The Care And Conservation Discovery Experience

This is a suggested itinerary. Every experience can be customised to be just right for you.

Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre

Week 1

Volunteer at one of the biggest wildlife sanctuaries in South Africa - home to lions, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, hyenas, vultures, and many other threatened animals. From preparing enrichment activities to helping maintain enclosures, you’ll get involved with every aspect of animal care and rehabilitation. If you’re lucky, you may even get to experience the moment an animal is safely returned to the wild.

• Meals Provided

Phinda Wildlife Research Project

Week 2

Go behind the scenes in a Big 5 wildlife conservancy where you’ll monitor lions, elephants, rhinos, pangolins and other species in their natural habitats. Part-owned by the local Zulu community, Phinda is a true conservation success story - and plays a vital role in the WWF’s efforts to reintroduce black rhinos across more parts of Africa.

• Food For Meal Preparation Provided

Work with iconic and endangered African wildlife

You’ll research, monitor and care for a wide variety of animals - including threatened species such as rhinos, lions, cheetahs, wild dogs, honey badgers, servals, bushbabies, vultures and antelope.

Experience a range of care and rehabilitation work

As one of the biggest wildlife sanctuaries in South Africa with its own on-site clinic, Moholoholo gives you the chance to experience the realities of feeding, cleaning, vet nursing and enriching the lives of many incredible animals.

Location, location, location

Based near several large national parks and private reserves rich in wildlife, Moholoholo treats high numbers of injured, hurt and orphaned animals every year, who only survive because of the project’s work and support from volunteers.

Witness wildlife management, behind the scenes

You’ll experience life behind the scenes at Phinda, one of the largest and most successful wildlife conservancies in South Africa - assisting with real tracking, monitoring and game drives most tourists never see, let alone participate in.

Support the protection of a successful rhino population

Phinda’s success with anti-poaching means its growing rhino population is successfully being used to establish new populations across Africa. You’ll support the management of this critical rhino population and deter poachers through daily monitoring, and may observe or assist with periodic horn trimming.

Learn from conservation experts

Work alongside highly qualified wildlife professionals, from animal care specialists to field ecologists, who hold advanced degrees and a passion for mentoring the next generation of conservationists.

Support global conservation partners

Join projects working in partnership with WWF, Panthera, Endangered Wild Trust (EWT), and the African Pangolin Working Group - contributing to conservation goals that reach far beyond South Africa.

You’ll support the project teams in real hands-on wildlife care and monitoring. Depending on the conservation priorities at the time, this will include a range of the following activities.

Rehabilitation, care and husbandry

You’ll work with a variety of animals, some who can be rehabilitated and released back into the wild and others who require life-long care in a sanctuary.

You will observe or assist with:

• Enriching animals’ lives through exercise, mental stimulation and creating naturalistic enclosures.
• Preparing and delivering species-appropriate food.
• Cleaning enclosures, raking grass for bedding, and maintaining hygienic, comfortable living environments.
• Preparing and releasing suitable animals onto the reserve (when appropriate).
• Providing a safe feeding area for wild vultures, free from threats like poisoning.
• Rescuing and releasing species such as honey badgers, servals, mongooses, and caracals that come into conflict with farmers.

Veterinary nursing

Most animals arrive at centres with injury or trauma. Depending on your skills and the needs of the project, you could support a professional vet or veterinary nurse in treating these new arrivals.

You could observe or assist:

• Working in a well-equipped, on-site wildlife clinic.
• Dressing wounds, providing treatment, and monitoring animal health.
• Conducting regular health checks and preparing specialised diets.
• Assisting with animal immobilisations and monitoring vital signs.

Caring for young wildlife (Seasonal: peak activity from November to March)

Looking after young animals is one of the most rewarding experiences. These animals require intensive attention, much like human infants.

You could observe or assist:

• Preparing food or formula.
• Bottle-feeding or using other feeding methods depending on the species.
• Monitoring health and behaviour.
• Helping to integrate juveniles into appropriate enclosures.

Wildlife research

Research is critical to managing and protecting species within the reserve at Phinda.

You will observe or assist with:

• Recording animal sightings and mapping their movements to track territories.
• Monitoring priority species such as rhino, elephants, cheetahs and lions.
• Building and maintaining ID kits for species like rhino.
• Studying the behaviour and population dynamics of elephants, predators and prey.
• Conducting prey utilisation studies for lions, leopards and cheetahs.
• Assisting with game drive animal counts (e.g. giraffe, zebra, wildebeest).
• Using telemetry to track collared animals such as elephants and pangolins.
• Running bi-annual camera trap surveys to monitor elusive species like leopards and servals.
• Recording activity of priority bird species such as the southern banded-snake eagle.

Wildlife management

Wildlife conservation requires careful management to sustain healthy, balanced populations.

You may observe or assist:

• Rhino immobilisations and ear notching for identification and monitoring.
• Humane rhino horn trimming to reduce poaching risk.
• Release and reintroduction of species such as pangolins rescued from the illegal wildlife trade.
• Applying vaccines and health treatments to control disease exposure in predators.
• Managing elephant and predator populations through ethical contraception programmes.
• Habitat management to preserve access to water, food, and other vital resources.

Additional activities

You may also have the opportunity to:

• Join guided game drives in the surrounding Moholoholo reserve.
• Take an optional excursion to Kruger National Park (subject to availability and cost).

You’ll learn about wildlife behaviour, biology, ecology, and conservation issues. Depending on the projects’ work at the time, this will include a range of the following topics.

Animal husbandry

• Individual dietary needs of African wildlife and how to prepare and provide appropriate food and water.
• Enclosure maintenance, cleaning routines and hygiene best practices to ensure healthy living conditions.
• How to observe and monitor the health and behaviour of different species in care.
• Stabilising and integrating new arrivals into sanctuary populations.

Animal behaviour

• Predator and prey behaviour, including hunting strategies and social vs. solitary predators (e.g. lions vs. leopards).
• Social dynamics in groups such as lion prides, elephant herds and antelope herds.
• Communication methods among animals.
• Mating, breeding and parental care strategies.
• Enrichment techniques used to stimulate natural behaviours and improve animal welfare.
• Movement and migration patterns of herd species.

Biology

• The physiology and natural diets of the Big 5 and other iconic African animals.
• Reproductive biology and how species care for their young.
• Optimum captive environments for different species.
• Native African flora and fauna, including reptiles, amphibians and birds.

Ecology

• The natural habitats of the animals you’re working with, including savannah, forest and sand forest ecosystems.
• The ecological roles of key species and how population shifts (e.g. lion or elephant numbers) affect ecosystems.
• The function of smaller ecosystems within larger reserves and their unique conservation value.

Conservation

• Human-wildlife conflict and solutions to reduce it.
• The impact of poaching, including snaring, and how care centres help rescue and rehabilitate affected animals.
• Anti-poaching methods in the field, including horn trimming and surveillance.
• Research techniques such as telemetry, camera traps, ID kits and GPS tracking.
• Wildlife relocation and metapopulation management programmes (e.g. WWF’s Black Rhino and EWT’s Cheetah Metapopulation Project).
• The broader role sanctuaries and reserves play in global conservation networks.

Community and conservation partnerships

• How community land ownership and partnerships (like Phinda’s part-ownership model) contribute to sustainable conservation.
• The role of conservation NGOs such as the WWF, EWT, Panthera, and the African Pangolin Working Group - and how you’ll support their long-term goals.