This placement would suit... volunteer travelers interested in hands on work with the African lion at our Victoria Falls lion rehabilitation project. The Victoria Falls is also one of Africa’s greatest tourist spots and offers some of the World’s best white water rafting, helicopter flights over the Victoria Falls, day visits to Botswana’s Chobe National Park which offers the highest population of elephants in Africa.
 Project Highlights:- Walk alongside lions as part of the pride and enjoy the exhilaration of being part of a hunt as the young cubs learn to stalk their prey
- Bottle feed and help take care of younger lion cubs (should there be any on the project at the time, as this can be seasonal)
- Work on the world’s leading programme for the release of lions back into the wild.
- Experience the African bush in a very special way as you spend time out in the Masuwe Big 5 area where the lion project is based
- Conservation Education in local schools gives you a wonderful insight into the local community
- Immerse yourself in local Zimbabwean culture
- Make friends for life with the other international volunteers on the programme
The Lion Rehabilitation Programme Lions... This breeding and rehabilitation project is a World First and is supported by some of the worlds leading ecologists in this field. We invite you to walk with African Lions, to be involved in our in-depth research and data-collection activities and to help rehabilitate lions back into their natural environment.
Over 200,000 lions roamed the African continent as recently as 1975. In 2002 two surveys provided evidence of a dramatic decline estimating that only 23 to 39,000 remain, with the lowest estimate being just 16,500. This represents an 80 to 90% population decline in less than 30 years. It is widely accepted that the population has continued to decline in the subsequent years.
The end objective of the Antelope Park lion project, along with our Victoria Falls programme, is the rehabilitation of captive-bred lions into a wild environment so that their cubs, raised by the pride, can learn the skills necessary to ensure their successful reintroduction into the wild.  Spending time with the lions in the wild each day is an essential part of the cubs upbringing. If the cubs are to be successfully released it is important that they spend time out in a natural environment. They need to adapt to it, learn from it, understand, observe, feel and smell the wild. Since the start of this intensive programme, we have noted a marked increase in the Lions awareness of their natural surroundings, as well as an improvement in their hunting skills. The larger cubs are now able to take down smaller game species whilst out on walks, and these abilities are being enhanced each day whilst under the supervision of volunteers. These are invaluable discoveries, which have earned us further support for our world first endeavours. Join our team of professional guides and other dedicated volunteers, gain a deeper understanding of the King of Beasts and assist us in gathering vital information that will facilitate their eventual release back into the wild. Conservation Education In The Local CommunityWe believe that our work would be incomplete without involvement in the local community. We have recently developed an exciting Conservation Education syllabus that we are in the early stages of launching at the local schools in the Victoria Falls area. We firmly believe that one of the best long-term sustainable solutions for solving the conservation crisis that this country is currently facing is by educating local children and communities. Project Accommodation: - You will be staying at our volunteer house, Hunters House, in the town of Victoria Falls (10 minutes drive away from Masuwe). You will share a room with no more than 2 other volunteers, and we can also arrange for couples of groups of friends to share rooms. The accommodation is simple and rustic but comfortable and completely suited to your needs. - The accommodation has satellite television, a swimming pool and barbeque area and lovely green lawns - Hunters house is located an easy 20 minutes walk from Victoria Falls town centre
Our users sayWhat were some of the highlights of your placement with us? The biggest surprise and most brilliant part for me has been working with the lions in such a close-knit team. Not only have I learned more than I ever expected about the animals and their habitat, I've also made some brilliant friends and feel as though we've all helped to make a difference. Working in the community has been absolutely fantastic and I've been proud to be associated with the program. Utterly unforgettable. Rachael Lonsdale, UK Did you have any concerns before travelling to Africa? Can you suggest anything more that we could have done to ease these concerns? I was worried about the current situation in Zimbabwe which has not been expressed well on English TV... there really is no danger here! What were some of the highlights of your placement with us? The lions! Opportunity to go to Antelope Park, Rhino walk, Ellie rides and horse back safari. Kerry James, UK
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 | Welcome to African Impact - Africa's top on-the-ground facilitator of volunteer work. Our projects focus on making a measurable impact on the people and wildlife in Africa, while ensuring that our volunteers have a safe, enjoyable, adventurous, unforgettable and life-changing experience. We firmly believe that Africa needs to be 'experienced' and not just 'seen' - hence our motto: Explore, Inspire, Impact. We invite you to be more than a tourist - to be a traveller, a conservationist and a humanitarian. |
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