Lion Heart

Do you ever dream of seeing a lion up close? To walk next to the King of the Jungle? To feel its soft fur under your hands as you stroke it? Dream no more, volunteer at Antelope Park with African Impact and your dream will be fulfilled.
The experience you will get at Antelope Park will last you a life time. Here,in the summer of 2012, I got to be a part of a crucial program to save the African Lion. And the best part was that you were given proof of the programs success. I saw how the lions evolved in their natural habitat, becoming more and more confident everyday. And this in only 4 weeks time. By the last week, we were running after the lions as they chased Impala, zebra and even giraffes. These are the lions that you as a volunteer will be with everyday. They are only at stage 1 of a 4 stage program to rehabilitate and re-introduce them to the wild. Another proof that made me truly believe that everything African Impact is trying to do for the African Lion really works was when I saw a Kill. As a volunteer you will get the chance to visit Stage 2, the release site where lions who have been thru stage 1 are roaming free in their natural habitat. It was here that we saw the magnificent pride run into the long grass and take down a dukier (small antelope). To see that these lions preformed as lions would in the wild was truly spellbinding and something I will never forget.
Other activités include, meat prep and lion feed (one of my many favorites), elephant training, horse safari, cub sit, research, a weekend trip to Victoria Falls and many more. The staff are some of the greatest people I have ever met and they take great care of you and they always make sure that you are safe.
I suppose the best part of this volunteer program is that you get so close to the lions to the point where you feel you know them, and would never want to leave them. That is why I am planning my return in 2014, but for now I carry all the lions and my memories of Antelope park in my heart.