If you would like to participate on this project for more than 12 weeks, please do get in touch with the TRU team.
The centre is located in the wellknown Free State province, which borders the Northern Cape. The predator farm is situated only 30 km from the historical town of Kimberley, on the National Road (the N8). The farm is home to an abundance of animals; we are a home to 42 predators and 2 monkeys – the predators include: 4 cheetahs, 20 lions, 4 caracals, 2 servals, 1 African wild cat, 2 black back jackals, and 9 bateared foxes. These animals are taken in to be cared for because of various reasons; some cannot live in the wild on their own if they are sick or were abandoned, and many are rescued from unethical processes like canned hunting and breeding for tourism purposes. When it is possible, we strive to release our animals back into the wild where they can live freely without any human interaction.
Currently busy expanding the enclosures on the farm. These enclosures will be geared towards mimicking a natural area for play and roaming. Each enclosure will accommodate the specific species’ needs. Every enclosure will consist of tree logs, a climbing area, and adequate space to roam. The centre currently has over 1000 hectares of pure Free State farmland available to expand the project and ensure the wellbeing of the animals in our care. We do not intend to breed with our lions or to buy in any more cubs in the future.
Since the start of the farm in 2010, we have released 2 Caracals on Nicky Oppenheimers Reserve, Tswalu. We have also released more animals on the Langberg Guest Farm, as well as on our own farm. Some of these animals include; Jakkels, Meerkats, misseljaatkatte (Cape Genet), African Wild Cats, Muishonde and more.
You can start the project with a two day orientation on the Wednesday and Transfer to the project on Friday. Please advise our Travel adviser of your plans.
Volunteers will be involved in the daily activities of the centre. Tasks may include:
As a volunteer, you will be working closely with staff to complete tasks for each of the various aspects of the farm.
Daily routine: Cleaning the enclosures & farm, feeding the animals, maintaining the enclosures, etc.
Projects: We run various projects that aim to improve the farm and wellbeing of the animals. The projects at the farm continuously change depending on the needs of the animals and farm at the time.
Duties that do not directly interact with the animals are still crucial to their wellbeing. General maintenance and cleaning of the grounds for example cutting grass to ensure there are no ticks, fleas, snakes, and spiders, and poop scooping are regular tasks on the farm for the health and safety of all the animals in our care.
As a volunteer, you will be able to experience each of the various jobs on the farm; we rotate the tasks among the volunteers to ensure each person has an opportunity to both help with farm maintenance and interact with the animals equally. While we require a lot of assistance with meal preparation for the animals , if volunteers do not feel comfortable with this, you will not have to do it.