October 28, 2016 Second day at Twala

As often happens when I travel, I wake up in the wee hours still in another time zone.  Rather than toss and turn and frustrate myself, I get up and write.  There was a scratching at the door, and Keiko the Jack Russell Terrier weaseled his way in.  His mother was found nearly dead with malnutrition and starvation.  She was taken into Twala, fed, and seemed to be recovering when she popped out Keiko.  The effort did her in, and she died with two other puppies.  So Keiko has been hand-fed his whole life, and he would like that to continue!

I have never lived with a JRT, but they are very unique.  I had brought some dog treats to leave for the Trust to use, and after sharing some of these with him Keiko seemed to consider me his.  We came outside this morning, and all the other dogs came to greet me as they do everyone.  Suddenly, with all these other dogs he has lived and mingled with for years, he bared his teeth and cleared a perimeter of about three feet all around me.  I have never seen a dog do that, and it was a bit frightening.  He didn't hurt anyone, and then he came back and sat on my feet.  Feisty Keiko; I would never have expected that from this sweet face.

After feeding, the tiny kitten likes to play.  She eats milk and cereal; not really at weaning age yet, so staff are trying to fill in for the missing mom.

Maggie in the window, begging to be let in the house.

Baby baboon wants the camera.  His mother was hit by a car and he was found and brought in to Twala by some passers-by.  He was only 3 days old.

I got to feed this little guy one day, and suddenly while he was behind me, he flipped my hair up and started scouring for insects.  At first I thought Becky, one of the workers, was trying to get a bee or something out of my hair.  I turned around to look at her and there she was with her hands in her lap.  Very human-like touch.

One day a week Twala takes a few bags of dog food and outdated milk they get to a nearby village to feed the dogs.  There are about 6 kids who are orphaned but still are somewhat taken care of in the village.  Twala got them all dogs and they have formed very special bonds with their "dog family".  Twala is trying to help the dogs survive, most of home are minimally nourished.

Here Gakai and Richard are opening the truck bed and getting ready to prepare the bowls.

Portioning out the kibble and milk.

Everyone patiently waiting.

You can see how thin the dogs are.  For the most part, they are well behaved, but you can see the dog in the lower left has already had his left ear attacked and was bleeding.

One of the little kids with his dog; they just hang out together all the time.

Chips is one of the regulars at Twala.  He had mange so bad that his feet were like clubs and he could not see.  With a patient treatment of special baths, yogurt in his ears, and then a coconut oil massage, he is on the mend.  Probably will never grow all his fur back, but he is the sweetest guy ever.  I got to give him his bath and massage him (with gloves, of course), and he was very appreciative.  Then everyone got cookies and Chips was a hero for giving an excuse to celebrate.

Midday is definitely siesta time; too hot for anything else.

... except for Horace the monkey, who chooses to wrestle with whoever is a likely target.

Dog goes back to sleep and Horace wonders what to do next.

Picking bugs!  A nice cool pass-time.  Horace really thinks he is a dog.

This cobra was brought in from the wild with a nasty infection of his head and mouth.  They presume he had been bitten by something he tried to eat (like a rat), which caught the corner of his mouth and then it spread.  He could not see because his eyes were swollen shut, and he teeth had fallen out.  Now he is recovered but they are waiting for his teeth to regrow before they release him back to the wild.  He periodically needs to be soaked in water with sugar and salt, which he absorbs through his scales.

Katiki (small) was brought in after being abandoned by her pride when they were chased away from a kill.  She was only 4 months old.  Having been hand fed and accustomed to humans, she can never be released.  She lived for awhile with a neutered male who was rescued from a breeding program, but he had been so inbred that he had many medical problems and eventually died.  Not before she was well-bonded to him, and she began dragging around her bedspread wherever she went.  The Twala workers believe that she had quite a severe grieving period.

She brushes up against the fence when anyone approaches, looking every bit like a house cat, as you can see here with Collin.  He feeds her most days and she has gotten very used to him.  She apparently is quite attached to Sarah, who rescued her, and this enclosure is right next to Sarah's house.  It is quite a treat to hear Katiki bellow at night, and then all two dozen dogs began to howl in a chorus.  Wonderful night music.

The lilac-breasted roller is a wonderful bird; I think he was my favorite.

There is another pair of lions up the hill.   These animals were brought in from the wild, and their captive behavior is much different.  You can see the lioness notice the airplane, and after that they would not enter the feeding area, so Collin had to feed them in their usual enclosures.  Quite a pitching arm to get the food in.  

Love the mane-shake.

Dear Becky keeps making me food, and I am too tired at night to eat.  She is trying to fatten me up.  But I am early to bed, no dinner.

October 29, 2016 Last day at Twala

Woke up at 12:30 a.m. again, but after checking emails and downloading photos, I was able to nap a bit again.  Work for animal platters starts before 6 a.m., for which I was awake and able to help.

The truck had gone to get some produce - the bruised outdates from markets that they donate for the animals.  There is competition for this produce, but Twala gets a fair share.

The platters are very specific to animal and to content.  They vary over the days, but ensure balanced nutrition.

Collin working in prep area with jugs of seeds and other items below.

Mid-day siesta.

Monkey at my window, trying to find a way in.

He's a tall boy!

Aha - success?

Some live action.

 Egyptian geese.

Red-faced ducks.

Turkey or unicorn?

Pulled over during my ride back to Harare.  Poor Sam the driver was in quite a panic.  Can you see the problem?

Corner of sticker curled up behind rear-view mirror.  Riiiiiight.

$20 later to the "nice" policeman, we were on our way.  I got dropped at the Bronte Hotel and did my long-overdue laundry, then washed myself of all those days of rural Zimbabwe.  It was a dream, but I was ready to be cleaned up.  Once done, I fell into a heap in my bed.

A few hours later, the rest of the team arrived and we had dinner.  They are nice guys and I hope this will be a great experience.

Back to bed and a long, hard sleep.

October 28, 2016 First day at Twala

I can't believe it has been one day.  So much to see and do here!

Of course now in the daylight and with food at my disposal, everyone is my best friend.

Kiko's mother was so emaciated and malnourished when they took her in that they did not know she was pregnant.   She gave birth to Kiko and then died from the effort before the last two puppies could be delivered.  Hand fed from birth, he definitely has a place at the table!

I was locked in last night for my safety and to keep me from wandering about before I was fully informed and oriented.  Except for the permanent cat door in the gate, which was too small for me anyway, but gave multiple warm bodies a way to come and go.

Horace the monkey loves to torment the dogs outside, then he will be seen sitting on one of them, picking unlucky bits out of the fur.  The dogs adore him, and I'm sure Horace sees himself as a dog as well.

First thing we did was to take the birds out to their outside enclosures, and collect dishes from all the animal pens.  Food that was uneaten but in good shape was recycled to today.  Clearly all the animals are given more food than they need.  Rotten or damaged produce was given to the pigs.  As Collin says, "You can't die a pig."

Each animal has its own specific recipe, for example Marmi the marmoset gets 4 pieces of everything - kiwi, grapes, apple, pear, butternut squash, nuts, and blueberries.  Some birds are carnivores, the duiker (antelope) eats only fruit.  Some need their fruit cut just so, others get yogurt with cereal - and no spoon.  It is quite a scene.  The food is then dispersed, the animals are checked and greeted, and onto the next duties.

Certain animals have specific needs for bottle feeding (baby babboon, Maggie) and multiple times a day.  Others need hand feeding, like the newly found baby crow who gets bits of raw chicken and an electrolyte solution with a syringe.  In the afternoon, Collin had two different sets of school children to tour.  His message is the same, adjusted for ages involved - do not take exotic animals as pets, do not mistreat animals, be aware of the planet and maintain the balance.  It is a spiel that would leave any U.S. environmentalist in awe.  And the children soak it up.

I am so impressed at the daily routine, the complicated but attended needs of the animals, and the devotion and dedication of the staff.  Most of them live on the Trust with their children, and work every day of the week but one.  As far as I can tell, they work 12 hour days, and are always smiling.  Because of the state of the local currency and the difficulty getting money out of the banks, they asked me to pay for my room in cash, which helps them pay their staff on time.  My pleasure!

They occasionally have free spay clinics, and find that children will walk miles with their only family member - their dog - to get their pet this procedure that they otherwise cannot afford.  The Trust will feed the kids while they are here too; a bonus that serves as a large incentive to this starving population.

If anyone feels so inclined, please visit Twala Trust online and donate if you can.  Even $5 goes a long, long way.
http://www.twalatrust.com/how-to-help/

https://www.facebook.com/TheTwalaTrustAnimalSanctuary/?fref=ts

While waiting for dinner, Vinay jumped in the pool and suddenly had a goat (Maggie), a Jack Russell Terrier (Kiko), and an infant duiker chasing along side the pool; a trio united with the same mission (don't ask me what).

I was honored to have dinner with the owners and creators of Twala Trust, Sarah and Vinay, husband and wife.  They are both born, raised, and educated in Harare and are very dedicated to their rescue center.  Amazing and interesting people, both with a very kind and genuine sparkle.  Horace the monkey joined us, making silhouettes on the umbrella above where we were sitting.  He was persisting for grapes and being very comedic until he got his way.

The day ended with the final tucking of the birds, brought in lovingly one by one from their outside areas to their safe cages for the night.  This gives all the birds some time together to enjoy, although each in his separate cage.  They would stress or worse if enclosed with so many breeds of birds, but they do seem to softly chat to each other in the room they share at night.  Maggie got her last bottle for the night, bounced off a few more cats, and collapsed in her dog crate.  The crowd at the door to my room wrapped around the living room couch; I am so honored but sorry to decline.  I know how much room gets left for me with 3 animals on my bed at home; and Kiko counts as more than one dog, certainly.

Although he did weasel his way in when I turned on the light to work on the computer in the wee hours...  Some dogs just don't take "NO" for an answer!

October 27, 2016 Twala arrival

My drive with Collin with very educational, not only in terms of the Trust and biology, but also Zimbabwe and its people and politics.  The currency being used locally is the US $, as the Zimbabwe currency inflated out of usefulness.  They did actually print $100 Trillion Dollar notes at one point.  What does that do for someone who just sold their house for $320,000?  Think devaluation and loss of pension funds, etc.  Something that cost $1 in the morning would be $2 in the afternoon.  So doctors and businesses were constantly changing prices.  Hence the use of the more stable currency, the US $, which began illegally as a black market but now has been accepted universally.

This of course threw many people out of work, or at least they had work but weren't paid.  The level of corruption is high and confidence by the people is low.  So for many, the economy has gone back to a barter system - trading a crate of strawberries for a tank of gas for example.

With this came many people leaving the country or at least down-sizing.  The result was many animals, domestic or kept as exotic pets, with nowhere to go.  Twala Trust is making an effort to bridge that gap, taking in abandoned pets, orphaned animals, injured animals, and others with varying hopes of being released to a normal life, or kept here permanently with food and shelter as long as they need it.

Interestingly, the U.S. is building its largest embassy in Africa, which employs 700 people for construction.
https://www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2016/06/20/new-us-embassy-to-have-great-zim-architecture

We arrived at Twala in the dark, but could see some domestic animals from the road - horses, dogs, and chickens.  We passed the lion enclosure, but there was nothing to be seen.

Collin carried my bag into the house where I would be staying.  His wife, Becky, had brought me some beautiful looking fruit and salad, but with my fears of being sick at all next week when I am expected to work, I had to pass on uncooked food.  It was tempting, though.

My first experience here was the house in which I will be staying.  It is meant for volunteers and can hold many people, but for now it is full of animals: a monkey, a JRT, 3 cats, a one month old goat Maggie, 2 few week old kittens, and 7 birds (African grey parrot, male Eclectus parrot, Congo parrot, injured owl, abandoned infant crow, umbrella cockatoo, and a cockatiel).

My bed started out littered with critters.

Maggie the goat has convinced me - I need a goat.

Horace the monkey has his own dish of fruit, but is not shy about swinging around the room and showing off his acrobatics.

Casper the Indonesian Cockatoo fluffs up his plume and says hello when approached.  He hangs onto the cage with his beak, wide open, and then begins talking incoherently. I think he must have been owned by a dentist...

Kiko, another example of a Jack Russell Terrior in total charge.

One of three cats who assume they have full privileges.

To the sound of bull frogs, crowing roosters, and bellowing lioness, I drift off to sleep.