Submitted by Tatiana Thomas on the 2018 winter session program in South Africa sponsored by the Department of Human Development and Family Studies…
The De Wildt Cheetah and Wild Dog Breeding Center was an amazing and very informative excursion that I would love to do again. My perception changed a lot on the animals. For example, I had no idea honey badgers were so fierce! They are no bigger than my 10 pound dog, but a honey badger can kill a lion! The cheetahs have a very soft sound. I thought they were furious animals, but they sound like cats! I was very impressed with the center’s mission. Their main goal was to get healthy animals into the wild and to lower the number of endangered animals. I really appreciate the fact that they don’t breed the animals if the ecosystem can’t sustain them. The message that the guide expressed opened my eyes to the importance of each animal. She taught us that the ecosystem can’t survive with certain animals and that the extinction of one species can greatly affect us. Overall, this excursion allowed me to see animals in person that I only ever saw on TV. It made the animals very real and their safety and survival has a new place in my heart.
