So awesome!

We're in Windhoek for the day. It's SO AWESOME here!!!! :) I'm having a great time. The place is awesome, the people are awesome, the animals are awesome, what we're doing is awesome! :) Been here at the sanctuary for a week now, got another week to go. The volunteers are split into three groups and we rotate between three groups of activities. #1 Food prep 8-10:30, carnivore feed (go feed the lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, and leopards 11-1, food prep again after our long lunch break 2:30-5 and then some presentations at 5:30 and then dinner is at 6. #2 group is caracal walk 8-10:30, junior baboon walk 11-1 and then either research work (game count, tracking etc) or project work (digging trenches, building enclosures etc) in the afternoon. Group #3 is enclosure patrol 8-10:30 (you walk around all the carnivore enclosures, measuring the electric fences, check to make sure no one is digging out or in and check the health of the animals), enclosure cleaning 11-1 (that's the close enclosures, baboons, chickens, sheep, rabbits etc) and then baby baboon walk in the afternoon....which really is more like baby baboon carry! :)

Here are some pics:
 

 

My tent, on the inside, that back part is where the beds are. It's lit by solar power.

 

Me on enclosure patrol. That's one of the leopards behind me. They're probably scarier than almost any other of the cats!

 

Carlos and his "baby". that's Sheila, a 2 month old orphaned baby baboon. She LOVES Carlos!!!

 Me petting Samira. She's an ooooold girl! 14 years old, and unable to be released...she was hand-raised and too humanized. She was fed on cows milk, which isn't good for them, and so doesn't have all her teeth. She's a total sweetie. You're allowed to go into the enclosure with her.

 Mom helping bathe the baby baboon Bobby, before having him sleep with her and dad. They don't have to be bathed...but they're kinda stinky, so it's for our benefit. That's Sam, a longer-term volunteer on the left.

 This cheetah was darted to put her tracking collar on before release. She put up quite a struggle! She looked like she was out of it, but she woke up when they picked her up. And then she started coming out of it again long before she should have. She SHOULD have been out for several hours, but she had cubs, and so the adrenaline woke her up way early. Very very interesting time! :)

 Meatball enjoying his lunch. Meatball, isn't that cute? :) hee hee. You don't look this boy in the eye...he REALLY doesn't like that!