Rewards for Hard Work

Volunteers and staff could barely move Friday afternoon after a delicious brunch at Shilduli Lodge on Karongwe Game Reserve. After four weeks of hard work, the Karongwe Portfolio thanked GVI by offering a delicious feast of eggs, pancakes, cereals, meats, cheeses and fruits for the entire group! We couldn’t have been more grateful!!

GVI and the lodges have a close relationship on the reserve both socially and work-related. As GVI follows up on its research of carnivore movements and feeding behavior of the animals, they are able to inform the other guides where the animals have been found. Conversely, when GVI struggles trying to find where the carnivores have moved to, the game drives will call in tracks and signs to help. In order to support the reserve GVI not only locates our focus animals, two lions and two cheetahs, everyday but we also try and contribute to conservation efforts as well, including invasive species removal, rock packing, grass slashing and road maintenance.

Last year this amounted to:

-       Over 50 prickly pears (Opuntia spp.) removed

-       1450m of fenceline rock-packed

-       47 trees removed from roads

-       An additional 70 trees in roads reported to Reserve Management

-       44 occasions of road maintenance

-       27 occasions of Bush Clearing

-       8 small concrete dams and 1 large concrete dam broken up for conservation use

This brunch gave GVI the motivation (and energy!) to continue our efforts with reserve work and protecting the species within it. Though it may not be as glamorous as some of our more exciting sightings (see our previous blog) conservation work is a crucial part of our work on Karongwe Game Reserve, and we end up having fun with it anyways!

Rewards for Hard Work