The Cango Wildlife Ranch is a wildlife ranch, situated north of the town of
Oudtshoorn
Oudtshoorn (, ) is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Dubbed the "ostrich capital of the world", Oudtshoorn is known for its ostric ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
.
It was established as a crocodile ranch in 1976 by Andrew and Glenn Eriksen, who opened it as a crocodile show farm to the public the following year, the first to be established in South Africa. Over 400 crocodiles and alligators are bred at the ranch, and while crocodiles are still bred there, and has also become a general zoo and breeding centre for other animals,
which Pat Hopkins has referred to as "arguably the most exotic petting zoo in Africa".
Cango Wildlife Ranch is now reportedly a world-class breeding centre for cheetah,
and is home to the Cheetah Preservation Foundation, which was established in 1988.
The ranch has also bred
aardwolf
The aardwolf (''Proteles cristatus'') is an insectivorous hyaenid species, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch. It is also called the maanhaar-jackal (Afrikaans for "mane-jackal"), termite-ea ...
,
African wild dog
The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called painted dog and Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lycaon'', which is disti ...
and
pygmy hippo.
References
External links
{{commons category
Official website
Nature conservation in South Africa