African Lion Rehabilitation Detail
African Lion Rehabilitation
The Lion Rehabilitation Program:
Over 200,000 lions used to roam the African continent, as recently as 1975. The latest estimates show an 80 – 90% population decline in the last 30 years. The end objective of the Victoria Falls lion project, along with our Antelope Park programme, is the reintroduction of the offspring of captive-bred lions into the wild by means of a four-stage process, which you will learn more about during your involvement with the project.
This breeding and rehabilitation project is a World First and is supported by leading ecologists in this field. We invite you to walk and work with African Lions, and to be involved in our in-depth research and data-collection activities. Spending time with the lions in the wild each day is an essential part of the cub’s upbringing. If the cubs are to be released into a wild environment it is important that they spend time in that environment. They need to adapt to it, learn from it, understand, observe, feel and smell the wild. Since the start of this intensive programme, we have noted a marked increase in the Lions’ awareness of their natural surroundings, as well as an improvement in their hunting skills.
The larger cubs are now able to take down smaller game species whilst out on walks, and these abilities are being enhanced each day whilst under the supervision of volunteers. These are invaluable discoveries, which have earned us further support for our world first endeavours.
We currently have the following ALERT research and conservation programs available on our project :
- African Lion Rehabilitation & Release into the Wild Program
- Assessing character traits in African lions
- Assessment of the age of African lions by nose pigmentation
- Influence of enclosure size and complexity on the activity budget of captive bred lions
- Influence of age and gender on the activity budget of captive bred lions
- Factors influencing the variation in mane development in captive bred lions
- Hunting success in captive bred lions * Hunting strategy in captive bred lions
- Body condition monitoring of FIVple positive captive bred lions
- Spoor as indicator of age in African lions
- Vulture Population Monitoring
- Conservation education: Join our team of professional guides and other dedicated volunteers, gain a deeper understanding of the King of Beasts and assist us in gathering vital information that will facilitate their eventual release back into the wild
You will also have the opportunity to spend time with our orphaned African Elephants and their trainers. The elephants at Antelope Park were saved from certain death during a severe drought that ravaged Zimbabwe's South Eastern Lowveld in 1991 and 1992. The elephants play an important role in the Antelope Park's activities schedule. You may be asked to assist in the daily duties with the elephants. Free roaming wildlife... The few remaining areas of wildlife sanctuary in Zimbabwe are extremely precious and must at all costs be protected. Part of your project will involve assistance with the wildlife management scheme such as finding and removing snares ('snare sweep') within the game park and checking for holes or fence cuttings on the boundary fence ('Boundary Patrols') and repairing them. These activities are usually conducted on foot, within the Park and accompanied by one of our trained guides.
