Working as a volunteer with the Big 5
The “Big Five” Safari Reserve is a unique volunteering project that allows animals to be re-introduced to the area where they once travelled aimlessly. This initiative is located in the Eastern Cape and is the kind of a project that requires the love for animals and nature. This project mainly focuses on monitoring and researching the “Big Five” (Rhino, Elephant, Lion, Buffalo and Leopard) and it also focuses on taking care of the reserve and provides you with the opportunity to live and work in the conservation area with these incredible animals.
The volunteers team up with an experienced and knowledgeable game ranger who is in charge of all the assigned activities. Volunteers will assist in different assigned tasks and activities all related to running a safari reserve and maintaining infrastructure, well-kept animals and any initiatives relating to this reserve. This will include studying the behavior of the animals and learning to understand their life in the wild. In addition to that, volunteers will take part in tasks such as; checking fences, researching hunting patterns of lions, tracking skills, guided walks, counting of animals and helping at the local community center. The supervisor will look after the volunteers and provide them with any assistance that they might need or want.
Why should you volunteer at this project? Working and being a resident on a safari reserve is a dream of many and this is a great opportunity to be part of a conservation team. Although changes take a lot of time and they will be difficult to be seen in a few weeks but eventually they will be recognized, your role as a volunteer, gap year student who is keen on volunteering in Africa and/or a nature conservationist does add to the restoration of the land to what it was before. The re-introduction of animal species, maintenance of the reserve and the care for the animals, they are all aspects that are partly financed through the volunteer project. By participating you don’t only help on the reserve itself, physically, but you also contribute to the future of the reserve financially, and you get to be the part of the local community and assist them in any way you can in developing their way of living.
You will be working with a variety of people from all walks of life. You will get the opportunity to meet new people and possibly discover a new career path. This is an opportunity of a life time for any volunteer and you get to experience the beauty of the nature while working. You also have the possibility to see more than just the reserve. You can spend some time at the community project in Paterson, giving you the chance to see South Africa and its people in a different light and to put things into perspective. This project will surely give you a unique and personal experience.
