Watch the 24-year-old lion wrangler who raised a 250kg lion
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A 24-year-old lion wrangler has revealed his top five favourite things about being an animal trainer.
Shandor Larenty, also known as the ‘Lion King’, is a wrangler at the Lion And Safari Park, in South Africa and can interact with wild animals, including lions, cheetahs, hyenas, giraffes, and African wild dogs.
He performs a number of duties at the Lion And Safari Park, including feeding big cats and cleaning up their enclosures.
Shandor also educates others about the animals and this is one of his five most favourite things about being an animal trainer.
Shandor told Beastly: “It means a lot to help change people’s perspectives on how amazing these animals really are. The biggest misconception people have is that they think all animals are cute and fluffy. So it’s about having a sense of respect.”
“It’s one of the most rewarding things, seeing the sheer joy on their faces when they are able to interact with them once they learn that.”
Shandor is working with a group of students who are learning about animals, including a one-eyed cheetah named Cindy.
He said: “It’s a big responsibility for me to work with students because essentially, you are improving the conservation for tomorrow.”
“Cindy only has one eye, a problem that is becoming bigger for cheetahs due to encroachment and them being pushed into bushier, denser areas where they wouldn’t naturally be found.”
“They run into trees because they don’t have very good, close up, vision. Cindy was born in captivity and that’s why she is so comfortable around people.”
Feeding animals is his another favourite thing about being an animal trainer. While getting to work with critically endangered species is his third favourite thing about being an animal trainer.
He said: “Getting to work with species like the African wild dog, it’s a really privileged experience. It’s vitally important to protect animals like this. If we don’t take action now, we are not going to see them in the wild – they will only exist in captivity.”
Carrying on his family’s tradition is at number two as his father, Alex Larenty has been working with animals for almost 50 years.
Finally, his most favourite thing about being an animal trainer is getting to spend some quality time with his favourite 250kg lion – George who has been raised by him.
He says: “This relationship isn’t something that’s formed overnight. We’ve worked together for many, many years now. George is around seven, nearly eight years old – if he didn’t know me, I wouldn’t be able to get into his personal space.”
“He absolutely loves attention. He weighs around 250kg and just his weight alone is enough to push me over.”
“It’s so amazing to have the love that you show, reciprocated back to you by these animals. The passion that I have for them is something that cannot be taught.”
“I’m very fortunate that I’m able to continue this work that I love so much.”
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