Baby bush buck finds its feet at CROW
Weak, dehydrated and frightened, little Coral was put into the care of CROW clinic nurse, Sue-Ann Shutte.
A TWO-DAY-OLD baby bush buck is currently being cared for by the CROW clinic team after the Kloof Conservancy found it abandoned last week.
The conservancy had been keeping an eye on a baby antelope found near the Kloof Gorge in Forest Hills. They had to ensure that the baby had, in fact, been abandoned and that her mother was not going to return.
CROW’s marketing and communications officer, Paul Hoyte, explained: “Baby bush buck are not constantly monitored by their mothers, they are left in a safe area with coverage from predators while their mother is off foraging. The mother will then come back periodically to feed her baby.”
Once it had become clear that the mother was nowhere to be found, the Kloof Conservancy transferred the baby bush buck, which they named Coral, to the CROW centre in Yellowwood Park. Once at CROW, the team quickly established that Coral was only a day or two old and had not been getting milk from her mother. Weak, dehydrated and frightened, little Coral was put into the care of CROW clinic nurse, Sue-Ann Shutte, who is well-versed in the specific needs and treatment required to rear Coral.
“It took some time and a sleepless night to win Coral’s trust, but she is now drinking well and, should all go as planned, will be up to the optimal weight for her age in a week. She still has a long road ahead of her but she is starting to find her feet already.”
CROW (the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife) is currently the only wildlife rehabilitation centre in KZN that is registered to work with all indigenous wildlife. Every year CROW rescues, rehabilitates and releases more than 3 000 orphaned, injured and displaced wild animals. As a registered non-profit organisation, CROW is 100 per cent reliant on donations from the public.
