We had the distinct privilege of spending time with the remarkable founder of the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre, Mrs. Lente Roode and her daughter Adine Roode. Mrs. Roode opened the centre in 1990 as a cheetah breeding centre - since then approximately 200 cubs have been born at the centre and more than 150 have been successfully introduced into the wild. HESC ( http://www.hesc.co.za) is recognized as a pioneer in the conservation of rare, vulnerable and endangered species, including cheetah, wild dog, ground hornbills, black-footed cats, sable and more. Of late the centre has rescued rhino that have been either orphaned or injured in the poaching crisis.

On our visit we saw cheetah, wild dogs, black-footed cats, ground horn bills, lion, sable and more – we witnessed the feeding and care of some of these incredible species, including the king cheetah. HESC also runs a Cheetah Conservation Student Program where students come for a period of 3 weeks and work along side of the team who operate the centre.