Work With The Wildlife

Set on a vast reserve in the wild and rugged bushland of the Limpopo Province of South Africa, you will track cheetah, leopard and brown hyena populations, and assist in habituation of rhino and buffalo. Witness their natural behaviour first hand, and contribute to the ongoing conservation effort to secure their future.

Volunteering is a fantastic opportunity to observe animals at close encounters and assist in the management of a wildlife reserve, home to a variety of predators and rare and endangered species.

Uniquely, at Zingela cheetah are tracked on foot.

Cheetah habituation programme: using telemetry equipment to establish the approximate location of the cheetah, you then proceed on foot through the bush. This is far less intrusive and more intimate.

Baseline studies of the elusive leopard to determine the numbers moving within the reserve.

Working mainly at night, when the African bush comes alive, you will work to establish the home ranges and prey species of the resident leopards by:

Disease free buffalo habituation.

The brown hyena is a lesser known predator, but a beautiful and vital component of the environment. Observations are essential to give clear research on the predator -prey relationships impacting on species numbers in the reserve.

You will be involved in studying the hyena population to help bring a greater understanding of prey species and feeding habits. The work will involve:

• Identifying spores and tracks, and using sightings to monitor individuals in the population
• Observing hunting and feeding behaviour, and establish th ration between scavenging and hunting.

Rhino conservation and tracking.

Due to the successful conservation of predators within the reserve, the game reserve has been established as a safe area to relocate rhino due to current poaching issues in southern Africa. You will be involved in monitoring resident white rhino as they settle into their new environment. The rhino have been fitted with ankle radio collars therefore you will learn radio tracking techniques.

Sable and Roan Antelope Breeding Project

The reserve you are primarily based on is home to one of South Africa's largest private roan antelope breeding programmes. As a volunteer you will be involved in supplemental feeding for the antelopes and management of the breeding groups. 

Learn techniques required to map GPS positions and locate species.

• The global positioning system uses a global navigation system to reliably locate specific species within a specified timeframe. Some species are fitted with radio collars to allow the team to track their location within certain ranges, a valuable tool within wildlife research.
• You will also learn traditional tracking techniques, using animal spores and tracks, and the more advanced radio telemetry at Zingela. 

Help with reserve management and maintenance.

• As the study involves predators, it is essential that the electric fence surrounding the reserve is maintained and checked regularly to reduce movements out of the reserve. You may also be involved in the erection of temporary livestock holding areas as part of the community integration programmes.
• You may assist with maintenance of the bomas (enclosures) housing the breeding populations of the rare roan and sable antelope breeding programme.

Conservation Education Programme in local school

• Once a week volunteers can join a teaching programme in the local school, based on an environmental syllabus, focussed around wildlife conservation and what the project is working towards achieving. The project are passionate about integrating their conservation approach with the local community and assisting with the learning of the children who will care for the land in the area in future generations.