Dave Hamman balanced on the edge of a flimsy canvas wall as dozens of African water buffalo stampeded past him. As he held on in fear, the MSU zoology senior didn't want to lose balance and fall into the pen.
The force and power of the animals shook the walls as workers tried to capture the raging beasts, Hamman recalled.
This adventure might be something he could have watched on the Discovery Channel, but it was his study abroad trip to South Africa this summer brought Hamman within feet of some of the world's most exotic wildlife.
For Hamman and the other 11 students on the trip, the experiences brought their wildlife biology textbooks to life. They took night walks in the African bush and even visited the tip of Africa, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet.
Along with Hamman, Jen Timmer, an environmental studies and applications senior, experienced the four-week trip to Africa.
"You can learn so much more that way than you can sitting in a classroom reading a book, like the way to tell the difference between a male and female zebra," she said.
Two faculty members joined the students as they braved the South African wilderness and trekked across nearly the entire country for four weeks, trying to get a first-hand look into the different habitats which animals call home.
"The point of the trip was to expose our students to as many different ecosystems in South Africa, which hopefully then we would be able to expose them to as wide of a variety of plants and animals that we possibly could," said Jim Schneider, a fisheries and wildlife adviser who went on the trip.
Three years ago, Harold Prince, a now-retired fisheries and wildlife professor, and Schneider created and developed the trip. But this year's trip marked the first actual group of students to participate in "Conservation and Biodiversity in South African Parks and Game Areas."
The trip began on the Eastern side of the country by traveling to Kruger National Park, one of the country's most famous parks, where the group made South African Wildlife College their home base.
The park, located in the African Savannah, has miles of grassy fields that house thousands of animals. There for about a week, the students participated in several activities that normal African students at the college would do.
Schneider said the opportunity to get beyond fences, which some national parks use to restrain tourists from getting too close, is unique in South Africa and at the college.
He has traveled with other study abroad programs in Kenya, where up-close access was not permitted without being behind glass.
"Our guide carries a rifle. We saw elephants walk past us, zebras came right up to us, we could hear lions, so we knew they were there. You get a different perspective," Schneider said. "On the ground you realize there could be a lion, there is no glass separating you."
Schneider said they spent a fourth of their trip at the college, preparing for other ecosystems they would encounter later in the trip.
The next stop for the group was Cheetah Safaris, an ecotourist park, where students sat in ground-level blinds - similar to a small tent - close to a watering hole and watched the animals come and go. This stop was en route to the Kalahari Desert and Kalahari Transfrontier Park.
Hamman's favorite time was spent exploring the unique wildlife and geology of the desert. The curriculum had students investigate the differences and similarities in plant and animal life in the desert versus the Savannah.
Along the way, several wildlife management issues and ethics were raised, especially when the group witnessed the wild African buffalo capture.
"It is irrelevant whether it is good or bad, (captures) happen and that is how it is done," Hamman said. "The buffalo capture went wrong at the end, it was interesting to see the workers. Tourists, such as ourselves, being there is probably a bad idea, animals could see us where we were."
Hamman and his fellow trip mates also attended lectures on wildlife medicine, a topic that interested him.
"Wildlife medicine issues over there directly respond to my career, we had a couple lectures on wildlife diseases that directly correspond," said Hamman, who has plans to go to veterinary school.
The trip concluded on the southern part of South Africa, including the major city Cape Town. The group spent time looking at the ecosystem of a coastal region at the De Hoop Nature Reserve. They visited a penguin colony and stood on some landmark spots, such as Cape L'Agulhas, the southernmost town in Africa.
While Schneider has been to Africa before, going to South Africa with this group of students gave him a new kind of excitement.
"I have been to Africa five times and seen all the animals," he said. "But what really gets me is to see these students get just charged. To get over there and with all the perceptions and then get on the ground and watch all those misconceptions go out the window."
