The current star at FreeMe KZN is our three week old male Cape clawless otter pictured above. He was discovered under a car at Fort Nottingham far from water with an injury to his neck leading us to believe he had been removed from the den by a predator. He has expensive tastes and is fed full cream evaporated milk and salmon capsules and is gaining weight daily. He is presently 2.2 kg in weight and will eventually weigh in the region of 23 kg. He will be sent to the Otter Working Group for his three-year rehabilitation back to the wild once all the necessary permits are in place.
We have also received three baby blesbok all of which were about a week old. One came to us from our own Amber Valley with wounds on its back legs which could have been caused by the electric fence. Another came from Kamberg after it was harassed by a cow and the third one was trapped in a fence and comes from Mount Verde. We believe that all were abandoned by their mothers due to the poor veld conditions which would adversely affect their condition and they would not have sufficient milk to nurture them. All three are thriving and recovering from their injuries.
An unusual new resident is a serotine bat and her two minute babies ‘housed’ under her wings. All three are doing well after they were caught by a cat.
The news of our collared jackals, five in all, recently released at Somkhanda Private Game Reserve in Zululand is that they are doing extremely well and have settled into their new environment and are providing foreign tourists with their first encounters with jackals in the wild. One of the males seems to be a loner and wanders hundreds of kilometres from the reserve but always eventually returns to Somkhanda. It is truly heart warming for us that they are doing so well in an area almost devoid of jackals and our rehabilitation efforts are now bearing fruit.
Our African rock python will also shortly be released at Somkhanda now that all its permits are in order. DNA was extracted at Ishaka Marine World in order to add to the African rock python data base maintained by Ezemvelo Wildlife KZN.
More good news is the release of ‘Bruce’ the wildebeest who was with us for eleven months and his soul mate the blesbok who came to us at the same time as ‘Bruce’. They were released together at a game farm in the Greytown area and by all accounts are settling in well.
The blue and grey duiker, plus the lone bushbuck, we were looking after for Ezemvelo Wildlife KZN have been released at one of Ezemvelo’s small game reserves in the New Germany area. During their stay with us two of the blue duiker (Mpiti) had babies and one of the grey duiker (common duiker) also gave birth. Whereas this is not a rarity it does indicate that these animals felt safe and secure in our recently constructed buck bomas. The vet was extremely complimentary about their excellent condition and all our staff are to be commended on their professionalism and dedication to these antelope.
We are presently involved in a drive to add new members at an annual fee of R100-00, but more about this next year.
As we hurtle towards the festive season all of us at FreeMe KZN would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our Greater Amber friends for their support over the past year. May you all have a wonderful Christmas and healthy and safe New Year and please be extra careful on the roads over this period.
Until next year please take care.
Extracted from FreeMe Wildlife Rehabilitation's newsletter.
Members and visitors who have been into the club during the course of this past week will have noticed the remarkable improvements to the clubhouse. Not only is there a permanent stage , we now have new curtains which sport our club colours and badge. To quote from an email which I received: “The curtains are LOOOOOKING FAB UUUU LUUUS DOLL.” A huge vote of thanks is extended to Bernice Meyer for organising the curtains. Thanks is also due to Barbara Brook and Helen Emberton for helping Bernice to hang the curtains and to Alan Wells who was in the background, helping where needed.
Oh what a night! The night of 05 December 2015..... when many present and past members of Umgeni Waterfall met at the club to celebrate the end of the year. There was a stellar cast of members including ‘The Lady in White’, ‘The Andrew Sisters’, 10 year old(er) ’Lena Zavaroni’ and ‘Lee Marvin’ in a revue presented by members of the club under the able direction of our own ‘impresario’ Barry Bedworth. The revue took place on our new permanent stage which was made possible by many donations from public enterprises and members.
The Churches of Howick have combined this year to host an unforgettable 
It is really encouraging receiving positive feedback from the community for the work and services we provide.
Christin Minnaar a Grade 5 learner from Mooi River Primary School was selected for the KZN athletics team to compete at the inter provincial championships (SA) held on 21 November 2015 at Germiston Stadium, Gauteng. She received a gold medal for high jump, girls U11 with a 1.42m jump.
At the beginning of the year, Howick High School began a partnership with local business, Enviro Timbers, where the school would encourage the collection of plastic milk bottles to be delivered to Enviro Timbers for recycling. Howick High's pupils and parents have rallied together and a grand total of 420 kilograms of plastic has been collected (approximately 11 000 plastic bottles), earning Howick High a new bench for their grounds. Enviro Timbers was formed in 2013 with the vision to help reduce plastic waste in South Africa and create employment. They manufacture recycled plastic timber from locally sourced plastic waste and are located in Merrivale. Any members of the community wishing to support this initiative are most welcome to collect their rinsed plastic milk bottles and add them to Howick High School's collection. 
Natural Gas development has come to Southern Africa. This project uncovers how the oil and gas industry is quietly invading one of the most pristine places on the planet. Reserves and national wildlife parks are not safe from these developments, which threaten the existence of Africa's last remaining traditional people and wildlife.
On Tuesday, 8 December 2015 the Midlands Sages held their end of year Turkey Trot at Howick Golf Club. A field of 44 kicked off with shot-gun start in a 4-ball alliance, 2 to count competition. First on 90 points were Tim Stent, Barry Erxleben, Brian Cook & Colin Burden, 2nd – Don Carr, Norman Atherton, John Olding & Gordon Smith, and 3rd – Ian Leyenaar, Albert Loveday, Harry Koovarjee & Reg Dold. At prizegiving, Sages members were also presented with chickens for their attendance over the year.
Howick High School pupils, Sarah and Kirsten Mingay, finished the Bronze Class of the 2015 Roof of Africa Motorcyle Endurance Race, finishing 70th (Sarah) and 71st (Kirsten) out of 128 entrants and 108 finishers. They were the first two ladies over the finish line in the Bronze Class with only one lady completing the Silver Class.
Some of the fittest athletes in South Africa lined up yesterday for the last big triathlon of 2015. Dubbed the toughest 1/2 iron distance triathlon in South Africa, the athletes were eager to test their mettle and see who was the toughest! Athletes arrived at Midmar Dam to cool, cloudy conditions, but soon after the Sprint race start it was clear that the day was going to change into perfect racing weather. The Sprint race started first, with Ben De la Porta exiting the 600m swim just ahead of Glen Gore. On the bike course the top positions chopped and changed as the athletes surged to finish the 20km cycle loop ahead of the chasers. After an error with the race leaders on the bike course, making it a 25km cycle route, it was up to the athletes to sort their final positions on the 5km run course. Haig Gibb claimed the overall title with Ben Dela Porta and Glen Gore in third. In the Ladies Sprint race, Riana Robertson, Mikaela Jonsson and Jessica Dignon and Kate Clelland battled it out for the lead on the bike and run courses. Robertson managed to move ahead on the run and claimed the overall win 2min ahead of Jonsson. There was a battle for 3rd place with Dignon just clinching the last podium position after a hard run ahead of Clelland.
Help us support 
South African triathlon sports received a boost with the announcement that direct insurer, MiWay, will sponsor the ULTRA Triathlon Series. The three-year title sponsorship increases exposure of the MiWay brand into the world of endurance sports.
Call on our government to say NO FRACKING. This October was the hottest month the world has ever measured, and 2015 is now certain to be the hottest year in earth’s recorded history. It’s time for us to turn up the heat too - from every corner of our shared planet – and ask our leaders in Paris next week to make some REAL commitments to Climate Change Action and to leave fossil fuels in the ground.
A number of sponsored events took place this week but the wet weather did mean that one event had to be postponed.
Top Tips for staying safe
We have had a relatively quiet week where turnout for regular tabs in games was very good. This relaxed week is followed by a busy week.