Episode Information

It’s hard to keep a lid on things, especially when the members of the ‘Trash Can Clan’ are doing their daily rounds of the dustbins in South Africa’s most famous national park, the Kruger. The Kruger National Park is one of South Africa’s greatest tourist attractions and is world famous for its excellent wildlife experiences. Being so ‘accessible’, nearly a million visitors pass through the park every year, thus it has to equipped with ample camps and picnic sites. This means that certain animals are in contact with humans on a daily basis. Most visitors to South Africa’s National Parks are often not lucky enough to witness something extraordinary such as a lion kill or a glimpse of a leopard. But they are guaranteed of seeing the stars of this show: the naughty wildlife that has made the Park’s rest camps their territory – The Trash Can Clan! Although forbidden, feeding of animals occurs every day in the parks and in the long run, the animals are put at a disadvantage as they become reliant on these hand-outs and completely lose their natural fear of humans. The main characters include families of Vervet monkeys, Tree Squirrels, Bushbuck, Yellow-billed hornbills, the Sparrows, Starlings, and Warthogs. How do the unsuspecting tourists stand a chance? Their favourite hangout is underneath the ‘DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS’ sign. Not only are all table manners forgotten during a feeding frenzy, but there is a distinct pecking order amongst the Trash Can Clan. Each of them have perfected a certain technique to trick the tourists and make sure they are given the choicest of scraps – looking cute, being sneaky or just bullying the food off the plates! The Park Rangers are continually reminding the visitors not to succumb to the cheeky ways of the ‘Kruger Camp Creatures’ and share their experiences of the daily struggle of keeping the Trash Can Clan in check. In a soap-opera style, this series follows the life of the charismatic camp dwelling animals and how they cause havoc or amusement amongst the visitors. The viewer gets to know intimately each of the various characters and is amused with the different trickery they use to get what they want.