Most people fear to get near wild animals, particularly lions and tigers. There’s this fear of getting attacked, harmed, and even killed by the enormous animals. However, contrary to what many people think, those animals actually like to cuddle.
Armand Gerber likes giving tigers and lions warm hugs.
He would play and cuddle them. At times, he’d play football with his pride of lions.
Armand, together with his wife, runs and manages South Africa’s Iron Throne Predator and Wildlife Park. There, the couple keeps around 10 lions, a cheetah, and two leopards in the 80-hectare land. In addition to the huge beasts, they also take care of smaller cats, porcupines, and warthogs.
Most of the animals on his land are rescued from places with awful publicity. He takes the animals in with hopes of being able to provide a forever home for them.
Armand shared:
“All the animals here are captive-born, 90 percent of them remain raised by us – but the most important thing is that eight of our lions come from a facility that was closed down for bad publicity. In our eyes, they’re rescues. They’ve got a forever home. I’ve had to defend the fact that we own lions every day, but if I could, I would own all the captive lions in the world.”
Armand finds the experience of being able to play with his animals thrilling.
He considers it one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. For him, the key to creating a strong bond with such animals is by helping raise them. If you haven’t raised the animal, you’ll never have a long-lasting bond with them.
“Some people think I’m crazy for doing this job. Some people think I’m testing my fate. You must remember, I do this for a living and I do it out of love and trust. I forget how fortunate I am to be able to work and love these animals. They’re my family.”- Armand shared.
Armand and his wife share the same love of animals.
In fact, it’s how they met each other. And now, it’s one of the ways they support and help each other.
Beatrice helps Armand at the park. Most of the time, she’ll do the marketing. On weekends, she acts as the tour guide, particularly when they are short on staff. Sometimes, she’s the receptionist. She interacts with some of the animals and she gets to clean their cages, too.
Armand is dedicated to giving the animals the best life possible and that includes feeding them properly. For him, feeding time is one of the busiest times in his place. It’s quite costly, too. He ensures that the animals get proper meat and that they aren’t fed.
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