Knysna (@knysnatourism) | Twitter

Good day everyone, in light of the recent fires in Knysna we would like to share the letter below. This letter states that although there is severe damage in the town of Knysna the town is safe and almost all the tourist activities are fully operational. We would like to urge everyone to support the town of Knysna and help #BuildKnysna up again. It’s business as usual in Knysna. That’s the message from Elmay Bouwer, chairperson of the Knysna Tourism board, who today confirmed that despite the extensive fires experienced in the Garden Route town this week, Knysna has resumed normal business activities and is welcoming visitors. “We would like tourists to know that it is safe to visit Knysna, and that almost all tourist activities are fully operational,” said Bouwer. “Although a number of accommodation establishments have been damaged or destroyed, there are many others which have not been affected. If any visitors who have planned a stay in Knysna are unsure about the status of their accommodation booking, they should call Knysna Tourism on +27 44 382 5510 or email bookings@visitknysna.co.za. Bouwer said that one of Knysna’s biggest tourist attractions, Featherbed Nature Reserve suffered severe damage, however the company’s three restaurants are still fully operational as are the boat cruises on the John Benn, Paddle Cruiser and Heads Explorer Catamaran. The iconic Knysna Waterfront with all its restaurants and shops had not been affected in any way. The popular animal sanctuaries between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay including Knysna Elephant Park, Birds of Eden, Monkeyland and Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre are all operating as usual. In addition, SANParks’ picnic areas at Jubilee Creek and Diepwalle and the camping sites in Diepwalle are open and unaffected by the fires. Simola, Pezula and Knysna Golf Courses are also open. The town of Sedgefield is also welcoming visitors and has not lost any accommodation establishments. All tourist activities in the area are fully operational including the popular Scarab and Wild Oats Famer’s Markets. “Knysna is recovering from the devastation of the fires but for local businesses to survive, tourism must play a vital part,” says Bouwer. “We need to get the message out there that we are open for businesss and the Knysna visitor experience will be as good as ever.” Media Enquiries Collin Thaver 087 236 7709 Regards, Team Knysna Tourism Naturally Knysna twig.jpg Knysna & Partners Knysna, Sedgefield & surrounding towns www.twitter.com/knysnatourism www.facebook.com/visitknysna www.visitknysna.co.za +27 (0)44 382 5510

Photos from Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre's post

The Penguin Release was a huge success. We arrived on Lookout Beach just before 07:00 to setup a small camp and get the penguins on the beach to give them time to acclimatize and watch the Ocean before there release at 09:00. Amazingly they immediately recognized the ocean and you could clearly see that they were focusing on the sea and very excited to get out into the water. Our animal keepers fed them some fish at 08:00, meanwhile locals started coming down onto the beach. We were overwhelmed by the amount of supporters that made the effort to come and witness the release. Dr Mark Brown Nature's Valley Trust did a quick talk to the supporters explaining the release, the rehabilitation of the penguins and the goal of releasing them in Plettenberg Bay. At 09:10 the enclosure gate was opened and the 5 started casually walking towards the surf looking around and back at us. Once the first bit of surf touched their feet they jumped in and started swimming off, playing in the surf on their way out to the back line. In the midts of all the emotions and heartache of the damage caused by the fires in our area these penguins instilled a sense of hope back into our community. Thank you to all involved in this amazing event and huge thank you to all the locals that made the effort to come and witness the penguins going home. Nature's Valley Trust BirdLife South Africa BirdLife International Birdlife Plettenberg Bay ORCA Foundation Offshore Adventures CapeNature Plettenberg Bay Tourism

Pippa's Planet: Impact of #KnysnaFire s on wildlife & environment - Afternoons with Pippa Hudson - Omny.fm

Mandy had a very nice chat on Cape Talk Yesterday with Pippa Hudson regarding the devastating impact of the Knysna Fires on wildlife and the environment. A good listen for all our concerned conservationist and wildlife enthusiasts.

Photos from Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre's post

ALL 5 penguins have been cleared for release by our Vet and the Microchips insertion opsites are clean. The transponders were tested and are operating perfectly. The penguins will spend their final night at our Rehabilitation facilities. Everything possible has been done to ensure that the penguins are fit, healthy and ready.. SEE YOU ALL TOMORROW!!!🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧 BirdLife South AfricaBirdlife Plettenberg BayPlettenberg Bay TourismNature's Valley TrustORCA FoundationOffshore AdventuresCape NatureSouth African National Parks The Crags Veterinary Clinic

Thank you Chris Fletcher for the call regarding the Bush Buck at Brenton On Sea. We spoke to the Conservation Head at the Goukamma Reserve Mr Eugene, and they are monitoring the situation regarding the Bush Buck wandering around. They have not seen any injuries (there are rangers on their way to patrol the area again now), but will keep us posted on the matter. We will keep in touch with Goukamma Nature Reserve Cape Nature regarding the animals. Sadly these animals have lost 90 % of their Natural Habitat, and the rangers are trying to get them to areas with enough grazing. We will keep you posted.

Plettenberg Bay Tourism

" Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre has offered sanctuary for any displaced domestic and wild animals "

Preparations For Our First Penguin Release

An update on all the preparations done prior to tomorrow's release of 5 endangered African Penguins at Look Out Beach Plettenberg Bay. There are several important aspects to ensure that the birds are ready for release. The past week our animal keepers and veterinary team have been busy with the following: 1. Swimming and exercising the penguins daily so that they are fit enough to cope with their reintroduction to the ocean. 2. Waterproofing their feathers to make sure that they can spend extended periods at sea without losing body temperature. 3. Analyzing their blood to ensure that they do not carry any blood born diseases and their blood results are clear of any health problems. 4. Deworming them to ensure that they are clear from any parasites. 5. DNA testing ( Sponsored by MDS Africa Pty Ltd ) to determine their sexes. We are happy to introduce to you our 5 candidates : Mr Afri Can-Penguin (ID tag: 17/145) , Mr A. Penguin (I.D. tag 17/152) , Mr Pen Quin Bond* (ID tag: 17/128) , Mrs Spheniscus Demersus (I.D. tag: 17/101) , Mrs Peng Flipper (I.D. tag: 17/091) 6. Micro-chipping the birds with the purpose of tracking them in the wild.This forms part of a National transponder database coordinated by SANCCOB saves seabirds 7. Taking statistical body measurements and taking samples for the national Species Bio Bank for genetic records held at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa 8. Most importantly is getting final veterinarian clearance for release which will happen later this afternoon All test passed, checked that the weather is still good to go..... These guys are ready to GO HOME! Be at Look Out Beach tomorrow morning at 9h00 to join the experience with our Tenikwa Team and Nature's Valley Trust BirdLife South Africa Birdlife Plettenberg Bay Cape Nature South African National Parks ORCA Foundation Offshore Adventures Plettenberg Bay Tourism Algoa FM Knysna FM 97.0 & MC 90.3 FM The Crags Veterinary Clinic

Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation and Awareness Centre NPC NEWSLETTER MAY/JUNE 2017

Knysna-Plett Herald

As per the article below, Tenikwa is assisting Plett residents with relocating domestic animals to safety. We have a members of Team Tenikwa in Plettenberg Bay assisting locals and their fur family with finding shelter and a safe place for them stay. Please contact us <3 #KnysnaPlettFires #HelpingHands #TeamTenikwa

Photos from Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre's post

Happy World Oceans Day to everyone 🐧🐠🦈🐋🐳🐬🐡🦀 A healthy world ocean is critical to our survival. Every year, World Oceans Day provides a unique opportunity to honor, help protect, and conserve the world’s oceans. Oceans are very important: They generate most of the oxygen we breathe They help feed us They regulate our climate They clean the water we drink They offer a pharmacopoeia of medicines They provide limitless inspiration! " How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is quite clearly Ocean ..." Arthur C. Clarke Birdlife Plettenberg Bay Nature's Valley Trust South African National Parks Cape Nature Plettenberg Bay Tourism BirdLife South Africa

Date: 6 June 2017 Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation and Awareness Centre official statement/response to Video posted on social media. “Cheetah Bites/Attacks Guide @ Tenikwa” Firstly, we Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation and Awareness Centre want to apologize to all our supporters and the public that viewed the video posted online. The action portrayed in this clip by a Tenikwa guide is completely and utterly unacceptable and against our principals, philosophy and policies hence the action taken from our Management team. On 18 May 2017 a Junior Tenikwa tour guide neglected his training and broke company protocols by entering a cheetah enclosure without a senior/second guide. He entered the enclosure with the intent to feed 2 of our cheetahs. Our Safety and Tour protocols clearly state that anyone entering a cheetah enclosure should call for a backup /senior guide and wait for them to arrive before proceeding, which the guide in question neglected to do. According to witnesses that were outside the enclosure, "our guide proceeded to feed the cheetahs and at no point did he provoke or attempt to intimidate the cats". He placed a bowl of food down for the first cheetah, in the separate cheetah feeding area, and then turned to commence and feed the second cheetah. He turned his back toward the first cheetah and according to reports from witnesses the first Cheetah got up and engaged the guide by grabbing him and biting onto his lower leg. Assistance was called, staff reacted to the scene. A senior guide entered the enclosure to assist the junior guide. According to witness reports the cheetah then let go of the junior guide and reacted towards the second guide, as can be seen on the video footage posted. The junior guide then grabbed the cheetah by his left hind leg, swung it around and proceeded to mock kick the cheetah. (Fortunately he did NOT kick the cheetah) The junior guide’s reaction to the cheetah and continued behavior, as portrayed on the video footage was completely unacceptable and will never be tolerated at Tenikwa. The details of the incident, including this junior guide’s reaction to the cheetah, only came to our Management`s attention when the incident investigation process was initiated the same day. It need be reiterated that there were no guests in the enclosure when the incident occurred, neither are guests allowed to enter enclosures when animals are being fed. This cheetah is also not part of any tourism related program at Tenikwa. He is a very strong and dominant, 65kg intact male, and we respect him for that. Irrespective of the junior guide`s unacceptable actions, he was transported by the Tenikwa team to Hospital to get his wounds treated. He then also decided to leave the Hospital without receiving treatment. We started a formal inquiry that same day and took witness statements from the visitors that witnessed the event and then from our staff that was involved in assisting and witnessed the incident. During the inquiry it came to our attention that the guide in question compromised himself and the company by not following his training and not implementing company safety protocols. It also came to our attention that he acted out towards the cat after the cheetah disengaged as seen on the footage. We continued the incident investigation and started a formal inquiry leading to disciplinary steps. The guide resigned from Tenikwa before the formal inquiry and disciplinary steps could proceed further. Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation and Awareness Centre will not tolerate abuse of any of our animals. We were shocked when the footage came to light but know that we implemented the correct procedures of investigation and can assure that the footage portrayed in the video was a result of an irresponsible reaction and due to company policy being broken by a junior guide who is no longer part of our team. It need be mentioned that all staff who witnessed the incident made it clear in their statements that they found the junior guide`s actions unacceptable. When the video was posted on the 5th of June on social media, the content confirmed the statements of our staff and supported the Disciplinary Actions taken by management, including suspending the junior guide until the Official Inquiry was to be conducted. The junior guide resigned from our service on the 22nd of May 2017 before the Official Inquiry was to be finalized. We would like to highlight that none of our programs at Tenikwa allow any tourist initiated interactions with our Cats. Tenikwa views the allegations made on Volunteers in Africa Beware page in a serious light. A case of Criminal Defamation has been laid at Plettenberg Bay SAPS, case number 546/2017 and will be investigated by the Cyber Crime unit. Further cases of harassment against Volunteers in Africa Beware, linked organisations and individuals involved is being pursued. Kind Regards Tenikwa Wildlife Rehabilitation and Awareness Centre Team

Penguin Release Day

We are extremely excited and can't wait for the 10th of June! We will be releasing 5 Endangered African Penguins that have progressed through our Rehabilitation Centre. The best part is that we are releasing them right here in Pletteneberg Bay off Look Out Beach. Please come join us for the release and let us all celebrate World Oceans Day together.. Look Out Beach 10 June 2017 09:00 Full press release below: http://www.birdlife.org.za/…/Penguin_release_World_Oceans_D…