The History of Aquila's Big 5 Wildlife
The History and Conservation Story of Aquila's Big 5
Aquila is proud to have re-introduced the Big 5 to the Western Cape. Today, the dedicated team at Aquila’s Big 5 game reserve focuses on preserving and rehabilitating the region’s native wildlife. Aquila’s conservation efforts extend to land regeneration, the re-introduction of wildlife, rehabilitation projects, anti-poaching programmes, the promotion of eco-tourism, and the support and upliftment of the local community.
Cape Mountain Lions
The Cape mountain lion, once the largest of the Sub-Saharan lions, roamed Southern Africa for thousands of years. Known for its striking black mane, this lion lived in areas now part of the Western Cape province in South Africa, including around Cape Town. Sadly, Cape mountain lions were declared extinct in the wild by the mid-19th century.
Introducing Lions to Aquila
The lion is probably Africa’s most iconic animal. However, during the search for the closest species to the cape mountain lion, with the hope of restoring the Cape’s wild lion population, the owner of Aquila came across the “canned hunting” industry, which shocked him to the core.
“Canned hunting” includes the practice of breeding animals specifically to be hunted. The term ‘canned’ hunting comes from the practice of hunting tame, drugged animals that have been kept in small enclosures their whole lives.
Aquila’s Big 5 Game Reserve and conservation team is passionately opposed to this practice and it has become one of the core values of the reserve to combat this canned hunting wherever and whenever possible.
All of the lions at Aquila have been rescued from the canned hunting industry. A separate reserve was created at Aquila — an entire mountain valley — as a sanctuary for these lions to roam freely. At this late stage, these lions could never be released into the greater Aquila Game Reserve, given the stripping of their natural behavioural patterns by their time in captivity. Rehabilitation Research at Aquila’s Animal Rescue Centre (ARC) is underway to determine whether it would be possible to re-introduce captive bred lions into the wild from birth.
South Africa's Rhinos
Both the black rhinoceros and white rhinoceros are grey, the difference is not in their colour but in their size, diet, and lip shape. The black rhino has a pointed upper lip, ideal for pulling leaves off branches, while the white rhino has a square lip shape, perfect for grazing. Black rhinos are browsers that get most of their sustenance from eating trees and bushes. White rhinos graze on grasses, walking with their enormous heads and squared lips lowered to the ground.
Adult rhinoceros have no real predators in the wild, other than humans. Although rhinos are large and have a reputation for being tough, they are very easily poached due to their noticeable size and predictable daily routines. Sadly, current statistics depict a concerning rise in rhino poaching related deaths, with over 499 rhinos killed in South Africa in 2023.
The Return of Rhinos to the Western Cape
Aquila is home to the southern white rhino and is proud to have been able to bring the first rhino back to the Western Cape after a 250 year regional extinction. In February 2005, Aquila Private Game Reserve announced the birth of the first rhino birth in the Western Cape in 250 years. After the devastating poaching hunting incident in 2011 at the reserve, during which 3 rhinos were attacked, Aquila Private Game Reserve was left with no male rhino bulls to continue its breeding programme.
In May 2014, Aquila acquired a new male rhino bull to continue its breeding programme at the reserve. The new rhino bull was purchased from the Limpopo area after his owners discovered signs of the rhino being tracked. At the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016, Aquila was proud to announce the births of 4 rhino calves at the reserve. One of these calves was abandoned by its Mother and Aquila handed the calf over to ARC, Aquila’s Wildlife Conservation Centre and Rhino Orphanage, to take of it until it is old and strong enough to be released back onto the reserve.
As a result of the increased poaching activity throughout the country and across various species, Aquila has a strict policy not to divulge the number of any species on the reserve — and we kindly request that guests and staff respect this policy to ensure the safety of our most vulnerable wildlife.
The Incredible Story of Aquila's Elephants
All of the elephants at the Aquila’s Big 5 Game Reserve have been rescued from the hunting industry, translocated from high-poaching areas, or saved from the terrible fate of being culled. Culling is the process of removing or segregating animals from a group, and is a process used to manage wildlife populations and natural resources. Unfortunately, culling often refers to the act of killing the removed and separated animals. Aquila’s rescued elephants have settled at the reserve, and their adaptation to their new environment is being closely monitored by the Aquila team.
The Western Cape's Elephants
The African elephant is the largest land mammal in the world and is perhaps Africa’s most charismatic creature. For Millenia, the nomadic Khoisan people living in the Western Cape lived in harmony with the region’s elephants. They had little incentive for killing them and neither exploited the forests nor natural resources the elephants relied on to sustain their herds. However, within two centuries, the European settlers came close to obliterating the Western Cape’s forests and hunted the regions indigenous wildlife to the verge of extinction.
Controlled hunting practices, a drop in the price of ivory, and the establishment of protected wildlife reserves following World War I (WWI) saw South Africa’s wild elephant population once again increase in various parts of the country and Western Cape Province. Sadly, only a few elephants remained in the Knysna forest and Garden route region — Cape Town’s elephant population did not survive the effects of colonial hunting and human settlement.
In the 1970s, the increase in the price of ivory reignited the poaching of Africa’s elephants. Their still-recovering population, estimated to be at about 1.3 million in the early 1970s, dropped by more than half by 1995. Today, elephants are under constant threat from a loss of habitat, competition for resources, and ivory poaching. It is up to wildlife reserves and private conservancies to help safeguard and ensure the protection of these incredible creatures.
The Cape Buffalo
The Cape buffalo, also known as the African buffalo, is a horned “bovid” that holds the dubious title of being the member of the Big 5 that has claimed the most hunter lives. The buffalo is a large animal that, with the addition of its horns, can maul its predators and is often able to withstand attacks by other wildlife — including lions. Wounded buffalo have also been reported to ambush hunters and thereby launch a counter-attack on their pursuers.
Closely related to the domestic cow, the African buffalo is one of the most successful and perhaps ecologically important mammals on the African continent. Hardy, formidable, and able to survive wherever there is sufficient food and surface-water, Buffalo have the resilience to thrive in harsh environments and contribute largely to the fertilisation of the land, the dispersement of grass seeds through their manure, and are a vital food source for large predators in times of drought and dry seasons.
Cape Buffalo Conservation
Being a member of the Big 5, the Cape buffalo is a sought-after trophy, with some hunters paying over $10,000 for the opportunity to hunt one. The larger bulls are targeted for their trophy value, although, in some areas, buffalos are still hunted for meat. The current status of Cape buffalo is dependent on the animal’s value to both trophy hunters and tourists, paving the way for conservation efforts through anti-poaching patrols.
Buffalos have to drink daily, and to witness a large herd approaching a waterhole – often in the early morning or late afternoon – is a memorable and noisy experience. Be sure to book a safari at Aquila to observe these amazing creatures roaming freely in the wild.
The Cape Leopard
Considered to be one of the most successful of all African predators, the leopard is a master stalker and and solitary hunter. With a wide geographical distribution at the reserve, Cape leopards live throughout the reserve, yet are seldom seen on game drives. Although they’re nocturnal animals, preferring to hide or run if they hear humans approaching, you might still be one of the lucky guests who get to sight a leopard roaming freely at Aquila’s Big 5 game reserve.
Cameras (camera traps) placed strategically along animals paths and in the bushes, are used to monitor and track the movement of Aquila’s resident leopards. There are currently 4 leopards that call Aquila Private Game Reserve home, and are frequently recorded moving through the area (which forms a large part of their territory) in the early hours of the morning and late at night.
