As the name implies, the Namibia Wildlife Sanctuary is home to a wide variety of animals that have required a helping hand at some point in their lives. The sanctuary is home to everything from fearsome lion’s right through to some mischievous meerkats, so today we are going to take a closer look at some the animals that call the sanctuary home.
Misty the caracal
First up is one of the cutest residents at the sanctuary, Misty the caracal. Misty’s arrival at the sanctuary was a surprise to all as they did not know her famous mother Alex was pregnant for quite a while! This surprise soon turned to joy when Misty was born, as although she was a chubby little cat, the birth went without problem and now Misty is a 7 month old who has well and truly found her feet. Her she is in her early days at the sanctuary.
Christa the baboon
The story of how Christia came to be at the sanctuary is a sad one, but things are finally beginning to look up for this tough little monkey. Christa lost her mum to the barrel of a gun, a fate often realised by many baboons in Namibia as they are unfortunately seen as a pest. Fortunately she was rescued by the Sanctuary and she is now at home with the other young baboons, with Dawie being her particular favourite!
Whisky the meerkat
Back in January last year, Whisky the then tiny male meerkat arrived at the sanctuary needing help. He was smothered with love and he even found time to form an unlikely partnership with Goldie, the resident duiker. The two are known to snuggle up at night, and this is an adorable sight to see so be sure to watch out for the terrible twosome.
Clarence, Nancy and Winnie the lions
Arriving at the Sanctuary after other members of their pride were tragically shot, Clarence, Nancy and Winnie were rescued by one of the owners of the Sanctuary, Marlice. Unfortunately, reintroduction to the wild is simply not possible in this case as release back into the Etosha National Park (from which they came) would most likely lead to the lions being killed by a resident pride, and finding other viable release sites in Namibia can be a very daunting task.
Fortunately, these feisty felines have found a home at the Sanctuary, and their large enclosure provides them with plenty of room to roam around and live out a lion lifestyle!
Dassie the rock hydrax
You would be forgiven for thinking that this adorable little creature was a larger cousin of the hamster but you would be wrong! Dassie’s closest living relative is actually the elephant! She arrived at the sanctuary way back in 2014, and she immediately won everybody over with her big button eyes and a very cheeky smile. Dassie can often be seen in her favourite place, namely draped over a volunteer’s shoulder, so watch out or you could have an unexpected hitchhiker on your travels around the project site.
These are only some of the many animals at the Namibia Wildlife Sanctuary, but hopefully this will enable you to put a face to a name when you arrive! Please note that as the sanctuary actively seeks to release animals back into the wild once they have been rehabilitated, the numbers of animals can change very quickly so if any of the aforementioned creatures are not at the sanctuary when you arrive, please don’t be too disappointed as you will still have plenty of animals to help.
