by Clay Wilson and Tony Park (Umuzi)
This book tells the story of one man’s passion for African wildlife and his dedication to becoming a wildlife vet practising in one of the richest wildlife areas – Botswana.
Clay Wilson learnt from a young age that anything to do with animals resonated with him. As the child of a South African mother and an American father he found himself torn between two continents.
After qualifying as a vet at Onderstepoort he sought a comfortable life in Florida running a successful veterinary practice, but after years of building the practice, he had a deep yearning to return to Africa to treat the animals that he really cared about.
Wilson made the difficult decision to uproot and relocate to Kasane, a remote town bordering one of Botswana’s national parks. As a volunteer and an honorary game warden he was allowed to help the trained game staff when an animal was injured. But none of his expenses were paid and he continued to do it for the sake of the animals.
Wilson details his adaptation to rural Africa and the realities of living in a small outpost where luxuries are not available. Electricity and water are not reliable and he soon butts heads with some of the locals about their way of doing things.
Wilson speaks frankly about how frustrating it was to deal with organisations that had no political will to save their wildlife.
His dedication to saving animals in distress did not make it easy when a girlfriend from the US arrived.
At times one feels for Wilson and at other times one feels for the villagers. It is an interesting read for those who love African wildlife and is written with some panache.