Wink the Bushbaby
Bush babies are a problem almost every year. They arrive at different ages and in different conditions.
A recurring problem with orphaned baby bush babies is that mothers tend to “park” them. When they are old enough, usually about a month, the mom will take them with her when she goes out to forage. As she requires her hands to catch the insects needed to feed her babies, she puts the young ones in a safe spot while she goes off to hunt for bugs. This is called parking.
Unfortunately, parking is a little known behaviour and guests at the reserve often come across these babies and presume that they have been abandoned. The guests then unwittingly pick up the infant bushbabies and bring them to us. We have tried to take them back and get them to their mothers, but this has never been successful.
I have had about eleven bush babies come to be reared by me in this manner.
But not Wink. He fell out of his nest, which was high in a roof, sometime during the night. His mom did not come and pick him up which she usually would have. We tried to locate her but with no success. We presumed that something might have happened to her when she went out to feed.
Wink grew up very fast and in no time was jumping and running all over the house. Bush babies urinate on their hands for better grip and to sent mark their territory. In no time, my refrigerator, curtain railings and every lamp was covered in sticky, smelly pee.
Despite this behaviour, Wink was easy to like. He was quick to make friends with everyone, even animals of another species. I woke one night to find him sharing his bowl of food with the dassie I was also rearing.
Bush babies are strictly nocturnal and in no time he was outside at night exploring the big wide world. He made his new nest in the rafters of my roof and would sleep there during the day.
When I got another bush baby to look after the next season, Wink was quick to adopt him and teach him the ropes. He made an excellent foster parent to most of the bush babies that came into my care.