Wandering Wildlife Vet

Sorry for the silence! It has been quite a week here in Zimbabwe. Monday afternoon was the start of a 3-day strike throughout the country because of the increased gas prices. Unfortunately, internet and cellular networks were shut off so I haven’t been able to post. We are completely safe at the orphanage and are about 20 minutes from the nearest town.

I can’t believe I have already been here 2 weeks. Time is flying by. Victoria and Jemima leave early next week so we are making the most of these last few days. Besides the lack of internet, I’ve had an amazing week! My hornet sting was better by Sunday and completely normal on Monday.

Sunday is a half day for us so we got up early that morning to watch the sunrise. After walking through the camp gates, we realized that we didn’t know how to get to the best spot to watch and the sun was already coming up. We asked later and found out where to go so we’ll try it again this weekend.

There are multiple pregnant sheep that we had been expecting to give birth soon and the first lamb was born early Sunday morning! We’ve had 2 more born since then but we are still waiting for 6 more to give birth!

Monday was our day off and Lindsay, Jemima, and I went on a rhino walk/National Heritage Site excursion for the day. It was absolutely incredible!! We started the morning with a small walk through the bush to find the rhinos. We were lucky enough to find 6, including a mom and her 3 month old calf. Our guide, Ian, knows all of the rhinos so well that they trust him and we were able to get pretty close to them!

After we spent some time with the rhinos, we went to a dam for a picnic lunch. On our way, we stopped by a local shop to get some of the local beer. I tried it and I have never disliked a beer so much in my life. It was thick and looked like milk. It was the only dam in the park that doesn’t have crocodiles or hippos. Pictures don’t do the views justice. Once we finished lunch, we headed out on a hike to see cave paintings from the Bushmen. We climbed 4500 feet and again, the view was breathtaking. We got to the cave and spent some time looking at the beautiful paintings that could be as old as 100,000 years. Ian was incredibly knowledgeable about the Bushmen and their culture and lifestyle. He has had the privilege of meeting Bushmen but there are very few still alive. Our final stop of the day was the grave of Cecil Rhodes, an English business who was extremely influential in the history of Southern Africa. From there, we watched the sunset with rainbow lizards and elephant shrews around us.

Tuesday was probably the hardest day I have had here. Due to the fact that we hadn’t had power for more than 12 hours a day for the past three days, the meat freezers had been off. I was assigned to the carnivore section so it was my job to help clean out these freezers. I wheeled 18 wheelbarrows full of dead, rotting chickens to the dump pile. Don’t worry I didn’t take pictures of that part. I was exhausted that night and we had no internet so it was an early night for all of us.

Wednesday I was working in the Diana Center with Micky and Lillie, a volunteer who arrived this week. Our job was to catch all of the bunnies and sex them. In total, we caught over 50 bunnies. You don’t realize how fast they are until you are actively trying to catch them. We also found baby guinea pigs that were only a few days old. I learned that guinea pigs have a 6 month gestation period. That is crazy long for a rodent! They are also born with the ability to walk very shortly after and completely covered in fur. Learn something new every day.

Since the owners are out of town, I have been helping Micky bottle feed three baby antelope. There is one steenbok named Tequila and two grey duikers named Whiskey and Jager. I am in charge of feeding Jager and he prefers to back up against you while he is feeding. I’ve only been helping since Saturday and I’m already attached to them. I can’t wait to watch them grow while I’m here!

Another week is almost in the books. Heres to another month at this fantastic place with even more amazing people. Next blog post coming Sunday (as long as circumstances allow)!