Wildlife Rescue, Rehab and Veterinary Clinic

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:

• All cages need to be checked for the animal’s previous night’s food and water consumption.
• All cages in the clinic and in the outside quadrant need to be given fresh newspaper/bedding, fresh water, and food of food for the outside feeds and the delivery.
• Kitchen to be cleaned after food preparation has been completed.
• Animal enrichment – you will use your imagination to create entertainment tools for the animals on a daily basis. This alleviates the boredom the animals sometimes feel, and you will be so rewarded at the delight displayed when they investigate their new “toys”. Certain animals, such as the Egyptian Geese, need to be walked/ exercised daily.
• Tortoise Checks – The health of the tortoises under our care must be examined daily. You will need to check the health and well-being of all the tortoises each morning.
• General cleaning – Volunteers are also required to assist in the cleaning of the cages, enclosures, carrier boxes and linen used in caring for and rescuing the animals in our care.
• The following duties also need to be completed daily:
• Stacking of dishes in the food prep kitchen
• The sorting of newspapers
• Preparing the nest boxes for the baby room.
• Collect and put new branches into all the bird cages in the clinic and the quad.
• Check that all the cages are stacked and packed away into the storage area and all dry laundry is folded and stored in the clinic alcove.
• All fridges to be cleaned.

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:

• Big Five Wildlife Reserves for unbelievable wildlife viewing. Nothing better than seeing animals in their natural habitat by vehicle
• Beautiful St Lucia with its hippos and crocodiles…take a boat trip to view them even closer
• Hike one of the smaller nature reserves
• uShaka Marine centre has a wealth of fantastic activities and marine species viewing plus plenty eateries...make a whole day of it
• Fantastic golden beaches with warm waters thanks to the Indian ocean perfect for swimming, sunbathing, snorkelling and scuba-diving.
• Try your hand at a surfing lesson…hang 10! Or just hit one of the beautiful beaches on the Golden Mile. Umhlanga beach is a favourite! 
• Incredible food with a spicy flavour influenced by the large population of South Africans with Indian ancestry….try a traditional “bunny chow” – no it is not made with bunnies
• Spend a little time shopping at Gateways shopping centre and pop into the local Sharks Board for an educational tour
• The incredible culture of the Zulu nation. Take a tour to experience their craft, food, dance and music