About Dean Schneider:
I am a 27-year old Swiss guy, who dedicated his entire life to the animal world! Nowadays, I live in Africa, I am a member of a lion pride, my wife is a hyena and I’m a daddy of two monkeys. Besides that, I have built a global voice for our planet’s wildlife over the past two years!
Born in Switzerland (Zurich) on October 3, 1992, I was blessed to grow up in a loving family with my sister (one year older) and my parents, who were always very supportive and loving. My mother is originally from the Balkan region (Southeastern Europe), while my dad is a Swiss citizen. I discovered my deep passion for wildlife at the age of six or seven, through the legendary Steve Irwin! He was the one who brought wildlife into my living room in Zurich and inspired and educated me about all kinds of different animal species.
Even though I was so passionate about animals, I originally followed a very ordinary path to adulthood, eventually ending up in the finance industry as a financial advisor. After a very successful year, I decided to found my own company, which then, over the next three years, allowed me to generate the financial foundation to launch the Hakuna Mipaka project at the age of 23-24.
After starting my life in South Africa additional financial support form my Family allowed me to evolve and develop the Hakuna Mipaka Oasis for 2 Years without having to depend on any income sources such as offering touristic visits / programs, breeding or trading of animals, donations or any other monetary businesses!
About Hakuna Mipaka:
The Hakuna Mipaka Oasis is located on around 400 hectares (four million square meters) in the wilderness of South Africa! It is home to thousands of different wild animal species! Besides that, the oasis also serves as a life-long home to a few rescued wild animals, which were born in captivity! We also do rehabilitation programs with different animals, which are then being released back into the wild.
The Hakuna Mipaka Oasis is my personal home and a private sanctuary that is NOT open to the public. We don’t cater to tourists and don’t allow any day visits or animal activities! We don’t breed animals and we are also not trading animals. I built this place for animals and not for humans. The Hakuna Mipaka oasis is a secure, wild & lifelong home to the animals that live here.