Experiences: Parawild African wildlife management course
Friday, June 22, 2012 at 06:01AM Winner, Experiences category
Bradley Venable, Auburn University '14
Do you know ju;)
st how adventurous the veterinary profession can be? Full of twists and turns, some of which you could never be prepared for. Our profession provides a world of opportunity waiting for you to take advantage of it. I definitely didn’t anticipate the story I am about to tell you.
The minute I signed up for the Parawild African Wildlife management course at Western Kentucky University, I knew I was in for a treat. I was set for a month long stay at various locations throughout South Africa, which involved capturing and relocating wild game for conservation purposes. Just about 22 hours of flights put this small town Kentucky boy in a daze. I was exhausted but exhilarated to be working with leopards, kudu, elephants, giraffes, and impala among oth;)
Working on a kudu.ers including the infamous zebra. Throughout the course of the trip we were given crash courses on darting, animal behavior, conservation biology, anesthesia, and animal restraint. None of which could ever prepare me for what was to happen. It was our last day at the Phelwanna game lounge and it was absolutely perfect. The winter sun was glaring and the wind was just enough to provide relief but not quite strong enough to reveal our ninja like movements. That day, our mission was to capture three zebra and relocate them via horse trailer. We had successfully immobilized and loaded up the first two targets by means of an M99 cocktail and were administering the reversal to the third when it happened in a flash. One second I stood firmly on two feet; the next, I was flat on my back on the dry South African soil. In shock, I was left to wonder if I had signed up for this kind of adventure.
The infamous zebra
As I looked down at my camera and the pictures I had taken that day, I heard everyo;)
Ostrichne begin to yell in panic. I looked up only to find stripes striking a heavy blow to my head. Briefly knocked unconscious, I came to laying next to the truck my indefensible body was flung against. I had been “attacked” by a male zebra for being the lonely object in the way of the freedom he desired. I laid still and uncomfortable for four hours before I arrived at the hospital to find myself lucky to have only sustained soft tissue damage. During what seemed to be an eternity, I did some soul searching and realized that no other profession could provide me the kind of adventure and fulfillment that veterinary medicine can. From there, I decided to get up and seek more which lead me to capturing an ostrich at a game reserve with a tube sock the next day.
;)
The rest of my life changing trip was a personal journey in which a rental car carried me along the coast from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town. I went camping, hiking, and kayaking at the most beautiful national parks. I enjoyed fine dining, Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope and shark cage diving. Nothing to this day has surpassed the zebra attack as the most amazing thing I have ever experienced. Now, I remind myself in the aftermath of my second year of veterinary school that nothing will stop me from taking advantage of the opportunity to join the best profession humanity has to offer. If a zebra searching for freedom can’t stop me, nothing will!
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