The Masai Mara cheetah, one of the park’s flagship species, has been steadily declining in numbers over the last few decades, for reasons still largely unknown. This vital project gives volunteers an opportunity to live and work in one of the world’s most famous national reserves, and be a part of the exciting research that will help stabilize and eventually restore its cheetah population.

A zebra grazing outside the volunteer house

The place: The Masai Mara Game Reserve, widely considered Africa's greatest wildlife reserve, comprises 200 square miles of rolling plains, acacia savannah and tree-lined rivers. Bordering the plains of the Serengeti and the eastern escarpment of the Great Rift Valley, the Mara is home to a truly astonishing range of life. It is one of only a handful of places in the world where the “big five” species can be seen, and it is the site of the great annual wildebeest migration, one of the world’s most spectacular natural phenomena.

The vast grassland plains, made famous by the movie “Out of Africa”, are scattered with herds of zebra, giraffe, gazelle, and topi. Smaller game, such as impala, are watched closely by the big cats—lions, cheetahs and leopards—from rocky outcrops. The Acacia forests abound with an assortment of monkeys and over 450 species of bird. Elephants and buffalo wallow in the wide Musiara Swamp, while the Mara and Talek rivers are brimming with hippos and crocodiles.

The project: Volunteers will live and work with a research team that is based in the heart of the reserve. The team, commissioned and mandated by the KWS, is headed by one of their top research scientists, Dr. Bernard Ngoru, who has been monitoring wildlife in the area for over five years. Although the duties of the team are numerous, one of the most important has become cheetah research. As recently as the year 2000, there were an estimated 60 cheetahs inside

Dr. Bernard Ngoru of the KWS

the reserve and the surrounding group ranches. But in a 2003 census, only 40 individuals were found, indicating a decline of more than 30 percent in just three years. Some estimates suggest a loss of up to 70 percent since 1990. The team now spends a significant amount of time in the field gathering information about threats facing the Mara cheetahs and putting in place measures to help stabilize the population.

An article as it appears in one of Kenya’s most popular newspapers about the project.

Everything you need to know about volunteering in the Mara.

See for yourself where you’ll be living and what kind of work you’ll be doing.

As recorded one night by a cheetah project volunteer at the research facility.