On the Expedition

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

You will spend your nights capturing crocodiles from a boat alongside the researchers. Using a spotlight to locate the crocs, team members will measure and tag the animals and collect other information. During the day you’ll be free to catch up on sleep, and will also help radio-track previously tagged crocodiles and enter data on the project computers. You may also visit local communities and schools to spread the word about the importance of crocodiles to the ecosystem. In your recreational time, you may enjoy slide shows and fabulous bird-watching in the area, and you’ll have a chance to visit the famous Kariba Dam as well as a nearby National Park.

Meals and Accommodations

Volunteers will stay in a large, well-shaded tented camping area overlooking the Zambezi River. 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 riverine vegetation. Most of this 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 had a diversity of land uses spread across three countries, with great potential for sustainable use of the areas’ wildlife resources, including both crocodiles and hippopotamuses.