Now in Malawi and will be spending a week at the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre (LWC).  This is a very special visit for me, as in a way, its kind of where OAT began.

Sue (my sister) first came here in Feb 2013 when she accompanied Born Free on a rescue trip which involved transporting a lion, Simba,  from Europe to his new home here at LWC.  Simba spent the first 9 years of his life in a French circus and the last few years in a rusty trailer belonging to the circus trainer due to the circus being run down.

After being rescued he spent 18 months at the Natuurhulpcentrum in Belgium where he was taken care of by a great team of people until Born Free raised sufficient funds to transport him to their sanctuary in Malawi.

Natuurhulpcentrum (Nature Help Centre)

He will now spend the rest of his days here in the company of 11 year old Bella, another Born Free rescue from a Romanian Zoo.  Bella was rescued 7 years ago and until Simba’s arrival, has been here on her own. Her life has been so enriched by the company of the very handsome Simba and as you can see they are now true friends. aahhhh!

We, OAT, sponsor the lifetime care of Bella and have every intention of supporting LWC in the future.

Lilongwe Wildlife Centre

I have been introduced to all 200 animals here including caracul, hyena, loads of different primates, crocs, birds, snakes, antelope, jackal etc etc. Some will be released back into the wild but not all.  

I will be learning about other areas of conservation work here in Malawi as well and will be meeting various government minsters on anti poaching & anti trafficking policy.  It seems Malawi is the main trafficking hub and exit transport route for the illegal wildlife trade of ivory, rhino horn, pangolin etc from neighbouring countries 😡😡😡😡😡😡