Never Underestimate the Power of One.

Day 1:
After arriving late last night and then waking up for an early breakfast, we went to the University of Pretoria where we had 2 different lectures - one about the history of Africa, which was where the above quote was said which really got us thinking about what we could do in this world. Our second lecture was by Professor Wouter van hoven on wildlife manangement and conservation. We were challenged in our ethics when the discussion turned to elephant culling. The population of elephants in Krueger National Park has increased due to mismanagement and the lack of natural predators. This got us thinking about culling as an option of managing the animals plus the ecosystem as a whole. Professor Wouter van hoven also touched on water pollution and the effect on Crocodiles, Chimpanzees and Gorilla decline in Gabon, Cheetah and Leopard breeding, Lion ranching, Hippopotamus culling and how hunting is a huge income for people in South Africa. It was interesitng to hear the reasoning of why some things exist and the opinions of different people all over Africa.

After lunch we went 1.5 hours on a bus to Ukutula, a lion sanctuary. They had a breeding program with the special "white lion" and the "Kalahari lions". A multiple of things are conducted at this sanctuary such as: reasearch, breeding, release and being a part of the first 4D live images with embryo development (search the DVD: Pioneer films "In the Womb: Cats"). We were able to get up close and personal with the lions including holding and petting the cubs and a cheetah. After we played and had many pictures taken with these incredible animals, we went for a tour of the older lions. We went by bus and then walked the perimeter of the pens. We saw some juvenile males and females and then moved onto the adult males and females. It was incredible to see how big their canines are! We also had the privilege of seeing a 2 year old tiger that was rescued as well as 2 tiger cubs (which are not found in South Africa). They also made one of our group members run away from the pen pretending to be limnping so that we could see the degree of instinct and reaction to "hurt prey". After our tour was done, we went and watched the 4D video. We also learned that the sanctuary offers "Walk with the Lions" which is exactly as it sounds. We unfourtunately did not have any time to do this, but it sounded like a great opportunity. On our way out, we saw 2 juvenile bull girrafes. It was then time to call it a day.

NOTE: Pictures to come as we cannot upload them on this computer at the B&B we are staying at.