Caring for rescued lions, hyenas, monkeys and more!

A hyena enjoying enrichment at Ensessa Kotteh © Zacharias Abubeker / Born Free

At our rescue centre in Ethiopia, ‘enrichment’ helps our animals stay active and stimulated. With 160 rescued animals including lions, cheetahs, hyenas, primates and tortoises, our team is always busy! Enrichment varies for different species and is regularly changed to keep our animals challenged and engaged.  

Dr Andrea Donaldson

For example, we carefully hide meat in a box filled with straw, then tie up with raffia string to occupy our hyenas. Cardboard tubes stuffed with grass are perfect for our 18 rescued geladas – the world’s only primarily grass-eating species of monkey, found only in Ethiopia. Our seven rescued lions go wild for sewn up hessian sacks, filled with straw and enticing pungent herbs, which they grab and roll around with. Meanwhile our eight cheetahs spend hours investigating hanging tubes stuff with delicious treats.

As you can see, Born Free is a big fan of environmental enrichment! It makes a world of difference to our rescued animals. This is a well-known animal husbandry technique, designed over the decades to reduce the boredom of animals living in captivity. Enrichment provides opportunities for animals to exhibit natural behaviours they would show if living in the wild and therefore improve their overall care.

As you can imagine, Born Free is committed to looking after the rescued animals at our sanctuaries in the best possible way. So, we work very hard at providing a big range of enrichment at Ensessa Kotteh, Born Free’s Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre in Ethiopia. Ensessa Kotteh has an extensive enrichment programme, created in collaboration with Global Animal Welfare – a global organisation devoted to providing animals in sanctuaries and other forms of captivity with the best possible care.

Our programme is based on the biological and behavioural needs of each species, while also considering the individual requirements of each animal – such as their age and medical history. Species specific enrichment schedules have been designed that introduces a new enrichment item every day on a two-week rolling period. With your support, we aim to provide positive experiences together with challenge and choice for the wonderful animals in our care.

ENSESSA KOTTEH: FIND OUT MORE