General activities

The course "African Wildlife: Health, Physical & Chemical Restraint" is an intensive, field-oriented training for veterinary students and professionals who want real, hands-on experience with African wildlife in Zimbabwe. Over eight days, participants move from core theoretical foundations at the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Zimbabwe, to full-scale capture and immobilization operations in game parks, working directly with buffalo, zebra, wildebeest, rhinoceroses, large carnivores, and Nile crocodiles.

The theoretical sessions cover the essentials of wildlife management systems, applied physiology and pharmacology of wildlife immobilization, and the principles and methods of physical and chemical restraint. Species-specific protocols are presented for wild ruminants, equids, megaherbivores (elephants, rhinos, giraffe, hippo), large carnivores, primates, birds and reptiles. Participants also explore legislation and international conventions, ethics and legal control of immobilization drugs, animal welfare in captive and semi-captive settings, wildlife forensics, and key infectious diseases at the wildlife–livestock–human interface, including surveillance strategies in conservation medicine.

Practical components start on campus with a full afternoon dedicated to equipment used for physical and chemical restraint: dart guns and projectors, dart assembly and loading, target shooting, range finding and related safety procedures.

The field days then take participants into real capture operations. Each small group is responsible for capturing buffaloes, zebra, lions, primates, rhinos, snakes, crocodiles managing anesthesia, monitoring animal welfare, and performing diagnostic sample collection under expert supervision.

A full practical day is dedicated to Nile crocodiles: from farm management, biosecurity and diseases, to live restraint, sedation, anesthesia, euthanasia, post-mortem techniques and specimen collection, all carried out as supervised group exercises. The course concludes with evaluation, certification and a formal wrap-up session.

All theoretical activities as well as the gun handling, target practice and crocodile activities will take place in Harare, at the University of Zimbabwe. Practical activities will take place in various public and private game parks in the vicinity of Harare. A mini-bus will be available for daily transfers from the accommodation to the venues and game parks.