━━

Nestled in the heartland of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, this tranquil reserve boasts spectacular rolling views while offering a truly authentic wildlife experience. We believe that a single action can make a difference in nature, and that collective action can greatly impact the world.

This exquisite, black leopard was born prematurely in November 2011, in the Free State. Despite his beautiful black coat with faded brown rosettes, Shadow’s mother refused to nurse him as a cub. He was relocated to Sea View in Port Elizabeth, where he was bottle fed. During his time at Sea View, Shadow was mostly cared for by females, resulting in him bonding quickly with the fairer sex and often disliking males. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of his previous home and resulted in his relocation to Three Valleys in September 2021.

Shadow loves playing with his food and engaging in lemongrass-scented enrichment activities. He also displays a range of vocalizations in the early morning and late afternoon. He tends to growl at males but when females are in attendance he meows sweetly.

Three Valleys is Shadow’s retirement haven, and although his current enclosure is adequate, our current fundraising efforts are going toward enlarging his enclosure.

Judith, Josh, Jason and Joseph were born in October 2011, from the same litter. Until very recently, the four siblings lived together at Sea View Predator Park. Judith was sterilized during this time to prevent inbreeding.

We welcomed all four lions to Three Valleys in September 2021 after their previous facility closed down. We recently made the decision to split their pride; placing Josh and Judith in one enclosure and Jason and Joseph in another. This decision was made after thorough consultation with lion experts. Each enclosure has a brick shelter and a wooden platform, ideal for basking in the sun. The pairs are also allowed to rotate between the two enclosures.

Since settling in at Three Valleys we have learnt that Judith definitely runs the show. She is a beautiful, independent white lion. Joseph, also a white lion, has proven to be calm and easy going, whereas Josh, the biggest male within the group, knows that he is at the top of the food chain. Josh has a large forehead and a striking mane, while Jason, the peace maker within the group is a real sweetheart, with a beautiful demeaner.

For these siblings, Three Valleys is their retirement haven. Whilst encouraging as natural a life as possible, these four lions are also exposed and challenged with enrichment activities, that prompt their natural instincts.

Ruby was born in 2011 from a litter of four. She is a Siberian Tiger and has remained the smallest sibling. In 2013, Ruby had a tumble while playing, which resulted in a broken front leg. Ruby underwent a risky operation, during which three metal plates, attached to a long pin were used to repair the break. After 6 months of intense rehabilitation, she made an amazing recovery.

It has now been nine years since Ruby’s accident, and although she has regained enough mobility to live a quality life within her new spacious enclosure, she will not be able to successfully survive in the wild. We at Three valleys, are in awe of how well Ruby has adapted to her surroundings. She has become the epitome of a happy cat and more recently, can be seen climbing in and out of her water bath and rolling around on the grass. Her enrichment activities are designed to not only strengthen and develop her leg muscles, but to also activate some of her natural instincts.

When Ruby is not lying amongst the natural shrubbery within her enclosure, she can be observed basking in the sun, on her wooden platform.

These cats are by far the most active predators within our sanctuary and love to play. Siayha is Clarke and Caramel’s mother but from different litters. Each of them have very different personalities and can be found either running and jumping amongst the natural shrubbery and trees in their enclosure or basking in the sun.

All three caracals were born and raised at Seaview Predator Park, and were relocated to Three Valleys in 2021, due to the closure of the park. Since settling in, Siayha, Caramel and Clarke have adjusted well to their new surroundings and eagerly approach the fence when visitors, volunteer workers and caretakers are in attendance.