PHINDA is an excellent project and
is particularly excellent for those who currently work in a
research environment, or who want to work in a research environment in
the future.
Your placement
will be centred around the monitoring of two IUCN Red Listed species, namely the
African Elephant and the White Rhinoceros. The project is run in partnership with the
University of KwaZulu-Natal's School of Biological and Conservation Sciences.
The
miraculous RETURN of the BIG FIVE: Elephant, Leopard, Lion, Rhino and Buffalo: "In a single decade,
Phinda had become a model of what could happen all over Africa. Once again
nature had the upper hand."
Molly
Buchanan, author of "The Return"
Phinda means
“Return” in Zulu and is one of Africa’s miracle stories of how degraded
farm land has been restored to its natural glory and now sustains a
diversity of species, including the famous “Big Five” .
Phinda Private Game
Reserve is situated in the lush subtropical Maputaland region in
northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The seven
different ecosystems guarantees an abundance of wildlife including lion,
leopard, elephant, black and white rhino, buffalo, as well as other
charismatic African species such as cheetah, hyena, nyala, reedbuck,
giraffe, zebra, hippo, crocodile and over 380 bird species.
The restoration of this reserve started more than a decade ago and is
considered one of the prime models of ecotourism development in the
world. The objectives of visionary and world renowned safari operators
CCAfrica for this project were the consolidation of degraded and
undervalued land; rehabilitating and restocking the land; and creating
rural wealth and generating financial returns through ecotourism.
The Philosophy of the owners of Phinda – Care
of the Land, Care of the Wildlife, Care of the People – is
evident everywhere you go. For example, during the building of Phinda
Forest Lodge in a rare sand forest, not a single tree was uprooted and
the lodge was built amongst and around the ancient trees.
.
Polly Tayler helping to put a collar
on an elephant during her project
Bump and Inkerman - photo
taken while monitoring the elephants
Conservation Achievements and
YOUR ability to contribute to the future of this Reserve:
Monitoring animals using the GPS equipment "I was very lucky to be at the world's first
ever elephant sterilization, part of an ongoing population control program, on
my Big 5 placement at Phinda in South Africa. The 5-hour operation was
performed by vets from Disney and San Diego Zoo. I got to monitor
Maduku's for several weeks after the operation to make sure she was
recovering well. I am happy to say she made a full recovery!"
David Youldon
ACHIEVEMENTS
OVER THE PAST DECADE:
Protection of strategic conservation land:
working towards the prospect of incorporating the Phinda area within a
Greater St Lucia World Heritage Site
Protection of ecological biodiversity:
one of the most striking aspects of Phinda is its enormous range of niches
for animals and plants to thrive
Ecological restoration: the ecological rehabilitation programme aimed to
repair the damage caused by decades of inappropriate farming
Game restocking: over 1,500 head of game were introduced and the reserve now
has the largest privately owned population of nyala in the world.
Phinda was
the site of the first adult elephant translocation from Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou
Game Reserve. In 1994, a breeding herd of elephants was successfully
translocated to Phinda from the Kruger National Park.
The big
cat population has also increased significantly at Phinda - the cheetah numbers
have more than doubled since their reintroduction in 1991. In 1996, two Phinda
cheetah were swapped with the Pilanesberg for two of their Namibian-translocated
cheetah in an effort to further enhance the Phinda cat gene pool. A further 13
lions were relocated to other reserves to supplement the depleted lion stocks
and introduce new genes.
Phinda and
its neighbours were the first partner site for the WWF (World Wildlife Fund for
Nature)’s Black Rhino Range Expansion Project. KwaZulu-Natal has a world-class
track record of innovative and successful rhino conservation and this Project is
a continuation of that history.
The aim of the project is to increase the
numbers of the critically endangered black rhino by increasing the land
available for their conservation, thus reducing pressure on existing reserves
and providing new territory in which they can breed up quickly.
Your Project
Work
Nick Madden using telemetry equipment to find elephants Elspeth
viewing elephants
Amy scribing data
MINI PROJECTS & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Your placement
will be centred around the monitoring of two IUCN Red Listed species, namely the
African Elephant and the White Rhinoceros. The project is run in partnership with the
University of KwaZulu-Natal's School of Biological and Conservation Sciences.
These research and monitoring projects are undertaken in collaboration with a
wide range of South African and international academics, and managers and
ecologists working in conservation areas.
These projects are aimed at answering key management questions, aimed primarily
at understanding management of large mammals in small conservation areas. The
research takes a holistic perspective of conservation, integrating many abiotic
(e.g. fire, topography, rainfall) and biotic (e.g. vegetation, herbivory,
predation) factors in understanding conservation of biodiversity. The projects
have a solid academic background, with results published in international
academic journals.
Your project host, Tarryne,
is busy with her Masters degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is very
knowledgeable on the behavior of rhino and elephant.
ELEPHANT PROGRAMME:
Aims of the Elephant research programme:
To quantify
the influence of elephant diet on vegetation in different habitat types
through vegetation surveys.
To identify
all elephants at Phinda.
To monitor
the effect of removals of elephants on the remaining population.
To model
the population growth of elephant at Phinda, including social demography
such as herd fission/fusion.
To make
recommendations for elephant population size for sustainable management of
the existing biological diversity.
To generate
an elephant management plan for Phinda.
Objectives:
To
describe and quantify the diet of individually identified elephants through
behavioral observations.
To
model the population growth of elephant at Phinda, including social
demography such as herd fission/fusion.
To
quantify the influence of elephant browsing on selected rare woody species.
To
make recommendations for elephant population size for sustainable management
of the existing biological diversity.
To
assist management in selecting elephant groups for removal to other
reserves.
Your average day’s work:
Tracking by vehicle.
Almost all of our work in Phinda is conducted from a vehicle. At this stage five
elephants (cows) have radio-collars, but we have to find the remaining cows and
all the bulls the old-fashioned way. We use spoor and other signs to locate the
elephants. Once they are located we collect information on the group
composition, including identifications. Drives may take half or a whole day
depending on our success and the part of the reserve in which we are operating.
You will be trained in use of the radio-tracking equipment.
Behavioural observations.
Once the elephants are sighted, we spend time with the group collecting detailed
observations, particularly on their time budgets and movement strategies. You
have a key role to play here, as you will assist in collecting data on more than
one animal at a time, and also free up my hands to focus on the animals. You
will assist in counting animals, in identifying animals, in aging and sexing
animals, and, most importantly, in taking data on their behaviour. Having an
extra pair of hands and eyes is often critical!
Administrative tasks.
Administration tasks normally comprise about two days a week. These may be
spread through the week, or take place on two complete days (depending on
schedule or weather). The administration is a critical component of theproject, and the extra pair of computer literate hands is a key element
in enabling us to undertake this work. Duties include entry of data into the
computer, scanning and organizing photographs, drawing individual elephant 's
identification templates, processing elephant dung samples, processing
vegetation samples and updating the database systems.
WHITE RHINO PROGRAMME
Aims of the White Rhino research programme:
To
assist management in creating a management plan for white rhinos at Phinda.
To
determine the home ranges of individual white rhinos in Phinda.
To
understand white rhino movement patterns.
Objectives:
To
identify animals through the existing ear-notch system.
To
identify un-notched individuals.
To
determine ages and sexes of all animals.
To
assist management in making decisions on which white rhinos to relocate to
other reserves.
Your work:
Your activities on the white
rhino project are essentially similar as to what you will be doing on the
elephant research, i.e. assisting in locating individuals, identifying, aging
and sexing individuals, and recording behavioural
observations.
Down-time/time-off.
Because we work in a
reserve, there are often unpredictable interventions that effect our work. For
example, the electricity may go off, or we may have vehicle problems. In this
case you will have time to yourself to relax and deal with personal issues. At
least one day per week will be allocated as time-off for rest and relaxation.
ACCOMMODATION
Sedated lions being given a health-check
before being woken up and released back into the wild
You will be
accommodated in research accommodation set aside by the reserve. This is an old
farmhouse which generally has running water and electricity, but these services
may occasionally be interrupted due to the remoteness of the site.
The house is
situated in a lovely, serene setting in a part of the Reserve. Warthog are regular visitors
on your lawn and you will often see antelope and zebra grazing close to your
home.
You will share your accommodation with research staff based on other projects
such as leopard and black rhino monitoring and will from time to time have other
researchers and volunteers staying with you. You may be invited to go along on
some of these other projects if and when required, but they don't necessarily
form part of your project allocation.
You will have your own room, with shelf space for your clothes, a fan, and
mosquito machine and net.
There will generally be a second volunteer on the project with you, where there
is usually a two week overlap. You will share the kitchen and two bathrooms. The
kitchen consists of a fridge, a freezer, sink and a small stove and small oven.
You will be allocated a cash food allowance and be responsible for buying and
preparing your own food. Shopping trips to the local grocery store will be
undertaken every two weeks. Some of the volunteers decide to pool their food
allowances and cook together.
The project staff drink rain water that is collected in tanks outside the house.
If you prefer to buy bottled water, remember to budget for that as well as for
soft drinks, snacks etc. in your food allowance.
A cleaning lady might come In a few times a week, but you are expected to “keep
your patch clean and tidy”, e.g. washing your own dishes, clothes, etc. Cleaning
staff are not provided by the project and volunteers and research staff might
decide to club together and ask a local lady to assist them with cleaning and
washing and share the costs. This is a great way to contribute to the local
community which is very poor.
You will be approximately 1 hour's drive from the nearest town, Hluhluwe. It is
a typical small town KwaZulu-Natal style. Shopping facilities are basic but
sufficient – no department stores or malls, but adequate access to a doctor,
pharmacy, general dealer and basic clothing store. There is an Internet Café in
Hluhluwe.
PRICES
Our project partners:
To see the Prices of this project and all
our other projects in South Africa, please
click here
Prices
include
Food & accommodation while on your project,
unless otherwise stated,
2 T-shirts, if required
for your project
All support and backup
during your programme
Meeting you at the
nearest airport, where appropriate, but exclude international travel.
.
+44 01903 502595
