Ever since Sophie was in London and saw a BBC movie about meerkats narrated by Paul Newman, she’s been obsessed with these tiny animals. Their long thin furry bodies just over a foot tall are designed for speed above ground and burrowing underground. They inhabit some of the most difficult, barren and dangerous places on earth yet they appear to live happily in their large families. When they stand tall on their hind legs and peer out with their binocular-like eyes, it’s as if they scan entire swaths of the African deserts where they live. Meerkats are about as different from giraffes as any creature can be, yet Sophie is intoxicated with them. They live so close to her childhood...

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Sophie was born and raised on the Okavango Delta, a swampy fertile area formed by the Okavango River in the center of the landlocked country. Rich in plant life and animals it is a place that combines unparallel joys of a diverse landscape with abundant food and water. It also has the dangers of sharing a space with predators like hyenas and lions. Its main city is Maun, the fifth largest city in Botswana, the center of the highly lucrative tourism trade and the center of the agriculture trade. Tourists on their way to many safaris in the area mix with ranchers who bring their cattle to sell. Sophie loves the atmosphere but when she wants to get away and...

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