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About us

about us

our story

Wildlife Watching Expeditions was founded in 2023 by friends who share the same passion: wildlife, adventure and conservation.

We love searching for wildlife and exploring the (few) wild corners that are left on this planet. We often focus on rare/elusive carnivores because they normally only thrive in healthy and biodiverse ecosystems with plenty of prey. In this human dominated world, this doesn’t mean that we will only take you to uninhabited wildernesses. We are realistic and want to promote co-existence between wildlife and people, since in our view, this is the only way wildlife will have a future amidst an ever growing human population. We will take you to unspoilt natural areas, but more often find ourself in the middle of rural communities, or even near large metropolitan cities, to see the most unlikely species thrive in a shared landscape. Wolf packs now live within 15km of the city centre of Rome, the highest leopard densities in the world can be found within the city limits of Mumbai and the crowded lowlands of Nepal offer some stunning opportunities to see tigers in the wild.

Co-existence is not easy though, habitat loss is a major threat for all wildlife and human wildlife conflict, poaching and intolerance are the main causes of declining populations for a lot of species. We want to make a difference and combine sustainable wildlife watching with education and conservation. Therefore a percentage of our profits will go to conservation projects on the ground at the destinations we visit. This is to ensure that local communities and wildlife populations benefit from our trips and to ensure that both have a future on this beautiful planet.

why choose us?

We focus our trips on exploring the entire ecosystem and learn about the role of our target species within it. During the trip we maximize our chances on seeing wildlife but also focus on their role within the habitat and the connections between different species. While looking for wolves, we focus on how they use the landscape and influence their prey, which in turn influences the vegetation and in this way we start to understand how an ecosystem works and how everything is connected. We use world-class guides, who have years of experience in the field and are expert trackers. We know the places that are frequently visited by our target species and have studied their behaviour in detail. This is why we have high success rates, even though guarantees can never be given in the wild. We have had amazing wildlife observations on all continents and invite you to join us and experience a unique wildlife adventure!

meet your guides

mark kaptein

(guide)

Mark Kaptein lived and worked in South Africa for three years after he graduated with a degree in wildlife management and conservation. Here he conducted research on African carnivores (mostly cheetah and leopard) and spent a great amount of time observing these species in their habitats.

Mark attended a guiding school in South Africa where he obtained all the necessary qualifications for guiding on foot and from a vehicle. Whilst his initial guiding was a means to fund his field work with large carnivores, he quickly fell in love with the profession and started to guide more frequently, and began leading tours to numerous locations. Recently he has been exploring Europe’s wildest places and has spent a lot of time in the Bieszczady area while monitoring wolves.

Mark is also a keen wildlife photographer and videographer. As a Wildlife Watching Expeditions tour leader, he hopes to share his passion for wildlife and conservation, as well as his skills in tracking animals.

jillian groeneveld

(founder / guide)

Jillian graduated with a degree in Wildlife Management and has worked on multiple marine mammal research projects as a research assistant in Western Australia. For the last several years he has been working as an ecologist in the Netherlands, currently focusing on maintaining habitat for protected species within the municipality of Rotterdam.

Whenever possible, Jillian is tracking animals around the globe varying from tracking tigers on foot in the lowlands of Nepal, tracking lynxes through the pristine forests and raised bogs of snowy Estonia and recently also on home turf, successfully tracking the first established wolfpack in the Netherlands since the recent return of the species after a 150 year absence.

Jillian is an experienced wildlife photographer and outdoor gear enthusiast. As your tour leader, he strives to deliver an unforgettable experience by using his tracking and photography skills to create lasting memories.

Martijn Struijf​

(founder / guide)

Martijn Struijf graduated with a degree in Wildlife Management and has, among other things, researched badgers and muskrats in the Netherlands. Currently Martijn is working as a forester in the Loosdrechtse Plassen, in which he fights for the rights of nature and does his best in trying to protect it.

Martijn spends his time off closely following what goes on with the wolf, otter and badger population in the Netherlands and also loves tracking them himself on foot. During his holidays he is preferably out and about looking for bears, wolves and lynx. Apart from mammals he is also focused on anything that flies, from birds to butterflies. He has been an eager visitor of Southern African countries, mainly visiting South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. Martijn is very broadly interested in everything wildlife, and is also regularly found beneath the water’s surface, diving in countries like Bonaire, Egypt, Indonesia and Southern-France.

Martijn enjoys being outside, is very enthusiastic and is an unstoppable force once his mind is set on finding wildlife.