Welcome to the family!

Ubizane has lately established a close partnership with CROW (Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife) and we have opened our arms to a warthog and two Spotted Eagle Owls to join our family.

CROW came to investigate the Ubizane premises to make sure it would be a happy safe environment for released animals and we were approved as a safe haven for wildlife! After much planning and organizing, CROW released two Spotted Eagle Owls at the end of November in our aviary. This is where we will nurture the two beautiful owls, like we nurtured our Barn Owls, until they’re big and strong and can be released into the wild.

      

It was an interesting day with the Spotted Eagle Owls almost being twice the size of the Barn Owls and we weren’t sure how the four owls would bond.  For the first day they stared at each other and did not know what to do. After the second night they started competing for the territory and we decided to divide the aviary in two to give the two species their own space.

We are happy to report that the owls are living happily in the aviary and we are waiting for the wonderful day we can release them successfully into the Fever Tree Forest of Ubizane.

            

We also had the pleasure of welcoming a female warthog into our family named Wendy.  This intriguing character was found in November 2012 after being abandoned by her mother in another game reserve, being only 1 ½ weeks old. CROW took her in and hand raised the little warthog with love and patience and asked us if we would release her at Ubizane.  After having a similar situation at Ubizane where we had our dear Tiban who we found as a baby, abandoned and almost drowned after heavy rains, we knew we could not say no.  Tiban was successfully released into the Ubizane bush in December 2012 and we are very proud of this wonderful story of a baby warthog fighting against all odds and surviving. We were excited to hear about Wendy and now the day has finally arrived! CROW released Wendy into an enclosure which is meant as Boma for her at Ubizane where she will get used to the environment and then eventually go into the bush and live a happy life back where she belongs. CROW, along with a camera crew who have been filming her rehabilitation process, released Wendy into Ubizane’s care.

 Wendy has a personality as no other with a love for bananas and mielies (corn cobs)!  She adores a good tummy scratch and enjoys being fed some luscious green grass by the hand so she can give you some loving while you feed her.

The warthog will be let out of the boma each day to graze and get to know the area and climate. She started to walk around on Saturday and slowly but surely she explores a little bit further each day before returning to her ‘safety zone’ in the boma. When she is ready we will let her roam freely into the bush where we’ll hope to see a very happy ending to this story!

The Spotted Eagle Owls will be a lengthier process as these Owls are still young and need more time to grow strong and comfortable in the area. They also need to still learn to hunt and excel their predator instincts which might take a lot more time than anticipated.

Thanks go to CROW for choosing Ubizane and letting us be a part of the conservation efforts. We are so happy to have these magnificent animals, Wendy the warthog and the two Spotted Eagle Owls joining the Ubizane family in their rehabilitation process! Welcome to the family!

For more information about CROW you can visit their website, http://crowkzn.co.za/

Keep updated with the latest news about Wendy and the Spotted Eagle Owls on our blog and our Facebook profile (https://www.facebook.com/ubizane.wildlifereserve)