Animal Planet - Raised Human - Zamba The Lion

A Safari Guide to Kenya


Dear Beautiful `people,



Thank you everyone!


Click here to go view my book and purchase it.




Question and Answer Time.

Dear Beautiful People,

I love questions and appreciate the opportunity to answer to the best of my ability. Here are questions from Shea Brennan and my answers follow. If anyone else has questions please feel free to ask away.

Shea Brennan

My name is Shea and your book inspired me to do my eighth grade research project on the controversial topic of “the unethical treatment of animals in entertainment”. These are the questions I would ask you if you would accept an interview with me, either by email or phone.

What do you think constitutes mistreatment of animals?
What do have to say, in general, of the unethical treatment of animals entertainment?
Do you believe that mistreatment is happening in entertainment?
What happened to animals when they are not in use?
What happened to animals while they were used in television, movies, etc.?

Please let me know if you would be willing to help inform me about this issue. Thank you for your consideration.

My Response:

Answers are in Bold under your question.

  1. What  do you think constitutes mistreatment of animals?

Not loving the animal.

Not understanding an animals natural behavior.

Not being patient with an animal.

Not respecting the animal.

Starving an animal.

Not playing with the animal and getting it out everyday.

Beating the animal.

Breaking it’s spirit.

Yelling at the animal.

Scaring the animal.

Not keeping the animals home clean everyday.

I can go on, but I think this will give you an idea of how I feel.
2. What do have to say, in general, of the unethical treatment of animals entertainment?

First you are assuming here that all animals are treated unethically in the animal entertainment business and that is a huge falsehood. It is organizations like P.E.T.A that spread the lies and have hurt many people and animals and have torn loving families apart. P.E.T.A. has hurt and killed more animals than any trainer in the entertainment community. With that said, why would an animal handler want to hurt their animal? Animals are highly valued.

Yes, as in anything human, there are those horrible individuals who have hurt an animal on purpose and for no reason, and I do believe they should be hung by their genitals.

Just like parents who abuse their children.

Tangent here:

Is what the general public does not understand is the strength ratio of an animal and a human, and that would take a greater conversation to explain. One example, if you see a handler smack an elephant who weighs 4 to 6 tons, the human weighing 185lbs, and the trainer is trying to get the elephant back in line so it doesn’t get hurt walking on a nail, (the trainer may have seen in the last-minute) The general public would just see a human hitting an elephant for no reason and call it abuse! Where really they were trying to save the elephant from getting hurt. A human smack feels like a fly landing on them.

Captive born and bred animals need to keep their brains active, need to have contact with their human parents as children do, or they shrivel up and that is the real abuse, i.e animals in zoo’s that are never let out of their quarters.

Animals raised in captivity raised with “affection training” are proven to be happier and healthier. They have never had the life that animals in the wild have, so one must do everything in their power to give them a great life in captivity, but the animals themselves don’t miss it! More activists have tried to release captive born and bred animals out in to the wild thinking they were doing a good thing, only to see that animal killed within days as it has no idea how to survive. The animal is terrified.

I guess to I would need to see your interpretation of unethical behaviour in order to elaborate more in the specific area of interest you have.

3. Do you believe that mistreatment is happening in entertainment?

I believe that there are some individuals whom have abused animals, but I do not think it is as vast as the animal activists would have the general public believe it is.
4. What happened to animals when they are not in use?

This is a very broad question, if by “in use” you mean working then I can tell you that many trainers retire their animals to their property to live out their life in a happy, relaxed environment. I cannot speak for all but if you want specifics then I need you to please narrow down your spectrum of interest to a more specific point.

5. What happened to animals while they were used in television, movies, etc.?

Again this is a wide open question. Are you interested in knowing the capacity in which the animals worked, lived, mode of transport, training, diet, or possible abuse? In my family abuse was not tolerated nor encouraged, our animals were family to us, and we had and maintained the utmost mutual respect and understanding capable between trainers and animals.

Animals on location live in temporary stationary homes, these vary depending on the animal and its individual needs and the duration of the work. Diet is consistent during work hours as constructed by the trainer to provide the animal with all essential needs. When animals are not working they are kept at home in their preferred, safe, healthy and optimum environment.

I think your questions are good ones, but as I am not an animal abuser nor do I believe in it, my world and the way I was brought up is very different then what you may understand based on information you have heard about or experienced yourself. IF you have more questions based on my answers please send them.

Hope this helps.

Ralph HelferBooks FB page

Ralph Helfer (Dad) and me. xxx

Hello Beautiful People.  We are trying to get all our FB friends and their Friends to take a look at us and ‘LIKE’ on our FB Wall. We are trying to educate people on the importance of the human and animal ‘positive’ relationships. Love to hear what you have to say. We would love to encourage you to ask us questions and enjoy all our pictures we have been adding.

We appreciate your support in this endeavour.

Huge Hugs to everyone.


Learning Lessons

Dear Beautiful People,

Apologies for the long break in my blogging. It has been a year of learning, losing and recreating.

Bullet pointing this time:

  1. My eldest daughter Tiva married the love of her life (Eddie) after graduating with distinction and making the Deans list, from Rhodes University.
  2. My darling friend and house lady Joyce lost her daughter to bacterial meningitis.
  3. My once friend Dawn, is no longer a part of my life.
  4. My Mum passed.
  5. Rian moved to Australia to continue university.
  6. Savanah my youngest continued her Gap year and then went to work in the South of France.

These are just a few of the major things that I will mention, there was more and it kicked my bottom to say the least, but all better now.

My AMAZING Mum passed away in March of this year! She had moved back to Kenya to be with her Grandchildren and me. We were led to believe she would be around for at least another two to three years, but unfortunately it was just under four months.

When my Mum and I knew her time was nearing I called her Doctor to come check on her (Yes, wonderful Kenyan Doctors still do house calls). He walked in to my Mum’s room and said “Hi, Toni how are you today?” In perfect clarity, and with her continuous humor she replied, “Hi, finally are you here to ‘put me down’ ?” with a wicked little smile on her face. Of course I cracked up and the sweet Doctor was dumb struck, I quickly explained our animal background to him and he got the joke, even giggled himself and replied “No, Dear.”

When I knew Mum only had a few days left I sent out a message to all her friends and family from around the world and asked them if there were any “Good Byes” they would like to send and assured them I would read her each one. The response was overwhelming. I never expected hundreds of emails; with such heart felt concern, love, blessing, and wonderful stories about them and her. Between my daughters and I we managed to read each and every one. It was a transcending experience for us all, and my Mum heard and loved each one.

Soon after, all my daughters left home one by one to go out into the world and I was left at home completely alone for the first time after 23 years! This was not fun; I started to talk to the animals more then normal, I am sure I looked like a crazy person. I became a couch potato and dove in to all the DVD’s I could muster, it was glorious for a week, then my darling house lady, and friend (Joyce) became concerned. “Tana, we need food for the house honey.” I sent her to do the shop! Something she had never done before and she was not amused, but afraid of the crazy woman on the couch with dogs and a cat sitting with her, I am sure taking on the task of a shop was much more plausible then getting my depressed bottom out of the sitting room let alone the house. I did arise from my couch aka throne a couple of days later and went on the next shop with Joyce, and we had a wonderful time and even took some extra time to grab lunch and enjoy being out.

Although this has been a trying year I always try to take the positive from it, not easy to do right away, but I always succeed. As I was raised that way, these words echo in my head from my parents, “Tana, turn nervous energy into Exciting energy,” “Don’t mourn a natural death, as it is just a rebirth into a new life,” “Appreciate the time you have had with people and animals as they all come and go in and out of lives, let them go.” With these words, which I hold close, some people feel I come across cold and uncaring, but it is the exact opposite. I am so loving and caring that it would hurt me to think any other way, so I have embraced these beliefs so that I can always move forward in a positive way.

My daughter Rian has started her own Blog called LoquaciousRambling at: http://loquaciousrambling.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/the-helfer-club-5/ When you have a moment take a look, she is an amazing writer, like her Nana (Toni Ringo Helfer Law).  Rian also started a new Facebook page called Ralph HelferBooks at: http://www.facebook.com/RalphHelferBooks please note if you write in the search Ralph Helfer it will appear and it has the ZAMBA book cover as the Wall picture. I am also excited about this FB page as it will give people a chance to do Q&A with us about the history of our family working with and living with the amazing animals that we were blessed to have as a part of our lives.

Huge Hugs,




Hello Beautiful People,

Last night was amazing, to say the least! I got out of camp and saw this beautiful male leopard.

Leopard at Cottars 1920's

I was sitting in my office at work and heard a very low deep voice (Doug) over the radio, “Charlie Mike, Charlie Mike (that would be me! Camp Manager) I am looking at the largest Leopard I have ever seen!”

Tana,”Doug where are you?”

Doug: “4×4”

Tana: “Will you wait for me? I am coming now”

Doug:  “Hurry!”

Tana: “I will do my best! Guests just arrived and pilot staying the night as he can’t fly out, let me sort everything”

In the mean time, Rian and Tom (our volunteer) were introducing new guests in to camp. I practically tripped over the tent flap while getting to the new guests, to ask them if they wouldnt mind if we all jump back in the vehicle and go see this huge leopard. They are very excited about this news and say that they would love to go! Rian, Tom and I jumped into the vehicle with the guests and shot off, literally into the sunset, with William a guide behind the wheel.

We had just had a huge rain storm, so rivers were a bit high and the mud was thick, but that didnt stop William from driving at an amazing and yet safe, speed to get us there just in time, as the sun was going down, to see this handsome leopard!

I love moments like these.




Sorry for the long silence! I have decided to post little updates in order to stay in communication. I am working in an amazing camp called “Cottars 1920’s camp” as the Camp Manager (Relief).

A quick explanation: Many Maasia are the Askaris (security Guards) in Camps.

I love the Maasai. I was explaining in a meeting (today) that I need them to report to me before they leave the camp. I explained “What would you do if the appointed young boy watching your cattle left the cattle unattended?” They sat up and said with huge concern “WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?” they understood my point when I said “PLEASE think of us as your cattle,” They all laughed.

Hope everyone is well. xxx