one of our LifeLine cheetahs at a waterhole just before a storm hit. I thought you might enjoy seeing the landscape.

And finally, I have to end with yet another picture of my newest baby, Tyson. I spent about 90 minutes lying next to him this morning, cuddling and stroking him while I whispered promises that I'd be back as soon as I could--and begging him not to forget me. It's always hard to leave Harnas, but this year might be the hardest because of him.

But it's time to go home, go back to work, and make enough money that I can come back. See you on the other side of the world. BB

Tyson's new home

A couple of days ago, we moved Tyson to a bigger enclosure just next door to his garden  area. It's a large area with a full-sized waterhole, a house, and a big platform to climb on. Many big cats have stayed there--Elsa, the Brothers, Zion and Trust, the Babies (all lions), Dolce and Gabana (leopards)--and they generally love it because cats like to be high up, and the platform allows them to be.

Tyson on his platform

The move itself was traumatic. You've heard the phrase about herding cats. Well, it was worse. He just had to move through two gates, so first I tried to lure him with some red meat. He took the first piece but then freaked out. So the bushmen and I had to get behind him and sort of force him through the gates. He was not happy and hissed and growled the whole time. Marieta directed us--in Afrikaans, so I had to guess about what she wanted me to do. Finally he got in the enclosure but then just ran from corner to corner trying to find a way out. Then he discovered the platform, ran up, and stayed.

Marieta told everyone to get out besides me, so I could calm him down. It took a long time to approach him again, but after about an hour he let  me pet him again. It was clear he felt safe on the platform so I gradually climbed up with him and lay next to him, petting him, until he stopped panting and hissing. He stayed up on the platform all night I think. I left him water up there and some food.

The next day everyone was prohibited from going in to see him, again except for me. I spent most of the day on the platform with him, calming him down. Eventually I got him to come down and drink from the water hole, but then he was up there again. But we definitely took some steps backwards in our training.

Volunteer Lara with Tyson

Three days later now, and the volunteers are back with him. They've followed my lead and spend a good time up on the platform, sleeping next to him and hand-feeding him when his food arrives. Yesterday I gave them the task to make him come down and play,and by the end of the day, they had accomplished that. So we are doing fine. I'm so sad to leave him the day after tomorrow. I will miss him so much.

Just a Harnas sidenote: while I've been writing this blog, I've been bombarded by Ollie, the baby baboon. I type a few sentences and then she climbs up my leg to play. We play and then she jumps down and runs away. I type a few more sentences--repeat. Very amusing, but how can I pass up the opportunity to play? Harnas!

Lions

I haven't written much about the lions this trip, although every evening starting at about sunset, they fill the night air with their symphonies. Five or six times during the night I hear them as they roar back and forth. Many times it wakes me up because the enclosures are so close to my bungalow, and it sounds like they're under my window. I don't mind being awakened--I get to hear LIONS!

Martha, 3 months, 2010

There are no baby lions at Harnas right now. Recent laws in Namibia prohibit the breeding of lions--even though they're endangered and technically extinct in the wild in southern Africa. The government of Namibia has good intentions: they're trying to avoid the breeding of lions for canned hunting. This is a despicable practice of people paying to shoot basically tame, hand-raised lions in an enclosed space. It's a practice I've written about in my book and also in an on-line magazine called takepart.com

There are money driven people who breed lions just for hunters to kill--at about $25,000 a kill. A man can walk into a small fenced area, face a tame lion who has no fear of humans, and shoot it from close range--all so he can go home and tell people he went to "wild" Africa and bagged himself a lion. Such a "brave" man. Such behavior is beyond my comprehension--that someone can look at such a magnificent creature and say, "Hey, I'd like to kill that."

Me with one of the Brothers, 2010

So to comply with the non-breeding laws, Harnas has all of its lions on birth control. So since 2010, no baby lions. I understand, though I miss handling the cubs. But I still walk every day or so to the lion enclosures to see the grown-up babies that I cuddled and played with. Lions are magnificent. When we, as humans, kill the last lion, it will be a sad day for this world. Being in their presence makes me appreciate my fragility, as well as the stupendous pattern that is the creation of life.

Zion at the Gate

In the mornings often I walk the 100 yards from my bungalow to the enclosure of Zion and Trust--the first two lions I ever touched when they were cubs in 2007. They are usually waiting for me at the gate and I slip my hand through the fence to scratch them while they make satisfied grunts and groans and rub their bodies on the fence. It's enough to sustain me for years in the Real World.

Spring and Babies

It's late spring here in Namibia, so there are lots of babies at Harnas.  Sometimes animals choose strange friends, so for example, on the lapa lawn there is a foal and a calf that are best friends and walk around everywhere together.

In the garden area, we have babies galore--two lambs, a baby duiker, and two baby warthogs (who are so small, they refused to come out of their box--I'll have to get a picture later when they're bottle-fed).

In the office where I write this, there are 6 (six!) kittens that are always entertaining to watch. While pictures are uploading, I just sit back and laugh at their antics--such as their incessant need to climb all over the stuffed lion--and then falling asleep on it.

Then of course there's the baby baboon, baby tortoises, baby crocodiles, baby cheetah, and just about every creature you can imagine. It's an orphanage of love and care.

Play time with Tyson

Here's a short video of Tyson playing.

He's gotten very brave and curious now. He still hisses when a new person enters his enclosure, but I believe that's his prerogative since it's his territory. He's gotten tame enough, though, that volunteers have started taking sleeping bags and spending the night with him. So far he doesn't sleep WITH them, but soon he will grow used to them and he'll be happy to cuddle up.

I leave a week from today. You can't imagine how much I'll miss him.

Christmas at Harnas

Ah, Christmas at Harnas. Last night the staff, volunteers, guests, and family all met together in the boma (an outside eating area). While we waited for Santa Claus to show up, the Bushmen and their families broke out in spontaneous songs. So rhythmic and addictive, everyone was clapping along while they sang.

Then Santa appeared. This year it was Marieta's boyfriend Derek. He came to hand out presents to bushman children, volunteers, and staff. But what he hadn't counted on was his Great Dane, Lexi. She adores Derek and never leaves his side--and gets a little jealous if people come between her and him. She's definitely a "Daddy's Girl"--despite her size, she's a puppy at heart. Well, she knew it was Derek behind that beard and red outfit, and she couldn't understand why all these people were coming between them. Derek had to keep pushing this huge dog out of the way so the children could come up and get their presents. It was pretty hilarious--Santa with his own bodyguard. I told him later we should have just put antlers and a red nose on her and then the children wouldn't have been confused about why they had to fight a dog to get to Santa.

This morning we had a short program with the children singing and dancing and re-creating the nativity scene, then a nice brunch. Everyone ate together and the rain stayed away so we could all eat outside. Then everyone was off to take care of animals and relax for the day. Very low-key.

America has become so money-oriented when it comes to Christmas. It's all about buying, buying, buying. Christmas starts at Halloween and just escalates until Dec. 25. I've been here at Harnas 5 out of the last 6 Christmases and I've really come to love the simplicity and authenticity. Children singing. Few gifts. Friends coming together. At times my eyes blur with the grateful tears for the basic and simple human connection--dogs and cheetahs included. Merry Christmas.

Animals Animals

I ran into the baby baboon, Ollie, this morning as I was going to breakfast. She was running around outside the staff room where Marieta was having a meeting. Still in her nighttime diapers with a pacifier around her neck, she was the perfect picture of a baby. As I often do at Harnas when a situation presents itself, I decided breakfast could wait so I sat down on the ground and had some play time with her. There's nothing to hurry for here, so if a little bit of joy can be had, I'm all for it.

Ollie climbed all over me and I tried to get some pics of us together:

 Then she wrestled for awhile with Pickles and then a cat. So curious and funny. I just love these baby baboons. Then  I made my way on to breakfast with a smile on my face.

Just before I saw Ollie, I was completing my morning routine of feeding peanuts to the two mccaws who live in a large aviary near the office. For years I've been bringing peanuts to Africa to feed the birds, baboons, and anyone else who needs one. I walk to the cage and yell, "PEAnuts, PEAnuts" and the two birds climb their way from wherever they are in the cage to take them gently from me in their rather large beaks.

 bbb6

Recently, Cornelia thought she heard me yelling for them, but when she went to see, she found the birds themselves yelling "PEAnuts, PEAnuts" in MY VOICE! I've clearly had an effect on them. I knew they said "hello" but I didn't know they were imitating me.

Merry Christmas everyone!