Big Cat & Elephant Research & Conservation
Masai Mara, Kenya
2 - 12 weeks of helping preserve Africa’s top predator in one of the world’s most famous wildlife areas
From $3,295 - $8,795
Location: Maasai Mara, Kenya
Trip starts every second Monday
Duration: 2 - 12 weeks
Impact: Wildlife Conservation
Nearest International airport: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO), Nairobi
Quick Facts
Introduction to the Project
This is a rare opportunity to join our team in the Pardamat Conservation Area, a newly established conservancy and a key area in the Greater Maasai Mara Ecosystem. As a volunteer, you will conduct applied wildlife research on three of Africa’s most iconic predators – the lion, cheetah and wild dog. You’ll also conduct research into the largest living land animal – the majestic elephant. This program gives you a unique opportunity to volunteer in one of Africa’s foremost biodiversity hotspots. You will witness spectacular displays of wildlife in their natural environment while at the same time conducting important research that contributes both to long-term conservation and ongoing conservancy management plans.
Some highlights include:
● Helping research big cats, elephant, and wild dog
● Using field-based monitoring and evaluation techniques
● Living in the greater Maasai Mara Ecosystem
● Engaging with and learning about the Maasai Culture
This volunteer program is ideal for big cat lovers, wildlife enthusiasts, and aspiring conservationists or zoologists.
The Destination - Masai Mara, Kenya
The Maasai Mara, part of the expansive Maasai Mara-Serengeti ecosystem, currently has 15 conservancies. These conservancies cover over 300 000 acres and provide connected critical wildlife habitats that complement the current protected area network, providing secure wildlife migratory corridors. The conservancies are established under the rationale of conserving the environment and its wildlife alongside a mandate to protect, empower and improve the livelihood of the local Maasai communities.
You will be based at the newly developed educational and research hub in Pardamat Conservation Area: The Wildlife Tourism College of the Maasai Mara. Most of the volunteer work and research you will be conducting will be based within Pardamat, a dynamic dual use conservation area where 850 Maasai landowners have legally registered their 26,000 acres as a wildlife conservation area, while continuing to live and to care for their livestock within certain zones of the conservancy. There will also be occasional visits to neighboring conservancies such as Naboisho Conservancy, as well as the opportunity to visit the Maasai Mara National Reserve.
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Your accommodation, situated at the Wildlife Tourism College in the heart of the wilderness and nestled against the backdrop of the Pardamat Hills, offers a truly authentic and unique experience. You will be housed in comfortable permanent safari-style tents with magnificent views of the plains stretching away to the south and the rift valley escarpment to the west. There is also a library and an IT center which you will be able to access. The Wildlife Tourism College and accommodation area is not fenced, allowing wildlife to pass through the area freely. As such Maasai security guards (askaris) are employed to ensure our volunteers’ safety by escorting them between the common area and their accommodations, especially after dark.
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Meals are prepared by a local chef employed from the community and there is a common area where you can eat and socialize with other volunteers and Maasai students enrolled at the college. Three meals and drinking water are provided daily. Breakfast is continental style. Lunch and dinner is normally a hot meal, with a varied menu that incorporates local and international cuisines. We can accommodate most dietary requirements if notified before your arrival.
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WiFi is available at the common areas of the Wildlife Tourism College, a short walk (about 200m) from the tented accommodation. If you wish to use the internet at night, you will need to purchase a local SIM card and internet bundles.
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Traditionally, the wet season begins in November and goes on until May, but there are a couple of dry months in January and February. Days are often overcast, with showers in the afternoon, and chilly mornings with temperatures that hover around 13°C (55°F). The dry season is from June to October. You’ll enjoy warm weather during the day, although there may be a shower or two at times and cold weather at night.
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January 9th & 23rd
February 6th & 20th
March 6th & 20th
April 3rd &17th
May 1st, 15th, & 29th
June 12th & 26th
July 10th & 24th
August 7th & 21st
September 4th & 18th
October 2nd, 16th & 30th
November 13th & 27th
December 4th – project closes December 18th, 2023
As a volunteer, the data you gather will contribute to the Mara Predator Conservation Programme, a flagship initiative coordinated by Kenya Wildlife Trust. This program brings together communities, conservancy rangers, and tourism partners across the Greater Mara’s conservancies in an effort to help secure the future of lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs in these areas through tracking, monitoring, and understanding their behavior. You will go on daily game drives in Pardamat and some of the surrounding conservancies to track, identify, monitor and record big cats and wild dog.
Big Cat Monitoring & Wild Dog Monitoring
You will conduct regular game counts along transects or within sample areas, in particular the wildlife corridors within Pardamat Conservation Area to monitor the distribution of wildlife across the conservancy, their movement, and trends over time. This empowers conservation efforts by measuring the improvements in wildlife density and movement patterns in the conservancy. In particular, volunteers collect data on elephant sightings, including the location, size, and composition of elephant groups. Elephants require large dispersal areas and move between Maasai Mara National Reserve, neighboring conservancies, and community land as part of their migration route. This data is reviewed regularly by the conservation area’s management team and is also shared with researchers to ensure coordinated ecological monitoring efforts spread across the Greater Mara landscape.
Game Counts
Pardamat Conservation Area is not immune to environmental problems. Soil erosion and invasive species can significantly impact and alter the environment in a detrimental way. Volunteers partake in physical conservation initiatives to enhance the health of the ecosystem for it to successfully support its inhabitants. These initiatives are conducted in cooperation with the conservation area’s management team and include, alien plant species removal, soil erosion control, grass monitoring, game drive routing, road identification, de-fencing exercises, collection of litter, road repairs, and joining the Pardamat Conservation Area staff in putting up predator proof boma’s for Maasai Mara herders to keep their livestock safe at night.
