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South Africa Big Cat Research Short term Internship (Directory Program)

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  • Locations: Limpopo, South Africa
  • Program Terms: Academic Year, Calendar Year, Fall, J-Term, Jan Term, Janterm, May Term, Semester, Spring, Summer, Summer I, Summer II, Summer III, Summer IV, Trimester, Winter
  • Homepage: Click to visit
  • Program Sponsor: GVI 
Fact Sheet:
Fact Sheet:
Click here for a definition of this term Language of Instruction: English Housing Options: Dormitory, Hostel/Hotel, Other
Click here for a definition of this term Areas of Study: Animal Science, Environmental Studies, Internships, Service Internship, Service Learning, Veterinary Science Program Type: Field Study, Internship Abroad, Study Abroad, Volunteer Abroad, Work Abroad
Click here for a definition of this term Program: Direct
Program Description:

South Africa Big Cat Research Internship

Contribute to big cat conservation and participate in other valuable wildlife research in South Africa. Go on a wildlife safari adventure in a private South African nature reserve while contributing directly to conservation efforts. Listen to the quiet hush of the wild open spaces, waking each morning to a chorus of savannah birds and drifting off to the nighttime hum of endemic frogs and crickets. Learn to identify predators, like lions, cheetahs, and leopards, as well as megaherbivores like elephants and rhinos. Master radio telemetry techniques and learning how to track and record animal movements. In your free time, visit the famous Kruger National Park, only an hour away from where the GVI base is located or visit the nearby Drakensberg Mountains where awe-inspiring vistas are afforded over the Blyde River Canyon. Live and work alongside Field Guide Association of South Africa, FGASA, qualified guides, growing personally and professionally by learning from their experiences.

Big 5 Wildlife cheetah
Program Focus:
  1. Big Cat Conservation - Take your first steps towards your career in conservation and making a lasting contribution to the preservation of African big cats, seeing them in their natural habitat.
  2. Track & Sign - learn to track African wildlife and how to use this skill in day-to-day applications. Be taught practical experience and be assessed on a frequent basis to be able to quantify your skills in tracking animals, including the Big 5.
  3. Camera Trap Research - manage your own segment of a wide scale camera trap study, analysing data from cryptic species occurring on the range, building information that goes towards the greater data set with the possibilities of being put into scientific journals.
  4. Southern Africa Ecology - be given the opportunity to learn core scientific principles of environmental conservation whilst surrounded by one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world that touch millions of people every year.
Program Highlights:
  • Implanted lions and cheetahs
  • General predator monitoring, monitoring their distribution, feeding ecology, competition, sustainability. 
  • General predator and mega-herbivore monitoring.
  • Hyena, leopard, lion, cheetah, elephant, rhino and buffalo.
  • Spatial distribution, feeding focuses, rhino monitoring.
  • General game counts - Sustainability, distribution and sex and age ratios.
  • Reserve work - Community outreach and environmental education.
  • ILM Leadership training.
To learn more about this program, check out this video https://youtu.be/V4KPTWKxU-c