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WORLD OF BIRDS
WILDLIFE SANCTUARY
NEWSLETTER NO. 284 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006
Click Here to Download the full version May/June 2006 Newsletter .PDF(1MB)
The full version contains all the articles and images
ON BORROWED TIME
At what age do we start reflecting on being on borrowed time? We are born, grow joyfully and painfully into adults, sow our seeds and desperately try to make sense of ambition, work, family and maturity, to find reflection in our children and then, when we thought to have been in an upward spiral, we realise that it actually is a circle at the point of closing.
At a time when we think that we know everything that is given to us in this lifetime, we have to shed this knowledge like a snake’s skin, and involuntarily we are gently guided into the unknown adventure of spirit.
This is frightening to most (and ignoring it doesn’t help) until the actual time of surrender is reached, and the willingness to let go.
I look at the family pictures on the wall of the living room, page through albums of memories which are also the proof of actually having grown from childhood to advanced maturity, think of the many books read, songs and languages learned, countries travelled, relationships treasured and abandoned, beauty appreciated, joy and sorrow experienced, and burdening possessions accumulated.
At what stage do we start to let go or at the least abandon material thoughts spiritually? Any person who has lived to my age and beyond (many of my own younger friends are long gone) must be familiar with the thoughts expressed here.
These are not sordid but realistic reflections. While considering the unavoidable possibility of eventual departure, we must also plan for the future, of what may be left, for everything that is still worthwhile and precious, family foremost and, equally in a combination of expected continuation, for me, the World of Birds.
Valerie Gorfinkel, World of Birds’ angel then and now, is my reminder of borrowed time. She was 84. Two weeks before she died she phoned me with the reassurance that, on her death, World of Birds would be financially rescued from the R3 million bank loan. BUT, she added, she intended to live for a good many more years. Then she crossed the road at night and was hit by a car.
At very close to 70, how long am I still going to make a contribution to my family and, equally importantly, to the future of the World of Birds?
My mind is programmed for another 25 years or so. Famous words? God only knows what is planned for my soul and every other one connected to it. My concern is the financial viability of the World of Birds, and the long-term continuation and permanency in its present form as a Wild Bird and Animal Sanctuary.
As it stands now with a bank loan of almost R1 million, drastically reduced tourism and income in relation to ever rising costs, we need another Valerie Gorfinkel to secure our future; unless we reach the point where we have money invested (like all other animal related institutions) there is great concern. The family is reasonably secure through (limited) life insurance policies that years ago had to be taken out in order to qualify for bank loans.
For the time being, the World of Birds remains vulnerable. In my own borrowed time, given the potential mercy of improving tourism and income and, hopefully, drastically improved income, I would prefer to be given the reassurance that all is well and that World of Birds will remain as a lasting heritage to this city where wildlife used to be plentifully surrounding us, and where now, sadly, the city surrounds the little that is left.
THOSE UNKNOWN FRIENDS AND BENEFACTORS
When World of Birds started 33 years ago, many friends and sympathisers were in their thirties, forties or fifties and older. Some remained friends throughout their lives (or still are), while others were or (seemingly) remained unknown. Angels all.
Unexpected benefits have come to us through the years, from all provinces, and even from overseas, as donations and bequests, out of the blue, and more often than not at a time when it seemed impossible to carry on.
The latest end of winter blessings came as a bequest from the late Ann Crowhurst, R15 000, and R20 000 from our Swiss Friend Franziska Saager who, when I tried to phone and thank, was with her husband on a business errand in Mongolia.
Ann Crowhurst was not a member and thus unknown to us, but a caring sympathiser nevertheless. How can one convey thanks adequately to those caring people? To the one in thankful prayer, spirit to spirit. To others? Words cannot adequately express the feelings of reassurance when the necessary running costs are far from being covered by the entrance fees, especially during winter and while the promised upswing in tourism remains but a dream.
But yes, THANK YOU, in capital letters.
CATS AMONGST THE PIGEONS
By Claire Louw
Anyone who has visited World of Birds would have noticed several resident cats on the property, none of whom show any interest in the birds; it’s the pesky, furry rodents that they desire.
At the beginning of the year, we had four females that lived permanently at the park and one vagrant male.
The first cat to show up was Elizabeth, a white cat that lives at the kiosk/cafeteria. She is a very unpredictable cat as she begs for attention and when she gets it she slaps you. Typical woman some may say!
Then Granny, a beautiful tortoise-shell girl, arrived as a very young and wild kitten. She grew up with a small group of peafowl, rubbing against them affectionately. Quite something to observe. Granny lives in the middle of the park near the flamingos. She too can be a little bitchy when the mood catches her.
Spot and Non-Spot are Granny’s two black and white granddaughters. They were found on the rubbish dump, abandoned by their mother. I, as usual, couldn’t resist, and hand-reared them. They turned into very special girls. Non-Spotty taunts Elizabeth at the bottom of the park and Spotty is our hospital resident.
Lastly, there is the vagrant black male. He is Spot and Non-Spot’s brother, reared by their mother. He was very wild and visited a few times a week to chat up the ladies, the two older cats being his ‘sugar mommies’.
Unfortunately, early this year he contracted tick-bite fever. By the time we got hold of him he was barely alive and awfully thin. He was taken to Dr Stevens, but it was too late for our ‘Romeo’, he was put to sleep to end his suffering.
Our four girls have all been sterilised after they produced lots of kittens amongst them. Elizabeth and Granny had about four litters each before we could catch them. Spot and Non-Spot had one litter each. Every single kitten has found a home.
Late in August, Non-Spotty was run over in Valley Road. Cathy found her late at night, lying in the middle of the road at the stop street outside the park.
She must have been killed instantly with a blow to the head. I find it so sad that the person who hit her didn’t even have the decency to stop and move her out of the road. She wasn’t given that little bit of dignity on that cold rainy night.
She is buried outside the baby-room window. Her sister Spot visits her grave, rubbing her face on the erected photo of her sister. I like to think she senses her presence and that her spirit is at rest. There are many special little creatures buried in that area, but she spends time on Non-Spot’s plot. I learn something new and beautiful from animals every day. I am truly blessed to work in such a wonderful environment.
World of Birds has something special with our cats being compatible with the birds. It amazes visitors every day, which makes me very proud of our ‘girls’.
The smallest feline is a masterpiece."
Leonardo da Vinci
OFFICIAL TOURISM SPEAK
You don’t speak bad about the dead. At memorial services there are always praises for the dearly departed, even if the best that can be said is that he was a good rugby player or cricketer. Like of the dead, you don’t speak bad about the outgoing public servant or, in this case, the departing CEO of Cape Town’s tourism.
Apparently she was widely regarded as both ambitious and talented while tasked with marketing our region as a preferred tourist destination, earning R750 000 per year. It is said that under her leadership the region was marketed with a `focused and results -driven strategy that had contributed to the exceptional growth achieved by the tourism industry in the province.’
Kind words indeed. Pity tourism has been going downhill again for the past few years, with no reason for improvement in sight it may not be fair to blame this on the outgoing CEO who may have tried her best against impossible odds. As a finale, we don’t speak bad about the dead, or a dead end, do we?
BEHAVIOURAL ENRICHMENT
Behavioural Enrichment is a new buzzword in the zoo world, having sprung up more then ten years ago, as a new fashion to make up for short-comings in the way animals are kept and displayed. Many of the world’s zoos had become aware of the fact that animals can only be educational if displayed in a way as natural to their needs as possible, but others were still far behind.
Not that one could blame all of them, being dependant mostly on municipal funding and with severe historical space limitations. To compensate for the animals’ obvious boredom and shortcomings to appease public concern, Behavioural Enrichment became the fashionable way to solve problems.
What does the need for Environmental Enrichment tell us? It is an obvious admission that the enclosures in which animals are kept are a) too small, and b) that the habitat is contrived and/or blatantly artificial.
If the enclosure is too small, then Behavioural Enrichment will be nothing but an exercise to appease keeper conscience and, perhaps, to appease the public. The animals will temporarily be occupied and entertained, but this then will be an intensive ongoing time-consuming process and ultimately a cover-up for a display that was not suitable for the animals in the first place.
If you have an enclosure for medium-sized monkeys 4m square, you have made a serious error. If you thought that such an enclosure would be easy for you to maintain, you were wrong. Because now you have to compensate with Behavioural Enrichment that is labour intensive and ongoing.
If an enclosure is too bare and artificial for the needs of the animal displayed, then you have aggravated and complicated the problem. To then introduce some natural objects as an afterthought will probably only highlight the shortcomings.
Beware that Behavioural Enrichment does not become a substitute for occupational therapy, in an attempt to make up for the problem you have created from the beginning.
Artificial and plastic objects and toys should be used with great circumspection. On the one hand the animals may not care whether introduced material is artificial or natural, on the other they may spoil the aim to display animals naturally.
The ideal, of course, is to make enclosures that are natural and adventurous for the animals right from the beginning, in size and in the landscaping according to the animal to be displayed. New and modern zoos have learnt their lessons. If animals are displayed as natural as possible, the public will equally educationally and recreationally (behaviourally) be enriched.
A zoo director once proudly told me that he was constructing cages of concrete and steel which would be virtually maintenance-free for twenty-five years. If he has not changed his attitude towards animals since, he should not be in the zoo business.
Beauty In The Eye Of The Beholder
The African Marabou is the largest stork in the world. There are about 900 in captivity in zoos throughout the world, but breeding success has been rare, and this is why World of Birds was very proud in rearing four chicks two years ago for the first time. Last year the vultures, which share the same enclosure, interfered with the nest, and all eggs were lost.
This year the first clutch of 4 eggs was collected to be hatched in the incubator, and all hatched, which is an ongoing tremendous achievement for the dedicated staff who now also have the pleasure of hand-rearing these seemingly very grotesque and ugly chicks, although the carers would disagree and actually, like the Marabou parents, declare them to be as beautiful as they are precious.
A MORAL OBLIGATION
Lucky those who either don’t have eyes to see or don’t want to get involved. It solves the complications for going out of the way and caring, and even being a nuisance. Also, it needs to be said in mitigation, to what extent can one be willing to care, if there is no experience in a very complicated field where each bird and animal will have different needs, could have an illness or injury which requires special knowledge, or even where danger could be involved.
The Mangold family should stay at home. Every time there is an outing or some kind of a sneaked in holiday, something cries out for help that cannot be refused. In other words there is no getting away from the World of Birds Sanctuary, without uninvited home from home work.
Previous noteworthy injured birds collected on outings were a stork, a penguin, a kelp gull, and an avocet. This time, on the first of four days break in the Mamkasberg mountain near Vanrhynsdorp, an injured Wattled Starling became the obligation for care, spotted by Debbie as it tried to hide under a thorn bush.
Probably flew into the telephone wire, guessed the landowner. It lived in our picnic basket and travelled wherever we ventured with the car in the most spectacular scenic surroundings, and had to be fed every two hours.
We often have complications while travelling, and this time it was a totally destroyed tyre with additional wheel damage, that necessitated an unplanned overnight hotel stop at Citrusdal, bird and all.
We are glad to report that the bird is in good hands at World of Birds, and that we made it back on Friday night, after an engineering firm made the parts needed for the car, as an option of having the AA send a truck from Cape Town to transport the combi, and in addition to having to hire a car to get the family back home.
A MODEL FAMILY
Egyptian Geese to us are a very serious problem. At feeding time they are wall to wall, and there are simply too many of them to be of display value and fascination. Nowadays they are garden birds all over Cape Town and, being successful and very aggressive breeders, fearing neither cats nor dogs, are multiplying at an unsustainable rate. Every suitable garden with a pool, every patch of vacant land, and all school and sports ground have been invaded.
As much as they may be disliked by some for their annoying honking and vicious fighting over territory before and during the breeding season (which seems to be most of the year), one must admire them for the loyalty as a pair, and as a family, and for being fearless in the defence of the family.
One of the goslings was separated from the family and trapped behind a fence at the World of Birds. The pleading cries got me out of the office, and with difficulty I managed to catch it to return it to the apprehensive family waiting on a grassy slope nearby. In full view I let it go towards them, to be rewarded with an angry dad flying into my face, and when I turned to deflect him I had the mother hit me hard on the back. It was another one of the (not very rare) moments when you easily could ring a birds’ neck. Kindness is not always understood, accepted, or rewarded.
As a family, Egyptian Geese must be awarded first prize as an example to all. Mom and dad are inseparable and faithful, and the children obedience incarnate. Whether there are five or twelve, they follow mom’s every movement in unison. When she walks, they walk. When she rests, they rest. When she swims, they swim. When she feeds, they feed. There is no argument or bickering amongst the siblings. The family stays fully intact until the children are learning to fly and encouraged to become independent.
Love them or hate them, there is a lot we could learn from Egyptian Geese. Except for the warfare. To establish and defend their breeding territories they put up the most vicious fights with wing-beating and chasing and the most awful honking, with no hesitation of even killing an adversary or other trespassing goslings.
At the World of Birds we would be happy with just three or four pairs. To be invaded by two hundred and expecting to be fed is not something we would be doing by choice.
A Thought On Heritage Day
WHAT’S IN A NAME? When we think of famous names of the past, do we celebrate their names or the legacy left behind. Does it matter now whether Einstein or Mozart were exemplary as human beings, or is it not just the end results as proof of having lived?
Is it important to being remembered by name through tombstones, benches, memorial plaques and even monuments? Does the spirit live on in the name or in the work?
There could well be quality in the name, how else could clairvoyants call up a spirit?
Before the legacy there was a living name as proof that all souls are with purpose. Without legacies left behind by blessed remembered names, World of Birds would be short of R6 million in its development or, let us put it even more crudely, it wouldn’t have survived over the years, never mind grown.
Would anyone accept Hout Bay or Cape Town without World of Birds as a Heritage Site in the making? There’s a purpose to be fulfilled, whatever the difficulties, and we put our trust in the Angels, who have been with us in the past, and who will guide us into the future.
HOSPITAL HEADLINES
By Claire Louw
From this issue of the newsletter, I am going to try, time depending, to give a brief story of the goings on in the World of Birds animal hospital and baby room in each issue. As most members know, World of Birds is a wildlife sanctuary that caters for up to 200 new arrivals each month. The hospital and baby room are never empty and there is always work to be done for the four permanent staff working between the two rooms.
BABY ROOM
This time of the year, the baby room is chock-a-block with baby birds of prey and owls amongst others. At this stage in early September, we have the following children that hatched in our incubators:
4 Marabou Storks, 3 Pale-chanting Goshawks, 2 Jackal Buzzards, 3 Cape Eagle Owls, 2 Bengal Eagle Owls, 2 Red-knobbed Coots,
3 Common Moorhens, 4 tiny doves, 2 tiny weavers, lots of chickens and turkeys, 2 Blacksmith Plovers, a Cape Robin and an Olive Thrush.
It doesn’t sound like much, but when it comes to cleaning and food preparation, it gets quite complicated and time consuming. Our oldest Marabou, ‘Earl’, weighs just under 5kg and is eating about 1kg of food/day. Almost an hour goes into preparing his food alone, not to mention cleaning up the mess that comes out of the other end.
Out in the African Penguin colony we are closely monitoring two pairs of our beloved penguins that surprised us with two babies each. All four of the chicks are fat, noisy and healthy and are wonderful for our ongoing effort to conserve this endangered species in captivity. (continued over page…)
HOSPITAL
Here follows a break down of all the birds and animals that have come into the animal hospital from the public from January until the end of August 2006.
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SPECIES
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JAN
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FEB
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MAR
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APR
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MAY
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JUN
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JUL
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AUG
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TOTAL
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Birds of Prey/Owls
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10
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5
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3
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3
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0
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5
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0
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4
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30
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|
Parrot species
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26
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5
|
42
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7
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3
|
5
|
3
|
9
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100
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|
Mammals
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1
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14
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10
|
7
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
8
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41
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|
Reptiles
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10
|
2
|
8
|
3
|
6
|
2
|
3
|
6
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40
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|
Seed-eaters
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100
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34
|
29
|
26
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21
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16
|
16
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40
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282
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Water & Wildfowl
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13
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8
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11
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10
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13
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5
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18
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54
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132
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|
Seabirds & Waders
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8
|
8
|
8
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15
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6
|
6
|
4
|
12
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67
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Insect/fruit/nectar eaters
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26
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15
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11
|
9
|
3
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2
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8
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9
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83
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TOTAL
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194
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91
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122
|
80
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52
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42
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52
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142
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775
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FIRST PRIORITIES
Something to ponder. In the latest Newsletter of SAAAPEA (South African Association Against Painful Experiments on Animals) it is explained why there are no further reports on South African animal research laboratories. The answer is that the doors are firmly closed. Letters written to different authorities under whose jurisdiction animals used for research fall, are acknowledged, ending “the contents have been noted”, and one letter actually stated that our unprivileged people are their first priority.
Why animals cannot receive equal consideration may be difficult to understand. In fact a nation that does not (equally) care for animals is not likely to be serious about human care either.
What comes first? Neither. There can be no either or. It’s both or nothing
DOGS AT KIRSTENBOSCH
I don’t own a dog and therefore I have no need or urge to walk one at Kirstenbosch, but I was surprised to read the arguments brought forward in support of the ban of dogs on a leash in previously favoured sections of the botanical gardens.
When controversial arguments are presented as we had seen in support of Tahr culling, ‘they stink, or compete with klipspringers’, then the protagonists put themselves on thin ice.
The claim that a significant increase in wildlife is experienced since dogs are banned is based on emotional bias only, but not on fact at all.
To claim that birds at Kirstenbosch now ‘appear’ to be more tame, quoting ‘the recent appearance’ of Egyptian geese and hadedas as evidence, is misinformed reporting to say the least, and to claim that Guinea fowl and francolin are only now becoming tame is not an accurate and fair assessment. Dogs or no dogs, these birds have always been present, tame and brazen enough to walk amongst the picnickers.
Owls have always been present, and small grey mongoose. Mongoose of course thrive on all small to medium sized birds and their eggs, and they are never an asset where birdlife is intended to be protected.
The presence of caracal (lynx) is bad news. Forget about the rare unleashed dog kill of some of the animals in the past. There is no worse ferocious predator than the caracal. The concern over domestic dogs may well be misplaced, while the caracal will opportunistically and indiscriminately take care of grysbok and any other wildlife that is intended to be protected from dogs.
Dogs on a leash are unlikely to have been detrimental to the wildlife at Kirstenbosch. The presence of caracal, seemingly as a preferred option, is bad news indeed.
SINGING BIRDS DON’T CRY
Poems are usually a product of emotion and poetic licence, but not necessarily a true reflection of reality. A recent issue of the Coastal Chronicle printed a citation by a John Webster, claiming “We think caged birds sing, when indeed they cry!”
The issue is not to dispute the merits or dismerits of birds in a cage, but to explain why birds need to express themselves through song, be they caged or free.
Why and when do songbirds sing? The first reason would be for a male, at the beginning of the breeding season, to attract a mate, and the healthiest, strongest, most attractive mature best singer would be the most successful.
Once the mate has been found, and the breeding territory established, the song escalates into warning and aggression: This is my territory, the habitat needed for me and my wife, with enough food to bring up another season’s brood. Any other of my own kind – KEEP OUT!
Singing continues while the female incubates, but usually comes to an end when babies have to be fed. Not only is this a very busy time, but also ensures that the nest location is not given away.
After the breeding season is over, there is no more need for singing during the height of summer, during autumn, and winter. Collectively the birds, adults and juveniles, become compatible to allow the young to find and establish their own territory for the next breeding season.
This is easier said than done. Nature is one big farming operation, and everything is potentially food for something else, from predators right down to ants. Ninety percent of this season’s young are likely to perish due to bad weather, shortage of food, predators, and even killed by neighbours of their own kind, when trespassing before the full breeding season is over. The remainder will be enough to replace adult mortality. If all were to survive, we would be knee-deep in robins and thrushes.
Birds are not equipped with the emotion of crying although, yes, they can be frightened, depressed, and even sad, if translated to our own emotions.
An adjusted ‘cage bird’ will sing for the same reason as his wild counterpart: To attract a mate and to tell other males to stay away.
One must not paint captive-bred, adjusted companion birds with the same brush as a trapped frightened bird. And anybody who has, or has kept, a cat, dog, goldfish, or even a horse, would have to search his or her own soul, in order not to be a hypocrite.
There is a poem that goes something like: All heaven in a rage, a robin in a cage!
So very true. Robins and most other birds are not suitable to be ‘cage birds’. There is a tradition in the Far East where ‘song birds’ are kept in small cages for ‘pleasure’ and for the competition as to who may have the best performer.
Admittedly they are not panicky, looked well after, and sing their lungs out in competition with others of their own kind. Yet it is a sad aspect of caged bird keeping, and not likely to change for decades to come.
Those Pretty Weavers Nests
It happened twice within one week. Out on a country road a father cut down the beautifully woven nests of weaver birds for his children. When the family got back home they heard some faint cries coming from within the nests and found that there were babies inside. Both families felt very guilty and brought the chicks to us for hand rearing.
Actually one can’t blame the people involved. They had put their fingers into the nests and found them empty. How could they know that the chicks press themselves flat down at the approach of danger, an instinctive tactic that obviously, in these instances, worked to their detriment.
UNEMPLOYMENT? NO JOBS? THAT’S WHY
Every now and then we give some of the day labourers who stand at the street corners a job for the day. It means digging trenches or moving heaps of sand and soil – nothing to tax the brain.
The other day we needed two guys, although it was already eleven in the morning when they were picked up. By three in the afternoon they downed tools and felt they had done enough work for the day. They wanted their money for the day and leave.
There is plenty of work in our growing economy. It is the lazy hangers-on who prevent progress. And the first-world labour law protects them. If you make the mistake and fully employ one of those layabouts, you are in big trouble, there is little chance of getting rid of him again and employ a decent person who deserves permanent employment. There is plenty of work for those who are responsible and make a contribution to the country’s growth.
Unfortunately there are too many of the others who demand that the government support them with the excuse that there are no jobs. The only hope for the country is to scale down the labour laws that protect the lazy and dishonest, and give the good and honest a chance in life. When will it change?
THE SCOPS OWL
Owls have forward facing and pigeons sideways facing eyes. That’s one distinguishing factor. When we received a call that there was this clearly identified Scops Owl in a racing pigeon breeder’s loft, we offered to help. Our driver Noel de Vos lived in the Retreat area, and he was willing to assist.
It was unlikely to have been a Scops Owl, although one was received years ago after landing on a ship off the West African coast. Perhaps it was another kind of owl or, more likely, a nightjar.
It turned out to be annoying. Not because it was not an owl, but because the racing pigeon breeder did not have the additional interest in identifying another fancy breed of pigeon. He was scared that it would kill his racing pigeons, but he was also too scared to catch the seemingly dangerous bird of prey himself. One of those annoyingly sad stories of human ignorance and wasted time.
ON A HIGH HORSE
Living in the Noordhoek area, manager Hendrik Louw willingly agreed to help rescue a Spurwinged goose with a broken wing from the beach, after hours. Once the bird was cornered and apprehended and the damaged wing was examined, it was safely wrapped into a cloth for transportation.
A lady on a horse had watched the proceedings and enquired as to what was going to happen to the goose now. Hendrik assured her that it was going to be taken to the World of Birds to be treated and cared for.
“You mean it is going to spend its life in a cage?” she replied in horror, to which Hendrik smartly asked why she did not release her horse into the wild. “Even worse”, he added, “you are sitting on it!”
This truth was too much for her to bear, and she quickly galloped off into the distance.
(As an afterthought, and as a damper for those on high horses, while selectively dreaming of freedom, we are wondering whether there could be any better candidate for ‘release into the wild’ than a horse?)
UNUSUAL INTERACTIVE DISPLAY
In an open walled enclosure World of Birds conducted a potentially risky experiment. Soil was excavated on the sloping 8 x 10m ground to a depth of close to 1m, to bury welded mesh wire to prevent underground escape, but still allowing for natural digging and burrows. Succulent plants, mostly aloes, were planted.
The introduction of two Slender-tailed Meerkats and a pair of Ground Squirrels posed no problem and the animals interacted playfully without any aggression whatsoever.
Then four Banded Mongooses were introduced as well and although there was some initial cautionary acquainting and fearful bickering, all the animals became friendly with each other and groomed and played. Even the additional introduction of a Small Grey Mongoose and a Yellow Mongoose posed no problem, although these animals remained shy and interacted little with the others.
To crown it all, a hand-reared and very tame Bat-eared Fox eventually also joined this unusual interactive display, and was fully compatible and accepted.
As time went by it was realised that it was unlikely that any babies of any of the species would be able to survive. When new facilities became available, the Ground Squirrels were removed to occupy and share a new environment with White-faced Owls, after having enjoyed the company of the mongooses for well over two years.
DEFINITION OF WING-SHOOTING
A shotgun blast fired into a flight of ducks, geese, doves, or quail may kill one or two birds outright, while crippling several others, but the whole idea of ‘wing-shooting’ with shot rather than a bullet is to try to ‘wing’ the birds, grounding them until retrieved, possibly hours later. The retrieval is often by a dog, inflicting a new terror on the birds until the hunter breaks the birds’ necks. (Extract from ANIMAL PEOPLE, Sept. 2006)
INTO THE BIG WORLD
The difficulty of releasing hand-reared birds is not easily overcome, and must be understood by all who dream of freedom. Take a weaver bird, just to mention any bird to which it could apply. The baby bird is kept inside the Bird Hospital in its ‘nest’ in a small cage to be fed at regular intervals for, let’s say, two weeks until it learns to eat its baby food on its own. Then it has to be weaned gradually to more solid food, which is then changed to seed and adult specialist food. Now the bird is ready to be promoted to an outside small aviary.
Anybody who thinks that such a bird can be released anywhere into the wild because it can feed by itself is very far off the mark. There are no full feed dishes waiting in the world of freedom, and nobody has taught the novice to search for food continuously all day long under all weather conditions.
And what about the predators of which no one has prepared the young bird to look out for? Ninety percent die naturally in any case, being food to other birds and animals, or due to bad weather conditions.
Anyway, our weaver is ready to go out into a large aviary. The big day comes when the weather appears to be favourable. He cannot be put into an enclosure with other weavers. Through aggression, he could be dead within an hour, and this applies to many other intolerant bird species.
This first introduction to a protective environment (in itself a category of freedom) is the most risky and adventurous time of introduction to the reality of life. To release such a sheltered bird into the wild, at this stage, would be utter folly, and in all probability a death sentence.
Freedom and wilderness is a concept. Not even WE can live up to it!
We welcome the following new members for July 2006:
Elizna Hoon
Tobias Nittel
Mrs G Jensen
Grant & Melissa Haskin
Jodie Van Heerden
Fynn Czizmadia
Daniel Malan
Susan Anderson
Anke Gordon
Gavin T Field
Janet De Beer
Nicola Grobler
Helen MG King
Ulrike Zimper
Vida Steenkamp
Jennifer Horn
Rhonda Van Vuuren
Suzette van den Bergh
Ann Meyer-Rodenbeck
Dalene Lock
Colin Judin
Conn Bertish Family
John Barwise
Vaughn Wilson
Louise Gees
Elvamaria Willis
Kane-Smith Family
Barend J Viljoen
Michael G Frost
Mrs MN Ellis
and August 2006:
Moira O’Reilly
Peggy Shnaps
MacFarlain
Karen Norman
Shelley Lewin
Candice Baruch
Timothy J Wecke
Joseph M Henen
Mia Gibson/David Scholtz
Hesna Marais
Simon McClurg
Ingrid Singer
Craig Ritchie
Claire Campbell
Charlotte & Brits
Erna Lubbe
Family Danant
Jennifer Sheehy
AK Dalwai
Edward Bisschop
Frances Fortes
F Van Der Spuy
J Martheze
Anthony N Haworth
Gina Isserow
Thomas Kellermann
Mads Skou-Hansen
Rocio Le Jeune
Pieter Herman
Shirley Sudwarts
World of Birds extends its sincere thanks to the following members for donations received during July 2006:
Mrs Pam Marten
Mrs ML Thompson
Ms Hilda Stark
Cdr. D Gordon-Davis
Chris & Suzanne Vietri
Mr Bryan Steven
A Leslie
Bobby Crow Mr John Bewsey
Ms Sally J Louw
Mr Brian W Hollman
Mr RW van den Honert
Mr & Mrs Stilborg
Bronwen Chase
Jacqui Aupais
Austen & Clem Hannay-Robertson
Rose Cordell
Belinda Whightman
Allen & Adelle
Leonard & Sally
Colleen & Godfrey
Two A Day Group Ltd.
Vredebest Farm
Candice & Christian
Kathleen Leppan
Cheryl van der Dussel
and August 2006:
Mrs ML Thompson
Ms Sally J Louw
Ralph & Monica D’Rozario
Cdr. D Gordon-Davis
Mervyn & Patricia Pinto
Elizabeth Gowans
Bobby Crow
Shirley Furlong
Karen Small
Mr John Bewsey
Ms Elsabe Braxton
Mrs Beryl J Kiley
Pat Hancock
Trevor Goott
Pat Readman
Mrs Pam Marten
Ms Isobel Cape
Vredebest Farm
Two A Day Group Ltd.
Bequest: Estate Late AW Crowhurst
World of Birds’ continued growth and development is due in large part to the generosity of such wonderful people and organisations, and we are very grateful for all their assistance.
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