ELEPHANT

There are few animals in the wild that elicit as visceral a connection to natural world as the African elephant. Having been placed on the IUCN red list since 2004 as vulnerable elephants continue to be threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and poaching for the illegal ivory trade. As a keystone species, elephants play a crucial role in shaping the environments in which they inhabit.

For this reason, Mapesu Private Game Reserve found it imperative to introduce a founder herd onto the newly created reserve. As per government decree, the reserve is only allowed to conserve one elephant per thousand hectares. As such, the breeding age females within the herd need to be given contraception from time to time to ensure the reserve does not become overpopulated.

During this conservation expedition, you are given the opportunity to participate in this vital conservation work and get up close and personal with Africa’s largest land mammal. You will be working alongside the reserve team and veterinarian. You will be able to observe both on the ground and from a helicopter and gain an understanding of what it takes to protect these magnificent giants.

CHEETAH

In conjunction with the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Mapesu Private Game Reserve was able to release cheetah onto the reserve. This species is used to roaming in large home ranges and the telemetry equipment helps to locate these animals and is of vital importance to our understanding of their movements as well as their safety in the event of an escape. These collars, however, do not have an infinite battery life and as the animals grow the collar may become tight or run out of battery.

During this expedition you will assist in the chemical capture of cheetah, which may be from the air or on the ground with the use of a bait. The collars will be replaced, and the animal released back into the reserve.

If you are interested in joining us in this expedition, please contact us as timing, availability and dates are only made 6 months in advance of the event.

CHEETAH

In conjunction with the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Mapesu Private Game Reserve we will be releasing cheetahs onto the reserve.

Cheetahs today are heading toward extinction due to predators, changes to their environment, habitat destruction, hunting, and many other detrimental factors. Because cheetah populations have relatively low genetic variability, due to low populations and inbreeding, moving the current population around helps to introduce a bigger genetic pool, allowing the cheetahs to have a greater genetic diversity. This helps to improve their genetics (genome) to help the species survive better in the long term.

During this expedition you will assist in the chemical capture of cheetah(s), which may be from the air or on the ground with the use of a bait. You will help with the a health check, and possibly place a tracker and then will be there during the transport and release into the reserve. You will also be routinely checking on their status throughout your stay.

If you are interested in joining us in this expedition, please contact us as timing, availability and dates are only made 6 months in advance of the event.

WILD DOG

In conjunction with the Endangered Wildlife Trust, Mapesu Private Game Reserve was able to release both wild dog onto the reserve. These collars however do not have an infinite battery life and as the animals grow the collar may become tight or run out of battery. Therefor, during this expedition you will assist in the chemical capture which may be from the air or on the ground with the use of a bait. The collars will be replaced, and the animal released back into the reserve.

As wild dogs have a large home range, we will teach you how to use the telemetry equipment to locate these animals which is of vital importance to our understanding of their movements as well as their safety in the event of an escape.

ELEPHANT

As a keystone species, elephants play a crucial role in shaping the environments in which they inhabit. For this reason, Mapesu Private Game Reserve found it imperative to introduce a founder herd onto the newly created reserve (2016). As per government decree, the reserve is only allowed to conserve one elephant per thousand hectares. As such, the breeding age females within the herd need to be given contraception from time to time to ensure the reserve does not become overpopulated.

During this conservation expedition, you are given the opportunity to participate in this vital conservation work and get up close and personal with Africa’s largest land mammal. You will be working alongside the reserve team and veterinarian. You will be able to observe both on the ground and from a helicopter and gain an understanding of what it takes to protect these magnificent giants.

If you are interested in joining us in this expedition, please contact us as timing, availability and dates are only made 6 months in advance of the event.

Since 2014, Mapesu Private Game Reserve has done a biannual game count to ensure the animals living on the reserve are thriving and within the parameters of the carrying capacity of the property as set out by the ecologists.

The total number of zebra, waterbuck, blue wildebeest, oryx, impala, eland, kudu and giraffe has grown from 483 to 1103 in the last 4 years. Between 2018 and 2020, the reserve, the shareholders, and guests have facilitated the introduction of additional species as well as a greater number of individuals through the means of live purchases.

The 2022 game count will thus prove to be the year where most species are expected to reach their optimal stocking rate. By reaching this optimal rate a surplus can be projected and this will enable the reserve to introduce additional predators onto the reserve.

As part of the game count, you will be in the helicopter helping the reserve and conservation team count all of the animals on the reserve from the air.

If you are interested in joining us in this expedition, please contact us as timing, availability and dates are only made 6 months in advance of the event.