Speak! Jennifer McCarthy's Blog: Africa Archives

Africa

PLAYING CHASE: Why Your Dog Likes It & Why You Do Too...

Posted by jennifer on April 6, 2012.

It's another afternoon at the dog park. People are chatting up a storm about their beloved pets, telling stories to one another all the while their dogs socilally interact joyfully in different ways.

I stand off to the side observing every interaction- like pictures in a slide show, I record what I see between dogs to file for later use.

My Pit Mix that I rescued from a small animal shelter in Arizona last winter catches my attention. She is over joyed to be there- it's been a week without a dog park visit which is a long stretch for her. She wines looking around for her old best friend Elvis. After realizing he isn't there, she goes up to every dog to instigate play if they are willing.

She wants so badly to be chased- a game that Elvis & her used to play all the time. She could care less if a dog is being chased but if they will chase her, her life will be complete.

Why do dogs love to play chase? Have you ever wondered why children love to play chase or maybe why so many of our sports revolve around simaler games that involve chase?

The reason may be because we are no different than dogs in some ways.

The game of chase is at it's fundemental level, a game to practice moves in mamals to help us to survive. Whether you are the predator or prey, you have developed these skills to assit you in times of danger or simply to receive your next meal.

Both dogs and humans feel joy in the game of chase. Ironically, the same joy we feel in playing a game can come from the same place of fear or pursuit on the other side of the coin.

It's a natural instinct for children and young dogs to play this game as this is the time when wolves and other animals are most likely to be prey. It's also a time to learn these fundemental skills that can serve us for life.

As I look inward to all my experiences of watching animals play, I remember that we are no different and that our natural paths are the same.

On the way home, I pass a soccer match going on between adults and I remember a dog in the dog park chasing a large ball. The dog with the ball growls to another dog to stay away. The man on the feild aggressively pushes his opponent to the side. The bodies are different but the instinct is the same...

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To Be Animal...

Posted by jennifer on January 24, 2011.

To be animal, to understand what makes a human detached from its own comrades of mammals, you have to live it, you have to breathe it and essentially, "Be wild"...

Years ago, I had asked the most fundamental question that every human being seeks on the planet: Why am I here and what am I supposed to be doing.

I had worked in almost every aspect of the dog business, grew up riding horses, scuba dove and lived on boats all over the Caribbean but my most extreme hurdle was not in understanding the animals. It was the human psychology behind the issues & problems that I was faced with on a daily basis.

I couldn't wrap my head around one thing: How and why do humans think they are no different from a dog, cat, wolf or horse? Sure, we have more developed brains but is that a good thing? As far as I knew, the human race was facing many issues including over population, global warming and war to name a few. I saw wolves develop similar family systems in the wild and survive the ice age. We are still a new species to some animals and I had a feeling that some of them knew that. It seems that wolves had us from the beginning, they used us to get food and here we have the domestic dog. This basic and simplistic way of living for some species worked-they had survived when others had died off and in some terms, it made them wiser.

Most humans don't go around thinking every day in simplistic terms. We get to work, pay the bills and purchase what we need to eat, wear, live under and travel in. Rarely does a person hunt on foot, study a herd, live outside and wear what he kills & will eat.

I decided to head out to Colorado to work with wolves and detach from society as much as possible to study the interactions between my dogs & horses, cattle and wildlife high up in the mountains above Boulder. This extreme way of living taught me more in my career and in life than I had ever anticipated. I wanted to know what it was like to live life on the food chain without a gun and be to some extent, an animal in the wild.

Once removed from the ongoings of society, you let go of a lot of facades. What was once important became non-essential. I began to process a raw, more substantial outlook on life that didn't revolve around material things or complex social interactions.

I saw how much we are all sold products of someone else's life-things that other humans make as an impression of their ideas but not based upon who we are as people. Certain human issues became less important and I became focussed on studying and learning from my comrades in the forest.

Animals live life in the same way people do at fundamental levels. They experience joy, heart ache, depression, sadness, loneliness, happiness and excitement to name a few. Some are social creatures that like to have fun and play games but all struggle to survive. They eat, rest, sleep, travel, work, play and have families. I found more "humanness" in the woods than I found animal or maybe I was finding more animal in all of us as humans.

As my journey continued, I saw acts of tolerance between different species, I saw kindness and forgiving and I saw what makes life worth living to all of us on planet earth. This experience as animal, has me convinced that I learned more about being a human from other mammals. We can learn more from other species because they are our comrades. We should not deny the fact that we are one of them.

My journey continues to this day and as I seek to find answers in helping humans and animals co-exist, I only find myself going farther in search of my true purpose.

From the eastern shores of Africa to the reefs off the coast of Australia to the most remote corners of Yellowstone, I continue to gain more knowledge, grow more as a person and become increasingly skilled with what I do to share with anyone who needs help or is interested in listening.

To relate this all back to your pet has great significance because I believe in not speaking from a human perspective but a perspective of your pet. What other species teach me breaks way to a new understanding of working with one as an equal, not as a greater species which harbors great compassion and understanding for domestic pets and their human owners.

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Animals Know Details Better Than You Do...

Posted by jennifer on November 12, 2010.

Because pack & heard animals live their life on a totem pole, you have to pay attention to how un-conscience they are about constantly one-upping you. This mechanism is ingrained in their basic biology to get to the head of the pack or family system in place. Make no mistake that as a horseback rider or pet owner, your animal is always manipulating you. Of course we can't blame them- they need to do it almost as if it's a part of their very existence, and it is.
What I'm referring to, is a dog in a down stay that may inch his way up by rolling over to his side, the horse that knows he shouldn't walk in front of you but tries anyway and the wolf who may casually steal another wolves bone when they aren't looking.
This ploy may seem malicious, almost as if they are doing this in spite of you. Even if you've taught your dog a million times not to race out the door, he still may try to anyway.
So what is your job as head leader of this system? To Constantly push them back down again on a daily basis.
Why are details so important when it comes to relating to our four legged friends? Because what you may not even pay attention to, nor care about is very important to your pet. You may not see it but they do.
When you can start seeing through the eyes of your pet is when you will tap into a world where the littlest things hold the most meaning. For example, an empty dish that lies on the floor, has the smell of left over food. You don't control that smell but your dog does. Until you pick the bowl up, the smell still means food and food is the highest rescource to animals so you better own the food.
Old scents hold different meaning than newer ones. The one with the most scents spread on the ground in a particular space or room, holds the territory card and owns the area.
Space is always being accknowledged- how much there is of it, who owns it and when can we get out of it for a more exciting activity such as a walk.
Doorbells, keys, pocket change, foot steps, car engines- all sounds are heard and trigger a meaning or an action. For instance, keys mean leaving or coming home, leash means walk, door lock means going out. A dog that is "trigger happy" is one who gets too excitable, anxious, aggressive or fearful based on sound. In order to make this go away, we must de-sensitize them to the sounds.
What makes a good dog or domestic animal handler is looking out through the eyes of your animal first then through the eyes of what you want them to accomplish from a human perspective. Animals will work in co-operation for you if you show an equal respect for them as much as they do to you :-)

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Gorongosa...

Posted by jennifer on July 21, 2010.

My time at Gorongosa was one of the best times of my life. I intend to go back as more animals are re-introduced. I toured the re-introduction pen for Hyenas which will be there soon as well as the area for Zebras, etc. to be transported to the area after all studies are completed. To put my experience in words and pictures would not be doing Gorongosa justice. The people I met, the stories of war, survival and the resilient hope I saw in people's eyes was nothing short of amazing. And to think this was- at one time, the most abundant game area in all of Africa.

I heard about the restoration project going on there at a premiere party in Denver for their National Geographic Special- "Africa's Lost Eden". When I heard the story, I immediately thought of the wolf re-introduction project in Yellowstone that very well changed not only the ecology, people's perception of how important keystone predators are but also the huge advances that were made with the Trophic Cascade, etc.
The idea of an area going through these changes with so many species not only fascinated me but I wanted to be a part of it. Something told me I had to go to Africa...

This trip has not only given me more knowledge of such amazing creatures, the landscape and people that have a love/hate relationship with nature but it has changed me not only professionally but personally.
I felt that by connecting with people living in such poverty, sitting down and eating corn with them and their struggles to put food on the table for their family that it gave me a different perspective. I understood why so many had come to a last resort and went trecking into the park and poaching an animal to survive- they had nothing to eat. On the flip side, I had dinner with Carlos Lopes Pereira, Gorongosa's Director of Conservation. A man I have much respect for given the huge task in front of him. (By the way, Carlos is a former canine handler and used Belgian Malinois to de-mine many areas of the park.) He talked to me about the other poachers- the ones making money by killing an Elephant for it's tusks and killing Rhino's for their horns. These animals were killed for money- left to die. Carlos's first task was to secure the park from poachers which employed a local task force of guards patrolling the perimeter every 10 or so meters but sometimes the poachers would still get in. One poacher even lost his pants somewhere in the bush that were left behind as he was chased off, so there is a pantless poacher somewhere in or outside Gorongosa National Park incase you happen to spot him. Overall however, poaching has signifigantly decreased since protecting the area but it is still an issue that the park faces weekly.

The problems Gorongosa faces are all but similar to management in Yellowstone. Monitoring behavior patterns and keeping close tabs on animals that may not be used to cars driving off at any little sign of an elephant charge or something similar but the bottom line is this- Of the few animals that did survive the brutal civil war, they did so through adaptation. The crocs. are so scared of humans that they immediately run for the water. Not only are the animals in trauma recovery but the people too. Some had lost 6-7 family members per family. I met one man who survived for 24 hrs. in the river with the crocodiles by breathing through some sort of reed stick like a straw as to not get shot by the enemy.

Since the park has had a second chance thanks to American philanthropist, Gregory Carr, The Carr Foundation and the Government of Mozambique, things are only looking up. I visited a school and clinic that was built in one of the nearby local communities. I shook the hand of the Dr. and nurses that were excited to have us visit and I saw that over 400 local people in the nearby towns now were employed for the park and had steady jobs.

My hope here is that once more animals will be re-introduced, there will be no fences surronding Gorongosa and that the people and animals can learn to live peacefully. I hope that poachers can find other means of making money and I hope that studies are done as this park emerges back to what it used to be- Africa's first Serengeti so that we may continue to learn, preserve and protect what is important for generations to come.

I have every inkling of going back for a longer period of time after more animals are re-introduced and I hope to raise awareness and support for this important cause. This is like our Yellowstone but with only a portion of the wildlife- so far.

Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world and I think I may have seen only one or two Americans the whole time I was there. The war is now over though and the beaches are beautiful. I also swam with two whale sharks and visited the largest research area for whale sharks in the world.
The hotels have opened their doors and slowly, new ones are being built. This gem of a country is on it's way to hitting the world stage and I'm proud to say that Gorongosa will be a part of that.

On a bad note, I did fracture my ankle in Africa at the end of my trip including a severe sprain, torn tissues, etc. I am on the mend but will be back running with the wolves and training man's best friend very soon. For now, here are a few pictures with more available shortly at: www.http://www.photoshelter.com/c/jennifermccarthy.com. These images are also available for purchase through that site. I will also be posting links to organizations to donate to Gorongosa National Park very soon...

This is an ungulate we thought may have been poached. Upon further inspection, it died in a fight by another animal's horn...

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Johannesburg Pictures

Posted by jennifer on June 30, 2010.

These are pictures from my lay-over in Johannesburg... Crime is so bad in this city, you are literally in lock down once at your location. Murder capitol of the world :-( Hopefully the rise in the economy from the World Cup will help the economic issues...

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Heading To Johannesburg...

Posted by jennifer on June 29, 2010.

Within human nature, there is the seemingly relentless obsession to control and ultimatly change nature. I have had the displeasure of witnessing non-human animals over managed and undermanaged during this conservation revolution by their supposed superiors-human beings. I am a firm believer in overhauling the concept of sole responsibilty and being part of human's working to understand our own psycholgy and our relationship to the natural world. In my experience, it has been part of our ego to consider ourselves a part from or above what other creatures consider themselves- part of the truest form of reality in the wild.
My neighbor recently found out the hard way that by putting out bird feeders, she had attracted a large redish, black bear who had broken into her car and garage on the hunt for food. Had she called the authorities, the bear would most likely have been shot. It is this concept where in lies the problem: We attract what we don't want and then after, we manage through euthanasia or other means whether a tree, a monkey or a sacred place. The focus should be on larger enforcements of regulating human being's actions rather then actions toward our kinship- wild and domestic creatures, plants and the earth itself.
With this said, we go back to a more chaotic and natural environment. Western science is believed that when a certain study is done, it proves in theory, that x will happen. However, I do not believe in many cases that this is true as I have witnessed many unbelievable things that essentially disproved theory x or concept y. In order to be creative, one must be open to the unpredictable and this speaks true of a more Native Science. I have learned a great deal from both forms however, when dealing with nature, it seems like western science is playing more catch up to what Natives have told through stories and experiences from long ago. There is something about being open to all things that flows with the ebb of life and allows one more progress, invention of new ideas and concepts that could very well change the world. I am very excited to unveil a new concept that focusses on this very freedom I have learned from the wild, my friends in the forest and domestic animals.
As I fly to South Africa, I am not in control of the weather, the world or the wild animals of which I will bear the pleasure of witness to. I am open to observation, new ideas and concepts that may change me. I learn just as animals do by soaking up and using all senses to their full capacity. What does this smell tell me? What is that sound? Seeing, touching and being instinctive is being "a part of" the experience.
With this said, I don't base my knowledge and research on one species but rather mammals, the land and the humans that surround them. This then can be opened up to all things which gives one the ultimate palatte to work from. A whale or a lion for example may just give me a new idea for a horse, dog or even human being. When you allow a river to flow, all things can come out of that river. Fish can spawn, new plants can grown and the river essentially becomes the vein for blood to flow through the land. When you block that river by a dam, new things can't grow and you have effects to the environment itself. Africa is the vein of life. It is essentially where things started. To not go there would essentially put up a dam in my work and my creativity would be limited. This is the ultimate classroom and the animals, people and earth there are my teachers. I will document my first of many trips here daily. Please enjoy the notes as I report from the field in Mozambique and the struggles to repopulate Gorongosa National Park after a long cival war killed off most of the animals in the area. I will also update you via boat on research to marine life and discussions with local biologists and people working on the ground towards a common goal. As featured recently on National Geographic, Gorongosa was part of a one hour special entitled "Africa's Lost Eden". Welcome to a different kind of World Cup adventure from the Southern Hemisphere here in South Africa...

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