Khwai Safari

We spent 4 nights at the Khwai community area, which borders Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park. We saw lions, leopards, spotted hyena, wild dogs, elephants, giraffes, zebras, waterbuck, reedbuck, red lethwe, warthog, impala, steenbok, hippos, and lots of bird species.

One of our game vehicles. Photo by Maggie.

Signs of elephant damage. Photo by Marshall.

Kareem, Anna, Margaret, Daryl, Erin, and Loraine. Photo by Maggie.

Hippos hippo'ing around. Photo by Marshall.

The Delta at sunset. Photo by Marshall.

Baby baboon. Photo by Marshall.

Rare sighting of a leopard and her cub.

Wild dogs, which are extremely endangered. Photo by Maggie.

Elephants coming down to the river for a drink. Photo by Maggie.

Elephants at sunset. Photo by Maggie.

Packing up camp - heading back to Maun.

More Photos from CKGR

We are back in Maun after spending 4 nights in Khwai, a village on the edge of the Okavango Delta (photos soon to come). However, here are some more photos from our time in Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

We will be in Maun for the remainder of the program. The student phones will work, so feel free to call them (one of our students left one of the phones at Modisa so please use the 75708877 number).

Driving through CKGR. Photo by Marshall.

Photo by Marshall.

A leopard, which some of us saw being chased by two bat-eared foxes. Photo by Marshall.

Kareem.

Bat-eared foxes have quickly become a student favorite.

Deception Valley. Photo by Marshall.

Our game vehicles at sunset. Photo by Marshall.

Lily dancing across the pan. Photo by Maggie.

Even from Botswana, Study Abroaders make news at UT!

Dumelang! Our intrepid Study Abroaders are making news from across the Atlantic... their adventures have been picked up by UT's Department of Geography & the Environment as this week's lead story http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/geography/. There's always lots happening there though, so if you're accessing this later the story will be archived at http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/geography/news/6729.

Be sure to check it out- the lead photo is by one of our own students, there's a team photo from Africa's best TA (hint, hint- he also is on the GRG news for winning a national award for his ongoing research in Botswana, third item from the top or access it at http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/geography/news/6690), and there's also a fabulous video that UT Study Abroad made based on exit interviews with our 2012 Inaugural Class in case you haven't seen it yet... it lives on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Fng-IcBVKU.

Meanwhile, the team arrived safely in Khwai and all are busy exploring the Okavango Delta, often called the jewel of the Kalahari. They return to Maun in a few days for the last week of the course, and Okavango photos will be posted once they are back in civilization. Stay tuned!

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

We just got back from Central Kalahari Game Reserve, where we spent 3 nights. We saw lions, a leopard, bat-eared foxes, honey badgers, aardwolves, jackals, giraffes, and lots of antelopes.

We are back in Maun to restock and refuel before heading into Moremi Game Reserve today. Here are a few photos from our time in CKGR. We will post more photos after we get back on Thursday (including student's photos).

Driving through CKGR.

RAWR!! A male lion and his girlfriend lioness (not pictured) 25 meters from the car. Students enjoyed seeing wildlife up close, from a safe distance from the vehicle.

 Gemsbok antelope.

Bernard driving up front with Daryl through the pans.

Group photo in Deception Valley.

Modisa Wildlife Project

We have been at Modisa Wildlife Project today and yesterday. Val and Mikkel started Modisa in 2010 and have been managing a 10,000 hectare wildlife farm since. They take care of 30 lions, 2 leopards, a pack of African wild dogs, and their baby 16 month lioness Sirga (which they raised by hand). Modisa aims to raise awareness in conservation issues, human wildlife conflicts, and gives volunteers authentic hand-on experiences in the African savanna. We are lucky to get the opportunity to experience these animals up close before heading into the wild parks and reserves of Botswana.

Val (left) and Mikkel (right) giving the students a lecture on human-wildlife conflict issues.

Val showing the students the young lioness Sirga.

Students playing volleyball at the Modisa camp.

Today we walked with Val to observe wildlife tracks and signs.

Val explaining how to identify wildlife tracks.

Samsom, one of the male lions at Modisa, inside his enclosure.

Made it to MODISA!

Dumelang, friends and family!

A very quick sat phone conversation this afternoon confirmed the group arrived safely at MODISA. As Thomas mentioned, pictures will be posted on the blog once they are back from the deep bush, but until then if you are interested in learning more about MODISA, you may visit their website at http://www.modisa.org or find them on Facebook (greater information on that site) at https://www.facebook.com/modisa.org. Parents especially - do bear in mind that our students won't be hugging lions or going on lion walks. You may see some of our students from last year on MODISA's site or in last year's blog entries, but Sirgha is now too old and too dangerous for that type of interaction with this year's students!

Meanwhile, stay tuned for some new publicity on campus regarding the program....

Last Night at Thakadu

Tonight, we have our last night at Thakadu Bush Camp. The last three and a half weeks have been great. We finished lots of field work, had our daily lectures, and several student presentations on scientific articles related to environmental and social issues in Botswana. We are leaving early tomorrow morning for Modisa Wildlife Project, where we will spend two nights before we head into Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Resources will be extremely limited in the next two weeks, including water, firewood, and internet of course. However, we will post again as soon as we have internet again.

We will also not have cell phone service while on safari. However, we will have our satellite phone turned on from 7 PM to 8 PM (Botswana time) every night for emergencies.

Satellite phone # 00 881631627587