This is an 11 night, 12 day safari course and aims to teach students the principles behind wildlife management, and how to approach and undertake field research. We demonstrate how to use the various strategies employed by ecosystem managers to ensure the long-term viability and ecological sustainability of an area where both humans and wildlife co-exist. The course identifies the underlying basis of wildlife management; namely applied management, scientific research and community interaction, whilst describing how these aspects can collaborate to ensure the successful and sustainable management of any region. Northern Botswana offers amazing case studies for this course through its diverse land-use management strategies, from mixed wildlife-cattle regions, game farms and pure wildlife areas.
The safari is composed of informal lectures and workshops, given by expert wildlife researchers and local conservationists. Every afternoon is spent walking, driving or boating through the surrounding wilderness, with practical biological field skills taught whilst working within the African bush. The course is based out of our exclusive camp on the banks of the Okavango River, where we have excellent access to the channels and floodplains of the Delta and to unspoilt Acacia woodlands that cover the surrounding area. You will also spend time in a private concession in the heart of the Okavango Delta, famous for its high densities of herbivores and carnivores and stunning scenery or the world famous Moremi Game Reserve.
The course is ideal for GAP year and undergraduate students who wish to increase their understanding,
indepth knowledge and appreciation of African ecology.
This 11 night course costs $1680. This price includes all tuition and activities, transport within Botswana and 3 hearty meals a day with unlimited tea, coffee and water. A pay bar is available for soft and alcoholic drinks. Travel to and from Botswana, insurance and other personal costs are not included.
For full details of the course syllabus and itinerary, please see the bottom of this page. Further details of the destinations visited during the course are also available - locations.
The course can be taken as part of a specially designed and booked safari or as one of our set date departures.
Wildlife Management and Field Research - 12 day Safari Course
Course Objectives
· To gain an in-depth understanding of the baseline ecology of the Okavango Delta and the current management and conservation
issues that are pertinent within this region.
· To define why we need to manage wildlife.
· To appreciate the role of economics in wildlife management and conservation.
· To develop an understanding of how to approach field research, which questions to ask and how to devise the best methodology
to get the right answers.
· To learn the practical skills to define and quantify the surrounding environment, for example; species identification, habitat
classification, population estimates.
· Ecosystem management - land-use, infrastructural development, environmental impact assessment.
Course Destinations
· Pan Handle Wilderness Camp
· A Delta Game Farm
· Moremi Game Reserve or a private concession in the Delta
Itinerary - Day / Destination / Activities / lectures
1 Pan Handle Wilderness Camp
pm: arrive in camp after drive from Maun,
2 Pan Handle Wilderness Camp
am: introductory lectures to the terrestrial and aquatic ecology of the Okavango Delta
pm: background to field research, conservation & management in the Delta
3 Pan Handle Wilderness Camp
am: lectures on the best approach to field research, topics to focus on, the right questions to ask, the best methods to use, dissemination of results and how to get the funding.
pm: practical experience in terrestrial surveys - game counts - insects / birds / large and small mammals - carnivores / herbivores
4 Pan Handle Wilderness Camp
am: the importance of ecological monitoring and field research in Africa today
pm: practical aquatic ecology and afternoon mokoro ride - testing water quality, species markers etc
5 Pan Handle Wilderness Camp
am: communities, economics and conservation
pm: human-wildlife conflict - meeting the communities that have to live with elephants that raid their crops along the pan handle - learn how to try and mitigate the conflict.
6 Game Farm
am: dep. Wilderness Camp and drive to Game Farm
pm: introductory talks about the Game Farm
7 Game Farm
am: morning practicals - ecological monitoring - learn the skills required to assess the quality and quantity of vegetation in different habitat types and learn how to determine the carrying capacity of the farm
pm: afternoon practicals - game counts - does carrying capacity correlate with animal density
8 Game Farm
am: lectures on adaptive management - how to improve / affect carrying capacity, but do you want to? Learn about the issues surrounding this debate
pm: man-made waterholes- their impact - visiting the farms waterholes and learning more about animal husbandry
9 Moremi
am: depart Game Farm and drive to Maun for lunch, followed by an afternoon drive to Moremi Game Reserve
pm: introductory drive into Moremi Game Reserve to set up camp.
10 Moremi
am: morning game drive - discuss different ecological topics from predator / prey relationships - herd social structure - resource competition for both herbivores and carnivores - immigration/ emigration and density distribution patterns - sexual strategies and social structure. All topics of conversation and discussion are inspired by what we see on each game drive, but the focus of each drive is to learn more about the specifics of the Delta's ecology.
pm: after lunch talk by local wildlife researcher Harriet Bartlam, about herbivore ecology and conservation in the Delta, followed by afternoon game drive and continuation of mornings discussions
11 Moremi
am: morning game drive - continuation of the general ecology discussions
pm: after lunch talk by local wildlife researcher Dr Casper Bonyongo about Buffalo ecology and conservation in the Delta, followed by afternoon game drive and continuation of mornings discussions
12 Moremi
dept. Moremi and travel to Maun airport
Summary: 11 night / 12 day safari
5 nights in pan handle wilderness camp
3 nights in Game Farm
3 nights in Moremi Game Reserve or a private concession in the Delta
