Volunteer work in South Africa

Zululand is considered by many as the heartbeat of Africa, and makes a dramatic backdrop to the work we do. The African bush is such a dynamic and ever-changing environment in which to work, and our movements and activities are regulated by the animals that we monitor.

A typical day will involve rising with sun and heading out on the back of our open 4x4 vehicle with at most 3 other wildlife conservation volunteers to locate the animals which the monitor has earmarked for the morning. This is done by using radio telemetry equipment. You will be properly trained to use the telemetry equipment and after just a few days you will be doing the telemetry tracking yourself. Once you've located the animal you will map the sighting using a handheld GPS device, and update identity kits if necessary, as well as take down behavioural notes used in our research. The species we monitor include critically endangered species like the African Wild Dog, Cheetah, Black Rhino and Vulture. We also do incidental monitoring of focal species like Elephant, White Rhino, Hyaena and Leopard. We are usually back by late morning to fix lunch and you will have some time to relax, read, write in your journal, have a nap or watch the abundant bird and animal life which occurs around the camp.  We head out again between 2-3pm to follow up on those animals we did not locate in the morning, like elephant or rhino. We are usually back in camp shortly after sunset, and start preparing supper and sit around the fire listening to the sounds of the bush and discussing the day's activities. Some nights endangered species volunteer's go out to track species like the hyaena who are active at night, but usually we are in bed early.

Depending on how long you join the team for and the time of year, you may also be part of darting or trapping and radio collaring of various animal species, the relocation and re-introduction of game, identity tagging of animal, setting and checking of camera traps, game counts, bird ringing and alien plant control. (Please note that these activities occur strictly when the need arises). At least once a week we have an afternoon or day set aside to input the information we've gathered into the computer and make an analysis of the data. Volunteers prepare their own meals, and are responsible for camp cleaning and maintenance.

We have a saying here: "This is Zululand, Not Disneyland". Monitoring can be exhilarating at times, for example when we do game captures, releases, notching or collaring. Some days can be a stretch and even laborious at times, like when we track one animal for a whole day and covering large distances without success. But it’s important. This is not a safari operation and we don’t want to romanticize the work we do. It’s not always pretty or easy, but what we can tell you is that this is real Africa and you will become a real natural resource conservation volunteer.

Training and skills

All training will be via practical tuition in the field. The skills you will gain are:

• The proper use of telemetry tracking equipment;
• The use of hand-held GPS devices;
• How to produce animal identification kits;
• How to set up and use camera traps to monitor certain endangered species;
• How to track animals using traditional methods like the identification and following of animal spoor;
• How to collect animal behavior data and how this data is extrapolated and used to inform and enhance management objectives on these reserves, as well as other reserves across Africa; and
• A firm understanding of conservation issues facing endangered species across Africa.