I found that the animals we observed in the wild behaved generally as you would expect based off the information you read in textbooks or have heard from other personal accounts. One surprising behavior to me was that I noticed most of the animals were quite comfortable with vehicles in close proximity to them. Most of these animals, including ones that may be endangered due to human activity, seemed unbothered by vehicles or people within a close proximity. For example, when we witnessed the lion pride eating the buffalo, there were around 8 land cruisers all within 15 feet of a lion and they seemed largely unbothered. Similarly, at the Hippo Pool in Ngorongoro Crater, there was a time when there was a group of people near the water bank around 40ft away from hippos in the water (pictured). Although they were far too close for comfort, the hippos remained unbothered. Also, in my observations, I found that each animal in the wild contributes in some unique way to the ecosystem and plays a vital role in promoting the overall harmony of the environment. In terms of interactions with local peoples, I believe there is a strong sense of mutual respect between wild animals and the local people. From what I heard, the Maasai never eat any wild animals and will only eat from their livestock. Similarly, I believe there have been times where Maasai herds were nearby other wild animals but they maintained a respectful distance and I believe that contributes to the mutual respect between both parties.
Hippos in close proximity to humans
I found that geography and specifically the location of water play a very large role in the wildlife in African Savannas. For example, I believe that watering holes and lakes provide a great communal resource that many different species tap into which helps to promote an abundance of wildlife in a given area. This was seen strongly in Ngorongoro Crater where there was an overwhelming number of species on the crater floor all by the water. Similarly, in Dr. Egeland’s research, just from an initial observation, I believe that you could notice a much larger number of animal bones nearby the dried up water hole as compared to an area further away from water. Comparing this to a paleoenvironment, I believe we see a similar trend. For the gulley we reconstructed, the paleoenvironment had a fluvial system suggesting water being another communal resource that may have helped to promote wildlife. I believe that the environment plays a very strong role in the types and amounts of wildlife that can prosper in an area. During our trip, we didn’t necessarily have to travel great distances between seeing large changes in the environment and types of animals present (ex. the difference in environment between Tarangire NP and the Ngorongoro Crater Rim was quite drastic). In terms of human history, I believe hominin history and the environment is closely tied to the other wildlife existing in this communities. As we learned in this course, for most history, hominins were not at the top of the food chain. I believe this shows that hominins had to contribute to an ecosystem in order to develop in the fashion that they did. The environment helped to dictate the wildlife and ecosystem dynamics and this applied pressure for human history to develop in the way it did.
Overall, this course has been overwhelmingly positive for me. I came into the course with little expectations just because I had a lot of nerves and anxiety surrounding the trip. However, after having gone through the entire experience, I would rank this among my top experiences as a student at Rice. I believe this course has challenged me and allowed me to learn and grow much beyond the pure content of the class. My favorite part of the course was the great variety of experiences. I never once felt bored and always felt like there was an opportunity to learn whether it was course related or just about the culture in Tanzania. Another positive point in my experience was being able to see the amount of growth and learning I did over the duration of the course. For example, before leaving for the trip, I felt that my species identification skills were quite subpar. However, now, when showing friends photos of all the different wildlife we encountered, I feel much more confident in not only identifying the species but speaking on their ecological role or other unique traits. One component of the course I wish could be expanded on would be more content and information on Tanzania and the culture/background of the areas we are in. I really enjoyed the lecture from Dr. Prendergast on contemporary Tanzanian history and would love more similar content to further contextualize the course.
Three things I learned in this course:
- I believe learning about the Maasai lifestyle and ideas of pastoralism and how its practiced in the current day was something very interesting to me. It was very powerful to see such a strong and influential way of life that promoted a strong mutual respect between human communities and the other parts of the environment.
- In terms of taphonomy and marks on bones, stone tools will create micro striations that are distinguishable and can identify stone tool usage, but teeth marks will have no micro striations.
- Multiple approaches are required for reconstructing a paleoenvironment. You cannot rely on only one approach since each approach has drawbacks and limitations. When combined and used together, they can complement one another and provide support in favor of a theory. Research methods do not have to be exclusive.
