Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Zeby update

Zeby update

Zeby has been with us since December 24 2010. His mother was killed by lions and he was severely dehydrated when we went to get him. He now eats 2 two liter bottles of Foals milk, 5 times a day, and is starting to eat solid foods. In the wild, they suckle up to 8 months old. Since he is a stallion and will be killed by alpha male of herd if we attempt to reintroduce him to the wild, we have decided that he is going to a private game reserve in Gaborone, where he will be an ambassador. We are awaiting permits to ship him down. He is quite a character and plays with the dogs. Laura spends a lot of time with him.

This update was written by Laura
Most of you do not know this but Angel (the black German Shepherd with Zeby) is 8 years old and grew up on my farm in Florida (before we moved with Clay to Botswana) and she was the “Mother” of all the animals. German Shepherds have a natural instinct to herd animals. Angel was such an asset on the farm because she took care of Pygmy Goats, Horses, Cows, Swans, Emus, Chickens, Turkeys and even Cats. She would make sure they all were clean and safe. Angel has never hurt another animal. She also is a great Mother to her own puppies and adopted ones. 

So, it is no surprise that she takes care of Zeby. In the pictures, Angel is cleaning and making sure Zeby is OK. In a couple of the pictures Angel looks aggressive with Zeby, but she just gets excited when cleaning him. One can see from the next picture that she is only taking care of him. Zeby and Angel have a bond and good relationship. If Zeby wanted, he could really hurt or kill Angel. So, I don’t worry about Zeby when Angel and he are together.