Wandering Wildlife Vet

Hello from Namibia! Internet is sparse here so I will not be able to post as much as I did in Zimbabwe but I will try to update weekly. I arrived late Thursday night and had quiet some trouble finding my tent in the dark. The living conditions are raised tents with beds inside. They maintain temperature really well so it’s not cold at night but it is also very hot during the day. There are a lot of volunteers here, about 40! Most of the people are from Europe and there are only 2 other Americans.

Friday morning I had my introduction presentation. Naankuse is an amazing place and has done so much in a short amount of time. They are not only a leader in conservation here in Namibia, but they also work to help the San Bushmen. The San is believed to be the oldest living culture in the world and these people have been displaced from their land multiple times throughout history with a lot of them ending up in Namibia. Naankuse is also part of the Jolie-Pitt Foundation and they were visited by Angelina and Brad. One of their children was born in Namibia and they chose to get involved with an organization in the country. They chose Naankuse because of the humanitarian and conservation work that they do.

In the afternoon, my first activity was a game count. We went out on the farm in an open air vehicle and drove an area looking for any game that we saw. While we were out, we saw eland, oryx, giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, springbok, kudu, and warthogs! It was a really great time because I have never seen some of these species before. Unfortunately, I was really tired from traveling and getting in late the night before so I went to bed early. I’m actually sleeping really well in my tent. I’ve gotten so used to hearing animals at night that it’s quiet peaceful.

Saturday, there was some confusion about me being here so I wasn’t assigned a task. I chose to go on the baboon walk with some of the volunteers I had been hanging out with. The baboon walk is an opportunity for some of the younger baboons to get out of their enclosures for a few hours. They do this every day with the baboons that are not fully grown yet. These baboons are much different from Andre that we had at Chipangali. They are darker in color and much smaller. It was a crazy experience to just have baboons running around and jumping on you. They were so cute though. Unfortunately, we were only allowed to bring our phones and have them out for a short amount of time so I wasn’t able to take many pictures.

On Sunday, I signed up to participate in the Ancient San Skills Academy activity. This is an additional activity but it was an opportunity for me to meet the bushmen and learn about their culture. This particular family is from a town in the northeast portion of the country and they come here for 6 months to earn money and then they go back and a new family comes. They do not speak a lick of English so we had a guide with us to translate. Traditionally, the bushmen were nomadic and they followed the herds of animals for food. They would set up small huts or live in caves for a few days at a time while they hunted. They are PRO trackers. From a track, they can tell you when the animal was there, how long it will be before you see that animal, the gender, age, whether it’s pregnant or not, and so much more just from looking at it! It’s incredible. They also taught us about the different places that they use for food, tools, supplies, and medicine. There is even a plant that they have found can cure Tuberculosis (look out western medicine). They also taught us how they make fire and their dances. It was a great experience just to interact with them.

Today was my first real day of work. This morning I was in food prep. Every morning, the food is prepared for the next day so that first thing in the morning all the animals can get fed. They have such a wide variety of animals with different dietary needs it took all morning. I’m not even sure exactly what animals they have but to name a few: duiker, baboons, vervet monkeys, meerkats, striped polecat, rock dassies, hyraxes, ground squirrels, genets, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, lions, wild dogs, mongoose and so many more! I hope one day I will have time to just walk around and see all of the animals.

This afternoon, I got to participate in one of the best activities I think there is here: the cheetah walk! Similar to the baboon walk, this is an opportunity for some of the extremely human habituated cheetahs to get to go out and exercise. In Namibia, it is actually illegal to touch a large carnivore so we couldn’t touch them but we walked about 5 feet away from them. It was a really cool experience and it was amazing to see how well behaved these cheetahs were because they just jumped right into their cage when it was time to go. While we were out with them, they spotted some springbok close by and they actually chased one for a short distance. Unfortunately, they didn’t catch it but it was amazing to see. It is so good for their wellbeing to be able to do things like that even though they live in an enclosure and are fed everyday.

The rest of this week is looking to be really great as well. I will get to participate in some unique activities that I am really looking forward to. When I signed up for this project, it was focusing on the research projects that Naankuse runs. For this reason, I will be staying at a different place each week. I am spending this week at the main farm/sanctuary where I will get to help care for the permanent/semi permanent residents. Next week, I will be going on two safaris that I decided to do in addition to my volunteer work while I’m here in Namibia. For the first 3 days, I will be going to Etosha National Park in northern Namibia! At the end of the week, I will be going to the Sossusvlei which is part of the Namib Desert. These two places are some of the most well known places in Namibia and I am really excited to get to go there. I will be camping while I am there so I will post an update when I get back (hopefully with lots of beautiful pictures).

My last two weeks in Namibia will be the research-focused portion of my trip. I will spend one week at the Neuras Research Project. At this location, they focus on leopards, cheetahs, and hyenas. It is also a winery who’s proceeds help fund all of their costs. Apparently the wine they make there is really good so I will definitely have to try some. My final week will be spent at the Kanaan Desert Research Project. This project focuses on leopards, hyena, and small carnivores. It is located right on the edge of the Namib Desert so it is going to be HOT! The scenery is just like a “typical” desert so it will be beautiful to see. It’s going to be a great four weeks here in Namibia.

Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten an email from UGA yet and my internet will run out soon. I will update everyone as soon as I get an email! Keep your fingers crossed.