Our team at the BSPCA had some remarkable visitors last week when they were called to help with a wildlife rescue!
Two local children found a pair of tiny serval kittens (wild cats native to Africa) that had been abandoned. Sadly, their mother had passed away leaving the two young kittens alone and unable to fend for themselves. The two children were unsure of how to best help the kittens, so took them to an estate close to our centre.
The owner of the estate knew these kittens needed a safe place to grow up and called the team at the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, a rehabilitation centre around four hours from our clinic, dedicated to Malawi’s injured or abandoned wildlife. We share a passion for helping wildlife and have worked closely with the centre over the last couple of years. The centre could not send a team until the next day, so they asked us to look after the animals for 24 hours until they could collect them.
On arrival at the BSPCA, our team were very excited to have some unusual visitors for the day. Both bright-eyed kittens were inquisitive about their new surroundings and the people caring for them. Despite the ordeal of losing their mother, both kittens were healthy apart from a little dehydration. Our veterinary team immediately gave them fluids and some kitten milk to keep them well fed and rehydrate them. A rabies vaccine was also administered to protect the pair from this deadly disease and assist with the move to their new home.
Dagmar Mayer, our Africa Projects Director, was delighted to be able to assist in the rescue of these two kittens: “I loved having them here! It was a lovely reminder of why Malawi is such an interesting country to work in!”
The next day, the team from Lilongwe came to pick up the kittens and our vets and volunteers were a little sad to see the two excitable bundles of joy leave, but knew they were going to the best place possible.
On arrival at their new home, they went through a thorough examination and quarantine before settling in to the rehabilitation centre. Here they will learn the skills needed to survive in the African bush without their mother to help them. When they are older, both kittens will then be released back into the wild where they belong! We were glad to be able to help with the rescue and can’t wait to hear how they get on as they grow up!