A young aardwolf cub named Archie was saved thanks to a stroke of good luck.
A botched hunt in Limpopo left a pregnant aardwolf and two of her three unborn cubs dead. Luckily, one of the cubs survived and was rescued by Kyalami-based Friends of Free Wildlife.
CEO of Friends of Free Wildlife and wildlife rehabilitator Margi Brocklehurst said, “Archie’s story starts quite tragically when his mother was shot, by accident, during a jackal hunt. The hunters noticed that the dead female aardwolf was heavily pregnant, they decided to see if they could save the unborn cubs. They opened her up and found three cubs, two died immediately and the third survived, Archie.
“A young lady, who was on holiday with her partner for the weekend, offered to try and save the cub. She took him home with her to the West Rand area where the little cub was fed with cows milk and egg yolk, not a great diet for baby mammals.
By Wednesday and Thursday he had diarrhoea, cramps and was severely dehydrated. The cub was soon screaming with pain and she realised she needed to find someone to help him.
She googled and found the closest wildlife centre to her.”
The young woman took the aardwolf to Bryanston Avian, Exotic and Small Animal Clinic where she met with Brocklehurst. Dr Perushan Yenketsamy and Dr Jean Davidson of the clinic examined Archie.
He was immediately rehydrated, received medication for the cramps and was warmed in an incubator. After the initial stabilisation, they decided the baby aardwolf should stay with Brocklehurst so she could observe and feed him throughout the night. “Archie is in my care at home. Small mammals need constant care and feeding for six to eight weeks usually. Raising Archie is a new experience for me, I have never even seen an aardwolf in the wild. I asked a few people who have raised them and was given lots of good advice,” Brocklehurst explained.
“Archie’s diet is Royal Canin Baby Cat Milk until he is weaned. In the wild the diet for aardwolf is mainly termites, between 200 and 300 000 each night.
“Our facilities at Free Wildlife are good for the raising and care of our wildlife cases. Claudius Sibanda, our senior animal manager, supervises and manages the many cases we receive. Baby mammals need constant attention,” Brocklehurst concluded.
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