This summer, I was fortunate enough to carry out the position of a Research Intern at an African wild dog conservation trust in Botswana. I spent two months living in a tent in the bush carrying out various tasks associated with the trust’s mission. No two days were the same, but a typical field day would go something like this: after waking up with the sun, we would gather our field gear and head out in one of the trusty land rovers that were affectionately named Worm, Mantis, and Kubu. We’d follow the coordinates sent to us from one of the satellite collars that a pack member would be wearing. Sometimes the packs were conveniently near roads, but most of the time we’d spend hours bush-bashing off road to follow the dog’s trail! Once we reached the pack, we would take a pack composition which includes the dog’s presence, stomach load, and any potential injuries like a limp or cut. While observing the dogs, we used an application called a “Kobo” booklet to collect behavioral data like resting, marking, or rallying which is a unique behavior wild dogs do to express excitement and readiness to leave for a morning or evening hunt. The months of June, July and August constitute the denning season for the dogs, so as Research Intern, I was tasked with taking puppy counts and identification pictures to be sorted on a data entry day (possibly the cutest job I’ve ever had). Days spent in camp were mostly carried out in the office entering behavioral data or sorting through identification pictures taken in the field. I also got to assist with a camera trapping project that one of the researchers was completing independently.

            Overall, this experience was life changing for me as a budding carnivore ecologist. I learned so much about animal behavior and the process of field work. I also met some incredible people at various stages in their wildlife research careers who provided invaluable mentorship that will continue to guide me throughout my own career. I can not thank SPIRE enough for funding this unique opportunity and for supporting summer experiences like this!