Alexandra begins new adventure at CROW

USING the media to help generate increased public support to save the lives of animals in need. This is the mission of newly appointed communications officer at the Centre of Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW), Alexandra Kogl.

Born and raised in Johannesburg, the 29-year-old is a self-confessed animal lover. She comes from an international background, being half Afrikaans and half German. Her father is originally from Namibia and it was through visits to her paternal grandmother’s game farm that she had her first exposure to wildlife which has grown into a lifelong passion.

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“I found this job post online with no expectation that I would find the perfect job within the industry that I love so much. The bulk if my professional experience is in animation so I wasn’t sure I’d get it. It was so surreal and everything about the job seemed too good to be true. I was on my knees praying for five solid weeks for it. I was called in for an interview, I got the job and it has been unbelievably interesting. It is so cool to be so close to animals every day,” said Alex who recently started communications officer duties on Monday, 9 March.

She has ventured into many different career paths before finding her way at CROW. “I studied animation, fascinated with cartoons, drawing and storyboarding, with the dream to live and work in New York.” She worked as a film production assistant in Europe for a few years which she described as both exciting and challenging. “I eventually realised that I was not going to function well in the film industry and it wasn’t really for me.”

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She came back home to South Africa in 2015  and re-shifted her whole life, from working in film and animation, and eventually fully embraced her love for animals. She has worked for the Sandton SPCA, first as a volunteer and later became the organisation’s social media manager, applying all her writing, design and camera skills together with her passion to empty the cages and get many of the fur babies new homes. “It was there where I realised just how much suffering and need there is in this industry and how little the power of media is used to help animals. That is when I realised that this is the flame of my life,” she said.

Alex has always been very passionate about animal rights, having participated in a naked anti-fur protest for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), an American animal rights organisation.  She has also worked for Safari Live, an award winning daily live-stream of a real safari broadcast from the Sabi Sands, part of the Greater Kruger National Park.

“I would love to see a world where we don’t need places of safety for animals. For there to be no stray or abused animals. Most if not all animals that come in through these doors are here because of humans. Their suffering and their lives get cut short because of us, our negligence and our actions. If we can get to a place where we don’t drive over them, de-home them, abuse them or destroy their habitats then they would be able to live full lives out in the wild.”

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Alex has some exciting plans to give CROW the exposure it deserves in its mission to rescue and rehabilitate animals. She has number of events and initiatives in the pipeline, including publicising the upcoming Easter Egg Hunt and Wildlife Warriors School Programme in April.

To support, fund or assist at the centre contact CROW on 031-462-1127 or email Alexandra Kogl on info@crowkzn.co.za.

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