Nikki Walks with Lions at Casela

On my recent trip to Mauritius, I was lucky enough to visit Casela Nature Park in the Flic en Flac region of the Island. The park has more than 140 bird species and wildlife such as Lions, Cheetahs and Tigers. This really was one of the highlights of my trip! We went “walking with Lions” which involves a 45 minute interaction with these magnificent cats. Two Lions, Bowser and Jumanji, joined us for our leisurely stroll, and after my initial fear (its hard to remain totally cool when two lions come bounding down a path towards you!) I settled well into the walk. You realise very quickly that there is nothing to be frightened of, the handlers have such excellent control that really you forget very quickly that you are within a foot of these unbelievable creatures! We got to touch the lions and had several photo opportunities as well. This is an unbelievable experience, being so up close and personal to these Lions is any animal lovers paradise. You also see how happy the lions are and they are treated so well that they just play around with each other on the walk and really seem as if they enjoy it as well. Bowser, the male Lion, at only 14 months old, is really like a big kitten and enjoyed playing in trees and annoying his little sister Jumanji. At one point he even got stuck in the tree! This is a great experience for all of the family (unfortunately little ones have to give this a miss, in order to avoid being Lion fodder!) but there are many other interactions within the park to make this a great family day out!