She is a wildlife warrior for CROW

ANATOLE France’s famous words, ‘Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened’, perfectly describes CROW’s Claire Maclachlan.

The Waterfall resident has been involved with the organisation for as long as she can remember and her passion for wildlife is boundless.

Her love for animals has only continued to grow since her school days when she first volunteered her time at CROW at the age of 12.

“When I was young I didn’t have nearly as many animals as I do now and I lived in Yellowwood Park. After school I wouldn’t even go home first – I would go straight to CROW. I could be found there during the school holidays as well. Things were different back then and I was exposed to a lot more,” she said.

Her duties varied and included bottle feeding, cleaning cages, weeding, planting and cutting. After a hard day’s work she would arrive home covered in dirt and even grime, she enjoyed spending her time there. “Some mornings my mother would ask, ‘How can you go out in a shirt like that?’ to which I replied ‘Well, I’m gonna be coming home dirty anyway.”

The mother of two is the chairman of the executive committee, a volunteer position. Her duties include handling the day-to-day running of the organisation and works closely with the NPO’s director.

“I may not have been able to follow my dream to become a veterinary nurse but I still wanted to somehow give back to society and be involved in making a difference,” said Claire.

There was an animal nurse named Misty, she was like a second mother to me. She took me under her wing and taught me everything I knew.

What rehabilitation story has stuck with you all these years?

There was a vervet monkey by the name of Ike. His mother was killed and I helped rear him. I was there through the whole process of rearing and rehabilitation to when he was placed into a troop – where he stayed for three years – where he learnt to bond and and was then released. That is what I love about CROW. The organisation does not release vervet monkeys locally. We find private farms and release them far away from urban areas.

What is the organisation’s short-term goal?

We have started a drive for our One Thousand 100 club, and we would like to get as many people as possible to donate R100 per month as this would help us become sustainable and cover our operational costs as we do not receive government funding.

On average, the organisation looks after 300 animals during winter, a number that increases dramatically from September. The motto here is that an empty cage is the best cage, so if CROW landed up with empty cages – it would be the best thing for the organisation and the environment.

What is one thing you would wish for the organisation to have?

We would love a piece of land that we could utilise for the next stages of rehabilitation before they are released.

If you were stranded on a desert island, who would you want to be stuck with?

Probably my husband, Gordon. He is your typical handyman, basically a MacGuyver.

What books do you enjoy reading?

I am not a big reader, but when I do read, I love Lawrence Athony’s work and I really enjoy reading books about animals.

What is your favourite pet?

I have five dogs and six cats and all of them are rescues. I basically have a zoo at home. But my Great Dane is probably my favourite.

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