ZIGGY EMERGES FROM THE BUSH WOUNDED BUT ALIVE

The nervous wait to hear news on Ziggy's whereabouts and safety has ended, Ziggy finding civilisation himself. The well-renowned, Trante-based biologist was working with volcanologist Igny Geyser, when the two seperated and Ziggy disappeared.

According to Ziggy, a mini earthquake ruptured parts of Mt. Park on the eastward side he was inspecting. Ziggy ran from a slowly moving stream of molten rock, but, attempting to quickly jump over a rise in the landscape, knocked his tail on a boulder, and flipped over forwards, gashing his face on his forehead above his right eye, and breaking his right cheekbone.

Ziggy suffered from severe concussion, headaches and often dizziness in the two days he wandered around in the wilderness. The left side of his tail was also badly bruised, his orange fur stained red, with deep purple skin underneath.

"I knew the best thing to do would be to find Mt. Pura, because I could find my way back to the guys from there. I managed to get myself up on top of a hill, but even then, the treetops were two to three metres above my eye level - very frustrating indeed. I knew the general direction of the volcano, and set off southwest, hoping to find the camp."

On his journey back to civilisation, Ziggy encountered the raging Timmothy River, known for it's ferocious waters after rainfall.

"It had rained overnight so the Timmothy River was at it's scariest - I didn't dare attempt to cross it. I followed the river back to it's estuary, and waded 20 metres across the shortest and shallowest point of the estuary. By this time, it was getting dark, so I decided I'd have to bunker down for the night. I wrapped my forehead in a long strip of palm fond, and gathered other leaves and stuff as my bed. I've never really been taught what to do in these situations, but I like to think I learn quickly. I used my beloved microscopeto start a fire, reflecting the suns final few rays onto some leaves. I kept the fire going as long as possible while I ate, in ration, some of the food in my backpack, which I managed to hold on to throughout the journey."

Ziggy woke up with the sunrise this morning (Jan 9), and planned to follow the river back to a certain crossing point known as Hippo Crossing, named for its... hippos. He made slow but steady progress, he remembers, taking regular sips from his drink bottle, which he filled several times, and stopping every now and then for food.

"The river was a lifesaver. I pretty much had an endless supply of water, a luxury other "survivors" didn't necessarily have. I also had a few bananas, an apple, and a couple of muesli bars, which I ate sparingly but provided me with the energy I needed."

"Towards the end of the day I got tired as my tail started to get unbearably sore. I made it across the stepping stones of the Hippo Crossing without encountering any hippos, thank goodness, but was confronted with a 3m snake soon after. With the little energy I had left, I made as much noise as possible, trying to scare it but not make it feel threatened, necessarily, so that it wouldn't attack. It took a while, but half an hour later I was on my way again."

"I broke through the last trees of the National Park, straight into the centre of the camp. I let out of the biggest sigh of relief, and it was only seconds before my "Help" calls were answers and bunches of my worried co-workers surrounded me, and cradled me into an ambulance."

"My tail and head are really sore - I may be out of action for a few weeks - but as least I'm alive!"

#WilliamCasawell #ZiggyCasawell