By Brian Dusseault
Bay County Audubon Society will celebrate its third Nature Connection Program April 6 at the Holley Center, FSU- PC campus, with Tom Nkwazi as the highlighted presenter. “Big Tom” as he is known in his African home of Botswana, has been a fully-licensed professional safari guide for 15 years. He brings a rich knowledge of wild Africa to our area, a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to learn about the environmental issues facing the shrinking African habitat that hosts elephants, lions, wildebeest, hippos, giraffes, antelopes, and exotic birds, to name a few, all in a raw display of nature. You will be hearing first-hand about the “circle of life”, a real life Lion King story.
Big Tom currently guides in the northern part of Botswana, in the Okavango Delta, close to Chobe National Park (home to 100,000 plus elephants) and world-famous Victoria Falls. A quick google search will reveal the magic of the Okavango Delta, an oasis in a desert of exquisite wildlife nourished by a river which sustains the entire ecosystem. In the rainy season, the land erupts in glorious beauty due to the seasonal water supply which creates the Delta. In the dry season, the animals compete for water in the diminished rivers and waterholes, creating an ideal context within which to view local wildlife.
Attendees will be privy to incredible environmental lessons by Big Tom Nkwazi as he recounts his experiences with photos and videos, some taken from the front seat of his special-edition LandCruiser. Get a front row seat yourself to hear all about the magnificent safari experience. What questions do you have about African safaris. Are they safe? Are they expensive? Why are they worth it? Is there anything you can you do to help protect the unique habitat that is the African savanna? Big Tom will tell us.
In addition, Bay County Audubon has invited Noah Strycker to return as a Nature Connection speaker to give the audience an update of his area of nature expertise, the status of the Emperor Penguin, recently suffering nesting issues due to loss of Antarctic sea ice. At our previous Nature Connection event in 2022, Noah delivered an amazing standing-ovation presentation on his world record-setting around the world birding odyssey during which he visited 41 countries, identifying 6,042 bird species. He will be back on April 6 also to relate his experiences living with an Emperor Penguin colony, recalling “The March of the Penguins” movie. He will be visiting many of our local schools to give educational programs about the penguin and nature.
You can find more information about the upcoming Nature Connection 2024 Program by following this newspaper for related and updated stories and at the website: www.baycountyaudubon.org.
