Garden Route: Gondwana Game Reserve introduced 800 new animals!

The Gondwana Game Reserve, located in the heart of the Garden Route about 25 minutes outside the coastal town of Mossel Bay, has recently introduced 800 new animals. The 11,000ha Big Five reserve received herds of Eland, Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest, Springbok, Red Hartebeest, Waterbuck as well as two adult female elephants and their three young. A pod of hippo and a new female cheetah will be introduced in the near future. Gondwana Game Reserve's pride of lion also welcomed two new cubs which were recently seen on game drive for the first time since their mother was denning. These introductions have taken the wildlife population in the Gondwana Game Reserve to the highest density it has ever been.

South Africa: Elephant to be released into the wild after 23 years in captivity

update (03 May 2013): Conservation Global, a South African educational, research and awareness organisation, was actively involved in reintroducing Thandora back into the wild at Gondwana Game Reserve in the Western Cape. Check their video! Kudos Conservation Global!

  Thandora- A zoo elephant´s journey back to the wild from Conservation Global on Vimeo.

update (13 March 2013): Check Thandora's diary for photos and more! [more]

update (07 March 2013): Gondwana Game Reserve has uploaded some photos of Thandora's relocation to their facebook page!

Thandora, a female elephant that has been in captivity for 23 years, will soon be released back into the wild. Her partner elephant for many years recently died and zoo officals in Bloemfontein decided not to keep the widowed elephant, but to free her. Thandora, aged 27 years, got relocated from the Zoo in Bloemfontein to the Gondwana Game Reserve in the Western Cape on 05 March 2013. Due to her captivity, Thandora is currently not in the best shape so that keeping up with the herd of elephants in the Gondwana Game Reserve could be potentially life threatening for her. Thandora will therefore spend some time in a special holding boma and will embark on a rehabilitation program including both diet and exercise before she is getting released into the reserve. Experts reckon that it could take between six to eight weeks for her to adjust to the programme. All the best, Thandora!
The Gondwana Game Reserve is a 11,000-hectares private game reserve in South Africa's Western Cape. The malaria-free reserve is situated about 25 minutes outside of Mossel Bay and a mere four hours drive from Cape Town. Gondwana Game Reserve is the only fynbos reserve in the world with free roaming big five game as well as endangered species like the Cape Mountain Zebra, Black Rhinoceros and Black Harrier among many others.

Gondwana Game Reserve: First wild lion cubs born in South Africa's Southern Cape in 150 years

The Gondwana Game Reserve, located in the Garden Route just 4 hours drive from Cape Town and 45 minutes from George, has announced the birth of two free roaming lion cubs. They are believed to be the first wild lion cubs born in South Africa's Southern Cape for 150 years. 
The malaria-free Gondwana Game Reserve, the only fynbos reserve in the world with free roaming big five game, is running an ambitious conservation project to restore and rehabilitate the 11000-hectare reserve by populating it with indigenous game. The birth of the two lion cubs marks the success of the efforts implemented to encourage the self-sustaining wild lion pride of the Game Reserve. Besides lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalos and leopards, Gondwana is also home to endangered species such as Cape Mountain Zebras, cheetahs, black harriers and black rhinos, as well as to more than 10 species of antelope.