When we’re little people always ask, “So what do you want to be when you get older?” For some it’s an astronaut, a doctor, a veterinarian, but for me, it was always a paleontologist. I was fascinated by the lives and stories of ancient animals that roamed the earth long before we were here. I couldn’t believe there had been animals that stood 15 meters tall and were equipped with razor sharp teeth, or huge skulls for ramming into each other, or massive necks for reaching the very tops of trees. Slowly, however, I realized that my passion really lay with the animals that still roam the Earth. My favorite books ended up being “Barbapapa’s Ark”, about saving wildlife from pollution and overhunting, and “Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?”. I also used to go on regular movie trips with my grandfather to watch the new nature documentaries that were premiering, and I would spent most of my free time learning all I could about animals.
I’ve always loved animals more than most, but it wasn’t until high school that I was finally able to pinpoint that conservation of wildlife was what I was going to dedicate my life to. After a trip to Uganda in 11th grade, I fell in love with African wildlife and I decided to study Wildlife Biology with the intention of spending the rest of my life traveling the world to learn all that I could about the earth’s incredible animals and to do my best to protect them.
In a lot of ways, I feel like my life has been leading up to this leap I’ve taken to study wildlife conservation in Botswana for a semester, and it feels like the very beginning to the rest of my life as a conservationist. It’s a really special feeling when you finally start to do what you feel you were always meant to. Waking up in a tent in Botswana and hearing hyenas calling at 3 am feels normal when you’ve been waiting your whole life to do it and being on a transect looking for giraffes and elephants and lions (if we’re lucky) never gets any less exciting when you are simply fascinated by their presence.
Being in Botswana for the past two months, I’ve learned more than I ever could have in a classroom. I’ve seen firsthand how important it is to include people and communities in wildlife conservation, and how much of an impact traditional ecological knowledge can have on these efforts. I’ve also learned a lot of practical skills that I am excited to take back with me. I’ve learned how to make bread using a Dutch oven and coals from a fire. I’ve learned a lot about how cars work and how to check to make sure they are functioning properly, and I’ve learned how to use ratchet straps to tie things down to the top of a car.
I’ve also learned a lot about myself. I’ve been able to test my resilience and stamina, and I’ve discovered I am no longer as afraid of spiders as I was when I was younger. (I.e., I didn’t run away when I found a Baboon Spider near our camp). I’ve found that my favorite part of the day is when the family of elephants walks right past camp on their way to the watering hole and I get excited to go watch the Matshwane (Honey badgers) that are digging into our compost pit. Most importantly, perhaps, I’ve learned that my drive for doing what I love is so much stronger than I had thought and I’ve realized there is not much I wouldn’t do to learn as much about nature and wildlife as possible. Also, as it turns out, this princess prefers Chacos over hiking boots.
People have often asked me if I am ever scared when I’m out in the bush. Sure, there are moments when I feel nervous or startled because of a new situation I’m in, like staring down a huge bull elephant that is walking right towards the chair I’m in at camp, or realizing that an adult male lion is calling just across the river and all I have between us is a canvas tent. But that feeling quickly goes away when I get excited that I’ve finally been able to start the rest of my life, and start to realize the dream I’ve been waiting for since I was a child.
