Not made out of plastic

Growing up I have always been fond of animals. From snakes at a reptile show to larger mammals like giraffes and elephants.

However, animals are sensitive to actions and maintain their natural instinct no matter how domesticated. So you always run the risk of being bitten, scratched, licked. Here is a short but in-depth list of animals that took a bite out of me.

Through my studies, my love for nature grew and so did the animals I came in contact with.

When you are five years old, life is an inquisitive adventure, so are cute fluffy penguins. I pointed close to the protective mother and two chicks. She was just close enough to take a peck at my left-hand finger that was pointed at her chicks to protect them. But at that age, you think all animals have to be friendly. When I was about seven years I got to feed the elephants and got kissed on my hand with their trunks. After that, I was bitten by a sausage dog when I was 11. The following year I decided to feed the squirrels in Company Gardens in Cape Town. I found one that kept being chased and tried to make friends with it by feeding him on the tree. Looking back yes, my logic wasn't really working. I  received two stitches in my fourth finger on my left hand.

In 2009 I adopted a cat. She was scared of everything and would only sleep in a shoe box. She nibbles on my feet and fingers in the morning for attention now  and speaks to me in our own cat language. When she was younger it would look as if my hands had gone through a shredder.

In 2010 I fed melon to an eland out of my mouth and got licked by a giraffe. One way of getting up close and personal with nature.

As time past at high school, I knew that I wanted to do something in nature. My first idea was  in palaeontology then an ecologist or a conservationist and maybe become a teacher. In 2013 I began to study my passion and become a nature conservationist at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Since then I have been nibbled by seals, pooped on by Cape gannets. In 2014 I was volunteering at the cheetah outreach and after a month of volunteering and helping with the two rescued meerkats Sebastian and Minkie. Sebastian the male loved me and any human interaction as he was hand raised while Minkie had been found by a farmer and had a history of biting female volunteers who help care for her but Minkie and I had a good start until one day.

I decided that I would help one of the other male volunteers with enrichment this lesson was to teach them how to forage for bugs to eat. In this time a group of tourist come to see what we are doing. Sebastian ran up me  and sat on my shoulder while Minkie was on the ground for raging until I took my eyes off her and focused on the tourist. In that few minutes I rolled up my sleeves of my long jacket and them spotted her let down and tapped at the bug she went for the bug and then my left arm. Minkie had locked her jaws around me and the tourist were asking to take pictures and if it is sore. I called the other volunteer calmly in the situation but in my mind, I was freaking out  worrying if she had got a vain. After her rattling and trying to rip and just ten minutes. She was off my arm and I pulled up my sleeve to prevent more of a scene. I cleaned the wound out, stopped the bleeding and then called my mother explaining to her what happened but that I would see her after work . Had five rabies shots and one tetniess shot because even though the meerkats had rabies shot they can still be carriers. I think Minkie had done it to show me she was the alpha female of the pack.
In 2015 I was nibbled by seals in a free swam with their pack all thanks to Nature Valley Trust.

This year nothing has bitten me yet and hopefully won't . At Helderberg Nature Reserve I have met many different animals and their interactions will never be forgotten by me.

Helderberg 1994-2016 (Urban enrouchment and fragmentation )

One of my teachers in the past said something important to me that "one has to look into the past to learn about how to guide our future". This is a comment that has stayed important to me over the years of studying. That to see a solution to a problem we have to look at where the problem started.

I have lived for twenty-two years of my life in the same town. I was seven days old when I arrived in Cape Town and I have recently ask my parents about how has the community has changed in the past 22 years. 

I remember from a young age the dirt roads and Somerset West was a small little village that was separated to Strand, Gorden bay and Stellenbosch. Every December there was a strawberry festival in the main road of Somerset West where the whole community came to see floats, sing carols, and feast on strawberries and deserts. My Mom and Dad can remember that when we moved down to Somerset West there was still ox waggons and chariots on the main road. Over from where we stayed was Sir Louries past where the cows used to come into the veld by my home.This was my favourite and most exciting thing when the cows got out. Now that whole area has become developed with houses that sometimes cost billions of rands due to the view.

This brings me to the problem I see in the community recently space...Space for nature and humans.

We became protective which is one of our primal instants we protected the water and river, we created Helderberg Nature Reserve. At the moment and past we push out the environment from our gardens like snakes, rats, natives ants relocated people that use to live down the hill from us.Nature gives in allows us to kill the things that protect us.We as humans push but us as conservationists we push back. 

In recent years all is linked up going to Gorden's Bay or even Cape Town isn't far in a vehicle or public transport.The roads are tarred ,the communities evolved with modern technology and we still don't see how we are linked with nature. 

Our actions cause a slight impact individually but together creates drastic changes in the environment and ecosystems inhabiting our communities.My view of all the problems we face on a small community scale to global effects is that if we don't as a community stop pushing all of the nature away and start  pulling because it's our heritage our memories and our legacy. If not we will self-destruct  due to greed and our needs that are hidden wants.

I leave you with this you as the person reading this blog pleases go out switch off your laptop or computer, phone and all the plugs are on that you are not using and  go for a walk in the garden or park even if it is for ten minutes. You have done your earth a favour. You have shown respect and love for nature.You as a human in this busy world have grasped a chance to experience nature before we killed it all.

Helderberg Nature Reserve ( West Peak) 2016
Photo taken by M.Harvett 2016