Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital

Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital NPC is a dedicated wildlife ONLY veterinary hospital and rehabilitation center in Johannesburg

Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital (JWVH) is a registered non-profit organisation and dedicated to the rescue, treatment, rehabilitation, and release of indigenous South African wildlife. Founded by Dr Karin Lourens in 2017, JWVH was established to fill a crucial gap in wildlife care - providing a fully equipped, specialist veterinary facility that exists solely for wild animals, not domest

ic pets or livestock. Every patient that comes through our doors - from pangolins, eagles, and owls to genets, bushbabies, and tortoises - receives advanced veterinary care and compassionate treatment tailored to its species-specific needs. Our ultimate goal is always the same: to return each animal to its natural habitat, healthy and free. Our hospital works closely with law enforcement, conservation authorities, and partner organisations to combat the illegal wildlife trade, one of the most urgent conservation crises facing South Africa. Through expert veterinary reports, evidence documentation, and court testimony, JWVH plays an essential role in the enforcement of South Africa’s NEMBA and TOPS regulations, protecting threatened and protected species. Beyond the clinical work, we are deeply committed to education, collaboration, and research. JWVH provides training and mentorship to students and professionals, participates in ongoing scientific research (including pangolin health and post-release monitoring), and actively promotes awareness about the importance of wildlife welfare and conservation ethics. As a non-profit hospital, JWVH receives no government funding and depends entirely on donations, grants, sponsorships, and volunteer support to continue our work. Every contribution helps us save lives, rehabilitate wildlife, and preserve South Africa’s natural heritage. At the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital, true conservation is hands-on, relentless, and guided by compassion, science, and teamwork.
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All donations are tax deductible as we are a public benefit organisation. Please email us for more information. Contact us:
071 248 1514 - 24 hours
[email protected]
101 MacGillivray Road, Midrand, Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA

Banking Details
Johannesburg Wildlife NPC
FNB Cheque account
Account: 62658400264
Branch Code: 255355

214 RESCUED WILD ANIMALS ARE NOW IN OUR CARE - AND WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP.Hundreds of animals were recently removed ...
07/09/2026

214 RESCUED WILD ANIMALS ARE NOW IN OUR CARE - AND WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP.

Hundreds of animals were recently removed from a property during a joint law-enforcement operation, following serious concerns regarding illegal possession and the conditions in which they were being kept.

214 reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates were admitted into the care of Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital.

Their arrival came with virtually no warning. Many required immediate veterinary attention and emergency stabilisation, while our team simultaneously had to identify, capture, assess, transport, treat and establish appropriate housing for an extraordinary number and diversity of species.

Our new patients include snakes, lizards, geckos, tortoises, frogs, spiders and other species. Many are vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered, and all now require appropriate specialist care.

As this matter is the subject of ongoing legal proceedings, we cannot disclose further details about the circumstances of the case.

What we can tell you is that their rescue was only the beginning.

These animals cannot simply be placed into enclosures and fed. Different species have highly specific veterinary, nutritional and environmental needs. Providing the correct temperatures, humidity, UV lighting, diets, supplements, medication and housing for so many animals is an enormous undertaking - and one we could never manage without your support.

Right now, monetary donations will help us most.

They allow us to purchase exactly what is needed, when it is needed, and to adapt as each animal's veterinary and husbandry requirements change.
Whether you can give R50, R100, R500, R10 000 or more, every contribution helps us give these animals the specialist care they need and, wherever possible, work towards their eventual release or repatriation.

BANKING DETAILS
Johannesburg Wildlife NPC
Bank: FNB
Account number: 626 584 00264
Branch code: 255355
SWIFT code: FIRNZAJJ
Reference: REPTILE RESCUE + YOUR NAME

Please send proof of payment to [email protected] if you require an acknowledgement or Section 18A donation receipt.

If you cannot donate, please share this post. Reaching someone who can help is valuable too.

214 lives have suddenly become our responsibility. Please help us give every one of them the chance they deserve.

PYRAMIDING IS NOT JUST COSMETICThis female leopard tortoise was recently brought to the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary...
02/09/2026

PYRAMIDING IS NOT JUST COSMETIC

This female leopard tortoise was recently brought to the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital by SAPS.

Her shell was profoundly deformed by severe pyramiding. It had become so thick and misshapen that she could no longer withdraw her head and both front legs into her shell at the same time.

But what we could see on the outside was only part of the disease.

Swipe through the photographs.

Radiographs showed that despite the extraordinary thickness of her shell, the underlying bone was abnormal and porous, with areas of reduced density and small pathological fractures, including abnormalities involving bones of the skull.

Thicker did not mean stronger.

She was also carrying eggs. Egg production places significant additional calcium demands on a female tortoise - particularly concerning when calcium metabolism and skeletal mineralisation are already severely compromised.

After assessing the extent of her disease and prognosis, we made the hard decision to humanely euthanise her.

The post-mortem examination revealed just how sick she was. Her liver was profoundly abnormal - enlarged, uniformly yellow and extremely friable. She had virtually no body-fat reserves, and the sac surrounding her heart contained a large volume of fluid.

This was not an otherwise healthy tortoise with an ugly shell.

She was severely ill, and she was suffering.
Tortoises are remarkably stoic. They naturally move slowly and do not express pain and illness in ways that people readily recognise. Chronic deterioration can therefore go unnoticed for a very long time.

Still walking does not mean healthy.
Still eating does not mean pain-free.

Early metabolic bone disease can often be treated. But years of severe skeletal deformity and advanced systemic disease cannot simply be reversed by correcting the diet and adding UVB.

Please don't dismiss severe pyramiding as cosmetic.
Sometimes the shell is telling us what the tortoise cannot.

For more information about severe pyramiding, metabolic bone disease and the science behind this case, please see our comment below.

BEHIND THE CARETHANK YOU, EmerAidVet, EmerAidThere are some incredible veterinary and animal-health companies behind the...
01/09/2026

BEHIND THE CARE
THANK YOU, EmerAidVet, EmerAid

There are some incredible veterinary and animal-health companies behind the scenes at Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital whose support helps us care for our patients every single day.

Over the next few weeks, we'd like to introduce you to some of them and say a very public THANK YOU. We'll be doing it alphabetically – simply because every company supports us in a different way, and every contribution matters.

First up is EmerAid

Nutrition is an incredibly important part of wildlife medicine. Many of the animals arriving at our hospital are sick, injured, severely compromised or simply too young to feed themselves, and providing the right nutritional support can be every bit as important as medication or surgery.

And when you treat hundreds of different indigenous species, one diet certainly doesn't fit all!
From the tiniest baby birds to reptiles, mammals and some of our most critically ill patients, we use different EmerAid formulations throughout the hospital as part of our nutritional support and rehabilitation protocols.

And here's the really special part: EmerAid/Lafeber sponsors ALL of the EmerAid we use.
That is an extraordinary contribution to a wildlife hospital where every patient is treated completely free of charge.

These two photographs perhaps say it better than we ever could – two very different patients, both benefiting from specialised nutritional support.
Thank you, EmerAid, for helping us give our wild patients the nutrition they need to heal, grow stronger and, ultimately, return to where they belong – the wild.

We are incredibly grateful to have you behind our care.

JUST A LITTLE MONDAY SUNBATHING…Life is rather good when you’re a baby grey go-away bird. These two were thoroughly enjo...
24/08/2026

JUST A LITTLE MONDAY SUNBATHING…

Life is rather good when you’re a baby grey go-away bird.

These two were thoroughly enjoying a little sunshine today – wings stretched out, feathers soaking up the warmth and not a care in the world.

Grey go-away birds are one of those species we see so often in our gardens that it is easy to think of them as ordinary. But raising them successfully is anything but!

They belong to the turaco family, and their nutritional needs are quite different from those of many other baby birds. Their natural diet is predominantly plant-based, with fruit forming a very important component. One of the mistakes sometimes made when hand-raising them is feeding a diet that is too high in animal protein.

Our youngsters currently receive a carefully balanced diet made up of more than 50% fruit, supplemented with parrot hand-rearing formula and Versele-Laga Nutribird T16 pellets to provide the additional nutrients growing bodies need.

And behind these two thriving little bundles of grey feathers is our wonderful Husbandry and Animal Care Manager, Elaine Reeve.

Elaine tirelessly oversees the care of our birds, making sure that everything from diet and housing to enrichment and rehabilitation is tailored to the needs of each species. These two may not be rare or endangered, but they deserve exactly the same standard of expert care as every other wild animal that comes through our doors.

Good wildlife rehabilitation is about so much more than simply keeping an animal alive. It means continually researching, learning and adapting our care as knowledge develops – and making sure our entire team keeps learning too.

Because even the most familiar little garden bird deserves the very best chance of growing up healthy, wild and ready to go home.

WHY IMMEDIATE VETERINARY CARE MATTERS This beautiful barn owl was brought to us by the Roodepoort SPCA after being found...
23/08/2026

WHY IMMEDIATE VETERINARY CARE MATTERS

This beautiful barn owl was brought to us by the Roodepoort SPCA after being found lying in the road, most likely after being hit by a car.
He arrived very flat, painful and with an obviously broken right wing.

Treatment started immediately.

He was placed on intravenous fluids and given opioid pain relief. Once adequately hydrated, an anti-inflammatory was added to his treatment. And by that very first evening, despite everything he had been through, he was already eating.

Radiographs confirmed a fracture of the right humerus – a serious injury for a bird whose future depends on being able to fly perfectly.
Once he was stable enough for surgery, Dr K repaired the fracture using an intramedullary pin combined with an external skeletal fixator. Our soon-to-be vet and current intern, Juliette, oversaw his anaesthetic, with Dr Dani hovering reassuringly in the background just in case.

The surgery went beautifully and our little patient recovered uneventfully.

Understandably, he is sore and swollen after such a significant procedure. He continues to receive daily pain relief and anti-inflammatory medication, together with red and infrared light therapy using our Photizo.

And, perhaps the best news of all, he ate well again on the night of his surgery.
We are cautiously optimistic that this gorgeous owl will make a full recovery and, in time, return to the wild.

Cases like this are also a reminder of something we feel very strongly about: injured wildlife needs prompt veterinary assessment and treatment.
Wild animals are extraordinarily good at hiding pain and illness. An animal that is quiet, still able to eat, or appears to be “coping” may nevertheless have a fracture, internal injuries, severe pain or other problems that simply cannot be diagnosed by observation alone.

That is why veterinary care is an integral part of ethical wildlife rehabilitation.

At Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital, our patients have access to a veterinarian at all times. During our normal operating hours they are assessed and treated at our dedicated wildlife veterinary facility, and after hours we work with a 24-hour veterinary hospital so that an injured wild animal does not have to wait until the following day for appropriate medical care.

Because sometimes those first few hours really do matter.

For this barn owl, they have given him the best possible chance of eventually flying free again. 🦉
Thank you to the SPCA Roodepoort Krugersdorp for getting him to us for treatment.

SAVING SOUTH AFRICA’S TORTOISE TREASURES South Africa is extraordinarily blessed when it comes to tortoises.In fact, Sou...
18/08/2026

SAVING SOUTH AFRICA’S TORTOISE TREASURES

South Africa is extraordinarily blessed when it comes to tortoises.

In fact, South Africa has 13 tortoise species – more than any other country in the world. From the tiny speckled dwarf tortoise, one of the smallest tortoises on Earth, to the magnificent leopard tortoise, the largest tortoise in southern Africa, our country holds a remarkable part of the world’s chelonian biodiversity.

At JWVH, we have a particular soft spot for tortoises.

Over the years, a great deal of our time, veterinary skill and resources have gone into improving our understanding of tortoise medicine, rehabilitation, nutrition and husbandry. They are extraordinarily specialised animals, and treating them successfully requires patience, knowledge and often a very long road to recovery.

Recently, that experience was put to the test in a way we could never have anticipated.

The hospital received more than 50 poached and smuggled indigenous tortoises, most in critical condition.

Among them were vulnerable and threatened species – including some of South Africa’s rarest tortoises.

What followed were long hours, long days and many months of painstaking specialist veterinary treatment and dedicated care.

Bit by bit, animal by animal, the majority were pulled back from the brink.

Eventually, something we had worked towards for months became possible: these precious survivors were well enough to begin their journey home.

They have now been repatriated to safe conservation holdings within their province of origin, with the ultimate goal of returning suitable individuals to protected areas within their natural ranges.

For a country that holds more tortoise species than anywhere else on Earth, we carry an enormous responsibility.

South Africa is losing part of her extraordinary tortoise heritage. Habitat loss and other pressures are taking their toll, while poaching and collection for the illegal pet trade – both locally and internationally – continue to remove animals from the wild.

These little creatures cannot withstand that plunder.

This extraordinary rescue and repatriation was only possible because of a whole team of very special people – law-enforcement and conservation officials, veterinarians, carers, researchers, transporters, pilots and conservation partners – all of whom refused to give up on them.

There is much more to this story.

Stay tuned. Later this year, we will share the remarkable journey of more than 50 stolen tortoises and the people who helped bring them home.

THIS WOMEN’S DAY, HELP US DO WHAT WE DO BEST. Every day, the women of Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital treat, n...
09/08/2026

THIS WOMEN’S DAY, HELP US DO WHAT WE DO BEST.

Every day, the women of Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital treat, nurse, feed, clean, rehabilitate, teach, investigate, testify, problem-solve - and occasionally wrestle with a very large python.

Behind every animal we eventually return to the wild is this team, and an enormous amount of work that most people never see.

Your support allows us to provide expert veterinary care to indigenous wildlife, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

But veterinary treatment is only part of what we do.

Your donations help us employ qualified wildlife care staff, buy medicines and food, run our hospital and specialised facilities, keep our vehicles on the road and provide the intensive rehabilitation our patients need.

They enable us to work with law-enforcement and conservation authorities across South Africa. We are currently involved in more than 70 active court cases and investigations involving wildlife crime, cruelty, trafficking and illegal possession.

Your support also helps us train the next generation. Since January, we have welcomed 13 international students, alongside South African students, to learn about wildlife veterinary medicine, rehabilitation and conservation.

And ultimately, it allows us to do what we work towards every single day:

Returning wild animals to where they belong - back into the wild.

This Women’s Day, we’re not asking you to support just one patient.

We’re asking you to help us keep the whole hospital running.

The medicines. The food. The staff. The diagnostics. The rehabilitation. The vehicles. The legal work. The teaching. The electricity. The after-hours emergencies.

None of these things makes quite as beautiful a photograph as an animal being released.

But every release begins with them.

If you believe South Africa’s wildlife deserves expert veterinary care, a second chance and people willing to stand up for it, please help us continue doing what we do best.

Every donation, no matter the size, helps keep this hospital running.

Qualifying donations are eligible for a Section 18A tax-deductible receipt.

To donate, please click on this link:
https://www.johannesburgwildlifevet.com/make-a-donation.html

Happy Women’s Day, South Africa.

Today we celebrate the women caring for our wildlife - and everyone who makes it possible.

Some stories don’t end in our hospital.And that’s exactly how we like it.Every animal that arrives at Johannesburg Wildl...
28/07/2026

Some stories don’t end in our hospital.

And that’s exactly how we like it.

Every animal that arrives at Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital comes to us because something has gone wrong. An injury. An illness. A collision. An attack. Or simply because human activity has left them with nowhere else to go.

Our job is to make ourselves unnecessary.

Our goal has always been the same: to see every patient return to where it belongs.

Sometimes that means releasing them straight back into the wild where they came from. Sometimes it means transferring them to one of our trusted rehabilitation partners. And sometimes it means moving them to carefully selected soft release sites, where they can rebuild the skills and confidence they need before living independently again.

Over the past few weeks and months we’ve had the privilege of watching pangolins, genets, bats, birds, reptiles of all shapes and sizes, and even even warthogs along with many other wild patients begin that journey home.

Every release is different.
Every goodbye is bittersweet.
Every empty enclosure is a victory.

These moments are only possible because of the people who support our work. Every donation, every rescue call, every share and every word of encouragement helps another wild animal return to where it belongs.

The photographs in this post capture only a small glimpse of the incredible diversity of patients that pass through our hospital. Each one has its own story, but they all share the same goal: a life back in the wild.

To our rehabilitation partners, every landowner who offers a safe soft release site, every conservation partner, every rescuer, every volunteer and every supporter who makes these journeys possible - thank you. Wildlife rehabilitation is never the work of one person or one organisation. It is a team effort, united by one shared purpose: giving wild animals the opportunity to be wild again.

Thank you for making these happy endings possible.

(And yes… if you swipe all the way to the end, you’ll see that sometimes our staff also need a little rehabilitation after looking after everyone else! )

There are no medical aids for wildlife.Every pangolin, tortoise, eagle, python, bushbaby, and countless other wild patie...
22/07/2026

There are no medical aids for wildlife.

Every pangolin, tortoise, eagle, python, bushbaby, and countless other wild patients that arrive at the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital depend entirely on the compassion of people who choose to stand beside them.

This week, that compassion came once again from HOT 102.7 FM and the incredible Hot Cares team.

Their generous support towards the treatment of Kito and Percy the pangolins, together with the hundreds of smuggled and confiscated tortoises and reptiles currently in our care, is so much more than a financial contribution. It represents hope.

Hope for animals that have endured unimaginable suffering through the illegal wildlife trade.

Hope that they can recover, return to the wild where they belong, and play their role in protecting South Africa’s remarkable biodiversity.

What makes HOT Cares so special is that they understand the power of community. They know that real change happens when people come together to help those who cannot help themselves - and South Africa’s wildlife needs that community now more than ever.

As South Africa’s first and only dedicated wildlife veterinary hospital, we provide specialised veterinary care, rehabilitation and monitored release for thousands of indigenous wild animals every year. Beyond treating patients, we also support law enforcement in wildlife crime investigations, contribute to conservation research, train the next generation of wildlife professionals, and inspire people through education.

None of this would be possible without organisations that believe every wild life has value.

To everyone at HOT 102.7FM and HOT Cares - thank you for continuing to believe in our work, and for giving South Africa’s wildest patients a fighting chance.

Your generosity allows us to save more lives, advance wildlife conservation, support justice for wildlife crime, and give more animals the opportunity to return to the places where they truly belong.

From all of us at the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital, and from every wild patient whose future is brighter because of your kindness…thank you.

Today we are reminded that kindness is measured not by grand gestures, but by the willingness to act when someone – or s...
19/07/2026

Today we are reminded that kindness is measured not by grand gestures, but by the willingness to act when someone – or something – needs us most. This is our Mandela Day story.

Yesterday, the spirit of Mandela Day came alive in the rescue of Percival, a Temminck’s pangolin, whose future hung in the balance after being recovered during a sting operation by the Malmesbury Stock Theft Unit.

When the call came, CapeNature Environmental Management Inspector Asgar Vahed did not hesitate. Despite being on leave, he immediately put aside his own plans and sprang into action. Guided by the Johannesburg Wildlife Veterinary Hospital team, he did everything possible to keep the frightened little pangolin comfortable while searching for a veterinarian willing to attempt emergency stabilisation.

Dr Lynne Klug could never have expected that someone would arrive at her practice carrying one of the world’s rarest and most trafficked mammals. Yet, without hesitation, she accepted the challenge. Working hand-in-hand with the JWVH veterinary team, she provided the emergency treatment that gave Percival a chance to keep fighting.

Twelve anxious hours later, after a sleepless night for everyone involved, it became clear that Percival needed specialist care without delay. Once again, extraordinary people stepped forward. Our incredible partners Airlink and Impact for Wildlife answered the call, making it possible for Asgar and Percival to touch down safely in Johannesburg just hours later, where the next chapter of his fight for survival could begin.

Nelson Mandela believed that our humanity is reflected in how we treat one another, but his compassion also extended to the natural world. He understood that protecting our environment and the remarkable creatures with whom we share it is part of building a kinder, more just society.

Yesterday was a powerful reminder of that legacy.

A law enforcement officer gave up his leave. A veterinarian embraced an unexpected challenge. Long-awaited plans were abandoned. Pilots, airline staff, conservationists, wildlife veterinarians and countless others each contributed their time, expertise and compassion. None of them asked what they would gain. They simply asked, “What can I do to help?”

That is the true spirit of Mandela Day.

Changing the world is not always about doing something extraordinary. Sometimes it is about ordinary people choosing to care, stepping forward when it would be easier to step back, and working together to give hope where there was little.

For one of the world’s most threatened mammals, that collective compassion may be the difference between extinction and survival - one rescued pangolin at a time.

Address

101 MacGillivray Road, Midrand
Johannesburg

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 16:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 16:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 16:00
Thursday 08:00 - 16:00
Friday 08:00 - 16:00
Saturday 09:00 - 16:00
Sunday 09:00 - 16:00

Telephone

+27712481514

Website

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