Rhino De-Horning Mission: South Africa

There are not enough words or space on this page to write about why this trip was so wonderful. I have been home for a month now and I literally think about this trip DAILY. Thanks to Loop Abroad, Selati Game reserve, Dr. Chloe Buiting, Dr. Joel Alves and Dr. Ben Muller and the most incredible leader Tasch, we were able to have the most hands on, immersive, educational and inspiring experience I will carry with me the rest of my life. To have such a diverse and wonderful group of people come together for a common goal to work to save such an incredible species, was a surreal feeling. It created a bond and experience that is incredibly rare and was truly life changing for me. I never expected to learn as much as I did while being continuously inspired and seeing first hand the conservation issues you hear about. I have always had a passion for wildlife conservation and it is what inspired me to go to vet school in the first place. This experience was the definition of wildlife conservation at its best. We were trusted as doctors to use our medical knowledge, and our questions and efforts were welcomed. It felt like we were truly making a difference with every animal we assisted with and were truly treated as valued members of a team. Thank you for this life changing experience. I would be honored to do it again.

I have been to Africa with a few different companies working with wildlife and they were great, but loop abroad were outstanding and really topped it. This experience was wonderful right from signing up to getting on the plane and saying goodbye. The people you get to meet from the loop staff, reserve staff, drivers, cooks, cleaners and fellow volunteers are amazingly generous, kind, caring and always made you feel safe. The work is very hands on and there was loads of education on offer. Be ready to get dirty and be right in the middle of the action. There’s no words to describe how incredible working with the wildlife and experiencing the South African environment is. I am forever grateful to have been able to be apart of this adventure and would recommend it to everyone. Not only was it great for networking, but also making some life long friends. My only warning to anyone thinking of doing this is, beware that you will never want to leave and you’ll be forever having sweet African dreams and always yearning to go back. Truly life changing!

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Rhinos have been my favourite animal for a long time, and I have always wanted to be able to contribute in some way to their conservation. I feel very lucky and privileged to have been able to get so involved with the dehorning project. Everyone involved was so incredibly kind and knowledgable and so willing to talk to us and allow us to learn from their experiences. I never imagined that I would get the opportunity to reverse a rhino anaesthetic or grind horn remnants down after the dehorning process. The accommodation was in the stunning Selati Game Reserve, and whilst we were there, we were able to contribute to other projects going on in the reserve as well. The food and hospitality was incredible, and made an unforgettable experience even better! Special shout outs to Tasch and Chloe from the Loop Abroad team and Joel and Ben from Wildscapes Veterinary. I hope they run another project soon as I am very keen to get involved again!

Where to begin? For months I thought of nothing but participating in this program and now as I write this review I long to be back in South Africa continuing this conservation effort. Loop Abroad, Dr. Chloe Buiting, Dr. Joel Alves and Dr. Ben Muller put together an amazing program that immersed you in their efforts to curb rhino poaching. We participated in all phases of this effort including darting, flight time. field research, all aspects of the de-horning process, and anesthesia. We were also able to assist Selati game reserve and research in on-going projects other than de-horning. The game reserve accommodations and staff were amazing and our Loop Abroad liaison, Tasch was irreplaceable. There are no words to describe how immensely grateful I will forever be to take part in such a worthwhile project. I miss being the "boots on the ground" of this effort and the camaraderie of fellow colleagues focused on a singular goal and our fireside discourse. I look forward to and hope this program is offered again as I want to go back.