JUSTIN FERNANDES: I have lost my whole home.
I have lost everything. But the main thing that kept me waking up every morning?
All these cats!
MAXINE FERNANDES: So as the cats come into our lives, we look after them, we treat them
like our own children, we bring them up in our homes and generally take care of them
as they come in and as they need rescuing.
MAXINE FERNANDES: They all hold special places in each our hearts.
COMM: The Fernandes family run the Jugomaro
Predator Park in Krugersdorp, South Africa. Its home to six lions, ten tigers, three caracals
and a jaguar.
ROSA FERNANDES: We have been looking after animals for about 8 years now. We went to
visit a farm one day and we came across a tiger. The mother was trying to get rid of
it because he looked different to the other siblings and we actually felt so sorry for
this tiger, we actually asked the owner if he’ll give us this cat. And with a lot of
love and dedication, we nursed him back to health and his name was Panjo and that’s
how we started.
JUSTIN FERNANDES: Because I keep contact with my cats every single day, I get to hand feed
them, this is why they are so different towards me. I can do a lot more things with these
cats than what most people can even do with their dog.
JUSTIN FERNANDES: I would rather be killed
by one of my cats than actually being in town getting murdered for 50 rand and my cell phone.
JUSTIN FERNANDES: No, this one here was actually
a bite mark form Elvis. I was busy feeding him and as he turned around, he closed his
mouth and basically, my boob was in his mouth.
JUSTIN FERNANDES: This one was Zeya, this one was Apollo. Those two are Blade and that
was Hercules. For nine years almost being with the cats these are the only marks
I have.
JUSTIN FERNANDES: The daily routine that we have with the cats is waking up early in the
morning, just coming around, checking if they are all okay. I go in with them, I brush them,
they get a bottle of a milk bottle, maybe once, maybe twice a week. I play soccer with
them inside the enclosure with the balls that are very indestructible. I get to hand feed
them, sit down, let them just chill and relax with me.
JUSTIN FERNANDES: Well, the feeding process
with the big cats costs me between 11,500 rand a week, equivalent to about a $1000, about
£600, where we go through 1000 kilos of chicken a day just to feed these cats. So,
that’s a very expensive process.
JUSTIN FERNANDES: Well, the past Predator Park that we had was absolutely five star.
Amazing loving staff for the cats, where the cats had beautiful enclosures the size of
football fields and with running water, swimming pools, jungle gyms, night rooms, over 300
trees in each enclosure for shelter and shade for the sun.
ROSA FERNANDES: We got into financial difficulties
with the banks and then the liquidators got involved. We lost the park in November. We
left with the clothes on our back. We lost three tigers with the re-location and we lost
two wolves and we lost a caracal. It is very sad to think that for so many years we really
saved and we went out of our way to build them pools and to make the environment as
natural as possible. And it is very sad to think that, what they had and where we are
now. It’s so hard still because, they are used to their pools and now they only got
like small tubs.
ROSA FERNANDES: The effect that it had on my family was a great shock because it happened
so suddenly.
COMM: Since losing the park, the family have had to re-locate to a significantly smaller
temporary location.
ROSA FERNANDES: We are currently living in a caravan and it is a little bit difficult
as it’s like all open in the bush. We have got an out-door shower which we have to actually
boil our water which takes about three hours. We have been living like this for exactly
a year now. It would have been easy for us to just sell the cats and get back on our
feet again, but unfortunately for my family that wasn’t an option and we would rather
have nothing and have our cats.
ROSA FERNANDES: Future plans? Well we hope to find out our piece of land again. Give
my cats a better home, even if I have to stay in the caravan for another year, we don’t
mind and the most important thing is to give them all proper swimming pools and proper
shelters and trees and all. That’s my dream for them.