The Lions Foundation is located on Schrikkloof Private Nature Reserve in the Limpopo province of South Africa. TLF was founded in 2019, with the intention of providing big cats that have been used in circuses, in the tourist or hunting industry, as pets or that were illegally trafficked, a safe forever home in an environment as close to nature as possible. The Lions Foundation is a sister organization of Stichting Leeuw in the Netherlands. Stichting Leeuw rescues, rehabilitates, and shelters big cats and if possible, relocates them to The Lions Foundation, for the well-being of the cats and to make room in the Netherlands for new big cats in need.
Since the start, The Lions Foundation has given shelter to dozens of big cats. Many of these were rescued from circuses, private possession and zoos by Stichting Leeuw in the Netherlands and were rehabilitated and relocated to TLF to their forever home. These cats can, unfortunately, not be released back to the wild. They have not learnt to hunt, some of them were bottle-fed, declawed and/or defanged. They simply would not be able to fend for themselves in the wild. At TLF every couple lives on 1.5 ha of savannah land and is well taken care of in terms of food, enrichment and medical attention. Most of our 'residents' have a turbulent past, with malnourishment, maltreatment, declawing, defanging, too little excercise etc. So they require frequent medical inspection and intervention.
Since 2023 TLF also runs a Rescue & Conservation Centre. Here we rescue and rehabilitate native predators and other native animals, if possible to be released back into the wild. We take care of servals, caracals, black-footed cats, African wild cats, bat-eared foxes, genets, leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, porcupines, bush babies, tortoises, mongoose and more. We run a Conservation program with wild dogs, as these wonderful animals are severely threatened and need help to once again thrive in the wild.
The Lions Foundation has a strict hands-off policy. We do not allow the animals to be touched or be triggered in any other way. Our goal is to provide them with an as natural environment as possible, which means as less human intervention as possible. Of course we do need to take care of the cats, but we aim to keep contact with them to a minimum.
We also have a strict no-breeding policy. We believe the world already has enough big cats in captivity and there is no rational reason to breed any more in captivity.
We do realize that big cats are threatened with extinction and that it would be very useful if we could contribute to the conservation of the species. We are always open to conservation programs that work on this cause and also aim to look into the possibility of releasing lions in reserves. The Lions Foundation is NSPCA accredited.
The major goals of our organisation are:
• To rescue captive big cats and rehabilitate them as far as is feasible, allowing them to live the rest of their lives in a safe environment, as close to nature as possible and providing them with the best care possible.
• To rescue and rehabilitate native South African animals, mainly predators, and if possible release them back into the wild.
• To contribute to conservation programmes, at the moment for wild dogs and in the future for vultures and more.
• To educate and encourage people to appreciate, understand and protect wildlife and their natural habitats through education. Tours are given regularly to visitors of the lodge at the reserve with the aim of raising awareness for the plight of big cats.
• To assist in and develop new projects involved in the protection, rehabilitation, humane captive environments, and welfare of all wild animals.
South Africa has rich biological diversity. However, sadly increasingly, humans are influencing the lives of many beautiful animals. Big cats are turned into breeding machines, used as entertainment, or discarded by animal parks. Donkeys are being abused or left to die. Monkeys are exploited, injured, or taken from their mothers. Rhinos are poached, orphaning their young. The list goes on and on. TLF is trying its best to get those animals out of the miserable conditions they are living in.
We are based on Schrikkloof Private Nature Reserve, a 1200 hectare nature area within the beautiful Waterberg biosphere. The reserve was previously a game farm, so there are still many species of antilopes, giraffes, zebra etc. living on the land. They no longer have anything to fear from hunters, as the reserve is strictly no-hunting. The animals do require some looking after and extra feeding in winter. Of course the reserve has many free-roaming species too, for example brown hyena, porcupines, aardvark and sometimes even the elusive leopard. The reserve itself is an amazing scenery of 'koppies' (hills), valleys and savannah.
Schrikkloof is also home to a herd of donkeys, rescued and rehabilitated by Rest ur Ass Donkey Sanctuary in Johannesburg. These donkeys can roam free on part of the reserve. Sadly, due to a combination of lack of education and people's need to survive, many donkeys are subjected to neglect and abuse, overworked and left to die in agony. Rest ur Ass takes care of many donkeys and arranged for a large group to come to Schrikkloof. These wonderful animals need care.
The Lions Foundation is the perfect place for volunteering with big cats, donkeys and native African wildlife. We require a team of dedicated volunteers throughout the year. With us, you will have the amazing opportunity to volunteer in South Africa working with animals and helping us to care for a wide variety of wildlife.
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