Numerous wildlife reserves within South Africa cannot afford to fund a dedicated monitoring team due to finances which affect staff numbers. Volunteer and be part of a small, dedicated team providing a monitoring service in order to ensure the safety of these endangered species and filling this much needed gap
Please be aware that as these are all truly wild animals that are not human-habituated, no hands-on contact takes place unless under exceptional situations when the animals are sedated and strict supervision of the monitors, other conservation experts and veterinary supervision. The animals are free roaming over large tracts of land to live a natural life and breed as nature intended. You will need to be physically in good health for this conservation project as sometimes tracking is done on foot.
Your daily duties for which you will be practically trained by your wildlife monitors may include:
- The daily tracking and locating of priority species wildlife in the wild, seated on an open 4×4 vehicle, using radio telemetry equipment. You will be taught how to telemetry track satellite collared wildlife for research
- Mapping the sightings using GPS equipment. You will be taught how to use the equipment.
- Observing animal behaviour (e.g. wild dog pack dynamics) for research purposes.
- Photographing and creating identity kits (for recently reintroduced relocated animals).
- Periodically setting up camera traps at watering holes and game trails.
- Assisting with ongoing game counts if needed.
Occasionally throughout the year other activities take place in which volunteers can take part in, but this is not guaranteed:
- Radio collaring of animals.
- Notching (identity marking) of animals such as Rhino.
- Night tracking excursions – for example Hyaenas.
- Animal Call-Ups (for example Lion)
- Relocation or re-introduction of endangered species.
- Vulture counts and nest surveys.
- Bird ringing & alien plant control
Working with wildlife is unpredictable and volunteers need to realise this and try and be flexible. This also means that sometimes there are very early starts and late endings to the duties of the day, but you will have plenty time at midday when the sun is at its hottest, to have a break to relax.
Each Reserve has a different focus in terms of the work being done. While the project does plan and follow basic schedules, the nature of the work being done dictates that the animals and their environment are our number one priority, and therefore our schedules may at times have to be altered due to unforeseen circumstances or incidents within this wild and dynamic environment.
The primary function of the volunteer teams with their wildlife monitor, is to provide the vital monitoring service for these reserves, and that does take up most of the time as tracking wildlife can be a time-consuming task!
