On Friday 15 November 2013, The Bridge SPAR staff members visited The Twala Trust Animal Sanctuary, run by trustees Sarah Carter and veterinarian Dr Vinay Ramlaul. The Twala Trust is a rescue and rehabilitation centre offering a safe haven to a wide variety of wildlife, farm and domestic animals and birds.

Through its Community Benefit Scheme, Bridge SPAR raised funds for Twala which they used to purchase some diamond wire mesh for the lions enclosure. During the visit, Sarah showed the SPAR team around the sanctuary where two Duikers were spotted, normally shy animals – they withstood the team’s pats!

Sarah saved the best for the last though as the team had the privilege of watching a lion and lioness being fed! Although only 5 years old, the two looked massive and fully developed adult lions – a mere sight of the paw had the team quivering in their shoes! The female lion was more confident than the male and Sarah explained that this was due to the fact that the male lion used to live in a male dominated area where he was bullied by the older lions and as such, he was a gentle soul.

Evermary Nyamwanza the General Manager of The Bridge SPAR expressed her delight in having toured Twala. “This has been a great experience for us and we had a wonderful time with the animals and I applaud the work that you are doing Sarah and Vinjay. There are not many rehabilitation centers for wild animals and as such, we at Bridge will rally behind you and continue to offer any support that we can in ensuring that Twala continues to grow and expand its rehabilitation work.”