Nkawu (Vervet Monkeys)

   Although I am looking forward to any animal experience I can get at CROW, I am most excited to work with the vervet monkeys that they  have there.

   Chlorocebus pygerythrus ,or the vervet monkey, is an old world monkey (as opposed to new world monkeys that posses prehensile tails) that has an extensive range across Africa. They can live in groups of up to 80 individuals and have recently started causing problems for people in South Africa in the way that raccoons cause trouble for those of us in Ohio, except vervets are much more outgoing, and are out in the daylight. The CROW center gets many orphaned babies during spring, so hopefully I'll be able to help in some way or another.


 (Picture courtesy of muller.gov)  


  The vervet monkey is relatively small with a weight of 7-17lbs and size of 18 to 26 inches.They can live up to 24 years in captivity, but with predators such as leopards, eagles, and humans, the lifespan in the wild is significantly shorter. Vervets can be recognized by their black faces (though pink when young) and coats that range from a greenish-gray to a silvery-yellow.




-Becca

Some Background Information on South African Languages

   As I mentioned before, South Africa has eleven national language (crazy because we can't even decide on one). Up until recently (1994 that is) South Africa had only two official languages (English and Afrikaans) and the Bantustan languages, as they were called, were not recognized even though for most Africans these were their primary languages. This backwards logic came about because of Apartheid and nothing changed from 1925 until 1994 when a new democracy was instated. The new constitution of 1996 recognized Afrikaans, English, Zulu, Xhosa, Swati, Ndebele, Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho, Tsonga, Tswana, and Venda all as national languages, a major breakthrough. While all of these languages are nationally recognized, certain regions have different predominant languages. Below is a map that will give you an idea of where each language is spoken. Courtesy of the South Africa Tours and Travel website.

    As you can see, Kwazulu Natal, my destination, is colored almost entirely yellow [isiZulu] with a little blue [English] and purple [isiXhosa], so I am trying my hardest to learn as much Zulu as I can before my trip. From what I have heard, most everyone speaks some English; lucky for me as I have yet to get the distinctive clicks down that are characteristic of the Zulu language.


   -Becca

My ukuphela (My destination)

   My trip will start on the 28th of January and end on the 5th of April; for the most part I will be staying at the CROW. wildlife center. I found them through Travellers Worldwide, a volunteer program based in England. Here is a little information about the wildlife center:




   The CROW (centre for rehabilitation of wildlife) wildlife center is located in Yellowwood Park (from what I get it's a suburb of Durban) located in Kwazulu Natal. The basic role of the center is to take in the injured wild animals so that they might be released back into the wild. The center does not deal with domestic animals, though cares for a wide variety of wild animals. A quote from their website says,


"...we have approximately 300 - 400 animals under our care at any given time, all of which are wildlife indigenous to Kwa Zulu Natal, from birds and mammals to raptors and reptiles, and many many monkeys."


   I am most interested in caring for the vast influx of vervet monkeys that the center gets, I am hoping that I will be able to be a foster mom to one of the babies, but I am eager to take any animal interaction I can get.
   As for my accommodations, I will be staying at the guest house that is located on the center's property and can accommodate up to 8 volunteers at a time. I will be provided with enough food to prepare 3 meals a day, and there is also a spar (general grocer) within 10 minutes walk of the house as well as a nearby internet cafe. Here is a picture of the house:

"The centre lies close to a small protected reserve of 253 hectares, called Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve. The reserve offers coastal forest and grassland habitats and includes species such as zebra, bushbuck, reedbuck, impala, blue, red and grey duiker, vervet monkeys, rock hyrax, slender mongoose, bushbaby, Egyptian mongoose, banded mongoose, water monitor and genet. The reserve also has an interesting variety of indigenous flora and over 200 bird species on record. There are 13 km of nature walks and a pleasant picnic site."





If you want to know more go to Traveller's website or Crow's website 


-Becca

Ngiyanemukela! (I welcome you!)

Hello all and welcome to my humble blog "Uhambo", meaning journey in isiZulu, one of the eleven national languages of South Africa. Though the majority of you reading may know a little about what I am writing for, this first post is going to contain an introduction to me, what I am doing, and what I plan to include in this blog. Hopefully, you will enjoy living vicariously through me and reading all of my adventures :)

Me: First off, my name is Becca and I am currently a senior at Thomas Worthington, Columbus Zoo School, and Linworth Alternative. I have always been interested in animals and science, and I am currently planning to pursue a major in zoology and a minor in management so that I might obtain my goal of one day become a prominent zoo director in order to improve the lives of both captive and wild animals.

What I am doing: As part of The Linworth Alternative program, seniors take the second semester off to do some sort of experiential learning related to something they are interested in or might want to pursue as a career. This second semester is known as a "walkabout" which is named after the journey a young aborigine would go through as a rite of passage.

The walkabout can be a full semester or even yearlong thing, but most students usually have two different nine week walkabouts that correspond to the dates of the third and fourth quarter. This is what I am doing, and for my first walkabout I will be taking a trip to South Africa to work at an animal rehabilitation center for nine weeks. This is sure to be a learning experience for me, and hopefully for those of you reading.

What I plan to include in this blog: This blog is mostly written for those of you at home, but also for myself, as a way to record my memories and thoughts. It is also a requirement for the walkabout program, but I would most likely be writing one anyways. The blog post will most likely be divided into three different sections: those written before I leave, those written during my trip, and those written after I get back.

The blog posts written before I leave, such as this one, will contain mostly background information, planning, research, and various other information that may be helpful to you the reader. I hope to get a better understanding of South African history, language, and culture, and share it with you so that you might learn alongside me.

The blog posts written during my trip will contain details of my adventures, pictures, video, and my thoughts and reflections about pretty much everything. I will include my current location in everyone of my post, and I'll feel all warm and fuzzy thinking that my vast numbers of fans (surely to be in the thousands as soon as I make this first post) are marking my journey obsessively with push pins on a large world map...just an idea. But in all seriousness, these should be the most interesting posts to read, and the main reason for writing this blog in the first place.

The blog posts written after I leave will be my final reflections on my trip, not too exciting, but still worth reading if you love me that much.

If you are still reading, bravo! Thank you for your attentiveness, and I look forward to sharing many much more interesting things with you in the weeks to come.

-Becca