Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25238
Some people ca ll it a wetland, but in Botswana there's no mincing words: Its a swamp, and the Okavango is one of the world's largest. Peering down from the top of the food chain is the fierce Nile crocodile. You'll spend your days monitoring the health and happiness of these creatures (some 18 feet long). Starting at 4 AM, Drs Alison Leslie and Hannes Van Wyk will take you to check crocodi le traps, take blood samples and even inspect their stomach contents. All this, to help crocodi le farmers better their farming techniques, which, hopefully, wil l lead to conservation of the histori- cally poached animals. Earthwatch, 800-776-0188 ext 188, www.earthwatch.org, 13 days, June-October, $2,195, 8 group members. Observing macaque monkey troops is a bit like studying your local high school: They exhibit the same social hierarchies and behavior found in human society. You'li find outsiders and loners, dominant and submis- sive members, and an in crowd and outcasts. Dr Wolfgang Dittus of the Smithsonian Institution has been studying these complex social inter- actions for more than 30 years in an effort to come to some conclu- sions about human social structure. The longevity of the program has enabled Dr Dittus to develop extensive information about each troop's family structure and the relationships among members. His work touches on al l aspects of behavior and he has made a number of fasci- nating discoveries. On this trip, after a brief introduction to monkey behavior, you'll help Dr Dittus with his work by observing and recording behavior in and around the ancient temples of Sri Lanka. Earthwatch, 800-776-0188 ext 188, www.earthwatch.org, 13 days, June-September, $1,995, 3-12 group members. AUSTRALIA WHICH CAME FIRST,THE ECHIDNA OR THE EGG? The echidna comfortably qualifies as an odd animal: It lays eggs, it has a pouch to carry its young, it has a spiny coat simi lar to a hedgehog's, and, as a member of Earth's oldest mammal group, it has been around for approximately 120 million years. Dr Peggy Rismi li er, an American gone Aussie, is the world's foremost authority on echidnas, and she has been studying these creatures, and the ecology of Kangaroo Island, for thirteen years. She is based at the Pelican Lagoon Research and Wildlife Center, a solar-powered facility in one of Kangaroo Island's many tracts of untouched, pristine wilderness. Her research efforts have recently been expanded to include the Rosenberg's goanna, a large lizard that competes with the echidna for food and is the largest natural predator on the island. On this trip you will have the opportunity to capture, radio-track, observe, map, and monitor the activities of echidnas and goannas. Earthwatch, 800-776-0188 ext 189, www.earthwatch.org, 14 days, February, June-October, $1,895, 5- 8 group members. 29