Bloemfontain - Giraffes & Predators

January 23, 2018: Bloemfontein is the sixth largest city (250,000 inhabitants) in South Africa and we spend two nights here. Unfortunately in different accommodations, as we only had one night pre-booked. After Cradock, we are happy about lively streets and good infrastructure.

We are positively surprised by Bloemfontein and enjoy the sights of the city. After the long drive through nothingness, our expectations are not very high either. In the middle of Bloemfontein there is a mountain called Naval Hill, which houses some animal species and promises a good view of the city. A large statue of freedom fighter and former President Nelson Mandela looks down on the city and reminds us of the long struggle and resistance against apartheid.

We are positively surprised by giraffes that we simply encounter on the street on Naval Hill. We are totally fascinated and can even get out of the car and observe these noble animals up close (as there are no animals like lions, buffaloes, etc. there). Unfortunately, wildebeest and various other antelopes as well as ostriches are only briefly noticed because the giraffes fascinate us so much.

Afterwards we drive to the nearby Cheetah Experience, a great project for the conservation of big cats. Only about 7,100 cheetahs are left worldwide. There we can see not only cheetahs, but also lions, the Siberian tiger, pumas, leopards, panthers, wolves, servals and meerkats (in captivity). We take a tour with Fa and Ma and are overwhelmed by the beauty of these animals. Baby Le stayed with the grandparents in the hotel. We learn a lot about the wild kittens. We find it very interesting that a cheetah is able to reach a running distance of 120 km/h for 60 seconds and temporarily "shuts down" all its organs except for the heart, brain and lungs. After that, it has to rest for 45 minutes. The quote of the day comes from Fa after the end of the tour, who finds almost all big cats so cute:

"It's totally unfair and mean that all these big cats have such cuddly fur and I'm not allowed to cuddle them because they want to eat me."

And if you're wondering what a Siberian tiger is doing in South Africa, I'm afraid I have to give you a less pleasant answer. He was brought to South Africa a few years ago to serve as a shooting target and free game for people. As he got older, it would have come to pass that he would have to serve the hunting passion of rich "idiots". But this tiger suffered from a hip injury and thus escaped this perverse game that would have cost his life. So he has been living here in the Cheetah Experience far from his home for many years. Fa is very affected by this story and reacts similarly stunned to our stories about the forbidden ivory trade. Unfortunately, the deliberate killing of animals is not illegal and is still carried out extensively, as the experts from the non-profit organization tell us. The rarer an animal, the more it is paid for exclusive shooting.