Kevin Richardson (zookeeper)
This product was added biology to improve the basis of formal and / or substantive deficiencies in quality assurance. This is done to bring the quality of biology articles to an acceptable level. Please help to improve this article! Products are not significantly improved, may optionally be deleted.
Read also the more detailed information in the minimum requirements in biology articles.
Kevin Richardson ( born 1974 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is animal rights activist and owner of Kingdom- of-the -White -Lion Park in Gauteng Province, South Africa. He specialized there on lions and their behavior, but he also works with other big cats such as cheetahs and leopards, as well as hyenas. He is, according to his testimony, recognized member in a group of hyenas and a pride of lions. Known worldwide as the " lion whisperer ", he also worked as a writer and film producer.
Childhood and youth
Richardson was born in the Nightingale Clinic in Johannesburg, South Africa. He grew up in Orange Grove, a suburb of Johannesburg. His mother, also born in South Africa and worked at Barclays Bank. Her parents were from England and emigrated to South Africa. His father worked for a pharmaceutical company and came from Reading, Berkshire. Kevin is the youngest of four children: he has an older brother and two sisters, twins. Since childhood he loves animals: at the age of three years he bred crickets and had a toad called " Paddajie ". Nicknamed " The Bird Man of Orange Grove " ( German as: The Bird Man of Orange Grove ') he took care of different animals and spent much of his childhood in his garden. When Richardson was 13 years old, his father died. At age 16, Richardson met Stan Schmidt and began his career as a zoologist.
Zoological career
Richardson wanted to be a veterinarian, but got no place in the veterinary school. Therefore, he went to university and studied zoology. However, he dropped out after two years because the study was too focused on the sea and the animals occurring in mind. He decided to pursue his passion for animals as a hobby. Richardson began courses in physiology and anatomy to prove at the college and started his career as a physical therapist. This he learned at the age of 23 years, Rodney Fuhr know who had just bought the Lion Park in Broederstroom, 35 km from Johannesburg. Richardson spent much time in the 647 -acre park and met the six -month-old lion cubs Tau and Napoleon know. He spent a year as much time with the lions as possible. Finally Fuhr offered him a part-time job in the park. Six months later he worked there every day.
Currently heard Kevin Richardson of the 800 -hectare Kingdom- of-the -White -Lion Park, where he and his team to rare white lions, brown hyena, spotted hyenas, black leopards, jaguars and a variety of antelope species including wildebeest, giraffe impala, nyala and bontebok care. Richardson works with his lions for commercial film projects and documentaries to an income for the park to achieve. In addition, the park has a volunteer program for volunteers.
Work with lion
Richardson is a self-taught zoologist. His knowledge stem from the connections and relationships he has with his animals. He broke a lot of rules in dealing with lions and other big cats, but has invalidated many myths about training with these animals and their behaviors. So there is in the park lions that see a hyena as their member of the pack, because they grew up with her. The bonds between him and the animals are so great that he lay down to sleep between the lion, look at the newborn the lionesses and can even go with Meg, a lioness reared by him to swim. Richardson also learned quickly about the dangers of working with lions. A four year old male held him on the ground and bit him, then let go and walked away. Since this incident, Kevin used his instincts and stayed away from situations that seemed dangerous. In another incident, two 180 kg threw him to the ground heavy lion and a female jumped on him. Richardson was scratched frequently, but this happens under lions and often is in their nature - it is a member of the pack therefore treated no differently than the other lions.
" Obviously one Realizes the danger When working with animals of this caliber, I've Weighed the pros and cons I've Weighed the, and the pros far outweigh the cons. "
"Of course you realize the dangers when working with animals of this caliber; I have weighed the advantages and disadvantages and the advantages outweigh the disadvantages by far. "
Mission
The lion population fell from 350,000 to an estimated 25,000 individuals - within 15 years. Richardson hopes the media attention his films increased public awareness and attention to the fact that makes Africa Animals must be protected. Lion hunts in South Africa are, according to the Professional Hunter Association, more than 90 million dollars worth. Nearly 17,000 hunters (more than half of them from the U.S.) killed over 46,000 animals from September 2006 to September 2007. The South African government supports such hunts due to the revenue in the state coffers. Kevin Richardson and the Kingdom of the White Lion hope that they can get people to think again about attending such events.