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What it means to be a Specialist Tracker for CyberTracker... In the CyberTracker system for evaluating trackers, Specialist is the highest level that you can earn. Not many people pursue it, because the standard is so rigorous. It's rigorous enough to be called the "Gold Standard" for international wildlife tracking certifications. Part of the rigor comes from the fact that evaluators never know what the questions are going to be, before they walk out in the morning of a certification and encounter whatever tracks, signs, and trails that mother nature has provided. And every darn day is different.

We just submitted the draft of our new book on the art and science of: Tracking Animals - a Guide to Trailing Wildlife, for editing to our publisher at Jacana Media. We are hoping that it will be out by the December holiday season! In it, you'll find instructions on what to do, what not to do, and teaching stories. These stories aren't just from the authors, Lee and Kersey, but also from many of the high level trackers and evaluators in the CyberTracker Tracker Certification system.

On the 25th of May, in the Thornybush Game Reserve of South Africa, five Master Trackers and five Senior Trackers, from Africa and North America, met after some days spent tracking together, and evenings spent discussing protocol around the campfire. During an unexpected and highly emotional ceremony, two of those Senior Trackers were awarded Master Tracker status for their decades of service to trackers and tracking. We congratulate the world's newest Master Trackers on the Gold-Standard CyberTracker Tracker Certification System, Ekson Ndlovu and Lee Gutteridge. Read on to find out more about this huge honor...

This month's leading photo features Virginia Opossum tracks (Didelphis virginiana). The lower track with the large thumb sticking out towards the right is the left hind track, while the one above it is the left front track. The tracks were made in the fine substrate under the Mt. Vernon, Ohio bridge along the Kokosing River. This bridge was one of our stopping points for the CyberTracker Ohio Specialist Identification Certification that Original Wisdom hosted in April. Photo credit: Sandy Reed.

Giza Mrembo, Swahili for "Beautiful Darkness," stepped into the red spotlight of the other vehicle. We saw her as a moving shadow in the night, hunting. The melanistic (black) leopardess, softly but confidently padded through the dry acacia scrubland of Laikipia Wilderness in Kenya. Without the spotlight, even in partial moonlight, she stood out, unable to hide herself against the golden soils in the open landscape.

A relaxed female leopard lounges on the top of a large termite mound. She was in the process of dispersing from her mom (gaining her independence) in a private reserve of South Africa. This photo was taken by by Dylan Bernstein, our Yogi Guide in February's Ashtanga Yoga, Tracking and Nature Guiding Program. Read more about this program in our Events in Africa section.