Wednesday is the first day of winter and it can get very cold at night at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, sometimes with ice on the lake. So, preparation has been underway this month, with deliveries of hay, covering the outdoor dens with conveyor belt rubber and then insulating them with bales of hay.

We use two types of hay – a special soft ‘teff’ grass for bedding inside (cosy), and ordinary hay, stalks of wheat or soy are used to stack around the dens for extra warmth (or for playing and destroying).

Although ADIWS residents have free access to their houses (heated for our seniors), they mainly like being out in their dens under their viewing platforms.

Tarzan and Tanya especially like their winter love nest, and obviously, while the seniors Simba and Rey like to snuggle down, the Spice Girls have other ideas for hay bales. You can watch sisters Jade, Luna, Sun and Moon enjoy their daily mission to destroy the hay bales (see video in the comments, if you missed it!). The ADIWS team simply enjoy the fun, and then patiently rebuild each day!

HELP KEEP THEM WARM THIS WINTER. We need 650 bales to insulate all of our dens, and they cost R13.50/$0.86cents/£0.68p each. TARGET THIS WEEKEND: Raise $560/£442 to cover all our winter hay bale insulation. Can you help? The cost of cup of coffee could prove five bales to keep a lion or tiger warm.