On the Expedition

Get to know the Nile crocodile and help establish a conservation strategy that protects both crocodiles and humans.

Working in Zambia’s Zambezi River system, you’ll spend your nights alongside the researchers capturing crocodiles from a boat. Using a spotlight to locate the crocs, you’ll measure and tag them and collect vital data. When you’re not catching up on sleep, during the day you’ll help radio-track tagged crocodiles and assist with data entry. You may also visit local communities and schools to spread the word about the importance of crocodiles. In your recreational time, you may enjoy slide shows and fabulous bird-watching, have a chance to visit the famous Kariba Dam, a nearby National Park, and the African Wildlife Foundation’s Chiawa Center.

Meals and Accommodations

You’ll stay in a large, well-shaded tented camping area overlooking the Zambezi River, the fourth largest river system in the world. Hippos and elephants are common night sounds, and the morning alarm clock for late sleepers is the call of the African fish eagle. Enjoy sundowner snacks and traditional African meals cooked over an open fire, including freshly caught fish, meat, and beans served with fresh vegetables, rice, and shashima (a local grain meal). Your team will help with cooking and cleanup.

About the Research Area

Zambia is a huge country that lies across the heart of the interior of Southern Africa. Its landscapes and vegetation are fairly uniform and are characterized by a mosaic of open plains, vast stands of indigenous woodlands and lush riparian vegetation. Most of the research area remains unblemished and is packed with enormous herds of game and an abundance of predators. Zambia currently has approximately 20 National Parks, over 30 game management areas and numerous small, private and state-run reserves.

About 70 percent of the country is drained by the mighty Zambezi River system. The Zambezi is the fourth longest river in Africa, and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean. The Zambezi Heartland, situated in the middle Zambezi Valley, is a biologically important area that harbors rich biodiversity and ecological processes. The landscape has a diversity of land uses spread across three countries, with great potential for sustainable use of wildlife resources, including both crocodiles and hippopotamuses.