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Good morning!
We decided officially to go to Robben Island on Thursday, so today I have just come in to SANCCOB to help with the normal care and cleaning. There were a lot of vollies today. At SANCCOB some vollies are sent out for community outreach projects. Some of the volunteers went to do beach cleanups, some went to a horse rehab farm to help with cleaning and care, and some went to work at a dog kennel helping build new shelters for the dogs. It's great to see them all get involved in the community and what a great way for SANCCOB to use the resources!
Mostly throughout the day I have been helping Nola prepare the facility for her departure. We have been stocking up on things, making up vitamin solutions, doing charts and leaving instructions for when she is gone. Marlei is the manager, and she will taking over Nola's duties, but Marlei is fairly new here and Nola wants to make sure everything is covered.
In between helping Nola prepare, we have been doing exams and cleaning wounds. I had to hold a penguin today named 'Stumpy", for the obvious reason that he has had a foot amputated. But Nola needed to remove all of his stitches so that he can be released tomorrow. We also had to clean and medicate some seal bites and wounded flippers and feet.
After that, we had two more necropsies to complete. One of them was on a bird we brought back with us from Dyer Island the other day. She had a large gash in her side from a seal bite. It destroyed the muscles in her leg. Nola originally though that maybe with some rest and keeping the leg still, it would heal a little, but it just kept getting worse. Looking at her during the necropsy, she was such a healthy bird – nothing wrong with her and at a good weight. Just that fur seal bite!
Other than that I have just been helping out around SANCCOB, doing the laundry, cleaning tubes and making formula. We did receive in a couple more oilies, though. We now have nine oilies total! Of course it is not anywhere as bad as the Treasure oil spill, but it is still awful.
Tomorrow we are officially going to Robben Island to do the retraps. Since we are going out there anyway, we might be taking nine birds with us for release! On Friday, Nola will be leaving, but I am coming in to help clean and wash the oilies. I just feel like those are two great ways to end my penguin time here in South Africa. Doing two great deeds: a release and washing the oiled birds! On Saturday, I am taking a fun tour that will go down to Boulders Beach. I can't believe it's almost over. I am almost on my way home again!
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