*New born weekend*

Dear readers.

This weekend we were quite busy and had a few new arrivals. First we had a couple of baby chicks come in that needed yo be kept warm under the red light and they had to be fed and given water. These chick were bestowed upon the 1st years to take care of for the weekend as they are easy and they just need to be checked through the day.

Our second new arrival was a little lamb with a deformed hind leg. They brought it in with the mother so it could still drink from her and get the needed collostrum from her to survive. All we had to make sure of was that he was able to get to the teat which is difficult when he can not support himself to stand up yet. We helped him the first couple of times and now he is strong enough to drink from her himself. He is doing great and I hope to see him in the farmyard in the near future.

And then finally our last new arrival came in the day after he was born and he needed dextrose and collostrum to put the strength back immediately. This was a little waterbuck from a game capturing company and we had to make sure he was kept warm at all times because he could get pnemonia if cold.

Workplace dinamics*

Dear readers.

This morning I conducted the feeding tour and I had help from Esther, one of our new first years. She is very different from the rest of the bursary students in the way that she has much more confidence to ask questions and reflect on what she has learn’t.

We then cleaned up the clinic and had spot checks done before I had a class with them on animal care. I conducted the class with them and went through their workbooks with them so they could ask questions and so they could make sure they understand the terms and theory. Our class was cut short because there was an OHS meeting scheduled in the class room so we then carried on with the milk feeds and meat feeds for the afternoon.

After lunch we had what we call a bonus function where we get to have some fun as a family and we get to see the praise the managers give to their staff members. We broke up into color coded teams and had to create a song and war cry to present and perform to the rest of the staff and students. We had a lot of fun laughing and making mistakes but I think that is what the goal is with this activity. To let your staff know that you need to work together to make things happen and to have some fun every once in a while.

This helps ease up tension and it makes you think out of the box when you are put on the spot like that. Earlier this year we had a similar exercise but we had a sports day where everyone had a color shirt and could take part in some sport activities. This showed me that there are a lot of people with way more talents then the ones they use to perform a job in the workplace. To have fun and laugh together brings us closer and strengthens the bond that we need to make Sondela a better place.

The teams that did the best war cry, the best song and had the most culture won some cold drinks just before we could all have some complimentary food that the kitchen provided us.

*Oryx Gizelle*

Dear readers.

So we have a new arrival and it is a Gemsbokkie. She is about 2 days of age now and she has a broken hind leg in a cask. She reminds me so much of Zena when she was a younger baby and interested me in some facts about the species.

• They have a life expectancy of 20 years and the gestation period is 9 months, the same as a human.

• The male and females are difficult to tell apart as both have horns, but there are vague differences in the characteristics of the horns. These horns were used by boesman as spear tips in the olden days.

• They can go without water fpr long periods of time and because of this adaptation they can live in areas most other animals cant because of the lack of water.

• They are group animals but will split the group when there is a couple in need of water.

• The males are territorial and will crouch low depositing the dung on the ground withouth it making a scatter so the smell can be kept for a longer period of time.

Now for the timeline of Zena, our own little \gemsbok:

In this picture Zena was still very young and weak so we had to help her get her movements right for daily walking and excersize.





Here you can see that Gemsbok start getting their horns at a very young age. This is so they can fend of predators and the elder Gemsbok when they need to and the markings on the face will become more clear with the first couple of weeks.



The horns are constantly growing and in this picture you can see the markings on the face is starting to become more defined and making use of black and white.



This is the newest picture I have of her but her horns have grown twice as long and she even stole the heart of our own Bizmark, the springbok. We hope to release her as soon as she is old enough so she can create her own family with the other gemsbok we have on Sondela.



EFAF: Our elephant adventure*

Dear readers.

Today we had the incredible oppertunity to interact with elephants. We went to Zebula where they train these elephants so people can work with them and ride on them taking a safari through the bushveld. They also go swimming in Summer and play soccer!

We were introduced to the elephants one by one and they each have a unique trademark, be it the trick they do or the personality they have. Our first encounter was with a bull and he showed us that they kan slurp up 7L of water at a time when they are his age but they drink 250L a day. He gave us the chance to sit on his leg and touch him so we could feel how course his skin is.

We fed them boskos and they also had some hay and lucern to eat whils the guides explained to us where they come from and what they can do. We then played a game where the guide told the elephant the names of four people and gave him the chance to smell the person whilst he repeats the name 4 times. Then he gives the elephant a hat to give to the person with the name he calls out. They have an amazing ability to remember things and he even handed the shoes we placed infront of him to the correct owners showing that they have very good sense of smell.

They can do things like turn around, lift their feet and shake their heads on command. They can play soccer by kicking the ball back and forth and spray the guests when the guides tell them to. But here is the sad part... One female had played with a cable lying loose in the veld and got strangled. When she tried to get loose she tore open her trunk and now she has a hole in the middle. They had vets from onderste poort come and stitch it up but she kept taking the stitches out so now she has found a unique way to close up the whole when drinking water, she slurps it up and then twists her trunk so the hole closes up just in time for her to spray it into her mouth. Elephants can not breathe through their mouths and can not swallow through their trunks.

We now have the oppertunity to create a slideshow on the pro's and cons of elephant training and then we will have a debate on the two sides of the situation. In the end everyone will have their own meaning on this but now this debate will be assessed and used in our portfolios. Wish us luck!

This was a friendly little meercat that came to say hi on our visit. His name is Ratti and he is the local resident taking care of the elephants*

Responsibilities of a 2nd year*

Dear readers.

As a 2nd year we have the responsibility to assess the 1st years so they can be found competent in their course that they are on at that moment. This means we have a few documents we need to fill out so we can give recognition of their knowlege on that departments work.

In other words we need to test their knowledge and if they struggle, we need to help them and give them the choice of re-assessment. They can appeal to your findings but they need to give a valid reason, something like you assessed them unfairly or they were not ready to be assessed.

We were on a facilitating course and we were taught how to teach a class and assess the learners so we are qualified to do so. This week and the next we have the chance to finish up with the students we did not get to finish up with. This needs to get done before the end of July because they then role over to the other side of the years courses which is then hospitality and vice versa. We have our work cut out for us but it is do able and we will make the best of our situation.

Other than assessments we have been busy with night shift and our daily tasks. We have a new arrival, and she has been given the name milk by the 1st years so she will fit with Cookie as they are both Genets.

We have been cutting branches from outside for the giraffe to browze on as the trees are empty and when the branches are clean they are used as ground cover in the islands for the growth of grass. We will be visiting an elephant training facility on thursday and we are all very excited to be going! I will keep you posted and take some good poto evidence because as we all know, if it was not recorded- it did not happen*