I just got back from a full day out at the Wildlife Heritage Foundation. WHF is a UK charity and dedicates to caring and protection big cats from extinction. We had bought the Wild Enigma photography safari and the course was held in WHF, Ashford.
The WHF was located within the Marley Farm Industrial Estate and the entrance wasn't very obvious, however, my hubby spotted the high wired fencing in the distance and we knew that we were in the correct place. When we got there, we were introduced to Andy, our guide. He was a nice guy and talked about the day schedule and we felt right really relaxed. Had a cup of coffee and snack and wait for the rest of the group, there were only 9 of us, so it wa a nice size group to go around the park.
Our first animal of the day was the serval and we were actually in the enclosure whilst Andy had a bucket of horse meat to entice it out. I was very nervous because I have never been so close to a big cat before. The serval wasn't a big cat but it was very similar looking to a small cheetah or just a big cat. Anyway after waiting for 10 mins, we decided that we would go around other enclosures and went back near the end of the afternoon.
I saw the Siberian tiger and it was huge! We were not allow in the enclosure obviously but there was only a single fencing between us and the big cat. I have never seen such a large tiger, at one point Andy teased it with the meat and held the meat up against the fencing above head height, the tiger stood up and I am sure the tiger was over 7 feet tall. His paws were huge, bigger than a dinner plate and it was very padded. I was so amazed at how close we were to him. He was so good looking, I mean, I never thought I hear myself describe an animal like that, but this tiger had really great definition, the stripes, the fur and the looks he gave was amazing!
Another favourite cat is the Chinese leopard. We saw her only for 3 mins, as she was hiding under a bush for a long time, so when she came out, she pounced towards us and hissed. She was quite extordinary. Her eyes were so feminine and so sharp. She looked very protective of herself and at the moment, she isn't really that socialable.
My most memorable thing of today's events is the fact that I got to see a lyxn up close, so close I was actually around a feet away, no fencing, as we were able to go into the enclosure and see it. It was carrying a dead rabbit in its mouth and it walked around and upto where we were standing. It was such an experience!
The three lions were huge and very impressive, I watched them each eat half a horse head, gross, but it was cool to watch! At one point, one of them was bothered by the sight of a dog and ran around the enclosure eyeing the dog constantly. You can tell it was about to pounce on the dog if it could get out of the enclosure! It was riveting to watch! The lions had a lot of character and it was photogenic.
I enjoyed the whole day and learnt a lot about photographing animals. Wished I had charged my camera though, the battery dead half way through the morning. Had a wondertime time though, now I am absolutely knackered!
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