Exactly one year ago one of Willie De Graaff's lion prides had three cubs. We were hoping that everything would work out well so the cubs could stay with their pride. Unfortunately all the cubs died, except for one – one female cub was left and pushed away from the pride and was severely dehydrated. We quickly had to make a plan after Willie De Graaff asked us to take care of her, so Valentin contacted the wildlife vet, who helped us get the right treatment and the right mixture of milk for a lion. Valentin went back to the camp to monitor the cub and see how the pride was responding. The pride showed no interest in her and she couldn’t even walk. It was not difficult to tell that she would die if we didn’t do something, so we decided to take her out and give her treatment. She was weighing less than 2 kg, so Valentin put her on a drip to treat her severe dehydration, so she could get some strength to eat. While treating her, we were in contact with the wildlife vet. The vet told us to give her a 100ml drip. After a few hours the drip was absorbed by her body and she slowly started to take the bottle. In the following weeks she was still weak, but she got healthier and healthier.
We decided to name her Sirga – after the movie called “Sirga the Lioness”, which is a story about a lion growing up with a guy in the bush.
To this day we believe that she is probably, the most spoiled and well fed lion you can find in Botswana. We made her milk from scratch – fresh eggs, cream, milk, vitamins, sunflower oil and calcium – luxurious meal for a little lion.
Now, 12 months later and 80 kg heavier, she is too old for milk, but we are still making sure to cut the best pieces of meat for her. Sirga has now been part of our lives for one year and we are excited to see her grow up to as a beautiful, healthy lioness!