Timaru woman Denise Beynon is set to brave South Africa to help a lonely epileptic lion.
Zulu, a male lion, has been living alone in a sanctuary in Zimbabwe since the death of his beloved canine companion.
Miss Beynon, alongside 13 other volunteers, will embark on an epic adventure to stage a daring rescue mission organised by International Working Holidays (IWH) and their partners at the Lion Sanctuary.
The aim of the mission is to rescue two lionesses from a canned hunting lodge.
These lodges are places where captive-bred wild animals are kept in confined areas to prevent the animals’ escape and make tracking and killing them easier for the hunter.
It commonly involves the trophy-hunting of lions and is especially popular in South Africa.
With Zulu being epileptic, other lions would perceive that as a weakness, and more than likely kill him if he were to be released into the wild, IWH said.
The project hopes to provide Zulu with the companionship he needs and help him form a new pride with the two lionesses.
His enclosure will be divided in half with a fence to give the lions a chance to get to know each other before it is removed in January next year.
Miss Beynon said working with animals was always something she wanted to do later in life.
‘‘When you get to my age, it’s just time to live, time to just do your own thing.
‘‘I feel like my generation didn’t really have the freedom to do this sort of thing while we were young.’’
‘‘It’s always been in me but now I’m getting the opportunities.’’
Miss Beynon did similar work last October with the company.
‘‘I volunteered with a project of theirs last year — it was at Buffledrifts Sanctuary which was a wonderful experience, I totally loved it.
‘‘I was lucky enough to do a cheetah experience with a male cheetah. The wildlife vet was called out, we had to track and dart [the cheetah] to replace the current tracking system and give him a medical check-up.
‘‘It was brilliant to be so hands-on.’’
The volunteers will drive 1000km to the canned hunting lodge to rescue the lionesses and then drive 1500km non-stop back through South Africa to the Zimbabwe border to the sanctuary.
International Working Holidays’ CEO and managing director Vicki Kenny said Africa had always been a big passion of hers.
‘‘After a trip to South Africa in 2014 I started up the volunteer programmes for people all around the world to go to Africa to help with the wildlife and issues with poaching.’’
Ms Kenny said they got involved with Lion Sanctuary and Anthony, who runs it, just before Covid hit.
‘‘Anthony has quite a lot of knowledge when it comes to translocating lions, rescuing them and also integrating the pride so they won’t kill Zulu.’’
Anthony runs a lion sanctuary in South Africa and is assisting with taking the lionesses to Zulu, who is located at another sanctuary in Zimbabwe.
‘‘Because of his efforts against the canned hunting lodges, he has painted a bit of a target on his back,’’ Ms Kenny said.
She said the animal side of the projects attracted people.
‘‘People’s whole idea behind it is they feel like they are giving back and volunteering, not just visiting but actually getting involved. ‘‘Our motto is we help people be more than just a tourist.’’ Spots for the first part of the project were only offered this time to past volunteers, like Miss Beynon, and were filled in just seven days. Ms Kenny said it was really important to make the most of these opportunities. ‘‘We don’t know with lions, rhinos and elephants how long they’re still going to be around, so I say to people, go out and experience it while you can because you never know what is around the corner with poaching.’’
Miss Beynon shared a similar sentiment.
‘‘I’m just trying to do my wee part to preserve these animals for a bit longer because eventually with the way things are going they’re not going to be around for much longer in the wild.
‘‘Animals can’t talk so we need to listen to their actions, and unfortunately culture and corruption gets in the way.
‘‘I’m not a vet, a vet assistant or a conservationist, I’m just Denise from Timaru.’’
The volunteers pay their own way to get there, and will spend 14 days carrying out the project.
Miss Beynon said she plans to make the most of her adventure.
‘‘You’ve only got one life, do it
— you’re dead a long time.’’
She will fly to Johannesburg on November 16.
Ms Kenny said there were still spots available for people wanting to get involved with Zulu: Part Two.
‘‘In January another volunteer group will travel to Zimbabwe to witness the taking down of the fence and the hopeful successful forming of a new pride.’’
Part two will take place January 16-30, 2024. People interested can apply to take part on the IWH website.
