Blogs

The sun rose on our first day in Makgadikgadi National Park and even though I had received a full 10 hours of sleep I found myself glued to my bed mat. We had been in Botswana for two weeks and the fatigue of changing campsites for the fourth time had set in. We had just gotten in from Maun the... more

One of the major themes of this course has been human-wildlife conflict in areas where there are no clear (if any) boundaries between wilderness and human existence. While a notable portion of conflict stems directly from human-wildlife proximity, such as crop raiding by pesky elephants, nature is often caught in the middle of the conflicting interests of humans. Of the... more

We were all hoping to see large predators, but they are typically active at night, when you don’t want to be out roaming around in these ecosystems. When you do see them during the day—for instance the lions and leopards we observed on occasion—they rarely do anything then other than sleep or otherwise rest up for their night-time hunting forays... more

After an incredible first night in Moremi Game Reserve and a stunning eclipse, we all had some time to “sleep in” this morning. Our day began at a crisp 6am with the beautiful sound of hippos grunting and our ever-exciting “good morning” call. Right off the bat, we gathered around the fire with a cup of coffee for a lesson... more

Our day in Moremi began on safari with the search for big cats. While one car had already had their first leopard sighting the day before, the other was more eager than ever to see the elusive cat. After meandering through the less traveled roads we found ourselves on the main road driving from island to island. That’s when I... more

After seeing some of the adult African wild dogs yesterday, our car was eager to make it to the den to see the puppies. We headed out in the late afternoon, just as the intense heat of the day was becoming bearable. The den itself consisted of a small mound in a clearing just off the road. As we arrived,... more

On our evening drive we were on the search for wild dogs and their pups that we knew were in the area. Suddenly, a line of six dogs come out of the tall grass, walking right past a seventh laying in the grass that I hadn’t even noticed was there. They walked right by our car, seemingly unaffected by our... more

After over 24 hours of flying and a couple of comfortable nights in Maun, our journey to the Okavango Delta has begun. Despite our varying levels of jetlag we are all excited to head into the wilderness, or what people here call "the bush." Our group, chatting excitedly, piles into two rather impressive vehicles. Although we have spent months preparing... more

Our first full day in the Okavango Delta began long before the sun actually rose. We had set up our camp in the middle of a tiny island overlooking a lagoon that was rimmed on all sides by thick pockets of papyrus. A gigantic mangosteen tree, humming with bees, loomed above our tents with vine-like tendrils that hung down from... more

As part of our mission to connect science, education, communication, humanities and community outreach for students in our changing world, Tony Barnosky and I are merging the missions of Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve’s NSF grant " Out of the Box and Into the Cloud " and my HHMI Professor grant " Fostering Immersive Experiences for Undergraduates to Advance Science in... more