Namibia, an Amazing Place - Center for International Programs

One of the amazing things that we were able to do while we were at the N/a’an kuse reservation was help with the enrichment of the animals that were not able to be released back into the wild. Some of the ways that this was done were by taking them on walks and letting them out of their cages for a few hours of the day. We also played with a few of the animals as well.

I did this twice with the baboons. When with the baboons I had to remove all of our loose articles like earrings, watch, necklaces, hats and sunglasses. I also had to put our phones and water bottles in the backpack of the mentor that was to take us for a walk. This was because the baboons will jump on us (from behind) and some will expect us to carry them. The baboons have a tendency to steal anything that is loose. They know how to unzip pockets and open buttons so knowing there is safe. This includes crock charms and pop sockets from the back of phones. When we sat down for a while under a shaded tree, we were then able to take pictures and get water.

I was also able to walk Misty a caracal through the open field that lies behind the villa that I stayed in. The mentor that took her out did put a tracking collar on in just in case she does decide to run away, which she did not. I watched her climb trees and attempt to hunt in the field. Unfortunately, on this walk she did not catch anything. We were able to pet her when she came to us. I had a really good scratch going on under her chin for a good minute or two. There was even a possibility to take three cheetahs for a walk but I did not get to participate in that.

Another way that enrichment was done was by setting up the running machine. This was to get the four cheetahs Roady (the feisty one), Athena, Amber and the male Kova to chase a flag on the rope and help them burn off steam. When the machine did work for the few minutes, it was amazing to see them chase the piece of fabric. The machine needed a battery to work, which was very heavy, that did not keep a charge for very long. The rope went around four different pully devices that were hammered into the ground and then along a wheel that was connected to the machine. While we were setting up the machine the four cheetahs were free to walk around us. They were purring so loud and two of them laid down in the shade where we put our stuff. The cheetahs had a tendency to cheat and sit on the rope of the flag so that it would not move.

The large carnivores were also fed horse meat that had to be prepped for each animal. They also had a special binder with all of the carnivores and raptures listed with the amount they should eat, what they should eat, and if any medication is needed. Some of the required medication is in either a pill form that had to be hidden in the meat or a powder that had to be rubbed onto the meat. The meat was cut by a large industrial saw then weighed on a scale. When it came time to actually feed the carnivores, we rode in the back of a truck bed and then tossed the raw meat over the fence, often ending up with bloody hands. If there were several carnivores in the same cage the meat needed to be thrown at the same time. There was one cheetah Lucky that only had three legs, no teeth and was FELV positive. Therefore, she was in a cage by herself and was fed out of a special pink bowl that could not touch anything else. Her food also had to be cut into smaller bit size chunks.

There are four cages of the larger baboons that needed to be fed. The baboons also required food prep before they were fed. There was fruit, vegetables and milli pop that needed to be cut. Once that was done four bins of fruit and vegetables were loaded into the back of a truck bed. Along with four bins and one bucket of milli pop was also loaded into the truck bed. Then the volunteers climbed into the back of the truck. We rode to the first cage where we had to through one bin of fruit and vegetables and two bins of the milli pop over the fence, while the truck was moving. If we did not finish but ran out of fence the driver of the truck would reverse the truck so that we could finish tossing the food over the fence. This had to be done for all four of the enclosures. The fruit and vegetables were not bad to throw over the fence but the milli pop made a huge mess. It was almost the consistency of dried sticky mashed potatoes. It dried like cement on the hands and clothes. When tossed loose pieces would fall off and get everywhere. We were also responsible for bottle feeding the smaller baboons which was more fun and less messy.

One of my favorite things about my time at the N/a’an kuse was the activities that pertained to the APU or the anti-poaching unit. The APU resided at the Zannier Reserve that lied across the road. There were three different activities that we did under the umbrella of the APU. The first one was the APU walk, the K9 and the RRL or the Rhino Rangers Light.

The APU walk is what it sounds like. Depending on the day and the mentor depends on the path that is taken during the walk. On the day that I did the walk we walked for almost two and a half hours straight. There were very few breaks in the shade and the breaks that we took were not very long at all. Most of the breaks were to let the back of the line catch up. The walk was rather difficult since we had to keep a faster pace than I would I liked. Most of the time we were walking in sand and even in sand uphill was even harder. Making sure that one had plenty of water, sunscreen and a large brim hat was very important. We only saw one animal on our walk, and it was a Greater Kudu. On the walk the APU is looking for anything out of the normal like different foot or tire tracks, smoke, or even injured or deceased animals.

Another part of the APU is the K9 unit. Here gentlemen train with their dog to obey commands, run obstacle courses, attack and sniff out certain items. After we watched an amazing demonstration, we then had an opportunity to work with a dog of our choice. We walked with our dogs, got them to turn, sit, stay, lay down, and even play dead. I choose to work with Mufasa because he seemed like he was really enjoying himself. We then took turns hiding items like rhino horns and dust, drugs, guns, cheetah urine (since they always use the same tree) just to name a few. We then saw Mufasa run the obstacle course, which he was fast. Then attack while the person is in a building, up and tree and running. Then there was a two-dog attack. I told my husband that if I were to ever go missing, I would want Mufasa to come and find me.

The last part of APU was the RRL or the Rhino Rangers Light. This was an overnight excursion where two slept in a tent on separate cots. They would pick us up at the food prep area a little after 2:30 pm. We would then ride around in a six-person truck looking for animals that live on the reserve. We were mostly looking out for the rhinos, but we would stop to look and all of the animals that we found. There was a binder with each rhino listed. There was a chart that showed how to identify each one along with body score conditions that they are looking at so that they can record it down. After riding around for several hours looking for animals and anything that looked out of place, we went to the camp around 7 pm. There were dropped off our belongs. We cooked our dinner over an open flame. We then did a night ride from 8:30 pm until 11:30 pm. Here we were also looking for animals but just by driving around a night shining the flashlight around and in the air was showing any potential poachers that there was a presence around. We woke up early the next morning and headed out before 8:00 am for the second part of the RRL. Here we basically drove around the perimeter of the reserve looking for any hole in the fence or areas where something was digging to get in or out. If any were found it was covered up by huge rocks that were around.

We also had to test eleven sections of the electric fence to make sure that it still had power. In each section there were six different wires that needed to be tested. We were looking for a voltage of anything between 4.8-11.0 kv. Once that was done we were then dropped off at our villa since it was just us in our group. I enjoyed the RRL so much that I used my last wish to do it again on my last night there.

Johnna, SPC Namibia Program 2023 Participant