Emdoneni News

It is common knowledge that the KwaZulu-Natal North coast is experiencing significant drought and it is during times like these that we need to endeavour to conserve our water and protect our land to the best of our ability.

Many of us dream of living life as a game ranger, a “job” that doesn’t feel like a job and allows one to enjoy the great outdoors, wildest Africa and incredible animal sightings, all in a day’s work! Most game rangers live a life of interacting with interesting people from around the world and get to educate and entertain these people through showing them what Africa has to offer on their game drives and guided walks. Game rangers also have a massive role in taking care of the game reserves and conserving the environment. So, encouraging your children or at least nurturing an existing interest in this profession, is not a bad idea. Role of a Game Ranger A ranger’s job is far more “environment conservation” oriented than you think. Game rangers are responsible for the maintenance of game reserves and parks and some of their tasks include game counting, fence repairs and of course the extremely necessary anti-poaching work. Game rangers work closely with specialists such as ecologists to manage animal population and monitor diseases that the animals or plants may pick up. The environmental responsibilities of the game ranger also include taking care of erosion, alien plants, floods or water shortages and collecting samples too. Game rangers often educate their guests on the environment and eco systems in the hope of creating awareness of the conservation and care that needs to go in to this world in order to maintain it and keep it as it is today. If your child answers yes to any of the below questions, he or she may have a bright future in this field… Passionate about nature and animals? Enjoys hiking? Organized and hard working? Confident or possesses good communication skills?  What does Emdoneni offer for your children? Emdoneni Lodge has identified that this is a job in demand and one that many children consider from a young age and have therefore put a program together that allows children to explore this interest in wildlife. It is important to nurture this interest and encourage it. Too many children are more interested in technology, televisions and iPads than animals, nature and the great outdoors. How Does it work? The qualified guides at Emdoneni Lodge take kids ages 4 to 12 years old on a 3 hour training course. Each child will receive their own pack consisting of a game ranger canvas backpack, a note book to use for “tracking”, drawings and field notes and a cap to protect their faces from the harsh African sun. The course covers; Teaching the children about different cat species (Cheetah, African Wildcat, Serval and Caracal), their habitats, feeding patterns and basic identification. Resident animals will be looked at too, these include; antelope, birds, crawling insects and others Some tree identification will be covered by the rangers Animal tracks are key for any future game ranger to understand and learn about, this will also be covered in the course. Basic direction is also part of our game ranger course. Bring your children to Emdoneni Lodge with Cheetah Project, stay for a few days and enjoy our cats and game drives. Let your children take part in the game ranger course and help us to conserve and appreciate our environment for the future! Contact Emdoneni Lodge on +27 (0)35 562-7000, find all the contact details and directions online.

On the 15 February 2015 we had the honour of welcoming two adorable little cheetah cubs into this world as our beautiful female cheetah, Autumn, gave birth to two delightful cubs. Much to our surprise, four days later Autumn gave birth to one more little boy who was rather fat but perfectly healthy. Due to the loan agreement we had in place, we were privileged enough to keep this little guy for breeding purposes as our numbers at Emdoneni were sitting very low. So we took him in and began what has been the most amazing journey…. Introducing Storm… Just as his name suggests, Storm caused a whirlwind of emotion and love in our hearts when he first arrived. Being in a foreign place he was initially quite afraid to be alone and followed Cecillie around like a little puppy, sleeping next to her bed at night; missing her when she was not around and listening to her voice as one of her own children would. Cecillie felt overwhelmed with love as her own kids are grown up and at the stage in life where it is to “cool” to kiss mom goodbye at school anymore! And so began the journey between Cecillie and Storm… During the first week of July, Cecillie took Storm to visit the rehabilitation project for the first time. At first he became rather annoyed for being left for so long without his mom (Cecillie, whom he considers to be his very own…). They have shared many memories together, including all the trips to the vet to ensure his health and development are on track. During her time with him, Cecillie continuously endeavours to shower Storm with loves. Kisses and hugs fill little Storm with absolute joy and contentment (here is a little video to show you just how content little Storm is) and it is with great happiness that Cecillie now gets to share Storm’s love with his new adoptive parents, Leney, Rigard and Wian Loots who are 12 year old triplets. We at Emdoneni are so grateful that he is being loved and cared for by such a tremendously loving family. Get to know Storm Being a cheetah cub Storm’s diet consists of fresh Zebra meat and water. He enjoys being outside exploring as any cheetah cub would. With a feisty personality and a love for Cecillie’s dogs, Storm takes it upon himself to entertain himself by teasing the dogs and exploring the garden at Cecillie’s home. Emdoneni are so proud and privileged to be able to care for such phenomenal animals and endeavour to inform people about these precious animals through all that we do. Just like Storm, there are a number of interesting facts to remember when it comes to Cheetahs cubs: #1 Although being a predator itself, Cheetah are also preyed upon by other predators and therefore it is imperative that orphaned cubs or injured cats are well-taken care of at our rehabilitation centre to ensure their survival. #2 Being animals that are built for speed, Cheetahs have weak jaws and small teeth and have trouble defending themselves from bigger cats and predators such as lions, hyenas and jackals. #3 Cheetah cubs are tiny and helpless when born, weighing roughly 300 grams and so it is vital that they are cared for appropriately during this stage of their life. #4 Cheetahs cubs need to be nurtured and cared for, for approximately 3 months and can thereafter begin eating meat. Some cubs are able to eat meat from as early as 3 weeks old. The Cheetah’s main source of food consists of small mammals and birds. #5 Cheetahs have a high mortality rate and are considered endangered here in South Africa. It is for this reason that we see many zoos, animal sanctuaries and rehabilitation centres like ours investing a large amount of time, research and funding towards the development of Cheetah breeding programs. Here at Emdoneni we strive to care for Cheetahs, Serval cats, African Wildcats and Caracal that have been orphaned or injured in the wild and it is our mission to ensure their safety, health and development by providing them with the necessities in life, showering them with love and caring for them in our rehabilitation centre. For more information on what we do here at Emdoneni or if you would like to get involved by donating funds or adopting a baby of your own please feel free to contact us on 035-562 7000/7001 or email Cecillie on cecillie@mweb.co.za.