Ubizane’s new Social Media Administrator!

Meet Ettioné Ferreira, the 23 year old photojournalist ready to spice things up with Ubizane’s online presence!  We sat down with her to get a deeper insight into her world.

Where are you originally from?

I come from Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape originally but moved to Pietermaritzburg in January with family.  So I’m still a newbie in Kwazulu-Natal.

What inspired you to join the Ubizane family?

I have always loved the wildlife and growing up in a town surrounded by game lodges such as Kariega Game Reserve, Shamwari, Pumba, etc. it was hard not to fall in love with nature.  When I saw the job opening and saw how beautiful it was at Ubizane, I couldn’t resist taking it up.  Best decision of my life!

What do you enjoy most about your job?

I get to take photos of this beautiful reserve and people enjoying nature.  It’s also really interesting and most of it is creative work which is awesome!  I also love working with New Media and its challenges after studying it for so long.

Do you enjoy living in the bush?

It’s a very new territory for me, especially the snakes and strange insects that make appearances but I’m enjoying it much more than I expected. Don’t know how I will ever learn to cope with living in a city again!

On those busy days with a thousand things to get done…what gets you through the day?

My iPod, coffee (and I mean the good stuff like Filter coffee or Nescafe), my Ubizane family and taking 5 minutes to snap some photos

Which animals have you enjoyed most so far?

The babies…baby giraffe, baby Zebra, baby monkeys, baby Nyala…they’re just too cute for words!

Tell us a bit more about yourself?

I studied journalism & media studies at Rhodes University graduating with a four year B.Journ degree and a year doing a Post Graduate Diploma in Media Management and yet the five years of studying  still couldn’t prepare me for living in the bush haha.  I do archery…but refuse to do bowhunting or any other hunting. I love animals and cry when they’re hurt – which is a little embarrassing. 
If you’d like to get to know me better just follow our Facebook page and keep reading the blog!

The hatching of Ubizane's Ostriches:

There has been much anticipation here at Ubizane Wildlife Reserve, as we patiently await the arrival of our baby Ostriches. We first noticed one of our females sitting on eggs on the 27^th of September, and many of you who follow our blog posts will recall the details.  

After the torrential down fall our excitement soon turned to fret, as we found the eggs submerged in a puddle of ice cold water abandoned by the parents, and after much consideration and discussion, we decided to remove the eggs and attempt to incubate them ourselves.

2 weeks of careful monitoring and care finally paid off on a Monday evening, at  22:00 pm one of the eggs began to move and  small hairline cracks began to emerge. The little ostrich proved to be a real fighter, only resting momentarily from its constant struggle against the porous egg shell. Not long after the first cracks were made, a tiny beak emerged through the jagged egg shell, under the constant watch of the staff, the large tangled mass of a chick struggled some more, breaking the shell more. An hour soon passed , and a soft muffled  ‘cheep’ could now be heard as the ostrich fought beak and nail to come into this world.

3 hours and countless cups of coffee later, you could now make out the shape of the mini replica ostrich, tightly packed into the shell that it has called home for 6 weeks. Its powerful leg kicking, with what looked liked frustration, and its large black eye peered out on to it’s new surroundings, almost in amazement. The excitement reached the tipping point as with one last push, the chick pushed free of it’s egg. Lying with it’s legs tucked under its body and it’s neck stretched out, the tiny life form breathed heavily, exhausted I’m sure. True to it’s instincts, after a short power nap the chick struggled to its feet, feathers still damp and neck still supple and wobbly but the exhaustion of coming into the world proved to be too much, and it soon collapsed into a sleeping bundle. 

The newborn chick is still being kept in the glass cage with its unborn siblings, here he or she will stay under the warm light until it is strong enough to stand and eat, then it will be relocated to a larger enclosure. We all at Ubizane are delighted to welcome yet another addition to the family and are holding thumbs for the rest to arrive sooner rather than later!

Be sure to keep a watchful eye on all our social media pages, as we will be sure to document every milestone in these precious chicks’ life!

Nikita, the new social media Administrator:

Nikita recently joined our Social Media Department, we caught up with her and got to know her a bit better. 

Where are you from? 

I am originally from Edenvale, Johannesburg. 

Who inspires you? 

My late Great Grandmother, she lived till 100 and was as strong as an Ox! She never had a bad word to say  about anyone, I will be extremely lucky if I can live to be half the person she was!

What do you love about the job? 

I love the fact that I am in the bush! There is never a dull office day. I also enjoy meeting and dealing with new people. 

What made you become a social Media Administrator?

I have worked in the IT field for a few years now, i enjoy the challenge of spreading the word about the company I work for. 

Do you enjoy living in the bush?

Yes, I love it! Its my 2nd home! 

What animal/insect scares you and why? 

African Buffalo, as they are quite temperamental and aggressive.

What animal would you be and why? 

I would be a bird as having  the ability to fly must be such an amazing feeling!

What computer equipment would you use to fight off a monkey, and why? 

A keyboard, as they will probably be fascinated with they keys and then I can make a hasty escape. 

Tell us a bit more about yourself: 

I lived in Edenvale all my life, where I eventually worked as a web developer for an IT company. I have recently discovered a new passion