Cheetah rehabilitation and care

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Cheetah rehabilitation and care

South Africa

Join us for an unforgettable stay under the African sun, living and working with Africa’s most beautiful big cat, the cheetah. With just over 7,000 left in the wild, they are close to becoming declared an endangered species. Our team are working to increase the numbers of cheetah, ready for a totally wild release on game reserves and conservancies.

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PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Work hands on with cheetahs

Live in the beautiful African bush

Take cheetahs on bush walks and assist with fitness training and rehabilitation

Learn to assess potential release sites

Monitor released animals through GPS and tracking

Care for non breeding animals that have come to us for sanctuary, including lion, porcupines, jackals, genets and monkeys

This project will give you the opportunity to work hands on with these magnificent animals while contributing to real conservation efforts to save the cheetah from going extinct in the wild. You will assist with all aspects of care, feeding, veterinary medicine, rehabilitation and monitoring of the breeding, young and released cheetah.

Unlike other large felines, cheetahs are strong candidates for wild release after captive breeding. Their slow reproduction rate, natural shyness of humans, and selective hunting skills mean they can thrive safely on game parks and reserves. As such, the project aims to responsibly breed selected cheetah for the sole purpose of releasing their young back into the wild. To date, two releases on the 10,000 hectare Nambiti Private Game Reserve have occurred, and six more releases are due in 2019 and 2020.

Other goals of the project are to provide sanctuary for injured, old and orphaned animals that cannot be released. We also work towards the rescue and repatriation of older or mistreated cheetahs from zoos all over the globe and offer these animals a deserved the semi freedom of a ‘soft release’ in their final years.

Breeding only takes place for endangered cats that can be successfully released (Cheetah, Black Footed Cats, Servals, African Wild Cat.) Other animals that have come to the project for sanctuary include injured, orphaned and rescued lions, servals, caracals, meerkats, genets, vervet monkeys, bat eared foxes, honey badger, jackal and Porcupines.

KEY ACTIVITIES

As a volunteer, your day will be busy and exciting. You will be working with iconic species, making a real difference to conservation of cheetahs and directly improving the welfare for the sanctuary animals.

Assist with food preparation and feeding of the cheetah
Daily cleaning of enclosures
General camp upkeep
Tracking and monitoring released cheetah
Behaviour enrichment for sanctuary animals that are injured, or not suitable for release
Carry out data capture on behavior
Assist with fitness training and bush walks for the cats
Help improve the cheetah’s hunting skills, by ‘running’ cheetah with the lure machine
Bush clearing and creating pathways
Removal of invasive plant species
Maintenance work: building, painting or repair work for animal night enclosures and other structures

ACCOMMODATION

You will share same sex accommodation on site at the project, so it is just a short walk to the big cats each morning. Each room has two single beds, bedside tables and lamps.

There is hot and cold running water and a nice communal area to kick back and relax after a hard days work. The volunteer coordinators often run evening games, dinners and braais (a bbq under the stars), so you will never stop enjoying life in the African bush. On nights you do not eat with the coordinators, you will be able to cook for yourself from your own well stocked kitchen.

LOCATION

You will be living in the beautiful wide open South African Freestate, just outside of a qaint town called Bloemfontein. Here the sun rise and sun set can both be seen on the horrizon and the sounds of the bush echo quietly in the night. It is true African living. It takes 4 hours driving south of Johannesburg airport to reach the project and this will give you a chance to watch the landscape change, from the rich city structure, to the laid back vibe of the countryside.