Good News

We got some very good news from Andy today about Mpisi. She's recovered very well from the tick bite fever and become very lively and playful. This has been a week of concern with regular updates from Andy about Mpisi's recovery.

A big thanks again to the vet's who've been checking up on her. Its really good having our new member of management i.e. Mpisi back and healthy and I'm looking forward to seeing her again next week when I get back to Rwanda.

Updates from the site indicate that most of the footpaths are finished and the roads are progressing well. Next week I'll take some more photos and post them here.

A Tribute to Imondo

We received very sad news yesterday that after two days after a lot of attention and hard work by the vets and Andy, Imondo died from a bout of tick bite fever. This tribute I also want to use to thank all the vets for the professional attention they gave Imondo from the moment they found out she was ill.

We will miss Imondo immensely having being the most lively (and tallest) of all the girls and always the one to make us laugh. She was also the bouncy one keeping her siblings out of the their sleep and on their toes, starting many a game of mad run-around.

Now leaving Mpisi alone with us, we will never forget her and are happy that at least she had a good quality of life for the last 2 and a half months of her life.

Andy will be burying at Ikoro near the spot where we found them abandoned just before Christmas.

Mpisi has also been tested and is being treated as well for tick bite fever. We're all holding thumbs with the vets that they've caught it in time and she recovers.

Pics: 2006 work and the Girls

The Girls' new home/mansion I built for them with a section covered with wire mesh to protect them from birds of prey, the same reason there's a door. The door will come off once they're bigger and a more unlikely target for our avian predators.












The Girls in their temporary home inside the house and their Kinyarwanda names; Mpisi (Hyaena), Imondo (serval), Ingwe (leopard), akajama (little gangster











A before (insert) and after photo of one of the pathways leading to the safari tents

The SW section of the ring road around the 4x4 campsites (rock and soil)

The start of the road leading from the finished reception stairs leading to the campsites

Seasons' Greetings from all and the Girls

Today I went out to the site with the Girls who are already starting to show signs of boundless energy waiting to be released. As the last day of work for the year, we called everyone together at lunchtime and I gave them best wishes from Sarah (in her absence) and me and of course from the Girls who sitting there watching everything with big eyes. The surprise for everyone was when I pulled out a pile of Elegant Africa compliment cards with each persons name printed on one with seasons' greetings to them and their families in, from Sarah, me and Andy, in Kinyarwanda. A personal touch they just couldn't believe which disbelief increased when I added 1,000francs (about £1) to each person's card. The guys just couldn't believe that we had done the cards, especially in Kinyarwanda and still a gift as well.

So from this little best wishes "ceremony" everyone was paid their wages and set off home for a festive season and having a well-earned rest before resuming on 8 January. In the next couple of weeks I'll add some photos and news of the girls as they grow and most likely sneak their way into everyone's hearts.

A Serval, a genet and the Ikoro Girls

Serval track photographed in the NW of the site

This photo was one of a few I took in the north-west of the site. After checking the measurements and following as many of the tracks as we could and deferring to the field guides on tracks, we've concluded that these are serval tracks. On showing the pic of a serval to some of the lads at the site, they immediately identified it as the animal they've been seeing on the site. The other tracks in the north we also confirmed as genet tracks. Unfortunately one generally can't tell different genet species from each other just from their tracks so we have to try and get photos to know what genet(s) we have there.

This of course brings up the subject of the leopard's presence on the site. Now while I have not photographed the other tracks yet that have been seen on the site (which the guys maintain are much larger than theses serval tracks) it takes mentioning that pretty much any animals with spots that looks cat-like is called "Ingwe" - Kinyarwanda for leopard. So on whether there's a leopard on the site, methinks the jury's still out on that one.

Now this morning when Andy and I got to the north western border to check for any new tracks, I was greeted by a little whimper and the small "growls" of 4 small puppies. They cautiously approached me from the hessian bag they'd obviously been lying on just inside our hedge. I think my jaw just dropped for a second or two before I called Andy over to get some guys to help me get them to the car. Just 2 days earlier I had been chatting to the Gorillas vet about letting me knwo when they find a dog looking for a home - now I had just got four!

I immediately phoned the vet to ask if I could bring the puppies over for him to have a look at. Whilst waiting for him to phone me back I got out a syring from the first aid kit and started giving them water which they promptly gulped down, clearly very very thirsty. They were also covered with lice and fleas with the skin between the fur not looking too good.

Anyway, we estimated their age around at least 4-5 weeks (our own opinion based on their size and their eyes being open) of which the vets later said was actually closer to 8weeks. Getting some shampoo,we took them home and started the whole wash, scrub and clean followed by some more water, milk and maize meal porridge. The vet later helped us out with some deworming treatment for a 3 day course. Having obviously not had much care or possibly even food lately, they lay down after this and slept a good few hours.

This was clearly going to be quite a bit of work to try and nurse them back to health and get them enough nourishment and hopefully keep them alive. I had just received a very nice Christmas present but was going to have to work to keep it. The guys at the site immediately said that whoever put them out didn't realise that the puppies they had abandoned will now most probably have a better Christmas than them, so I suppose it was a bit of a Christmas present for the puppies to have us find them. I immediately started referring to them as "my & the girls" which confused some Rwandese no-end - referring to them as humans?!