An ‘otterly’ inspirational tale
BRYANSTON – The pair is excited to continue sharing Lazarus’ story with the world and experiencing new adventures along the way.
Wildlife conservationists Danelle and Brendan Murray share their one of kind experience in their newly released book Return to the Wild.
The founders of the non-profit Owl Rescue Centre launched their inspirational story on 5 May at the Bryanston Country Club. The book tells the story of how the pair worked together to prepare a rescued Cape clawless otter, Lazarus, to be released into the wild.
His release was met with a number of hurdles. They discovered that Lazarus, who had been raised in captivity, was afraid of water and he had to be helped to overcome this. “We spent an upward of six months with Lazzy [Lazarus], every day – sometimes for up to 12 hours – just working with him and helping him build his confidence,” said Brendan.
Brendan added that it took some time for Lazarus to trust both himself and Danelle but once they developed that relationship, it was easy to build on it from then on. “He was very easy to work with, whatever we showed him and told him to do, he would quickly follow suit.”
Despite the many challenges along the way, such as the risk of Lazarus being eaten by crocodiles and his fear of water, due to the patience and attentiveness of both Danelle and Brendan, Lazarus was swimming and even foraging for fish and mussels in no time.
The pair is excited to continue sharing Lazarus’ story with the world and experiencing new adventures along the way.
Interested in getting your hands on a copy of Return to the Wild? Visit www.owlrescuecentre.org.za
Related articles:
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/201048/one-owl-of-an-idea/
https://www.citizen.co.za/sandton-chronicle/293754/all-hell-ensued-for-parkmore-author/
