The briefing notes inform me that my primary responsibility as a volunteer will be managing the lions. Now I have a reasonable amount of experience in line management, but not an awful lot in lion management. Further investigation reveals that this will encompass monitoring their behaviour, general well-being and checking the fence lines, but not petting them (like I would!).Other responsibilities will include herbivore monitoring: elephants, rhino, giraffe, buffalo, wildebeest as well as various species of antelope. The task at hand is to log sightings, identify individuals, create an age chart and family tree listings, conduct population counts, monitor territorial ranges, breeding, health and feeding preferences, and monitor competition between the species. This seems easier said than done.
Aside from the work with animals, there are a number of other conservation activities to be undertaken on the reserve, including:
- Plant monitoring and herbarium development
- Wetland and watering hole management
- Alien plant control (aka weeding)
- Erosion control
- Road maintenance (particularly looking forward to this)
- Boma maintenance (not a clue)
- Bush clean and clear up
- Fence patrol and maintenance
The brief concludes that reserve duties may change at any time, which means that no week at Amakhala is the same. Sounds like my kind of job.
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