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Tributes to
Savannah
Savannah as a cub, with Julie (Sunette)
Please contribute by sending pictures of
Savannah...
Savannah, the rain is over but the drama has just
begun.
As we came round the corner we saw you there
with Julie and your eyes smiled - "Hi, Hello, good to
see you again".
As the dart hit your rump, you growled and your eyes
said "What the hell! But it's OK, I trust you".
As Seatao suddenly and savagely turned on you -
I screamed - not loud enough
I threw stones - not hard enough
I watched - cowardly and helplessly
and your eyes widened and they said "It's OK, I am
strong enough"
As your weakened body was dragged away by the
attacker, your eyes saddened and they asked "Why?"
I couldn't answer but my soul screamed "Forgive me!"
And as you lay bleeding under the bush, your eyes
closed gently and your heart whispered "It's OK, I love
you".
Freedom is yours at last Savannah. My eyes still
weep for you but our souls are one in love and in peace.
Jann
Hi John and all at
Tiger Canyons.
I read with great
sadness of the tragedy that befell
Savannah. Also of the terrible storm
which did so much damage.
What a disaster.
I remembered my visit
last year shortly after a similar storm
had taken down some fences. I always
admired the beautiful large lioness who
fitted in so well with her tiger family.
I will look for some
pictures of Savannah and let you have
them.
I have today made
payment into your account of a donation
of R5000.
I know it will be a
little help. Knowing your determination
and vision that things will return to
normal soon.
Tiger Canyons is such a
wonderful project and gives so many
people hope for all wildlife.
Regards
Mike Beder
Memories of Savannah - Ian and Marianne
Robertson
Dear JV
I can´t believe what I am reading about your
Tiger Canyon, and desperatly sad about Savannah.
But again, I am sure she had a wonderful life
together with her unique tiger family. My
thoughts are with you and Sunette. Keep your
strength.
After such a hard 2010, the new year starts with
new challenges. Please don`t give up, your
project is more than outstanding.
I have seen tigers in Indias National parks now,
and after this doubtful experience for me your
project is more and more important. The actual
counting of Tigers in wild is 1.400 (5 years ago
3.000), the decreasing goes on and on.
The world will need your genpool of wild tigers
!
I would love to jump on a plane and help you
fencing,....
I am planning a trip in the beginning of April
to Londolozi, I will let you know the exact
date, perhapes I can visit Tiger Canyon as well.
Take care and donot give up... this was just a
step backwards after a lots of steps ahead and
there will follow kilometers streight forward.
With love
Susanne
Dear JV and the Tiger Canyons crew, I am so
thankful to God that you all were able to
weather this storm and rescue the tigers. I am
so sorry for the loss of Savannah; I’ve only
seen a couple videos and pictures of her, and
read some of your articles about her, but it
sounds like she was a remarkable lioness, and
the relationship which she shared with Julie,
her cubs, and the other tigers at Tiger Canyons
was both heartwarming and incredible. My own
heart is heavy with grief; I can’t imagine how
you must feel, having grown up with her. Over
the past two years, I’ve fallen in love with big
cats, and become driven to learn all that I can
about them; in turn, I’ve come to have a better
appreciation for both them, and all of the
magnificent creation which God has given to us
and made us caretakers of. I’m deeply thankful
for conservation projects such as your own at
Tiger Canyons, which treat God’s creation with
the proper respect and care which it deserves,
and I pray that God may continue to bless your
work and protect the tigers whom you have given
the opportunity to live as they should. I also
pray that Tiger Canyons may recover from this
ferocious storm, and also that God may be with
you in this time of grief and hardship as you
rebuild and mourn the loss of Savannah. May God
bless you, your team, and the tigers.
Alex Milnikel
Dear Sunette,
Dear JV,
I am very sad to hear what had happened in Tiger
Canyon and about the death of Savannah. She was so
special, for me she was the queen of the Tiger
Canyon. A lion with Tiger-cups in the
wilderness...showing us how to tread lightly...
Much love,
Carsten
Love this one from early days
Kate
I am extremely sorry to hear this story and
some of the terrible consequences. I believe Sharon and I
were very privileged to visit just shortly before all this
happened.
I thought you may like some of these images that I took of
Savannah. I also put up a small sample of other images here:
http://ecologyweb.blogspot.com/
Regards
David
Breaking my
heart to read what you wrote! What a beautiful
animal!!
Ellen Joseph
Dear John and Sunette,
Thank you for sending out your recent communication
- we were appalled at the huge amount of damage done at
Tiger Canyons by the recent storm! It seems that for
every two steps ahead you manage, there are
heart-rending steps backwards. Our thanks and
congratulations to all those who worked on getting the
12 tigers back safely, new bomas erected, etc.
But our hearts are crushed by the death of Savannah.
What a beautiful lioness she was and so loved by Julie's
cubs whom we watched crawl all over her head! Such a
patient auntie! She never got to be a mom herself but,
based on her care of Julie's little ones, she would have
been a good one. We found the lion cub/tigress
experiment fascinating, not only for the animals
involved, but for the symbolism of inter-species
cooperation. Savannah and Julie may have never
understood their differences, but their bond was lasting
and true and we mourn its loss.
What made Seato attack her as her did? She'd been
living in their boma for so long and she certainly was
no threat....How did Julie and the others react to her
death, if at all?
We also appreciated seeing all the photos of the
storm damage and of the sedated Mahindra, Indiri and
Tigerbomb! They were 6 month old cubs when we last saw
them (May 2010) and they are a bit bigger now! Is
Tigerbomb displaying any of the characteristics of Shine
that might be interpreted as "white-tiger-distinctive?"
We send you and everyone at Tiger Canyons our
prayers, thanks and hopes for your important work and
for the renewed strength you need to continue.
All our best from San Francisco,
Bob and Mary Beth
Hi JV
We are all very sad to hear about the death of Savannah. A
really magnificent lioness with an incredible disposition.
The sight of her "mothering" Julie's cubs is indelibly
imprinted on my mind - as is her setting up a hunt with
Julie toward dusk.
My memories are encapsulated in these few photos.
John, you must be devastated not just at the loss of
Savannah, Ron and Shine but also the damage to the fences
and infrastructure that you had so painstakingly and
expensiverly installed.
As I write this my eldest son is in India and as part of his
journey he diverted to Ranthambore where he had the
fantastic luck to see tigers but he commented on the
crazily frustrating and bureaucratic "zone system" that is
still inplace. I will no doubt have more information when he
returns. It is certain that your initiative, Tiger Canyons,
provides a valuable liferaft for this cruelly endangered
species.
With fond memories
John, Judith and Iain
Hello JV
I visited the Tiger Canyon on the weekend of the 16th
December (David and myself are the guys who wrote there
car off on the way down) – we had an amazing late
afternoon and evening with yourself and Savannah and
tigers – we have the most amazing photos which we have
lovingly and proudly shown our friends.
I am devastated to hear about the floods and I have
no idea what to say on how sad and distressed I am about
Savannah, and I met her and yourself for one evening –
you have a whole life story together and I can’t imagine
how devastating and painful this must be for you.
Sorry does not seem adequate – but I don’t honestly
know what to say … I am so sorry for your loss.
Please don’t give up the world needs people like
yourself !
Susan Mawer and David Gibson
Dear John and the Team at Tiger Valley.
We were so very sad to read in your newsletter
about Savannah.
Russ and Elsa
Hi JV
I am so sorry to hear about
Savannah, she was a real beautiful animal. I
am sending a few photos of Savannah that I
took when we were there last year September.
We will perhaps visit again
next year.
Rudolf
Keith Booysen
Dear JV and the Tiger Canyons crew,
I am so thankful to God that you all were able to
weather this storm and rescue the tigers. I am so sorry
for the loss of Savannah; I’ve only seen a couple videos
and pictures of her, and read some of your articles
about her, but it sounds like she was a remarkable
lioness, and the relationship which she shared with
Julie, her cubs, and the other tigers at Tiger Canyons
was both heartwarming and incredible. My own heart is
heavy with grief; I can’t imagine how you must feel,
having grown up with her. Over the past two years, I’ve
fallen in love with big cats, and become driven to learn
all that I can about them; in turn, I’ve come to have a
better appreciation for both them, and all of the
magnificent creation which God has given to us and made
us caretakers of. I’m deeply thankful for conservation
projects such as your own at Tiger Canyons, which truly
and I pray that God may continue to bless your work and
protect the tigers whom you have given the opportunity
to live as they should. I also pray that Tiger Canyons
may recover from this ferocious storm, and also that God
may be with you in this time of grief and hardship as
you rebuild and mourn the loss of Savannah. May God
bless you, your team, and the tigers.
Sincerely,
Alex Milnikel
Dear John,
We are all devastated to read about your tragedy at
Tiger Canyons. Our experience with you and the tigers in
December will be remembered by all 4 of us for the rest
of our lives.
Seeing Savannah amongst those tigers was one of the
most extraordinary sights and I shall never forget it.
We wish you strength and determination through this
time, and remember how much you and these tigers have
already been through –
Much love,
Arnold, Marion, Isabella and Jake Tanzer
JV
I’m so sorry. We were there with you on the 31st
December & it was such a privilege to see your
magnificent cats – and especially to hear the story of
Savannah and see her so integrated with the tigers.
Amazing that you guys managed to save as many of the
tigers as you did – and I’ve no doubt Tiger Canyons will
be operational again soon.
Regards
Sharon
Dear JV,
Bill & were still ( mindfully ) in tiger space,
when we received a reply ( from Sunette ) to our
email to you , in which we again thanked you for the
unique experience with you at Tiger Canyon on the
21st January. The email from Sunette gave a brief
overview of the initial water damage to the canyon,
caused by the heavy rain storms.
When we drove out of Philippolis on Saturday
22nd, it had rained all night, and continued
throughout our drive towards Bloemfontein onto
Johannesburg, we commented on the amount of water in
the rivers, and on the roads, and our thoughts were
with the Tigers. One did not imagine that the water
volume would destroy the fences to the degree it
did.
We have wonderful photographs of the Tigers and
of course Savannah, the magnificent lioness. Our
sincere, deepest condolences to you, what a tragic
loss. We feel so privileged to have seen her so
beautiful, free, and relaxed in the perfect
environment.
We can never forget our experience with you and
your Tigers and Savannah !!!. We wish you the
strength, and finances to continue, with your dream,
to reintroduce the Tiger back into the wild, to
countries now devoid of this beautiful creature.
If there is anything we can do to assist, please
ask, and if within our power, we will be delighted
to help.
Our best wishes to you all at Tiger Canyon
Pauline & Bill Weedman
We are both devastated to hear of your tragic
loss of Savannah. I am so glad that I managed to see
this truly beautiful lioness in December and will
miss seeing her sitting so statuesquely on my next
visit.
Kind regards,
Karen and Jon Hawinkels
Dear JV and Sunette,
My sincere condolences on the loss
Savannah.
We were there only a few weeks ago and were
privileged to see Savannah and the tigers, it's
a day that I will never forget.
Here are the pics from our time spent with
you.
Warm regards
Paula Neild
My god JV, I am sorry to hear this news.
Our thoughts are with you and your tigers, and
our hearts feel your sorrow for Savanna.
May this be the beginning of something new and
beautiful, and not an ending.
Best wishes,
Bronwyn
Dear John and the Tiger team
We are so sorry to hear of Savannah’s death
and the flood disaster that struck Tiger Canyon.
Savannah and Julie’s story was one of our
particular favourites and we also mourn her
death with you. Thank you for always being so
positive and trying to see the good that comes
from adverse circumstances. It is such an
example to all of us!
We will be praying for strength and
optimism to help repair and stabilize the
circumstances on the farm.
Kind regards
Elmarie Prinsloo
Hi to you all , So sorry about what has
happened, it is just so incredibly tragic,
but as you say John, Gaia rules supreme, we
can try outsmart her and push the
boundaries, and although we may succeed for
a period, in time, she will act in an
attempt to restore the balance . May you all
have the strength and wisdom to continue in
a way that is in harmony with her and us all
With love
Tertia
JV,
You and the Canyon with my beloved
tigers are in my thoughts!!!!
I so love Ceatao… and I so love
Savannah, even if she’s not here with us on
earth anymore.
I am so sad for the loss and pray for
you and the Canyon every day.
Regards
Dalene (and Estelle) – visited March 2010
Dear JV& The Big Cats, I can only weep with you
at this tragedy and I loved seeing Savannah
carrying the tiger’s’ s cubs. Animals were created
by God before us but then he gave them to man and
said that man will have dominion over the animals.
Some people like yourself are taking on that duty
creatively and responsibly I am a great fan because
I share your love of animals and think MAN to be
very careless on the whole for the protecting of our
beautiful gifts the Lord gave us Thank you for your
e-mail, I appreciated it because I am a big fan of
what you doing, and feel you have been given a great
gifting by our creator of all nature. Stay
encouraged, Hazel Fair
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