Written by volunteer – Holly
Free to be Wild is a slice of heaven. Every minute of my 2 weeks there was an “pinch me“ moment and I’ve come home with memories that will last a lifetime. It was incredible to be able to get close up and help such a variety of animals.
We were fortunate enough to get the chance to rescue Beans, a baby Vervet monkey during my time at the sanctuary. Beans was found by a member of the public as he was unfortunately orphaned. When beans arrived he had fleas so we had to bathe him once a day for a few days. He also didn’t know how to use a bottle like the other baby moneys, so we spoon fed him cerevita which he absolutely loved. It was a privilege to be able to nurse him back to health and eventually integrate him in with the other baby monkeys at the sanctuary.
We also got to build new enclosures, one of which was for the baby moneys to go into at night. It was incredible to see all our hard work pay off when we introduced the monkeys and saw them jumping around and exploring.
The rest of the time we fed and provided enrichment for the resident animals in the hope that they will one day be released. We would also go on daily bush walks with the baboons where we got to play and groom them, imitating their natural life in the wild and preparing them for release. They were a big part of our trip, and it will be so rewarding to hear about their release in the near future.
Everything that the sanctuary does is so special and each and every animal is cared for with as much love and compassion as the next. Each story is important and the workers were happy to tell us all of them which made it all the more incredible.
I would like to thank everyone involved in my time at the sanctuary. Baye you have made a truly wonderful place that I will be sure to come back to someday. I already miss the FTBW family so much, leaving was so unbelievably hard.
