The Cango Wildlife Ranch is a very special zoological facility like no other in Africa! Since inception we have worked tirelessly to create a place where animals find sanctuary and their care and love is at the highest level. We also believe that with the continued rate of human population expansion and the ongoing rape and destruction of natural habitats, strong action must be taken to ensure the continued survival of species now on the endangered list.
To this end, we as a private facility have put our money and resources where our mouth is, by developing a number of extremely successful breeding programs, as well as encouraging the public to actively assist in helping to conserve our natural resources in the wild, through our educational tours and our human/animal interactions with our ambassador animals – (once people have experienced a natural encounter they are often far more receptive to the promotion of conservation awareness).
We too long for the day that all animals can roam freely in their natural habitats, without human hindrance, but the reality is that for many species there are no longer safe or available habitats. Should this however be the reason they are condemned to extinction… an unrecoverable sentence? We believe not! Maybe, just maybe, man will learn from his greed and animals bred in centres such as ours will be able to return to their natural habitats in the future – but right now that is not practically possible, and therefore our mission is to build up sufficient populations to ensure their continued survival!
To this end, we have created our Wild Animal Volunteer Program to assist us in our daily struggle to protect our ecological heritage.
HISTORY OF CANGO WILDLIFE RANCH AND CHEETAH PRESERVATION FOUNDATION
In 1977 the Cango Crocodile Ranch was established as South Africa’s first crocodile show farm. In 1986 a drea
m was realised when Andrew and Glenn Eriksen purchased the Cango Crocodile Ranch and shifted the emphasis from a crocodile park to a leading conservation and tourist education centre. In 2006 the Ranch again transformed with it’s biggest project to date, the creation of the “Valley of Ancients” – a magnificent centre themed on the great rivers of Africa and highlighting a number of endangered species and the plight they face in the wild. This exciting interactive facility also hosts the world’s first crocodile cage diving experience, designed to give visitors a close up and personal insight into the lives of these magnificent creatures.
Today, whilst the ranch continues to house a modest crocodilian population, it has actively turned its attention to the plight of a number of endangered species, particularly the big cats. With the initial emphasis being on the highly endangered Cheetah, the Cango Wildlife Ranch is today home to more than 80 species of animals and reptiles.
We believe in conservation and we know that extinction is forever! Running the race against extinction is not an easy one. The work done at the ranch by our dedicated staff takes on a whole new meaning when you realize that the people involved in saving animals and educating the general public will never see the results of their work in their lifetime. Nevertheless, we will keep on doing our best to ensure that extinction becomes just another word in the dictionary and not a reality. We have seen man do terrible things, but we also know that man is capable of great things and it is towards greatness that we at the Cango Wildlife Ranch strive.
CHEETAH PRESERVATION FOUNDATION
Mission Statement: “To promote and fund the conservation of cheetah and other endangered species through captive breeding, research and public awareness.”
The Cheetah – one of the world’s most fascinating and beautiful cats, is in danger. Highly specialised, the Cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth, achieving an incredible top speed of 120 kilometres (74 miles) per hour. Sadly this ability, which is used for hunting, has placed the Cheetah in direct conflict with man. In order to achieve these high speeds, the Cheetah requires open flat land – the same land man requires for agriculture. This loss of habitat, linked to low reproductive success (caused by poor gene diversity), has reduced Cheetah numbers to less than 10 000 worldwide.
The Cheetah Preservation Foundation at the Cango Wildlife Ranch was founded in 1988, with the principal aim of ensuring the survival of the cheetah and other endangered species, as well as educating our visitors about the plight of the these animals. The Cheetah Preservation Foundation also gives our visitors the opportunity to become pro-active in the conservation of endangered species, by joining as members and thereby contributing financially to our various conservation projects.
~ Some of our Achievements:
Through public involvement, the Cheetah Preservation Foundation was able to contribute and continues to contribute to the following projects and organisations:
- National Cheetah Conservation Forum of Southern Africa (NCCF): – awarded the Cango Wildlife Ranch “Cheetah Friendly” status in recognition of the Ranches commitment to Cheetah conservation.
- Namibia, Africa: – 13 Cheetah saved, which had been caught in trap cages. These Cheetahs were destined for certain death, had they not been saved. They were incorporated into our breeding program.
- Cheetah Outreach Program, Africa: – received “Shadow”, a hand-raised cheetah from the Cango Wildlife Ranch to be used as an ambassador for raising awareness of the plight of Cheetah in the wild through their educational programs.
- Over 250 Cheetah were born at our breeding facility since we commenced our breeding programme in 1988 and are currently proudly rated one of the top 3 breeding centres in the world.
- We further committed to our conservation ethos by becoming a member of ISIS (International Species Information System).
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom, USA: – 30 Enormous Nile Crocodiles were sent to Disney’s Animal Kingdom prior to their opening in the spring of 1998.
- Orana Wildlife Park, New Zealand: – two Wild dog females were transferred to Orana to join their three existing males. This importation introduced new genes to the Regional Breeding program of Australasia.
- Australian parks & Wildlife Service: – the Cheetah Conservation Foundation assisted ‘Down Under’ by donating money to the Koala Rehabilitation Program after the devastating fires of December 1993.
- Pilansberg National Park, South Africa: – three of our Wild Dog males were donated to establish the first captive bred/wild mixed pack released in the reserve. One of these males became the Alpha male, and the pack continues to grow from strength to strength.
- Bushmeat Crisis: – In July 2002 the Cheetah Preservation Foundation donated R20 000 to the Bushmeat Crisis Working Group to support anti-poaching and anti-bushmeat activities in the Cross-river national park in Nigeria, Africa.
- Cango Wildlife Ranch helped draft the Code of Ethics and Zoo Standards now adopted for Africa.
- We are recorded in the International Cheetah Studbook as the best breeding facility in the world with regard to the survival rate of our Cheetah cubs.
- SPCA South Africa (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals): – Have received awards for the care and condition of our animals.
- Cango Wildlife Ranch is one of only 6 institutions in Africa to be members of WAZA (World Assocation of Zoo’s & Aquaria). Membership of this prestigious organisation is by invitation only and it only represents the top zoological facilities in the world.
- Accreditation received by PAAZAB (African Association of Zoos and Aquaria): – one of only four institutions on the continent of Africa to receive this prestigious accolade.
The Cango Wildlife Ranch is one of only four facilities on the continent of Africa to have obtained accreditation from the African Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquaria (PAAZAB). PAAZAB is an internationally recognized organization with an accreditation standard recognized by the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA) of which we are also members. The Cango Wildlife Ranch was awarded this prestigious accreditation in December 2003 and again in October 2009 when the Ranch underwent its five-yearly review of evaluation according to PAAZAB’s high standards.
The PAAZAB accreditation process encourages an institution to make incredible efforts to upgrade its facilities to the highest levels for the benefit of both its visitors as well as its animals. Our accreditation served as recognition of our conservation ethos, our high level of animal care as well as our exceptional facilities for our visitors with evaluations on animal husbandry, animal collections, safety and security, conservation education, research, staff and ethics being the other guidelines for the accreditation.
The Cango Wildlife Ranch is also a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). The goal of WAZA is to guide, encourage and support zoos, aquariums and like-minded organisations of the world in animal welfare, environmental education and global conservation.
WAZA is responsible for the following:
- Creating a harmonic relationship between zoological gardens and aquariums which includes conservation, management and breeding of animals in human care.
- Promoting and coordinating cooperation between national and regional associations.
- Representing zoological gardens and aquariums on an international level.
- Promoting environmental education and research, and wildlife conservation.
We are very proud to be one of only five members of WAZA in South Africa and daily strive to uphold what they, and we, stand for.
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