Lion Handling 101

Today I had my first sunrise lion pride walk. Watching the sunrise over the African Bush was spectacular. The lions are quite talkative in the mornings. As we approach their enclose they begin to make what sounds like a combination of a continuous, subtle roar and a moan. You can’t help but want to try and mimic the sound back. They are happy to see the arrival of their human pride and begin rubbing up against the cage practically begging for our hands to touch them. We do. Once the gate is open, they cheerful come out to explore. The morning session began with the older cubs, 19 months.

I find that the older cubs are more disciplined. They listen are more attentive to the handlers commands. The younger cubs… not so much. The older cubs have developed their personalities where as the younger ones are still experimenting.

After my morning with the older cubs, I went on a pride walk with Swahili, Sango and Sahara… the three nine month old cubs. They were in a very silly mood as you can see by the photos. After they settled down a bit, Sango allowed me to pick some bush ticks off his fuzzy body. Bush ticks grow to four times the size of our American ticks… nasty.

I have all my arms and legs so I guess I past lion handling 101!

My First 24 Hours in Zimbabwe

I have arrived safely at Antelope Park after traveling for the past two and a half days. The traveling actual wasn’t that bad. The longest flight was from London to Jo’berg and I spent just about the entire 11 hour trip. The flight on the small plane from Jo’berg to Bulawayo was interesting. Here I am on a quest to save the African lion. Who do I get stuck traveling with? Seven loud-mouth, American hunters from the South. Oh, they were chewing on unlit cigars and slapping each other on the back. I was tired, cranking, and trying very hard not to lay into them. I figured it was a little too early in my trip to get arrested.

There was only one flight expected into Bulawayo that was my plane. There were about 35 of us on the plane and around 50 officials waiting for us at the airport. They were all very friendly. They did however; thoroughly question me about the contents of my two large duffels that contained the donations for the orphanage. I basically said I planned on taking most of the contents with me into Botswana and everything was fine. They went through all contents of everyone’s belongings, but were very nice.

On the drive back we passed a police road block that waved us through, but were stopping other vehicles. Further down, we passed a truck full of zanu-PF military men waving guns and trying to rally support for Mugabe. Our driver just waved and we proceeded. Once we arrived to Antelope Park, we were in our own little paradise. The manager jokes by saying, “They will never bother us here. If they ever do, I will just tell them if they don’t leave we’re going to set all of the lions loose.”

The first photo is Impie the Impala. She came to greet me as soon as I arrived to my room. Her mom was hunted shortly after giving birth and she was found during one of the boundary patrols. She kept following the staff member on duty like a poor lost sole. So, she was brought back to the staff quarters and just kind of hangs. I slip her some granola so I’ve quickly become her fave.

She and Tom the cat are buds. Tom will even give her a bath.
Went on my first lion walk this afternoon. We escorted three female cubs, Swahili, Sahara, and Sango who are nine months old. They were very lazy and not much in the mood for walk, more interested in lounging.

If you are worried about what kind of food I’m eating… don’t! It has been outstanding. Butternut squash soup, seasoned beef over rice, sautéed cabbage, chicken and cheese casserole, Swiss roll with warm custard and never ending rohibos bush tea.

That’s all for now. I have my first 6:30am lion walk with the big cats. They are about two years old and I’m looking forward to meeting them. Stayed tuned for more pics!

Life's Little Surprises

Once in a while life catches you by surprise. It presents you with an opportunity that wakes you up from the everyday routine you have establish for yourself and challenges you to step out of your comfort zone. It challenges you to reexamine your values. On September 22, 2007, I was presented with this opportunity.

I was researching the possibility of visiting a friend in Africa for a few weeks. In doing this, I came across a game reserve called Antelope Park in Zimbabwe. What really caught my attention was their African Lion Environmental Research Trust program (ALERT). This program is the world’s first lion rehabilitation and release into the wild program. Why is this program needed? Close to 250,000 lions used to roam the African continent and the latest estimates suggest that 12,000 remain. When I read this I almost fell off my chair. The reason? Hunting, poaching, snaring, decrease in available habitat and diseases. The king of beast is the last animal I expected to be so endangered. I immediately sent in a donation but felt this was not enough.

I read more about the organization and learned about their many projects and strong community involvement. I discovered they had several community development programs such as leading literacy clubs, HIV education classes, and environmental seminars. They also have a strong partnership with the local orphanage. This sealed the deal for me. Something came over me that I can’t explain. It was a surge of a passion so overwhelming, I knew my life, my everyday routine, was about to change. A few e-mails later, I found myself accepting an opportunity to join the team at Antelope Park in Zimbabwe, Africa.

Since September 22, life has done nothing but provide positive signs that this was the right decision. This is where I am meant to be at this point in my life. Everything has fallen into place to help prepare me for this journey, even aspects that were not part of my original plan. But it could not have been done without the support of my friends and family from the West Coast to the East Coast.

After nine months of planning, I am set to begin my journey on June 24th. A journey that will now take me to Zimbabwe to work with the African lion (see weblink below)and the Midland orphanage, to trek through the juggles of Uganda and spend time with the critically endangered silver back mountain gorillas, travel overland through Tanzania's Serengeti, and finally pay a visit to my friend in Botswana. The last three months of my journey will be spent with a special non-profit organization, iKhaya LikaBaba (House of the Father for Abandoned and Orphaned Babies) in the Kingdom of Zululand, South Africa. As of now, I plan to return sometime in December; however, I purchased a one-way ticket so you never know.

I invite you to please join me on my journey. At the end of each blog entry you will be able to click on “comments” and post a reply if you wish.

Wishing you all the best… and a challenge to step out of your comfort zone!

Cheers!
Kelly