Volunteer vet, Monica and her husband, Andrea, went on an exciting adventure to Malawi to volunteer with Majete Wildlife Reserve. The Majete Wildlife Reserve is a protected area for key species to thrive – it has become one of Africa’s best conservation success stories. We support African Parks Majete with vital conservation efforts, with a veterinary care centre based within the reserve. While also assisting the park with wildlife monitoring and population management.
The transformation in the Majete Wildlife Reserve is a testament to a dedicated conservation effort, ensuring a balanced and thriving ecosystems for generations to come, which volunteers play a vital part in.
Monica wrote a diary of her experience volunteering.
Day 1
“On Monday morning Justin (a driver booked by WVS for us) picks us up on time and we reach Majete in just under two hours. Kim and Tama meet us at the gate and take us to the “Research Camp” which will be our home for the next two weeks. We are immediately pleasantly surprised as the camp is nicer than we expected.
We are the only volunteers, so we have it all for ourselves! There are only four en-suite tents, with hot water and a shower, two beds with mosquito nets and a little veranda with two chairs.
As we are about to retire to our tent the noise of snapped branches nears and...yep you guessed it! A majestic bull elephant walks quietly through camp, looks at us standing in awe in the kitchen. We are speechless and excited and so grateful for this encounter…we can go to sleep and rest, knowing that we will have a fantastic time here.
Day 2
Kim and Tama tell us we are going nothing less than pangolin tracking! What a great start! Pringle, a juvenile pangolin, has been rescued and recently released so he is still tagged and tracked, to make sure he is doing well alone in the wild.
Volunteer Andrea with Kim and Tama.
The tracking is done with both GPS and VHF so that we get to the last reported location by car, then get off and track on foot with the VHF antenna (telemetry). We cannot see him but according to our signal he was moving as we approached so he probably went hiding for safety - which is a good thing as he needs to fear humans in the wild.
Foot traps and snares confiscated from poachers.
Day 3
Today is camera trap day so we leave bright (kind of…!) and early as we have lots of driving ahead. Kim plans to check at least five cameras, so we have new cards and some new metal cases suitable for the new solar powered cameras (wow).
Wild dog and sable antelope caught on camera.
Day 4
It starts with Tama and Kim telling us about the rescued jackal that has recently been released: in these cases, they monitor the animal for several weeks to make sure he is able to feed and that he is settling in the new home. Kim and Tama hand me the antenna and tell me I will be the one tracking the jackal. I start tracking...it is quite fun and according to them I do it well. The only issue is that the jackal keeps moving in a circle, obviously avoiding us. We decide to stop after a while as we now know that he is alive and that he has learnt to avoid humans, so he’ll be fine.
As we get ready to get out again after a lunch break, Kim and Tama arrive to pick us up, grinning and saying there is a surprise for us. We then spot the wooden crate in the back of the truck and after failing to guess its content, we are told it’s a rescued bushbaby. It was trapped in a building site during the night, and the team was called to collect him. Incidentally, this is a great example of the high level of collaboration between the park and the community. We then drive to a suitable place, near a waterhole, to release the little creature.
Day 7
Sunday is another rest day before cooking dinner as we are finally able to have Kim & Tama for dinner at “our” camp. We proudly cook some Italian pasta with eggplant, and we hope they’ll like it. It turns out they love it! We spend a pleasant evening chatting with them about life and exchanging stories.
Day 8
The once in a lifetime day. Tama arrives and he briefly explains that a pangolin has been seized from poachers during the night, having been kept in a crate for twelve days, ready to be sold and shipped to illegal trade.
When we arrive at the clinic, we find a very cold and unresponsive pangolin on the table. John, who has a lifetime of experience in the bush, tells us that the pangolin has no tone in the tail, which, we learn on the spot, is usually very strong. He asks us to examine the poor creature, and we do our best, mentioning that we have never treated a pangolin. We find a weak pulse and a heartbeat. John immediately puts us on video call with Dagmar [WVS vet and Country Manager Malawi], who is in Blantyre. Andrea weighs and cleans the pangolin. Still on video, we show Dagmar a wound in the inguinal region, and she directs us on how to find the coccygeal (tail) vein. While Andrea cleans and scrubs the area, I get the fluids, glucose solution, antibiotics and vitamins.
[This pangolin was taken to the WVS veterinary clinic in Blantyre, Malawi, where it received expert veterinary care. Unfortunately, this pangolin did not make it, despite our team's efforts. Pangolins urgently need protection and access to veterinary care as they are the world’s most trafficked animal, prized for their scale and meat. Devastatingly, poaching has led to a drastic decline in pangolin population; putting their very existence at risk.]
For most people seeing a pangolin is a dream, we do not even have words to describe what this morning was for us, certainly a once in a lifetime experience. We are in awe at the incredible team and organisation from Majete, African Parks, and WVS - we are incredibly humbled they trusted us with the task. Having been able to provide first aid to a pangolin is something that probably every vet dreams of...and we did it!
Day 9
Life is a rollercoaster. We wake up to the news that the female pangolin did not make it through the night, despite the best veterinary care: she had been in captivity without food and water for too long.
Kim & Tama tell us we are going to check Pringle again; they need a weight and a piece of a scale for genetic research. We place him in the bag and get his weight; then the guys quickly take a piece of scale as directed by Dagmar. At some point Pringle uncurls a little and looks at us with a tiny inquisitive eye. Once he is safely back into his burrow, we do the calculation and find out he has gained 200g in two weeks: he is thriving! He is only young and seeing him doing so well lifts our spirits.
Another pangolin that was rescued a few days after Monica and Andrea left. They named it Andrea.
Andrea and I pack a smaller bag and some food as we are being moved to the bushcamp for two nights! We love it and once again feel very privileged to be allowed this opportunity. The rest of the afternoon is spent at the office, reviewing camera trap images, then a quick stop to leave some meat for the jackal and we are on our way to the bushcamp.
Day 10
This morning, we enjoy coffee and breakfast at the bushcamp, waking up refreshed after a restful night. Today, Prince, the team IT superman, is our “designated driver” taking us to do some office work (camera trap analysis and ID of various animals), because Kim & Tama had an early start to go tracking a wounded rhino.
Day 11
This morning, we are meeting Dagmar and some special guests, to whom she wants to show the park and the work they do. We are treated to a morning game drive. The guests have a list of animals to see, and we manage to tick 90% of them: lions, hippos, crocs and we take them to the burrow where Pringle is hiding; this is a great chance to show the potential donors the conservation work done by the team. We then spend the afternoon working on camera trap images in the office.
Day 14
Our driver arrives to pick us up at 9
am and we do not really want to leave. It has been an incredible experience, and we will always be grateful for it.
We enjoy some rest days in Zomba and the lake before returning home.”
Do you want to volunteer at Majete Wildlife Reserve?
You too can have an adventure of a lifetime while contributing to conservation efforts in Malawi. If you love nature and want to help participate in helping to save Africa’s endangered species, this is the project for you! Find out more and apply here.