Cango Wildlife Ranch - Cape town - South Africa   The Ranch   The Cango Wildlife Ranch is situated just outside Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo, and since its inception in 1977 it has grown to become one of the largest tourist attractions of the region.  Purchased as the Cango Crocodile Ranch by Andrew and Glenn Eriksen in 1986, the focus of the ranch shifted towards the plight of endangered species, and in line with this dedication it was expanded to include a number of big cats, with its first breeding programme focusing on the highly endangered Cheetah.   The Cango Wildlife Ranch and its breeding centre is carefully designed so that its more than 47 species of animals and reptiles can roam peacefully in comfortable natural enclosures, giving visitors the opportunity to closely observe, and in some cases, interact with a wide variety of unusual and endangered animals.   In 1988 the Ranch developed a facility known as Cheetahland, within its borders, in an effort to promote its goal of making the public aware of endangered species. This unique facility is home to a large variety of big cats, which can be viewed from an elevated "catwalk" providing an uninhibited view of these magnificent creatures.    It was found that giving visitors the opportunity to "experience the thrill" of meeting and actually touching the Ranch's hand reared Cheetah's involved them further in the conservation process. It is an unforgettable personal experience.       Visitors are invited to explore the Ranch in the company of the Ranch's fully trained multi-lingual guides - seeing endangered species such as Cheetah, Jaguar, Wild Dog, Pygmy Hippos and the newest arrival, the White Bengal Tiger.   While the concentration on endangered species provides visitors with the opportunity to observe many rare creatures, the other animals at the Ranch are no less fascinating, they include a selection of Jaguars, Pumas, Lions, a Snake Park, Wallabies, Bat Eared  Foxes, Emus and of course, the display of Alligators and Crocodiles.   These enchanting creatures ramble, slither, laze and slink unfettered under the watchful eyes of their curators, and the admiring gaze of many visitors. The truism:  "Some things, you'll never do.  Others, only once" has never been more fitting.  Cango Wildlife Ranch provides visitors with opportunities they're unlikely to be presented with again.   They're invited to "experience the thrill" of touching a Cheetah, to feel their heart skip a beat when they catch the eye of a Tiger, to rouse their goose bumps at the sight of a four meter long boa constrictor, and dissolve with compassion at the sight of the cutest enquiring face of our Suricates.  And so much more.  Make an appointment with exhilaration at Cango Wildlife Ranch.   Bengal Tiger   They stand more than one metre high, averaging 3 metres in length, including a 1-metre tail.  They weigh between 181 and 226kg, and yet they are able to leap almost ten metres across the ground and jump as high as three metres into the air.  They are capable of killing animals more than twice their size, eating on average 31kg of meat per night.  They are tigers - one of nature's most feared predators.  And yet, they are bordering on extinction.   A century ago, an estimated 40 000 tigers (Panthera Tigris) roamed free over an enormous area stretching from the Russian Far East, through eastern and southern China, south-east Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and into the Indus River Valley in Pakistan, with disjoint populations living in and around the southern reaches of the Caspian Sea and associated river valleys, and on the Indonesian Islands of Sumatra, Java and Bali.   Between then and now, the threatened extinction of the tiger has reached critical proportions, with the Caspian, Javan and Bali subspecies already destroyed.  The existence of the surviving Bengal Southern China, Indo-Chinese, Sumatran and Siberian tiger Subspecies continues to be challenged by poachers - who collect body parts for traditional medicines, aphrodisiacs and trophies - and, to a lesser extent, by the progression and inhabitation of man into tiger territory.   The call to "Save the Tiger" led to one of the most celebrated and extensive conservation initiatives ever undertaken in all of Asia. India's Project Tiger was launched in 1973 with the enthusiastic support of then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi International conservation organizations like the World Wildlife Fund and IUCN World Conservation Unit rushed in to help.   Although the endeavour to save the tiger was off to a respectable start in a reasonably short period of time, the threat was - and still is - by no means over. In 1994 India addressed the tiger crisis again, this time with the initiation of the Global Tiger Forum aimed at engaging the international community in tiger conservation and to bring about increased public awareness of the Tiger's plight.  The quest continues today.   South Africa's most recent contribution to tiger conservation was the arrival of Khan, a magnificent White Bengal male  and Cher, a White Bengal female as well as Kiri, a white gene carrying orange tiger.  Their new home, the Cango Wildlife Ranch just outside Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo is internationally recognized for its extensive conservation efforts.              The decision to introduce tigers to the Ranch is in line with our policy to assist in achieving international conservation objectives with the maintenance of self-sustaining populations of endangered species in captivity.  The extraordinary and awesome Bengal tiger is seriously threatened with extinction and breeding programmes in captivity are becoming last-ditch refuges for endangered species.   The fact that Cher and Khan are two of approximately only 250 White Bengal Tigers in the world adds to their appeal and gives us a greater scope to attract public attention to the tiger and their plight as an endangered species.  It gives us the opportunity to assist with the promotion of the conservation of the tiger through behavioural research, public awareness, and in the long term, captive breeding.   White tigers, like Cher and Khan, are white coloured Bengal tigers.  They are not a separate subspecies of tiger, and they are not albinos.  They are different from ordinary orange tigers (if a tiger can be referred to as ordinary) because they have ice-blue eyes, a pink nose and creamy white fur with chocolate stripes.  A double recessive gene causes this extraordinary colour.  A Bengal Tiger with two normal alleles or one normal and one white allele, is orange.  Only a double dose of the mutant allele results in white tigers.    Cher and Khan, both carrying the white gene have a clean lineage. meaning once they breed, their offspring will have a clean genetic line.  At least 50% of Cher's offspring will be white.  At the Cango Wildlife Ranch, Khan, Cher and Kiri will join other endangered species such as Cheetah, Jaguar, Wild Dog and Pygmy Hippos where they roam in large natural enclosures.  Here an elevated "catwalk" provides an uninhibited view of these magnificent creatures, and visitors are even invited to "experience the thrill" of meeting and actually touching the Ranch's hand reared Cheetahs, involving them personally in the conservation process.   At the Cango Wildlife Ranch visitors not only experience "conservation in action", but now they can also add the thrill of seeing two graceful, powerful White Bengal Tigers to their agenda.   Turtles Restaurant   Join us at our exciting new Turtles Restaurant, for breakfasts or light lunches. This newly renovated restaurant boasts a wooden deck surrounded by cascading water features and rock pools that have a variety of turtles such as the Giant Alligator Snapping Turtle and the Yellow Spotted River Turtle, to name but  a few. Be adventurous and try our crocodile or ostrich burgers.          CURIO SHOP   Our Curio Shop stocks a wide range of top quality African souvenirs, some unique to the region and guaranteed to create lasting memories of the Ranch.   Essential Information   Whether your clients are large groups or F.I.T.'s, they are offered a personalised tour conducted by our multilingual tour guides. The duration of the tour is approximately 1 hour, although this time period may be adjusted to meet your requirements. Additionally we are open from 8:00, 365 days of a year. As an optional extra, visitors (16 years and older) for an additional fee are afforded the opportunity of touching and photographing our totally hand reared cheetahs which is an experience not to be missed.