Elephant Care and Research
Location: Western Cape
Start dates: First and third Monday of every month
Duration: 2 - 12 weeks
Cost: From £695 / $1095 - see pricing table below
How will I make a difference?
Volunteers help the park staff to feed and care for nine elephants which is no small task! Volunteers are an incredibly important part of the park and its research unit. They enable the park to include more individual elephants in their studies and to study these animals for longer periods of time, which allows for greater insight and understanding of this fascinating species.
Having volunteers to assist with the research has allowed the park to include additional projects into their schedule. The knowledge gained from this research adds to the advice they are able to provide for the optimal care and management of captive elephants. This is crucial for the wellbeing of captive elephants around the world as there is a significant lack of research carried out in this field.
There is also a personal satisfaction gained when the elephants start to recognise you and trust you; you will become part of the herd! Volunteers act as ambassadors for the park and its elephants by helping to spread the word about elephants and their research, welfare and conservation issues.
Elephant volunteering in South Africa: What will I be doing?
Volunteers normally work 5 days a week with two days off (Saturday and Sunday), however you may be asked to work over weekends or evenings should the need arise. Generally volunteers start at 6.30am and finish at 5.30pm.
Volunteer jobs are varied but include the following elephant care tasks:
This creates an awe-inspiring experience as you will be contributing to all aspects of elephant research, education, husbandry and conservation. As you are based in a large park, volunteers are able to get involved in all aspects including research, marketing, functions, maintenance, training, and guiding.
There are usually 7-9 volunteers at the project at any one time, with a maximum of 12.
More about the projectThe park began in 1994 when the owner discovered that the population of elephants in the area had plummeted from 400-500 to just 1 elephant cow in 118 years. The aim was to bring elephants back to the area. The park was the first captive elephant operation of its kind in South Africa. The purpose of the park is to provide a home to elephants in need, providing them with an improved environment, which they certainly get; the elephants are free to spend their days roaming within the 110 hectare park!
The park is well respected for its research efforts; it highlighted the serious lack of research done on captive elephants in South Africa, particularly with respect to their welfare and husbandry, within their own unique environments. Consequently, in 2009 the park established the first captive elephant research unit dedicated to captive elephants. The unit aims to conduct and facilitate research studies of elephants at the park and at other parks across South Africa and promotes ethical, non-harmful research of elephants. This research aims to guide management of captive elephants. Information that is also relevant to wild elephants will be used to improve their protection and conservation. The park aims to achieve conservation through education.
Location and free time
You’ll be living in the park which is located near Plettenberg Bay which is on the famous Garden Route (a popular tourist route due to its great beaches and numerous attractions).
During your free time you are encouraged to explore the local area. You may wish to explore the variety of tourist attractions that the Garden Route offers, these include bird sanctuaries, game and nature reserves, Monkeyland, whale watching, bungee jumping, surfing, sky diving and many more. There are discounts available to volunteers for many of these activities.
Volunteer accommodationThe volunteer house is located in the park and contains comfortable dorm style bedrooms. On a quiet night, you will probably be able to hear the elephants snoring from your bed! The rooms may be shared with two or three other volunteers depending on the number of volunteers present at the time. Each bedroom has an en suite bathroom with a toilet and shower. Volunteers have WIFI internet access at the volunteer accommodation. There is a fully equipped kitchen in the house for volunteers to prepare food.
What’s included and where your money goes?
Prices For placements starting before 31 December 2013
2 weeks £695
Extra weeks £200
For placements starting after 1 January 2014
2 weeks £725
Extra weeks £225
Start dates: First and third Monday of every month
Duration: 2 - 12 weeks
Cost: From £695 / $1095 - see pricing table below
How will I make a difference?
Volunteers help the park staff to feed and care for nine elephants which is no small task! Volunteers are an incredibly important part of the park and its research unit. They enable the park to include more individual elephants in their studies and to study these animals for longer periods of time, which allows for greater insight and understanding of this fascinating species.
Having volunteers to assist with the research has allowed the park to include additional projects into their schedule. The knowledge gained from this research adds to the advice they are able to provide for the optimal care and management of captive elephants. This is crucial for the wellbeing of captive elephants around the world as there is a significant lack of research carried out in this field.
There is also a personal satisfaction gained when the elephants start to recognise you and trust you; you will become part of the herd! Volunteers act as ambassadors for the park and its elephants by helping to spread the word about elephants and their research, welfare and conservation issues.
Elephant volunteering in South Africa: What will I be doing?
Volunteers normally work 5 days a week with two days off (Saturday and Sunday), however you may be asked to work over weekends or evenings should the need arise. Generally volunteers start at 6.30am and finish at 5.30pm.
Volunteer jobs are varied but include the following elephant care tasks:
- Preparing food for the elephants
- Preparing milk bottles and feeding baby elephants (this will depend on whether there are any babies at the time)
- General maintenance eg mucking out pens, general cleaning, painting
- Environmental education including visits to the children's shelter to run eco-educational activities
- Making elephant enrichments
- Gardening; growing food for the elephants
- Dung recycling projects (this helps to raise funds for the research unit)
This creates an awe-inspiring experience as you will be contributing to all aspects of elephant research, education, husbandry and conservation. As you are based in a large park, volunteers are able to get involved in all aspects including research, marketing, functions, maintenance, training, and guiding.
There are usually 7-9 volunteers at the project at any one time, with a maximum of 12.
More about the projectThe park began in 1994 when the owner discovered that the population of elephants in the area had plummeted from 400-500 to just 1 elephant cow in 118 years. The aim was to bring elephants back to the area. The park was the first captive elephant operation of its kind in South Africa. The purpose of the park is to provide a home to elephants in need, providing them with an improved environment, which they certainly get; the elephants are free to spend their days roaming within the 110 hectare park!
The park is well respected for its research efforts; it highlighted the serious lack of research done on captive elephants in South Africa, particularly with respect to their welfare and husbandry, within their own unique environments. Consequently, in 2009 the park established the first captive elephant research unit dedicated to captive elephants. The unit aims to conduct and facilitate research studies of elephants at the park and at other parks across South Africa and promotes ethical, non-harmful research of elephants. This research aims to guide management of captive elephants. Information that is also relevant to wild elephants will be used to improve their protection and conservation. The park aims to achieve conservation through education.
Location and free time
You’ll be living in the park which is located near Plettenberg Bay which is on the famous Garden Route (a popular tourist route due to its great beaches and numerous attractions).
During your free time you are encouraged to explore the local area. You may wish to explore the variety of tourist attractions that the Garden Route offers, these include bird sanctuaries, game and nature reserves, Monkeyland, whale watching, bungee jumping, surfing, sky diving and many more. There are discounts available to volunteers for many of these activities.
Volunteer accommodationThe volunteer house is located in the park and contains comfortable dorm style bedrooms. On a quiet night, you will probably be able to hear the elephants snoring from your bed! The rooms may be shared with two or three other volunteers depending on the number of volunteers present at the time. Each bedroom has an en suite bathroom with a toilet and shower. Volunteers have WIFI internet access at the volunteer accommodation. There is a fully equipped kitchen in the house for volunteers to prepare food.
What’s included and where your money goes?
- A comprehensive information booklet
- Support from your dedicated volunteer manager within the PoD UK team
- Travel advice and assistance
- Return transfers from George airport
- Induction and training
- Accommodation (a shared room)
- T-shirt to work in
- Support from the volunteer coordinator
Prices For placements starting before 31 December 2013
2 weeks £695
Extra weeks £200
For placements starting after 1 January 2014
2 weeks £725
Extra weeks £225