The Lions
MATATA TAMBO & TESS!
Matata, Tambo & Tess have been part of our welfare project since 1996 /97.
In February 1996, we received a phone call from a lodge nearby, whoheld a group of lions, males & females, in captivity. They had rescued a cub from the group of captive lions, which at first they were convinced was dead for the other cubs had all been killed by their mother, but as they pulled him out, they realized he was still alive!
The females were not on contraception so uncontrolled breeding took place. After giving birth to her young, she would have been naturally stressed, but since she was in captivity in a very small enclosure with the other lions possibly harassing her, her stress-levels would have been extremely high. It is known that a lioness will leave her family group before giving birth – only introducing the cubs to the prideweeks later.
If lions are kept in captivity and are not on contraception, they easily fall pregnant. Should the captive conditions cause the lioness to feel insecure with no place to hide her cubs as she would do in nature, she may kill her young . If there is no breeding control at the captive institution, the lioness could come back ‘on heat’ (oestrus) again within a few weeks , and a new litter may be produced within 4 months.
At first therescued cub was cared for by the family, but when they wanted to go on holiday, the local vet was asked to take care of him. One day, the vet called to ask us if we would collect an orphaned lion. The AfriCat team went to the rescue, box-trap and all, to return with a little, six-week-old bundle of fur !
That was that – MATATA, as he was named, means “Problem”.... but, although he demanded constant attention of us since the day he arrived, he was and still is the most gentle & exquisite lion ever!!!
Matata lives with his 'pride' members Tessie & Tambo, in a large enclosure and they are taken care of as if they were our 'family'.
Tessie & Tambo (siblings) joined us in March 1997. Tessie (Tess - named after Natasha Kinski) and Tambo came from the most awful, cruel place near Tsumeb, where they were raised on dogpellets!
Tess is about 10 months younger than her brother, but she was not in the horrendous condition that Tambo was in. They had been separated, but once they arrived on Okonjima, were reunited for life!
We are convinced that the malnutrition Tambo suffered all those years ago, has affected his long-term condition and at times he can be a real grump!
This is the sad story of LIONS IN CAPTIVITY...
Because they are hand-raised and are such huge, powerful and potentially dangerous animals once fully grown, they can never be rehabilitated back into the wild.
The main reason is not that they have lost their instinct to hunt or survive, for we have witnessed how they instinctively chase and kill prey when the opportunity presents itself, but the fact that they have lost their naturalfear of man. Lions are pride or social animals and recognize those they know as‘family’; strangers are seen as the 'competition', as they would strange lions wandering into their territory in the wild; thus, when a 'stranger' passes their way, the possibility that they will attack, is a reality!
Once familiar with humans(imprinted and habituated), no nature reserve will take them off your hands and lions are not yet classified as an endangered species. So WHY – WHY do people keep lions in captivity?
If you have rescued a lion and it forms part of your Welfare, Awareness & Environmental Education programme, it may be argued that this animal has a value;however, they cost a fortune to raise, they demand constant attention and they eat huge amounts of meat!
Namibia's Ministry of Environment & Tourism discourages the capture of wild animals to hold in captivity. Namibia boasts vast tracts of land, ideal habitat for large numbers of wildlife. The majority of species indicate healthy, viable populations, so there IS NO NEED to hold animals fit to live wild, in captivity, nor to breed in captivity. It is our responsibility as 'keepers of the wilderness' to ensure that ideal habitat as well as the wildlife therein, are protected and conserved.
The question remains, however, that if you do have lions in captivity why would you not keep them on contraception, knowing that they breed easily and cost a fortune? The answer to this depends entirely on what your intentions are in holding lions -captive breeding for 'Canned Hunting' or showing cubs as a 'cuddly' tourist attraction?
In NAMIBIA, both the afore-mentioned are illegal but sadly, in other countries, captive breeding is permitted and after the cubs have grown and become too dangerous to be touched and hugged by man, where do they go after that? This question must be asked – the answer however, we do not wish to hear!?
Lions bred for 'Canned Hunting' are sold for thousands of dollars and continues to be a roaring business, despite it being outlawed in certain countries recently.
All lions on Okonjima are part of our ‘welfare’ project.
See article “walking with lions – a bloody con”
