Blog by Marnie Rusga – LFGA intern
Ask any LFGA alumni what their favourite week on course was and many will reply with the track and sign week.
The lessons learned, skills acquired, and resilience gained from the week all make it one to remember. Not to mention the excitement that comes from being able to understand animals’ movements and behaviour without even seeing them. Each sign or set of tracks tells a story and you will have a better understanding of what makes each species unique, leaving you even more passionate about South Africa’s wildlife. As the week commences, we prepare to head out for a full day on the tracks, cooler box and water bottles loaded onto the vehicle in preparation for a bush brunch, allowing us maximum time immersed in the world of track and sign. From the start, students are thrown in the deep end.
As a newcomer to the bush or not having looked at tracks before, this can be overwhelming. You are suddenly expected to identify tracks and signs that you have never seen before. The first time looking at a particular track your mind becomes active and thus the track and sign bug has taken hold. You stare at the track, perhaps not knowing where the front is and where is the back, wondering if it could belong to a mammal, bird, reptile, or something else. You become a detective, looking for clues to help you come to some kind of explanation as to what could have caused this mark in the sand. Eventually you must come to a decision and give your answer. You wait anxiously for the correct answer to be revealed and to receive an explanation as to why it is a particular species. Some may have beginners luck and correctly identify from the start. For others the frustration begins as you realise you were way off. However, that frustration quickly subsides as the expert trainers point out each detail and how this informs you which species it belongs to. It’s like a lightbulb moment and you know that the next time you see this track you will be able to identify it. These learning moments are what motivate you to get through the week. Whilst there will be many ups and downs and frustrating moments, there will also be feelings of elation as your confidence grows and you correctly identify more and more.
The lessons learned from the track and sign week are lessons to carry with you in all aspects of life. The more you put in, the more you get out of it. If you make a mistake, move on from it. Put it behind you, learn from it and focus on what comes next. By the time the assessment comes around, it is important to think back to the beginning of the week and recognise how far you have come. That very first track you looked at and had no idea about is now engrained in your mind and it is now second nature to look for each detail to help you identify it.
The best part of the week has to be the shared achievement from everyone in the group. As the certificates are handed out and people find out if they made the level they were hoping for, the support between students and trainers gives justice to the shared experience of the week. Whether those who took part in the assessment achieved a level or not, it is safe to say that each and every one will be able to look back and realise how much knowledge they have gained in just one week. From the largest track to the smallest sign, the week opens your eyes to the diversity of wildlife that exists. You will be humbled by comparing the size of your hand to a lion or elephant track and will be fascinated by the behaviour of the smallest arthropods.
Once you delve into the world of track and sign it’s hard to stop… keep on tracking!
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