Guard Dogs, Camera Traps, and the Community I Didn’t Expect

My name is Erin Mongan, and I am currently an undergraduate student at Oregon State University in the United States. I am going into my senior year next semester and will be graduating at the end of the year. My major is Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, which is focused mostly on management of animals and resources. I am originally from the United States and have lived there my whole life. This internship is my first time traveling to Africa.

During my time at CCF, I was mostly working with the kraal, dogs, and cheetah departments. This included things like supervising goat milking, goat and sheep care, dog care, raising puppies, and cheetah husbandry. Additionally, I completed a camera trap project centered around identifying species of wildlife around the center. This project also analyzed how livestock guard dogs respond to these animals being on their territory. I’ve also had so many great experiences here not just with the work, but the people too.

The staff are incredibly knowledgeable and want to help you learn about all of their individual specialties. It does feel a little overwhelming at first, but once you settle into a schedule and get the hang of things. I have made great friends with the other interns here, both local and international. Everyone is very friendly and interested in learning about where everyone is from, especially the international interns. Since CCF is fairly isolated from the nearby town, there is a sense of community here since you see the same people all the time and don’t leave very often. I have enjoyed experiencing a different culture than my own, especially things like the music and parts of the language.

While I was at CCF I made a trip to Etosha National Park. I have never been anywhere in Africa before, and wanted to make sure I saw as much wildlife as possible. Visiting Etosha was incredible and I highly recommend it. I saw everything from rhinos to lions to zebras to hyenas. If you are able to, renting a car and driving yourself around the park is an awesome way to experience the park, as you can go wherever you want. I also recommend staying at Halali while there, either camping or in their provided lodging. I stayed there for two nights and found that was enough time to see all we wanted to see.