Hershey - April 2007

Greetings from Namibia! Quite a lot has happened since your last update:

In mid-February, Hershey, along with the rest of our resident cats, underwent her annual physical exam. As part of an ongoing study of gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining) in captive cheetahs, several gastric biopsies were taken using an endoscope. This year for the first time, staff and volunteers were able to see inside of the esophagus and stomach via the endoscopic camera using a monitor. She was also given her annual vaccines against rabies and other feline diseases and Frontline was applied to help control flies and ticks. Hershey weighed in at 36 kilograms (79.2 pounds), the same as last year.

Hershey is the shyest of the three ‘Chocolates Girls’. However shy she may be, she proved to be a good hunter. She came to the car one day with a guinea fowl in her mouth, a fresh kill but she hadn’t started eating it. Once she saw us, she seemed to say “I have something, but I like what you have better,” dropped the guinea fowl and started running after the car. Her round teddy bear face has proclaimed some to pronounce her the cutest one of the Chocolate sisters.

Thank you again for sponsoring Hershey and we hope that we can count on your continued support in the future.