Tue 10 May 2016

We had some excitement today with 2 visiting vets who worked with LWS staff to carry out check ups on 3 animals.  The first was Target, a vervet monkey who originally tried, unsuccessfully, to foster Cesar.  Target was caught in a net and then given a tranquilliser  to limit the amount of distress she would suffer during her examinations. This took place in her enclosure, then she was carried inside in a blanket and placed on the examination table.  A hot water bottle was placed underneath her to ensure her core temperature did not drop while she was anaesthetised.

Once Target was comfortably settled a number of tests were carried out.  We had 3 fully qualified vets present for the examination.  Each took part in some way, although one vet was designated to oversee every part of the examination in order that she had the full overview of Target’s health and needs. Alma, our animal rehab manager, observed and recorded everything that was happening including the results of tests being carried out; and a timekeeper reminded us of the time each 5 minutes as it is essential the anaesthetisation is as brief as possible.

Tests included bloods, faecal, checking her for disease or infection, and examining her joints for signs of stiffness or any other injury.  Her eyes were also examined and treated. 

After the examination Target was placed in a small wooden crate with a limited view of her surroundings.  I sat with her until she came around properly, checking regularly to see she did not have a seizure or become unwell in any other way.  She responded well throughout her recovery to my comforting noises (gentle lip smacking and tongue clicking), by turning to me mournfully with enormous bewildered eyes.  As soon as she was sufficiently recovered she was taken in the crate back to her own enclosure and released to an environment she was happy and comfortable in.  In all the examination was a success, and we await the test results with bated breath. 

The vets then left to undertake two more examinations of animals in their own enclosures, and I returned to the washing pail and a large pile of towels and assorted cloths to wash.

Today I was able to see a night camera recording of our 3 hedgehogs. This showed that the single adult hedgehog was pacing the back wall of the enclosure all night, indicating she is suffering stress. She is of course used to being in the wild, so being in an enclosure, no matter that it is large and well laid out with branches and leaves and so on, is still distressing for her.  The mother and baby are wrapped up in each other and do not show any signs of anxiety or distress.  So we need to tackle the issue of the lone adult hedgehog’s anxiety before it develops into a potentially more significant and longer lasting mental health problem.

The hedgehogs like to be fully covered up when they sleep so no prey can find them.  We have two cardboard boxes lined with old towels, and the hedgehogs seem to like these very much.  I can see why, there are no holes or cracks so the cover is very substantial.  I find the adult female sleeping at the back of one cardboard box, and move her to a new spot without waking her.  Mum and baby I find curled up together beneath a pile of leaves and branches.  I leave this, so as not to disturb them.  The rest of the enclosure I totally rearrange. They will wake up tonight to a magical world of Egyptian pyramids and Swiss mountains.  Well, OK, perhaps not quite.  But it is certainly very changed.  Previous recordings have shown that she will spend tonight exploring the enclosure minutely, a healthy and soothing activity. 

Tomorrow the hedgehogs will all be weighed, and if they are a healthy weight they will be taken to Kisumu National Park and released back in to the wild.  Some might – legitimately – wonder whether it is ‘worth’ caring for an animal as common as a hedgehog in such an expensive facility. This reminds me of the starfish story, reproduced below for those of you who haven’t heard of it before.

“Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.  He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work.  Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.

Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching.  As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea.  The boy came closer still and the man called out “Good morning! Can I ask you what you’re doing?”

The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.  The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves.  When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”

The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach, I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”

The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean.  Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”

These facilities are built for any distressed animal.  Of course we would like to have endangered species and unusual animals, but it would be pointless refusing the less exotic animal when there is plenty of space for them.  Our super common animals include hedgehogs, vervet monkeys, and an extraordinarily narky dove.  He has very few feathers, is underweight and looks permanently annoyed.  Of course, we have no idea how it got in such bad condition.  It has been refusing food, and the vet is having to feed it by putting a tube down its throat 3 or 4 times a day and syringing it in.  Fingers crossed the grumpy little soul will get his zest for life back and starting eating again soon.