WILDLIFE VOLUNTEERING: THE RED FLAGS MOST PEOPLE MISS
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My time on the Okavango Wilderness Project was incredible. This conservation experience was rustic yet comfortable. With no electricity (although Wi-Fi was available), this was not a luxury safari camp, and that's just the way I like it.
The Okavango and Botswana in general are world-class wildlife destinations, and that means a considerable economic incentive for conservation that is provided by wildlife and volunteering.
During the day, we recorded data regarding target wildlife species on established transects or searched for interesting wildlife. This data will establish some baseline population numbers for species of interest to the Botswanan government.
I am a zookeeper by profession and a birder. The profuse and gorgeous bird life was as interesting to me as the more famous charismatic mammals. While I enjoy working with zoo animals, there is a different and very special excitement involved in seeing such a vast diversity of species in the wild.
I encourage all participating as volunteers to think beyond an interest only in the Big Five: elephants, lions, leopards, African buffalo, and rhino.
We did see all of them except for rhinos, but the full array of fascinating wildlife should be embraced. We slept in a tented camp and, as a safety precaution, stayed in our tents until dawn. This was not a fenced camp, and all of the wildlife was free to come and go, especially after dark. This was part of the excitement and the charm. During the night, we heard lions roaring in the distance and hyenas vocalising in what sometimes seemed to be inside our camp. This is the real deal. All of the animals are completely wild and should be treated with due respect.
One particularly outstanding wildlife sighting was seeing the endangered African Wild Dog. Botswana is a core country for the less than 6,600 total population of Wild Dogs left in the world, as the Okavango has the largest Wild Dog population of anywhere in Africa. We saw the Alpha female waiting outside the den, her pups below ground and out of view, while the pack was out on a hunt. One of the pack members returned as we watched while they fed the Alpha part of the kill they had made.
Our three Okavango staff members who accompanied us were skilled and knowledgeable, and we all became friends during our experience. I was one of two volunteers during each of my two-week stays and enjoyed the friendship formed with the other volunteers. All in all, it was a real plus that we had a three staff to two volunteer participant ratio.
I appreciated the obvious commitment of the Botswana team and ACE to wildlife conservation.
All in all, an amazing experience. I want to do it again!
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