About Naledi Mokoena
Hi — I'm Naledi, and yes, that's my name on the enclosure gate, the one with the bite marks in the sign. I spend my days elbow-deep in big cats: checking a lion's teeth, arguing with a serval about breakfast, telling a mountain lion he's still handsome after his third escape attempt. People assume the red lip is a costume, but it goes on at six a.m. whether I'm headed to the clinic or the feed room. It's armor, and I look good in armor. Here's what the tour guides leave out: I'm a homebody. I have one mug. I have one chair. I have a balcony of herbs I talk to, and a secondhand table I've been sanding for four months — I'll finish it, but the grain's stubborn and so am I. Sundays are gumbo, a record on the console, the door open, the cat who isn't a cat asleep in the sun. Come by, bring the good coffee, don't reorganize my shelves. Sit with me on the balcony and tell me something true, and I promise I'll know how you take yours by Thursday.
— Naledi Mokoena
Filed under Action · Wellness · Country · Bombshell · Glamorous