enrichment

Mighty Mahla

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It will be ten years ago this year that the two ADI raids on the same grim circus in Cusco, Peru, reunited Kiara with her cubs Mahla and Scarc. Those cubs grew into full grown lions several years ago and just look at Mahla at play now in the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary (ADIWS), South Africa! Mahla’s strength and agility remind us that the lionesses are the hunters of the pride in the wild, providing the food for the family. Young Dhubiya, of the #Kuwait6 – six young lions rescued from Kuwait’s illegal pet lion trade that we hope will be arriving at the ADIWS in May – reminds us of a young Mahla. We can’t wait to see her getting to grips with some of the toys at ADIWS.

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Ruben’s classic move

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Many of you remember the first thing Ruben did when he saw his very first toy after stepping onto African soil at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. After six years of living alone in a barren concrete cage in a zoo, Ruben now lives in the Keith’s Happiness Habitat, enjoying the natural space. Enrichment is always a special treat – Ruben was excited when he walked over to his giant catnip punchbag and played and played until he demolished it!

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Brotherly love

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Max and Stripes love splashing in their pool, especially with a watermelon to play with – although it can get quite messy! Rescued as young cubs from a circus holed up in a junkyard in Guatemala, six years ago. Now they live in Kakato by April Fong Habitat, our largest tiger territory at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. They are friendly, confident animals – Stripes, who was shy as a cub, now fully expresses himself! They love to play with any kind of enrichment, including their Valentine’s Day watermelon treat!

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Watermelon surprise for Ruben

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Ruben seems over the moon to receive his watermelon treat ahead of Valentine’s Day! This is Ruben’s first Valentine’s Day at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary after he was rescued last year from a life of lonely suffering in Armenia. He loves his toys, especially his special teddy bears made out of recycled coffee sacks. We can’t wait to treat him to more watermelon on Valentine’s Day – it will be another tasty treat for him to enjoy. Thanks to Sharon Barber who donated watermelon treats for all the animals at ADIWS.

Keep the fun going for Ruben, while supporting his physiotherapy. Donate toward more enrichment.

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Ruben loves his A-frame

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Enjoying the shade on a summer’s day…. Ruben absolutely loves the A-frame shelters in his habitat and when the African summer sun gets hot, that’s where you’ll usually find him. He even carries his toys and tucks them inside, and as we all know how much he loves his toys, that means he sees his A-frames as a safe place. Ruben’s confidence continues to grow, and his movement has improved greatly since those first wobbly steps when he arrived.

Giving a donation for enrichment at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary pays for lots of different things – catnip sacks, giant balls, structures to hang toys up, A-frames for snoozing and watching the world. Toys for lions and tigers need to be regularly repaired and replaced – destruction is half their fun! Chino and Coco use their A-frames as gym equipment and Kesari likes to lean on his until he flattens it!

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Stripes on patrol

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Stripes on patrol at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary. Stripes and brother Max enjoy the 5+ acre Kakato by April Fong Habitat at the Sanctuary. They have two pools, Stripes is passing the largest, two big platforms, trees, various enrichment, a feeding camp and two room night house. Rescued as six-month old cubs from a circus cage in a junkyard in Guatemala, we wonder if they remember much of those early months when they were being passed from person to person for photographs?

Remember: Never pay money to have photographs with or cuddle baby animals.

Tanya nose dives into a bag of catnip

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Tiny but fierce Tanya investigates her new catnip bag. Thanks to the empty coffee bags donated by Highland Coffee Roastery, the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary team are making up lots of treats for the lions and tigers. To help bring extra joy in the New Year for the big cats, you can still donate pumpkin treats and part of it will also go towards a day’s care for a lion or tiger. Donate here

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