Baby bushbaby rescued at Thula Thula
Read how a 4-day-old, 62 gram bushbaby has been given a fighting chance of survival.
AT a ‘whopping’ 62 grams, Shishi the baby bushbaby is arguably the tiniest animal ever rescued at Thula Thula Private Game Reserve.
On 25 November Head Game Ranger Andrew Murgatroyd spotted the small four-day-old creature and radioed it in to Operations Manager Zelda Weyers.
‘He told me he had found a baby bushbaby, so I asked him to bring it to me. I was not prepared for just how small it would be,’ said Weyers.
‘There was just these big little eyes looking at me, and it stole my heart.’
Shishi’s mother had dropped him a few times and Weyers was worried he could have been seriously injured.
She then contacted the Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) in Durban to seek advice on how to care for a creature that weighs less than two slices of bread.
‘Mable Watts, the Primate Manager at CROW, informed me that sometimes if something happens to the mother, an aunt or sister might take over, but they also tend to lose interest in looking after the little baby,’ said Weyers.
‘The same will also happen when the mommy has twins, and she favours one baby more than the other.’
To the rescue
Watts then contacted Empangeni’s Irene Liversage, who in turn got hold of Weyers and sped off to Thula Thula to help.
According to Liversage she was honoured to be able to look after Shishi for a little while before taking him to CROW.
‘Irene and her husband came as soon as they could,’ said Weyers.
‘I was very glad because I knew the little one would be fine if we could get it to CROW.’
‘Once safely at CROW, little Shishi weighed in at a mere 62 grams and could easily fit in the palm of our Primate Officer Mabel Watt’s hand,’ said spokesperson for CROW, Paul Hoyte.
‘He has adjusted extremely well and now trusts Mabel as his surrogate mother. He will be under her care for the next 10 to 12 months until he is old and strong enough to fend for himself in the wild.’
‘Two weeks on and Shishi is weighing in at a healthy 80 grams.’
He requires special attention, needing to be fed every two hours with special formula.
‘Fortunately for Shishi, Mabel is well-versed in the specific care and treatment bushbabies need, having successfully rehabilitated and released them in the past,’ concluded Hoyte.
Weyers is hoping to welcome Shishi back to Thula Thula when CROW is ready to release him.
