Grayden Easton, Westminster University
After a successful midterm performance by myself and the rest of the students at Round River Botswana. Our Incredible Instructors Domini Bowen and Pedro Reali informed our group that for our midterm break we would be heading to Chobe National park and Kasane to spend a few days and relax.
While in Kasane we had the incredible opportunity to go to Caracal Wildlife Sanctuary in Kasane Botswana there we spent the morning looking and interacting with wildlife some of which we hadn’t seen while on the trip. One of the species that caught my eye more than anything was the assortment of reptiles they had on display and unfortunately for myself this did include snakes (I hate snakes). Immediately we were being taught about these reptiles and how they interact with people and the environment around us we started off light with a few nonvenomous snakes including the brown house snake which many of the students not including myself held for a period of time.
Dix with the brown house snake
After this we moved on to the star of the show unfortunately for me this was the venomous species. I was able to see up close this incredibly deadly but docile creatures. Here in Botswana there is a misconception that these creatures are something that needs to be exterminated and killed if ever someone encounters them. However, in reality these animals are a huge part of the ecosystem especially here in Botswana. While my opinions on the animals don’t change, I am still personally scared of them, I understand the nature and the importance of these incredibly beautiful creatures.
Two black mambas (deadliest snake in the Africa)
After the snakes we head towards some of the other animals (to my relief) we took some time to hold and interact with two leopard tortoises which I enjoyed thoroughly. We saw African Crested Porcupines and a huge rock python. We went outside into the rest of the facility to see an impala that followed us around the entire time.
Me with impala in question
After this we saw some of the birds all of which had super interesting back stories and made me realize that birds are an extremely overlooked population. Here in Botswana, owls are seen as an evil omen and they end up killing the owls when of course in reality they are just creatures trying to survive.
Our whole morning there was so incredible and educating I am so extremely grateful for the opportunity and privilege to be offered the chance to be a part of something so cool and impactful here in Botswana.