Giant Sable Conservation Efforts

Found only in central Angola, the giant sable is one of the most impressive but also one of the most critically endangered African          antelopes. It was unprotected during the civil war that     began in 1975 and only ended in 2002. Government and rebel armies alternately occupied the 8,280 sq km Luando Integral Reserve of the Giant Sable and the 630 sq km Cangandala National Park, 50 km from Malange, the provincial capital. Without a giant sable bull, the sable in Cangandala were doomed to extinction, hybrids or no hybrids.
To read his article further and see the slide show of the  operation, go here.

Breaking News - Giraffe kills Impala

Fresh scarlet brain-blood had flowed from the baby imapal's nostrils to pool thickly in the footprint of a bull giraffe Read further...

How can we help you!

With holidays, career breaks or future employment opportunities taking a back-seat, many people are looking towards doing something constructive, affordable and above all for themselves. EcoTraining offers a wide variety of courses to suit many individual needs for now and the future!

Why Choose EcoTraining? 

•We’ve been training since 1993 - one of the first organisations to conduct formal training.
•We train in great wilderness areas including the Kruger National Park.
•Our students train while living in the middle of the African wilderness, with wild animals potentially right outside their tents as our canvas tented camps are unfenced.
•We have trained Field Guides for top tourism operators such as Wilderness Safaris, Tanzania Wildlife Safaris, KZN Wildlife, Heritage Group and various privately-owned game lodges in southern Africa.
•and more reasons to choose us…

Join the Saddle-bill stork survey

Join the Endangered Wildlife Trust and SANParks in a photographic survey of Saddle-billed Storks in the Kruger National Park. The survey starts on 1 September 2009 and will run for a full calendar year.

This survey forms part of a research project that will be conducted over the next three years on the population status of Saddle-billed Storks, one of Kruger’s rarities, and one of the “Big Six” birds. “Census operations on any species within the boundaries of the Kruger National Park are important to help us get an idea of that species’ status within the context of biodiversity management,” says Marcelle van Hoven, the project’s coordinator. “The last Saddlebilled Stork survey conducted in 1993 suggested that there were less than 60 of these birds left in the Park.” More info here...

Home arrow Field Guide 28 day
Field Guide - 28 days

This is our well-known comprehensive Field Guide training aimed at those wishing to follow a career in ecotourism as a field guide or for those people passionate about nature who would like a more in-depth experience and understanding of it. Developed in 1993 and the first of its kind in the safari industry, it is recognised by leading safari game lodges and is endorsed by FGASA.

If you are not aiming for a career as a Field Guide, but would like to learn about it for your own personal growth, the knowledge you gain will stimulate your safari and bush holidays and give them a whole new meaning for you.

28 days of living and learning in nature at our wilderness camps provides you with the practical and theoretical knowledge of the natural environment. Upon completion of the course, you will be capable of conducting game drives and interpreting the natural environment around you.

Our Field Guide course consists of walks; one or two-daily lectures in our bush classrooms; game drives, as well as sleep-outs in the bush. Every minute of the day and night on this course is a learning experience, being constantly exposed to the bush. Our highly experienced instructors provide unique access to their vast knowledge and insight, making every lecture an inspiring experience.

Subjects covered in this course include

  • Welcome and Introduction
  • The game drive vehicle
  • Ecotourism and Guiding
  • Spotlighting
  • Field guiding as a profession
  • Basic 4x4 driving
  • Attributes, skills and duties of a field guide
  • Planning of game drives and walks
  • Bush navigation and orientation
  • Radio procedures
  • Ecology
  • Reptiles
  • Geology
  • Amphibians
  • Soils
  • Sensitivity
  • Weather
  • Anticipating animal behaviour
  • Plant communities
  • Career opportunities
  • Plant identification and uses
  • Identification and ecology of invertebrates
  • Grasses
  • Bush habitat management principles
  • Presentation skills
  • Creating photographic opportunities for guests
  • Animal tracks and tracking
  • Communication and facilitation skills
  • Bird identification and behaviour
  • Dealing with guests
  • Animal behaviour
  • Sustainable development and the wise use of natural resources
  • Approaching dangerous game
  • Ecotourism and local communities
  • Setting up a bush camp
  • Taxonomy
  • Sleep out in the bush
  • Working in the industry
  • Bush skills and survival
  • Testing and evaluations
  • Dangerous game / Basic rifle handling
  • Using binoculars

The course is endorsed by FGASA who have THETA accreditation. FGASA is the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa and THETA is the Tourism and Hospitality and Sport Education Training Authority of the South African government. These are the two bodies responsible for regulating standards within the guide training industry in southern Africa.

1. SAQA Unit Standards

1. Nature Site Guide (NQF2)
  1. 8440 (TG08) Conduct a guided nature experience in a limited geographic area.
  2. 8478 (TG01) Create a guided experience for customers.
  3. 8456 (TG11) Conduct a limited guided nature experience

2. FGASA Qualifications

1. Level 1 Guide

Duration: 4 weeks
Minimum pax: 5; Maximum pax: 20
Cost: We have chosen not to put our rates here as they vary for each camp. Please contact us for course rate.
Venue: Karongwe and Selati Camp

Download pdf info.

If this is your dream or passion, allow us to help you fulfill that dream. After all, there is no time like the present. Contact us.

 
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