PAW PRINTS
The Voice of Fellow Earthlings' Wildlife Center
Summer 2013
“Happiness is like a kiss. You must share it to enjoy it.”
Bernard Meltzer
Greetings from all of us at Fellow Earthlings’ Wildlife Center! We are a trifle embarrassed that this newsletter is so overdue. Our only excuse is that so many HAPPY things happened in 2012 that we were peddling hard just to keep on track.
Before we share the happy events with you we first want to thank all of our faithful donors for their abiding interest and generosity to the meerkats at the sanctuary. For 24 years you have enabled us to provide the meerkats with exceptional care. Without you we simply could not provide our enchanting residents with all that they deserve. Many thanks for adopting and re-adopting and donating each year. You are truly the meerkats’ Guardian Angels. We do not have any paid staff so every penny of your gift goes exclusively to caring for YOUR meerkats. We are so grateful to you. THANK YOU!
MORE MEERKATS
In 1989 Curby Simerson, Associate Curator at the world-famous San Diego Zoo, delivered the first meerkats to Fellow Earthlings’ Wildlife Center. We named one young male meerkat “Curby” in honor of Mr. Simerson. Over the years, the San Diego Zoo has placed many meerkats with us.
Twenty four years later, in November 2012, Curby Simerson, once again, drove from the San Diego Zoo to Fellow Earthlings’ with three more meerkats for us.
Surprisingly, meerkats are one of the most strictly regulated animals in the world. We hold licenses and permits (that must be renewed annually) from California Fish and Game, U.S.D.A (U.S. Department of Agriculture) and USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.) However, to transport meerkats from one licensed facility to another licensed facility requires submitting a daunting amount of paperwork to USFWS. Even though, since 1989, we have held licenses from USFWS we were required to submit extra paperwork to transport the animals. We had to submit information and collateral photographs about the following: Fences, video surveillance cameras, acreage, blueprints, double door entries, locks, den boxes, heat, generators, well, farm alarms, care manuals, emergency protocols, caretaker resumes, director’s resume, veterinarian’s resume, copies of licenses and permits, etc. WHEW!! The process took 4 months even though we have been licensed since 1989. Caring for meerkats, it seems, is not for sissies. But, they are, without question, worth it.
On the HAPPY day of 17 November 2012 Curby arrived with a double crate (the required way to transport meerkats) that contained three adorable male meerkats. They are brothers from the same parents but from different litters. Lozi is 5 years old and his two younger brothers, Kulu and Kavango, are both 4. Their endless curiosity and intrepid personalities helped them settle into their new home within hours.
We opened for the 2013 season in May and it was our great pleasure to introduce these impossibly cute and interactive meerkats to our guests. However, we have encountered one large problem – our guests always lose their hearts to these charming and winsome creatures.
We are honored to have worked with the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Safari Park for 24 years. When Curby was here he did the required inspection of our sanctuary. We are pleased to report that we passed the comprehensive examination. Thank you, Curby, for being exceedingly generous with your comments about the sanctuary.
Director, Pam Bennett-Wallberg, welcomes Curby Simmerson who brought three new meerkats to us from The San Diego Zoo.
Pam Bennett-Wallberg shows Curby the meerkats' new “digs.”
Precious cargo. The meerkats arrive in a double crate as required by law.
The three brothers, Lozi, Kulu, and Kavango bravely explore a section of their large enclosure.
Lozi seems to approve of his new den box.
Kulu and Kavango get a first glimpse of their new meerkat neighbors.
A very special trio.
May I have more please, Sir?
Kulu and Kavango try to rustle up some “grub.”
Lozi on guard
The longest meerkat in the world.
Where’s my sleeping bag?
Lozi and his new friend Skippy (a well-traveled kangaroo from Australia).
Photo credit: S. Brennan
Kulu and Kavango play with an ostrich feather duster held by Pam Bennett-Wallberg.
Photo credit: S. Brennan
MEERKAT SPIES
Shelley Hastings is a dedicated fourth grade teacher who generously supports the meerkats at the Sanctuary. Additionally, she and her husband, Jim, have traveled with us in Africa. Shelley’s love and dedication to the meerkats is coupled with her devotion and commitment to her students.
Years ago, Shelley bought our illustrated MEERKAT MOTTO poster and hung it in her classroom.
Respect the Elders, Teach the Young, Cooperate with the Family,
Play when you can, Work when you should, Rest in between.
Share your Affection, Voice your Feelings, Leave your Mark.
© Fellow Earthlings’ Wildlife Center
Every school year Shelley encourages her students to live by the Meerkat Motto.
Here, in Shelley’s own words, is a description of the program:
The Meerkat Incentive Program was started five years ago in my fourth grade classroom. The program has proven successful because students are recognizing and acknowledging one another for outstanding character traits.
In my classroom I hung a poster with the Meerkat Motto that I bought from Fellow Earthlings’ Wildlife Center. At the beginning of the school year we discuss each trait from the Meerkat Motto thoroughly so students are aware of their expected behavior.
I place “Meerkat Spy” forms next to the poster. When students are “spied” demonstrating any aspect of the “Meerkat Motto” their fellow students complete a “Meerkat Spy Form” and place it in a basket. This is STRICTLY “caught being good” without recognition. Often students are not aware that their good deeds have been noticed. This is the goal!
At the end of each month I empty the basket and read to the class about what good deeds that some students were “spied” doing and then those students are given a small token gift. All these “Meerkat Spy Forms” are held until the end of the school year. At that time, all the forms are tallied and the students who are “spied” most often demonstrating the “Meerkat Motto” are rewarded with time spent with their role models ~ the meerkats at Fellow Earthlings’ Wildlife Center.
It is truly a memorable and special time for these exceptional students. Parents of the students have commented on what a gift this has been for their child. Past students remember the time spent with the meerkats as their most cherished memory of the school year.
Of course, the most beneficial component is watching children grow and to discover that animals are often our best teachers.
Loryn and her new best friend Kavango.
Loryn and Hailey play ball with the meerkats.
Lozi uses Hailey’s knee as a comfy spot to do guard duty.
Loryn gets cozy with Kulu.
The meerkats loved Loryn and Hailey.
Hailey, Loryn, and teacher extraordinaire Shelley Hastings.
GUARDIAN ANGELS
As a small, private, “nose to nose” sanctuary, we know and appreciate all of our Guardian Angels. Yes, we know and remember you with love and gratitude. Your generosity, kindness, thoughtfulness, and abiding interest in the meerkats is recognized and appreciated on a daily basis. Here are but a few things that you do to improve the lives of the meerkats:
- You make darling, hand-made cards and enclose a crisp five-dollar bill for the meerkats, you bring hand-carved, wooden signs with the names of our newest meerkats, and you bring toys for our wee ones.
- You adopt and include an extra donation, you send heart-felt notes and emails after your visit with the meerkats, your make meerkat quilts, and you put money in the donation box for the “bug bill.”
- You re-adopt every year without fail, you buy tee shirts, posters, and pendants to benefit the meerkats, when you visit you bring supplies on our Wish List, you send small, but very appreciated, donations that may cut into your gasoline or food bills, you send amazingly generous donations that knock our whiskers off, you travel to Africa with us knowing that a percentage of the tour’s cost is donated to the meerkats at the Sanctuary, and you volunteer your time and services to benefit the meerkats.
We often pinch ourselves “black and blue” over our stupendous luck in having you as part of our family. We will keep the sanctuary small and personal. It would be our great loss if we were to get so big that we did not know and love each of you. We send you heart-felt thanks for being our Guardian Angels.
AFRICA
For those of you interested in reading an update about our most recent African Meerkat Tour, filming night predators in the Kalahari Desert, and a recon tour of Botswana and Lesotho please click on this link.
PUBLICITY
- July 2011 – animators from the movie The Life of Pi visited the sanctuary to sketch and film our meerkats.
- January 2012 – The Sanctuary, our director, Pam Bennett-Wallberg, and our Operations Manager, Ron Martin, were featured in a television program called Amazing Animals. You can view it on YouTube by selecting these search words: Meerkats Time Warner.
- February 2012 – Director, Pam Bennett-Wallberg, was interviewed on Nightline.
- February 2012 – Pam Bennett-Wallberg was interviewed as the preview for the National Geographic documentary called Clan of the Meerkats.
PROJECTS AT THE SANCTUARY
Thanks to our Operations Manager, Ron Martin, everything is beautifully maintained and working properly at the sanctuary. In addition to caring for the meerkats and the acreage while Pam is in Africa as the guest lecturer on tours, he manages to find time for special projects, too:
- Replaced wooden handrails
- Repaired foot bridge (massive job)
- Cut down dead tree limbs and removed mountains of pine needles
- Maintained animal transport vehicles, tractor, generators, and all other equipment
- Hung shade screens in the meerkat enclosures for the comfort of the animals and the guests
- Devised a “shift” enclosure that (finally) out-smarted the meerkats.
- Put together lists for the maintenance of generators, gasoline changes, evacuation procedures, and daily/weekly/monthly/yearly chores
- The list is endless . . . Thanks, Ron!
Respectfully submitted by Riaan Nel – Volunteer Communications Coordinator
African Meerkat Tour
September – October 2012
Once again, in September 2012, Dantes Liebenberg, the owner of Kalahari Tours and Travel in South Africa and Fellow Earthlings’ Director, Pam Bennett-Wallberg, guided 10 delightful clients on a Meerkat Tour throughout South Africa.
Pam “hand-picked” these 10 charming people on the basis of common interests, compatibility, and easy-going personalities. This “hand-picked” method of gathering clients has proven so effective that each of the tours has been wildly successful and life-long friendships have been forged. Happily, many of the clients have booked return journeys to Africa with Dantes and Pam.
If you are interested in more information about the African Meerkat Tours please visit the AFRICAN TOURS page of our website http://www.FellowEarthlings.org The tours are completely booked for 2013, but there are a few openings available for 2014 and 2015. Additionally, Dantes and Pam now offer another tour which explores the treasures of Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.
Here are a few miscellaneous excerpts from Pam’s journal about the last Meerkat Tour.
4 September 2012 Johannesburg
Although I have been fortunate to travel widely, frequently, and for months at a time in Africa, there is nothing quite as special as seeing the client’s enthusiasm and excitement during their first visit to the beloved continent. In fact, I feel as though I have 7-Up in my veins when I think about the adventures these lovely people will experience in Africa. I have never had a child, but this feeling must be like a parent seeing a child experience something for the first time: The first balloon, the first star, the first puppy, the first ice cream cone.
I get that “parental” feeling when one of our clients sees their first lion which is often so close that ticks can be counted on its hide, the “chill up the spine” feeling when a hyena is first heard, the thrill of seeing a wild meerkat for the first time, the heart-stopping moment when a cheetah and her cubs walk casually by our bakkie (truck), and the utter delight when a Lilac Breasted Roller swoops by - just an inch out of reach.
5 September Pilanesburg
Although the clients all want to see meerkats, they know they must wait until we get to Mokala for that. Here, in Pilansburg, we saw the BIG FIVE – lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and Cape buffalo. Everyone was dazzled by the “nose to nose” sightings! Tonight we went on a game drive and encountered a very cheeky male elephant. He gave us all a good fright when he came to the back of the open game drive vehicle, raised his trunk aggressively, bumped the side of the vehicle with his shoulder dramatically. We left rather quickly. I’m sure I heard him chuckle.
6 September Pilanesburg
Today we were quietly sitting in a hide above a water hole when we saw an extremely rare sight - a very brave clawless otter bit the tail of a huge crocodile in an attempt to get the reptile to move. The reptile tried to kill the otter but the little mammal was too agile and the crocodile soon moved off. Otter 1 Croc 0. We also saw a rare Black Rhino today. Everyone was thrilled. Plus, everyone giggled at the antics of a very amorous pair of hippos mating in the water.
7 September - Kimberley
We visited the Big Hole – the largest hand-dug diamond mine in the world. The diamond display is dazzling and security is tight so none of us were able to walk out with a pocket full of shiny rocks. I love this pretty and historic town for so many reasons and it pleases me that the clients were equally enthralled by Kimberley. I have been here many times and each visit gives me unexpected experiences and treasured memories.
10 September Witsand
The clients always marvel at the loveliness of all the accommodations we stay in, but Witsand is particularly magnificent. We each have an enormous, private chalet to ourselves which has every luxury and amenity. Dantes cooked us a sumptuous “braai” (barbeque) on the gorgeous outdoor veranda tonight. There wasn’t a “muggie” (bug) in sight! But, we were delighted that a dik dik decided to crash our party. His eyes shone brightly in the reflected firelight. It pleased me that the clients are such adventurous eaters. They are having fun trying all the South African foods which they proclaim to be “lekker” (delicious.) Malva pudding, milk tarts, rooibos tea, boerewors, rusks, bobotie, biltong, koeksister, Sparletta cool drinks, potjiekos, sarmie, and Mrs. Ball’s chutney.
Witsand is home to the famous “Brulsand” or Roaring Sands of the Kalahari. We climbed to the top of the dune and then disturbed the sand with our hands and feet to produce an eerie rumbling sound. One of the clients sat down in the sand to more easily descend the dune and we all laughed when she created a HUGE rumbling sound with her posterior. Of course, then, we all had to put our bums in the sand!
12 September Kalahari
All of the clients on every Meerkat Tour have been baffled by one thing: Although the accommodations for the tours are magnificent, the clients are always confused by the fact that it is illegal to have electrical outlets in South African bathrooms. Thus, all electrical appliances must be operated outside the bathroom. Plus, the light switches for the bathrooms are demonically hidden in the most unlikely places. Finding electrical outlets and switches in South Africa can be a real treasure hunt.
The animal sightings in the Kalahari have been sensational. It would be much easier to record what we have not seen because the list of what we have seen is extraordinarily long – mammals, birds, reptiles, insects. Creatures of every stripe and strength.
I am writing fast now to catch as many of my thoughts about this glorious place that I can: A mosaic of sand dunes, woodlands, and savannahs, “jealous” rain falling far away, skeletons of thorn trees, shimmers of sand, black patent leather noses, flowers as bright as stained glass, slanted lances of light, tidy foot prints, and extravagant beauty. The night sky looks like the pelt of a black leopard with teeth punctures that allow the starlight to glint in my eyes. Unlike in America, I know I could pluck a star from the sky if I really tried. They are so close here. I love this place beyond words. I am gratified that the clients also feel the magic of this ethereal and pristine place.
13 September Kalahari
What a fun group of clients. They want to learn about everything! Several of them gave me a list of Afrikaner words that they wanted defined.
Robot (traffic light), Bakkie (truck), Dop (alcoholic drink), Boom (tree), Lighty (small child), Larny (fancy), Skelm (rascal), Slops (flip flops), Babbelas (drunk), takkies (sneakers), Tannie (aunt), etc.
They also want to know how to say thank you in Afrikaans but they all have trouble with the pronunciation until I tell them to just say, “BUY A DONKEY” when they want to say thank you. This group laughs a lot!
14 September Upington
I am sad to say goodbye to some of our clients in Upington. They have been with us only 10 days and we wanted to show them so much more! Every time a client leaves us in Upington or Port Elizabeth their sentiments are the same. They don’t want to go home. The issue is usually never money. It is always a perceived obligation to a job that makes them leave Africa too soon. Often, when the clients get back home, they send me an email asking if they can join us in a future year to experience the legs of the tour they missed. Although it pleases me that they want to see more of Africa, it will be so much more costly for them because they will have to pay for additional flights, travel insurance, etc. I think the biggest mistake about traveling in Africa is not giving it the time deserved. Many people will never come back to Africa so I want them to see as much as they can.
The clients on this tour have been funny, resilient, happy, adventurous, accommodating, and interesting. Two women wrote a touching poem about each person on the tour which delighted us all. Thank you Joana and Anita!
15 September – 27 September
On this leg of the tour we had extraordinary sightings and adventures in Augrabies Falls, Karoo National Park, Mountain Zebra National Park, Addo Elephant National Park, Port Elizabeth, Tsitsikamma National Park, Wilderness National Park, Bontebok National Park, De Hoop Nature Reserve, Garden Route, and Cape Town
Four clients accompanied us all the way to Cape Town. What sights we saw! What experiences we had! What friendships we forged! I was honored to be in the company of good TRAVELERS – not just TOURISTS. One client extended her time in Cape Town after the other clients departed and it was my pleasure to explore the treasures of the magnificent Mother City with her. I return to Africa in October 2013 for yet another MEERKAT TOUR. I am counting the days until I am back. Then, again, in May 2014 I return to accompany clients who will explore Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe with us. In October of 2014 we will do another Meerkat Tour.
"A journey is measured in friends rather than miles.”
Tim Cahill
December 2012 – February 2013
FILMING NIGHT PREDATORS IN THE KALAHARI DESERT
Plus
RECON TOUR OF BOTSWANA AND LESOTHOTwo British photographers hired Dantes Liebenberg, the owner of Kalahari Tours and Travel, to take them to the remotest areas of the Kalahari to film night predators for 19 days. Our director, Pam Bennett-Wallberg, accompanied Dantes and the photographers. After the British photographers departed, Dantes and Pam carried on alone for 25 more days to explore new areas of Botswana and Lesotho.
Pam Bennett-Wallberg in Wonderwerk Cave – identified as the earliest evidence of the use of fire by human ancestors over one million years ago.
Pam Bennett-Wallberg holds up a sculpture of a Koeksister pastry in the Afrikaner enclave of Orania.
A deserted Coffee Bay beach on South Africa’s Wild Coast is enjoyed by Pam Bennett-Wallberg.
Hole in the Wall – South Africa’s Wild Coast.
Good food.
Pam Bennett-Wallberg cools off in a Lesotho waterfall.
Pam Bennett-Wallberg on the infamous Sani Pass “road” in Lesotho.
Pam Bennett-Wallberg at the highest pub on the African continent.
Rock hut and boma in Lesotho.
The blanket men of Lesotho.
Good road.
Pam Bennett-Wallberg contemplates rough stone shelter in Lesotho.
"Not all those who wander are lost.”
J.R.R. Tolkien
