Wildlife Veterinary Volunteers, Gap years & Students

Experience conservation medicine & management in action as a Wildlife Veterinary Volunteer.

"There are so many things that were incredible. Injecting lions, touching elephants, actually seeing and working with leopards ... basically seeing animals I would only have expected to see in zoos or on telly in their natural habitat, up close and touching them.

This has been an unmissable experience that will blow you away. You won't want to return to your normal lives. It really opens your eyes to the cultures of South Africa and the beauty of its inhabitants.

Doing loads of hands on stuff has been the definitive highlight of my experience. Chap has been really patient and a great teacher. Couldn't have been better. I have always wanted to be a vet and this has only solidified that even more and given me a strong sense of motivation."  Volunteer Ruby K.- UK (Sept 2009)

Click here for more Volunteer comments 

For anybody interested in getting a behind the scenes view of what a wildlife veterinary practice involves we have been running a volunteer program, in conjunction with the well reputed & renowned volunteer agency African Conservation Experience, since 2007. Volunteers are invited to join Chap in his day-to-day duties providing wildlife veterinary services, game capture & translocation & consultation services to clients in the wildlife industry of South Africa. The work is diverse & exciting allowing for hands-on experience with a wide range of African wildlife including the "Big-5" (Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion & Leopard). Volunteers will also have opportunity to be party to decision-making & problem-solving processes and thus gain better insight to African wildlife conservation management & veterinary interventions.

Volunteers from all walks of life have participated in the past- from gap-year students to veterinary students (prospective & current) through to people simply looking for something alternative and adventurous. As a result each volunteer has his or her own level of experience & expectation which we recognise and attempt to accommodate as best we can. Some volunteers are looking for a holiday while others are looking to gain as much hands-on experience - injecting, handling & learning - as possible and so we allow them to chose their own level of involvement and ask questions at their own level of interest or technical complexity.

Volunteers are comfortably and securely accommodated in a cottage in the garden of Chap & Lisa's home in a rural farming setting ~20km north of Hluhluwe town in KwaZulu Natal Province of South Africa overlooking the beautiful Mun-ya-wana Private Game Reserve in which much of Chap's working time is spent.

Click here for Google Earth link to see local area map. 

Within the confines of the electrified perimeter fence there are housed one Chief Organiser, wife, mother figure & nurturer in the form of Lisa - mother to two boys - Huntley (5) & Reilly (3)- two orphaned baby White Rhino- "Khombe" & "Nyoni" (who get a lot of attention & 5 bottle feeds a day) - one nanny goat ("mBuzi"- who is "rhino companion designate"), 3 dogs ("Max" the Lab, "Bear" the Aussie Cattle Dog & "Aureo" the pavement special), two Jack-Russels ("Mischief" & her daughter "Muffin") & Chap.

Because the primary patients are wild game animals and there are no fixed practice times the very nature of the work is ebb-&-flow: some days are slow, some days are rained out, some days are frustratingly hampered by unforeseen circumstances but when things happen they tend to happen fast and often at short notice. There are often nights spent away from home - for example sleeping under the stars waiting for specific leopards to come "onto bait" or looking for lions that have escaped from a reserve or driving rhinos to a new home - and working conditions can be tough yet extremely rewarding. The work is highly variable and unpredictable - requiring us to change mental gears quickly.

To avoid confusion and false expectations it is important for the prospective volunteer to realise that there is very little actual surgery performed on wild animals in Africa. Veterinary treatments per se are typically of a medicinal nature. A significant part of our work is in animal capture - usually by darting but also by other means - for purposes of translocation - either to reduce ecological impact on the habitat or to establish new populations elsewhere or both.

It is also important to realise that work availability is subject to demand - we cannot create clinical cases to provide a constant stream of entertainment - so there will undoubtedly be "down days" during which volunteers have the option to experience different activities on offer in Zululand - from pristine beaches & exceptional deep sea diving to traditional cultural Zulu village tours - the list is endless and varied, giving volunteers a great opportunity to partake of a wide range of activities and gain an insight into South African histories and cultures.

Click here to see a list of some of these optional activities

Overall we hope to spread a message of responsible conservation to our participants through facilitating an un-forgettable working wildlife adventure!