1646 – Issue 4

15 FEATURE STORY In 2004, I first visited Africa, Kenya to be specific, and it was here that I developed my love for African wildlife, nature and conservation. However, through an uncertainty of where I originally wanted to head in life I initially went to the University of Leicester to pursue an undergraduate degree in Geology, during this time I realised how much I wanted to follow my passion in animal conservation. To make this dream a reality, I spent the year following graduation volunteering in numerous zoos and wildlife parks around the UK, working with animals from polar bears to penguins. I also volunteered with PANTHERA in South Africa, working on a leopard study at an emerging game reserve. With the new skills and knowledge I had acquired over this gap year, I went on to pursue an MSc in Global Wildlife Health and Conservation at the University of Bristol. Whilst undertaking my MSc degree, my passion for wildlife and conservation grew. I worked very closely with the veterinary team at Bristol Zoo practicing some basic wildlife medicine and enjoyed numerous trips to wildlife rehabilitation centres around the UK. This, coupled with my love for travel led me to pursue a dissertation subject abroad. Through research and word of mouth, I heard about the amazing Livestock Guarding Dog (LGD) program that was being run at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and a project was formed looking at the effectiveness of these dogs. I headed out to CCF in the summer of 2017 to collect data on LGD’s using GPS collars. My time studying the dogs, working with the staff at CCF and the beautiful country of Namibia were difficult to forget when returning home and I was adamant that I needed to go back at the first opportunity, thus leaving my CV with the Director. I didn’t have to wait long and in January of the next year I was invited to present my work at the Pathways Conference in Windhoek, Namibia and once again visited the Cheetah Conservation Fund to see the Livestock Guarding Dogs. After graduating from my MSc, I managed to secure employment as an Animal Keeper at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens. Originally employed as a reptile keeper, over the following year I regularly worked on all sections within the zoo, including large mammals and primates, birds and small mammals. Whilst I enjoyed my time at the zoo immensely, I was still drawn to the in-situ conservation efforts and wished to make a real impact mitigating human- wildlife conflict. It was two years later that I then received an email out of the blue from the Director of CCF offering me the job to come and manage their Livestock Guarding Dog program. I handed in my notice the next day and I was out in Namibia within a month. I am currently employed as Cheetah Conservation Funds Livestock Guarding Dog’s and Small Stock Program Manager where I am assisting in the mitigation of human-wildlife conflict on farms not only here in Namibia but across the continent of Africa. However, in Namibia 90% of the Cheetah population is found on farm lands and is thus our focal country due to the level of conflict. So, through the education of livestock management to farmers and the placement of LGD’s I am assisting in mitigating that conflict and in turn saving the cheetah. From this, I have been very fortunate to appear on numerous TV programs and documentaries worldwide with the most recent being ‘The World’s Most Scenic Railway Journeys’. Through my work to promote and grow the program while educating the public on CCF’s mission and cheetah conservation, I have also had the privilege to help assist in the first reintroduction of cheetahs back to India. A cat that has been extinct in the wild there since 1952. Whilst based in Namibia I have furthered my passion for conservation by also joining the Pangolin Conservation and Research Foundation to support with their social media presence as well as any on the ground assistance they might need. A very exciting and heavily protected animal, I never thought I would have the opportunity to work with. I was uncertain of what I wanted to do when I left Blue Coat but due to the support and knowledge Blue Coat had given me, I was able to adapt and grow as I went through further education to finally decide where I wanted to gowithmy future. The path may not always be straightforward but if you keep pushing you’ll get there. by Calum O’Flaherty (2012)