By Keri McMorran
High Care facilities at Tenikwa
When animals are admitted to our rehabilitation centre, they normally spent their first three days of stabilisation in our high care facilities.
Egret in one of the High Care Cages at Tenikwa
This quiet and warm area is equipped with several cages which serve as an important part of the initial recovery process allowing them to de-stress and adjust to the sounds and smells of a captive environment as we stabilise them and deal with whatever circumstances landed them in rehabilitation. It also serves as a night facility where all our weaker patients are secured for the night to ensure their safety, warmth and night rest after spending the day out in more natural rehabilitation enclosures.
Work starts on our new bio-filter system for our marine pool
We are very excited to have started work on our brand new bio-filter system for our penguin pool. Using a triple tank system with multiple levels of filtration, our aim is to maintain the water quality whilst minimising our dependence on chemical treatment of any kind. Having a clear blue pool whilst penguins happily poop in the water, has been one of the problems we have had to deal with, especially in our water-scarce region and in summer when the guana-rich poop quickly results in green algae blooms following hot days. Whilst the algae is not unhealthy for the penguins (we Humans also eat Spirulina as a health supplement), it is unsightly, and whilst normal swimming pools can be treated quickly by dosing with chlorine and algae-inhibitor, we have to consider the feathers and health of the penguins who swim and drink this water whilst they are in rehab.
Visits by sponsors
The high care cages and rehabilitation enclosures are available for sponsorship, and this assists us in the monthly costs of running the rehabilitation facilities. We were recently visited by two of our High Care cage sponsors, Dominique Gasser from Switzerland, and Becky Dorrell from Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur Park who were thrilled to see animals recovering in their high care cages.
Dominique Gasser rehab cage sponsor at Tenikwa
Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World visiting their sponsored high care rehabilitation cage
If you are looking into becoming one of our kennel sponsors you can contact us for details. Sponsorship of a high care cage or rehabilitation enclosure helps not just one animal, but many of them as our main objective is to get them well and get them back to the wild where they belong. Its a great way of providing meaningful contribution towards wildlife rehabilitation.