I LOVE! where I live!

I live behind a Game Lodge and most mornings I drive through part of it on my way to work and if it's been raining hard I drive around it as part of the road runs alongside a stream bank and gets a bit quagmire-ish.
Most mornings before breakfast and my second cup of coffee I get to see: Lions, eland, giraffe, oryx, zebra, springbuck, elephant, if I'm very lucky rhino and buffalo( their camp is a bit far from the roads).
This morning I found a Cheetah! I almost hit it as it was crouching next to the road on a sharp turn. We both got a fright!

I took these with my phone so appologise for quality:





This one we took yesterday. There are 3 females and a male.



The lions are in their own camp as they'd kill the cheetah and any other small carnivores.
On my farm I have Black Back Jackal (they're a bit of a pest), Bat Eared Fox and Bush Pig.

That's amazing, how about some more photos?

Isn't it a bit dangerous though?

Wow! It must be scary though. Do people get attacked very often?

No, no one has been attacked here. If you keep in your vehicle they will for the most part get out of your way. Most predators are sissy's, they know to fear humans instinctively. Most lions in Game Parks are well fed and lazy but there have been a few idiots with something to prove that got mauled.

This Lodge also has electrified perimeter fencing. The animals are in more danger of humans than we are of them.

I'll pack my proper camera and try to get some proper pics. Sometimes they're to far off to get good shots. I was cursing this morning that I didn't have my camera, in months I haven't seen him once.

Funnily enough - there was an incident in the UK yesterday. A woman and her 2 children were driving through a lion reserve when the car suddenly burst into flames and they didn't know whether to stay in the burning car or get out and face the lions! They were rescued in the end though.

 That's scary but hilarious

Here's a photo of the burning car.

http://lukewilliamsgossip.com/2014/04/car-goes-flames-lion-enclosure-longleat-safari-park/car-goes-up-in-flames-in-the-lion-enclosure-at-longleat-safari-park-2/#.U1Ukqe1wbIU

The owner of the safari park is quite interesting. He is Lord Longleat and dresses in a sort of cross between Henry VIII and a mad hippy. He is married to Lady Longleat but has a row of houses on his estate where he keeps all of his mistresses. He calls them his 'wifies'. The real wife has never commented on it.

OMG     

The wife makes him pay I'm sure.

The man's always been a bit 'odd'.  

They're "wifelets", Caryll, "wifelets".

What do they all see in him - he looks like Stig of the Dump.

Lovely photos of the cheetah, Theresa. Forgive my ignorance, but if the park is electrified fenced all round, how did the cheetah get in?

Wow it must be amazing to be around them every day.

I read the story about the car in the lion enclosure, what a choice to make. If it had been an enclosure with wee rhesus monkeys though I would have stayed in the burning car    

LyndaW wrote:They're "wifelets", Caryll, "wifelets".
 

Whatever....still "mistresses" to me!  

LyndaW wrote:
What do they all see in him - he looks like Stig of the Dump.

I know! But even if you try and look through the filth, he still looks a pretty poor catch. He might have a huge estate, but he's got no money!  

Yes they are mistresses, poor deluded fools.

I thought it may be money attracting them, but as you say he has none, I'm even more bewildered.

Maybe it's just the fame & the idea of living on a big estate?   

or maybe "any port in a storm". Oh some people are weird, I hope they're all very happy together.

Meanwhile - back to the cheetah ......

 

There was an article in the paper wondering if the women were there hoping to meet and marry some of his rich friends but so far that has never happened.

 

LyndaW wrote:Lovely photos of the cheetah, Theresa.  Forgive my ignorance, but if the park is electrified fenced all round, how did the cheetah get in?  

It's a Game Reserve they keep it in that enclosure. It's electrified to keep the cheetah in.

Another one you've cleared up for me Theresa!

Please forgive my questions, questions, but I've often wondered about the game reserves/safari parks in Africa. Do they just put a fence around an area of land and whatever is in there stays in there, or do they introduce other species as well to protect them/add interest? Are there any areas of Africa that are wild, free and open so that animals can come and go as they wish?

I'm on my phone so will give a proper answer tomorrow when I'm on the lappy

No problem - I've wondered for years so I can wait a few more hours!   

LyndaW wrote:Another one you've cleared up for me Theresa!  

Please forgive my questions, questions, but I've often wondered about the game reserves/safari parks in Africa.  Do they just put a fence around an area of land and whatever is in there stays in there, or do they introduce other species as well to protect them/add interest?    Are there any areas of Africa that are wild, free and open so that animals can come and go as they wish?

Most of Africa is actually quite tame and settled, maybe the more 'primitive' areas in Central Africa are different. I'll stick to where I know and that is South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.
We don't have wildlife roaming the countryside and elephants on runways keeping planes from landing. It's all cities, towns and farms - like England.
Years and years ago the Goverments noticed that every living thing was being killed left, right and center in the name of 'sports' so large tracts of land were fenced off to preserve wildlife for future generations e.g: Kruger National Park, Etosha, Okavango.
Game Lodges, Farms are very popular tourist attractions, so have been popping up quite a bit lately (we'll not go into ethics and treatment of animals today   ).
Most times a large enough farm is sourced, an impact study in done to see what plants and wildlife (rabbits, small antelope, jackal, foxes) are in the area and what can be supported. Then the farm is bought, fenced, animals bought and brought in from somewhere else, introduced and released. The animals need an adjustment period after being transported and put into a new environment.

It's basically farming just with 'wild' animals instead of cows and sheep.
I'd say 99% of the time you need the electric fencing to keep humans out and the animals safe instead of vice versa.

Hope that's what you wanted to know   

That's interesting, thanks!