Sunday 21st July 2019

Checking out the real-estate

​Hello friends and family
Another interesting week in paradise! Thank you all for your positive support for our re-structuring and forming an incorporated society. We continue to do our best for the penguins.
The week began with more rock cleaning and stapling mesh into place in the enclosures. I hate stapling – it is never blood free, so I just do a bit at a time and use surgical tongs to hold the staples in place while I bang them in.

The Hugo wing - ready for penguins!

​On Tuesday, after completing the monitoring rounds, Jan, Robbie and I finished the upgrade of the Hugo wing and now have somewhere safe for any new penguins that come in. We have moved our attention to the hospital. Robbie has re-hung the door as the hinges had rusted out and the pens now have new flooring. The rocks needed to prevent bumble foot are sitting on plastic crating that allows for drainage to keep the floor dry.

One of our helpers cleaning rocks

​We have added the plastic crating to Robbie’s rehab as well. This will improve drainage. All of this is a response to having to manage feathers during the moult. Pre-Malaria, we would put the penguins back out into the wild to drop feathers and complete the moult, but that is not now an option.

The promise....

The long-awaited rain has arrived. I did the rounds yesterday before the predicted deluge. We ended up with 15 mm over night which is just great – the drought has broken.
Have a great week!
Rosalie
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