Ubizane’s very own, Chloè the Goatdashian.

When guests arrive at Ubizane Tree Lodge Reception, there’s always one member of the Ubizane team that they either can't wait to meet or meet as they arrive and her name is… Chloè the goat, or as Wayne, our Lodge Manager has nicknamed her, Chloè: Ubizane’s very own Goatdashian.

Chloè was found about a year ago stuck in one of our fences that borders the community. It isn't unusual for the community’s goats to either get stuck in our fences or to even get through the fence and enter Ubizane. When this does happen, we normally either release the goats back in the community side or if the goat is very young or has been injured, we take it into our care until the goat is back to full strength or until a community member comes and claims the goat back.

With Chloè, she was very young when one of the Ubizane staff found her in the fence. We decided to take her into our care until one of the community members come and claim her.

As days, weeks and months passed, Chloè was never claimed back and has become a big part of our team as well as Ubizane's mascot. She has her own very unique personality and is always a few steps behind Natascha (Ubizane’s General Manager).

The staff at Ubizane had to learn quickly that one of Chloè’s favorite daily activities is to eat almost every piece of important paper she could find, everything from guests information pamphlets to our daysheets and we couldn't use, “The goat ate my paperwork” as an excuse every time.

Chloè’s mornings normally start with joining us at our early morning meetings, she has her very own chair whereby she climbs on and either listens to what we discuss or taking a quick snooze before her hectic busy day starts (you know the life of a Goatdashian has never a dull moment).

When Chloè isn’t found eating paper or following Natascha, she is sure to be found lying on one of the Tree Lodge swimming pool loungers with her friend Ziquenya, our anti-poaching dog, getting a nice mid-day or afternoon tan and a quick nap before jumping up and bleating either for attention or more food.

 Chloè has become such a big part of our team and we know that there will never be a dull moment with her here at Ubizane Wildlife Reserve.

Our Aviary.

Our Aviary has come a long way from being just a patch of ground next to the Tree lodge reception to what it is today: a home to doves, rabbits, guinea pigs - and it has even been home to Barn Owls that were rehabilitated at Ubizane.

The last couple of days, Martin (our Kitchen Manager) and Wayne (our Lodge Manager) have been hard at work cleaning and planting.  They tied branches against the fences and trees in the Aviary to make it look more “natural” for the inhabitants.

 While cleaning the aviary, Nikita and Wayne noticed that one of the female rabbits was pulling her fur out and making a nest with it in one of the burrows. A couple of days later, they took a look and found that the rabbit had given birth to two healthy baby rabbits. We will keep an eye on these little ones and keep you updated on all their adventures in the future.

We also have 2 little guinea pigs in our Aviary: Jeffery and a new guinea pig named Buddy. Buddy is a lot less shy than his friend Jeffery.

We also have a few different species of doves in our Aviary such as Laughing Doves, Ring-necked Doves, Tambourine Doves, Zebra Doves and Emerald Doves.

Each one with their own unique call which you can hear the whole day through, from sunrise to sunset.

We encourage all our readers and guests to come and visit the Aviary as well as our Ostriches new home the next time you come and visit.

Our Ostriches get a new Enclosure!

As many of you know who have been following our blog and who has been to Ubizane, has seen and read about our Ostriches and their adventures in and around Safari Lodge and Tree Lodge, from swimming with some of the guests at Safari Lodge to enjoying a nice afternoon nap with the guests at Tree lodge.

We are proud to announce that our Ostriches have a new enclosure that is situated between the Safari Lodge and the Tree Lodge where our guests can go and visit them, touch them and even feed them during their stay, personally I’m still a bit hesitant to touch these big birds even though I have seen Martin (Our Kitchen Manager) do so when he went to feed them. Once a week one of our Kitchen Managers will go and feed these big birds with fresh produce such as beetroot, carrots, lettuce or any other fresh food we have to offer them.

Just some question and answers about these amazing birds we get asked by our guests here at Ubizane:

Q: How do Ostriches chew without teeth?

A: Ostriches don’t chew their food; they swallow their food whole as well as swallow small pebbles and stones which grind food. A male ostrich can have up to 1kg of stones and pebbles in its stomach.

Q; How big is a Ostrich egg and long does it take for an Ostrich egg to hatch?

A: An Ostrich egg is normally about 15cm long and weighs about the same as two dozen chicken eggs and even though it’s the world’s largest bird egg, they are actually the smallest egg relative to the size of an adult Ostrich size. They normally take between 35 and 45 days to hatch, after they have hatched, the male will look after them and defend them as well as teach them how to feed but both male and female will cooperate in rearing the chicks

Q: What is the wingspan of an Ostrich?

A: A full grown ostrich male’s wingspan is about 2m and is usually used for mating displays, cover their naked skin on their upper legs, to cover their chicks and to be used as “rudders” when they run.

Our ostriches have been with us for a long time and we know they will be happy with their new enclosure here at Ubizane.