Africat

My next trip started with a visit at Africat Foundation, a place that cares about big cats that are not suitable for living in the wild. They have a posh lodge (at posh prices) and show visitors the animals and explain the rehabilitation projects. We started with leopard tracking in a car. The leopards there are actually not part of the project, but had been fenced in by accident as they are living there. However, some of them had been marked with a collar with a sender, so that the animals could be located. They also got used to the cars and are thus not as shy as wild leopards normally would be. It took a while to find one of them and on the way we already spotted Eland antelope, Kudu, Oryx and Zebra. Kudus make a barking sound when disturbed and when we first heard the leopard we thought it was a Kudu, such a strange noise it made. Then we saw the leopard between the bushes, a beautiful animal. We followed it for about half an hour and it did not seem to mind. It took a sand bath, walked around, and shit on the way. It was interesting to learn that it carried its tail high to signalize the nearby Kudus that it is not hunting. Although the whole activity had a little bit artificial feeling it still was a great experience. In the evening we went to a hide and watched porcupines which came for the kitchen waste.

Next morning we got up early, before 6 o’clock, to watch the three lions in their large enclosure on their morning walk. They had been rescued from cages as small as a car, but were too used to humans to be released into the wild. Then we went to see the wild dogs which had been rescued as cubs after a farmer had buried them alive in a plastic bag to get rid of them. They are an endangered species with unpleasant characteristics: they hunt their prey in packs and eat pieces out of it while it is still running! The next stop was for feeding the cheetahs that could not go back to the wild. They came really close to the car, chirping and purring, yes, almost singing! It was a joy to watch these elegant cats jumping for their piece of meat. We also learned a lot about their properties, habits and life stile. After a good break and a proper brunch we went on a little walk on our own, in an area without big cats. To our surprise we discovered quite a few tiny flowers despite the dry and cold season.

On the afternoon programme was cheetah tracking on foot. The animal was used to humans, but lived wild, i.e. it was not fed. It also had a radio collar so that we could locate it. The tension grew when we knew it was close and we left the car to follow it. Firstly, it moved fast and then not anymore. When we found it it had just killed a Dikdik, one of the smallest antelopes. We watched it eating for a while from of distance of only about 5m. On our way to a wonderful sundowner place we saw a troop of baboons and dassies in a tree.

On our last morning we went on a “Bushman trail”. They explained to us how they live, showed how they make ropes, bags and bows, how to catch animals in a trap and how to make fire. The ropes were made of sansiveria and were very strong. This demonstration was full of interesting stories about their culture. I really like their attitude not to take more than they need and to use the resources of nature so that they can recover.