Safari connects you to nature in such an instinctive way, as you are exploring wilderness areas that are untouched by man. In the bush, animals seem surprised to see you and life seems to work as it should: without human interference. Poaching and other environmental factors mean that many endemic species are critically endangered, which is why it is so rewarding to remember that by visiting these places, you are supporting and playing your part in countering some of the devastating damage that would otherwise be done.
All of cazenove+loyd’s safari and wildlife holidays are based around conservation, as without responsible tourism the projects that protect animals and their habitat simply would not and could not exist. And perhaps the only thing as thrilling as encountering animals in their natural habitat is seeing, in action, the conservation projects that protect the lives of these majestic creatures. Below, we have highlighted just a handful of the amazing programmes that we support and can arrange for our clients to visit on their next safari.
CHEETAH CONSERVATION AT SAMARA PRIVATE RESERVE, SOUTH AFRICA
At the root of the fantastic cheetah project at Samara Private Reserve is one particularly moving story. Sibella was a two-year-old cheetah who was rescued after suffering horrific abuse; she had been targeted by hunters’ dogs that brutally injured her legs before being locked in a filthy cage for months. Incredibly, she recovered fully from the ordeal and, by the time of her death two years ago, Sibella had produced 20 beautiful cubs, increasing South Africa’s cheetah population by an impressive 2%.
cazenove+loyd co-founder Henrietta Loyd fondly remembers spending time with the so-called ‘Sultaness of Samara’, who had such a fantastic temperament that she felt able to stroke her. Sibella’s legacy and memory live on for visitors of the project today, through the guides’ wonderful stories and her cubs who still reside at Samara and in the country’s 15 other protected areas where her genes are now present.
Samara is a great conservation success story. Since Sibella was released back in 2004, the reserve has been home to about 50 cheetah, with 40 cubs born there. Most of these have then gone on to populate other reserves and national parks in South Africa and beyond.