Little Falls’ Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation relocates to Limpopo
Eight-year-old wildlife rescue from Little Falls bids farewell to their Roodepoort community, and shares excitement as they start their own rehabilitation centre in the heart of Limpopo.
Local wildlife rescue Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation (WHWF) is in the process of realising one of their biggest dreams, to open a wildlife rehabilitation centre of their own. The eight-year-old non-profit has found a haven in Limpopo about 40km east of Mookgopong (previously Naboomspruit).
“The dream was always to have a rehabilitation centre of our own, so when we were presented with the opportunity, we grabbed it. Also, staying in the bush between all the wildlife is heaven. We started work on the rehab end of July this year,” explained Carina Crayton, co-founder of WHWF.
According to Carina, as a child, growing up in South Africa, Paul Oxton co-founder of WHWF spent a lot of time visiting the Kruger National Park and various other Game Reserves with his family.
“He developed a deep love for Nature and Wildlife, and as he grew up, it slowly intensified into the desire to do something to protect Africa’s rich and diverse wildlife heritage,” recalled Carina, “having left South Africa for several years, and while in the corporate world in the United States, Paul would watch the TV series ‘Wild at Heart’. He would miss South Africa more and more with each episode airing. In 2008, Paul returned to South Africa, to stay.”
She motivated that with rhino poaching on the increase, Paul started raising awareness on social media in 2011, going by the name ‘Wild at Heart’.
“He created beautiful graphics, posters and quotes, and soon gained a large following. His artwork, posters and graphics were used all over the world during peaceful gatherings and awareness meetings, all geared to illuminate the world about the true plight facing Africa’s wildlife.
“When the time came to register the foundation and actively, practically, start to help the wildlife, the natural choice for a name was Wild at Heart Foundation – but this was not available due to copyright issues, and so Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation was born, formally registered as a non-profit organisation in February 2015,” grinned Carina.
For Paul’s birthday one year, Carina organised a trip to the set of Wild at Heart.
“Up to that stage, Paul never knew where it had been filmed, he just noticed that it reminded him of Muldersdrift in South Africa, where he grew up. The set is based at Glen Afric Lodge, and is the backdrop for countless movies about the African bush,” she recalled, “seeing the main house of the set for the first time, in real life, Paul was transported back into time to his days in the USA, when he watched the series with so much longing to come back to his roots. He knew he’d made the right choice.”
The pair are now at the precipice of their new adventure in Limpopo.
“Last night we did remove puffadder number six from next to our house,” she chuckled. The WHWF co-founders would like to take this opportunity to thank the immense support they have received from their Little Falls community.
