Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre
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The Centre has established itself as one of the leading private research and breeding facilities for endangered species in the country.
Governed by a progressive and modern management approach, it concerns itself with the breeding and maintenance of several endangered indigenous wildlife species in Southern Africa.
The Centre places particular emphasis on the breeding and maintenance of cheetah in captivity. The excellent condition of these animals and the premises on which they are maintained, reflect the attention to detail, which is the hallmark of this facility.
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History Lente Roode - The Whole Story |
In 1950 Lente Roodes’ father, Willie Schürmann, bought a 2000-hectare farm in the Hoedspruit district in the Northern Province of South Africa which, today, forms part of the Kapama Private Game Reserve. Kapama Private Game Reserve is situated adjacent to the Kruger National Park in South Africa and consists of an area of 13 000 hectares where the big five roam freely.
Throughout her childhood, Lente visited the family farm regularly during weekends and school holidays. It was on this farm where her sincere love for this part of South Africa, the bushveld and especially wild animals started and have grown into a life long passion for the conservation of all animal species.
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Lente’s father generated the farm’s income through sheep and cattle farming where lions, leopards and cheetahs were seen as a threat to livestock farmers and were shot on sight. As a child at the age of six, Lente was given an orphaned cheetah cub, after a neighboring farmer shot the mother. They called her “Sebeka” and she soon became part of the Schürmann household, with Lente spending as much time as possible with her tame cheetah. After completing her studies in education, Lente married Johann Roode in 1970. |
During 1985, Johann and Lente bought their first farm on the border of her family farm in Hoedspruit. It was at this stage that she decided to try and procure a few cheetahs to keep near the farm house.
Lente contacted Des Varaday, a well-known cheetah breeder whose facility was located near Middelburg in Mpumalanga Province. Lente knew Des from her childhood and he used their cheetah, Sebeka, in his book called “Gara Yaka” along with other detailed illustrations.
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Much to her surprise, Des asked her whether she would not be interested in taking over all thirty-five of his cheetahs. He reasoned that he was getting too old to look after them, and that he knew Lente would provide a secure and healthy future for his animals, Lente agreed, and with the help and guidance of Prof. David Meltzer of the Onderstepoort Faculty of Veterinary Science and Des himself, they planned and built the Hoedspruit Cheetah Project within a year.
It took a year for the animals to settle down properly in their new environment before opening its doors to the public in 1990. Tourism, together with sales from the curio shop, helped to generate some of the income needed to run the Project on a day to day basis.
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The project was initially established solely as a breeding centre for cheetahs, but the need for a breeding and research centre for other endangered species was soon realized.
This led to the expansion of the Project in order to provide facilities to accommodate several other endangered species hence the new name – the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre.
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| The Centre is a non-profitable organization ploughing all funds back into nature conservation in order to help ensure the continued survival of all endangered animal species. Today the Centre has established itself as one of the leaders in the breeding and research of endangered species. Besides this, the Centre, also provides a safe haven for orphaned and sick animals and also offers an education Centre, where the public can learn about endangered species by observing them at close range. |
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Endangered Species
There are a number of privately-owned and run wildlife research and breeding centres around South Africa, but the Hoedspruit Centre is without doubt one of the most comprehensive and successful. Established in the late 1980s by Lente Roode as a Cheetah breeding station, it is now a centre that has breeding programmes for a number of endangered species, including birds, and which is a refuge for many animals that have been abandoned or otherwise misplaced in the wild. The centre works closely with the advisory committees of the Pretoria Zoo as well as the University of Pretoria.
The cheetah project became the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre and opened its doors to the public in 1990.
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Critics are quick to point out that the Cheetah, although once critically endangered, is now out of danger and therefore why all the fuss? The main object of the breeding programme is to help create a broader gene pool within the southern Africa Cheetah meta population (the Endangered Wildlife Trust was established 30 years ago with the conservation of the Cheetah as its primary objective).
Today, Hoedspruit Cheetah are released into the wild in formal conservation areas, private game reserves, and even airports
Finally, as far as Cheetah are concerned, the Hoedspruit Centre has been successful in breeding the rare King Cheetah. This is in fact not a sub-species, as once thought, but a colour variant caused by a recessive gene that must be in both breeding adults. |
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The Hoedspruit Centre is also well known for its Wild Dog breeding programme. There are now three packs of this, Africa’s second most endangered carnivore.
Like the Cheetah one of the main objects of the Wild Dog breeding programme is to expand the gene pool of the species.
Other species in the Hoedspruit research and breeding programme are the rare Black-Footed Cat, the vulnerable African Wild Cat, Ground Hornbills (in co-operation with the National Zoo in Pretoria), Bald Ibis and, in the past, South Africa’s national bird, the endangered Blue Crane. Other species that have been brought in for care and rehabilitation are elephant, White Rhino, buffalo, Caracal, Sable Antelope, Bushbuck and Tsessebe. |
Of the most spectacular species that were housed at the Centre were two pairs of Barbary Lions, one pair abandoned by a travelling circus in Mozambique and the other rescued from a captive situation in Italy.
Barbary Lions are a difficult case. Of North African origin, it is by no means certain that they are in fact a separate species, but what is certain is that they were wiped out in the wild by the 1920s, the last surviving in Morocco.
They survived, however, in private menageries, specifically in that of King Hassan ll, until the end of the 20th century. Anyway, it is hoped that a breeding programme may be established at Hoedspruit in the fullness of time. Currently there is only one male Barbary look-alike. |
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There is also a vulture restaurant which attracts White-backed Vultures, Hooded Vultures, occasionally the Lappet-faced Vulture and Cape Griffon, then Marabou Stork and Bateleur Eagle. The bones and carcasses come from the bomas, paddocks and pens around the Centre, and once they have been picked clean they are taken to a bone miller and the proceeds are put pack into the Centre. Nothing goes to waste! |
An important facet of the Hoedspruit Centre is environmental education, not just for those students lucky enough to spend time on course there, but also for visiting adults and children. Visitors, including many school groups, are taken around the Centre and are given the opportunity of not only learning about the many species currently there, but also of being able to see them at close quarters. |
On 22 April 1995, the Veterinary Hospital was officially opened at the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, headed by a full-time veterinary surgeon. The hospital consists of a consulting room, a fully equipped operating theatre and a quarantine section with special temperature control and other monitoring facilities.
The hospital plays a major role in the centre’s research programmes for the breeding of endangered animal species in captivity and is assisted by an advisory committee from the University of Pretoria. This committee includes specialists in the fields of microbiology, nutrition, theriogenology, medicine and pathology and is responsible for monitoring veterinary matters. At times the centre, and particularly the hospital, is called upon to assist in the rehabilitation of other animal species, which have been injured or otherwise disabled.
The animals bred at the centre are from as genetically diverse backgrounds as possible because of the special attention given to breeding management. Apart from the ordinary cheetahs, the centre has a number of the very rare king cheetahs, therefore contributing to the king cheetah gene carriers. The breeding details and information on the genetic background of each animal are meticulously recorded and regularly updated.
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The main objective of the cheetah rescue unit is to develop a conservation plan than ensures the conservation of the cheetah, while taking the plight of the farmers into consideration.
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Farmers are still a long way from living in harmony with these beautiful cats that are predators and need fresh prey to survive. Any predation on animals is seen by farmers as a financial loss that they combat by killing cheetahs as fast as possible to prevent further predation. The cheetah / human conflict is an ongoing reality that needs to be understood and dealt with in a very sensitive manner.
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The Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre developed a unique compensation scheme to encourage farmers not to kill cheetahs, but rather to capture them. The rescue unit donates a set amount to farmers and landowners who go to the trouble of capturing cheetahs alive and handing them over. The wild cheetahs are then released into adequately fenced and approved protected areas and are monitored by the new owners for record and research purposes.
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Visitors can witness feeding sessions of various rare African vultures as they swoop down into the “vulture restaurant” to feed on the remains of carcasses. The centre’s veterinary staff operate an animal hospital where injured or abandoned animals from elsewhere are cared for and eventually released back into the wild.
The centre, a non-profit enterprise, is funded from gate takings and sales from the curio shop and restaurant. Visitors to the centre have a number of options, including tours of the centre and game drives on Kapama Private Game Reserve.
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Game Drives - Lunch / Dinner
Daytime and evening game-viewing drives for visitors to the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre finish with a lunch or dinner in the form of a gourmet barbecue at either the Rhino Inn boma or the Elephant Inn boma.
The bomas are thatched enclosures on the Kapama Private Game Reserve. The Rhino Inn boma can accommodate120 guests and the Elephant Inn boma can accommodate 40 guests.
They can be used for private parties, functions and informal conferences. Superb gourmet meals, infused with an African flavour, are served around a crackling fire under the star-filled sky.
They two bomas also make a wonderful romantic venue for a bushveld wedding. The Elephant Inn boma easily converts into a chapel while the Rhino Inn boma makes an excellent reception area.
A delightful safari atmosphere is maintained at all times, enhanced by the staff’s meticulous attention to detail with the guests’ comfort foremost in mind.
*Please Note: We regret that children under the age of six years are not allowed on game drives.
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The centre has established itself as one of the leading private research and breeding facilities for endangered species in South Africa. It concerns itself with the breeding and maintenance of several endangered indigenous wildlife species in Southern Africa. The centre places particular emphasis on the breeding and maintenance of cheetah in captivity. |
The ultimate objective of the centre is to return endangered African species to the wild once their numbers have increased to such an extent that they can be released.
The Cheetah and Endangered Wildlife Conservation Programme is based on a 3 week conservation course. Students working at this centre are sure to gain an all-round knowledge in nature conservation in a hands-on environment.
Time will be spent learning about game farm management, spoor identification, problem animal control just to mention a few aspects… Visits to the famous Kruger Park, situated right on the doorstep of the cheetah centre, as well as visits to local rehabilitation centres are all part of the programme.
Students will participate in game walks and sleep out under the African sky. They will spend most of their time involved in the conservation programme but some time will be spent feeding the endangered animals, working in the butchery and assisting with tasks around the centre. Wherever possible students will assist the veterinary doctor in nursing the ill, injured, orphaned animals back to health. |
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The centre is a non-profit organization, ploughing all funds back into nature conservation in order to help ensure the continued survival of endangered animal species. In addition, the centre also provides a safe haven for orphaned and sick animals and has an education centre where the public can learn about these animals.
The Centre for Endangered Species covers in excess of 100 hectares of natural bush. The centre also hosts a Veterinary Hospital, which plays a major role in the centre's research programmes on the breeding of endangered animal species in captivity. At times the centre, and particularly the hospital, is called upon to assist in the rehabilitation of other animal species, which have been injured or otherwise disabled.
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| · Basic food preparation on open fire |
| · Prepare meat for the animals in butchery |
· Feed animals (Lions & Cheetahs, African Wildcat etc), feed birds (bald ibis, ground hornbill, blue crane)
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| · Work with the Vet in the animal hospital |
| · Assist with post mortems and collection of biological samples |
| · Basic tracking and interpretation of signs |
| · Collecting and identifying key grass species and determining veld conditions with this knowledge |
| · Awareness walks - identifying animals, birds, trees, insects etc and discussing theire interrelationships |
| · Assist with general tasks e.g. keeping enclosures clean and tidy. |
| · Using lures to attract animals, proper setting /erection of capture equipment such as cages, capture camps, fences |
| · Translocation and re-introductions of animals when problems occur |
| · Shooting, weapon handling and safety |
| · Anti poaching patrols, search for snares, identifying trap sites |
| · Attend lecture/discussion classes on conservation |
| · Conducting guided tours |
| Students stay in comfortable chalets with 2 beds to chalet. There is a communal kitchen that the volunteers share. Students will be responsible to purchase their own breakfast. They will be taken into the nearby town twice a week to buy their necessary breakfast items. |
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