This wasn’t a life path that I chose but something that I feel chose me. Ever since I was a little, I have had a strong connection and sixth sense with animals. From small to big I loved them all , but didnt realize my true fascination with animals until I started to take down behavioral notes whenever a wildlife documentary came on t.v. Sometimes I would even sit on the back porch and write down all the interactions occuring between the neighborhood squirrels.
My fascination with Africa started while I was watching a program on National Geographic and saw the typical lion chasing buffalo scene. I was hooked from that moment on. I loved the idea of living in a place where there were no rules and it was either catch or be caught! When I was 16, I was fortunate enough to travel to Kenya on a safari, which made my decision clear and easy to work with wildlife concrete. I am not what you would consider an outdoors girl and before going to Africa had never roughed it out. I was the girl who screamed when a grasshopper landed on her.
I went to University in North Carolina and Florida for 5 years and was rewarded an athletic scholarship to play volleyball. When I finally graduated I knew it was time to start my lifelong mission with wildlife. I joined a year long safari field guide course in South Africa and set off just a couple months after graduation. During my time in South Africa I passed all of my guiding exams and assessments and after six months of training became a qualified field guide.
It wasn’t long after I became a field guide that I realized I wanted to do soemthing else and switched to research where I could make more of a difference to the well being of animals. I studied white rhinos for three months in the Kruger National Park, followe by leopards and brown hyena in the mountains of Lydenburg South Africa. When my visa finished, I returned home for a few months only to return shortly to the Ivory Coast where I studied culture in wild chimpanzees for 9 months. I am now on a new adventure in Botswana studying wild elephants in the Okavango Delta for 1 year!