The World's Largest Rehabilitation Center for Vervet Monkeys

Vervet Monkeys are not considered an endangered species, but their numbers are decreasing. These primates are often injured and killed by people encroaching into their shrinking wildlife environment. In many areas, farmers view them as a threat to their crops and shoot them, despite vervets being primarily interested in ripe fruits not typically found on commercial farms where the harvest occurs well before ripening. Additionally, monkeys fall victim to dogs, vehicles, electricity pylons, and poison. In the wild, they are hunted for meat, traditional medicine, and medical research purposes.

Orphaned monkeys are frequently kept illegally as pets or as attractions in bars. When they grow too large and become difficult to manage, they are typically released. However, due to domestication and lack of socialization with other vervets, these monkeys often lack the necessary survival skills to thrive in the wild.

The project, located near Kruger National Park in South Africa, currently houses around 600 monkeys and implements extensive rehabilitation measures. It is the largest protection program for Vervet Monkeys globally. The project rescues injured, orphaned, and previously pet monkeys, providing medical care and a safe haven. Efforts are made to reintegrate them into their original wild troops or into troops within the sanctuary if wild reintegration isn't feasible.

Moreover, the organization conducts public awareness programs, running information and food stands at festivals and concerts, and educating schools, farmers, and bar owners about the monkeys. School visits to the sanctuary are also facilitated.

Volunteering in the sanctuary

Volunteering at the sanctuary involves various tasks such as feeding monkeys year-round, monitoring their behavior, and participating in educational programs and awareness activities. Volunteers may also assist in building a protected forest refuge for monkeys unable to be rehabilitated into the wild.

Volunteers can specify their areas of interest and focus during their time at the sanctuary. Additionally, supervised zoology internships are available, where interns may engage in medical care, veterinary treatments, medicine preparation, and first aid, depending on their field of study and experience.

It's important to note that the work at the sanctuary is mostly hands-on, physically demanding, and conducted outdoors in hot conditions.

Your tasks as a volunteer or intern:

• Collecting, cutting, and preparing food for monkeys
• Monitoring monkeys in the sanctuary and writing reports
• Cleaning enclosures, blankets, feeding bowls, plates, and milk bottles
• Preparing milk for baby monkeys and caring for them (day and night)
• Assisting in the infirmary - caring for sick and injured vervets
• Supporting integration into social groups and rehabilitation efforts
• Participating in building activities (repairing and constructing new enclosures and the new protected forest)
• Assisting with awareness-raising programs
• Cooking for volunteers on weekends
• Supporting fundraising campaigns and newsletter distribution

Tasks are performed in shifts and on weekends, totaling approximately 40 hours per week, with 7 to 9 hours of work per day. Volunteers receive one day off per week and can utilize transfers at no additional cost to Tzaneen for shopping, swimming in a lodge pool, or spending time in a mall with a café.