Africat Namibia
The AfriCat Foundation was founded in 1991 and run the largest cheetah and leopard rescue-and-release programme in the world - in the last 18 years 1060 of these predators were rescued and over 85% were released back into the wild.

The newly completed (May 2010) Okonjima Nature Reserve, is now dedicated to environmental education and to the research and rehabilitation of captive carnivores.

Namibia is situated along the south-western coast of Africa and covers an area of 824 300 km2 (321 500 square miles). This large country has a population of only 2.3 million people. All regions of Namibia are populated with wildlife, including large carnivores, although population numbers vary dramatically in different parts of the country. Namibia is home to approximately 25% of the world,s cheetah population of which 90% live on farmland.

Although AfriCat is active throughout Namibia, the organisation operates from two locations - one on Okonjima farm in central Namibia, near the town of Otjiwarongo and the second, known as AfriCat North, from Kaross farm, bordering Etosha National Park.
VISIT P.A.W.S.
Located within the 55 000-acre Okonjima reserve and working alongside the world famous AfriCat Foundation, P.A.W.S. Volunteer Project was launched in August 2008. It is part of Okonjima and AfriCat,s vision to restore the land back to its original state and once again witness the magnificent cheetah stalking and hunting its prey in its natural environment.

By combining your holiday with volunteer work at P.A.W.S. you will have a truly unique bush experience, living and working in the heart of the Namibian bush. Their days consist of working mornings and exciting and informative game drives each afternoon.

The mornings are varied and may involve the following essential reserve-maintenance tasks: dismantling and clearing old cattle fence-lines, bush-clearing, dismantling and repairing windmills, repairing waterholes, dam maintenance and much more….

Volunteers will also have the fantastic opportunity to work with AfriCat, doing jobs such as: bone- collecting and grass-cutting within the cheetah camps, erecting and repairing fences as required and participating in their unique "behind the scenes" feeding-run, to witness first-hand the feeding of the animals in the AfriCat Welfare Programme.

Each afternoon our volunteers take part in a multitude of activities, including: leopard-tracking, visiting AfriCat and learning about the Foundation, tracking cheetahs and hyaenas on foot, Bushman walks, birding, game drives, sleep-outs under the stars and more….

P.A.W.S. profits go towards employing and training local Namibians who work alongside our volunteers each day, enabling differing cultures to gain a better understanding of one another.
PAWS for thought...
To become a conservation team member with P.A.W.S., previous knowledge or experience is not required - just a willingness to work hard and enjoy every moment! The vision behind our project is for those with a passion for conservation, a lust for life and a desire to be at one with nature. You will be given the opportunity of having a life-changing experience, with the knowledge that through your hard work and dedication we are one step closer to giving Africa back to nature.
www.pawsnamibia.org