The Hamptons Wildlife Care Centre

Sam. The youngest and smallest orphan we ever received - he was only 4 hours old when we got him. Sam's mother had been trapped and eaten. Sam was being taken to the beach to be sold as a pet when a farmers wife found out and confiscated him. She called the Hamptons who took him in and cared for him.

Ollie the Otter The only otter we have had. He was raised and then released back into the wild.

Muffin The first orphan we ever received when we formed the Care Centre. His mother had been shot and Muffin had an injury on his chest where the bullet just scraped him.

Nelson  He was jumping around in the trees when he misjudged a jump and landed on a concrete surface. He suffered bruising around his eyes and was concussed. Our vet asked us if we would take him and give him about two weeks to see if he recovered, we agreed. He was kept in an open air cage and Jan fed him by hand.

Maggie She had been involved when her troop were in a fight with a dog. As you can see, her back was ripped open from the back of her neck nearly to her tail. The wound was cleaned and stitched up and she was placed under an infra-red lamp to assist healing. She had to be monitored closely to keep flies from laying eggs in her wound. Jan was carrying her one day when she went to feed Nelson.

Nelson and Maggie When Jan was feeding Nelson, he made a noise. Maggie answered him and he held his hand out to her. She got into the cage with him. Until he recovered part of his sight, she helped him to feed and in return, he kept the flies away from her wound. They both went to the Vervet Monkey Foundation and were integrated into a troop.

Tommy He was discovered the day after a "traditional hunt" near Port Edward on the KZN South Coast. When a local farmer was helping to clear up the day after the hunt, he found Tommy still clinging to his mother. He was rushed to Jan who took him to the vet. It was decided to repair his face but every time the vet tried to work on him, he cried and struggled. Jan asked the vet if she could hold him, so she held Tommy close to her chest and spoke gently into his ear. He calmed down immediately and the vet was able to work on him without anaesthetic.

Tommy This is Tommy three weeks after his face was repaired. Because of the damage, the left side of his face was permanently pulled up, giving him a twisted mouth. He was sent for rehabilitation to the Vervet Monkey Foundation in Limpopo Province where he successfully joined a troop.

Heather This fruit bat was found hanging by one wing on a barbed wire fence. The membrane between her "fingers" had been ripped. Jan cut off the dead part and used "Superglue" to join the loose membrane back onto her "fingers". She was subsequently released back into the wild near where she was found.

Roses She was brought to The Hamptons by Nicci Wright from the FreeMe Centre in Gauteng Province. She had been taken from the wild by a farmer and given to his 18 year old daughter to raise. Roses had to wear nappies and her favourite foods were chocolate and Coke. She was very "hyper" and had to be weaned from them and was also very humanised. She now enjoys a wide variety of fruit and veg and is slowly becoming a monkey although she still likes to be cuddled.

Harry & Harvey eating Harvey and Harry are two Hadeda Ibis. Harvey (right) was found on the road in Byrne village and brought to The Hamptons. He was raised mainly on dog pellets soaked in warm water. Harry (left) was sent to us by our vet in Richmond. He was raised mainly on Polony - the more pink it is, the better he likes it. They still come back once or twice a day to be fed.

Andrew three weeks later Now looking and feeling a whole lot better after getting some tender loving care.

Andrew shaved Looking very sorry for himself after being shaved.

This Fish Eagle was found on the road in Port Shepstone being attacked by Crows. He was brought to The Hamptons where it was discovered that he had Bumble foot which meant he couldn't use his talons to grip with. He was treated at the Raptor Centre near Pietermaritzburg and brought back to Port Shepstone to be released again after 3 months.

Andrew with varnish He was dumped at the Pietermaritzburg SPCA at 8 o'clock at night. He had been caught by three teenagers, used as a football and then dipped head first into a tin of varnish. He was approximately eight weeks old. As the varnish had set hard to his skin, it took us two and a half hours to completely shave his head. He was a bruise from head to toe, but he lifted up and is now in a troop at WATCH.