Caracals

We were astonished on our carnivore feeding tour to be escorted into the enclosure where the caracals were.  These had been hand-raised and so were perfectly safe.  They were so soft to the touch, we couldn't get enough of them!

Lions at Na'ankuse

We were standing a meter or so from an electrified fence behind which were three lions.  All of a sudden there was an enormous roar and we all jumped back terrified.  Well, yes, they were behind that fence, but they were awfully close. It was Clarence the male who had emitted such an enormous roar.  

The three lions were related, and left orphaned when young cubs.  They live in a wide open area within that fence, and are fed each day by Na'ankuse staff.  So they know to appear at that spot in the fence every day.  They were the first visit of our Carnivore Feeding Tour here at Na'ankuse, and already the shadows were very long, because the tour had been delayed to accommodate some guests arriving late.  They never appeared, so the lighting was dim, but we did get a tour to ourselves - AND, we're going to get a whole make-up tour tomorrow.

One of the females was in heat and we saw the male mate twice with her.  He's had a vasectomy because Na'ankuse has no license to breed lions, but he hasn't lost the desire.

After a brief few seconds, the female hisses, swats, and drives away the male.

Wild Dogs in Africa

If you're a wild dog and you want to have a pup, you better be the alpha female.  That's the only dog in the pack allowed to have a litter, which will number 15-23.  Any other pups will be killed by the pack.  After the litter is born, the whole pack will swallow food, and then return to the pups and regurgitate it. They are very co-operative animals.

Farmers don't like wild dogs, because they create havoc with their livestock.  One farmer found a litter of wild dogs, and touched the dogs.  After that, the mother will not return to look after them.  A call to Marlisse earned them a home at Na'ankuse.

On our Carnivore feeding tour, we saw them tear apart parts of an Oryx and wildebeest.  We were looking down on them from a viewing platform.  They were like - well - wild dogs!