Part Of The Pride

Spurs Of Endless Beauty

If you follow any wild-oriented pages on social media, Pride Part of the especially with lions involved, you have undoubtedly come across a blonde short haired man playing and interacting with lions as if they were housecats with an out-of-control growth issue. Well, THAT is Dean Schneider. A former finance major who left Switzerland to come to Africa and pursue his dream of animal rehabilitation and protection. His pursuits bore fruit as he has not only become quite the established conservationist but he has also become quite famous on and off social media for his efforts and charisma.

Hakuna Mipaka

The loose translation of the name of Schneider’s facility, Hakuna Mipaka, is ‘no borders’; or in context, No Limits. In this rehabilitation center, there are more than just lions. Separate areas host zebra, impala, kudu, hyenas and even baboons. The establishment of of the Hakuna Mipaka sanctuary was several years and many back and forth trips in the making as Schneider had to seek sponsors and establish a healthy rapport with local law enforcement as well as seeking community assimilation. It eventually came to pass as it is well off its feet.

Controversy

Schneider’s story however is not without its issues. A video on his own network shows him punching the paw of a young member of his lion pride after one of its claws appears to clip his lip during a photo-op. This created outrage among netizens with someone heavily criticizing him and calling for investigations into his activities. After this event, some have called him Africa’s Tiger King (a reference to the controversial American Zoo keeper and politician Joe Exotic, who was also accused of animal cruelty), while others still refer to him as Africa’s Steve Irwin, whom he claims inspires him. He vehemently denies cruelty and even goes ahead to deny that there are any investigations on his Youtube channel. Schneider explains that as a faux member of a pride, boundaries have to be set, and a small amount of pain compliance has to be inflicted so as to ward the cats off injuring him or each other. While this may be scientifically sound, a lot of his followers simply didn’t see it that way.

We at Wild Safari stand against any level of animal cruelty and we wait in earnest for any more details on this issue to come out.