Cheetah Conservation Project, Botswana

Ex-Volunteer Feedback Extracts

John Crowe, from Canada, describes his experience on the programme in Summer 2011

My time in botswana with the cheetah conservation was amazing probably even one of the best months of my life! Everybody was so easy to get along with and the local people of Botswana were the nicest people Ive ever met. The whole month was incredible, the very first weekend I was there we were able to catch and tag three male cheetahs. I got to help out in the ghanzi show, and do some amazing stuff that I would never have the chance to do here in Canada. I thank you so much for the opportunity to go to Botswana and work with the CCB. Ever since I could remember all i wanted to do was work with cheetahs in africa and I finally got the chance, thanks again.

John Crowe

Anna Richardson writes about her time in Botswana - March 2011

I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to volunteer at CCB – I look back with so much fondness at my month here, as it really was an incredibly rewarding experience! Any initial fears I had were quickly put to rest by the wonderful team who made me feel welcome from the very beginning. The work itself was varied and I learnt many new things relating to wilderness conservation – spoor and cheetah tracking just to name a few. The accommodation definitely exceeded my expectations and there were some great activities on offer outside of CCB, which gave me an opportunity to get involved with the local community. Anyone with an open mind, a relaxed and positive outlook will find this a really fulfilling experience. Thanks for the wonderful memories - I hope to be back one day. I couldn’t speak more highly of CCB, keep doing what you’re doing!

Chantal Mira d’Ercole writes about her time as a volunteer on the programme - July/August 2010

Ghanzi, the land of the small people…

Botswana, Okavango, Kalahari…I encountered these beautiful names full of promises, of As and Os a few years ago and images like bushmen chasing with bows and arrows but also death-looking snakes like the black mamba had piled up in my mind. What I expected to find in Ghanzi was not the prestigious Big Five but the more discreet wildlife, the world of smaller, lesser animals you usually overlook on a safari. There, I heard the yelp of jackals at night and mistook the sound of an ostrich by day for the threat of a leopard. I admired the delicacy of a spider that lurked on the office shelf overhead, playing hide and seek with me. I was surprised by the desperate, excruciatingly shrill scream of a baby frog when Gizmo, the camp cat started “playing” with it one evening.

The cameras we had set around the camp revealed a funny ballet of playfully jumping kudu, stalking wild cats, hurrying along porcupines loaded with their quills and wading warthogs and I treasured being their guests on the camp… I met the wide-eyed boomslang and admired its delicate, bright green shape –The fascinating Serpent!

Many times, I saw the explosion of colours of the lilac-breasted roller taking off from its wire along the dirt road to Ghanzi or the green lightening of a bee-eater.

The night were crisp and illuminated by the occasional shooting star and the steady, benevolent gaze of the Southern Cross. I wondered what elation the first October rains would trigger on the long, waving yellowed grasses of the quarry and could imagine the dry, seemingly dead thorn trees spreading their claws toward the sky and the blessing of the first drops…

I had come for the cheetahs and was moved by Duma and Letoatse’s fragility and grace when we reached Mokolodi. The same fragile dignity had been exuded by the San people who displayed their ancestral dances, singing and hand clapping to us in Trail Blazers. ..
On the reserve, we met the awe-inspiring rhino face to horn without the protection of steel –a humbling experience-and heard the growling of the werewolf-sounding male wild dog while feeding his cubs…so much for fatherly bravery!

At sunset, we trotted along among wildebeest and kudu, the three hills of Mokolodi looming in the distance. ..All these encounters with nature unexpected and priceless , made while or after raking dead leaves, scrubbing droppings, twisting wire, painting walls, driving to distant farms… in the name of the cheetah.

As precious the encounters with the Batswana, the two-legged people, who were always ready to share a word and a beaming smile!
Small, invaluable things that made up “my” beloved Botswana!
Thanks to all of you!
Chantal Mira d’Ercole

Beckie Garbett spent two months from July to August 2009 as a Research Assisant volunteer

I spent 2 months as a research assistant with CCB at the Ghanzi camp. What a truly amazing experience! No 1-day was like another, from radio tracking to setting motion cameras to scat analysis to trapping cheetah! Lorraine the research coordinator and Max the community education officer made it home from home, alongside my trusty fellow volunteer Jane the crazy ozzie, I’ve made life-long friends and shared memorable experiences.

It was a pleasure to be part of the Ghanzi team and to experience first hand the hardships & triumphs of CCB. I gained a true picture of the human-animal interaction issues and what it means for the survival of cheetah in Botswana.

It was hard at times to feel passionately about the conservation of wildlife and to be in an area so accustomed to shooting anything that threatens livestock, i.e. the farmers livelihood. But at the same time its what makes the experience real and only emphasises the “grey” areas of life that distinguish the importance of being able to understand the big picture and to work for a joint solution. CCB excel in this and I have every faith that their work will reap its rewards over time.

Alongside work life and the mountains of knowledge that the staff provide, there was the opportunity to visit Gaborone, Moremi Game Reserve (Okavango Delta), & I was also lucky enough to be able to visit the Wild Dog Research Camp (also in the delta) for a few days. Fabulous wildlife spotting (some a little more up close & personal than desired!) and a taste of the highlights of Botswana, not to mention the ooodles of culture you have right on your doorstep in Ghanzi, with the Kalahari San Bushmen and the extensive history of the farming community.

I undertook my placement with CCB with a view to returning to Africa to live & work…..somewhere! on completion of my wildlife management degree. I feel it has been an invaluable experience and would readily return to Ghanzi should a position with CCB arise!
I met some truly unforgettable & inspiring people and feel privileged to have had the opportunity to be a part of the Ghanzi community and the amazing work that CCB undertake.

Jane Quick gives her feedback on her time volunteering on the project in 2009

The two-month that I spent as a research volunteer at the Ghanzi camp were the best two months of my life. Having a life-long passion for animals and conservation meant that working for Cheetah Conservation Botswana was a dream come true. It was so rewarding for me to be a part of something that I care about so much – the protection of threatened species.

As soon as I flew into Botswana I fell in love with it. The landscape, the culture and the people all amazed and delighted me. It was like it held some kind of magic lure.

The first night I stayed at the Ghanzi camp I heard loud noises outside my window. Upon inspection I found a herd of Greater Kudu browsing on the trees outside my hut. In the eight weeks that I spent there in the bush, I would also find hyena scent marks on my way to the office, run into a jackal on my way to the bathroom in the middle of the night, find cheetah tracks on an afternoon jog and on a visit to Mokolodi, nearly walk into a “crash” of rhino on my way to the kitchen. I expected a lot of things before I went on this adventure, but I was not expecting the simple joy that I would get from experiencing the little things that Botswana had to offer. A flock of Hornbills making a ruckus in a tree outside our office; an aardwolf getting confused in our spotlight and walking right up to our car; or the sound of hyena calling as you fell asleep. I certainly didn’t expect to find so many wonderful people and form such great friendships as I did with the crew from CCB and with the people of Ghanzi.

I experienced and achieved a lot of great things while I worked as a volunteer for CCB. I found it very rewarding to care for the two orphaned cheetahs we were housing and provide them with new enrichment. I got a kick out of spoor tracking; finding good cheetah habitat and then capturing the face of a beautiful cheetah on a camera trap. I loved teaching the local kids about predators and how to live in collaboration with wildlife and the environment. I even enjoyed (though on some unnatural, geeky, science-nerd level) the so called ‘yuck stuff’ – scat samples, prepping diets for the cubs and assisting with necropsies on two cheetahs unfortunately killed by a car. Most of all I loved meeting the people of Ghanzi. To experience a day where you meet a person who hates cheetahs and wants nothing more to put a bullet in every one they see, and to leave them with a greater understanding of cheetahs, their ecology, their behaviours and perhaps even a little bit more sympathy for this threatened “pest” – that is what made this trip for me so rewarding. I hope that CCB continues to receive the wonderful support they receive through donors, sponsors and volunteers so that they can continue the great work that they conduct in Botswana, which is so very valuable, but unfortunately so far from over.

Cheetah Conservation Project Volunteer 1st June to 1st July 2005 - Craig Milne, an Environmental Science student from the UK gives his feedback on his time volunteering in Botswana:

CCB is undoubtedly a brilliant project carrying out vital information about the cheetah in Botswana and it was a genuine honour to be a part of it. The work carried out is never too stressful and we learned many new skills.

Botswana is nothing like anything most people will have ever seen. It is very arid and dry – even in the winter it can get very hot. The temperature when we were there was acceptable – albeit very cold at night time. The country is very culturally rich and tradition is very important to the local people. It is a natural haven for all different types of wildlife and every day you are able to see animals everywhere. There is everything from dense bush to very open savannah. It was a very nice change from what I was used to and I very much enjoyed it.

Positives: relaxed atmosphere, friendly managers, stunning views and wildlife

Negatives: very changeable temperatures – at night its very cold, during the day its very hot, very long flights and drives to get there and around to other parts of the country, unless you can get along with your fellow volunteers it can seem lonely - at times – you are in the middle of no-where!

I genuinely can't think of anything that can be improved – everyone was always willing to explain something, everyone was friendly etc. our living quarters were perfectly adequate – we had all the cooking utensils and the toilet and shower were better than I could ever expect. Day to day living at the camp was an experience not to be forgotten – being in the middle of a desert area with nothing but wildlife all around is a really amazing feeling. In the evening times when it is dark there is nothing to be heard except the animals and looking up, the sky is lit up by stars. The camp we stayed in was, although basic, more than adequate for our desires. The chalets we stayed in are comfortable, the kitchen was spacious and had everything we needed. Free time was spent mostly sunbathing during the day and sitting round the camp fire in the evening times chatting.

Since this trip I feel that I have definitely benefited, both mentally and physically – being on the other side of the world and in an alien environment opens your eyes to many things and makes you realise what is important.

Recommendations for the next group – you will be nervous when you are going there, its only natural but come day 4 or 5 you will be into you routines, come day 14 you will wonder where the first half of your trip has gone and day 30 you wont believe its over – take advantage of everything you are offered, regardless of how you are feeling always do the work, you never know what you will see out there – every day is different. Take nothing for granted it is a once in a lifetime experience.

Many thanks, Craig

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