"July 1, 2009, At 6:30 in the morning we were up and ready to go. The previous night we heard that there was a chance of going to Sinamatella Camp in Hwange National Park to witness Roger Parry and a team of specialists including Dr. Chris Foggin dart and take a snare off a black rhino.  We were told that black rhinos were very rare and that this was a special treat, epically on only our third day of arriving. The ride seemed especially long because we shared the back of a landcriuiser with all of our own backpacks as well as all of the equipment for the rhino. Additionally in the last hour of driving the road was through the bush and was unpaved, unkempt, and felt much too much like an Indiana Jones ride, something we are not accustomed to. At last we left our bumpy adventure and walked in to see the rhino.

 While we walked through the dense shrubbery our footsteps followed the tracks of several large predators. The lion prints in particular started our adrenaline rushing, keeping us on our toes the whole time not knowing how close we were and if they were watching. When we arrived at the black rhino, he already had the dart in. We thought that we would only act as mere witnesses, but to our surprise we were all allowed to partake in the monitoring of the rhino. As pre vet students we were all excited to take the temperature, count breathing rate, and watch the heart rate of the rhino. Even taking pictures was a dream come true! It was a shock to see how severe and deep the wire snare was around his left front leg, and the amount of tissue damage that had been inflicted. After the successful removal of the wire and the quick recovery of the rhino we left our first adventure with many more to come."

"The experience I received at Wild Horizons was one that will last a lifetime. The adrenaline rush I received when I took blood from a wild elephant, the excitement that I had when waiting for the next herd to dart, and the fright while sleeping in a tent in the wild listening to the lions was unbelievable. It was great to observe the elephants in their natural habitat and being able to watch all the animals interact in their natural surroundings. It was hard to witness the poaching and impact to the animals. Specifically, the injured black rhino snare was terrible to see. It is good to know anti-poachers are there to prevent injury or help the animals when injured. Darting and collaring the elephants was quite a learning experience. Being that close to an elephant and assisting with the vital signs such as breathing and pulse monitoring was a thrill and felt part of a team. The interaction with the French team provided different perspectives on tracking and darting the elephants. I especially had fun mixing up the formula and feeding, by bottle, baby LuLu. In addition to all the animal experiences, absorbing the local culture and food was fascinating. I was able to see a very different environment and lifestyle. I enjoyed the local food including trying all the wild game. The Victoria Falls area is a beautiful place with the many thrilling activities. Hwange is an amazing place for the animals to roam and be protected. My only sadness was I wished I could have collard and darted more animals, there is always next year!!!"

"The Elephant Sanctuary had raised enough money to purchase fifteen donkey harnesses from the ASPCA. Early one morning, we headed out to one of the local villages, situated somewhat close to the Elephant Sanctuary. Upon arriving at the village, we meet Mr. Impala who was the head chief of his village. He was kind enough to sit down with us and talk about the village and how it works. I found the role of the women particularly interesting. In that the women seem to do everything; they build the huts, make the clothing, carry large amounts of water on their heads for long distances, help in planting seeds, and do all the cooking. After Mr. Impala showed us around, we headed over to meet the donkeys. The harnesses the ASPCA had given us were a one size fits all type harness. We went around and showed the boys how the harness worked and assisted them in putting it on the donkey. The harnesses were very simple to put on and seemed like they would work very well. After all fifteen harnesses were put onto the donkeys, we went around checking the donkeys for any wounds and to my surprise these donkeys were actually in really good shape compared to some other donkeys we saw along the road. A few donkeys had some minor scrapes which we just cleaned up. The donkeys were as good as new and were off back to do their jobs. It was a great experience to be a part of this and to help these animals in any way.... Along with to learn about a village and all that is entailed."

Click here for more images