Cango Chronicles - Page 6

Cango Wildlife recently had the privilege of hosting a deeply insightful and inspiring staff training session led by Dave Morgan, a respected figure in global wildlife conservation and a representative of Wild Welfare. This special presentation formed part of our ongoing commitment to professional development and ensuring the highest standards of animal care. Dave’s visit was not only professionally enriching but also personally meaningful, given his long-standing relationship with Cango Wildlife and...

Some journeys start with a placement. This one became a calling. In 2025, AJ du Plessis arrived at Cango Wildlife as part of a pilot programme with NGI, an early step toward what would become Cango Academy. At the time, the idea was simple. Bring education into a working conservation space and see what grows. AJ did more than participate. He stepped fully into it.

In early December, a male bat weighing just 1 gram arrived at Cango Wildlife after being attacked by a cat and brought in by a concerned member of the public. At that weight, he fit easily into the palm of a hand. Fragile. Silent. Fighting for survival long before he reached our care. Whenever wildlife has contact with a cat, immediate veterinary care is essential. Cat saliva carries bacteria that can be...

On the first of February, Monique and Rouan Engelbrecht chose to celebrate one of life’s most meaningful milestones in a way that reflected their values. They hosted a conservation conscious gender reveal at Cango Wildlife.

At Cango Wildlife, conservation isn’t something we only talk about; it’s something we’re constantly trying to refine, improve, and live out in practical ways. That includes looking inward: examining how we manage our own environmental footprint, how we treat and restore the land we steward, and how we align our practices with the bigger global sustainability framework - from South Africa’s climate goals to the guiding principles of UN-aligned sustainability and the...

Meet one of our smallest recent rescues, an Angulate Tortoise hatchling measuring just 5 centimetres in length. At the time of arrival, he was estimated to be around one week old. He was found near a residential area and brought to Cango Wildlife by a concerned member of the public. At this early stage, the signs of recent hatching were still visible. The egg tooth remained on the tip of the beak....

In mid February, a routine guided walk near Wilgewandel, about 20 minutes outside of Oudtshoorn, turned into an unexpected wildlife rescue. Sinead, one of our former part-time Wildlife Guardians who is now a qualified Field Guide, was leading visitors on a tour along the trail when they came across a very young Cape Porcupine. At first, they moved on, assuming the mother was nearby and would return once the area was quiet....

This year marks a defining milestone. We are celebrating 40 years of conservation, care and connection. Over four decades, our facility evolved from a local attraction into an established conservation destination. Our focus remains clear. Wildlife welfare. Environmental education. Meaningful visitor engagement.

A concerned member of the public recently brought a small chameleon to us after finding it in Oudtshoorn, well outside its natural distribution range. It has been identified as a Knysna Dwarf Chameleon, which is endemic to parts of the Western Cape and is typically associated with forested and dense thicket habitats in and around Knysna.

On 25 February 2026, Cango Wildlife Volunteers and staff stepped beyond our gates and into the community for a focused environmental clean up initiative in Oudtshoorn. The team concentrated on Baron van Reede Street directly in front of the facility, working through to the corner of Botha Street. What began as a routine clean up exposed a larger problem. Large volumes of discarded alcohol bottles, plastic waste and general litter had accumulated...