The Savannah Veterinary Explorer

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

Shimongwe Veterinary EMS Placement

Week 1 & 2

Shadow the daily operations of experienced wildlife veterinarians in one of Africa’s most ecologically diverse regions. As part of a small group, you’ll gain exposure to a diverse range of iconic African animals and in-field casework, including darting protocols, chemical immobilisation, translocation efforts and disease monitoring. This is real wildlife, real procedures - and real professional development.

• Meals Allowance Provided

Shimongwe Wildlife Veterinary Expedition

10 nights

Embark on an action-packed adventure into the thrilling world of African wildlife veterinary practice. Whether you’re helping an expert vet treat iconic African wildlife in the field, assisting with wildlife management activities, or getting to grips with a dart gun, this expedition combines expert insight into endemic diseases, treatments and conservation challenges with a healthy dose of adventure.

• Meals Provided

Fulfil your EMS criteria

This placement meets the Extra Mural Studies (EMS) requirements for veterinary undergraduate degree programmes. You’ll gain verified tracked hours under the supervision of qualified veterinarians.

Small group learning

You’ll work in small cohorts, ensuring direct engagement with some of Africa’s leading wildlife veterinarians. This allows for a highly personalised and immersive experience.

Diverse species and casework

Gain hands-on experience personalised to your skill level, with a wide range of African species including lion, rhino and buffalo. You’ll assist in varied procedures, including wound management, surgical interventions, sterilisation, diagnostics and post-immobilisation monitoring.

Real and ethical procedures only

From clinical procedures in the field to monitoring the vital signs of immobilised animals, all interventions are medically necessary and aligned with best-practice ethical standards. No procedures are performed solely for training.

Hands-on darting skills and aerial practice

Learn to handle, aim and use a dart gun, first on the ground then from a helicopter at practice targets made of hay. This is an essential skill for tranquilising large wildlife safely - and creates friendly competition with your fellow travellers over who has the better aim.

Learn from experts in the field

Working under the supervision of an expert vet and predator specialist, you’ll receive in-the-field instruction on wildlife physiology, pharmacology, anaesthetic risks, capture techniques, endemic diseases and more. You’ll also receive detailed briefings before each procedure to understand its purpose and approach.

Explore veterinary work in diverse contexts

Travel between multiple reserves and experience the varied landscapes, wildlife and rural communities that shape conservation practices across the region - and build your understanding of how South Africa’s cultural context influences veterinary work.

Two-day game drive through the Kruger

Spend two nights exploring the vast Kruger National Park with an expert conservationist guide. You’ll learn about the park’s diverse flora, fauna and complex ecosystems, not just the famous Big Five.

You’ll join a real veterinarian on their day-to-day casework. Depending on the animals being treated, the care they require, and your level of experience, this will include a range of the following activities.

Field clinical work

You’ll gain exposure to a variety of veterinary procedures in the field. You will get to observe or assist:

• Immobilisation of lions to be moved.
• Aftercare of wildlife following veterinary treatment.
• Day-to-day care of lions.

You could also observe or assist:

• Positioning immobilised animals for necessary procedures.
• Monitoring the animals’ breathing and heart rate.
• Drawing blood, taking DNA samples, giving injections and cleaning wounds.
• Practical techniques on wildlife and production animals, such as pregnancy testing and cleaning and stitching wounds.
• Autopsying deceased wildlife to determine cause of death.
• Health checks of newly rescued lions.
• Disease testing and prevention - including frontline work with buffalo.
• Treatment of injuries, wounds, health conditions and diseases.
• Pregnancy testing.
• Parasite control.

Clinical work

You will get to experience a variety of veterinary procedures in a large clinic. You could observe or assist:

• Working within a busy clinic with four vets and two vet nurses.
• A wide variety of cases, including many diseases you won’t experience in other parts of the world, such as biliary, parvovirus, and canine distemper.
• Routine procedures on pets, such as sterilisations, inoculations, and clipping claws.
• Clinical work and aftercare, including wound clearing after operations.

Wildlife capture and relocation

You will receive hands-on training in darting and, depending on the needs of the team during your stay, you may participate in real mass wildlife capture operations.

You will receive training in:

• Handling a dart gun and shooting at non-live targets, both on the ground and from a helicopter.

You could also observe or assist:

• Chemical immobilisation and sedation. The species you may observe being darted and assist with the care of include antelope, buffalo, giraffe, zebra and sometimes rhino.
• Setting up camps in the bush during extended capture operations.
• Setting up bomas, the canvas enclosures used in the field to catch large herds of animals such as antelope and zebra.
• Administering mild sedatives to reduce stress among captured wild animals.
• All aspects of capture operations and relocating animals.

Anti-poaching support

You will get to observe or assist one of these procedures:

• Humane rhino horn trimming carried out by licensed wildlife veterinarians.
• Tagging, ear notching or fitting tracking collars to darted animals.

Animal welfare and fieldwork

You will get to observe or assist:

• Immobilisation of lions to be moved.
• Aftercare of wildlife following veterinary treatment, especially lions.
• Day-to-day care of lions.
• Lion contraception to prevent unnecessary breeding or lion collaring.

Game drives

You will get to experience:

• Game drives in the famous Kruger National Park, with sightings of Africa’s species in the wild.

You’ll learn about wildlife behaviour, biology and veterinary care, as well as broader conservation issues. Depending on the animals being treated, this will include a range of the following topics.

Animal husbandry

• Individual dietary requirements for captive lion, including food preparation, water provision, and feeding routines.
• Best hygiene practices, such as enclosure cleaning, disinfection of areas and waste removal.
• How to monitor the health and behaviour of captive lion.
• The reproductive management of captive lions.

Behaviour

• How to monitor the health and behaviour of different species.
• How animals react to the stress of being captured.
• Animal behaviour both in the wild and in captivity.

Biology

• The effects of sedative drugs on different wildlife species.
• The impact of diseases on different species.
• The processes involved in wildlife care after treatment.
• The physiology, anatomy and pharmacology of different wildlife species.
• The natural diet of these wildlife species.

Ecology

• The natural environment of the Big 5 and other African species.
• The current threats facing African ecosystems.

Conservation

• Disease management and the importance of maintaining healthy and genetically viable populations.
• Threats to animals such as human-wildlife conflict and rhino poaching.
• The capture and transport of different species.
• Wildlife management’s role in conservation.
• The importance of genetic diversity in wildlife populations.
• Challenges of treating wild animals, including darting.
• Principles of chemical and physical restraint of wild animals.
• Anti-poaching methods in the field.