Jukani in Plettenberg Bay

Jukani is the third article of the series of articles „Help for wild animals in South Africa“. In the last two articles I wrote about Monkeyland and Birds of Eden. By now I haven’t mentioned that Monkeyland and Birds of Eden, but also Jukani belong to the South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance (SAASA). The aim of this alliance is to provide animals in captivity a better life. That means, SAASA “releases” animals in spacious green areas. However, SAASA is also engaged in raising awareness about the plight of large predators in captivity and in the wild. Therefore, education of the public is one of Jukanis priority. While Monkeyland is focused on monkeys, Birds of Eden on birds, Jukani is dedicated to large predators.

Jukani is a wildlife sanctuary for top predators like lions, tigers and jaguar along the Garden Route. According to Jukani, in an ideal world there would be no animals like lions or tigers in fenced areas. However, as there are many threats like poaching or loss of habitat, Jukani is important to provide a safe place for these top predators. But important to mention is that Jukani is not involved in any breeding program. They do not follow any program to extend their wildlife sanctuary. Many “wildlife sanctuaries” that breed animals are more interested in a financial benefit. Jukani, in contrast, “just” provides a safe place for animals that had lived already in captivity. They do not take animals from the wild. When other large predators need help, Jukani tries to help as much as possible. However, from Jukani’s side there is not trade with wild animals.

At the beginning I was not quite sure if I should visit Jukani as I do not like the thought of large predators in a fenced area. The same happened to me with birds. However, as raising awareness about the plight of large predators and education of the public are on the top of Jukani’s priorities, I was convinced about their great work. Visitors of this wildlife sanctuary are not allowed to take selfies with the animals. They also do not offer any human-animal-interaction. Jukani provides relatively large areas (at least larger than in a zoo) with many hiding places. Thus, it was even impossible for me to spot all animals on my visit. For example, I could not see the leopard (Panthera Pardus) or the puma (Felis concolor).

Although Jukani cannot give them the area to roam as they normally use in the wild, this wildlife sanctuary is contributing a lot to the protection of large predators. Unfortunately, in reality there are many human-wildlife-conflicts like habitat loss and poaching. Thus, wildlife sanctuaries like Jukani are important to provide a safe place for these big cats.