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| This programme will enable you to to experience the dual
beauty of both our Wildlife Sanctuary in central Namibia and the stunning
surroundings of NamibRand Nature Reserve in the south of Namibia. You will get
involved first hand with all aspects of our conservation programme including
carnivore tracking out in the field. |
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You will receive an introduction to the project, large carnivore management, research
methods and conservation in Namibia.
Here, the N/a’an ku sê conservation research team aims to provide sound
scientific data on the densities, home ranges and territories of cheetahs, leopards and
hyenas. The programme works with the farmers to assess their problems and provides
assistance with regard to livestock/carnivore management practices to mitigate
human-wildlife and livestock-carnivore conflicts for the benefit of all.
Following breakfast, the volunteer day begins at 8am. Volunteers head out to the study area
for their morning activities led by the project coordinator and San (Bushman) tracker.
Regular activities usually include game counts, spoor counts, box trap checking, waterhole
observations, radio-telemetry tracking of collared animals and search for cheetah marking
trees.
Lunch is usually eaten back at the Wildlife Sanctuary or out in the field for all day
activities such as waterhole observation.
Volunteers return to their accommodation at 5.30pm or later for a cooked dinner.
Some time will be spent on data entry and analysis. You may also be involved in feeding
current captured carnivores, camp maintenance or building new camps if required. On some
occasions volunteer may be lucky enough to watch a carnivore capture, immobilisation and
collaring; we cannot predict when these will be and you will only get this opportunity if a
capture or release happens during your time with us.
In 2008, N/a’an ku sê and NamibRand initiated a rehabilitation programme for
cheetah and leopard that had been caught in other parts of Namibia or had been previously
confiscated by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism. The aim is to collect data to
assess the density, home ranges and movement patterns of released cats, gain a better
understanding of the animals' ecology and to evaluate whether cheetah and leopard can be
released/rehabilitated successfully into conservation areas to which they were formerly
indigenous.
On most days you will get up early for a quick breakfast; to increase the chance of
observing the carnivores in the field it is crucial to get started as early as possible. You
will spend time tracking previously released big cats with various techniques including VHF
and GPS based collars. You will experience magnificent vistas and a diverse array of unique
landscapes as you track the cats across their local habitats which include red sand dunes,
open glass plains, riverines and mountain ranges.
Usually lunch is taken in the field (sandwiches) but depending on the day's events the group
may return to base around noon for cooking. Field work is resumed in the afternoons.
Between late afternoon and early evening, the group will return to camp for dinner. In the
evenings you might undertake night waterhole observations (using night vision goggles), data
entry and processing or stargazing.
During your time on NamibRand you may also take part in activities to contribute to the
sightning's database, scat collection project, bird (raptor) monitoring and road kill
survey.
Please be flexible as activities can change due to the needs of the animals and project.
Volunteers need to be ready to take on any tasks that may be required of them, and to get
dirty in the process!
The project runs from March to November each year in three week slots starting on the
first week of each month. Four volunteers are able to take part in our Carnivore
Conservation Project at any one time to allow maximum involvement and reduce impact on the
animals. You can also choose to combine this project with our wildlife conservation,
teaching or medical volunteering programmes.
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