WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERING: THE RED FLAGS MOST PEOPLE MISS
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The Golola Rhino Orphanage staff are some of the most passionate people I've ever met. One of the staff members was particularly enthusiastic, and every time she would tell a story or answer a question, she would answer it with the same passion as if she were speaking about it for the very first time. They truly are an incredible group of people.
I could listen to the project staff tell stories all day, every day. It's so interesting.
I was at Golola for three weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed the work during my time at Golola, and I could tell my input was needed. If they didn't have volunteers there, I honestly don't know how they would manage. They do manage regardless, but having the volunteers there really does help them.
During my time at Golola, I was able to bottle-feed one of the youngest rhinos there. Each rhino has its own history, and some are sadder than others, so I felt really sorry for some of them, but it made me love them even more.
I would love to go back and see the rhinos again, particularly if I could see them go from being in the orphanage to eventually being out in the field!
The team at Golola go above and beyond to do anything they can to make the calves not feel alone after being separated from their mothers due to poaching incidents. For example, they bring in foster mothers who are technically now their surrogate mothers, so they can try to put the calves at ease. This is to help the calves adjust to their new lifestyle at the rhino orphanage before they’re eventually ready to be released.
I really felt like what I was doing on a day-to-day basis made an impact.
Even the small things like scooping the rhino poo, putting it back into the earth, then replanting it into the plains, where the grass can grow. Even doing seemingly minor things like that, that's contributing towards the rhinos' welfare and getting them back into the wild.
The people there definitely make me feel appreciated. The staff would always be checking in to see how you are. They would ask “Are you still enjoying it? Are you still happy?" And I would reply, "You don't need to ask me that, I’m loving it!"
Being a vet nurse back home can be hard at times, but with the amount of work that these guys put in, what I do at home is nothing compared to what they do. Wild animals are completely different. One day, the vet came out to check one of the rhinos, and he ended up darting her to recast her leg and get a new boot for her injured leg. I was so lucky that I was there because I monitored the anaesthetic on the rhino using my training. But even just listening to the drugs used and comparing them to what we use at home in dogs and cats, it's really nice to have the background knowledge and actually know what the vet was talking about. It was so cool.
A highlight for me was getting up every morning and working so close to the rhinos.
Some of the roads were difficult to get through after a storm hit, so we couldn't go up to certain areas. And then we would see the rhinos finding their way around. I think it made me realise how intelligent the species actually is.
On social media, you see the good things and the pretty things, but you don't see the behind-the-scenes work and all the hard work that goes into it. What I learned is that this kind of work doesn’t happen overnight. It takes years to release them back into the wild.
When a member of staff was teaching me about how many people are involved in poaching and rhino deaths, it made me realise that the Golola team must feel like they're just swimming against the tide. But they're still going, they still get up every single day, and they're still trying to save the species.
This project allows you to get fully involved, and it can be hard work, but if that's what it takes to help save sick species, then I would do it for the rest of my life.
My top 3 reasons people should volunteer at Golola would be:
- The people, because they really are the most amazing group of people to work with, they're so welcoming from the minute you get there. Everyone is so down to earth, everyone's there for the same thing.
- You get to see the difference you’re making. Even in the short three weeks that I've been there, the work that I have done has made some sort of contribution to saving the species. So if you can spare a tiny bit of time, even just a week, go out there and you’ll be contributing helping to save the species.
- Definitely bottle feeding the rhinos - It’s just incredible.
It's a really good experience to meet like-minded people and people who are passionate towards animals in general, because animals are so much more precious than humans.
I couldn't have felt more looked after during my time in South Africa. From the minute we landed and met the African Conservation Experience (ACE) team to the minute we got to the project, I felt so safe and looked after. Especially when you are coming out by yourself.
I couldn't have asked for a nicer three weeks. It's been amazing. It really has. It’s definitely money well spent, and even though I’d happily do another program with ACE, I definitely will go back to Golola.
Feeling inspired by Claire Cameron's experience?
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