Sunday, March 16, 2008

The truth uncanned!

My heart breaks every time I hear of Canned Lion Hunting , Poaching or Hunting.
Humans are so heartless when it comes to canned lion hunting they breed tawny lions, they rear them and shear all their claws off and keep them until they are at an age where they allow hunters on their land who pay the owner of the Lion money to shoot the lion, below is a picture of Tawny lions. Tawny Lions are not facing extinction, but many are breeding them specifically for CANNED LION HUNTING.A sad story regarding the this male lion in the picture -he was sold to a canned lion hunting farm , his claws were all sheared off , thankfully the Lion and Rhino nature reserve heard of this and bought the male and brought him to this reserve, he shares a camp with the female Lion on the right called Leahr, she also has a story of her own, which apparently you can google using her name -- it will tell you that Leahr was a lion who comes from a Zoo in Rome she lived her life on a concrete slab, before the zoo, she had a owner who used to keep her in his flat and he fed her spaghetti, she then got too big and he could no longer keep her, he then sold/ gave Leahr to the zoo where she lived her life on a concrete slab still eating only spaghetti, the Rhino and Lion nature reserve then Bought Leahr and brought her to the Rhino and Lion nature reserve in the beginning they fed her spaghetti, they then introduced her to mince so she had a combination of spaghetti bolognaise , they then managed to get her onto raw meat and they can successfully say that she now only eats raw meat.

I think her life now is so much more fulfilled as she now has her own natural massive enclosure. Another important and Awesome thing about the Lion and Rhino nature reserve is that they don’t breed the tawny lions as they were saying that it costs R8000 to rear a tawny lion and R50 000 to allow it being shot in the canned lion hunting they are against canned lion hunting and keep all their tawny lions on contraceptives .

The new arrivals!!!

I’m so excited- I just can't hide it – I’m about to lose control and I think I Like it – Indeed these were the words I was singing and dancing to when Neil and I decided to go to the Rhino and Lion nature reserve, reason why I was so excited is I have such a passion for Cats and cubs and when hearing that there were 5 week old lion and tiger cubs, I couldn’t control myself or contain myself as I was so delighted.
We arrived at the Nature reserve and we were given an itinerary – Wow, there is so much to do and see first up was the Lion and Cheetah and Wild dog feed.
Next was the Bengal tiger talk and play and Tiger swimming at the animal crèche , here is where the little cubs were that you can hold and play with - I must say as cute as they are they love to bite and chew especially your ankles hands and arms.
Next was the live snake display which was really informative they too showed us the fangs of the venomous puff adder.
There to is a reptile park on site and the Black Mamba as seen below is housed there.
Next was the Cheetah Run, it was really great to see enrichment programmes like these introduced so encourage exercise and interaction. I was amazed to see how fast the Cheetah runs as you never really get to see something like that all the time.
Next was the white tiger and white Lion talk, which was really interesting there were 3 white lion cubs 2 of which were tame Nyala and Zazu and the third cub was a wild cub whose name was Shamwari – Shamwari’s story was a sad story let me share it with you as I am sure you are wondering why is a wild cub in a Nature Reserve.
At the Shamwari Game Reserve, Shamwari’s Mother and Father were both shot by poachers- leaving Shamwari abandoned all alone in the wild Shamwari would never have survived as the cub would have become food for the bigger predators. Shamwari is still very wary of man and doesn’t come close to the animal trainer unlike Nyala and Zazu who run and pounce and jump and play with the animal trainer. Shamwari just watches from a distance there is hope that Nyala and Zazu can help tame Shamwari.

We to were advised that the Nature reserve is going to have 2 brand new latest additions Jaguar Cubs , I simply cant wait to go back and see the new arrivals , I too will probably be keeping you updated with a lot more information packed enteries regarding this Nature reserve and this week I am going to get in touch with the reserve so that I can become a volunteer nothing would make me happier that to spend time with these cubs and cats and to play and give them loads of love I can promise you one thing that will be a lot more fulfilling than wasting a day at the shopping malls.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Good-bye point and shoot

I finally got it - it feels marvellous, fantastic, incredible... Okay let me fill you in, I finally understand photography, look- I am still a total novice and I have AN enormous long way to go , however, I am feeling rather elated about the fact that I am actually grasping the aperture and shutter speed and am able to set it correctly which in turn makes me feel like I have finally achieved the concept... Good-bye point and shoot and hallo Manual Nikon FM2, I think the 2 of us will become GOOD friends...