Fish Creek House - Making Montana Memories and a Dream Come True

Vervets: Criminals or Victims?

?by: S N James

Ill get you, ya varmin! Vermin - the scourge, tramps & vagabonds of the animal kingdom. This is the stereotypical view of vermin who are inconsequently considered a menace. In South Africa (SA) vermin paints a more disturbing picture. It isn’t overly well known of the disgraceful neglect the endangered wildlife have in the 3rd largest biosphere. I was shockingly made aware of this during a recent trip to the country.

The reason for the trip was to volunteer in the rehabilitation of the vervet monkey, indigenous to SA. This small, black faced, green skinned primate is one of such problem animals who are disregarded by authorities, despite the fact that it is listed as endangered.

I had no clue what a vervet was or aware of the vermin tag and what it meant when I had arrived. Rehabilitating the vervet was one of the possible rabbits picked out of the hat, my aim was purely volunteering and to see if I could make a difference.

Killing for food, for survival or even to protect your livelihood would be natural. This would seem to be a valid reason, but what if the information available portrays a distorted and inaccurate image. Coupled with the typical view that comes with this classification, could other motives be involved or just making an opportunity from it? Consider the Matapatcha affair. It is an organisation that deals in the supply of monkeys to labs. One of their clients is one that conducted activities within a government owned nature reserve. Despite if there is or not a connection, there are organisations who will with no ethics exploit these animals for their own personal gain. Or even to justify the killing of them.

The vermin laws in SA allow you to kill any problem animal without any consequential criminal charges. For example, the underlying reason for farmers in the agricultural industry for murdering these animals is the belief that they damage their crops and thus their income. Arthur Hunt of the Vervet Monkey Foundation has closely studied the vervet monkey for nearly two decades and dedicated for life to learning further. Part of his research has been whether they do cause damage to crops. Accompanied by the farmer in nearly every case visited Mr Hunt had shown with his acquired knowledge that the monkey doesnt damage their crops.

Out of these cases he has found that the monkeys do eat the crops. But, Mr Hunt says that the vervets do not consume unripe food. He has found that they only eat the edible part of fruit, fallen to the ground, caused from an insect. Therefore, as the fruit is unlikely to be sold and is thus perishable due to the insect, no original damage was caused to their income by vervets. Also, fruit sold in markets are picked unripe giving no reason for the monkeys to eat them.

As you encroach upon an area, a point comes when human meets animal. The outcome of this interaction depends on our view and attitude towards the animal. So, when a troop of vervets came down from the hills near Ga-Rankawa Hospital near Pretoria it was reported that a nurse was hurt from being scared and the hospital employees were victims. This would be a natural reaction given the negative image.

The vervet are not only ones, even the African wild dogs have been the victims of this also. According to the WWF website [www.wwf] the killing has resulted in immense decline in their range and numbers on whose populations continue to dwindle only 500 or so remain. Instead of being detested they are quickly becoming a tourist attraction. Hopefully this will help towards eradicating the vermin label. The Green Bank (a subsidiary of WWF) are even funding a project to aid this canine. Theres hope yet.

Is there? Certainly not if people exist such as this following individual. He advertises killer instruments, the most efficient ways to kill vermin. They include gin traps , neck traps and 1080 poison. Possession of the former is banned in 90 countries including those in the EU. Even worse the poison is banned worldwide due to its potential threat. One spoonful of this stuff can kill a hundred people.

Even with the well known Kruger National Park there’s much to do for wildlife conservation in South Africa. The killing of the massive animals may have stopped but given time and awareness of the vermin classification might hopefully change attitudes towards saving the grandfather of the ape world and other such problem animals.

Fish Creek House - Making Montana Memories and a Dream Come True

?by: Cid and Dan Busarow

WHITEHALL Cindy Buscarow fulfilled a childhood dream when she moved to Montana last May. Another dream was reached two weeks ago when she and her husband, Dan, opened Fish Creek Home, a bed and breakfast just outside of Whitehall.

“When I was young I always told my parents I wanted to live in Montana,” stated Cindy, known as Cid. Living in New York and later California, Cid didn’t know how that would quite happen.

Dan, a partner in a personal business and gunsmith, and Cid, a bi-athlete, came to Bohart Ranch near Bozeman to compete in the running and shooting competition and fell in love with the area. The search was on for property in Montana. For Dan, he was returning to his roots. He lived in Malta until he was five.

The couple found a beautiful log home located on forty acres with gorgeous views of the mountains and a stone’s throw from Fish Creek.

The home was bought and a big renovation started.

“We’d drive up from California every month to see how the progress was going,” stated Cid.

During one of their trips, they took a hike down to the creek and when Cid looked up at the log home nestled in the hills, the name Fish Creek House came to her.

With the renovation complete and the licenses involved with a bed and breakfast approved, Fish Creek House is officially open for business.

The couple looks forward to sharing their home with guests, and those with horses as well. A new barn and round pen have been built for the couple’s horses and although they’re not offering trail rides, guests are welcome to bring their own horses and board them in the new facilities.

“We want accommodate people who arenature loving. We’ll make you feel like part of the family while you are here,” said Cid.

One of Dan and Cid’s specialties is shooting and plan to host shooting clinics for enthusiasts.

Another specialty of Fish Creek Home will be the food. They offer a gourmet breakfast for their guests and with their own personal greenhouse, the vegetables will be organically grown on site.

The inn offers two guests suites, each with a private bath, a massive living room with a stone fireplace, a library and a sitting room, complete with a microwave and a fridge. Fish Creek House is also a place where the active businessperson can stay in touch. They offer wireless world wide web in each of the rooms and are considered a “wifi hotspot.” The Buscarow’s have swiftly introduced themselves to the local Chamber of Commerce. They have offered their services to build a website for the Chamber and are in the process of doing so. They’re also community minded business people and have used custom made Montana pieces in their guest rooms.

“The beds were made by the Amish,” stated Dan. The couple also uses local artwork to adorn the rooms.