Malawi Wildlife Rescue is a TV series following the adventures of the dedicated animal rescue and rehab team at Lilongwe Wildlife Trust.
Follow our team as they go above and beyond to save injured and orphaned animals and get them back to the wild, where they belong. Filmed both at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre – Malawi’s only wildlife sanctuary – and out in the field with the Wildlife Emergency Response Unit, the show captures the highs and lows of life at the frontline of conservation and gives viewers a dramatic insight into the threats facing Malawi’s wildlife.
How to watch the show
Click here to find the Love Nature channel in your country.
Malawi
Season 1 aired on Love Nature on Zuku (channel 410) and StarTimes (channel 224).
Season 2 aired on Love Nature through Canal+ Afrique (in English).
Rest of Africa
Where Love Nature is available
UK
Sky Nature (channel 124). Also available to stream on demand.
Germany & Italy
Sky Nature
Rest of Europe & Middle East, South America, Asia, Canada
Where Love Nature is available
US
Season 1 aired on the Smithsonian Channel
Meet some of the people in the show
Dr. Amanda Salb
Head Vet
Head Vet
Amanda earned her DVM from Louisiana State University in 2004, and received her Master’s degree from the University of Calgary in 2011. She practiced for seven years in the US and Canada in private practice, industry and zoos before heading abroad to work in in-situ conservation. She joined Lilongwe Wildlife Trust (LWT) in 2013. As the Head Veterinarian, she supervises the veterinary clinic at the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre, oversees LWT's Clinical Projects in One Health and runs the Wildlife Welfare Unit and the Wildlife Emergency Response Unit, a joint partnership between LWT and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife. Amanda is also an honorary Parks and Wildlife officer.
Laston Chimaliro
Wildlife Technician
Wildlife Technician
Laston is a veterinary student at the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR). He’s been volunteering at the Wildlife Centre since 2018, and started as Wildlife Technician in 2020. He works closely with Amanda, triaging new animal intakes and routine clinical examinations. Laston also helps with wildlife monitoring in the wild and post-release for rehabilitees. His thesis investigates the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in conservation monitoring.
Torie Curr Smith
Animal Care and Rehabilitation Manager
Animal Care and Rehabilitation Manager
Torie first started at the LWT 8 years ago as a rehabilitation coordinator. After spending a year at the centre working on everything from orphan care to integrations she returned to Australia to take up a career as a zoo keeper. After spending a few years back in Aus in zoos and studying to become a qualified vet nurse she decided that it was time to head back to Africa. Torie spent two years in South Africa as the animal manager at a 600 animal primate rescue centre before finally be lured back to the LWC to work as the Animal Care and Rehabilitation manager. Torie’s favourite part of the job is working on foster mum integrations and being able to give orphaned primates a second chance at a family.
Olivia Sievert
Research Manager
Research Manager
Olivia is an ecologist who specialises in carnivores and movement ecology. She obtained her Master’s degree in Conservation Ecology from Stellenbosch University and has spent the last six years working on various projects around Malawi, including acting as Amanda’s assistant on countless wildlife captures and rescues. Having just finished three years studying the reintroduction of cheetahs to Malawi, Olivia now manages LWT’s research programmes. Her goal is to ensure research provides invaluable data to wildlife managers to assist in the long-term conservation of species and ecosystems in Malawi.
Kondwani Kusakala
Integrations Coordinator
Integrations Coordinator
Kondwani graduated from LUANAR with a degree in National Resource Management and Wildlife and Ecotourism. He started as an intern at the Centre in 2018, quickly became a rehabilitation assistant and is now our full-time Integrations Coordinator. He works primarily with rescued, orphaned and abandoned primates. He ensures that no social animal has to live alone. He does this by integrating primates and observing their behaviours – a role that requires a great deal of attention to detail. Kondwani is also regularly first on scene to rescue animals as he attends the majority of our animal call outs. Kondwani really enjoys the release of troops, which is a testament to the hard work he plays a large part in. “The end result is very satisfying”, he says.
Mandy Harwood
Primate Consultant
Primate Consultant
Mandy is Malawi’s leading primatologist. Originally from the US, she worked in Malawi for five years as the Research and Release Manager for Lilongwe Wildlife Trust. She specialises in behavioural ecology, distribution, and the release of baboons, and vervet and samango monkeys and also with elephants and African large mammals. Mandy gained both captive and field-based primate experience working in South Africa, Argentina, and Indonesia. She obtained her MSc in Primate Conservation from Oxford Brookes University in the UK, and conducted her dissertation research on baboon behaviour in Botswana.
Dr. Charlotte Bentley
Wildlife Centre Vet
Wildlife Centre Vet
Charlotte graduated from Edinburgh Vet school in 2017 having completed externships at Edinburgh Zoo, Taronga Zoo and Smithsonian's National Zoo, Washington DC. She has previously worked in small animal practice in the UK dealing with a wide range of animals. As the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre vet, she ensures that animals undergoing rehabilitation receive any medical treatment needed prior to release. Charlotte is also currently studying for a certificate of advanced practice in Zoological Medicine.
Auze Polela
Vet Nurse
Vet Nurse
Auze started working at the Centre in 2015 in orphan care. She has learned lots of on-the-job skills and now as vet nurse, has been trained by vets in the feeding and general animal care of bushbabies, hedgehogs, antelopes, owls and serval cats. Auze’s favourite animal at the Centre is Target, a vervet monkey and foster mother superstar. Auze enjoys training volunteers and doing wildlife health checks.
Gideon Banda
Enrichment Coordinator
Enrichment Coordinator
Gideon has a BSc in Natural Resources Management and Wildlife and Ecotourism from LUANAR. Through his studies, he learned to love wildlife more, his favourite area specifically being in ornithology. “Birds are ecological indicators, they can give signs on environmental dangers”, he says. Gideon creates entertaining and challenging activities to keep our wildlife engaged and stimulated while they are rehabilitated. He loves the challenge of designing these projects. It allows him to be creative and innovative as well as collaborate with his colleagues in integration and animal care. Through opportunities to observe in the clinic, Gideon has also developed an interest in vet nursing.
Gabriel Mchona
Animal Care Attendant
Animal Care Attendant
Gabbie joined LWT in December 2008 as a volunteer tour guide. In 2009, he was asked to help care for an orphaned baby elephant. Working day and night shifts, he transitioned into a full-time job caring for the elephant. He later took on responsibilities with reptiles, carnivores and primates – particularly olive baboons. "I like the reptiles the most because I've been working with them for the longest," says Gabbie. "But I'm so glad to work with many different species – I love learning and understanding their behaviours."
Abel Chipembo
Wildlife Care Technician
Wildlife Care Technician
Abel provides veterinary assistance at the Wildlife Centre, caring for animals prior to their release back into the wild, assisting in human-wildlife conflict callouts and providing enrichment for the animals at the Centre. Abel has undertaken research on coexistence between humans and baboon as well as parasitic co-transmission at Kuti Wildlife Reserve. He has particular experience caring for pangolins.
Volunteer with us
If you’re inspired by the series, why not sign up for a placement with us! We offer a range of opportunities, including general sanctuary work, research placements, vet externships and vet medicine courses.
Lilongwe Wildlife Trust operates at the forefront of some of Malawi’s most urgent conservation challenges, and our work spans wildlife welfare, rescue and rehabilitation, advocacy, education, research and conservation justice. This means that if you sign up for a placement with us, you’ll be part of a much bigger picture. Whether you’re working with our rescued animals, contributing to a research project or supporting our education team, volunteering with us is a chance to make a real difference to conservation in a critical context.
Check out the volunteer section of our website and then email placements@lilongwewildlife.org if you have any other questions.
