rehabilitation

Voluntours with the Harnas Wildlife Foundation

Harnas Volunteer Covered in Monkeys

Image source: Harnasusa.org

Harnas Wildlife Foundation started on a cattle farm in the Namibian wilderness. The owners, Nick and Marieta van der Merwe, were farmers, making a living on the land, when a sick vervet monkey inspired them to do more. They began adopting animals, taking in the sick and infirm, even adopting a healthy pride of lions from a defunct zoo. As their love for animals grew, so did the farm. They hired a staff and expanded their facilities, eventually opening the farm to the public in 1993.

Return to Freedom: American Wild Horse Sanctuary

Wild Horses Runnig through Tall Grass

Image source: Returntofreedom.org

I started riding horses when I was six, just a gangly little girl with eyes that were too big for my face. I cried the first time, not from fear but from pure excitement. I was overwhelmed with emotion, as only a little girl can be. I’ve always loved horses—the way they run, the strong muscles beneath their rippling flanks, the swish of their tails—and I’m not alone. I don’t know that I’ve ever met a little girl who doesn’t love them, even if she’s never seen one in person. It’s just magical that there is an animal willing to let people ride it. The relationship between people and horses is ancient. Horses are depicted in the 25,000 year-old paintings of Chauvet Cave in France. Their influence is obvious in our culture. Horses were pivotal players in our great western migration and in our most famous battles. What better animal to help teach people the value of nature and the importance of conservation than man’s age-old companion, the majestic horse?

Rehabilitating Primates with the Darwin Primate Group

Rehabilitated Babboon Mother and Baby at the DPG

Image source: Maggiesergio.livejournal.com

Working with primates holds a special mystique thanks to the legacy of people like Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall (more on volunteer opportunities affiliated with their organizations soon). Primate is a large and diverse order of mammals that includes chimpanzees, our closest evolutionary ancestors. Many scientists are drawn to the study of primatology because they see so many similarities between the animals they work with and themselves. As a volunteer, working with primates offers a unique opportunity to experience the humanness of wildlife. No other animals can tell us more about our own evolutionary past, and yet, like so many others, these animals are in great danger.