Previous Newsletter

Next Newsletter

 PAW PRINTS - April 2004

The Voice of Fellow Earthlings' Wildlife Center, Inc.

© Jessica Whitney Past newsletters... January 2004 October 2003 July 2003 April 2003 January 2003 September 2002

Getting the Word Out
Public Relations

• The Center was featured on the cover of the Morongo Basin Directory of Community Service and Non-Profit Agencies. We were also flattered to be the subject of a two page article in the directory.
• The nursing staff at Lewistown Hospital in Pennsylvania purchased our meerkat tee shirts as part of their uniform.
• Discovery Channel aired an excellent documentary called Meerkats with Nigel Marven. The film was of particular interest to our director because many of the meerkats and people she worked with at Cambridge University's KALAHARI MEERKAT PROJECT were featured.
  
  

Fur, Feathers, Paws and Claws
Center News

• · Although the Center was not directly affected by the recent devastating fires in southern California, we have been indirectly affected. Unfortunately, even though we have never filed a claim, our insurance now costs four times more. Ouch!
• Two Angels in Lafayette, California, very generously, donated 4 Flexogen hoses, 2 Dramm nozzles, and shade cloth for the greenhouse. WOW! Life outdoors just got easier. We are so grateful!
• In our January Newsletter we told you we were looking for a BAND OF 20 ANGELS to donate $300.00 each to build the new meerkat enclosures. We are pleased to report that 14 Angels have donated for the project. Thanks to them, we were able to order the double galvanized welded mesh rolls for the project. These rolls are manufactured in Sheffield, England, and we're convinced they must be made of platinum because of the steep price. We could have ordered a cheap welded mesh, but the meerkats deserve homes that are durable and safe. The rolls will be delivered April 14th.
• We are still looking for 6 more ANGELS to donate $300.00 each to purchase the other materials for the enclosures -- cement, rocks, rebar, wood, roofing, electrical and plumbing supplies, etc. All the work will be done "in house" so we won't have any labor costs. If you want to be part of our BAND OF ANGELS you may make your donation on our website or you may send a check to our mailing address. Please note on the donation that your gift is to be applied to the Meerkat Enclosure Building Fund. Of course, gifts of smaller amounts are equally appreciated.
• Our animal transport van is 15 years old and recently the transmission "retired" for the second time. When we got an estimate for a new transmission we were stunned and muttered, "HOLY MEERKATS!" Luckily, Tom Dziak and Kara Akers told us about Courtesy Transmission in Cathedral City, California. Barry Cohen, the owner, is an animal lover and his company did the job for half of the first estimate. We are so grateful for his kindness and exceptional work.
• We, once again, passed our California Fish and Game inspection with flying colors. Many thanks to Warden Kyle for his compliments about our work at the Center.
• When we purchased our acreage we inherited a truck that looked as if it had once belonged to the Beverly Hillbillies. Although it was convenient for storage, we decided to move the truck off the property. We called Brust Auto Wrecking in Yucca Valley, California. One of the owners of the company, Bill Tatro, very skillfully loaded our "monster" onto the back of his flatbed truck and towed it away -- for FREE! Thank you, Bill.

Our "Beverly Hillbillies" truck. © Pam Bennett-Wallberg

Bill Tatro of Brust Auto Wrecking. © Pam Bennett-Wallberg

• Safety for the animals is an important concern at the Center. We have solar panels, a wind generator, propane generator, solar refrigerator, propane refrigerator, and 3,000 gallons of gravity-feed water in case of an emergency. Last week our Operations Manager, Phil Wallberg, added small, wooden doors with air holes to each of the meerkats' den boxes. The doors can be latched if the animals are in their den boxes and need to be evacuated.
• An Angel from Austin, Texas, visited and brought cases of paper towels, cleaning supplies, and bags of toys for the meerkats. She didn't forget our domestic animals either. They were given lots of treats, too!
  

Cheetah Update

Unfortunately, the WCMC's (World Conservation Monitoring Center) moratorium on non-AZA member (American Zoo and Aquarium Association) participation in the Species Survival Plan is still in place. You can read more about this situation in our archived newsletters. We'll let you know as soon as we have any "breaking news."

Mystery Patient
Denise Robertson, Volunteer

One morning, while I cleaned the meerkat enclosures, I noticed Remi looked a little odd. She resembled an intoxicated woman who had put on lipstick without a mirror. Remi's lower jaw was dark and somewhat swollen. Although her appetite and energy level were good, we decided a trip to the veterinarian was necessary.

Pam, our director, needed to greet our weekend visitors so Phil and I volunteered to escort Miss Remi to the hospital.

Meerkats have a wide range of vocalizations. They can bark, hiss, chirp, trill, and churr. They use these sounds to convey information about predators and other important details of their lives. However, I was soon privy to Remi's version of "swearing." She was, most definitely, not happy to be in the transport crate and she was letting me know. Soon, however, the drone of the van's engine soothed her and she fell asleep.

We always cover the transport crates with towels when we take our meerkats to the veterinarian so they aren't traumatized by curious people peering in at them.

Pam suggested I slurr the word "meerkat" if anyone asked what I had in the crate. In other words, I told people I had a mmmCAT in the crate. They, of course, just heard "CAT."

I put Remi's crate on my lap and waited for our appointment. Five minutes later Remi was awake and in a rage. She poked her paws through the metal grate, pushed the towel aside, and revealed her black, "Freddy Kruger-like" claws. The woman who sat next to me had a well-mannered Persian cat in her lap. She said "My, your cat has very unusual claws. What breed is she?" I stuttered and, then, finally replied, "She's a 'suri-cat' -- a very unusual breed from Africa." (Suricate is another word for meerkat. It's short for their scientific name: Suricata suricatta. So, I thought my reply was just short of brilliant.)

At that instant, Remi began to bark. The woman was clearly astonished and said, "And, she barks, too!" I explained that Remi had been raised with dogs. Then, thankfully, we were called into the examining room, but I did hear the woman mumble, "That's one breed I'd never want!"

Remi's swollen jaw was treated with an antibiotic. Yes, she's "all beddah now!"

"Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much larger and better in every way."

John Muir