World Wildlife Fund

Robin Naidoo
© Greg Stuart-Hill, WWF-LIFE

Robin Naidoo, a conservation scientist in WWF's Conservation Science program, returned from two weeks in the wilderness of Namibia's Caprivi Strip - a long, narrow band of Namibia that runs east-west between Botswana, Angola and Zambia. Get a first-person account of what it takes to capture, collar and release large African mammals - including buffalo, sable and impala. Read about his near-misses, helicopter chases and other adventures in conservation science.

Part 1: Calls of the Wild

An aerial view of the Kwando River floodplain.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

After landing in Windhoek - Namibia's capital city - I make the long drive to the base camp in Susuwe. I'm going to Namibia's Caprivi Strip to take part in a capture and collaring operation on African buffalo, and assist in tracking a variety of wildlife species living in the area's national parks. We'll also be taking blood samples from buffalo to look for evidence of foot and mouth disease in the region. European import restrictions on cattle from foot and mouth disease areas have huge implications for wildlife policies in Namibia, and so it's critically important to determine the extent and distribution of this disease in buffalo - a known carrier species.

WWF works to help elephants and people coexist in and around Namibia's communal areas.
© WWF / Robin Naidoo

Also, because the Caprivi is a border area, part of WWF's work here will be to assist the Namibian Ministry of Environment and Tourism and local stakeholders understand wildlife behavior for effective management of cross-boundary natural resources. For example, since buffalo don't recognize national boundaries, scientific data showing the migration patterns of this species can be the foundation of multi-governmental conservation agreements and policy decisions.

The roan antelope is rare throughout its range, but there is a healthy population in Mahango National Park.
© WWF-Canon / Frederick J. Weyerhaeuser

The journey from Windhoek to base camp takes two days. The first night I stayed in a field camp run by Frederick, who is working on community based conservation programs for one of WWF's partners, Integrated Rural Development & Nature Conservation. That afternoon we went on a game drive along the mighty Okavango River and saw sable, roan, buffalo, lechwe and reedbuck. We also had a close encounter with a herd of elephants that frequently come down to drink from the river - right by the camp.

The next day, I continued on to Susuwe. Driving along the Kwando River, we saw lots of buffalo, as well as elephants and zebras. Scops owls were calling all night, and the francolins woke us up early - what a change from my apartment back home in Washington, DC.