Mothers second visit to Zambia turned out to be quite an epic one. Mum came to stay for a few days after spending some time doing good stuff in Zambia. We spent the first day on the fish farm which worked out nicely as a giraffe was born that day. It's quite something to see a six foot animal and think it has only just arrived. It has a gorgeous cream and yellow coat with a comic mohecian.
Then much to mums delight I whisked her off to Lake Kariba and a 60000 crocodile farm. We are thinking about starting a crocodile farm here so I went to see how it was done. The crocodile farm is situated on the lake shore and has a guest lodge with a pools and bar. As I walked up to the bar I met one of the very few people out here. Ian Parsons the vet who does game capture and the helicopter pilot. My self and Douglas Flynn quickly volunteered our services. So the next morning the chopper gave everyone a nice five am alarm call. Myself and mum squeezed in with the pilot, mother opted for the middle seat not liking the window seat as there were no doors! As we flew over the lake and islands we saw elephants and other wildlife. The helicopter then hurded the buffalo into the boma on the island. The buffalo were left until the next day as it is dangerous to dart them with full rumens.
Fourteen of the buffalo were darted and then stretched down the the beach. I had to pull out the tongs and turn the buffalo every ten minutes. The drug M99(it is 99 times the strength of heroine!) causes salivation on a grand scare so you have to ensure they don't drown on their own saliva. The buffalo were then stretchered out to the boats and the one and a half hour boat trip began. The turning continued the whole way and some had to be injected to keep then sedated. The prospect of an angry Buffalo on a boat is not a good one.
The buffalo were transferred to a special truck and given the antidote before starting their long journey to a national park in the western province.
Mum then came for a brief croc farm tour and was not so impressed to see the owner was missing a finger or two! The croc farm was amazing to see especially the breeding stock, over a thousand very big crocs are quite a sight.
Then much to mums delight I whisked her off to Lake Kariba and a 60000 crocodile farm. We are thinking about starting a crocodile farm here so I went to see how it was done. The crocodile farm is situated on the lake shore and has a guest lodge with a pools and bar. As I walked up to the bar I met one of the very few people out here. Ian Parsons the vet who does game capture and the helicopter pilot. My self and Douglas Flynn quickly volunteered our services. So the next morning the chopper gave everyone a nice five am alarm call. Myself and mum squeezed in with the pilot, mother opted for the middle seat not liking the window seat as there were no doors! As we flew over the lake and islands we saw elephants and other wildlife. The helicopter then hurded the buffalo into the boma on the island. The buffalo were left until the next day as it is dangerous to dart them with full rumens.
Fourteen of the buffalo were darted and then stretched down the the beach. I had to pull out the tongs and turn the buffalo every ten minutes. The drug M99(it is 99 times the strength of heroine!) causes salivation on a grand scare so you have to ensure they don't drown on their own saliva. The buffalo were then stretchered out to the boats and the one and a half hour boat trip began. The turning continued the whole way and some had to be injected to keep then sedated. The prospect of an angry Buffalo on a boat is not a good one.
The buffalo were transferred to a special truck and given the antidote before starting their long journey to a national park in the western province.
Mum then came for a brief croc farm tour and was not so impressed to see the owner was missing a finger or two! The croc farm was amazing to see especially the breeding stock, over a thousand very big crocs are quite a sight.
3 comments:
Please explain about conservation and all the efforts going on to preserve game have them healthy and enough vegetation to eat.
Mum
next time jump just about the height of the helicopter's blades..at about neck height
I love you to!
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