Students head off on a fieldtrip to ZuluLand

Final year students at Harper Adams University are heading on a fantastic fieldtrip to ZuluLand, in the KwaZulu Natal region of South Africa.

This trip is predominantly attended by Zoology and Wildlife Conservation students – particularly those on the on the International Perspectives on the Management of Animal Populations module - but is open to all animal, zoology and wildlife students.

The two-week fieldtrip, organised by GAP Africa Projects, will see the students spending time in two reserves: Nambiti Game Reserve and Zingela River Safari.

Week One: Nambiti Game Reserve

The first week is spent at Nambiti, a 23,000 – acre of land, home to the Big Five – Elephants, Rhinoceroses, Lions, Cape Buffalo and Leopards.

Whilst there, the students will undertake several incredible opportunities including radio telemetry, habitat assessments, monitoring animals through tracks and signs and camera traps, walks with rhino monitoring patrols and bush walks.

The students also get an opportunity to work on at least one research project, based on an area of focus at the time of the visit. Projects might include impact assessments, ecological surveying or behavioural monitoring.

Dr Ellen Williams, Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Welfare, said: "It’s an exciting opportunity because everything that is done is supporting evidence-based management in the reserve! And as if all that isn’t enough, the students also get the opportunity to go into the local community and spend some time with them, giving our students a flavour of the local culture.”

 _{One of the adult male lions at Nambiti Game reserve (Photo credit: Lou Bell, GAP Africa)}

Week Two: Zingela River Safari

The second week is spent at the Zingela River Safari, a 12,500-acre unfenced wilderness, providing the students lots of opportunity to explore this Bushveld reserve on foot and explore the wildlife on site at a more leisurely pace.

Zingela is home to more than 350 giraffe with 150+ of these currently named and identifiable to staff. Giraffe tracking is one of many awesome activities that the students get to experience here. Other activities include alien plant management (prickly pear is a menace!), amphibian and aquatic species monitoring, spider and scorpion walks and excitingly feeding the pet European wild boar.

This site is also home to lots of research students, so students will get the opportunity to contribute to data collection on many projects and to be fully immersed in their research.

The beautiful Zingela river running next to the camp is an opportunity not to be missed and many happy hours are spent rafting down the river, kick sampling for aquatic invertebrates and generally having a great time!

_{Giraffe at the Zingela River Safari site – they can be iID’d using their spot patterns! (Photo credit: Lou Bell, GAP Africa)}

_{A female greater kudu – these are a type of antelope and are found at both sites (Photo credit: Lou Bell, GAP Africa)}

The camps are a perfect blend of comfort and ‘close to wildlife’, with the main thing between you and the stars being a piece of canvas! Bliss!

It’s an amazing opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the local wildlife, with campfires at night and excellent home cooked cultural food!

This year students will be documenting their experiences through vlogs - so keep an eye on our social media for updates.

See how last year's trip went via our social media roundup here.