Calliope

Name: Calliope
Female Leopard

Calliope came to Love Lions Alive sanctuary after having been kept in a trailer in horrendous conditions. She was found and confiscated by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and DESTEA. Calliope was in such poor condition that she needed specialised treatment before she could move to our sanctuary. Leopards are extremely private cats who want to keep totally to themselves and do not want any human interaction. We tried our best to build her enclosure that was the furthest from human activity, full of trees and veld in which she could totally disappear. We also build free flowing streams within her enclosure for her to play in and drink the water. We kept away from her as much as possible and avoided bothering her as much as possible when feeding her, of which she was only fed venison (meat of buck). We would only see her via the camera trap we placed in her enclosure and by markings she left during the night. Despite the long-term plan always being to re-wild Calliope, we can confidently say that during her time at Love Lions Alive this leopard absolutely stole our hearts. We have been honoured to be a part of her journey from a trailer prison to her release into the wild. Tragically, Calliope has since passed away. We were informed of her death after the device that monitored her heart’s activity stopped registering her heartbeat.

It was a privilege to meet Calliope and be a part of her re-wilding. We are sorry that she did not get to spend her entire life in the wild. Rest easy, magical girl.