WILD CAT PROJECT
Wild Cat Project – The farm is situated on the border of the Free State and Northern Cape and is home to an abundance of big and small African cats, such as, Lions and African Wild Cats. The farm is not only a home for cats, but other animals as well.
We have a large family of Meerkats who run free. There are Black Back Jackals, Bat-Eared Foxes, Vervet Monkeys and a few other interesting guests from the animal kingdom. The farm not just a home but a Sanctuary; we help hurt animals, or that we need to relocate. Animals that we can not relocate or release, will live their lives in peace on the farm.
Our goal is to raise the big cats that we have as wild as possible so that they can be released to the wild, where they will be re-populating a diminishing population. We will keep some cubs at the program as ambassadors that will help to educate people the importance of our animals!
How they started
Since we started in 2010, we have released 2 Caracals. Furthermore, We have released more animals on the Langberg Guest Farm, as well as on our own farm, such animals include; Jakkels, Meerkats, misseljaatkatte (Cape Genet), African Wild Cats, Muishonde and more.
Project Highlights
- a Person will be able to listen to the sounds of cats calling throughout the night
- You will have the privilege to work with these beautiful cats, and your accommodation is also in close proximity to all of the cat enclosures.
- You will be accompanied by other people who are very passionate about animals.
- a Person will have the opportunity to work face to face, with big cats and other wildlife.
- Learn and experience how each animal behaves, reacts and what their characters are like
About the Centre
Our centre is in the well-known Free State province, which borders the Northern Cape. The predator farm’s location is only 30 km from the historical town of Kimberley, on the National Road (the N8). The farm is home to an abundance of animals; we are a home to 42 predators and 2 monkeys – the predators include: 4 cheetahs, 20 lions, 4 caracals, 2 servals, 1 African wild cat, 2 black back jackals, and 9 bat-eared foxes.
This project take these animals in to care for because of various reasons. Some cannot live in the wild on their own if they are sick or abandoned, and they rescue many from unethical processes like canned hunting and breeding for tourism purposes. When it is possible, we strive to release our animals back into the wild where they can live freely without any human interaction.
Beginning of the centre – it was founded in 2010 by the Burger family when Chriszanne and Nicol Burger adopted 2 animals from a project where they previously work. These animals were moved to the centre and cared for by the Burger family. This action was the foundation for the continued conservation and rehabilitation work that takes place at the centre. Around this time, the Burger family learned about Canned Hunting (a method of hunting in which an animal is kept in a confined area-such as a fenced enclosure-to vastly increase the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill for trophy purposes), which sparked the desire to work towards the eradication of this process and rescue African cats from hazardous environments.
Future Plans for the centre
We are currently busy expanding the enclosures on the farm. These enclosures will re-enact a natural area for play and roaming. Each enclosure will accommodate the specific species’ needs. Every enclosure will consist of tree logs, a climbing area, and adequate space to roam. The centre currently has over 1000 hectares of pure Free State farmland available to expand the project. As well as to ensure the well-being of the animals in our care. We do not intend to breed with our lions or to buy in any more cubs in the future.