Agriculture students travel to Africa for a global-study course on rangelands and wildlife.

By Mary Vinnedge ’75

Seventeen Aggies got an up-close and personal look at African rangelands and wildlife as part of a six-credit-hour ecosystem management global-study course in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. From May 30 to June 28, Aggies visited northeastern South Africa, with a focus on semi-arid savannas, and northern Botswana, with a focus on its wetlands and nearby conservation areas and communities.

Dr. Urs Kreuter, associate professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management and Texas AgriLife Research Rangeland scientist, has led five of the seven study-abroad classes in Africa since they began in 2002. "For most students, this is their first experience of Africa’s tremendous biological and cultural diversity," Kreuter said. The experience provides them with a much deeper understanding of Africa, its wildlife and its people.

"In Africa, it is important to think about impoverished communities that coexist with or live near wildlife if conservation is to be successful. It is critical to simultaneously consider the ecological and human dimensions of conservation."

For example, in South Africa’s Kruger National Park and in Botswana’s Chobe National Park, overabundant elephants threaten the habitats of endangered species, such as black rhinos and ground hornbill, by knocking down trees. "Park managers have tried many methods to reduce elephant populations, including birth control, but the only option seems to be highly unpopular culling."

While in Africa, students keep travel logs, present seminars and produce group reports with case studies affecting biodiversity and tourism.

Watch a video about their travels here.

To learn how you can support the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, contact Monica Delisa, senior director of development, at (800) 392-3310 or (979) 847-9314.