Happy New Year! Here is the first
of what will now be a weekly update from our volunteers so you can learn what its like to volunteer here at Neuras.
"We had an amazing time at Neuras!
During our stay we tracked a GPS collared female leopard known as “Lightening”,
hiked one of the tallest sand dunes “ Big Daddy” at Sossusvlei, hiked the
Naukluft Mountain and enjoyed the weather and pool! We also loved our day trip
to the Namib Carnivore Conservation Centre where we visited and fed the
ambassador cheetahs in the 500ha soft-release camp.
"It was great to work with the
coordinators Matt and Kate; learning important conservation techniques like
placing camera traps, setting up trap cages (to capture the resident carnivores
for GPS collaring) and how to track animals by identifying their spoor. Whilst tracking Lightening the leopard we found one of her recent kills, a Warthog. It was great discovering this kind of information as it is really important when analyising a research animal's behaviour and success.
In the evenings we enjoyed sundowners,
home made pizzas, delicious wine and wonderful food. If you love to hike, see
wildlife and help with important conservation and research then Neuras is the
right place to be!"
By Kim & Steph Scoltock, Lauren Jonaitis, Rene Ryholl, Rosie Ayton, Neisha Graham, David Bowen and Birgit Bugner.
We also need to say a huge thank you to several of our former volunteers who have donated money and research items. Firstly the Kossman family donated a camera trap complete with protective metal case:
The camera has already been put to good use and captured these great images of a young leopard cub outside a small cave entrance:
We received significant financial donations from Rupert Labrum, Lauren Fenimore and Jenny Veh which was put towards a new volunteer lap top, guide books and rechargeable batteries. Finally, Seb Saboune donated a star watching guide book for us to get the most from viewing the amazing night sky we enjoy here at Neuras. So from all of the Neuras team:
THANK YOU!!!!
If you also wish to help then please check out our Wish List page for more information about what we need and how you can donate.
No comments:
Post a Comment