Adventures

Yesterday I got to go along with Rian (haha not RianD, Rita)  and other workers to go feed the big cats. I was so excited. They pull up and where do I get to ride? OH YEAH! with the food...haha pee yew! The guy sitting  with me in the back says (if you have a queazy stomach you might not want to read the next few sentences! ) "Watch out for that one, its about to burst!" I said what?!!! He was talking about the...what he says was a zebra (sorry Meghan!) It was really nice and bloated and one wrong bump or touch, its insides were goining to burst! I was like, Oh great! Thats exactly what I want to happen. Have guts blown up in my face.  But we reached one of the lion's islands in time and it didn't burst, luckily! Phew! We rode around to the next island of 2 lions. Ma Pim Pan, Which is Arrie's boy. His name means little one, because when they got him he was....well a little one. On the reserve, Ma pim pan's uncle fought Ma pim pan's father for the thrown, which happened all the time. Unfortunately, this time the uncle won. (He is the Lion at the bottom of the pictures below sitting in the trees.) Well, to get the lioness to get back into heat, he kills her cubs. This includes Ma Pim Pan. He was brutally injured, but as a still blind young cub somehow he managed to make to the road where someone found him. He then was under the care of Arrie, lucky lion. Now he is huge and hasn't had human contact in years. Hopefully ready to release into the reserve in a few more years. They have to feed him and his girlfriend separately because he is a brat. They would normally give them 2 pieces but in the same area, but Ma Pim Pan takes hers, sits on his, eats hers so she can't have either of them. BRAT! haha I am so amazed but each animals personality.

We then moved on to the two cheetah brothers. Quaman, his name which means Grumpy man, comes up to the fence and hisses and pounces. His little brother joins. What a site it was watching them pounce and hiss. Rian says that their previous owners were not nice to them. Normally that wouldn't happen, the hissing and pouncing, but since their previous owners were cruel to them, they act this way. Really sad, but I have to say it was quite entertaining for me.

The 3 lion "cubs," they call them cubs because they are younger, but their size suggests otherwise. They each get a Kudu leg. Fresh kudu legs. One picks hers up and takes it away from the others, smart girl. They others sit near each other nicely. One gets up just for a second because she sees something, and the other snatches her leg and sits on it. After a bit of tussle, the lioness who walked away was able to reclaim her lunch. These cats won't eat for another 5 days. They try to feed them like they would eat in the wild. It was really cool to watch.

The rest of the time I was with my precious boy. (Im sorry again if you have a weak stomach) My poor boy continues to have diarrhea. And I don't just mean every once in a while. CONSTANTLY. So we are constantly picking it up and cleaning his bum. I wish they made rhino diapers. He is so gassy. A smell I have never smelled in my life. I can handle a lot of things, but this poo is something else. peeeee yewww! Rank! Arrie says he has the worst farts he has ever smelled! haha That means something! We are trying him on a few more things to get his stomach settled. Electrolights and everything. We have called his vets and they have no fresh ideas. So we are waiting it out. Poor boy...and poor us. haha it is all worth it though when he whines until you come lay down with him. Last night he just wanted to suckle on my fingers. They suckling action calms them down. I had to hold my hand in his mouth until he was sound asleep. Then I was able to have my fingers back. He is the sweetest thing on this planet.

It is like a baby. He cries and you don't know whats wrong. You try everything to try to make him happy. Yesterday he urinated on his mat in this room, so I set it outside to dry. That night we are in his room and he's crying. I try his bottle, nope. I thought maybe it was his stomach, but I put his mat down with a nice comfy blanket. He lays right down and stops crying. He just wanted to be comfy. Alana stays at a training school. She had come originally with a class from school to stay there. They all left but she stayed to care for the baby. I went over to the camp on my night off. Went on a nice sunset drive with the new trainees. It was beautiful. When we got back, JP, who is a leader at the school and is really close with Alana was talking to us. He put things in a perspective I never thought of. He said this experience will change our lives. We came here, and became mommies. Constant care for a helpless sick baby. We learned how to live for something other than ourselves. These words are so true. This little creature is so special. I mean Alana and I joke all the time that he's our baby. We say that I am the fun one and she's the one who takes things from him, but he will come to her when he has problem and will come to me when he wants to hang out with friends on a school night. haha but it never really hit me this way. We have been his caregiver, his replacement mommy. He needs us. The way he was nudging me to sit by him and suckle my fingers just so he can be comfortable and relaxed. The way he will come and lay down next to us and put his head on our lap. The sweet sweet kisses he gives with his cute little lips. This little rhino doesn't know how much he has touched our hearts, my heart.

I can't wait to show you pictures of him. As soon as I can you better believe they will be up! Oh, and his bum is actually looking really good. His stitches are still in and nothing is inflamed. That part of him is doing really well. We just need to get him wittle tummy back to normal. Hope you all are well and I will post soon. Miss you and love you all!

Cheers!