This project benefits the animals enormously. You will need to be prepared to muck in with all jobs, such as maintenance of the centre, cleaning out cages as well as feeding and caring for the animals. There is also quite a lot of manual work that you will get involved with such as digging, building, and cleaning. A perfect project for animals physio or veterinary medicine students and professionals too that are looking to expand into wildlife.
Because we are working with nature, it is extremely difficult to predict each day’s tasks. A flexible approach is therefore required, as some tasks may be routine, while others will change day by day. Please remember that we are unable to control nature and cannot promise that there will be “exciting” tasks each and every day. It is important to remember that every little task performed is one step closer to getting the wildlife back into their natural environment.
Volunteer duties are varied so there is something for everyone, from feeds to grounds work and the building of suitable enclosures to assisting in rescues and releases. These releases can take place on various game reserves a few hours’ drive away from the centre.
You may also have the opportunity to assist in creating items for the wildlife enclosure enrichment programme. You will have to be imaginative as well as creative, as each day the previous day’s item must be removed and replaced by a new one. Volunteers have really enjoyed this aspect of their daily tasks and have had a lot of fun designing tools and toys for the animals to investigate and either eat from or play with.
Those volunteers qualified or studying veterinary medicine, nursing or animal physio, may assist the full-time veterinary nurses in the onsite veterinary clinic. Please let us know if you would need practical credits for your studies as it is possible that this can be used as a veterinary nursing internship. For those studying veterinary medicine, this project can be used towards your university degrees practical credits as there is a local private practise veterinary doctor who also attends to any wildlife that needs more diagnosis, care and specialised treatment not available in the onsite veterinary clinic.
On arrival at the centre in the morning, there will be a list of duties that need to be done will be written up on the whiteboard in the reception area daily – please refer to that and ask if you are uncertain about anything.
The duties will include:
Note on food preparation: The centre accommodates a wide range of animals including carnivores which need to be fed protein/meat. Vegetarian volunteers need to be aware that food preparation will include the cutting up of meat and poultry for these animals
We need volunteers who understand and respect the principles of wildlife rehabilitation and want to contribute towards giving the animals the best chance of getting back out into the wild where they belong. Therefore, please understand that with some of the wildlife, human contact is kept to an absolute minimum to ensure a successful release. The essential thing to realise here is that you are contributing to an extremely valuable conservation effort that provides medical care (where required), temporarily homes, and releases wild animals back into their natural environment. It’s therefor important that these animals are not ‘humanised’ during their stay at the project for their own safety when released back into the wild.
The description given is of a typical day (EXAMPLE) but as with working with wildlife, this can change
07:00: Report for duty
07 to 07.15: Morning meeting with staff and volunteers to plan the day ahead
07.15 to 9.00: Morning feeding & cleaning session (Preparing food for all animals and assisting Clinic Nurses with feeding the animals and cleaning out their enclosures) Assisting with rescues and releases as needed.
09 to 09.15: Tea break
09.15 to 12.00: Assist Clinic Nurses with catching animals that are going to be released, prepping empty enclosures for new arrivals, any ad hoc repair and maintenance tasks. Assist with daily animal enrichment activities such as gathering natural greens, berries and bugs to supplement animals' diets & making a variety of natural treats and stimulating "toys" for the animals from natural materials. Assisting with rescues and releases as needed or any other duties you may need to be required to assist with
12.00 to 13.00: Break for lunch
13.00 to 15.00: Afternoon feeding & cleaning session (Preparing food for all animals and assisting Clinic Nurses with feeding the animals and cleaning out enclosures) Assisting with rescues and releases as needed.
15.00 to 17.00: Relax, read a book or catch a quick power nap
17.00 onwards: Time to prepare dinner and catch up on how your day was
The province of KwaZulu Natal (KZN) is renowned for its Wildlife Reserves and traditional Zulu Culture : The attractions range from vibrant cities to rolling hills, from long stretches of beaches to outstanding Big 5 Wildlife Parks and Nature Reserves. These are just some of the sites you shouldn’t miss:
Food for our three meals, shared volunteer accommodation, meeting you at the airport, airport collection and drop-off, pre-departure support and admin, in-country staff, 24- emergency help and a virtual adoption as a wildlife warrior for one of the animals at the project, in your name.
Discounts available on longer stays or group bookings
When you arrive, you will be welcomed at King Shaka International airport in Durban at Arrivals. Your name will be on a board. You will then be taken to your project by your driver. At the end of your project, you will be collected at your project, and returned to the same airport, in time for your flight. Please book arrival flights in daylight hours before 15:00 and NOT at night. Please do not book flights until you have booked your project and we have confirmed your dates.
There is a fully furnished volunteer house that accommodates up to 10 volunteers sharing, at a time. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms and living areas with an outside patio, fire pit and a braai (South African BBQ). The house is on the grounds of the rehabilitation centre and clinic with other staff also living in separate accommodation right next door to the volunteer house.
Where possible, couples, friends or family who would like to stay together in the volunteer house are given their own room, but this is obviously dependant on how many volunteers there are in the house at the time.
The volunteer house is cleaned once a week by a staff member, but volunteers are responsible for keeping the house clean and tidy on a daily basis and a roster is in place for things like cooking duties and washing dishes. A washing machine is available in the house too so volunteers can do their own laundry. Bedding is provided.
A safe is available in the house with 10 individual safes should you wish to lock away your passport, money or any valuables. Mobile phones do operate with full reception on-site and there is WiFi
This project is available all year around with arrivals from Mondays to Fridays and you choose your dates. You would fly into Durban's King Shaka International Airport before 15:00 to be collected by your driver with your name on a board. Space is limited so please try book early.
Wildlife Rescue, Rehab and Veterinary Clinic
Volunteer with an amazing team of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation experts that are dedicated to giving sick, injured and orphaned wildlife a second chance.
$329/week
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