It’s sundown at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa and lionesses Kiara and Africa are inseparable as they patrol the 5-acre Davis Habitat in the fading light. Occasionally pausing to play or to chase after a mongoose or ground squirrel before it disappears underground, they check out their territory.
It’s almost ten years since ADI rescued Africa and Kiara from a tiny, circus cage in the desert region of Peru.
What a year Ruben! It seems so long ago that he walked shakily from his travel crate after arriving at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa from Armenia. Here he is enjoying his Christmas present hand made by the ADIWS team from recycled coffee sacks and filled with catnip and hay. Thank you to everyone who helped make his dreams come true.
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Our very best wishes for a Happy Holiday from all of us at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, with our grateful thanks for your support during 2023! At the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa, our rescued lions, tigers, donkeys, goats, pigs, sheep, and cow are already into their presents.
Our big cat residents at ADIWS enjoy large natural habitats where they can explore, stalk, chase small wildlife, sleep, or play but like all cats, they love anything interesting and new, especially new toys!
Thank you to everyone who contributed towards their festive treats, you can see here:
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We’d like to start with news of a new addition to our ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in time for Christmas. One of our family of donkeys has given birth to a beautiful foal. She has been checked by the veterinarian and is doing well.
The donkeys came to the sanctuary in May after being abandoned at a holiday lodge which had closed. ADIWS does not allow breeding, so Christopher the male was neutered on arrival. However, nobody knew the status of the females, and a donkey pregnancy can last up to 14 months! We did suspect that one female looked rather round and are delighted to welcome a new baby to the donkey family, being called Nugget.
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Playful Jade – one of the tigers we rescued from a circus in Guatemala – is back at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary after a short stay at Old Chapel Veterinary Clinic and the first thing she did was rub noses with sister Luna. In hospital, Jade was thoroughly examined, including x-rays, after she was seen limping and Dr Caldwell took the opportunity to examine the problem in this family due to inbreeding and malnutrition. For Jade (and sister Luna), the malformed skull and spine connection pinches the spinal nerve, and shows as a “goose step” walk, whereas in the older females, it has caused seizures. The cause of her limp was a cut on her paw, almost certainly due to overzealous play – her followers will know what a very boisterous and noisy group our Spice Girls are! It was not infected and she is now back to her normal self and is already back out in the main habitat with Luna, Sun and Moon.
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Yes, it’s officially summer in South Africa and Ruben is soaking up the sun and enjoying his first ever ice lolly! It’s another form of enrichment and stimulation for Ruben, and being made from glucose and electrolyte solution mixed with blood, these are cooling and helping Ruben’s hydration.
You can still be ‘Ruben Cool’ by purchasing his own special apparel raising funds for his lifelong care, including the veterinary treatment needed due to his years of confinement in a tiny zoo cell in Armenia. Order here
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Our beloved, boisterous, and naughty leader of the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary Spice Girls, Jade, is in hospital. Jade bounced straight into her travel crate, seemed content throughout the journey and is now settled in Old Chapel Veterinary Clinic. Dr Caldwell is checking out the cause of her limp and taking the opportunity to assess her spondylosis – which she, her sister Luna and Ruben all have. This was cause by malnutrition in the circus and causes her to have a goose-stepping walk. We are all hoping the limp is just down to over-zealous play and our very own Tigger will be bouncing around her habitat again soon.
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A huge thank you to everyone who has supported our GivingTuesday appeal to complete our ADI Wildlife Sanctuary staff accommodations this week. We have raised a fabulous $14,222.57 so far, bringing us over a quarter of the way to our $45,400 target. THANK YOU!
The animals we rescue come from confinement, deprivation, and often horrific abuse. This takes its toll, and our team are there day after day with medications, monitoring, and specialist care.
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We have a very special event next weekend (Sunday, December 10) in Los Angeles celebrating a decade of ADI emptying entire countries of circus animals. For those in the LA area, we do hope you can join us for ‘Inside Liberty‘.
As our Stop Circus Suffering campaign gathered momentum and countries started banning animal circuses, a question emerged – how to enforce the bans and where would the animals go?
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Jade had been in her travel crate for over two days for an epic journey from Guatemala to South Africa. ADI had rescued her from a tiny circus cage and now green grass and a new life at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary stretched out in front of her. We wonder what she was thinking, as she took the biggest step of her life?
Join ADI’s Jan and Tim in Los Angeles on December 10th for the inside story, with previously unseen video, of ADI’s 18-month Operation Liberty that emptied Guatemala’s circus cages and brought Jade and others to a new life. Click here to book your tickets.
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