The life of a wildlife rehabber is an emotional roller coaster. The pain of animal suffering is tremendous and ever present. Along side that is the immense joy when you witness nature at its best or when an animal or bird is successfully released back into the wild.
Baye, the founder of Free to be Wild, knows the ups and downs of a wildlife rehabber on a daily basis. Every time we can, we take a trip through Zimbabwe to stop for a visit at her wildlife center. It’s been amazing how it’s come along over the years. It all started almost accidentally, when young Baye ended up with a young orphaned baboon.
Now her rescue center is busy as furry and feathery of all sizes come and go. Fortunately many are released, and those that can’t find a forever home in the sanctuary at Free to be Wild.
Step into the life of a wildlife rehabber with us. For a moment live the life. Read these touching stories. Shared with Baye’s permission.
Touching Stories from the Daily Log of a Wildlife Rehabber
And then there were eight hedgehogs…
Have you ever seen something this incredible. Early this morning we got a call to say a family had rescued a hedgehog last night from their dogs and he had suddenly just given birth to babies!
Acting quick, we got there in minutes to find not a he but a mommy hedgehog to 7 bald babies! Picking them up carefully we dashed back to the sanctuary to house them correctly and feed mommy ASAP (hedgehog females are notorious for eating their young if they are hungry) Unsure if mommy would accept the babies considering the stress she had been under, i have just checked on them and all 7 babies are feeding off mom and can you believe it their spikes have already pushed through! The excitement of this is killing me 🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔🦔 MOTHER NATURE ROCKS!!! •
We can’t wait to watch mom raise her babies until they are all old enough to be released! Thank you to the kind family who rescued her and unknown then but eight lives in total! •
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A bird in the hand…
This little immature Gabar Goshawk was brought in after he had been caught by a cat, luckily the cats owners acted quick and managed to get the bird out of its claws.
Luckily for this little guy he never sustained any injuries just a little bit of shock that he overcame after some TLC and then happily flew off on his way today! Nothing better than seeing an animal fly free!!
Wild and Free!
A move for food…
With the severe drought we are experiencing animals all over are suffering drastically. This evening we moved this incredibly beautiful Kudu Bull to a new home with an abundance of food readily available due to his previous home being completely diminished of suitable browsing.
Keep tuned to see the full story of the capture and translocation, and Him meeting a new lady friend on arrival at his new home.
Well done to our phenomenal team who made this all possible and extremely efficient.
To save a life…
It’s been nearly 2 weeks since our beautiful Terry had to undergo massive surgery to get his wing amputated. In the early stages of his rescue it was thought that his wing was broken and there was a Slight chance of recovery which we took. Sadly after 6 weeks his wing had still not fused and had become totally paralyzed and causing huge strain and pain on his joint. The decision to amputate was made but there is always a huge risk of stress and recovery in birds.
We are delighted to let you know that so far his recovery is going perfectly, his bright personality is back and his naughty tricks are in full swing!! Get better soon sweet boy, we love doing life with you.
Due to this disability Terry will never be able to be released and will become a permanent resident at the sanctuary, luckily for him he gets to roam freely around the sanctuary gardens and doesn’t have to be confined in a cage. We hope one day he might be able to become part of a breeding program to help reintroduce vulture numbers back into the Wild. 🦅
Peaceful endings are still sad…
Not all of our rescue stories have a happy ending. This sweet boy arrived yesterday after he had been found on a private plot in great distress. He was extremely dehydrated and unable to stand. With our best efforts to try help him, sadly a few hours after arrival he passed away.
Death really hits me hard. I always used to wonder what purpose there was in an animal that was never going to make it, arriving with us just to pass on. One of our extremely kind vets sat me down one day after we had just lost an animal and said to me…
“FTBW is like a hospital, patients come and go. Some come in and then go home, and then some don’t. But for those patients who don’t get to go home their last days of life are made better. They are cared for, loved and looked after, in the best way possible.”
This really hit home. And now for every animal that comes in and doesn’t make it I am grateful. Grateful, that we got to give them the chance to be comfortable, feel loved and experience pain free, dignity in death ❤️
Fly high baby boy.
Got that hankie out? Now wipe that tear away and click the button below and get involved. You too can feel a part of Baye’s rescue efforts and make life a bit better for a wild animal or bird.
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