My SAWorldVets Conservation Experience

Brian Tighe, Ross University

Experiences, Honorable Mention 

Often times when a person says you’ll have the opportunity to collaborate with a multimillion dollar industry, the opportunity to take care of animals that run into the tens of thousands of dollars per individual, a lot of feelings can come rushing towards you.  Excitement at the opportunity, disbelief in the trust placed upon you, anxiety over the possibility of a single mishap ruining your entire career, but the one emotion you would never expect is complacency.   Sable antelope, Hippotragus niger, is a species of antelope found in the savannahs of Africa.  Its rarity is dependent on the subspecies, spanning the spectrum from critically endangered to least concern, but that “least concern” label didn’t happen by itself. 

The farmers of South Africa have learned what valuable assets these animals can be, allowing offers from wealthy folks all over the world to spill in to purchase them for a variety of reasons, the most being hunting.  This gave great incentive to increase their numbers.  So when this student says he grew complacent seeing these creatures, he wasn’t bored or uninterested in them.  It was the sheer fact that on any given day as he drove threw the country, visiting farm after farm, these animals were everywhere.  Ever been to Pennsylvania and seen all the white-tailed deer?  Or how about sheep in New Zealand?  Or castles in Ireland?  It was kind of like that.  By the end of the trip we had seen so many Sable antelope we stopped taking pictures of them.  And you know what other emotion that made us realize on our journey back?  Pride in the efforts of conservationists, farmers, and veterinarians who were able to take an animal who used to have such low numbers and blow them up into a common sighting.

            I was one of fourteen students who went on an excursion to South Africa to follow a wildlife veterinarian as he worked to help farmers and maintain conservation of the animal species there.  The group was called SAWorldVets and was worth every penny.  Essentially we were following him on a day to day work schedule, awakening each morning before sunrise to whatever was scheduled, lunch, going out to calls, and then finally coming back in the evening to crash around the campfire.  Luckily for us, we just so happened to arrive two weeks before a giant auction that would involve many of the farmers in the area and, of course, they all wanted their animals in top shape.

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Cage diving with great white sharks, Cape Town, South Africa

Entry, Creative Corner
Emily Pearce, Mississippi State University

Elephants holding up traffic (Kruger National Park, South Africa)

Externship in South Africa

Entry, Experiences
Caitlin Parsley, Auburn Univeristy

I see youSunset on Signal HillThe old man

Experiences: Parawild African wildlife management course

Winner, Experiences category
Bradley Venable, Auburn University '14

Do you know just how adventurous the veterinary profession can be? Full of twists and turns, some of which you could never be prepared for.  Our profession provides a world of opportunity waiting for you to take advantage of it. I definitely didn’t anticipate the story I am about to tell you.

The minute I signed up for the Parawild African Wildlife management course at Western Kentucky University, I knew I was in for a treat. I was set for a month long stay at various locations throughout South Africa, which involved capturing and relocating wild game for conservation purposes. Just about 22 hours of flights put this small town Kentucky boy in a daze. I was exhausted but exhilarated to be working with leopards, kudu, elephants, giraffes, and impala among othWorking on a kudu.ers including the infamous zebra. Throughout the course of the trip we were given crash courses on darting, animal behavior, conservation biology, anesthesia, and animal restraint. None of which could ever prepare me for what was to happen. It was our last day at the Phelwanna game lounge and it was absolutely perfect. The winter sun was glaring and the wind was just enough to provide relief but not quite strong enough to reveal our ninja like movements. That day, our mission was to capture three zebra and relocate them via horse trailer. We had successfully immobilized and loaded up the first two targets by means of an M99 cocktail and were administering the reversal to the third when it happened in a flash. One second I stood firmly on two feet; the next, I was flat on my back on the dry South African soil. In shock, I was left to wonder if I had signed up for this kind of adventure.

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South Africa and Wildlife

If you are interested in wildlife, natural science or just travelling this is a great opportunity. The application deadline is Oct 20. 

The International Symposium on Wildlife Utilization in South Africa (ISWU) is a biennial symposium dealing with veterinary involvement in wildlife management. It serves as a platform for leading speakers, both local and international, in the fields of Veterinary and Natural Sciences, to address veterinary students on a host of wildlife management topics and the role of the veterinarian in wildlife utilization.

http://www.symco.co.za/

Veterinary students worldwide are invited to attend this exhilarating symposium which will run from July 1-17, 2011. If you have any questions please check out the website or email dmurdy@westernu.edu.