Wandering Wildlife Vet

I can’t believe tomorrow is February. I officially have 3 weeks left in Zimbabwe. Lindsay left on Tuesday and I’m really missing her and the others that have left. I’m so happy we had the time together that we did because it really made my first few weeks here incredible.

Sunday was Micky’s birthday so we all took the day off to go hiking in the Matopos National Park! We decided to climb Mt. Nungu which has a 30 foot cross on the top of it. It is part of the Catholic Trust and the church built the paths and cross. It was a pretty hard climb but we all made it and the views were incredible. We took some cheesy pictures at the top for fun. After we hiked back down, we had a picnic lunch. Then we went to the Matobo Hills Lodge for a swim and a few drinks. We had a braai (African barbecue) and a party that night to celebrate! We had so much fun and everyone definitely drank their fair share.

We had the day off Monday as well but they had arranged for a school trip for Lindsay before she left so her and I went! At the school, we bring some animals and one of the staff members educates the children on what the animals are, their diet, and where/when they can be found. The purpose of the school trips is to educate the children on the importance of Zimbabwe’s wildlife. If the children have seen, touched, and held these animals, they are more likely to help protect them. It is also a way to reach the rest of the community through the youth.

Tuesday morning we said goodbye to Lindsay :-(. After lunch, Yo and I worked in the antelope area on making new toys for Breezer, the bush pig. We decided to make him a little car-type thing that he could push around. He seems to enjoy it so far!

Wednesday was an awesome day for everyone! We were lucky enough to get to observe a lion spay. They needed an eye mask once the anesthesia kicked in so I offered my buff. Now it smells like lion and I’m probably never going to wash it. The surgery went super well and I was able to help monitor her temperature and help intubate her. We also took some paw prints while she was under anesthesia for all the volunteers to take home with them.

Today, Yo, Ryan, and I went to the Matopos to see and help with the research area. Chipangali uses areas right outside the national park to do research on leopards and hyenas. They set up humane traps to catch the animals and then put GPS collars on them to use for data collection. We checked to make sure there was meat in all the traps and no animals inside. They have someone there that checks the traps every morning and every evening so that the staff can get there as soon as possible. We also released two puff adders while we were there as well!