Caring for Wolves

Surrounded by beautiful pine forests, this beautiful, serene 6-hectare sanctuary, founded in 2000, is home to rescued ex-pets and animals from the exotic pet trade. There are two areas that you could help with, one being with the wolves, wolf dogs, huskies, marmosets, tortoises and the other with the farmyard animals like the goats, pigs, sheep, horses, donkeys, emu, alpacas and bunnies.

You would work as part of a team under the animal manager and between duties, have time to spend special moments with the animals.

You will work Monday to Friday with plenty of time to explore the neighbouring areas on weekends from blue flag beaches, hiking, wildlife reserves, animal sanctuaries to getting to partake in the fantastic extreme sports the area has to offer

Currently there are several packs comprising of wolves, wolf dogs, huskies and 2 marmoset brothers. The wolves, wolf dogs and huskies get fed once a day while the marmosets need to be fed twice a day

The farmyard animals get fed three times a day so lots of feeding routines to help with

Morning feeds start early at 8.00 am and the day normally ends at 5pm with lots of little breaks in-between. Please be aware some of the animals are fed a healthy raw food diet so meat is handled and needs to be prepared

Your duties may include:

• Food preparation- you will receive instruction on how to do this and what each animal’s diet is and how much to give them
• Feeding routines through designated areas of the sanctuary
• Checking the fences of the nature sanctuary
• Cleaning, tidying, and repairing animal enclosures
• Building new enclosures and expanding existing enclosures
• Making animal enrichments like “bark boxes” and of course they love soft toys, so any donations are always welcome although they do not last too long
• Walking and running the huskies. This needs to be done to alleviate boredom. The huskies in particular love a lot of attention. One of the huskies has Down Syndrome so in his case, a more slower pace walk is needed
• Grooming and playing with the huskies
• Removing alien and invasive vegetation around the sanctuary
• Guiding tourists around the sanctuary and helping with the wolf tours. This is also a great way to learn about the background of the animals that are homed at the sanctuary
• Helping with cutting firebreaks around the sanctuary
• Assisting with general duties in the restaurant
• Unloading deliveries
• Administration work and any other general maintenance or project needed at the time
• Assisting with social media- great photos of the animals are always appreciated

Typical day

• 7.00am – Wake up, freshen up, grab a bite to eat for breakfast and prepare a light lunch for the day
• 7.30am – You will be collected at your accommodation by your volunteer coordinator to be taken to the sanctuary
• 8.00am to 9.00am – Arrive at the sanctuary to help prepare the food for and start the feeding routines
• 9.00am to 10.00am – Time to do the rounds of the sanctuary and check that all is in order with the enclosures and animals
• 10.00 am to 10.30am -Tea break
• 10.30am to 1pm – Allocated volunteer daily duties or project
• 1.00 to 2.00pm – Break for lunch
• 2.00pm to 5.00pm – Complete your daily project and if finished early, enjoy some quiet time with the animals
• 5.00pm- Your volunteer coordinator will collect you and drive you back to your volunteer accommodation or you may choose to spend a bit of time at the shops

The area that Knysna is situated is the Garden Route of the province of the Western Cape and it is a dream for animal lovers and extreme sports enthusiasts as there are numerous private wildlife reserves, national parks, whale watching, predator sanctuaries, primate sanctuaries, elephant sanctuaries, bird sanctuaries, skydiving, paragliding, sandboarding, ziplining, numerous interesting markets, quaint shops and fantastic restaurants so boredom is not an option and weekends are jam-packed. It is very easy to find your feet, so volunteers tend to settle in within a few days. You will be given a site induction  on arrival

Included in the project is a tour of the Saturday markets and a wildlife reserve- entry for your own cost-and a Sunday welcome braai (BBQ) to experience true South African hospitality and traditional meals to add to your experience of South African culture