Join our wildlife conservation team in researching Africa’s big predators

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Program Overview
Life on the Program
Project Details
Volunteer Testimonials

Program Overview

This unique expedition offers you the opportunity to work with GVI on important conservation research while getting up close and personal with South Africa’s incredible wildlife—including lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and elephants.

Working alongside other international team members on a private game reserve, you will collect vital behavioural data on reintroduced predators and large herbivores. You will be trained to use research equipment to help locate predators in the reserve and through continued training will develop your large animal identification, tracking and behavioural study skills.

Highlights Include:

Experiencing a unique African bush adventure at the heart of a spectacular game reserve; mastering radio telemetry techniques and learning to track animals through the bush; getting acquainted with big game and all the main predators, including lion, cheetah, leopard, elephant and rhino; exploring nearby regions to experience such breathtaking views as from the Blyde River Canyon in the Drakensberg Mountains; living and working alongside FGASA qualified South African Guides getting constant learning and inspiration; having the chance to sleep out in the bush under the spectacular African stars and wake up to a beautiful sunrise.

Scholarships

We are always looking for enthusiastic and dedicated people to join our team. This expedition offers qualifying and high-performing volunteers the chance to stay on the expedition for a longer duration on a GVI Scholarship free of charge and as part of the staff team in the field. If you would like to work towards a field career and make the very most of your time abroad, you might want to work towards a place on a GVI Scholarship. Successful scholars may find themselves offered full time employment with GVI, and many of our current staff have come through this route. Contact us for more information!

Please note, the awarding of scholarships is at the sole discretion of GVI and may be offered immediately after the completion of your program or at a later date.

Life on the Program

As a volunteer you will undertake a range of duties on the expedition, typically spending time out in the reserve tracking the wildlife and conducting research from the game vehicles at dawn and dusk when it is cooler and the wildlife is more active. The majority of research conducted is on predators such as lions, leopards, cheetahs and hyena but we also monitor other wildlife, including elephants.

When not assisting on game drives you could be working on data entry or helping with camp and cooking duties. The expedition base camp is situated deep within the game reserves, it contains dormitory-style sleeping arrangements, bathrooms, a kitchen and an outside social areas.

On this Expedition you will

Undergo training to carry out extensive radio tracking and monitoring of all the collared predators on the reserve
Get to know animals on the reserve individually and following their progress
Meet with our partners, the reserve managers and other members of the
Learn new skills, including mammal and bird identification, tracking, ecology and bush first aid
Live on a game reserve in the heart of the African bush, where you can be woken by a dawn chorus and sent to sleep by the roar of lions
Witness nature in its simplest form, having the opportunities to watch a lion kill, a newborn cheetah cub play or a stand-off between two elephants. In the African bush you can never tell what you will find just around the corner!
Participate in community outreach days teaching schoolchildren the importance of conservation
Have a chance to enjoy the surrounding areas and activities, including visits to local reptile parks and animal sanctuaries,
Increase your knowledge of the South African environment, its importance and the threats to it, and help to increase both local and global knowledge and awareness
Develop a baseline and holistic understanding of all aspects of the bush
broader conservation and research community

Project Details

While the exact project details are always subject to change, dependant as they are on weather conditions, time of year and game movements, a typical expedition can involve the following:

Detailed monitoring of lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena populations.

Herbivore sex/age ratio—Collected data is analysed to see how this effects predator movement.

Vegetation monitoring—Elephant impact vegetation surveys are conducted to monitor their impact on sensitive areas of the reserve.

Other activities and ecological studies—Including darting/fitting radio collars to predators and eradication of invasive vegetation species.

Community projects—When possible, local school children visit the reserve and volunteers use fun and interactive lessons to teach them about the importance of conservation.

How this program makes a difference:

GVI spends up to 12 hours a day collecting data on large predators such as lions, leopards and cheetah. The information gathered is used to give an accurate picture of the predators impact on prey populations, determine social structure, genetics, and spatial movement. This vital information helps maintain a healthy balance of these natural resources and ultimately conserve some of Africa’s important ecosystems.

Volunteer Testimonials

Glyn Donaghy, Australia

My favourite moments were on the drives collecting data and observing the animals, improving my knowledge and understanding of the environment and working with young people who were committing time to help understand and improve the world in which they live. It was most reassuring to see young adults working together. The project gives one a more intimate knowledge of the environment and the animals, than it would seeing them as a tourist.

My highlights? Taking part in wildlife conservation and the feeling that your work had a part to play in the aim of the expedition. The close experiences with the amazing wildlife was incredible. The...

Craig Daly, Ireland

My highlights? Taking part in wildlife conservation and the feeling that your work had a part to play in the aim of the expedition. The close experiences with the amazing wildlife was incredible.

The program was everything I imagined it to be and more, meeting new people from all over the world is another incredibly influential factor in choosing another GVI expedition, just an amazing, life changing, all round experience.