Author: Megan Brown | Major: Biology | Semester: Summer 2024
Hey! I’m Megan Brown, an honors student in Fulbright College at the University of Arkansas, majoring in Biology and minoring in Chemistry and Medical Humanities. I spent three weeks of the 2024 summer intersession participating in the study abroad program entitled Tanzania – Ecology, Evolution, and Peoples of East Africa.
Selfie with an Elephant
As a student at the University of Arkansas, I have been excited about the possibility of attending a study abroad program, seeing and learning about new parts of the world, and experiencing it with a group of people who have similar interests as my own. When looking over the different programs offered, the Tanzania program immediately piqued my interest. It offered experiences with observing chimpanzees at Gombe National Park, snorkeling a coral reef at Zanzibar Island, learning about and meeting hunter-gatherers of Africa, and safariing different national parks. As a science major, I have always enjoyed learning more about and experiencing humankind, nature, and animals. This 19-day program covered all of these in depth, and I was thrilled when I was accepted to attend.
We attended two classes on campus prior to leaving for Tanzania with specific application to what we would see and experience on our study abroad. In our first class, we focused on general ecology and evolution. In the second class, we focused on human evolution and Olduvai Gorge, about the animals we may see and how they interact with their environment, and about the people groups we were going to meet while in Tanzania. During the study abroad, I was able to take the knowledge that was taught and tested over previously and apply it to what I was experiencing.
At Gombe National Park, we were able to hike to the chimpanzees’ natural habitat, where they were resting, and observe them. While watching them, I was able to see how they interacted together and how similar some of their features are to humans. In class, I learned how chimpanzees were the closest living relatives to humans, how they used tools, and how they lived together in groups of mothers plus children, and groups of males. The experience of seeing these animals so close stood out to me because I was able to see all the emotion and knowledge they held through their eyes.
In Zanzibar Island, we were given a tour of Stone Town. Previously, Indian elephants were used for transportation around the island, which led an overpopulation of elephants, with some even forcing their way into homes. To prevent elephants from coming into houses, metal spikes were installed on many doors. Eventually, the elephants were sent back to India. I also learned about the slave trade in Tanzania and toured the Slave Market Memorial. After the tour of Stone Town, our group snorkeled at a coral reef off the island. We studied coral reef ecosystems during class and what they were prior to the effects of tourism, overfishing, and global warming. Sadly, the reef I visited was dying because of these things, but I was still able to experience the vast amount of sea life still living in and surrounding the reef.
After Zanzibar, we traveled to Arusha National Park and Lake Manyara National Park. I had learned in class that the National Parks of Tanzania were a major source of revenue, and that tourism provided many people with jobs. I also learned that they allow hunting for a steep fee, but typically only let the sick, old, or injured animals be hunted. This is a way to provide more jobs for people and money for the government to keep the parks open and maintained. At Arusha National Park, we were able to do a walking tour of the wildlife. One of the guides carried a gun for protection, but I later learned that the gun was typically just shot to scare away any animals if needed. Thankfully, the gun was not needed. While walking, we saw warthogs, African buffalo, giraffes, and more. I was able to get a selfie with a giraffe about 15 feet away, which was amazing. At Lake Manyara, elephants walked so close to us we could have touched them (of course, we didn’t).
The following day, we traveled to visit the Hadzabe, which are the last remaining hunter-gatherers in the world, and the Datoga. I had previously learned about these people groups, but it was still incredible to see how their way of life was so different from mine. We had the opportunity to observe the Hadzabe as they hunted using handmade bows and arrows. While with them, they shot two birds, immediately made a fire and cooked them, and then allowed us all to try a bite. It wasn’t bad! The Hadzabe are monogamous, and the Datoga are polygynous. It was interesting and educational to be exposed to their culture and learn more about their lifestyles.
We then traveled to Olduvai Gorge, known as the “cradle of humanity”. This is where scientists believe homo sapiens originated. There is still fossil evidence being found of tools used, bones from other animals, and some human fossils. There are also fossils of species that came before homo sapiens, such as Paranthropus boisei, which was the first hominin fossil found in the gorge.
The Great Migration
Finally, we visited Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. At the Serengeti, I saw lions, cheetahs, leopards, wildebeests, hippos, crocodiles, zebras, and more. One of the highlights of my trip was being able to experience The Great Migration. I learned that during the shift from the wet season to the dry season, the wildebeests and zebras move toward the center of the Serengeti to find more water sources, which is known as The Great Migration. At Ngorongoro Crater, I was able to see three rhinos, which completed the “Big Five” (lions, leopards, African buffalo, rhinos, and elephants).
One thing that surprised me during this experience was how close I became with my fellow students and professors. I made life-long friends on this amazing study abroad experience!