Big 5 Wildlife Conservation Assistant

About the Program

The Big Five Safari Reserve began in 1999 as a joint conservation venture. Today the reserve consists of six independently-owned lodges. The lodges are owner-managed by the descendants of the original families who arrived here with the British settlers of 1820.

The Big Five Safari Reserve Volunteer Project is a unique conservation initiative that allows animals to be re-introduced to the area where they once roamed freely and so making a contribution to the conservation of our natural heritage. The challenge has been to re-establish the original flora and fauna species to the area and to return the land to nature.

Gap year students and volunteers can be part of this bigger picture and work and live on this reserve and help with all the aspects of running a safari reserve in Africa.

Guidance and Supervision

The coordinator on site is an experienced game ranger who will take you to and from the volunteer house to the reserve, work together with you and teach you all there is to know about the land, plants and animals.

Typical Tasks

As a volunteer at the Big Five Safari Reserve, your primary responsibility is managing the free roaming lions, with the rest of the day filled with tasks and duties based around the reserve.

The list below provides the details of various projects experienced by past volunteers. Please note that duties may change at any time, which means no week at the reserve will be the same!

Short-term Projects:

• Game capturing, counting and monitoring
• Medicinal use of plants and vegetation biomes
• Guided walks, tracking and trails through the reserve
• Nocturnal predator monitoring

Long-term Projects:

• Game counting
• Animal tracking using telemetry sets
• Territorial ranges and feeding range monitoring
• Lion health and breeding monitoring
• Giraffe movement and breeding monitoring
• Local community sustainability
• Assisting vulnerable children and AIDS orphans
• Birds in reserves project

General reserve Duties:

• Erosion control
• Fence patrol and maintenance
• Alien plant control
• Bush clean and clear up
• Road and boma maintenance

Motivation

Working and living on a safari reserve is a dream of many, and this is your opportunity to be a part of the bigger picture of conservation. Don’t forget that although small changes can take a very long time to make an impact on nature, and are difficult to see in a few weeks, your role as a volunteer or gap year student adds immeasurably to the restoration of the land to what it once was. By participating, you do not merely help on a temporary basis on the reserve itself, but you also contribute to the future financially, and impact the environment positively. You have the possibility to see more than just the reserve and can spend some time at the community project in Paterson as well, giving you the chance to see South Africa and its people in a different light.

Working hours are flexible, but we start early most days, daily activities will include:

There are different activities to do in and around the area of the projects. However, you do need to have transport but there will always be an opportunity to arrange this transport with other volunteers.