Who is DAKTARI Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage?
Who is DAKTARI Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage?
DAKTARI Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage is a local NGO located in the South African bush near Kruger National Park Founded in 2006, DAKTARI works to educate and inspire children to value their environment and stimulate community development.
South Africa is home to many wonderful species of animals, but unfortunately a lot of them are in constant danger from us humans. Hunters like to poison carcasses to kill vultures, kill animals like servals for their furs, mistakenly kill harmless snakes, and sometimes abandon animals after wrongly acclimating them to humans.
DAKTARI Bush School and Wildlife Orphanage makes it their mission to stop this cycle by teaching local children about the many friendly species endemic to their region. Meanwhile, animals that cannot be properly rehabilitated from organizations such as Moholoholo Animal Rehabilitation often find their forever homes at DAKTARI where they will be safe from both predators and hunters despite their disabilities.
Through this process, they’ve taken in a few Rock Hyraxes (AKA Dassies) who now live in a so-called Hyrax Rock and Leopard Rock a few meters away from their camp. A couple of these orphans ended up as some of the most popular hyraxes on the internet! Who are they, you might ask?
Meet the Hyraxes
Meet the Hyraxes
The two hyraxes who recently made their homes at DAKTARI Bush School and Wildlife Orphanage are Caline and Popcorn.
Video Transcript
Michele describes a typical day with Câline:
“So in the morning I have coffee. So she comes out with me on my terrace and she kisses me and she looks at outside to see if there’s no predator. And when I’m ready, I call her and we all go um back to the camp.
So she’s walking with the dogs and me. And then when we arrive in camp, I prepare a plate and then I take the plate in the office and she likes to be by the fan when it’s too hot and she eats the food. And during the day she’s completely free. So she will go a bit in the sun or or when it’s cold I make her a hot water bottle and she stays on a blanket or she tries to snuggle with one of the dogs and when I call her generally she comes because she know it might be bed tight.
So she comes to me and look at me and say are you going? Are we going? And if I have to stay a bit longer, then she would maybe sometimes sleep with a boyfriend for a little while. And then when it’s 9 or 10:00, she walks by herself, which I do not like because it’s pretty dangerous in the bush for her. But um then she comes in and she jumps on the bed and sleep on my chest, on my neck, usually above my head.”
Caline was one of the orphans taken in by DAKTARI and has since found a home with Michele Merrifield at DAKTARI. She is an aggressively trusting creature who sees us humans as part of her awawa (hyrax social group). She loves sticking out her tongue, sunbathing in the farm, and meeting the various hyraxes who come visit her for lunch dates. What does she do on a daily basis?
Popcorn was a pocket-sized hyrax with dwarfism. Unfortunately, despite being the sweetest little hyrax around, he has since passed away. Please share him in memes and with friends to help his little spirit live on.
Together, both Popcorn and Caline are irresistible creatures. More importantly, they help DAKTARI spark curiosity and turn “awawas” into “awawarness.”
Working with DAKTARI Bush School
Working with DAKTARI Bush School
As the creator behind @Hyraxhub, I’ve been recently teaming up with DAKTARI Bush School to spread both the awareness of their mission and the joy of some of their most photogenic hyraxes. While I’ve sourced footage from some wonderful people throughout the middle east, Japan, and Africa, DAKTARI and its mission have aligned much closer with our hyrax fans.
Google Trends even saw the largest jump in hyrax love since the “Wawa” screaming hyrax last year.
A few weeks ago, Daktari sent over a few videos of their two would-be stars. The internet did the rest. Hyrax fans loved them both!
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