Emdoneni News

Zulu cuisine

Zulu cuisine offers marvellous menus for travelling taste buds. From the comfort of isibhede and phutu porridge to the intoxication of utywala beer and the fiery perfection of chakalaka relish, Zulu dishes are seasoned with history, infused with culture and full of fine flavours. The foundations of Zulu cuisine are sorghum and maize starches, which are generally eaten as polenta-like porridges or drunk in the form of beer. Isibhede is a fermented porridge, which tingles on the tongue,while phutu is an unfermented, crumbly porridge. Amahewu is a non-intoxicating grain beer while utywala is a highly alcoholic brew. Of secondary starch status in Zulu food are amandumbe, fibrous root vegetables similar to the sweet potato. Historically the Zulus were a rich and powerful nation with large cattle herds. Zulu cooking reflects this history with high levels of beef and dairy in the traditional diet. Milk is consumed in a soured form known as amasi while meat is stewed or grilled over an open fire. Traditionally meat is portioned according to gender and age with adult men eating high status portions such as the head, liver and right-front leg. Boys are allocated the feet, lower leg portions and lungs. Tripe and ribs are considered suitable for women. The liver is perceived to be the site of human bravery much as the heart symbolically stores this character trait in Eurocentric food culture. Meat is commonly eaten with a spicy vegetable relish known as chakalaka, providing evidence of the cultural and culinary fusion legacy of Zulus living and working closely with the large number of South Africans of Indian origin who also live in the KwaZulu-Natal province. DID YOU KNOW? Zulus traditionally sprinkle dried pelargonium leaves on dishes as an indigenous spice. Credit: http://www.southafrica.net

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Emdoneni News

Emdoneni Lodge cheetah incident

Following an official investigation into the Emdoneni Lodge cheetah incident in which a New Zealand teen suffered minor lacerations, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has concluded that the 12-month-old cheetah had merely been playing when it scratched Isaac Driver. Read more here: http://zululandobserver.co.za/…/investigation-puts-cheetah…/ WildSeriesTrail News24.com Sunday Times ZA Beeld.com Zululand Observer PublicationsNZ Herald Blood Lions Save the Rhino International

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Cat Information, Emdoneni News

BASIC FACTS ABOUT CHEETAHS

The fastest land animal in the world, the cheetah is a marvel of evolution. The cheetah’s slender, long-legged body is built for speed. Cheetahs are tan in color with black spots all over their bodies. They can also be distinguished from other big cats by their smaller size, spotted coats, small heads and ears and distinctive “tear stripes” that stretch from the corner of the eye to the side of the nose. Diet Cheetahs eat mainly gazelles, wildebeest calves, impalas and smaller hoofed animals. Population Did You Know? When cheetahs are running, they use their tails to help them steer and turn in the direction they want to go, like the rudder of a boat. In 1900, there were over 100,000 cheetahs across their historic range. Today, an estimated 9,000 to 12,000 cheetahs remain in the wild in Africa. In Iran, there are around 200 cheetahs living in small isolated populations. Range Historically cheetahs were found throughout Africa and Asia from South Africa to India. They are now confined to parts of eastern, central and southwestern Africa and a small portion of Iran. Behavior Found mostly in open and partially open savannah, cheetahs rely on tall grasses for camouflage when hunting. They are diurnal (more active in the day) animals and hunt mostly during the late morning or early evening. Only half of the chases, which last from 20 – 60 seconds, are successful. Did You Know? Unlike other big cats, cheetahs cannot roar. However, they can purr on both inhale and exhale, like domestic cats! Cheetahs are also typically solitary animals. While males sometimes live with a small group of brothers from the same litter, females generally raise cubs by themselves for about a year. Reproduction Mating Season: Throughout the year. Gestation: Around 3 months. Litter size: 2-4 cubs Cubs are smoky in colour with long, woolly hair – called a mantle – running down their backs. This mantle is thought to camouflage cubs in grass, concealing them from predators. Mothers move cubs to new hiding places every few days. At 5 – 6 weeks, cubs follow the mother and begin eating from their kills.

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Cat Rehabilitation, Emdoneni News

Release of two Servals

Emdoneni Cheetah Project The Emdoneni Cheetah Project is a unique project in Zululand, a project that is not focused on the quantity of cats held, but on the quality of existence for the few cats we have and giving their offspring the opportunity to be rewilded and to live a free life back in their natural environment, caring and hunting for themselves. In South Africa there are very few institutions of this nature that are willing to depart with their cats without being remunerated for them. Emdoneni‘s policy has always been not to sell any of our cats and that the aim of the project is to rehabilitate areas in Zululand and other areas that these cats were previously indigenous too, but became extinct. Up to date, 17 serval cats has found their home back into the wild from Emdoneni, our first cheetah is in the process of being rewilded and was donated to Gondwana Game Reserve in the Cape. This cat’s market value is around R130 000 today, but we chose to release her free of charge, as this is what we stand for. In addition, 11 caracal and 2 African Wild Cats has also been released in back into the wild on various private game reserves in Zululand. Rewilding is a slow process, after the kittens are born, the mother has to raise them for almost 8 months and then they will stay at the project until about 14 months, until they are capable of being released. To put this in prospective for people to understand, these specific cat’s food, veterinary cost, camps, water supply, etc. until the day they are released, are fitted by the project. The reasoning behind doing 2 daily tours at the project is to raise funds so that the project can be self-funded. Many people visiting the project do not see or realise the work and efforts to run a project like this and the financial implications to do so. We have never had one negative comment about or animal husbandry and over the last year have improved the projects facilities, for example size and quality of camps, veterinary rooms, new freezer room and food preparation facilities, etc. This is all funded by visitors, including the running cost of food, salaries, veterinary bills, etc. We are about to release two more serval cats that was born at the project on the Isimangaliso Wetland Park on the 4th of April 2017 and two African Wild Cats on a private game ranch north of Hluhluwe. This is our ultimate goal and satisfaction when those boxes are opened and to see them disappear in the long grass. We see the guided tours as a necessity to keep the project alive, as other institutions rely on donations and others rely on the sale of their offspring to fund their projects, not mentioning animals that are being bred for hunting purposes.

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Emdoneni News

Special offer now for all Zululanders!

Did you ever want to visit the project and never had the time..? Special offer now for all Zululanders!! *Less 50% on cat tours for everyone in Zululand, children u/12 pay half price! Thus R120 per person and R60 per child. Tour times 10h30 and 16h30 daily. *3 hour early morning game drives to Hluhluwe Game Reserve, min 4 pax on vehicle – R385,00 per person. *Want to stay a bit longer… book a breakfast and/or lunch and spoil yourself with a spa treatment. Less 20% on all spa treatments! A typical day tour would look like this: • Meet and greet at the lodge at 05:30 • Depart for early morning game drive at 05:40 • Arrive at lodge for breakfast 09:30 • Cat tour at 10:30 • Spa treatments at your own leisure • Lunch • Depart Bookings are essential – please phone 035 562 7000/1 or office@emdonenilodge.com Valid for all days; except for Mondays until the end of May 2017 Tour prices are net and non-commissionable T’s & C’s apply

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