First in a series on Julie Scardina's recent trip to Africa

I'm Julie Scardina, Animal Ambassador for SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Discovery Cove. I’ve just returned from a nearly month-long trip to Africa with the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. I visited and worked with conservation projects and partners in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda to document the work we support in those countries. The Fund invited people to join the Kenya portion of the trip and as a Fund board member, I served as a host to those travelers. Over the next few blogs, I’ll introduce you to some of the projects we support and that I visited during this trip. I’ll also get a few of our first-time-to-Africa fellow travelers to share their impressions of this amazing country.

My most lasting impression from this trip is that it’s been the worst drought Kenya has experienced in many, many years. I wasn’t prepared for the severity of what I would see and experience - Maasai cattle remains scattered along the road to the Masai Mara, skinny listless zebra and elephants and lots of predators. After witnessing the tired but determined people and animals struggling to survive in this brown, dry landscape, I know first hand how important the work of the Fund really is. Luckily, the rains have started – let’s hope it’s enough over the next few weeks to allow the rivers to flow, water the local crops and renew the grasslands.

But drought or no, this is a spectacular place. In all of my travels there has never been another location with the variety and density of animals that you can see here in Africa. For now, feast on some of my favorite photos from my favorite place in the world. At least the carnivores were satisfied!