Drakenstein Lion Park

Drakenstein Lion Park One of the very few true, ethical lion sanctuaries in South Africa - a safe haven for rescued lions. The Park receives no governmental or grant funding.

Drakenstein Lion Park provides rescued big cats with sanctuary and a safe haven. All of our rescued big cats are provided with lifetime care. No breeding, trade, or visitor-animal interaction takes place. The Park is situated on 60 sprawling acres of fit-for-purpose lion habitat in the scenic Cape Winelands and offers visitors not only the opportunity to visit the rescued big cats, but also to sup

port their care as well as to support the rescue of other big cats from abusive circumstances, as the Park is funded by visitors’ contributions. Drakenstein, established in 1998, is the longest-operating South African-owned big cat sanctuary, built, owned and run by the Hart family with their decades of hands-on experience in the rescue and provision of world-class care to previously abused and mistreated captive big cats. Drakenstein Lion Park is acclaimed for creating an ethical, non-intrusive and non-exploitative environment in which rescued big cats can be viewed by visitors without negative impact. Each rescue is treated as a sentient individual with care tailored to their unique psychological and physiological well-being. Our specialised care of previously abused captive big cats continues to evolve using our years of practical hands-on experience. The Park is not involved in commercial breeding or trade, and offers lifetime care to all of our animals. All the animals brought to the Park are captive-bred/hand-reared and cannot be rehabilitated to the wild. The animals at the Park are assured a chance of living out their natural lives in an enriched and safe environment.

Issam and Kelly love watching their fellow rescues from this part of their enclosure at sunset. It took them months to a...
01/09/2026

Issam and Kelly love watching their fellow rescues from this part of their enclosure at sunset. It took them months to adapt to having so much space at our sanctuary, which is certainly understandable given that it is hundreds of thousands of times bigger than what they were rescued from as cubs.

Issam and Kelly were confiscated from illegal smugglers who had crammed them into tiny plastic crates and left them to suffer soaked in their own urine. Issam arrived with mobility issues in his back legs because of the smugglers’ abuse, but has recovered fully with our effort, care, and expertise.
As an ethical, genuine sanctuary, we do not and will never allow any public interaction with any of our rescued big cats, and are strongly opposed to that exploitative practice.
Our thanks go to Animals Lebanon for caring for Issam and Kelly until they were able to be relocated to their forever home at our sanctuary – the oldest genuine big cat sanctuary in South Africa.

This is who we are.

This is what we do.
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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.
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Throwback Thursday to these pictures of sweet Stuart in one of his favourite trees! This tree has now fallen, but rest a...
27/08/2026

Throwback Thursday to these pictures of sweet Stuart in one of his favourite trees! This tree has now fallen, but rest assured that he enjoys climbing his other trees just as much as he enjoyed this one.

Stuart was rescued from imprisonment in a private Lebanese zoo that had kept him chained to the ground in a barren concrete cage, and has grown to become one of our most relaxed lions since his rescue in 2019. It is very clear to see his happiness in his behaviour, and which might be part of why he is one of our most popular rescues.

Stuart is certainly one of our most curious rescued lions, and loves keeping an eye on the goings on in our sanctuary. He has blossomed completely in our expert care, and seems to revel in the knowledge that he is completely safe and free to do as he pleases at his forever home in our sanctuary.

This is who we are.

This is what we do.

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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.

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Awesome Asad, now 15 years old, was rescued from abuse and imprisonment in central Beirut in 2012. Had he not been rescu...
21/08/2026

Awesome Asad, now 15 years old, was rescued from abuse and imprisonment in central Beirut in 2012. Had he not been rescued, Asad likely would not have survived for much longer because of the abuse and mistreatment he endured prior to his rescue.

Although rather odd at times, Asad is a phenomenally happy lion, and a complete joy to care for. He has come out of his shell fully in our expert care – a testament to the many benefits of the expert sanctuary care that we provide to our rescued lions.

This is who we are.

This is what we do.

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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.

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Nala, Juno, and Athena, our pride of white lions, are an incredibly close group. Juno and Athena are far more careful of...
18/08/2026

Nala, Juno, and Athena, our pride of white lions, are an incredibly close group.
Juno and Athena are far more careful of Nala in her old age than they were when they were younger, but do not mistake that for a lack of respect – she most certainly still rules the roost and reminds them of who the boss is.
Without our intervention, Nala likely would have ended up as a victim of the barbaric canned hunting industry. Because of us and our expert care, she enjoys a wonderful and safe life with Juno and Athena, her daughters, where they are free to do as they please when they please.

This is who we are.

This is what we do.

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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.
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Beautiful Ena, rescued from a French circus, is an incredibly impressive lioness, and loves life in our care. She was co...
13/08/2026

Beautiful Ena, rescued from a French circus, is an incredibly impressive lioness, and loves life in our care.
She was confiscated from imprisonment in horrific conditions in the circus, and was discovered hidden underneath a circus horse trailer in a wooden box, where she had been kept prisoner for most of her life.

The circus undoubtedly would have forced Ena to suffer through barbaric, inhumane training to be forced to act unnaturally for the sake of unethical “entertainment”.

Ena has progressed phenomenally in our expert care that is tailored to her individual needs, and is proof of how well previously abused big cats can do when rescued from abuse and given an opportunity to thrive in a spacious, species-appropriate environment.

This is who we are.

This is what we do.

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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.
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Although Ozzy is a far bigger fan of their ball than Sharon is, she still has an absolute ball watching, and pouncing on...
07/08/2026

Although Ozzy is a far bigger fan of their ball than Sharon is, she still has an absolute ball watching, and pouncing on, him when he plays with it!
Ozzy and Sharon were confiscated from an illegal zoo in Lebanon that was abusing them as photo props, letting them be pawed at by the public without a second of thought for their wellbeing or needs. Videos of them being beaten at the zoo also surfaced.

Despite all they went through prior to being rescued, these two are loving life in our expert care that is tailored to their exact needs, with far more space than they could have ever imagined previously, and freedom to spend their time however they please!

They were in poor condition when they were discovered, weighing a mere seven kilograms each, but began their journey to recovery with Animals Lebanon before making their way to our true sanctuary for rescued big cats, where we will continue to provide expert care to them for the rest of their natural lives.

As an ethical safe haven, we do not and will never allow any public interaction with our lions, and are strongly opposed to that exploitative practice.

This is who we are.

This is what we do.

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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.
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Simba and Sara have a phenomenal relationship, as you can see here! They have both come an incredibly long way since bei...
31/07/2026

Simba and Sara have a phenomenal relationship, as you can see here! They have both come an incredibly long way since being rescued – a testament to what our expert care and safe environment can do for rescued big cats.

Sara was rescued from a criminal lion seller in Lebanon who had brutally scarred and abused her, treating her as nothing but a prop. Despite everything she suffered, including being frighteningly close to bombed areas, she is a confident and happy lioness thanks to the safety we provide.
Simba is yet another lion rescued from the illegal pet trade in Lebanon. He was surrendered by his owner to Animals Lebanon so that he can live out his life with the respect, dignity, care, and space he deserves at our sanctuary. Simba has recovered fantastically from the rough start to his life thanks to our expertise.

This is who we are.

This is what we do.

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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.
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Pi and Freya were both rescued from horrendous circumstances in Lebanon in 2024, and despite all they went through prior...
27/07/2026

Pi and Freya were both rescued from horrendous circumstances in Lebanon in 2024, and despite all they went through prior to being rescued, have found happiness and peace in our sanctuary with each other.

Pythagoras was rescued from existing in constant abuse as the victim of a social media influencer, who had posted videos of himself dragging Pi along the ground by the neck on a chain, as well as tied up to be passed around a crowd as a helpless prop.
Freya as surrendered to Animals Lebanon so that she could find refuge in the expert care we provide at our true sanctuary for rescued big cats – the oldest in South Africa.

Without intervention and the care we provide, Pi and Freya would have fallen victim to the circumstances in which they were imprisoned, and Pi specifically most likely would not even have survived to six months old.
Because of us, they live extremely happily in a fulfilling environment catered to their individual needs – something we have created with our decades of expertise and unquestionable competence.

This is who we are.

This is what we do.

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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.

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22/07/2026

Awesome Asad, rescued from abuse and imprisonment as an illegal pet in Beirut in 2012, loves showing off how safe, secure, and happy he is at our sanctuary!
He has come out of his shell fully in our expert care – a testament to the many benefits of sanctuary care for rescued lions, who cannot be rehabilitated into what little wild is left. Although rather odd, Asad is an absolute joy and privilege to care for.
This is who we are.
This is what we do.

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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.

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Little Leo was rescued from imprisonment on a 14th-floor apartment balcony in central Beirut – undeniably a highly unsui...
17/07/2026

Little Leo was rescued from imprisonment on a 14th-floor apartment balcony in central Beirut – undeniably a highly unsuitable, and dangerous, environment for a lion.

Lions that fall victim to the illegal pet trade often do not survive past a year because of the abuse, malnutrition, and neglect they suffer in inappropriate conditions. Although the start of his life affected him significantly, Little Leo absolutely adores his life at our sanctuary for rescued big cats.

He is certainly a unique lion, but has an environment in which he could flourish and is truly happy because of us, free from exploitation or abuse – something that would have been impossible without our care or expertise.

This is who we are.

This is what we do.

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We are open daily from 09:30 to 17:00.
Our big cat feeding times are Mon/Wed/Fri at 16:00 – watch us feed our rescues.

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Address

Drakenstein Lion Park, Old Paarl Road, Paarl South
Paarl
7625

Opening Hours

Monday 09:30 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:30 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:30 - 17:00
Thursday 09:30 - 17:00
Friday 09:30 - 17:00
Saturday 09:30 - 17:00
Sunday 09:30 - 17:00

Telephone

+27218633290

Website

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