Masai Mara Big Cat, Wildlife Research & Conservation Project Detail

Masai Mara Big Cat, Wildlife Research & Conservation Project

2012 Prices for this project:

2 Weeks - GBP 1035 | USD 1860| E 1345
4 Weeks - GBP 1685 | USD 3025 | E 2185
6 Weeks - GBP 2275 | USD 4095 | E 2960

You will be stationed at our volunteer base in the wild Kenyan Mara Naboisho Consevancy, which borders the world famous Masai Mara National Reserve. The Mara has an abundance of wildlife all year round and is renowned for its annual Great Migration. You will be spoilt by the variety of wildlife and vast Masai Mara plains.

The Mara is home to 'The Greatest Wildlife Show on Earth' in the form of the Great Migration that takes place every year. The migration includes over one million animals and the sheer magnificence of the display makes it one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

General Information on Volunteer Involvement
Both qualified and non-qualified volunteers can join this project. Your qualification will determine your level and area of involvement at the different placements.

Volunteer Involvement is in the following areas: 

CONSERVATION PROJECTS

Big Cat Monitoring Projects
The Mara Predator Research Project: The Mara Predator Project monitors lions in the northern conservancies of the Masai Mara. Through identifying individual   lions, the project is working to understand pride movements and dynamics, track population changes, and identify key lion areas so that effective conservation efforts can be applied. Many of the region’s lions have been compiled on an online database (www.livingwithlions.org/mara), allowing lodge guides and guests to participate in monitoring activities. African Impact works closely with the Mara Predator Project, and volunteers play an important part in monitoring the prides local to Mara Naboisho Conservancy.

Volunteers will be involved in tracking and photographing lions on early morning game drives, using photographs to identify individual lions. Through regular observations, volunteers will help to compile lion profiles, plot the movements of cats on monthly lion maps, and take notes on the size and structure of prides. This is an exciting way to contribute to research conducted on one of the most important lion populations in Africa. African Impact project co-ordinators have been trained by the Mara Predator Project team and will help volunteers to use our GPS loggers, camera and computer. However, if you are a keen photographer and have a camera of your own, we strongly encourage you to bring it with you to take full    advantage of the wildlife viewing opportunities you will encounter.

Mara-Naboisho Lion Project:  Naboisho Conservancy has a full time based lion project called Mara-Naboisho Lion Project (www.mnlp.org), led by wildlife biologist Niels Mogensen. Together with The Mara Predator Project and African Impact volunteers, Mara-Naboisho Lion Project is conducting general lion demography and lion monitoring.  In addition to this, Mara-Naboisho Lion Project will be conducting research on spatial dynamics and social ecology. The project aims to get a clearer picture of the habits and preferences of lions living in the core and those at the edges, utilizing both the conservancy and the unprotected ranch lands. The ultimate goal is to have a healthy and increasing lion population.

Teaching at the Koiyaki Guiding School and involving the local community, informing about the lion project, wildlife and conservation also plays a role in the project. The Mara-Naboisho Lion Project will be based part time at the Koiyaki Guiding School, spending time with volunteers and working closely with the African Impact coordinators.  

Masai Mara Cheetah Monitoring:  Our volunteers also work together with the Kenya Wildlife Trust, to monitor the cheetahs within the Naboisho Conservancy and get involved with monitoring, data collection, GPS location, time of sightings, and general activities of the individual Cheetah.  Different photographs of the individuals are taken for identification and profiling purposes.

Elephant Research with Elephant Partners
This project is run in partnership with ElephantVoices.  The project aims to build a community of people sharing their knowledge about the elephants of the Masai Mara ecosystem and working together to monitor and protect them. The Conservancy is one of the most important refuges for the Mara elephants. You will be responsible for taking ID photos of elephants, getting to know them individually, and collecting observations on the location, size and composition of elephant groups on Naboisho and surrounding areas. Through your work you will help to build up knowledge of the Mara elephants and contribute to their conservation.
http://facebook.com/elephantpartners

There is also a great need for the consistent and accurate collection of data on the Conservancy, including regular censuses of the wild animal population in the area. Under the guidance of the experienced conservancy team, you will assist in the regular collection of this data in order to empower the conservation efforts further and measure the progress of the conservancy. Conservation projects will also include game drive routing, road identification and crossing marking, species recording and wildlife monitoring, depending on the needs of the conservancy.

KOIYAKI GUIDING SCHOOL
85% of the tourism guides in the Masai Mara are not from the area, with only a handful of the local people benefiting from the tourism business due to a lack of the required skills.

The Koiyaki project is an initiative to place guiding in the Mara in the hands of the local people – after all, it is their own ‘back yard.’ The school and wilderness camp is owned by the Koiyaki community and is now under the guidance of the Basecamp Foundation.

Volunteers are privileged to have interactive sessions with the students of Koiyaki Guiding School, where a transfer of skills and knowledge occurs. Volunteers present topics ranging from customer service, guiding principles, communication skills or any particular areas of interest/expertise which may be beneficial to the students. Weekly debates also occur encouraging confidence in presentation and communication and these are always a fun way to discuss the more topical issues of conservation in the Mara and the way of life of the Masai.

OLESERE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Olesere Primary School is located within the conservancy and has approximately 250 students enrolled, ranging from pre-school to grade 6.  The school itself is very basic and there is much potential to develop the facilities further. Thanks to the Headmaster, there is noticeable pride in the school by both the community and the children. The school now has five classrooms and a pre-school unit.

Volunteers will be involved in running an environmental club once a week with select students at the school and focusing on developing English skills through interactive methods while encouraging a passion for wildlife, the environment and conservation. These students will then be responsible for transferring their learning and skills to other students at the school through workshops and presentations.

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