Field conditions

As a conservation volunteer working with LEO Africa, your interests will be in animals, nature conservation, and research.

You must be reasonably fit to be able to spend many hours tracking and observing lion behaviour, identifying elephant and rhino, and game viewing in the spectacular Selati Game Reserve in the Limpopo Province of South Africa.

Life revolves around the animals' movements and most activity takes place in the early mornings, late afternoons, and frequently well into the night as you track lions or habituate elusive leopards. The baking heat of the middle day is usually spent at the base entering data, learning theory, equipment maintenance, house duties and just relaxing in the shade.

As a LEO volunteer you will receive training on all aspects of the conservation research work that will day. Most days follow a similar pattern: morning and afternoon drives during which you track, spot, observe, and record the behaviour of predators and large herbivores. Our priority is to locate the pride of lions and we include other research along the way including elephant identification, leopard habituation projects, collaring, and rhino condition evaluation.

And all the while you're on a permanent safari with the chance of seeing some of the Selati's resident wildlife population like cheetah, giraffe, eland, kudu, sable, zebra, hyena, nyala, and many more.