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Deciding to do a wildlife internship in a different country can be exciting. The anticipation of learning about a new culture and stepping out of one’s comfort zone can be both exhilaration and nerve racking. It can be even more intimidating when there are hundreds of agencies, companies and programs all claiming to give you the most authentic experience. For anyone looking to volunteer in South Africa there are several different types of internships to choose from. Depending on what interests you there are wildlife center internships, wildlife photography internships, wildlife biology internships and wildlife conservation internships. They all sound similar but each are uniqueRead More →

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African elephants are the largest land-animals on earth. Though generally peaceful, timid animals, elephants can be extremely dangerous if they feel threatened or confused by humans, cars, or other animals. The elephant species live in herds and function in a matriarchal society, meaning the mother or oldest female in any given herd is the leader of the pack. All the young elephants look up to their matriarchal ruler to learn which plants to eat, how to use their trunk, and how to act like an elephant. Thus, just as human parents teach their children how to behave like civilized human beings, elephant parents demonstrate toRead More →

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African elephants are the largest land-animals on earth. Though generally peaceful, timid animals, elephants can be extremely dangerous if they feel threatened or confused by humans, cars, or other animals. The elephant species live in herds and function in a matriarchal society, meaning the mother or oldest female in any given herd is the leader of the pack. All the young elephants look up to their matriarchal ruler to learn which plants to eat, how to use their trunk, and how to act like an elephant. Thus, just as human parents teach their children how to behave like civilized human beings, elephant parents demonstrate toRead More →

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If you were given the following clues, could you guess which African animal was being described? • It is a big cat • It has four legs • It has a long tail • It is golden/yellow with black spots • It has claws • It has sharp teeth • It is a predator • It has seven letters in it’s name If you guessed leopard, you are correct! If you guessed cheetah, you are also correct! Both of these African cats fit the above description. To some people with no prior exposure to leopards and cheetahs, these wild cats are unidentifiable. So, what makesRead More →

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If you were given the following clues, could you guess which African animal was being described? • It is a big cat • It has four legs • It has a long tail • It is golden/yellow with black spots • It has claws • It has sharp teeth • It is a predator • It has seven letters in it’s name If you guessed leopard, you are correct! If you guessed cheetah, you are also correct! Both of these African cats fit the above description. To some people with no prior exposure to leopards and cheetahs, these wild cats are unidentifiable. So, what makesRead More →

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Many people, initially dislike hyenas because of how they are depicted in The Lion King; evil, ugly creatures with terrifying laughs that killed innocent Simba’s heroic father, Mufasa, leaving poor, young Simba fatherless and devastated, and the entire kingdom in disarray. Because of this children’s-film-based-interpretation, I did not have much interest in meeting the hyena on the Living with Big Cats program. All of the other volunteers raved about how beautiful and magnificent she was, but all I kept thinking of was a scraggly, gray creature with an annoying laugh. The hyena on the farm, four-year-old Roxy, to my pleasant surprise, looked and behaved nothingRead More →

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Many people, initially dislike hyenas because of how they are depicted in The Lion King; evil, ugly creatures with terrifying laughs that killed innocent Simba’s heroic father, Mufasa, leaving poor, young Simba fatherless and devastated, and the entire kingdom in disarray. Because of this children’s-film-based-interpretation, I did not have much interest in meeting the hyena on the Living with Big Cats program. All of the other volunteers raved about how beautiful and magnificent she was, but all I kept thinking of was a scraggly, gray creature with an annoying laugh. The hyena on the farm, four-year-old Roxy, to my pleasant surprise, looked and behaved nothing likeRead More →

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Unfortunately, cheetahs are among the many African animals whose population is depleting at an extraordinarily rapid rate. And yet, people seem to be completely unaware regarding just how endangered cheetahs are. Currently, there are only 7,500 cheetahs left globally – including those captive in zoos. The numbers for wild cheetahs are far lower, and decreasing daily. Our Living with Cheetahs project is a place where cheetahs are bred, trained, and released with hopes of resolving this detrimental issue. Quite a few aspects contribute to the stunningly quick decline in population: 1. Natural predators Cheetahs are thin cats, and are quite small in comparison to theRead More →

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Unfortunately, cheetahs are among the many African animals whose population is depleting at an extraordinarily rapid rate. And yet, people seem to be completely unaware regarding just how endangered cheetahs are. Currently, there are only 7,500 cheetahs left globally – including those captive in zoos. The numbers for wild cheetahs are far lower, and decreasing daily. Our Living with Cheetahs project is a place where cheetahs are bred, trained, and released with hopes of resolving this detrimental issue. Quite a few aspects contribute to the stunningly quick decline in population: 1. Natural predators Cheetahs are thin cats, and are quite small in comparison to theRead More →

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South Africa has tried desperately to help save the rhino population from further depleting. With government-implemented plans of airlifts, voluntary anti-poaching teams, discrete relocation of rhinos, and thousands of dollars spent on high-tech surveillance and security, the country and its people are attempting to save one of the Big Five from extinction. New ways of combatting poachers are constantly being brain stormed. The most recent idea being implemented is utilizing abseiling attack dogs to protect the rhinos from threatening poachers. The dogs will abseil from a helicopter for about 100 feet into a bush clearing below alongside their masters, who also repel. Once on theRead More →