I'm Back

A few months ago I decided to can this blog as I just never seem to get time anymore to do any posting on it. The only reason I haven't yet removed it is because Pierre was not keen on me doing so. I started this blog originally because I had to find something to do when I first moved to Zambia as I was the only wife here on site at the time. Over the past few months I've been so busy doing other things that I've neglected the blog. I somehow figured that nobody reads it anyway so it doesn't matter if I don't post. To my surprise I found out recently that quite a few people are still following it. Many thanks to all of you out there who are still interested in the blog. I'll make an effort now to post again.

Has Charlie Stopped Growing Yet?

At the end of September we thought that Charlie must have been close to fully grown. Well we were mistaken as he now weighs 336g and is 51cm long (including tail) - (Michelin man in the making). He has discovered nartjies and absolutely loves sucking on them and his favourite insects are flying ants and big juicy grasshoppers. A few weeks ago he moved into his enclosure we had built in our back garden and we now only take him out early evenings for play time and Pierre takes him hunting for insects. After that it is back in the enclosure with enough food for the night until the next evening. We often spot him hunting at night as his enclosure is built close to a light which attracts moths and other insects. He's also taking more and more risks with leaps and jumps he did not attempt before. He is still the cutest baby in Lumwana and an absolute joy.

Charlie is still Growing!

Charlie is still growing! When he arrived on 23 August he weighed 49g and measured 22cm (including his tail). He is currently tipping the scale at 168g and is now 36cm in length. Apparently their average size is in the region of 35-40cm and 150g when fully grown so I recon he's just about there. Here is a photo of him having his bottle. Is he not the cutest little thing - smelly but cute!

Charlie Goes to School

Charlie went to school yesterday for a “show and tell” session. The kids all prepared questions about Charlie and bush babies in general and I had to know my story to answer them all. Luckily Charlie was very well behaved and enjoyed all the attention. The kids had an opportunity to touch his fur and hands/feet. We also did Charlie’s weekly weigh-in as part of the activity. He has grown 2cm in length in the past week and is up from 49g last week to 66g this week. Thanks to Joanne, Jane and all the kids for having us. We enjoyed the visit very much.

Who is Charlie?

Charlie is an abandoned infant busy baby. Andy Groenewald found him on the ground under a tree. Andy and Sue took Charlie in for the first few days but they both work so it became difficult for them to care for him properly. Charlie is therefore now staying with me. The photo on the right is Sue holding Charlie. He currently weighs 49g and is 9cm long (22cm including his tail). We’re estimating his age at somewhere between one and two weeks old. Piérre suggested I give Charlie a small teddy bear to cling to and he just loves his teddy. Below is a photo of Charlie sleeping on his teddy’s head, clutching the one ear. I feed Charlie a blend of full cream cow’s milk, egg yolk, honey and yoghurt with a syringe. He sometimes drinks up to 6ml during a feed. Hopefully I’ll soon be able to get hold of a small baby or doll’s bottle and a baby hair brush. That would make it much easier to take care of him. Charlie is doing as well as can be expected and at present is really a very good baby. He sleeps all day and night (thank goodness) and only wakes up for feeds. I’m sure that will soon change and he’ll become quite a hand full!!! We’re hoping to eventually release Charlie into the bush.