Christmas came early for Cango Wildlife Ranch… bearing the most precious gifts of life!! But we weren’t just blessed with one or two little bundles of joy, the storks were working overtime as we reached a record high 18 babies for the month of December!
Cango staff are beaming from ear to ear… just like proud parents. We had an incredible litter of 6 cheetah cubs born at our private reserve. The 6 cubbies are strong and healthy, as is mom. As you can imagine, the only thing cuter than a cheetah cub is 6 of them. The cubbies currently receive around-the-clock care at our C.A.R.E.S. (Care and Rehab of Endangered Species) facility, and will move to the ranch in early January. Needless to say, they are all strong contenders for the top spot in the heart-melting division, and are as important as they are cute. The cubs provide valuable new bloodlines which will form part of our Cheetah Preservation Program and on-going conservation efforts throughout the next decade.
From 6 cubbies to a pair of twins! Picture a lemur right out of the movie Madagascar… with a gorgeous long black and white striped tail curved overhead, bright orange eyes as wide as the sun and a fluffy grey body. Upon taking a closer look, there are four tiny hands wrapped around her body… closely nestled on her chest are her tiny clones with stringy tails and eyes wide and alert in their big bobble-heads. Too perfect for words! Whilst mom soaks up the morning sun, the babies get a little braver and often attempt to ‘venture’ off into the unknown… but the big adventure is never more than half a meter away and they clumsily hop back to mom. One can watch them for hours until they all curl up in a big ball to take an afternoon nap.
Our next baby was born in our Wallaby Walkabout. Now as cute as all the babies are, I’m confident that this little Joey is more than likely hogging second place. He finally revealed himself to us by peeking out of his moms pouch! Talk about luxury living… our little joey enjoys around-the-clock climate control, all cushioned and snug, full ‘room-service’ for meals with all the safety features of a protective mom all in her pouch! He has since started braving the big world…. He often falls out of moms pouch but stays close and attentive at all times… even at the sight of an intimidating dove he hops back to mom and dives head-first into her pouch, often forgetting that his lanky legs are still sticking out.
All the animal mommies are doing a phenomenal job caring for their young ones but credit must be given to our wonderful team of hand-raisers as well. They have had their hands full over the past few weeks. At times it is vital to intervene and care for babies to ensure survival. Each and every life is important to us, and we will go above and beyond to ensure that we provide the utmost care to every single animal at our facility… often as acting mums, when the real moms aren’t able to. In our care we currently have 2 Swainsons Lorikeet chicks (as well as two eggs being incubated), 2 gorgeous little Von Der Decken’s Hornbills, 1 bright-eyed Malayan Flying Fox (bat) and 4 incredible Spotted Eagle Owls.
Our lorikeets often need to be hand-raised due to the larger males feeding on the eggs. We incubate all the eggs in our C.A.R.E.S. Centre and then care for the hatchlings until they are on solid food and can return to our aviary. This also results in very special bonds formed between the birds and carers. Just this week, one of our hornbills had to be taken into care shortly after the mother hornbill broke out of her nest. Hornbills nesting nature is rather curious. The male and females work as a team to partially close up the entrance of the nest with a mixture of mud, droppings, and food items such as fruit pulp until the female can barely fit through to enter the nest. The male continues to seal her in, and she also assists from the inside using food and feces until only a narrow opening remains. The male is then completely responsible for feeding his mate and the upcoming chicks for the next 2 months. Once the female has broken out, which is a natural part of the process, we noticed that one chick was substantially smaller than the other. Presumably, one chick was enjoying the ‘lions share’ of the food. We immediately moved the younger chick to the hospital and started its incubation and rehab.
From one winged creature to another, we have a young flying fox pup in our care. Our curators closely monitored the mom and pup for a few days. Mommy bat was exhibiting strange behavior, and the young pup seemed to have contracted an infection in its toes. It appeared that the mom was going to reject the baby, and when she did, one of our curators was standing ready for the catch. The young bat was taken to our hospital and received treatment, but upon trying to return her to mum, mum refused. The flying fox is currently receiving full-time love and care. He gets wrapped up like a baby burrito and his little toes are on the fast-track to recovery. This little guy has the face of a tiny pup with big curious eyes and an impressive wing-span that vastly out-measures his little body. He is too precious and all who meet him quickly lose all the stereotypical fears attached to bats.
Last but not least, we took delivery of 4 young Spotted Eagle Owls. 3 of the owlets were brought in after being taken away from tourists in the Gamkaskloof while the 4th one was found on the shooting range of the Oudtshoorn Army base. The four chicks are in our animal hospital under-going a re-wilding process and are due for release soon!
The ranch is abuzz with purrs, squeaks and chirrups… and we wouldn’t want it any other way. Little peacock chicks are running around, close on mums tail feathers, as are the adventurous Egyptian Geese ducklings. The ranch is filled with new life, glistening with the full kiss of summer, making the atmosphere even more special than it usually is!
Don’t forget to visit… we are open every single day of the year!
PS…. A special thanks to the dedicated storks for helping Santa and his team make these special deliveries this year. We are most grateful.
