The Okavango Delta is an incredible natural phenomenon that can be seen from space. When we land in Maune, we meet up with two fellow trackers, and graduates of the Tracker Academy, Otto James and Innocent Ngwenya. Personally, there is something very satisfying as a tracker to meeting up with other elite trackers on the edge of a massive wilderness. I couldn't be more excited. There is a feeling of adventure in the air.
Before we head south to meet with the Bushman, we visit a leopard habituation programme, pioneered by the Tracker Academy. What has been achieved with the leopard habituation programme is remarkable and has had a profound impact on conservation.
We drive north from Maun over dusty wild roads into the Delta. It's a vast and beautiful wilderness. It's hard to describe, but it feels like the deeper we go into the wild, the more at home we feel.
Mentioned in this episode:
The San people is the broad term for the name of many clans that make up the Bushmen. I will refer to the people I met with the term Bushmen because that is how they asked me to refer to them.
Leopard Habituation
Habituation is when a tracker spends months and months tracking a leopard, slowly building a relationship of trust with that animal. It's important to stress that habituation is not taming. The animal remains as wild as ever. The process starts by finding the animal on foot using tracking over time, you show it you mean it no harm. Eventually the animal becomes calmer, and relaxed enough through the constant presence of trustworthy humans, to allow itself to be seen. The result of having wild leopards that allow themselves to be seen is almost impossible for a game reserve to quantify. If the habituation process is successful, suddenly whole reserves (wild areas where animals are being protected) become viable. Tourists come from everywhere to see the leopard, one of the world’s most elusive animals. This results in not only the ultimate protection of the land, but also the development of a local economy. Habituation is about rebuilding the relationship between humanity and nature. Learn more here.
-- Tracker Academy was established to preserve the indigenous knowledge of wildlife tracking.
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