Kenya Wildlife. Volunteering Abroad Africa Animal Wilderness Internships

Jubileeventures.org offers you the opportunity to work with lions and other carnivores within the buffer zone of Tsavo West National park at Rombo village.

Project Overview

The Jubilee ventures Wildlife project in Kenya provides a unique experience working with lions in Africa. The distribution of lions previously included Africa, Europe, South Asia and the Americas. But the lion is now extinct in northern Africa, the Americas and Europe. 1996 free ranging lion population estimates in Africa were in the range of 30,00 to 100,000. By 2004, the estimated lion population had declined to 23,000. This underscores the significance of conserving this important but almost

endangered species.

International volunteers and interns abroad in this project will work hand-in-hand with zoologists, wildlife researchers and camp managers to support conservation of lion in Rombo – Kenya. Here, in the bufferzone of Tsavo West national park, interns, volunteers and study abroad students will document the status of the lion including numbers, dietary habits, competition and human-animal conflict, using on-the-vehicle surveys.

Research Objectives
The interns/volunteers will work towards achieving the following set of research objectives.

Lion Numbers: Determine the number of lions in the area through direct or indirect lion data collection.
Lion Diet: Determine the typical diet of a lion. This will be done by observation of skills and examination of the scats colleted and augmented by counting the wild herbivores in the core area of the lion range. .
Conflicts and Attitudes: The perception of community towards the lion by following up and recording reports of lion attacks and comparing that to the reports made to Kenya Wildlife Services. A questionnaire will also be administered on the people’s perception of the large carnivores including the lions, leopards, cheetahs and hyenas.
Competition with Other Carnivores: Numbers of other predators that compete with the lion for the same prey including, leopards, cheetahs and hyenas will be recorded.

Duties and Activities
Under the guidance of local scientists and technicians, interns and volunteers in the lion project will be involved in carrying out the on-the-truck surveys to:

Count lion numbers in the wilderness and take pictures of the animals where possible.
Record numbers of competitor carnivores including leopard, cheetah, hyena, jackal, wild dog, etc.
Observe and examine lion dung and herbivores in the core area of the lion range to determine type of prey including impala, gazelle, hartebeest, dik-dik, waterbuck, bushbuck, zebra, kudu, buffalo, etc.
Recording reports of lion attacks by talking to local people and comparing that to the reports made to Kenya Wildlife Services.

A vehicle survey will be conducted daily from 6 am to 11 am; then 3 pm to 6 pm. Four to five days in a week will be used for this work. The interns, volunteers and wildlife students will fill the lion study-identification sheets, which will later be used for analysis.

Anticipated Benefits

On completion of the research, the data will be extensively used in aiding with the conservation efforts for the lion in Kenya. Data will also help identify the causes and trends of human/animal conflict in the area, and come up with concrete suggestions on how these can be managed. Participation in this project will also enhance your research and social work skills as well as provide you with international exposure.

Accommodation and Logistics
Unless otherwise provided, three local meals per day are provided as is daily transportation to and from work. All our African wildlife volunteers and interns are accommodated in camping tents within the project area. International volunteers and interns abroad with wildlife projects are required to bring their own warm sleeping bag - a foam mattresses is provided.

Arrival Dates

Elephant Project: 16th of every month;
Lion Project: 3rd of every month.
Combined Wildlife Placement: Arrive on either of the two dates.
Combined with non-wildlife programs/projects - Arrival on 1st or 3rd Wednesday of every month.

For other logistics - click here.

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