Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary
Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary
Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary
4.5
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
About
Jukani is part of the South African Animal Sanctuary Alliance (SAASA) #PlettPredators #CragsCarnivores #HandsOffOurWildlife #SaasaVisit Come and visit Jukani which is the home of rescued predators and other wildlife where the focus is on conservation and education, specifically on the plight of predators both in captivity and in the wild all over the world. At Jukani you can see most of the larger cats such as lion, Bengal and Siberian tiger, jaguar, leopard, cheetah, puma, caracal and rarer species such as white lions and tigers and leopard. The sanctuary is also home to other predators such as African wild dog, hyena, jackal, honey badger and other wildlife such as zebra, springbuck and raccoons.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
738 reviews
Excellent
412
Very good
213
Average
78
Poor
21
Terrible
14
Linka B
Hermanus, South Africa49 contributions
Apr 2021 • Couples
We went to the sanctuary at around lunchtime this week. The lady selling the tickets was not very welcoming. We were told that she is only there to sell tickets and not to provide information about the centre. We were also told that there will be NO guide assistance and that we simply had to follow the map.
Luckily we were fortunate enough to run into a ranger/guide at one of the first enclosures who was kind enough to keep us company through our tour. He was very informative, so we had a better tour than I think we would’ve without him. Midday is not the ideal time, so I would recommend going later in the day (15:00-16:00 is feeding time). Nonetheless se were happy and always keen to support initiatives safeguarding animals. The park was neat and the enclosures adequate/spacious.
Luckily we were fortunate enough to run into a ranger/guide at one of the first enclosures who was kind enough to keep us company through our tour. He was very informative, so we had a better tour than I think we would’ve without him. Midday is not the ideal time, so I would recommend going later in the day (15:00-16:00 is feeding time). Nonetheless se were happy and always keen to support initiatives safeguarding animals. The park was neat and the enclosures adequate/spacious.
Written April 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear LinkaB7
Thank you kindly for your review, we are sorry the welcoming was not as friendly as we like it to be, we have attended to it and trust going forward it will be much better.
We do not currently have the income needed to have guided tours through the sanctuary but we continue to hope that the covid situation will relax and tourism can grow again so we can bring the guided tours back.
We will do our best to try and bring more guides in to station them throughout the sanctuary like the one you encountered.
Thanks kindly for your kind words on the guide it is appreciated and noted.
Kindest Regards
Vijver Jonck
Social Media Manager for SAASA
Written April 23, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ron w
London, UK24 contributions
Feb 2021 • Couples
We arrived at the sanctuary and were rushed through a speech by a person on the desk and then left to go round on our own. We saw very few animals , I know these are wild animals but why make the pens go so far back that you have absolutely no chance of seeing anything. If people cannot see the animals, they will stop coming and it will close. Not recommended at all.
Wished I had asked for our money back.
Wished I had asked for our money back.
Written February 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear 603ronw
Thank you for taking the time to do a review for us. We have addressed the situation with the person at the desk and I can promise you that the greeting will be relaxed, friendly and informative going forward. We are sorry that you did not see many of our animals. Please allow me at this time to remind all that our tickets are day tickets and not just a single entry, I wish you had spoken to the manager on duty as we would have gladly signed your ticket to come back another day if you did not have time to do another round later in the same day. For us it is such a pleasure when people get to experience all our animals so we are honestly sorry that, that was not what your visit ended up being.
Kindest Regards
Vijver Jonck
Social Media Manager
Written April 23, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Peter Z
Cape Town Central, South Africa232 contributions
Feb 2015 • Solo
the visit to this place is a shock to the system. the animals seems to be rescued from zoos, according to their behaviour.looking sad and in the wrong place. no european zoo will allow those conditions.maybe for south africans, but which foreigner wants to see tigers, cougars etc walking up and down in boredom.if you love animals stay away
Written August 17, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lucas Limoncic
2 contributions
Our guide was great, but it really felt like a zoo. When I did my research on Jukani I was under the impression they had rescue animals, like from circuses or wildlife traffickers, but I found out that almost all of their animals were “rescued” from other zoos. I get that most of those animals cannot be released, but seeing them in cages (even if they’re big) just didn’t feel right for us on an African safari trip. The white tiger looked out of his mind and kept pacing back and forth. Would not recommend it. Monkeyland and Birds of Eden are great though.
Written October 8, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Patricia R
Orlando, FL1 contribution
Aug 2013 • Couples
This venue should not be allowed to exist! We hardly saw any animals, the guide had no knowledge of what he was talking about and was clearly making up as he went along or when he was asked any questions. I happen to know quite a lot about wild animals, especially big cats, having worked in the industry previously and his information was largely incorrect and downright ignorant. Of all the attractions I have ever been to in my 34 years of travelling, this has got to be the worst! The price we paid was really a rip off quite honestly and I wish I had rather spent my hard earned money elsewhere. Monkeyland is also linked to them which is a pity since I have been there a few times before and enjoyed this attraction each time. I will not be back and nor would I recommend this place.
Written September 8, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Patricia R
I would like to thank you for taking the time to do a review for us, as we welcome all to give their opinion and we use what we can, to improve as much as possible. As for the guide, if you wish to contact me directly on any of the published Jukani email addresses I would greatly appreciate the name or a description of the guide as our guides are very important to us. I will however ensure that ALL our guides are taken through the test again to make sure that they are giving out the correct information and definitely NOT making things up, this I feel is not okay and I thank you for bringing this to my attention.
As for the part where you say you “hardly saw any animals” – this is due to the fact that we are not a Zoo and our animals are not on “display”. Due to their history the animals living out their lives at Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary cannot be realized into the wild but we wish to make their forever home as wild as possible with-in our means. We build enclosures as large as we could for the animals we have and with the space we have. We also ensured that our animals can freely roam about their enclosures and have space to hide if they felt they wanted too. Each enclosure also has a Hobbit-type house for the animals to go into when every they feel like it. It is for this reason why our tickets are not tour tickets but DAY tickets and you can go on as many tours as you like so that you may have the opportunity to see as many animals as you possibly can. By December 2013 we will also start building our Photography Ramps which will make it a lot easier for all to take photos and see the animals whey they are laying further away from where you are.
Monkeyland being linked to Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary can NEVER be a pity as the knowledge and wealth of information the Monkeyland team brings to the table makes this a winning combination in the long run for all the animals!
Vijver
Social Media Manager for all SAASA Companies
Written September 17, 2013
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Lolasmalta
4 contributions
Jan 2019 • Couples
Unfortunately we left there with a bad feeling. The enclosures for the animals were so small. From the website we understood that the animals were rescued and were then not capeable to live in the wild. This was not the case tho they were just koved from one cage to another. When we asked for more information about why they were here, how they got there and if they will ever leave the guide was avoiding the questions and seemeed to get annoyed. The whole experience felt wrong.
Written January 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
happychloe1
10 contributions
May 2018 • Family
Impressive animals ! The history of the place and the organization are great. Unfortunately, it felt a lot like a zoo. Our guide did not talk at all and was always on his phone.
Written May 11, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Chloe
I would like to thank you for taking the time to do a review for us. We take pride in our animals and our park and always in our guides so the review on our guide is quite shocking. If possible I would appreciate it if you could contact our offices to give us a description or the name of the guide so we may retrain them and ensure all future visitors have a much better experience.
Kindest Regards
Vijver Jonck
Social Media Manager
Written May 18, 2018
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
SisterMJ
Plettenberg Bay, South Africa9 contributions
Sep 2014 • Family
A visit to the Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary in the Crags recently left me dazed and confused. Why are there Bengal tigers in Africa? What would possess anyone to bring Jaguars to this neck of the woods? surely rehabilitation somewhere closer to home would be more humane and environmentally sound. I can't bring myself to feel good about zoos no matter how you dress them up.
Written October 9, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Timothy John D
156 contributions
Nov 2016 • Couples
We had the triple ticket of Jukani, Monkeyland and Birds of Eden. Jukani was the weakest of the three for us. I can appreciate the good work they are doing in protecting and caring for these big cats but seeing one large carnivore after another behind wire just didn't do anything for us i'm afraid. Having said that, we knew before we went it wasn't our thing so I can't blame Jukani for this. I also appreciate they have to be behind wire for obvious reasons. I guess if you like big cats this would do it for you because they have some beautiful animals that are obviously well cared for and look healthy in a lovely setting but it wasn't our cup of tea hence the 3/5
Written February 17, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Timothy
Thank you kindly for taking the time to review as we appreciate any and all input.
We understand that you do not like Big Cats but they are just as vulnerable if not more so than other wildlife and as such needs protection. Therefor we created this sanctuary. Thank you though for the compliments on how we are running the sanctuary and we hope you at least learned something from your visit as our message is one of "conservation"
Kindest Regards
Vijver
Social Media Manager
Written March 14, 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Omahatraveling
Omaha, NE217 contributions
Jan 2017
This is a great service they offer for the rescued animals, but not that valuable a viewing opportunity compared with the others in the package - the Monkeyland and Birds of Eden tours.
Written January 22, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi. Thanks for your review. If you've been to Tenikwa, would you recommend that over Jukani? I have a disability which impedes me from walking great distances. I was looking at the priivate photo tour at Tenikwa because I could go at my own pace and rest when necessary. Would that be better for me?
Thanks for your help.
Rebecca Maxwell
Written September 20, 2017
Rebecca. I am a Tour Guide and have taken people to both reserves on a number of occasions.
From what you say I suggest Tenikwa. Jukani has a lot of walking while Tenikwa may be easier for you.
Written October 13, 2017
We are a family of 7 from Kleinbrak Mosselbay for my brothers bday! Price plse?
Written April 10, 2017
Hi there. Our rates are available on our website. Please note our rates change every 1 November. Our current rates (17 May 2017) is R210 per adult and R105 per child if you only visit one sanctuary.
Have a most wonderful day
Kindest Regards
Vijver
Written May 17, 2017
Hallo, sollte man schon vorher eine Tour buchen oder erst vor Ort? Machen nur einen Tagesausflug und wollten gern das Kombiticket für Monkeyland und jukani kaufen. Danke schon mal
Written August 29, 2016
Nosotros sacamos en el momento el convinado con Monkeylandy bird of eden! Vale la pena! Pero no hace falta sacar con antelación
Written February 11, 2018
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