Rescued lioness continues to flourish at LIONSROCK
Bethlehem – This October marks eight years since lioness Nala arrived at LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary, a FOUR PAWS sanctuary providing lifelong care for rescued big cats, where she now enjoys the freedom, care and dignity every wild animal deserves.
Born in 2015, Nala’s early life was far from natural. She was rescued from a man in France who trained and sold wild animals to circuses. After years of legal efforts by French authorities, the animals were finally confiscated in 2017. Nala was taken into the care of Stichting AAP and transferred to their big cate rescue centre, Primadomus in Spain on 01 March 2017 before making the journey to South Africa.
At the time, LIONSROCK was caring for a young male lion named Saeed, who was in need of a companion. Having worked closely with Stichting AAP before, it was decided that Nala would move to LIONSROCK, allowing Primadomus to create space for future rescues. On 11 October 2018, Nala arrived at LIONSROCK and was initially housed in the Special Care Unit, where plans were made to introduce her to Saeed, who sadly passed away unexpectedly before the introduction could take place.
Today, Nala continues to thrive in her forever home. She enjoys her spacious natural surroundings and dedicated care from the animal caretakers. Known for her energetic personality, Nala especially loves enrichment in the form of hessien bags filled with her favourite scents and is eager to be challenged with more complex options. Her playful personality continues to be a defining trait. She greatly enjoys her weekly training sessions and consistently shows strong learning ability, picking up new concepts quickly and eagerly.
“Nala’s transformation shows what is possible when rescued animals are given the care, safety and space they deserve. Today, she is thriving at LIONSROCK, a powerful symbol of resilience, hope and second chances,” says Hildegard Pirker, Sanctuary Manager at LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary.
Located near Bethlehem in the Free State, LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary provides a safe haven for rescued lions, tigers and other big cats that cannot be returned to the wild.
For more information, please visit our website at www.lionsrock.org
Author: Deidre Daniels.
Risen
Did you know that another country lies within the borders of South Africa? The Kingdom of Lesotho is a sovereign state that is located in the Drakensberg Mountain area. The mountainous country has been nicknamed “the Kingdom in the Sky” thanks to the magnificent scenery and landscapes!
Twix Bond
Diary of an Englishman after he moves to South Africa….
**August 1**: Just got transferred with work from London, UK to our new home in Phalaborwa, Limpopo, South Africa. Now this is a town that knows how to live! Beautiful, sunny days and warm, balmy evenings. I watched the sunset from a deckchair by our pool yesterday. It was beautiful. I’ve finally found my new home. I love it here.
**September 1:** Really heating up now. It got to 31 today. No problem though. Living in air-conditioned home, driving air-conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the sun every day like this. I’m turning into a sun-worshipper – no blasted rain like back in London! Had the back yard landscaped with tropical plants today. Lots of palms and rocks. No more mowing lawns for me! Another scorcher today, but I love it here. It’s Paradise !
**October 1:** The temperature hasn’t been below 35 all week. How do people get used to this kind of heat? At least today it’s windy though. Keeps the flies off a bit. Acclimatizing is taking longer than we expected. Fell asleep by the pool yesterday. Got third degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed three days off work. What a dumb thing to do. Got to respect the old sun in a climate like this!
**October 25:** This wind is a bastard. It feels like a giant fucking blow dryer. And it’s hot as hell! The home air conditioner is on the blink and the repair man charged R200 just to drive over and tell me he needs to order parts from @#$# Johannesburg. The wife & the kids are complaining.
**October 30:** The temperature’s up around 40 and the parts still haven’t arrived for the fucking air conditioner. House is an oven so we’ve all been sleeping outside by the pool for 3 nights now. Bleeding R4 million house and we can’t even go inside. Why the hell did I ever come here?
**November 4:** Finally got the fucking air-conditioner fixed. It cost R1,500 and gets the temperature down to around 35 degrees. Stupid repairman. Fucking thief. If one more smart bastard says ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I’m going to fucking throttle him. Fucking heat! By the time I get to work, the car radiator is boiling over, my fucking clothes are soaking fucking wet and I smell like baked cat. Fucking place is the end of the Earth.
**November 9:** Tried to run some errands after work, wore shorts, and sat on the black leather upholstery in my car. I thought my fucking backside was on fire. I lost 2 layers of flesh, all the hair on the backs of my legs and off my fucking behind. Now the car smells like burnt hair, fried bum and baked cat. The Weather report might as well be a fucking recording – hot and sunny. Hot and sunny, Hot and fucking sunny. It’s been too hot to do anything for 2 bleeding months and the weatherman says it might really warm up next week. Fuck!!
**November 15:** Doesn’t it ever rain in this darn place? Water restrictions will be next, so my R5,000 worth of palms might just dry up and blow into the fucking pool. The only things that thrive in this hell-hole are the fucking flies. You don’t dare open your mouth for fear of swallowing half a dozen of the little buzzards!
**November 20:** Welcome to HELL! It got to 45 degrees today. Now the air conditioner is gone in my car. The repair man came to fix it and said, ‘Hot enough for you today?’ I wanted to shove the car up his backside. Anyway, had to spend the R2,500 of the mortgage payment to bail me out of jail for assaulting the stupid fool. Fucking PHALABORWA! What kind of sick, demented idiot would want to live here!
**December 1:** WHAT!!!! The FIRST day of Summer!!!!
You are fucking kidding me, right?