Page 85 - World of Animals - Issue #41

The Big Cat Sanctuary
Nature versus nurture
You’re very hands-on with your experience. Do you
think that’s the best way to handle big cats?
This is something I am all too familiar with,
generally faced with a view that having a hands-on
approach is ‘not natural’. I would never suggest that
it’s an approach that would work for everyone, but
it’s definitely an approach that has worked in my
own experience.
No captive environment will ever replicate a
natural habitat. Captivity is far from ideal, but we
have a responsibility to provide these animals with
a life that is not only safe, but fulfilled physically as
well as psychologically.
By having a hands-on relationship you can
provide the animals with stimulation that
would otherwise not be possible. They are then
conditioned and adjusted for a life in captivity. I
have experienced this in my care. Historically, I
am of the opinion that these cats have the ability
to demonstrate a more natural repertoire of
behaviours than other captive cats.
I can provide certain stimulations and exposures
that wouldn’t normally be possible. The fact that I The Big Cat Sanctuary
could be there with a tigress when she was giving strives to educate all of
their visitors about the
birth to her cubs was a testament to the bond I had cats and their endangered
with her, and it was based on mutual respect. status in the wild
082-085_WOA41_Zoos Cat Sanctuary.indd 85
The park is
designed to be a
peaceful place to
keep the animals
safe from danger
Upcoming projects
Are you collaborating or working with any
other animal projects?
Ten years ago I visited a conservancy in Kenya
called Ol Pejeta – I was struck by their holistic
approach to conservation, which met the needs of
both wildlife and local communities. They are a true
role model for the conservation community, not
only in East Africa, but globally.
One area they have excelled in is reducing
human-wildlife conflict, pioneering and utilising
various techniques and strategies. Unlike most of
Africa, which has seen a dramatic decrease in the
lion population, Ol Pejeta Conservancy has seen
their lion population double in the last decade.
As the conservancy is now at carrying capacity
for lions, it is imperative that they have the ability
to monitor the numbers as they expand outside the
conservancy’s boundaries.
We are raising money to put satellite collars on
some of the lions, which will give vital and real-
time information. If there are enough collars out
there with enough lions, you can get information © The Big Cat Sanctuary; Andy-Sue Dim
back. This data will help reduce lion-human conflict
with local communities, and at the same time, will
help form a lion conservation strategy across the
wider Laikipia ecosystem.
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