Wildlife Rescue

02/09/2026

A little update on the flamingo!! 🥰

01/09/2026

🦩 WHAT IS A FLAMINGO DOING ON A BALLITO BEACH?! 🌊

Honestly… we don’t know either! 😂

This rather unusual visitor was found wandering along the beach in the Ballito area . Definitely not something we see every day!

This is a juvenile flamingo, not yet in its full adult plumage, which is why it doesn’t have that famous bright pink colour yet. Thankfully, it appeared uninjured and just a little lost and very far from where we’d expect to find it!

A HUGE thank you to Bianca for calling it in and to Darren for jumping in to help with the capture. ❤️ This is exactly what wildlife rescue needs : people who notice when something isn’t right and take action.

Our little wanderer has now been safely transported to CROW, where it will be assessed and cared for.

But the question remains…

HOW did a juvenile flamingo end up on a Ballito beach?! 🤔🦩

Flamingos are filter feeders, normally feeding in shallow wetlands rather than the ocean, making this visitor particularly unusual.

🦩 A FEW FLAMINGO FACTS
• Their pink colour develops from pigments in the food they eat.
• Juveniles are much greyer and paler than adults.
• They often feed with their heads upside down.
• They can sleep standing on one leg.
• And despite those long, elegant legs, they are powerful flyers capable of travelling considerable distances!

We may never know what journey brought this youngster to our coastline, but thankfully someone noticed and called for help. ❤️

All our wildlife rescues are performed free of charge.
If you’d like to help us keep responding, donations are always deeply appreciated.

Nedbank
Wildlife Rescue NPC
Acc: 1302355392
Branch code: 198765
Swift: NEDSZAJJ
Reference: Name / Donation

Thank you for helping us help them. ❤️🦩

31/08/2026

WILDLIFE RESCUE IS 2 YEARS OLD!! 🐾🌿 🌿

Lindy is just phenomenal!! Her passion, compassion and dedication to our wildlife knows no bounds!!

Two tireless years of being available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, never knowing when or where the next call for help will come.

Two years of climbing through bush, searching in the dark, driving countless kilometres and doing whatever it takes to reach a wild animal in need.

Two years of incredible rescues and beautiful releases — and two years of holding helpless animals gently while they take their last breath.

Because in rescue, an animal’s fear doesn’t end when we arrive.

They don’t understand what has happened to them, why they are hurting, or why human hands are suddenly holding them. We look into frightened eyes asking, Please help me. What is happening?

We hold the trembling until it eases. Sometimes it doesn’t.

We hold life, death, and everything in between.

We have laughed. We have cried. We have celebrated. We have grieved. And we have learned that sometimes saving a life means getting it back into the wild — and sometimes it simply means making sure that a frightened animal does not leave this world alone.

The next call comes, and we go again.

To every rescuer, volunteer, vet, rehabilitation centre, donor, supporter and member of the public who has stood beside us during these two years — you are part of every life we have been able to touch.

As we begin our third year, one thing remains unchanged:

We will continue to show up for our wildlife — whenever they need us. 💚🐾

Wildlife Rescue Dolphin Coast
First on Scene for Wildlife in Crisis

30/08/2026

Someone knocked over a baby monkey, and didn't even stop!! 😭 😭😭

This little baby monkey should never have had to suffer like this.

He was hit by a car in what appears to have been a hit-and-run. We understand that accidents happen. Wildlife can run into the road unexpectedly, and we are not asking people to perform miracles.

But you can stop.

You can check what you have hit.
You can call for help.
You can make sure that an injured animal isn't left lying broken and helpless in the road.

Instead, this tiny baby was left there to suffer.

It was Nic who eventually called it in. And it was our team who had to pick up that broken little body and rush him to an emergency vet on a Sunday. Nic is the true hero here as without him WLR would not have been alerted. 🙏

There is something incredibly heartbreaking about holding such a tiny, fragile animal and knowing that his suffering could have been prevented or at least greatly reduced if someone had simply stopped.

A huge and heartfelt thank you to Nic for calling it in and Dr Jeremy Lamb from Aloe Vet, who came out after hours on a Sunday to assist this little one. We are incredibly grateful for vets who go above and beyond when wildlife needs them most. ❤️

Sadly, emergency treatment comes at a cost, and our veterinary bills continue to grow with every rescue.

🙏 PLEASE HELP US HELP THEM.

If you are able to make a donation towards our veterinary expenses, even a small contribution makes a difference. Every rand helps us say yes when the next call for help comes in.

BANKING DETAILS
🏦 Nedbank
Account name: Wildlife Rescue NPC
Account number: 1302355392
Branch code: 198765
SWIFT: NEDSZAJJ
Reference: Your name / Donation

Or donate directly towards our vets bill

ALOE VET BALLITO CLINIC (Pty) Ltd
Investec Bank Limited
Branch Code 58 01 05
Account Number 10011612358
ACCOUNT REFERENCE NUMBER: 884

Thank you for caring.
Thank you for stopping.
And thank you for helping us give wildlife a chance.

28/08/2026

🌿🐒WILDLIFE RESCUE PADEL DAY

Date: *18th September*
Time: *14:00-17:00*

https://app.playtomic.io/tournaments/d1def69c-9897-4060-92d6-22185cf92128?utm_source=manager

26/08/2026

Wednesday's Wild Weeklies

Share a little love today! Show a little kindness. You never know what someone is going through.

25/08/2026

23/08/2026

When Patience Pays Off ❤️🐒

It’s moments like these that keep us going and make every call-out worthwhile. ❤️

We were alerted to a monkey with a snare wrapped tightly around his waist. A huge thank you to Preno for spotting him and alerting us so we could get to work.

A special thank you also to Aware for sharing their knowledge with us. We were informed that snares of this type are typically set for hunting francolin or guineafowl — a sobering reminder of just how indiscriminately these snares can catch wildlife.

It took a long time to locate him. There are multiple troops in the area, and when they’re moving through dense vegetation and foraging, keeping eyes on one particular monkey is no easy task.

Then came the next challenge… catching him!

It took nearly two hours. We had to keep the mischievous troop members away from the trap, which was baited with delicious fruit, because the last thing we wanted was to accidentally catch the wrong monkey! 😅

Our patience eventually paid off. He entered the trap, and the door snapped shut behind him the moment he put his weight on the pressure plate.

Lindy immediately covered him as he began giving alarm calls and got him safely away from the troop, who were understandably coming to his defence.

The only safe, secluded place nearby was a storeroom with no light, so Lindy and Sherry worked by torchlight to carefully cut away the snare and treat the wound.

And then came the best part…

He was safely released, within a short time, back into the wild and reunited with his troop.🐒❤️

There is something especially poignant about this rescue happening around the time of Steve from Monkey Helpline’s memorial service.

We can’t help but feel that his legacy lives on in moments like this — in every monkey rescued, every snare removed, and every life given another chance.

We were deeply honoured to have known Steve, and we will carry him in our hearts forever as we continue doing the work he dedicated so much of his life to.

For Steve. For the monkeys. For the wild. ❤️🐒

21/08/2026

A LITTLE TENT TORTOISE FAR FROM HOME

This beautiful little tent tortoise was found alongside the road, and thankfully someone stopped to help rather than leaving it to fend for itself.

It was picked up and taken to RUSA for safekeeping, where Theresa from IPSS kindly stepped in and volunteered to get this little traveller safely to us at Wildlife Rescue.

There is just one problem… this tortoise is very far from where it should be.

Tent tortoises are associated with the dry Karoo and semi-desert regions of southern Africa and have a highly specialised diet based on the vegetation found in those habitats. They are notoriously difficult to keep successfully.

So how did this little guy end up here?
We don't know.

It could be an escaped or abandoned pet, or perhaps someone brought it across the country because they thought it was cute, only to discover that keeping a wild tortoise is more complicated than it looks.

Either way, this little tortoise needs to get back to the right place, not simply be released somewhere that looks suitable.

For now, it has been safely handed over to CROW, where the team has the expertise to care for it properly. They will carry out the necessary bloodwork and investigations to help determine its origins and, importantly, where it can legally and safely be returned.

And a reminder: South Africa's indigenous tortoises are not pets. Keeping, possessing, moving or transporting indigenous wildlife is regulated and may require the appropriate permits, and moving TOPS-listed species without the required permit is a restricted activity.

Wildlife Rescue NPC is permitted to rescue and transport both ordinary wildlife and relevant TOPS species as part of our authorised rescue work, allowing us to get animals like this one out of danger and into the hands of the appropriate rehabilitation specialists.

A huge THANK YOU to Theresa from IPSS for going the extra mile and volunteering her time to make sure this little tortoise got safely to us.

Sometimes rescuing wildlife isn't about simply saving an animal, It's about finding out where it belongs and returning it


Even small contributions make a big difference in these little lives
Your support helps us be there when wildlife needs us most. Thank you for helping us keep going

Banking details:-
Nedbank
Wildlife Rescue NPC
Acc:- 1302355392
Branch cose :- 198765
Swift code: NEDSZAJJ
Reference:- name /donation

19/08/2026

Wednesday's Wild Weeklies

Today's mission? Catch a fly .. who even needs pest control when these guys are around!

Thank you to Debi Blake for this adorable footage!!