South Africa's Brown Hyenas (trip)
South Africa's Brown Hyenas
- Volunteer Vacations
12 Days, from $2,950* per person. August, November.
Accommodations: Simple. Exertion level: 3 (7 is most strenuous)
Overview of South Africa's Brown Hyenas
Despite their bad reputation, brown hyenas are actually social mammals that live in tight-knit clans, where members will even help suckle each other's young. Like other carnivores, brown hyenas are suffering from shrinking habitats and conflict with humans. The land around protected areas is being increasingly developed, and hyenas that venture into neighboring farmland and game ranches are at risk of being poisoned, trapped, or hunted down as pests. Finding a way to live peacefully on land outside of parks may be the only means of survival for the fewer than 1,700 brown hyenas living in South Africa. You can help researchers Drs. Dawn Scott and Richard Yarnell and Mankwe Wildlife Reserve Manager Lynne MacTavish assess the value of areas with different levels of protection for brown hyenas and a range of other carnivores.
Operated by Earthwatch Institute.
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Locations visited/nearby
Pilanesberg National Park and neighboring areas , Northwest Province , South Africa , Africa , Johannesburg , hyenas , zebras , rhinos , elephants , wildebeets , lions , carnivores , photography , earthwatch , volunteer , ecotourism , scientific research , ecology , wildlife surveys , endangered species , wildlife protection , habitats , habitat loss , South Africa's Brown Hyenas , animal behavior , animal societies
0 testimonials about this trip.
1 testimonial about the provider, Earthwatch Institute:
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Reviewer: L. Reifschneider
located in
St. Louis,
MO
USA
Elephant conservation is what drives my travel destinations. However, I always come home counting the blessings of new friends and an understanding of a culture and way of life I possibly would otherwise have never been introduced to. Through the Earthwatch projects I participate in, I am learning just how big and wonderful this world is.
Disclaimers
*Travel product and pricing information are the travel provider’s base estimates, published here as a convenience to TravelDragon users without verification by TravelDragon. Your actual price will vary depending upon length of trip, travel dates, number of traveling guests, transportation (e.g. airfare, rail passes, etc.), and optional service features such as room categories or individualized food requirements. This base price estimate may or may not include all necessary fees, taxes, government-imposed surcharges. Be sure to confirm availability, total price and trip details with the travel provider using the contact information provided here.
Max group size: 12
Itinerary
Your team will explore protected and unprotected lands in search of wildlife, particularly brown hyenas. From a vehicle or on foot, depending on the research site, you’ll conduct wildlife surveys looking out for not just the animals themselves but for footprints, droppings and other signs as well. You will also sample predators at night, playing tape recordings of their prey to attract them and conducting spotlight transects. Much of the work will take place within Pilanesberg National Park, which offers dramatic scenery in the remains of an extinct volcano. During your expedition you may also encounter zebras, impalas, white rhinos, elephants, wildebeest, lions, and leopards. In your recreational time, you may enjoy game drives, sundown drinks on the kopje (rock outcrop), and local cultural events such as drumming sessions.
The project’s three study sites are all located within 30 miles of the Pilanesberg massif, northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. The landscape is part of the Southern African Bushveld, a classic African savanna of mixed grasses spotted with trees. This savannah area covers the southeast corner of Botswana, southern Zimbabwe and northern South Africa.
Pilanesberg National Park was created in 1979 in the remains of an extinct volcano, providing a dramatically scenic park. The area covers approximately 50,000 hectares and is surrounded by an electric fence that prevents large mammals from entering or leaving the park. Here you will find mixed acacia trees and broad-leaved bushveld, ranging from thickets to open grassland patches. There is a large dam in the center of the park and several smaller permanent water areas scattered about.
Since the park’s creation over 6,000 individual animals have been reintroduced into the area. This includes all species that were thought to exist here before European settlers arrived, with the exception of the spotted hyena. Many large herbivores are seen regularly, including zebras, impalas, white rhinos, elephants and wildebeests. The park’s reintroduced predators include about 40 lions, 20 cheetahs, and a pack of wild dogs. Populations of leopards and brown hyenas were already present when the park fence was constructed and both populations are now thriving.
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