South Africa is an ideal location to learn about wildlife conservation. In coordination with Southern African Wildlife College, my immersion in South African culture and wildlife conservation culture provided both broad and focused experiences that significantly expanded my knowledge. These experiences led to deeper reflection and unexpectedly prompted me to reconsider and evolve my previously held views regarding wildlife conservation strategies and incorporating a more global perspective.

Wildlife viewing and interactions in Kruger National Park and surrounding areas were accomplished with game drives, bush hikes, visits to wildlife reserves, wildlife rehabilitation centers, bird banding and trail cam placement. This experience resulted in observation of 28 different mammal species and many others. The trail cam brought views of 3 additional mammal species including the wild dog species which is rated as endangered on the IUCN red list. Other unique wildlife sightings included a roadside observation of one of only three WHITE lions roaming the area, the “big five,” and a cheetah sitting majestically atop a large boulder. Wildlife instructors told of experiences and facts to make animal behaviors more vivid and resultantly enhanced both learning and the memory of live encounters and observations.

When visiting Moholoholo Animal Rehabilitation Center, I had the unique experience of meeting Stoffel, a honey badger, whose incredible intelligence, and resourcefulness caused this animal to become a viral sensation. Stoffel’s story is a unique and humorous story and can be viewed on YouTube or other social media such as Tik Tok.

The ultimate experience of my wildlife conservation adventure was to participate in a wild rhino capture for horn shaving and tagging. This is a strategy that directly impacts rhino conservation to deter poaching. Once the tranquilizer shot was delivered from a helicopter, remarkably, the full capture process ending with the rhino walking away, took less than 30 minutes. An additional benefit experienced in this rhino capture was that the female rhino was accompanied by her young offspring which was thought to be about three months old. Additionally, I gained insight into time concerns, animal positioning and physical monitoring during sedation which are all observed components to prevent harm to the rhino’s body systems and avoid risk of death.

This experience provided innumerable learning opportunities, expanded my wildlife conservation knowledge, and further clarified my career path. One of the wildlife guides gave a great explanation that sums up wildlife conservation: The ecosystem is like a brick wall and every species is a brick. If a few bricks disappear, the wall may be unstable, but it should still stand. However, if 10-20 bricks disappear from the wall, a wind or other external force would collapse the wall. This analogy helps me better visualize and internalize what I learned through all these experiences: each species exists as benefit to another.

Name: Ellie Baldwin
Status: Junior
Major: Animal Science
Hometown: Lake Orion, Michigan
Program: Exploring Wildlife Conservation in South Africa