By: Sebastian Janowitz, University of Vermont
Our time in Botswana is beginning to wind down, but we have still been treated to some incredible new sights and experiences. Close encounters with a pride of lions, playing wiffleball at sunset with a bat hand-carved from Mopane, and catching a glimpse of the elusive and almost mythical Sable Antelope are just a few things that made Khwai a magical place to spend some of our last days in the field.
One afternoon, just as the sun was beginning to get lower in the sky, SB returned to camp with the news that he had seen a group of African Wild Dogs just down the road. All of us, students and instructors alike hurried to climb into our three cars and sped off to find them. Some of us were giddy with excitement, others doubtful that we would really be able to see these animals. All semester, we’ve learned about these dogs and their struggle to survive in the face of habitat loss and fragmentation, so the prospect of seeing them up close felt like a fantasy.
As we turned onto the main road, after giving the local Impala herds our regards, we did not have to drive far before a group of safari vehicles told us that the dogs were still there. As we approached, SB wove our car between the other vehicles that had gathered to give us a closer look for a few moments before backing off to make space for the rest of our group. I was surprised to see that the pack of eighteen dogs was lazing in the grass just a few feet from the road, seemingly unbothered by their audience for the time being. I hadn’t brought a camera with me, and while I regretted it at the time, I am glad to have had a moment to just watch them. I was struck by how gorgeous and emotional these creatures are, and I felt tears well up almost instantly. They seemed so blissful and naïve, as if I expected them to be aware that they are at risk of extinction.
All of the wildlife I have seen in Botswana has left me awestruck, but the Wild Dogs moved me more than any other. Is this because they reminded me so much of my own canine companion back home? Is it because I knew they were so scarce, and it makes a sighting of them so precious? I watched the safari vehicles begin to pile up and crowd closer and closer around the dogs, with some vehicles pursuing the dogs as they tried to move away. It seems that we put these creatures under more pressure because they are rare and we are hungry to have a perfect experience of them.
On the drive back to camp (after happening to stumble upon a beautiful male lion), I reflected on my time here in Botswana. I realized that what seeing the dogs made me feel paralleled the worries I have had as the semester is drawing to a close. I feel that I have to grasp every possible experience, every souvenir and means of remembering this place and all of the things I’ve seen and done here. Soon enough, I will have to get on an airplane and fly across the ocean once again. I ask myself, when will I see my last zebra? Will I be able to remember what the wild sage smells like? Will I remember how it feels to be woken up by hyenas in the night? What part of this experience do I want to still have with me ten years from now?
Despite my fears, I know that I will be happy and satisfied once I leave, and I will look back and feel that my experience is complete.
