‘Spice Girls’ Jade, Luna, Sun, and Moon are given access to an empty habitat twice a week for enrichment at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa. The ADIWS Resident Welfare Team is always coming up with new ways to enrich the lives of our rescued lions and tigers, and this is just one example. The sisters like to explore every inch of the empty habitat, especially playful Jade who has great fun bouncing around.
Continue readingBonding with Coco and Chino
Our ADI Wildlife Sanctuary Resident Welfare Team (RWT) continues to spend time each week with our rescued lions and tigers. Here, Ernest sits with brothers Coco and Chino, rescued from a circus in Peru – their friend Kesari can be seen in the background. Bonding time is part of our work to build trust with our big cat residents. This helps us to better care for them, especially when there are medical issues.
Continue readingWill you help this family of horses?
Hobbled in a street, will you help this family of horses run free? They were found barely able to move in a town street. Saved from suffering by the SPCA but with nowhere to go, with your help ADIWS can provide them with a home for life.
Continue readingGood morning from Leo
The sun is up and elderly Leo greets the day. Officially Leo is 21 years old in January, although many of us suspect he was much older than eleven when ADI rescued him from a circus in Peru. However old he is, he is the father of our pride and the most senior lion at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. These days, Leo is showing his age and like many elderly cats getting thinner, so each day the ADIWS team hand feed him with tongs to ensure he gets all of his food, medications and supplements. He sleeps nesting in hay in his house or one of his platform dens – note the bits of hay in his mane in this picture – and in the mornings potters out into the 3.75 acre (152,460sqft) Abbey Habitat. He’s currently enjoying the warm Spring weather and sunshine and usually settles by or under the trees but is still found occasionally at the far end of the habitat. We’ve added extra water points to the habitat so that he always has water nearby and if we see a big rain storm coming we will bring Leo inside to keep him dry. It’s all a long, long way from that small, bare circus cage he once lived in. Welcome to another day in paradise Leo.
Tomas and Kimba made the news
Tomas & Kimba hit the news! Both were born in a circus cage in Guatemala, torn apart as cubs with Tomas sent to a zoo, then both rescued by ADI and reunited at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa. Their heart-warming story features as a full page in The Daily Star, on page 3 of the Daily Express, and also in the Daily Mirror!
Help Matilda and friends
Will you help ADIWS provide a home for Matilda the cow, eight goats, two sheep, and a family of three horses?
The ADI Wildlife Sanctuary (ADIWS) is a paradise for rescued lions and tigers and has become a beacon of hope for other animals across our region of South Africa, where there are very limited facilities for animals saved from abuse. Tragically, when animals in distress are confiscated, there is often nowhere for them to go. At ADIWS we have the space to answer some of these calls for help and aid the enforcement of animal protection laws. But with new species arriving, we need to ensure we can cover the fencing, food, care and veterinary costs.
Continue readingRuben the cover star
Everyone knows that Ruben is a star, but now he’s also the cover star of the ADI 2024 Animal Rescue Calendar and our new greeting cards – the perfect way to spread cheer this holiday season! He was rescued from years of isolation and confinement in a private zoo in Armenia that had shut down, all animals removed except him. For six lonely years, Ruben had not heard another lion, and fell silent. He arrived at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary in August with difficulties walking and keeping his balance. The world watched as he wobbled out of his travel crate in his Keith’s Happiness Habitat and immediately played with his giant catnip punchbag. Now Ruben savors every bit of his new life at ADIWS, finding his voice again with his lion neighbors, enjoying catnip showers and all. His catnip-sprinkled mane in this calendar photo sums it up best.
2023 was certainly Ruben’s year…what will 2024 bring for this magnificent old warrior? Order your 2024 calendar today to support Ruben and our other rescued animals. Order US $ | UK £
Order your Ruben cards (packs of ten with envelopes), featuring his story of hope, resilience, and perseverance – the perfect message for the holidays. Order greeting cards US $ | UK £
Continue readingRuben found his voice
This week Ruben found his voice. On Monday, there was something different about the sound when Simba and Rey were roaring and sure enough, Ruben was joining in with them! We are trying to get footage of him roaring with the other boys, but so far, by the time we get there, he’s stopped. He’s also announcing himself to everyone throughout the day, and we caught the video here – Ruben’s first real roar caught on camera! Turn the volume up, because for everyone who has followed him from his lonely life in Armenia to South Africa, this is a huge landmark. He is throwing himself into his roaring with such gusto, he wobbles but there’s no falling down for this loud, proud lion!
Continue readingHappy Halloween
It’s proving a fantastic Halloween 2023 at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary thanks to everyone who donated pumpkin treats for the rescued lions and tigers. All of the residents react differently, but you can see how much these treats mean, so do please keep giving so that the animals can keep having fun. Keep watching for classic Leo doing it his way at the end! Thank you to everyone who helped give them a Happy Halloween 2023!
You can still sponsor pumpkins. Anything else we raise will help keep the lions and tigers in treat for the rest of the year, while supporting their care. Donate here
Ruben’s happy Halloween
It’s our magnificent old warrior’s very first Halloween celebration at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. What must he think of all the new scents, textures, and tastes after years of deprivation in his tiny zoo cell in Armenia? He’s liked every treat put before him, including pumpkins and he loved getting these first Halloween pumpkins this weekend. Thank you to everyone who has been sponsoring pumpkins for Ruben and our other rescued big cats – you’ve also helped contribute to their care.
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ADI Wildlife Sanctuary 