Our History

Before and after, History

In 1977 the Cango Crocodile Farm was established as South Africa’s first crocodile show farm. The farm was, as the name suggests, a place where crocodiles were bred to be sold. In 1986 a dream was realized when Andrew and Glenn Eriksen purchased the Cango Crocodile Farm.

“The work done at the ranch by our dedicated staff takes on a whole new meaning when you realize that the people involved in saving animals and educating the general public, will never see the result of their work in their lifetime. Nevertheless, we will keep on doing our best to ensure that extinction becomes just another word in the dictionary and not a reality. We have seen man do terrible things but we also know that man is capable of great things and it is towards greatness that we at the Cango Wildlife Ranch strive.”
~ Andrew Eriksen

Andrew and Glenn wanted to do more for conservation and decided to get actively involved with the plight of the endangered cheetah. Today, while the ranch continues to house a large crocodilian population, it has turned its attention to the plight of endangered species and in line with this, the decision was made to expand and include a number of big cats. With the initial emphasis being on the highly endangered cheetah, the Cango Wildlife Ranch is today home to more than 90 species of animals and reptiles.

We believe in conservation and we know that extinction is forever. Running the race against extinction is not an easy one.

The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river. 
~ Ross Perot