Predator Centre

Here you can meet Mapimpan, the tawny lion left for dead at four-days-old after a violent attack by a wild male lion. Raised by head of the centre, Arrie van Deventer, Mapimpan recently celebrated his first birthday by climbing his first tree.

Our centre is home to a healthy population of five young lions in total, three of which are orphaned white lions. It is our goal to introduce the white lion gene into the Big 5 Entabeni Safari Conservancy and, ultimately, into the wild.

Little Mapimpan will eventually be moved to an innovative “lion island” at the Centre, a deep, dry moat dug around an expansive piece of land. This will allow our predators to roam without the threat of territorial retribution from the reserve's current wild pride. It's our aim to stock the predator centre with king cheetah, wild dogs, karakul, serval, African wild cat and black-footed cat.