Flying into Serengeti. That tiny beige strip is the Seronera landing strip.

Five checked bags…yes, FIVE checked bags later, I have arrived back in Tanzania for my now third field season studying free-roaming domestic dog population dynamics near Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. What could I possibly need five bags for, you ask? Ah, they’re full of test tubes, a centrifuge, sealable plastic bags, dog treats, soccer balls, camera traps and retractable pens (losing pen caps can be quite troublesome in the bush).

This is the little plane that I flew in on- note that three-fourths of the baggage cart is my baggage!

Getting to Tanzania, however, was just half the battle. Getting the stuff to the Serengeti proved to be somewhat challenging, as I exceeded my 15 kilogram weight limit for the charter flight I booked. Not to worry, though, my bags and I arrived after not one, not two, but THREE rather bumpy landing attempts due to giraffe lounging on the runway!

Now comes the fun part—putting all this stuff to work in what promises to be another exciting field season full of adventures-stay tuned!

Anna Czupryna

A research associate in the zoo’s Alexander Center for Applied Population Biology, Anna Czupryna studies domestic dog population dynamics near Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park. Her work is one part of a zoo-led vaccination campaign that protects the region’s people, pets and predators.

Follow Anna’s field updates on Twitter.