Project summary

A unique opportunity that allows you to contribute to important wildlife conservation research. You will be involved in collecting data which will be used to answer some very important questions which have the potential to change how game reserves are managed in the future.

You will be assisting field staff researching herbivore movement and behaviour, tracking and studying lions and assessing the effects of using contraceptives with elephants in order to control their population.

Furthermore, all this is in a Big 5 (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard) area, which allows for unique encounters and photographic opportunities that the average tourist on safari can only dream of.

A typical day

Work usually starts between 6am and 7am. Morning activities are usually spent monitoring and collecting samples and collecting data for bird point counts. These activities are followed by lunch. Afternoon activities include developing rhino identikits, carrying out bird identifications, herbivore transect drives, dung counts of plains game, radio tracking lions and observing the behaviour of the contracepted elephants. Work usually finishes between 5pm and 6pm.

Please note that given the nature of the work, occasionally there may be unavoidable changes to activities and not all activities can be guaranteed during any one volunteer’s stay.

The location

You’ll be living on a 36,000 hectare, privately owned big game reserve which is located in the Limpopo Province, which is approximately 250km from Johannesburg. The reserve is characterised by contrasting majestic mountain landscapes, grass covered hills, grassy plains, bushveld shrubs and deep valleys. The reserve is located in a malaria free area.

The reserve is home to over 50 different mammals including the Big 5, as well as cheetah, migrating wild dogs and an amazing variety of bird life. It also boasts one of the largest populations of white rhino on a private reserve in Africa. The project accommodation is in a fenced area within the reserve.

How you can make a difference

By volunteering with us, you will be contributing to the knowledge base within wildlife conservation research. Your hard work enables the project to study important questions. The results of this research have the potential to be extremely influential for private reserves in Africa, for example by better understanding lion prey selection and the effects of contraception on elephant behaviour. Answering these questions is vital for effective conservation management of the reserve, and since the volunteer project began, they are now able to look at these issues in detail.

Private game reserves now collectively represent more land under conservation than national parks.  These reserves often don’t benefit from national government funding and are reliant on self funded conservation research projects such as this to create essential data from which to develop best practice policies for private reserve managers.

Volunteers are also involved in other essential hand on activities that are critical to conserving the environment on the reserve.

A large part of your fee is used for your on site costs such as transport, accommodation, meals and research activities. The local host conservation organisation also has normal operating expenses such as salaries, telecoms, insurance etc which are defrayed from your fee. A percentage of your fee goes directly to the reserve conservation fund from which the ongoing research project is financed.

What's included

• A comprehensive information booklet
• Travel advice and assistance pre-departure
  
• Being met at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo Airport
• Return airport transfers
• Daily on site transport inside the reserve
• Training manuals, text books, field identification guides and research equipment
• Accommodation (shared tents)
• Self-catering budget provided
• Ongoing support, help and advice from our local team
  

What else to budget for

The following items are not included and estimates are given as a guide for your budgeting: flights (£500-£600), travel insurance, personal spending / living costs (£15-£20 per week).

Other projects you might also be interested in....

* Cheetah re-introduction - South Africa

* Horse rehabilitation - South Africa

* Primate rescue - South Africa

* Wildlife rescue - Thailand

* Elephant care - Thailand

______________________________________________________

More details

Background information about the project

The reserve was formed by a group of landowners who took down their fences in the late eighties in an attempt to re-wild their lands. The mixture of land that resulted and the constraints of a closed eco-system have raised certain management questions.

The reserve has played a significant role in rehabilitating the area which was previously intensively used as farm and agricultural land. The area has also been used to re-introduce species such as wild dog, spotted hyena and lion. These predator species have a marked impact on herbivore populations and the need for continued restocking of plains game.

Volunteers all complete a one week Bush Craft training course at the start of their stay. This will prepare you to safely work in a big game environment. The course provides a foundation of knowledge on animal identification, tracking and behaviour. During this week you will also go out on educational walks to get you used to being in the bush.

Volunteer accommodation and food

Volunteers will be staying in a comfortable fixed tent in the research camp which has permanent dining, kitchen and ablution facilities and electricity. Volunteers are required to share the accommodation tents, please note that same sex sharing cannot be guaranteed.

Volunteers prepare their own meals and are responsible for daily cleaning of the camp.

Freetime and travel opportunities

Generally, you will have one day off per week, however volunteers must also be available to work over the weekend depending on the research requirements, data collection times and work load or nature of activities. Just outside the reserve is a small water park where volunteers can go on their day off.

During your stay, freetime and travel opportunities are limited as you only have one day off per week and travelling distances are great. The reserve is in a rural area surrounded by farm lands, a national park and other game reserves. Volunteers generally travel at the end of their stay and South Africa boasts many exciting tourist and adventure activities.

Challenges

As this is a physical project, volunteers should have a good level of personal fitness. You do not have to be physically strong but you must have a good work ethic and be prepared to be flexible in your approach to daily activities.

You should be able to work well within a team and be adaptable to living and working in a group.

As the reserve is located in a rural area, there are limited social activities or attractions in the area. However you should remember that it is a privilege to be part of an active research team operating in a private game reserve with many different wildlife species and prolific game numbers – something which other tourists pay large amounts of money to enjoy so you should make the most of your settings.

Where does your money go

PoD is run as a non-profit organisation and does not receive any external funding. We charge a fee for all our placements to cover the overseas costs of volunteering and the costs of running our organisation in the UK. 

For this project approximately 80% of the fee you pay is passed to directy to the project, an important source of funding for the work.

Volunteer reviews

Click here to read volunteer reviews for our South Africa wildlife conservation volunteer project.