For my STEP signature project, I studied abroad in South Africa with Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Sciences. The program was a little over three weeks long and had a focus on exotic animal welfare and behavior of the species found in South Africa. We traveled to various animal-related places, such as Kruger National Park, and listened to professionals talk about their jobs working with exotic animals, as well as, current issues in the animal field.
For the three weeks that we stayed in South Africa, we were immersed in the culture and lives of the people there. I was really surprised to learn that South Africa did not look like I imagined it would. I expected more of a forest and savanna feel, but the majority of the area we drove through was farm land. Just miles of banana trees and some other crops. Hitch hiking is very common their because people have to travel far distances each day and many people do not have cars. South Africa is a developed country, there is large metropolis cities that look similar to the United States. No matter if the houses were out in the rural areas or in the middle of a city, they all had high fences with barbed wire or spikes at the top. This is because the rates of poverty and crime are extremely high throughout the country. Overall, I feel that becoming more educated about a different culture has made me more aware of what life is like in another country and how that affects their outlooks on the world.
I have, also, learned a great deal about the lives of animals in South Africa since that was the main focus of this study abroad. There is very little habitat left for these animals to live in South Africa and only so many animals can inhabit these areas. For example, leopards have a large territory which they will not share with another leopard unless it is mating season. So even if physically more than one leopard can live in an area, due to territories, this cannot happen. I have new views on hunting animals as well from learning the perspective of those who live in South Africa. Poaching was another big topic that was discussed and after hearing some great speaker talk about this, I feel education is the best way to combat poaching of species. Some animals have less time than other before they become extinct from poaching, one of these being the rhino, which was a focus for one of the places we got to visit. These many new ideas and outlooks on South Africa as well as animal welfare came from all of the experiences and interactions that I was able to have through my STEP project.
The first place we got to visit in South Africa was Mikon Chicken farm. There we saw that their facility is very similar to farms we have in the U.S. and we got to see what life is like for the workers. The people that work on the farm often live on it, as well, either with their families or by themselves. Those who come by themselves often will send their earrings home to their families. We talked to the son of the company owner and he showed us how everything on the farm worked and the types of chicken products that they sell. Africans actually prefer to eat the chicken legs, compared to Americans who like our chicken breasts, and they will eat every part of the chicken including heads and feet. Africans need to be able to feed large families on low cost budgets so they are very resourceful in using all parts of an animal.
Another place we got to see lots of human and animal interactions was Moholoholo wildlife rehabilitation center. There we got to listen to one of their guides give an excellent presentation on poaching and animal conservation as well as what the rehabilitation center does. From the speech, I took away a lot of new ideas of how different cultures have distinctive views on animals, additionally, about how humans tend to protect animals that we find esthetically pleasing. One example is, people liking elephants because they look cute or majestic and will put effort into saving them while on the other hand not many people like bees and tend to be scared of them so they might not care as much if they go extinct. The thing is that bees are need to pollinate plants and are necessary to keep many ecosystems intact, while on the other hand, elephants do not really contribute much to their ecosystem. This is not to say elephants should be allowed to go extinct, but that people’s perception and knowledge of an animal can actually determine if that animal is going to survive in this world.
I got to learn a lot more about animal behavior in Kruger National Park, where we stayed for four days and got to take a safari around the park. Our guide for the study abroad was a South African native named Andy, who is very knowledgeable of the country and the animals. He taught us about animal behaviors, like the territories leopards have, and explained the amazing things we got to see. Something I was curious about before going to South Africa was how Kruger National Park manages their animals. I knew that Kruger managed their animals before going to South Africa, but I was not sure how intense that management actually is. After talking with Andy and getting a chance to drive around the national park myself, I found that Kruger is pretty loosely managed. Andy told me that when a disease that is natural to the area breaks out in the park they do not step in to provide any outside help. They will allow those animals to die because it is how nature intended it. On the other hand, if the disease is not naturally occurring in the park, such as foot and mouth disease, they will take action to protect the animals. An example of this is the area closed off to breed disease free buffalo. I think that the amount they manage the animals seems to allow for a very natural setting, however, I think that if animal numbers dropped too much from a natural occurring disease that they would in fact step in. This comes down to should we intervene with an animal becoming extinct if it is through nature.
An animal that needs intervention to prevent it from becoming extinct is the rhino. We got the privilege of visiting a rhino preservation that is own by man who uses his fortune to buy, feed, and protect them. Majority of his money goes to security because, even though the preservation is located in a very secluded area, poachers are crafty in finding them. They will kill a rhino just to get its horn, which I learned on my study abroad can actually grow back. The horn is like your finger nails and can be trimmed then grown back many times in a rhino’s life. Most people don’t know this and will still kill them which is causing unnecessary extinction of this animal that can easily have its’ horn harvested without killing the animal. This is where I really feel like education is the key to solving lots of poaching issues. In addition, educating people that other animal parts, like tiger claws or hyena tails, do not have any medicinal properties. A huge reason some animals are senselessly poached is for these parts and people do not realize that, not only do they not have medicinal properties, because of their want for these products many animals are endangered. I feel now that I have been there and experienced these things first hand, I can give people factual knowledge about what is happening in that part of the world.
My STEP project has really transformed my views of the world and provided me with an opportunity that has pushed me forward in my career. I had never been overseas before this study abroad and in doing so opened my ideas to the lifestyle and culture of other country. I had to adapt to a place where it was not always easy to communicate with the natives even though they spoke decent English. In addition, I barely knew any of the people I traveled with so it was an opportunity to see how I got along with everyone. I ended up making some great friends, including the professor who went with us. The connections that I made during my study abroad will be valuable throughout the career pathway I want to follow.
As of right now, I want to become a veterinarian working with small animals and exotics. I chose this study abroad because I wanted to see how humans interact with animals in a different country. I learned about how South Africans view the wild animals that live there and how they care for them. Those we got the privilege of hearing talk told us about the problems that the animals and people face, as well as, what solutions they are working towards. Since I do hope to work with exotics, it was really great that I got to see animals, which are normally in zoos, out in a natural setting where they would have been before the expansion of human population. I know this experience will serve me well in my future and help me stand out in a very competitive field.
This Jessica Hippo who is hand raised and lives in South Africa. We got to feed and pet her and well as bottle feed her some tea which she really likes.