Jake White the Springbuck

The Story of Jake White the Springbuck

It is with great sadness that we bring you the story of Jake White, our beloved Springbuck.

Jake arrived at the Centre as a very young buck and with a lot of love and care became the Springbuck we all knew and loved.

Jake was always the first one to come running when we had tasty treats for the animals. He was a master at escaping from the Centre and would always time it perfectly when staff came in and out of the Centre, slipping through the gate before he could be stopped! He would then make us run all the way down the road after him, only stopping every now and again to do his little “dance” and taunt us! Just as quickly as Jake had ran out of the gate, he would run back to the gate and slip inside again!

Jake was the “dominant male” of the Centre. He patrolled the fences just to make sure that no other bull or ram messed with his girls. He did not take to strange animals very lightly.

The Saturday of the unfortunate accident, a stray Kudu broke through the gate at the Centre. Jake was, as usual, at his post patrolling the fences and tried bravely to protect his girls from the intruder. The Kudu died at the scene and Jake was rushed to the Vet in town. Jake had sustained a broken shoulder in the encounter and had fluid in his lungs from the impact. Although he was strong, Jake sadly died from his injuries two days later.

We would like to thank Dr Marius, the Vet on duty that day, for all his help.

Jake, we will miss you.

New Project

We have launched a new community based project and are so excited to share this with you!

Sondela Wildlife Centre recently extended an invitation to visit the Centre to various school groups in the area. In order to make this opportunity tangible to all, entrance fees were set at ……recyclable waste items! This proved to be an affordable and educational project which helps save our environment while at the same time allowing school children to visit and enjoy the animals in our care. Each pupil had to bring a minimum of 5 recyclable items and place them in the appropriate bins before being allowed entrance to the Wildlife Centre. The waste drums were then taken to the municipal rubbish dump where the contents were sorted by people who make a living from the collecting and selling recyclable waste products.

Lord Milner Primary School from Settlers and Laerskool Warmbad have already visited the Centre in this manner. Schools interested in taking part in this project can contact Christine on 014 736 8885, or email wildlifecentre@sondela.com, or visit http://www.sondela.com/. Schools are welcome to visit the Wildlife Centre on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons.

The Green Fingers Club of Lord Milner Primary School in Settlers, visited the Sondela Wildlife Centre recently. Each child paid for his visit with 5 recyclable items such as cans, bottles and paper, which they had to place in the appropriate sorting bins. What a fun way to learn about saving our precious environment! The children then interacted with the various animals at the Centre by feeding and touching them. The Green Fingers Club had a fun-filled afternoon while learning about our environment and animals.