South Africa: Study Abroad 2016
My name is Jack Rabe and I am a junior at The Ohio State University. I am currently the president of the Fish and Wildlife Society at OSU and I am majoring in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology. I plan on attending graduate school to receive a Masters and Ph.D in conservation biology so I can achieve my dreams of becoming a wildlife/conservation biologist and a wildlife photographer. As long as I can remember I have always loved animals and had a true passion for nature. Working with animals and helping to preserve not only wildlife but the extraordinary planet that we live on has always been my life-long goal and what I plan to dedicate my life to. I also love to learn about new cultures and places all across the world and someday I plan on working with wildlife in a foreign country, possibly somewhere in Africa even, which makes this study abroad trip an incredible opportunity and experience.
The trip itself is focused on Wildlife Conservation in South Africa and spans from May 22, 2016 to June 12, 2016. The trip includes many unbelievable opportunities throughout the course of the expedition and I will travel to many different places in eastern South Africa and along the Mozambique border in Kruger National Park.
(Kruger National Park)
The first part of the expedition involves helping out at lion and cheetah breeding projects where we get to interact with the cubs and learn more about the project and what they are doing to help reintroduce them into areas of Africa where they have been extirpated and how they are being protected in the wild through different management techniques. Several workshops will be done in partnership with the North West University in South Africa to learn more about population dynamics, wildlife ranching, and a variety of wildlife management techniques being used in conservation.
We then travel to a Reptile Center where we attend a workshop on how to handle and care for highly venemous snakes in the area. We also head to a world-renowned wildlife rehabilitation center where we get to experience and observe the care for a wide range of animals. Three days are then spent studying the breathtaking wildlife of South Africa in Kruger National Park!
(Black Mamba-deadliest snake in the world)
(Lions in Kruger National Park)
The second half of the trip is spent learning about elephant conservation at a game reserve where we will meet up with the herd and learn from their handlers about elephants and how they are helping to manage them as well as learn all about their social structure, intelligence, memory, sense of smell, and more! The last six days are spent participating and observing hands-on Game Capture and working with wildlife veterinarians to learn how to capture, handle, and translocate african wildlife which ends with a mock darting exercise from a helicopter that everyone gets to take part in!
This trip is truly a once in a lifetime experience and not only would it be a dream come true if I am able to go, but it would also help take me one step farther in achieving my career dreams of becoming a wildlife conservation biologist so that I can spend my life doing what I love. Not only for me, but for the remarkable animals all across the planet.
Thank you!
The trip itself is focused on Wildlife Conservation in South Africa and spans from May 22, 2016 to June 12, 2016. The trip includes many unbelievable opportunities throughout the course of the expedition and I will travel to many different places in eastern South Africa and along the Mozambique border in Kruger National Park.
(Kruger National Park)The first part of the expedition involves helping out at lion and cheetah breeding projects where we get to interact with the cubs and learn more about the project and what they are doing to help reintroduce them into areas of Africa where they have been extirpated and how they are being protected in the wild through different management techniques. Several workshops will be done in partnership with the North West University in South Africa to learn more about population dynamics, wildlife ranching, and a variety of wildlife management techniques being used in conservation.
We then travel to a Reptile Center where we attend a workshop on how to handle and care for highly venemous snakes in the area. We also head to a world-renowned wildlife rehabilitation center where we get to experience and observe the care for a wide range of animals. Three days are then spent studying the breathtaking wildlife of South Africa in Kruger National Park!
(Black Mamba-deadliest snake in the world)(Lions in Kruger National Park)The second half of the trip is spent learning about elephant conservation at a game reserve where we will meet up with the herd and learn from their handlers about elephants and how they are helping to manage them as well as learn all about their social structure, intelligence, memory, sense of smell, and more! The last six days are spent participating and observing hands-on Game Capture and working with wildlife veterinarians to learn how to capture, handle, and translocate african wildlife which ends with a mock darting exercise from a helicopter that everyone gets to take part in!
This trip is truly a once in a lifetime experience and not only would it be a dream come true if I am able to go, but it would also help take me one step farther in achieving my career dreams of becoming a wildlife conservation biologist so that I can spend my life doing what I love. Not only for me, but for the remarkable animals all across the planet.
Thank you!
Organizer
Jack Rabe
Organizer
Painesville, OH