Paws Beyond Borders — My First Volunteering Trip, South Africa 🇿🇦
Where the whole journey began. A month on a reserve near Port Elizabeth in 2013, surrounded by the Big Five — and, years later, what I came to understand about the captive lion industry and why you should always research before volunteering with wildlife.
Port Elizabeth, South Africa — 2013
South Africa was where my whole animal volunteering journey began. In 2013, I took my first ever volunteering trip and spent a month on an African reserve in Port Elizabeth, surrounded by the Big Five and so many other African animals. At the time, I was completely fascinated by the idea of conservation and couldn't believe I was actually going to spend a month working with African wildlife.
A big part of our time was spent out on daily game drives, seeing what animals we could find and carrying out game counts to help keep track of the different populations. We also did lots of learning about the animals and the reserve, and I loved being able to see them in their natural environment.
There were also a couple of orphaned baby lions living on the reserve who we were able to play with and bottle feed. The one I remember most was Amara, a beautiful white lion, who was being cared for with the hope that she could eventually be released onto the reserve when she was old enough. Getting to spend time with her was obviously incredible, although looking back now, I have a much better understanding of why we need to question situations where young wild animals are being handled by volunteers.
One of the more unusual parts of the experience was doing lion watches. We'd sleep outside overnight so we could keep an eye out for poachers and help protect the wildlife on the reserve. Definitely not something you get to experience on your average holiday!
And then there were the weekends, when we had time to explore South Africa. I somehow managed to fit in bungee jumping, skydiving and cage diving with great white sharks in Mossel Bay — because apparently volunteering with African wildlife wasn't adventurous enough! 😂 We also got to go to Addo Elephant National Park.
At the time, I came home thinking I'd had the most incredible experience and I'd found something I really wanted to keep doing — working with animals and learning about conservation.
But there's another side to this story that I didn't understand at the time.
Years later, I learned much more about the captive lion industry in South Africa and began questioning some of the things surrounding the organisation and the experiences I'd been involved in. There are serious ethical concerns around captive lion breeding, cub interactions and the links between some facilities and the trophy-hunting industry.
I didn't know that in 2013. I was young, passionate about animals and genuinely believed I was taking part in conservation. I went with the best intentions and the information I had at the time.
If there's one thing I'd want someone reading this to take from my experience, it's this: really do your research before volunteering with wildlife. Don't just look at the beautiful photos or the word "conservation". Ask where the animals came from, what happens to them when they grow up, why they're being bred and where your money is going.
I couldn't have known then what I know now — but that experience taught me something that has stayed with me ever since.
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Location: Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa 📍 Also visited: Addo Elephant National Park · Mossel Bay
— Sophie 🐾