Lorraine Spence, the zoo director, holds me up to chat about the park. However, before coming to greet me, he stops in one of the enclosures, talks to a small antelope and rubs its head. He informs me that the zoo is currently undergoing a number of exciting changes, including the creation of new posters for the enclosures.

“We used to hire a teacher to do educational tours of the zoo,” she explains, “however, we couldn’t keep her during the ‘off-season’ months.”

The new signs will help provide the public with educational knowledge about the zoo’s animals and species. They are also currently moving animals while tearing down enclosures and creating new ones. When asked when the new changes will be completed, Lorraine laughs.

“Never!” She exclaims. “Maintenance never ends, it is continuous progress. Only the maintenance phases are finished; I hope I did it before the peak season begins.”

The Tygerberg Zoo has been very successful in its breeding achievements over the years. A couple of years ago her tigers had some cubs, which she remembered very well and I asked Lorraine what had happened to them. She told me that they grew up and were sold to another facility. Tigers are solitary animals, so he couldn’t keep them in the zoo.

She is currently looking for homes for her raccoon babies. All movements of endangered animals and their young are recorded through a program called ISIS. ISIS is a non-profit organization that maintains computer-based information systems used by the world zoological community. ISIS members use basic biological information (age, sex, relationship, place of birth, circumstance of death, etc.) collected in the ISIS system to manage genetic and demographic programs for their animal collections.

Lorraine tells me that she is requesting a particular marmoset from China for the zoo, but she doesn’t want to share too much detail about her request until she has received it, yet she is very excited about it.

She says that only happy animals are breeders, so special attention is paid to each individual species regarding their diet, closure, and habitat. Each employee is trained on which animals receive what feed and when. He also exchanges certain species with other animal facilities in the Western Cape to make sure the zoo stays fresh and new for frequent visitors.

They are also involved in a great deal of research and programs both in South Africa and internationally. Lorraine tells a wonderful story about one of her storks who had a radio transmitter attached to her leg to document her migration route for a research program. Unfortunately, on the way home, the stork stopped and was arrested as a possible terrorist because of her transmitter. Even after a phone call to the police to explain the situation, the bird remained imprisoned for quite some time.

While there are many animal facilities in the Western Cape for monkeys, birds, lions, and cheetahs, the Tygerberg Zoo is truly unique, offering a variety of species ranging from reptiles to birds, hornbills to leopards and marmosets. the gorilla. They need local, national and international support to continue their good work.