Description

Expedition Summary
Visit the real Meerkat Manor and get to know these highly cooperative and charming mammals while assisting Earthwatch scientists and other volunteers.

Expedition Details
Under the direction of experienced field staff, youll help observe 15 habituated colonies of meerkats in South Africas Kuruman River Reserve and the surrounding farms. You'll learn how to conduct focal sampling and transect surveys, use a Global Positioning System, and weigh meerkats. The data you collect will help researchers evaluate how cooperative breeding affects the survival of both pups and helpers. You will also investigate interactions between the meerkats and a klepto-parasitic bird species, the fork-tailed drongo. Supplementing the meerkat studies, you'll help conduct biodiversity, invertebrate, and plant surveys, and spend some time recording the size and activity of social bird colonies like pied babblers and weavers, in response to rainfall levels. You may also help with outreach efforts to assist the local primary school. All of these adventures will be set against a backdrop of gemsbok, hartebeest, springbok, duiker, steenbok, bat-eared foxes, three kinds of mongooses, many birds, and the fantastic creatures of the Kalahari night.

Meals and Accommodations
You will be housed in your own thatched-roof rondavel with a cold-water sink, basic furnishings, electricity, and a fan. Hot showers and flush toilets will be available in a nearby building. The team will be part of ongoing research programs at the reserve and you will have a chance to interact with a variety of researcherswhether discussing their current studies or joining them in a game of volleyball! Breakfast and lunch will be self-serve and a local cook will provide wonderful evening meals, including pasta, fish, chicken, and traditional dishes. Volunteers will be invited to help with food preparation at a weekly barbecue.

About the Research Area
The Kuruman River Reserve (KRR) is situated in the Northern Cape, a predominantly Afrikaans-speaking province of South Africa. The area surrounding the reserve is owned by sheep and cattle farmers, who are very friendly and hospitable, but generally fairly conservative. The closest village to the reserve is Vanzylsrus, a small settlement that provides services to the local farmers and their workers

The KRR itself covers 15.5 square miles of semi-arid dune country on either side of the dry bed of the Kuruman River in the South African Kalahari. The topography of the reserve consists of vegetated dunes separated by valleys up to 980 feet across. Vegetation consists of scattered camel thorn trees along the river bed, grading out into dry scrub dominated by annual and perennial grasses. The reserve carries gemsbok, blue wildebeest, elands, red hartebeest, springbok, duiker, steenbok, bat-eared foxes, cape foxes, porcupines, aardvarks, aardwolves, small spotted genets, meerkats, and slender and yellow mongooses. A diverse bird fauna is also present, including substantial populations of social weavers and the worlds smallest bird of prey, the pygmy falcon.

Highlights

Cooperative breeding, in which animals help others raise their young, occurs in many animal species. It appears to be common in the Kalahari Desert, where extreme conditions have molded cooperative breeding in meerkats, those inimitable relatives of mongooses that stand upright to peer across the landscape. The explanation for this behavior has been that related animals benefit by having shared genes passed on in the young they helped nurture. However, renowned behavioral ecologist Dr Timothy Clutton-Brock and his colleague Dr Marta Manser believe that even more immediate and selfish reasons stimulate cooperative breeding. You can help them examine how environment and evolution shape cooperative behavior.

Travel Types

• Eco Tours
• Ecology
• Nature Tours
• Volunteering
• Environmental Studies
• Photography
• Tours

Qualifications

No experience is necessary - all you will need is enthusiasm and the desire to make a difference. For over 40 years Earthwatch Institute has pioneered the involvement of ordinary people in peer-reviewed scientific research worldwide. By joining an Earthwatch Expedition, you have a unique opportunity to get up-close and personal with some of the world's rarest animals and visit remote and beautiful locations, while directly supporting conservation science. We offer life enhancing experiences in nearly 50 countries each year, with projects for teens, adults, and families.

Languages

• English

Cost in US$:

3,895 USD

Cost Includes:

• Emergency evacuation services
• Excursions
• Food
• Housing
• In-country orientation/Training
• Medical insurance
• Medical services
• Pre-departure orientation/Training
• Registration fees
• Written materials abroad
• Written materials pre-departure

Program Fees Include:

Our volunteers not only contribute essential funds that help to cover the cost of the research, but also, through their inspiration and effort, they provide the people power without which many of our vital projects simply couldnt take place. We are a non-profit organization but accommodation, meals, insurance, training and transport in the field are also included in your contribution cost. As a non-profit organization that supports scientific research, your contribution and airfare costs are usually tax-deductible for U.S. citizens.

Experience Required

no

Volunteer Types

Typical Volunteer

Earthwatch expeditions appeal to a variety of people, including students, retirees, families, educators, and anyone seeking an exciting journey that enables them to give back to the environment. Our expeditions have a wide range of activity levels, from hiking intensive to easy expeditions with limited physical activity. There is an Earthwatch expedition out there for everyone!

Age Range

Adult (age 18-90) teams available.

This Program is open to

Worldwide, American, Asian, Australian, Canadian, European, Kiwi and South African Participants. This Program is also open to Families, Couples and Individuals.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Group living
• Other

Participants Travel

Independently

Typically Participants Work

in Groups of 3-6

Scholarships are Available

Very limited fellowships may be available, mainly for high-school students and educators. Visit our website for more information.

Application Process Involves

• Other
• Phone/Video Interview
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Written Application

Typically The Application Process Time is

Brief

Post Services Include

• Alumni Network

Earthwatch Institute's Mission Statement

Our mission is to inspire connections between people and the environment by engaging them in worldwide scientific field research and education. These efforts will promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. Earthwatch enables scientists to pursue research goals and members of the public to gain hands-on experience with science. We believe it is essential that people participate in solving the environmental challenges we face.

Year Founded

1971