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One day back in November, we found ourselves cradling a tiny warthog piglet and trying to feed it milk. At Askari we are not well practised in hand rearing animals; it’s not something we aim to do and in fact just the opposite, our goal is for nature and wilderness to exist with minimal human interference. This particular piglet however was so determined to survive that we literally couldn’t ignore him if we tried! Suddenly faced with a task we knew nothing about, we began to search the internet….the big world wide web which would surely have all the answers for how to hand rear baby warthogs. There really wasn’t much out there, just tiny snippets of info here and there and much of it conflicting. It was very much trial and error but here I will detail the success of ‘Kevin’ the baby warthog who we successfully hand reared here at Askari.  For some it will just be a great story about a piglet of amazing character.  For others, and the main purpose of me writing this, we hope it will help those who find themselves in the same situation as we did a few months ago. We hope it may give you the information you need (that we were so lacking) when you next attempt to hand rear a baby warthog!

Finally before we begin our story, some words of wisdom for living with a baby warthog. At times is can be frustrating, at others tiring, obviously you will worry and wonder what you’ve got yourself into! Be warned it’s a big undertaking and be sure you are willing to go ahead. Your house will never quite be the same again; but prepare yourself for a wonderful adventure and the rare treat that is sharing the joys and woes of life as a baby warthog. As they grow, so does their personality. They establish the most amazing character but be warned….also sharp teeth and tusks too! They will entertain you to the ends of the earth and you’ll never laugh so hard but one day they grow bigger and can even become problematic. Males especially can become aggressive and protective of you to the extent they may attack strangers with their tusks. They want to be one of the family and be with you all the time. If you leave them on their own they will scream and squeal, sounds you’ve never heard before. You may need to prepare yourself that this warthog will be a friend for life, digging up your garden and sleeping on your sofa! If all of this sounds ok then we wish you the best of luck with your warthog and may you enjoy many hours of warthog break dancing!

So firstly, how Kevin came to be with us! One day our fence patroller ‘Issac’ had stopped on our main access road. He was checking something on his bike when a piglet came running out the bushes and sat under his bike. Unsure of what to do Issac drove away but all that happened was the piglet followed. He drove to Askari (a kilometre away) to try and find us and ask what to do. Unfortunately we were in town that day so he continued his fence checks around the breeding camp perimeter. Another 1.5 km later and still with the warthog in tow, Issac drove to the reserve headquarters. This was another 2 km still and from there Issac called the reserve manager. Efforts to put him back in the bush failed as he simply stayed less than a metre away from whichever legs were trying to drop him off. It was at this stage we decided he was so committed to surviving that he deserved a second chance and the manager brought him to Askari on our return from town.

EQUIPMENT – So what equipment do you need to rear a baby warthog? The first thing is a bottle and teat. We just bought a standard babies bottle from the supermarket. The teat had a very small hole but this is fine at first otherwise the milk flows out as fast as it goes in! Next is some sterilising fluid as all bottles and teats must be sterilised at first. For this we used ‘Milton’ – also available at the supermarket. Next you’ll need some milk and for this we used regular soya milk. Although we have heard of people rearing piglets on cows milk, we were advised strictly NO DAIRY. Apparently Lactogen 1 human supplement also works but is much more expensive. You also don’t need the most expensive soya milk, spar’s home brand was the cheapest we found and worked wonders. Lastly you need to pick up some PROTEXIN from the local vet. This comes in powder form and must be added to the milk as soon as possible upon finding the piglet. The most common problem hand rearing piglets is that they pick up dihorrea; once they suffer from this it dehydrates them and it’s very hard to bring them back, try and avoid it at ALL costs.  The Protexin dosage is on the packet but we added 2 ml of the powder to his milk (split between a morning and afternoon feed) every day for the first 3-4 weeks. This not only helps their gut flora establish but can also help with dihorrea if they do get it. Finally you will need some sort of bed (any old cushion will do) and a blanket or towel or two.

FEEDING – The first job is to weigh your piglet. This will help you work out the feeding quantities as well as keep a check on its progress. Piglets should be fed between 10 and 20% of their body weight per day. 20% is an absolute maximum. Less is better than more at the start to avoid dihorrea as they adapt to the different milk. For around the first week ‘Kevin’ spent the majority of the day sleeping, only really waking up to feed. Feeds should be every 2-4 hours spread throughout daylight hours; they do not need feeding at night. So starting at 1.3 kg (we estimated already 4 weeks old), Kevin had 160 ml of milk a day, gradually increasing as his weight did.

You should see a gain in weight quite quickly. After about 10 days of having Kevin, his weight had reached a plateau and he stayed on 1.6kg. We realised (after probably a few too many days) that this wasn’t normal and suspected he was suffering from worms. This also coincided with continual squealing and extreme wining, no matter how recently he had drunk his milk. While warthog piglets will suffer from worms in the wild they have the strength and nutrition to deal with them. When without their mothers’ milk and in a stressful, unusual situation it gets on top of them and so they may need a helping hand to rid them. We happened to have some ‘Panacur’ de-wormer lying around so we put Kevin on this 5 day course. We saw instant results and his tummy started to plump out and the continual pestering for food stopped.

Once over this initial problem, he was gaining around 100g a day. Within 2 weeks he was taking his milk from a bowl on the floor (when not stepping in and knocking it over!). To encourage them to do this you can gently push their snout into the milk so they work out it’s there. I’m afraid to say that throughout rearing Kevin I’ve come to realise he’s not the most intelligent animal on the planet! Porridge can also be introduced to the diet at quite an early stage. Apparently pro-nutro works well but again is expensive and the cheaper Jungle breakfast energy cereal works just as well. This can be put in a bowl and they will take it themselves but beware it’s a messy business!

At this stage, Kevin was starting to nibble on grass as well. Each time he was taken out for the toilet he nipped a bit more off. If your piglet is very young and still not sure about the great outdoors, a square of lawn can be cut and put in a box. This worked well for me when I was working on the computer. Kevin would want to be continually at my feet but would also get bored so a box of turf meant he could not only learn how to graze but also feed himself! Rooting in the soil and mud is also important for your piglet so as they gradually start to do that it’s good news. It helps them gain extra minerals and nutrients that are present in the soil.

SLEEPING – Remember in the wild a piglet would have its mum and most likely a few siblings. They would huddle together in an underground burrow to sleep at night. And so when it comes to sleeping, it’s very important that your piglet needs to be warm. If at all possible, a companion is the ideal answer. If you happen to have a puppy or a tolerant dog and the two of them pair up then this is great. We have a Rhodesian ridgeback who not only didn’t like Kevin but was also scared of him! So no solution there, the piglet slept alone but inside the house for the first month. He had a bed and plenty of blankets, apparently a cuddly toy can work for them too and even better if it smells of you. Often when you try to put them to bed they will scream and squeal and it can last for more than an hour. Although it seems harsh they will settle eventually and then sleep the whole night through. If cold you must also provide hot water bottles as catching a chill is another thing to easily kill a young piglet. As soon as we thought he was old enough Kevin started sleeping outside. We have a small enclosure in which we placed an old dog kennel. With his cushion inside he even takes himself to bed now without so much as a squeal and he has weathered some huge thunder and lightening storms in there without even waking up.

A few weeks later still and we started giving him bread. Again this can be put in a bowl and covered with milk to soften it. By now he was also eating dry dog biscuits and loved rice krispies! Pap can also be fed. The more he takes grass, the better and you’ll see that the piglet should naturally know what to eat and what not to, you don’t have to do much teaching in this respect. Kevin seemed to be very keen on hunting insects (especially winged aliates) as they gathered around the light early evening.

WALLOWING – After a couple of months, we built Kevin a mud wallow. This just involved digging a small hole in the grass and filling it with water. This was a massive hit but beware again, it’s messy! Once covered in mud and slime Kevin likes to run in the house and rub it all over the furniture! Placing a few rocks or pieces of wood next to the wallow may provide an alternative location for this!

PLAYING – Don’t be surprised one day if your piglet begins to ‘break dance’. One day Kevin just woke up and seemed to have discovered ‘play’! Spinning in circles and running around like a mentalist will become common practice and is all part of the fun. They love a good tummy rub and if you hit the right spot they usually collapse on the floor to lap it up. I’m not sure what it is, but Kevin also loves to push things around the floor. He literally spends an hour at a time pushing an old bed sheet around the floor with his snout while down on his knees. This provides a good tool with which he can entertain himself and give you some peace for a while. If he’s not snouting the sheet then he’s snouting your leg so the sheet was a good discovery!

If you do live in the bush then walking with the piglet is great practice. Kevin regularly joins us out and about and enjoys rooting through the soil and roots to feed.

For now that is all I can give you. We have had Kevin for just over 2 months and he now weighs more than 5 kg. We plan to return him to the wild in another few months when he is weaned and big enough. Many more Kevin photos are posted on http://www.facebook.com/Askari.Wilderness.Conservation.Programme and videos can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/user/AskariWCP

Happy warthogging!

This week there was elephant darting on the schedule as Askari were able to join and assist with a relocation operation. Over the course of the week, a small breeding herd and a number of bulls were relocated from the Greater Makalali conservancy (formed by Makalali game reserve and Pidwa Wilderness reserve). 

As you can imagine, it’s a large scale operation to move elephants! But all went very smoothly with Makalali ecological advisor Audrey Delsink, Makalali warden Ross Kettles and the professional capture team running the show. Firstly, elephants were identified from the air and darted by the vet in the helicopter. The helicopter then herded the animals to fall as near to each other as possible and also close to a road. As the ground team, we were then called in and preparations began for hoisting the elephants onto the trucks. Ropes were tied around the elephants feet and then a crane, attached to the flat bed truck, was used to lift them up and onto the conveyor belt lying on the truck. Once in position they were laid on their side and their eye was covered with an ear. The elephants were then tied down using straps so they were secure on the vehicle. We were then each given our duties, some were time keeping so as to keep a track of drug top-ups for the vet. Others were keeping a check of the elephants breathing by monitoring their trunks.

We started off with a group of 5 on Tuesday morning, split between 2 trucks. When all the animals were in place and secure we made our way to the transport trucks which were waiting on the Makalali airstrip. Here each elephant was dragged, by the conveyer belt on which it was on, into the transport truck. Once inside, the animals were woken up with the reversal drug and encouraged to move through to the right compartment for travel. The team then carried on to collect a further 5 eles from the same herd and the procedure repeated.

The small breeding herd has been donated to the Dinokeng game reserve in the Gauteng province. Here they will be the first, free roaming elephants in this part of South Africa for more than a century. It’s an exciting step for the Greater Makalali conservancy elephant contraception programme too as they are the first ‘treated’ elephants to be relocated. They will continue to be an important part of the ongoing contraceptive research in their new home. A small number of bulls were also darted for relocation on Sunday, Thursday and Friday and have gone to new homes in the Limpopo and Kwa-Zulu-Natal provinces. It was really a spectacular sight to see and a great event to be involved with. These are in fact the only elephants being moved in South Africa this year and Askari was there to see it! All relocated elephants are reported to be settling in well to their new homes around the country.

Yesterday was burning time again when we set fire to specified areas of Pidwa as part of our prescribed burning programme. The ‘Working for fire’ team arrived on Sunday to recce the area and lead the burn. Weather conditions were not ideal as we had already received a little rain and the day was cool and overcast. This just meant that we needed to give the fire a little helping hand and Askari team members were able to get involved with spreading the fire around! The burning started near the Askari house and came right past the fence and up to the main gate. It then moved south towards the buffalo camp and across to the east burning block after block of bush. The fire does great work in ridding the bush of dead moribund and built up matter and also provides some bush control for alien and encroaching species. Roads between blocks act as fire breaks so drip torches and rakes are used to spread the fire across the roads and ensure all areas are burnt. One particular area on the edge of the airstrip took off really well and it was a stunning sight as Askari set fire to the bush and watched it burn. Burning continued into the early evening and the flames emitted an amazing orange glow over the night sky.

On Tuesday afternoon a call came over the radio that a dead cheetah had been found on the reserve. On arrival we were able to confirm that this was Xambila, one of two collared brothers. Xambila had obvious wounds from an attack and all around were signs of a struggle. The brothers were part of a cheetah relocation project and were living on a large 2000 hectare area of the reserve that is fenced from the main open system. The hope being to give them the best chance of survival in this, an area initially free from lions until they were older and possibly more educated to the ways of the wild.

Earlier on Tuesday, two larger male cheetahs had been spotted nearby but on the other side of the fence and it is believed that they may have been responsible as they had attacked and killed the Langa boys other brother some time ago. These particular males are known to us and we are aware that they have managed to cross fences in the past. However, the tracks around the scene were on poor ground for identification so we were unable to confirm exactly what animal had caused Xambilas fatal injuries.

We tracked Hwaqile  (the remaining brother) on Tuesday afternoon and found him unharmed but on our return the following morning we discovered that Hwaqile had been attacked overnight and the decision was made to call in the vets as his injuries were quite severe.

The vet sedated Hwaqile and carried out some repairs and cleaning of the wounds. For now Hwaqile will be left in a boma to recover and we are hopeful for his return to health. He has survived a previous attack and so if he survives again a decision will be made for where he can be released in the hope of reducing further conflict with these two particular cheetah.

Cheetahs are one of the worlds most endangered cats and so we will try to relocate Hwaqile to another area of the reserve. It’s not always easy to know what to do for the best when it comes to conservation as there is no hard and fast rule book, choosing whether or not to intervene is always difficult. We manage safe areas for wildlife  to some extent but appreciate and understand that we can never control what wild animals will do or how they will interact, nor is that our intention. We must consider however that endangered species sometimes need a helping hand as they have to exist in boundaries made by humans for their protection but along with that can come other problems too. It’s a tough balancing act but one that keeps on teaching us new things all the time.

We will keep you updated on Hwaqile’s progress but we are hopeful. He is already looking much more lively than when we found him on Wednesday, he even gave us a good snarl this afternoon as we dropped in on him at the boma and was quick to feed last night.

It was  5am on a cool Wednesday morning when the Askari crew set out for Kruger where we’d been invited to take a look at some of the work being carried out in the park. South Africa’s EWT (Endangered Wildlife Trust) and Eskom (the main electricity supplier) are working together looking at the interactions and conflicts between wildlife and electricity. Noticeable damage is being done by wildlife to the powerline poles within the park but the wildlife can often be injured as well. Fatalities vary from species of birds which land on or collide in flight wiht powerlines to giraffes hitting low wires. Camera traps have been placed on a number of poles identified as problem hotspots. The hope is that by examining the footage from these cameras, solutions for a more peaceful existence between the wildlife and the lines could be found.

So far observations show that buffalo, elephant and rhino are those causing the most damage. Interestingly the buffalo have even been observed stripping and eating the poles outer layers! Other animals use them to scratch against as an aid to removing external parasites. As you can imagine however, when animals of that power choose to use the poles it doesn’t take much for them to cause considerable damage.  With the way of an ever developing world, conservation really requires initiatives such as this EWT/Eskom partnership. Hopefully such projects can limit interactions between humans and wildlife and find realistic and sustainable solutions so both can co-exist as peacefully as possible.

At Askari we’ll continue to do our bit by walking the powelines here and recording and reporting any fatalities of injured animals that we discover.

Poaching continues to be a large problem in South Africa and so all reserves must be vigilant towards it. Askarians help out regularly with the battle against the problem and on a recent patrol a poachers camp was uncovered. Further investigations led to the sad discovery of three dead animals in abandoned snares. On a more positive note, the team managed to uncover and remove a further 5 un-triggered snares before more damage could be done.

One of the snared animals was just a couple of days old and there were signs of a large predator having fed on it.  In the interests of research and however unfortunate the circumstance, we took the opportunity to set up a camera trap to discover exactly what was feeding on the carcass. On collection of the camera we found a fascinating collection of visitors, including;  leopard, civet, large-spotted genet, honey badgers, black-backed jackals and amazingly the rare Side-striped jackal! Here are just two of the pictures captured, firstly the ever elusive and spectacular leopard followed by the less known but equally as brilliant  honey badgers feeding alongside the rarely seen side-striped jackal.

Askari continues with its efforts against anti-poaching  in the hope that we can prevent any more animals falling victim to snares in the future.

After several weeks of hard work; digging holes, relocating a leadwood tree, mixing concrete, cementing 15ft poles, sewing netting and some ninja like scaffolding moves – Eddies new aviary is complete! He moved in on Monday and seems to be settling in very well. As the days go on he seems to be attempting to head higher up the centrepiece leadwood tree. 

A massive thank you to ‘The Regulators’ for their hard work which has been much appreciated and has produced a new home for Eddie firmly cemented in the landscape of the Askari house sunrise.

(If you missed the start of Eddies story with us then you can read about it in the post titled “Eddie the eagle” in the ’Recent events & flash news’ section)

On Wednesday eagle eyed Joe spotted an active hyena den, which fitted with the high number of recent hyena sightings in the area. On closer inspection it was thought that their could be some cubs inside. A camera trap was quickly set in the afternoon and we are very pleased to report that on checking it yesterday morning we have atleast two cubs at the den.

Here’s a great shot that was captured on the camera trap yesterday morning and we’ll be sure to keep you posted on the progress as we discover more about Pidwas new arrivals!

There was great excitement on the reserve today when a tiny baby SABLE was spotted. For those of you who have not been to Askari, the reserve first purchased a group of Sable antelope in September 2008. Just to start us off we bought 14 young males, hoping to add to the population at a later date to begin breeding the magnificent antelope. Unfortunately the species was hunted out of existence in this area in the past so we aim to put them back where they belong. Little did we know that in fact we weren’t buying 14 males, but 13 males and 1 female! By a stroke of luck, due to a vets slip up, we were given a female instead of one of our males. When we realised, the female was moved into a separate camp with one of our biggest males. 10 months later and we have a baby sable! While checking a fault on the fence this afternoon Joe saw a small body dash through the grass. We returned in the vehicle for a closer look and sure enough….there was a tiny baby jumping in front of mum. This is a great success story and the first of what we hope will be many sable, successfully bred on Pidwa.

‘The Magnificent 7′ put in a solid effort this month towards our ’protection of sensitive trees project’. Recently the elephants have caused damage to 2 huge Weeping boerbean trees on Boerbean road. The stunning specimens both had large pieces of their bark removed by the elephants which is used for roughage in the large herbivores diets. During 2 long sessions, the Magnificent 7 team collected a good few tonnes of rock from the old mica mine in the buffalo camp. There were some absolute monsters loaded onto the truck and plenty of smaller and pointed rocks as well, all used to deter the elephants. By forming a ring of sharp rocks around the base of a tree the elephants, with their highly sensitive feet, are not able to reach the trunk and remove any bark. The bark is like the skin layer of a tree and if it is removed, it opens the tree up to the risk of infection. If enough bark is removed then the entire transport system of the tree can be cut off leading toits  eventual death. The many hours of rock collecting and placement by the Magnificent 7 was a great effort and one of the 2 giant Weeping boerbeans is now completely protected from further damaged by the elephants. Great job team.

This month, more than 100 wildebeest have been released onto Pidwa. The animals came in two truck loads, first of all 49 of them and then another 56 the following day. On arrival, the truck was guided in through the gate and to the northern plains. Here the team set about work to assemble the off-loading ramp and place it in position, up against the trucks side. It always take s a while to persuade the animals to leave the truck, probably not helped in this instance by the vocalising lions early one morning! All animals were eventually off-loaded and ran away swiftly into their new habitat.

The new additions will help re-stock the slightly low wildebeest numbers on the reserve and also introduce new genes to the genetic pool of the current population

© Askari Wilderness Conservation Programme