MEET THE TEAM

Meet the team of the people that give their everything every single day to make DAKTARI the best it can be.
Our team consists of both paid local staff and international volunteers that devote 6 or more months of their life to our cause.

Co-Founders
Ian and Michèle met at Tshukudu Lodge many years ago and fell in love. After getting married, they created DAKTARI in 2006. Michèle’s favourite animal is a dassie and Ian’s an elephant.
Director
Camilla, 26 years old, holds the position of Director at DAKTARI. She ensures the smooth operation of everything related to DAKTARI, including the well-being of animals and volunteers.
Sales & Bookings Manager
Pretty is 32 years old and comes from Turkey Zone 1, South Africa. She has been at DAKTARI since November 2016 and her favourite animal is a porcupine.
Camp maintenance Manager
Lucky is 43 years old and lives in Enable. His favourite animal is a elephant. His passion is to carve wooden animals.
Animal Care Manager
Helena is from Suffolk, England! she is 20 years old, studying zoology and primatology at the university of north wales. She loves every animal from Bees to Buffalo, her favourites animals at Daktari are the Vervet Monkeys.
Office Manager
Patience is 29 years old. She comes from Turkey zone 1 and has been working at DAKTARI since January. Her favourite animal is a meerkat.
Volunteer Coordinator
Pertunia is 25 years old and comes from Turkey zone 3. She started working at DAKTARI in November 2023. Her favourite animal is a rabbit.
Outreach Manager
Julie is 29 years old and comes from France! She is constantly looking for new experiences and loves contemplating the beauty of animals and their natural behavior. She does her best to make children want to protect the nature and her favourites animals are eagles and servals.
Camp Maintenance
Thabo is 37 years old from Turkey village. Thabo knows the Merrifield’s since he was 17 years old. He is working at DAKTARI since January 2022. His favourite animal is the bushbaby.
Housekeeping
Nakedi is 26 years old and lives in Turkey Zone 1. He started working at DAKTARI in May 2021, under the Yes4youth programme for 12 months. and his favourite animal is a cheetah.
Project Manager
Felicia is 33 years old and comes from Sweden. Her favourite animal is the Dassie.
Marketing Manager
Edouard is 23 years old and comes from France! He loves every kind of animals but his favourites are big cats and monkeys.
Fundraising Manager
Jason is 27 and comes from Port Elizabeth, here in South Africa. He is a qualified venom snake handler and breeder, which are of course his favourites animals.