WATCH: Emdoneni puts cheetah interaction on hold
Two cheetah incidents at Emdoneni Lodge have reignited critics' call to ban wildlife interaction in South Africa
LESS than a week after the cheetah incident involving a New Zealand teenager at Emdoneni Lodge near Hluhluwe, video footage of a prior incident involving an exchange student has emerged.
According to Peggy Lio, who contacted Traveller 24 about her experience, the incident occurred the day before that of teen Isaac Driver.
‘Our group of about five people, along with another group of 10 people, went into the enclosure and were told we were allowed to pet two cheetahs, as well as take pictures.
‘We were all standing together as a group. Suddenly one of the cheetahs approached me, jumped on me and pulled me down to the ground, attempting to bite me,’ said Lio.
The incident was caught on camera and the video footage has since gone viral.
Although both Lio and Driver were only scratched and not bitten or seriously injured, the two incidents have got wildlife ‘petting’ critics campaigning for a banning of the practice.
Emdoneni has since taken the decision to cease cheetah interaction, or ‘petting’, until further notice.
‘Although tours are still going on as normal, no interaction with the cheetah will be allowed until further notice. This is also in line with the trend of moving away from petting of large predators,’ said Emdoneni owner Cecillie Nel on Friday.
‘Guests will still have the privilege to view cheetah up close within the enclosures and have great photographic opportunities. ‘The rest of the tour with serval, caracal and African wild cats will be as normal.’
The establishment has also taken the decision to not allow guests younger than 16 inside the cheetah camps.
‘Our clients believe in what we stand for and understand that this project is based on education and releasing, hence the reason for the low number of animals in captivity at Emdoneni.’
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is still investigating the incident. In contrast, the three-year-old child of a farm worker on John Varty’s Free State farm, Tiger Canyons, was last weekend mauled to death by one of Varty’s captive cheetah. This incident has attracted little media attention.
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