Paarl Post 20 January 2005 Sick cub safe by Malani Bosman |
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SHE might be cute but don't you mess with Bai. Although she might only be seven weeks old, she knows she is a lion. Bai ("lion" in Cameroon), was rescued from certain death by Paarl lion park owner, Paul Hart. But it was not all plain sailing. Bai was born to South African parents in a Cameroon zoo. The keepers decided to hand-raise the litter of three. But when Bai's two brothers died, a British animal welfare organisation stepped in. On 20 December the Organisation contacted Paul. Word of mouth has put 31 lions on the waiting list to be cared for at his Drakenstein Lion Park, but little Bai jumped the queue. Weeks of paperwork preceded Paul's booking of a flight to Cameroon for January 11. But a frustrating sequence of Cameroon flight cancellations meant his amazing race to save Bai's life only really got off the ground on Wednesday last week. He was at Johannesburg International at 04:00 as instructed, but faced a three-hour delay as the pilot and crew had gone missing. Eventually Paul flew via Libreville to Gabon, where he discovered his luggage had disappeared. Not only did he lose his clothes and malaria tablets, but also the special milk, medicine and cat box he had packed for little Bai. In Cameroon the Wildlife Aid Fund assisted while Paul scurried around with documentation. After two days of explaining, an official was finally persuaded to stamp his permit. But it took another two days for the official to locate the stamp. "It was a nightmare," Paul remembers. When he finally made it to the airport with Bai, Paul had to demonstrate to the Airways' chief that she would not pose a danger. "Bai needed a seat next to me. She needed to be fed regularly. She would surely have died in the cargo hold," Paul says. The flight from Douala was to have departed at 20:00, but was postponed to 22:00. "After we had finally boarded, we had to sit in the aircraft for six hours. There was no air-conditioning and it was an oven at 45 degrees Celsius. "We were told that a wing on the aircraft was damaged, but we should not worry. She would still fly, although the flight would take ten instead of five hours. "When a fight broke out in the aircraft, we were allowed to wait in the airport for the next 12 hours - a concrete floor, with a roof over it. But no water, no food." Paul had baby milk, wet wipes and a box for Bai, but she became more and more restless. When he eventually made it to Johannesburg on Sunday night, he had missed all connecting flights and had to wait until Monday to fly to Cape Town. "It had been the classic hurry up and wait, with a final three hour delay at customs. "We only reached home on Monday afternoon. Bai was very tired, as I was. With her I could not close my eyes for a second," her bodyguard says. Today, the cuddly queen already reigns supreme in the Harts' household at Klapmuts. Bai still has to get accustomed to the heat, as she had been reared only indoors. For now, she will spend only short spells in a grass enclosure in the lion park, her future home. Within days her injured leg has healed. Her upset stomach is settling and she will soon have mince and chicken to supplement her milk diet. Bai has a new big brother, the Hart's six-year-old son Shane, who feeds her and plays with her. But at night she sleeps between Paul and his wife Sue, her head on a pillow as befits royalty. |
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