The Kariega Big Five Game Reserve Volunteer Programme offers a once in a lifetime chance to get behind the scenes and involved with the conservation efforts of the Game Reserve. Wildlife conservation volunteers take part in lion prey selection monitoring, researching Cape Leopards, rhino surveys, elephant impact monitoring, conservation management and local community projects.  The Reserve is located in a malaria-free environment. Wildlife Research Internship opportunities also available.

Volunteers can join year round from 2 to 12 weeks in duration. We have places in 2013 and 2014 available.

Individuals, groups and students doing research all welcome.

_{Cost includes comfortable accommodation on the reserve, food, training & supervision, use of BBQ, plunge pool, laundry; starts at £720.}

The Project

Come and join Kariega Game Reserve as a wildlife conservation volunteer or wildlife research intern. Make a real difference, grow your skills in conservation and have the experience of a lifetime! Kariega is an extraordinary and exciting conservation project, at the forefront of numerous species reintroductions and conservation initiatives, including a Leopard monitoring programme in collaboration with a renowned academic institution.

Joining this programme offers the ultimate Big Five experience, where volunteers and interns from across the world, get the opportunity to get hands-on involved in conservation management on the reserve. During your stay with us, you may see yourselves as “Assistant Conservation Managers”, as all the work done and data collected by you will be utilized by Kariega for conservation on the reserve.

Wildlife Conservation Volunteer Programme 

Wildlife conservation volunteers will be provided with stimulating practical experience in the following four areas: Research, Conservation Management, Education and Community Development.

Research Projects

Elephant Impact Monitoring
Conservation volunteers will help monitor elephant movement patterns, range utilization and vegetation impact with the aid of telemetry (certain individuals are fitted with radio collars). A part of this research project that volunteers are very involved with, is recording the unique ear markings of each elephant for management purposes. Elephant identification sheets are given to each volunteer, who in turn will assist the conservation department in this regard. 

Population Status of Leopards
Leopards (Panthera pardus) have been persecuted in the Eastern Cape for the last three hundred years, resulting in a decline in numbers and fragmentation of populations, placing the local population at risk of extinction. Virtually the entire landscape was hostile to them, and few leopards survived in only the most isolated areas. Recently attitudes towards large predators have shifted, and leopards are now legally protected. There has also been a recent shift in land use, with an increasing number of private nature reserves that complement the state-owned reserves in supporting conservation of biodiversity.

Kariega Game Reserve is one of the oldest of these private nature reserves. These shifts suggest that the landscape is now more leopard-friendly, with decreased persecution and increased refuge areas. This project aims to assess the status of leopards in the Lower Albany area and investigate the role of the Kariega Game Reserve as a refugee habitat for leopards, which may move across the Lower Albany area. We are fortunate to have the support of the Centre for African Conservation Ecology of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University on this project.

We are currently trying to establish how many leopards occur on Kariega Game Reserve. We have movement sensor cameras in place on the reserve and it is one of the Wildlife Volunteer Programme’s tasks to monitor these cameras, change memory cards and record all images taken. The cameras are moved around the property on a regular basis, to increase the chance of leopard sightings.

Lion Prey Selection Monitoring
One of the conservation volunteer programme’s responsibilities is to record as many lion kills as possible. This data provides the conservation department at Kariega with valuable information regarding prey selection. Certain lions on the reserve are fitted with radio collars, so volunteers will learn how to use telemetry tracking whilst out on night drives.

Rhino Monitoring
The estimated number of rhino poached during 2012 in South Africa is 633. This crisis is the most significant conservation issue that South Africa has faced. Kariega conservation volunteers help monitor and account for rhinos on the property on a regular basis.

Birds in Reserve Project (BIRP)
This project involves preparing a catalogue of the birds, bird numbers and their breeding status in the reserve as part of a project headed by the University of Cape Town’s Avian Demography Unit.

Wildlife Conservation Internships
For any of the above programmes, you may also join as a Wildlife Conservation Intern or a Wildlife Research Intern as part of a University or dissertation topic of study.  Please enquire for more details.

Conservation Management

Conservation management activities form a large part of the wildlife volunteer programme. Some of these activities involve physical work and therefore a certain level of determination from the volunteer’s side is required. Keep in mind that the "reserve needs" are always taken into account and you will help to fulfil those needs as a volunteer. Daily activities are interesting and varied, and could include assistance with some of the following:

• Game Counts Sex and age ratios recordings of specific species like eland and giraffe
• Alien Vegetation Control and bush encroachment control within the reserve.
• Soil Erosion Control
• Clean-Up Operations
• Road maintenance and repairing of river crossings
• Parasite control

Conservation volunteers may also have the opportunity to experience the following additional conservation activities:

Capturing of Wild Animals
Our recent wildlife conservation volunteers had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to assist with the capture of the following species on the reserve: elephant, lion, rhino, hyena, giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and impala.  Please remember that captures only occur when required by the reserve and not for the sake of the volunteers.

Game Introduction
There is an ongoing programme for the introduction of additional game, especially as the reserve has acquired more land that will need to be stocked with various different African mammal species.

Fire Management
An important driving force in savannah ecosystems (depending on the time of year and fire regimes)

Education / Theory

Each volunteer will be given a field booklet, which can be taken home at the end of the placement. Before you start with each practical task, the relative theoretical background on the subject will be discussed in the form of informal lectures. The theory provides insight into the value of the practical activities in which you may participate. Mammal, plant and bird checklists are included in the booklet and will help you to identify different species at Kariega.

Practical education will be provided throughout your stay:

• Bush Walks, Game Drives and night drives - identification and discussion of various mammals, plants and birds
• Sleep Outs - Camping out in the bush around a campfire under the African sky (weather dependent)
• Coastal ecology outings

Community Development

We have identified an under-funded farm school near the reserve where our volunteer programme can make a real difference. The school is small, yet very under-staffed and local kids aged 4 to 15 years attend the school. Volunteers visit the school one day a week (not during school holidays or rainy days (most of the children walk about 10 km to attend school so if it rains, no one goes to school!), and make valuable contributions to the children’s education. Our volunteers take many of the classes themselves and teach 6-12 year olds subjects like English, Maths and Science. You might also help with the maintenance of the school’s facilities or by giving sport lessons to the kids. A recent group of volunteers renovated a classroom (with a completely collapsed ceiling and floorboards!) for the pre-primary school kids. Your contribution here is real, and both the children and the headmistress are very appreciative.

Volunteer Supervision

Your dedicated volunteer coordinator will endeavour to ensure that you have a wonderful learning experience and leave with a stronger understanding of conservation issues feeling like you made an important contribution. Our volunteers also get the opportunity to explore South Africa’s amazing coastline as Kariega is a mere 16 km from the sea... the beautiful Indian Ocean is literally on your doorstep! This coastline has particularly rich marine fauna and flora as well as endless sand dunes and beautiful beaches.

For more details, please visit our website.