Rescued grysbokkie doing well

We promised an update on the grysbokkie that was rescued last week after she was spotted in an urban green field, on the wrong side of the Main Road in Hermanus. On closer inspection, she was found to be injured and, on top of that, pregnant. She was transported to a vet, who splinted the fractured hoof bone. A safe place on a farm in the Valley was offered where she could recuperate until the hoof healed and the fawn delivered.

So what has happened since then? The most urgent thing was to reduce any stress on the bokkie to avoid a miscarriage. Then it was vital to find out what to feed her to maintain good nutrition for both mom and fawn. Her care team offered her a selection of fynbos plants each evening. Grysbokkies are nocturnal, so they eat at night. In the morning, it was easy to see what species she had browsed overnight.

To make sure she was getting enough nutrition, she was also given lucerne, which is a good staple animal feed. As expected, bokkie loved the lucerne and polished off everything. She also ate a bit of each of the fynbos species offered, but she especially liked dried eucalyptus leaves from branches that were used to make a screen in her pen. That was a bit surprising. Bokkie also kept regular toilet habits – a good indication that she was eating well.

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 19)