Hyena Conservation in Northern Tanzania

Hey! My name is Guilherme Viegas, and I’m a Portuguese engineer working in robotics in the Netherlands. I spent a couple of weeks at United Tansania and couldn’t be prouder to have been part of this project.

From walking through untouched bushland to setting up and reviewing camera traps, surveying nearby villages to better understand hyena–human conflicts, and even collecting plastic bottles for a community garden. Every day was an adventure!

The campsite, set between Lake Eyasi and Ngorongoro, was scenic and peaceful. The staff, including Judith, were always ready to help, and the tent accommodation was spacious and comfortable. I’ll never forget the magical nights in Tanzania, with hyenas and other wildlife calling as if they were right beside us.

Jambo! I’m Sara Oliveira, a Portuguese Biomedical Engineering student living in the Netherlands. In the summer of 2025, I volunteered for two weeks at United Tansania, drawn by their hyena research and commitment to coexistence with humans. I’ve always been passionate about animals, and have done similar work in Namibia. I missed that sense of purpose so much that I decided to dedicate part of my summer to United Tansania.

Hyenas are often misunderstood and unfairly portrayed as villains, when, in fact, they are vital to a healthy ecosystem, acting as the savannah’s clean-up crew. In a fast-paced world, it’s easy to be misunderstood. I can relate. So, I was committed to standing up for these remarkably intelligent animals who cannot speak for themselves. Everyone can play a role in conservation, even an Engineer can be useful in a project like this!

At United Tansania, the passion for hyenas is contagious, and it shines through in every aspect of their work!

I have had the amazing experience to work on a variety of projects at the NGO during my stay in August 2024! I tried to capture it in 10 bulletpoints:

- Teaching form 1 mathematics👨‍🏫🎓
- Daily camera setups with the crew📸
- Bushwalks and pikipiki adventures with tracker Lily🐾🏍️
- The first striped hyena seen on camera at United Tansania🤩
- The waterhole construction 🏗️ ⛲️
- Learning Tanzanian traditions with Julius🇹🇿
- The wildlife seen on cameras and in real-time🐗🦜
- Saying goodbye to the students and teachers from Mang’ola Secondary School 📚📋
- A beautiful sunset at the Lake Eyasi shore🌅

From 2.6.25 - 28.6.25 I spent four weeks volunteering with United Tansania e.V. and its now a personal favourite of my overseas adventures. I chose the project because of its unique focus on hyenas and its use of camera trap technology. It was great helping set up and monitor camera traps around known den sites and learning how the project uses the data to achieve its objectives. Identifying and following hyena tracks also provided plenty of thrills.

The campsite had a relaxed atmosphere. Accommodation was well managed and comfortable. All the staff and researchers were dedicated, friendly and always on hand to help. The food was varied and tasty and it was a treat to have it prepared for us.The camp’s remote location brings with it predictable challenges with WiFi and electricity supply and entails a lengthy journey to and from the airport.

My trip highlights were sighting hyenas: young cubs at a newly located den and four adults at an established cave den site. As these sightings occurred in my final week, my trip ended on a high.

Ultimately, for anyone passionate about hyenas volunteering with United Tanzania e.V. is a valuable experience.

After such an amazing month in the wild of Tanzania aiding research on hyena conservation, having to select a favourite memory was a task that induced much conflict within myself, but after deliberation, I think that the best would in fact be a relatively simple one: a mere hike through the bush on one of my last days. The research assistant Harry and I went to scout out a new camera trap location that was a few miles from the dirt track through the bush, which in itself was several kilometres from even the small village at the base of a mountain. Once off the road though, there was no distinguishable path and you got the sense that even the local shepherds did not come here very often. We were likely the first Westerners to go to that part of the forest in a very long time. Essentially, it was necessary to bushwhack the entire path ourselves, leaving me with myriad of battle scars on my arms and legs, but having the scarce opportunity to explore independently that degree of wilderness, climbing in and out of well-forested gorges for hours on end, is so adrenaline-inducing that I just believe I had something really unique there. The scenery was incomprehensible and the company unbeatable; the serenity indescribable and to top it all off, you know that you're doing something good for the world. It really was worth it!

I recently spent 10 days volunteering with the project. The campsite is located in the bush, surrounded by a local village, and offers scenic views of the area.

The daily activities involved locating and analysing camera traps strategically placed in remote areas to monitor wildlife activity. Field transects were another exciting part of the work, allowing us to sample and map species distribution in the region. The night bush walks, and the hyena den were a personal favourite.

Accommodation was well-prepared and ready upon my arrival, and the staff and researchers were friendly and supportive. I gained valuable insights into local wildlife and communities.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the project is its proximity to the Hadzabe tribe, one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer communities in the world. Spending a day with the Hadza, learning about their culture, and joining them on a hunt was an absolute highlight of my trip.

The project combines conservation work with cultural immersion. If you're passionate about conservation and eager to learn about local traditions, I highly recommend this unique volunteer opportunity.