Archive for January 6th, 2001
Day 3
My morning shower was spent in the company of 2 frogs and a lizard. One of the frogs actually crawled out of the plughole halfway through my shower, which was quite a disturbing experience…
My first duty of the day was to help change a dressing on a wounded cheetah at the centre. She had sustained the injury fighting with another cheetah in the enclosure. Dr Rogers darted her (the only way to change a bandage on a wild cheetah), and I helped to carry her onto an operating table so we could strip the old bandage, clean the wound and apply a new one.
This moment sticks in my mind because it was the first time I had actually touched a live, breathing cheetah. It was an amazing experience. I remember she felt surprisingly hot, and I could feel her breathing under a thick, rough layer of fur. I could have just sat and watched her for hours, privileged to be so close to such an elegant creature, lying peacefully on the bench.
Later, Tyse introduced me to more of the cheetahs in their enclosures. It was fantastic to walk alongside the fencing, with a cheetah following alongside, prowling and purring. Yes, cheetahs actually purr! Just like a house cat, only much louder and deeper. One was incredibly tame, having being brought up around humans since birth, so much so that I could put my hand through the fence and have my fingers licked! It’s tongue was rough, like sandpaper.
I was also lucky enough to see a group of an extremely rare sub-species at the centre, the king cheetah. They have a recessive gene allele which makes their spots much larger, so that they usually form stripes down the back.
After an unsuccessful morning drive looking for hippo and buffalo (although we did see rhino, giraffe and kudu), I couldn’t believe my luck when I heard the second rhino in the fight which had wounded the first (see day 2) had been seen and clearly needed medical attention also.
We headed out at high speed in pickup trucks. I sat on the back in the open - and got a bruised bum from the lack of any kind of seat padding combined with the rough, pot-hole ridden road! It was a hell of a drive though, I really enjoyed it. I felt like I was in a movie or something.
When we got close we stopped, the doc went ahead with the rifle and the trackers to find it. It was a long, hot wait in the sun until he managed to dart the rhino. When we followed and saw the rhino, it was such a sight - so huge. Tyse and myself held a blanket over the rhino because it was so hot. I watched as Dr Rogers tended to the wounds with iodide, peroxide and antibiotics. The wound was more significant than the other rhino, so we were there for quite a while - which was trying, in such heat. We even used water to cool the unconscious rhino. After a final check over, and removing some ticks and other bugs, the doc administered some injections, and it was all finished.
The rest of the day was pretty quiet, as it was a Saturday, which gave me a chance to reflect on an awesome day.
I can hear a funny scratching sound coming from the roof of the camp as I sit here writing my diary. I wonder what it could be.