Wildlife Sanctuary Rescue and Rehabilitation

About the Project

Lilongwe Wildlife Centre is an award-winning project, reputed by PASA as one of Africa’s best sanctuaries, and houses almost 200 rescued wild animals, including carnivores, primates, reptiles and antelopes.  Our animal releases are highly acclaimed and we can boast some of the world’s best success rates. This is due to the expertise and effort that goes into the releases, and volunteers are crucial to the process, helping with rehabilitation, observations, integrations and the final release and subsequent monitoring. The goal is to release the animals back into the wild, where they belong, for every case possible so it can be an incredibly rewarding experience to see their progress and know that you have played a vital part in their journey back to the wild. 

What to expect

Alongside the animal carers you can get involved with various aspects of animal care. Whilst we operate a strict hands-off policy, orphans in particular do need special attention and round the clock care to ensure that they have the best possible chance of rehabilitation, so the chances are you’ll be stepping in with surrogacy work and providing all aspects of care until they enter the next phase of our rehabilitation programme.

By volunteering your time, we hope that you will be happy to get stuck in with a range of tasks. Work will be very much dependent on what animals we have at the sanctuary at the time but we try our best to mix up the program for you so you get variation in your work. The tasks include feeding the animals, observing their behaviour, checking, maintaining and enriching the enclosures, assist in health checks and many more.

Qualified vets and vet nurses are an asset to our volunteer programme, so volunteers who are skilled in that area are always warmly welcome as well. We deal with regular intakes, health checks and routine diagnosics, as well as wildlife emergencies. Though we cannot guarantee veterinary work every day, our veterinarian runs a busy on-site clinic and any experienced help is greatly welcomed. We also offer a limited amount of vet externship placements for students in vet school.

Responsible Tourism

Lilongwe Wildlife Centre is located right in the heart of the capital city within a beautiful wildlife reserve, and we aim to offer the tens of thousands who visit us each year an enjoyable outing, at the same time inspiring a passion for wildlife and a desire to protect it. We have won awards for our commitments to responsible tourism, an ethos which we have adopted throughout our operations. Investment into our visitor facilities – such as the café, gift shop, amphitheatre, playground, gardens and walking trails – have all helped to drive visitation, and all of the revenue generated as a result goes back into feeding and caring for the rescued animals at the sanctuary. We also operate a tiered entry fee scheme so that those on a lower income can visit us – the majority of Malawians can’t afford to visit wildlife in their own national parks. 

What’s more, the existence of such a visible and popular tourist attraction within prime urban development territory has undoubtedly contributed to the protection of this beautiful 180 hectare wildlife reserve, one of the last examples of acacia combretum woodland in the region and itself an important area of urban biodiversity that is home to abundant wildlife.

The working day starts at 8am when you will join our Animal Care Team to prepare food for the animals and help with tasks around the sanctuary such as cleaning the enclosures, devising enrichment activities, assessing animal behaviour and dealing with new intakes. Our focus is always rehabilitation and release so if you're lucky you'll be able to help with an animal release too. There is a break for lunch then you''ll continue your work through the afternoon, perhaps also supporting the vets at the cinic if required and then finish at 5pm.

After this you can head back to the Volunteer Centre for dinner, catch up with fellow volunteers around the fire and play games or watch a movie in our lounge. There's also the option to head out into Lilongwe for dinner to sample the local restauarnts and bars.

Working hours are usually 8am till 5pm, but this may depend on what animals we are looking after at the time and what their needs are. For example during orphan season, feeds may be scheduled during less sociable hours, so occasionally there can be long days and night shifts. However if this is unsuitable for you the team can re-arrange your schedule. 

If there’s anything you’re particularly interested in doing while you’re here it’s worth mentioning on application and our volunteer manager can accommodate this while you’re here. It’s all hard but very rewarding work, reflected by our reviews and regularly returning volunteers!  You will be able to see for yourselves not just the impact the project has on the lives of individual animals but also the bigger picture of conservation in Malawi itself.

Being in the capital city has its perks: there are plenty of opportunities to head out with fellow volunteers for a meal, a drink, a spot of shopping at the local craft market or sample the city nightlife. With plenty of nearby lodges you can go swimming and chill out in the Malawian sun! And with the must-see Lake Malawi just a short car journey away, it makes the perfect relaxing day trip or long weekend. There is horse riding at Kandy beach or diving at Cape Maclear. We can also arrange discounted safari trips for you to hop over the border into Zambia’s stunning South Luangwa National Park, which is known as one of the best wildlife-spotting locations in Africa!

The Wildlife Centre itself is a great place for socialising in the evenings and on your day off. You can enjoy a hike and picnic, share stories around the fire pit or kick back with a book by the river. Despite being in the heart of the city, the Wildlife Centre is located within a reserve that feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of city life, with sounds of the wilderness all around, so expect to wake up to the chattering of monkeys!