Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre

  South Africa

Hoedspruit

Durations of Program: 1-2 weeks, 2-4 weeks, 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks
Typical Duration of Program: 1-2 weeks
Dates: All Year

Description: The Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre plays a crucial role in conserving many endangered species of Africa. The work at Moholoholo involves rehabilitating injured and poisoned wildlife, the facilitation of breeding programmes, and endangered species monitoring. This placement is very hands-on, with volunteers helping to care for injured, sick and poisoned animals through preparing their food, feeding them and cleaning out there cages, as well as getting the opportunity to observe veterinary procedures.

Nestled in a picturesque setting at the base of the Drakensberg escarpment in the Limpopo Province Lowveld of South Africa, Moholoholo has become a haven for the rehabilitation and care of abandoned, injured and poisoned wildlife.

Wildlife is brought to the centre from all corners of South Africa, and once healthy enough are re-introduced into their natural environments. Those creatures who cannot be returned to the wild due to the nature and extent of their injuries, are cared for at the centre and are used to educate the many people who visit us each year, both from across South Africa and abroad.

Another important function of the centre is breeding. They have successfully bred and released into the wild the endangered Crowned Eagle, Serval and many others. Moholoholo strives to conserve what man is fast destroying through the rehabilitation of African wildlife.

The aims of the project are:

- Reintroduce rehabilitated wildlife to their natural environments.
- Create homes for orphaned, poisoned or injured wildlife, which through their injuries will never be able to return to their natural environments.
- Establish breeding facilities for our wildlife, which cannot be reintroduced into the wild.
- To work hand in hand with any other conservation bodies, whose objectives are totally for conservation.
- Through our educational programmes we stress how sensitive our ecosystem is and how fast we are losing it.

Highlights: Activities our volunteers may get involved with include:

- Hand rearing of orphaned animals
- The care and welfare of the permanent residents
- Game capture and relocation when appropriate
- Wildlife veterinary work occasional, and a mainly observatory role
- Attending call-outs to capture animals for relocation or to bring back to the centre for treatment
- The treatment and care of sick and injured animals, which can thereafter be released back into the wild

You will also gain first-hand knowledge and experience from the different projects, which have included:

- A very successful breeding programme for Serval Cats (a very rare feline species, which feeds mainly on small rodents and reptiles). Over 50 of these animals have been bred and released back into areas where they were previously abolished, such as Shamwari Game Reseve, where they are still successfully filling their niche and breeding.

- The Taita Falcon Project. The Taita Falcon (one of the rarest Falcon species in Africa) is to be bred at the centre. The conservation efforts of Moholoholo make a huge difference to many species, including raptors.

- A breeding programme for the endangered Crowned Eagle. Moholoholo is the only facility in Southern Africa to have successfully bred this Eagle species.

Qualifications: No qualifications required.

Cost in US$: 1099- 3599 GBP

Experience Required: no

Typical Volunteer: All of our experiences have been carefully selected to benefit individual volunteers as well as the placement that they attend. A typical volunteer is normally a young traveler who wants to put some thing back with their travels.

Age Range: 17 and above

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants. This Program is also open to Couples and Individuals

Participants Travel to South Africa in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups of 12

Application Process Involves:

• Written Application

Worldwide Experience's Mission Statement: Worldwide Experience strives to conserve what man is fast destroying- our own environment. We support conservation and community projects through the recruitment of volunteers from around the world to help work on these diverse, and worthwhile projects. If you are thinking of taking a Gap Year or even just want to get away for your summer break Worldwide Experience will have the placement to suit you. From 2 weeks-3 months, we have projects in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Sri Lanka, and our experienced team will help place you on a project that will suit your needs the most. Moreover, all the programmes have been set up with the needs and requirements of the placement in mind. This means that whether you're helping to dart a lion, track a cheetah, ID an elephant or teach a class of children, you are making a difference through your work there. Your safety is also in the forefront of our minds, and as a fully bonded tour operator, all volunteers booked to travel through us will be protected by bonding, as required by ABTA and ATOL. We can also organise all flights direct from our UK office.

Year Founded: 2003