A typical working week runs from Monday to Friday, with each day beginning at 7am and ending around 5pm/6pm. During this time, you will take part in a combination of the activities found below.
Baboon Walk
The sanctuary is home to a number of baboons that have been orphaned as a result of the human-animal conflict. Baboons are often thought of as pests, which in turn sees them shot by farmers. The injured or orphaned baboons are taken in by the sanctuary, and as a volunteer you will help to care for these social animals by accompanying them on enrichment walks, allowing them to exercise their innate abilities such as running and climbing.
Cheetah Run & Observation
Much like baboons, cheetahs have often fallen victim to the human-animal conflict: by venturing onto farms in search of food, these stunning big cats have inadvertently become targets of angry and scared farmers. The sanctuary has taken in many cheetahs over the years that have been injured or orphaned due to conflict. As a number of these cheetahs are unable to be released back into the wild, volunteers help to ensure they have a positive quality of life and one way of doing this is through an exercise enrichment activity. Setting up a pulley-system lure for the cheetahs to chase, you’ll observe the health (and speed!) of the animals as they run past you at up to 130 km/h!
Food Preparation & Animal Feeding
A huge number of animals call the sanctuary home, which means there are many mouths to feed! As a volunteer, you’ll play chef and waiter for the animals, preparing vegetable platters for the herbivores, meat for the carnivores and even milk formula for the little ones. Supervised by the sanctuary staff, you’ll ensure all animals have nutritious and healthy diets and will take turns distributing food at mealtimes.
Carnivore Feeding
Take a front-row seat and witness the sanctuary’s resident carnivores at their most ‘wild’ during their feeding time! You will help to prepare and throw food to cheetahs, leopards, lions and wild dogs, and during the feed, the project facilitator will share their abundant carnivore knowledge with you. This is your chance to learn more about Africa’s impressive carnivores whilst getting to know the animals and their individual stories and personalities!
Enrichment
This is a particularly important element of the sanctuary’s efforts, as enrichment helps to stimulate the animals and therefore will improve their quality of life. You will be tasked with creating an array of activities designed to provoke their senses, such as introducing scented or puzzle-type toys. One example can be found in a previous volunteer group's creation of papier-mâché 'animals': since the 'animals' resembled something the carnivores may have witnessed in the wild, they were quick to tear the creation open. This is a great opportunity to put your creativity to good use!
Project Work
Cleaning, building and maintenance are all necessary aspects of keeping the sanctuary running as smoothly as possible, and you will help to clean enclosures, construct new enclosures or remodel existing ones, fix fences, tackle alien plants and build animal playgrounds. These activities will go a long way towards providing a safe and comfortable home for all of the sanctuary’s animals and are a continuous element of the project.
Reserve Research & Animal Tracking
You will head out onto the neighbouring reserve where you
will go in search of free-roaming, high-profile species such as elephants, rhinos,
wild dogs and even lions! You’ll learn to track various wildlife species through
GPS tracking and by joining a highly skilled Sans tracker who will show you how
to find animals using spoor alone. Whilst out the reserve, you’ll retrieve
camera trap data and analyse what you gather, helping the research team to monitor
how endangered and vulnerable species are adapting to life in the wild.
Anti-Poaching Experience
Spend time with the Anti-Poaching Unit as you help to track and monitor the resident rhinos! For an evening, you’ll join the APU on rhino patrols, where you’ll learn the art of map reading, identifying animal tracks and what it takes to protect these iconic animals from the very real threat of poaching. A night in the bush is a great way to bond with fellow volunteers whilst getting to know and learning from skilled and dedicated rangers.
