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Volunteering

Do you want to help animals and make a real difference? Come and volunteer!

We welcome volunteers from all over the world! We cannot run our lion sanctuary and rescue centre without you…

Come help us Apply here

The support of our volunteers is essential to The Lions Foundation. We created a sanctuary for big cats to retire and be given the respect that these amazing creatures deserve. When volunteering with the big cats, you will help them by providing essential care such as preparing food and enrichments and assisting the caretakers in every possible way.

However, it cannot be stressed enough that around the big cats we have a very strict hands-off policy. There is absolutely no petting or feeding the animals by volunteers. You will be instructed on how close you are allowed to get to the fencing, and you will always be accompanied by a caretaker or experienced person.

Volunteers with The Lions Foundation will spend their time with the animal caretakers and reserve manager, following a daily schedule. This includes the following:

  • Prepare meat for the individual big cats
  • Assist the caretakers with feeding the big cats
  • Clean the feeding facility and materials after feeding
  • Prepare and distribute behavioural enrichments
  • Observe animal behaviour
  • Clean enclosures, including scrubbing pools
  • Assist the security staff at night
  • Feed the rescue donkeys
  • Groom the rescue donkeys
  • Clean enclosures and help build new enclosures at the Rescue & Conservation Centre
  • Assist the caretakers with feeding all animals at the Rescue & Conservation Centre
  • Assist the reserve manager and staff taking care of and observing the reserve wildlife
  • Place, replace and inspect camera traps on the reserve and watch and report on footage
  • Carry out general reserve maintenance including maintaining fences, fire corridors and roads, plant grasses and trees
  • Educate visitors of TLF
  • On occasion help out at Schrikkloof Lodge

 

To become a volunteer with us you need to fulfil the following criteria:

  • You must be in good physical and mental condition
  • You must be able to speak reasonable English
  • You must be 18 years old or over
  • You must have a positive and practical attitude towards animal welfare and wildlife conservation

HOW YOUR VOLUNTEER FEE IS SPENT

When you volunteer at TLF, the fee you paid is divided in two parts:

Volunteer housing and food
Part of your fee goes to your stay here, including all your meals, water, accommodation.

Animal care
The other part of your fee goes to helping us care for the animals and the general running costs of The Lions Foundation and the Rescue & Conservation Centre. Without you, the volunteers, we would be unable to help as many animals as we do.

Our volunteer partner organisations may charge a small commission fee to help arrange your experience here, but without them we would not get as many volunteers to help us.

I started volunteering because I had a gap year and I thought it would be a really cool experience to volunteer abroad alone. I had a fantastic time there, because of the lovely people who welcomed me with open arms and the work I did there. It is very cool to be able to feed the lions and see how each lion has its own character.

During stay at The Lions Foundation Noor

An unforgettable experience! The Lions Foundation is a great place to volunteer. The work is very diverse and there is always something to do! The animal caretakers are nice to work with and easy to communicate with. There are also plenty of learning opportunities and time for relaxation!

VolunteerWorld Tessa

There is no place like here! A beautiful place to stay, with very kind and good service of the staff. The animal caretakers have a lot of knowledge that they love to share, so that you also leave with an educated mind. They treat the animals with a lot of care and they let them be as the wild animals they are. No petting or touching allowed, and I like that as these animals are not for human entertainment. You can help out with feeding, preperations, help cleaning, etc. It can be dirty and hard work during warm temperatures, but it fills your heart with joy and you will leave with warm memories.

During stay at The Lions Foundation Patricia

I love to stay at Schrikkloof and do volunteer work for The Lions Foundation. Feeding the lions every day accept on a Sunday was amazing. Cleaning the enclosers, help making platforms …. It was amazing to do. The caretakers are so nice for the animals but also for the volunteers. Had a lot of fun with them. When it was busy at the lodge helping with collecting wood for the braai and for the fires inside the lodge (i was there in wintertime). This year i’m going back for another period of volunteer work!

VolunteerWorld Kirsten

I wanted to volunteer with animals at an organisation that really makes a difference and has the best interests of the animals at heart. At The Lions Foundation you learn a lot about the animals and you contribute to this beautiful organization. It is a fantastic experience, wonderful to be able to care for these impressive animals.

During stay at The Lions Foundation Loes