Rescue & Release of 'Milly' the Porcupine

Описание: Watch the Rescue, Relocation and Release of #Milly the Porcupine – by Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation.

#WHWF was fortunate enough to be able to step in yet again, when a Porcupine was caught while destroying a vegetable garden, on a remote farm in South Africa. We knew this farm - it was where we had rescued #Spike the Porcupine from, only days before. Milly, the second Porcupine, is Spike’s mate, and we had been expecting her to show up! Because Porcupines are monogamous, there was no hesitation – we had to re-unite the prickly couple.

Spike had been successfully released in Marloth Park - situated on the banks of the Crocodile River next to the Kruger National Park. We were now taking Milly there too. Marloth Park is in need of porcupines to re-establish a population there. Porcupines are territorial and will naturally spread out and defend their territory from others if challenged, plus they are free to come and go into the safety of the Park as they wish. There are plenty of food for them to eat, lots of dense bush with long grass to camouflage in, and many caring human beings that will keep an eye on their well-being, if they do get spotted. They’re kind of shy and elusive, leaving only muddy footprints behind as evidence of their night-time jaunts. More importantly, they are wanted and needed in this Park – and will not be labelled as ‘problem animals’.

Torrential rain and flooding did not deter us as we set off to fetch Milly. Someone was on our side, because the sky cleared up when we arrived, and remained clear for the entire time when we picked her up. We learnt a lot with Spike, and put those actions to good use in getting Milly on board. She was very feisty, much more so than Spike, as she probably smelled him and was frustrated at not being able to find him. After a fairly smooth transition, she spent the night in our travel crate. She loves potatoes best of all, and holds the vegetables almost delicately between her front paws when she eats. She alternated between eating and throwing herself against the sides of the cage, trying to get her quills into us. It’s not a good feeling, watching that – and we needed to get her to Spike as soon as possible. They have a very strong scent, so it would be easy for them to find each other.

The afternoon of her release was here, and we gathered in the same spot as before, hoping Milly would immediately pick up her mate’s scent. After off-loading her crate, the door was carefully unlocked. There was no hesitation, as she nudged the door open with her nose and trotted off. We followed her through the bush for a while. She found an open track and trotted along it, smelling as she went. Suddenly she veered off into the bush, and we lost sight of her. As we left in our truck, we spotted her happily trundling away along a riverbed dotted with water from the rain. She was free.

The camera traps will hopefully send us good news – we can only wait and see if they show up. They might completely move to another section of the Park they like, we will not know now. But, we are happy at having saved yet another animal, in line with our commitment to #EthicalConservation.

Spike, we brought your Milly home.

With deep gratitude to Deidre Joubert Huyser from Wild and Free Wildlife Rehabilitation who handled all of the permitting and release formalities.

Special thanks goes out to the Marloth Park Rangers, especially Jaco Minnaar; the Marloth Park Honorary Rangers represented by Juan De Beer, Doctor Peet Venter, the Veterinarian, and Lynette for putting us up for the night. We also thank the people of Marloth Park who support our work to make the Park a better place for both humans and wildlife.

We have travelled almost 3500kms to rescue, release and re-unite these two porcupines. There are people who truly care – even about the most obscure wildlife. We are some of those people. We will do whatever possible to ensure that stricken wildlife have a future, even if, like in this case, we did not cover our costs with donations received. Nothing will stop us from making the best possible decisions for the Wildlife most in need.

We cannot do this work without our loyal donors – thank you. We remain committed to showing you what we do with your loving support.

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