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History of EndoFaun Zoo |
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At age eight the founder Mr. J.F. Magill caught his
first Snake. Over the years since then he massed together a menagerie of
animals, reptile and birds. In 1974 the first pair of Marmosets were
purchased, which lead to an extensive project of captive breeding of New
World Primates. At one time this collection was one of the biggest
collection of Marmosets and Tamarins in South Africa. A further interest
had by the founder was a fascination with Microbiology. While having no
formal education in this field, he built up over the years an extensive
knowledge of wildlife disease. In this quest for knowledge many
publications on zoology was also studied which inevitably lead to the
interest in a zoological park. Also over the years it had become evident
that there was a dire need for wildlife education amongst children,
especially at the early and mid school years. The fact that there were
no zoological facilities of any nature East of Johannesburg it was
decided to investigate the possibilities of a zoo. In 1995 a due
diligence was done and 1996 an application was made to the authorities
for a zoo licence. In the same year this licence was issued and work
began. Since that date the zoo has made steady progress with all
projects been financed by the owner himself. It however became evident
that progress was slow and needed to be speeded up by securing outside
financial help. In May 2003 it was decided to register EndoFaun Zoo as a
Section 21 company. Since then many projects have been completed with
many more scheduled.
The zoo is situated on 7 hectares of land in Bapsfontein,
which lies east of Johannesburg and 35 minutes from Johannesburg
International Airport, Benoni, Pretoria and Kempton Park. The zoo host a
selection of Reptiles, mammals, birds and fish, has a restaurant and
kiddies play park with petting zoo. The emphasis is on Education and
endangered wildlife study and propagation. At present there are a number
of Endangered species been bred at the zoo, some of these projects in
collaboration with other zoos.
The zoo has also helped the local community with some poverty
alleviation by providing opportunities to market home crafts and wares
to the visitors visiting the zoo. One of the scheduled projects is to
have small flea-market type shops in the parking area of the zoo where
the local community can market handcrafted products.
As EndoFaun Zoo is a relatively new zoo we hope that in time
we will be able to complete all the main projects and by so doing
provide a pleasant environment for both young and old, but especially an
environment which will house animals in the best possible way.
Source: former official web of
EndoFaun Zoo (2010)
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