1. The African Lion

Home of the African Lion & Environmental Research Trust (ALERT)

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” – Anita Desai

Scientist believe that the continent’s lion populations have declined by 75% in the last five decades. (Oxford University). Since 2005, Antelope Park has been paving a way in the fight for lion conservation in Africa. We have pioneered a bold and deeply personal mission: to reverse the rapid decline of African lion populations through a staged rehabilitation and release programme. The first of its kind.

What began with a handful of lion cubs experiencing daily walks out in the wild turned into a beautiful model for repopulating wild areas with lion prides. 

Our Approach

Captive-bred lions, if raised and trained in the right environment, can learn to hunt, form natural prides, and eventually thrive in the wild. Through years of research and dedicated care, our staged release model enables captive-born lions to regain their wild instincts, ultimately leading to the birth of second-generation lions that have had no human contact and are capable of living independently in protected reserves.

Our Impact

Rewild

Joined by an incredible team of academics and activists, we started the African Lion & Environmental Research Trust: ALERT in 2005. Using IUCN best practice methods for wild release, and extensive research and DNA work, they selected a pride. In 2010 we released 2 prides into semi-wild environments in Zimbabwe and Zambia. Months of data collection confirmed the model – the prides bonded, hunted and their cubs were born and raised to do the same. Thousands of touch points showed little difference to social cohesion and behaviour in wild prides.

The dream was a reality! Years of work and millions of dollars were rewarded and another conservation method was established.

Restore

In an ambitious rehabilitation project we worked with Chizarira National Park to create a thriving eco system where lions and other species would flourish, and where local communities could benefit.

• Restoring water systems, roads, bridges and buildings for game rangers, researchers and tourists.
• Working in local communities on benefit sharing, conservation education, food security, vocational training.
• Using data driven strategies for habitat restoration and species protection

It became clear that Chizarira was not ready for the release of a pride of lions, and COVID drained the funding needed for the final stages of the project. Africa Parks are working in the nearby National Parks with excellent funding, and lion populations are recovering.

More Than Lions

We continue to partner with our surrounding communities in job creation, skills development as well as education and health projects, knowing that strong communities are better able to protect wildlife areas.

As Nelson Mandela said: “Ultimately conservation is about people. If you don’t have sustainable development around wildlife parks – then the people will have no interest in them and the parks will not survive.”

The Road Ahead

Our programme has proven that captive lions can rewild, hunt, and raise cubs in natural environments. The ALERT model is feasible if such an exercise should be needed in the future.

It has been so rewarding to watch many join the fight to protect lions, and more recently Southern African lion populations are showing signs of recovery and resilience.

Going forward, Antelope Park is committed to the welfare and enrichment of its current lion population, ambassadors who spark awe and gain support for the wild ones.

We are grateful to the hundreds of people who have visited the beautiful Antelope Park lions, indirectly contributing towards the protection of the species in Africa.

Comes and see – the magic lingers here…

“If we do not do something to prevent it, Africa’s animals, and the places in which they live, will be lost to our world, and her children, forever.”
– Nelson Mandela

2. Our Resident Elephants

Guardians of Wisdom: Amai, Ntombi & Chibi

In 1992, a national crisis required a place of safety for VIP guests. As drought ravaged parts of Zimbabwe, waterholes dried, food sources vanished, and young elephants found themselves orphaned or abandoned, cut off from their herds with little hope of survival. Four elephant calves, Amai, Ntombi, Jecha and Chibi, were rescued and brought to the safety of Antelope Park. Weak, traumatised, and barely clinging to life, they were nursed back to health with patience, love, and around-the-clock care.

A Forever Sanctuary

Today, over 30 years later, 3 are still with us: Amai, Ntombi, and Chibi are no longer frightened calves, they’re fully grown, emotionally intelligent, and inseparable members of our Antelope Park family. They roam, graze, swim, and live with dignity and comfort under the watchful eyes of our dedicated elephant handlers.

Because they were rescued at such a young age and have lived most of their lives under human care, they cannot be reintroduced into the wild. However, this does not mean they live without purpose. Their role may be more important than ever.

Elephants as Educators

Amai, Ntombi, and Chibi now serve as powerful ambassadors for their wild cousins. Through educational interactions, guided walks, and conservation programmes, they help thousands of local and international guests connect with the intelligence, emotion, and majesty of elephants.

Visitors leave understanding the complexity of elephant behaviour, their memory, empathy, family bonds, and the very real threats elephants face in the wild: habitat loss, human conflict, and ivory poaching. They connect generations of Zimbabweans to their natural heritage. For many local school children, this is their first close encounter with an African elephant.

Every lesson learned here at Antelope Park inspires action and advocacy far beyond our borders.

• Amai (meaning “mother” in Shona) is calm, nurturing, and often takes the lead in guiding the group.

• Chibi is gentle but spirited, always curious and playful.

• Ntombi (whose name means young woman) is the boldest of the three, with a cheeky streak that keeps the team on their toes. 

Why Their Story Matters

Amai, Ntombi, and Chibi are more than residents, they are storytellers, educators, and symbols of hope. Supporting Antelope Park means helping us provide for their care, enrich their lives, and amplify the message they carry.

3. White Rhinos: From the Brink to a New Beginning at Antelope Park

A century-long comeback story

At the end of the 19ᵗʰ century, the southern white rhinoceros seemed lost to history; fewer than 100 animals clung to survival in South Africa. Intense protection and bold translocation programmes reversed that decline, and by 2012 the continent saw a rise in the population to over 20,000 white rhinos, a triumph hailed as one of conservation’s greatest rescues.

Yet success proved fragile. A surge in organised poaching between 2012 and 2021 took the lives of another 5 000 beautiful rhinos.  Recent conservation efforts have again stemmed the tide but the threat is real.  

Our Chapter

2023 The rescue

In August 2023, we answered an urgent call from Mazowe, where a small crash (family) of rhino faced escalating poaching pressure. After meticulous planning, Antelope Park translocated Jane and Chichi (female mother and daughter) and Choto (a dominant male) to the safety of our reserve, sadly not soon enough for 4 of their family members who were slaughtered the day before!  The three arrived wide-eyed but unharmed and immediately under round-the-clock ranger protection.

Since that day, Jane, Chichi, and Choto have been roaming free around the park, wallowing in the dams, grazing our nutrient-rich grasslands, and performing their age-old role as “ecosystem lawn-mowers.”

March 2025, A Miracle Called Chishamiso

At dawn on 24 March 2025, our rangers radioed something that stopped us in our tracks. Jane had given birth. Nestled in the long grass stood a perfect, curious bundle of wrinkles. We named her Chishamiso, the Shona word for miracle.

For Antelope Park, Chishamiso is far more than a calf; she is living proof that secure habitat, relentless protection, and community-led stewardship can convert rescue into genuine recovery. Her birth means our park is no longer just a sanctuary, it is a productive rhino habitat.

Why It Matters

• Genetic lifeline. Every healthy calf strengthens a gene pool diminished by decades of illegal hunting.

• Ecosystem health. Grazing patterns of a single crash open pathways for smaller grazers and stimulate fresh growth, boosting overall biodiversity.

• Continental momentum. Each protected calf nudges Africa closer to reversing rhino decline.

Join the Journey

Antelope Park funds its rhino programme entirely through visitor fees, volunteer placements, and direct donations. By staying with us, spreading the word, or supporting our anti-poaching teams, you help secure Chishamiso’s future and the future of every rhino yet to be born on these plains.

Together, we can ensure that the next chapter in the white rhino story is written not in loss, but in life.

4. Vulture Conservation & Research

Safeguarding Nature’s Clean-Up Crew

Vultures play a crucial role in maintaining healthy ecosystems; however, across Africa, their numbers are declining rapidly. In South Africa they are being widely trapped and killed and their body parts used in traditional medicine. The decimation of vultures upsets the ecosystem equilibrium dramatically.

At Antelope Park, Dr Peter Mundy of NUST University launched a research initiative dedicated to the protection and understanding of these vital, but often overlooked, birds. 

His research project focused on vulture conservation, in partnership with leading experts at VULPRO. From our dedicated vulture “restaurant” (a supplementary feeding site) they collected vital data on: Species diversity, population numbers, age ranges, and presence of tagged individuals. 

This data, gathered by our team and passionate volunteers, was sent to VULPRO to support broader research on how safe feeding sites affect vulture behaviour, survival, and nesting habits.

Our Vision and Beyond

By offering a protected space for vultures to feed and nest, we successfully attracted large numbers of vultures back to the Antelope Park area and surrounds. We have 4 different species of vulture, strengthening the local ecosystem and providing unique educational and guest experiences, connecting visitors to the ecological importance of vultures.

This project builds on our wider commitment to sustainability. For example, our constructed wetland system for recycling greywater has already brought in an incredible variety of birdlife, a testament to how small interventions can yield big ecological rewards.

Through research, education, and habitat creation, we’re working to give vultures and many other bird species a fighting chance.

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

– Albert Einstein 

5. Biodiversity

Protecting Nature

Antelope Park is committed to protecting this beautiful haven that so many creatures great and small have taken refuge in. The presence of lions is a natural deterrent to poachers, illegal wood gatherers and overgrazing that plagues surrounding communities. Predators assist in the protection of flora and fauna, keeping a biodiverse system that benefits not only hundreds of species but is also an optimal place for humans to thrive in.

Co-Labouring

We try to live in harmony with these natural systems. By processing our greywater through bulrushes and special wetland plants, a natural habitat has been created for many wetland birds in the area. 

Compost is enriched with animal manure in our organic herb and vegetable gardens. We work with nature using companion planting, mulching and herbal sprays rather than harmful fertilizers and pesticides.  These gardens supply our staff and camp with fresh produce and are the secret ingredients to our wholesome meals at camp.

Great AND Small

Our resident bees in hives across the park keep adding the essential life of pollination to many species of plants. Their honey is delicious and nutritious.  

From the King of the beasts down to the sweet honey bee – it seems we can’t live much of a life without them.

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” – John Burroughs