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Education

1981-1984 University of London, Bedford College B.Sc. (Hons) Zoology/Physiology.

1984-1985 University of London: The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. M. Sc. in Medical Parasitology.

1985-1990 Cambridge University B.A (Hons.) Medical Sciences Tripos M.A. Vet. M.B., MRCVS.

Professional Membership

Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, UK

Current position

Founder and co-director, WildTrack, an independent wildlife monitoring research organisation.

Awards

2002    Smithsonian Computerworld Award. Environment, Energy and Agriculture prize 2002 awarded to WildTrack for the footprint identification technique.

2006    SAS software UK 25th anniversary contest for ‘Best use of SAS software’; first prize awarded to WildTrack in a field of large multinational corporate competitors.

Background 

After qualifying from the Cambridge University Vet School in 1990, my partner Sky Alibhai and I developed a proposal for monitoring black rhino in the Sengwa Wildlife Research area in Zimbabwe. The proposal was accepted and we called the project Rhinowatch. This research developed, and we moved to Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, to continue our research in the newly-formed black rhino Intensive Protection Zone (IPZ) of Sinamatella. We spent the next 8 years working in Zimbabwe and Namibia to monitor both black and white rhino populations, often in difficult field conditions as illegal poaching for horn was ongoing.

Initially we monitored populations which had been fitted with radio-collars as part of the Zimbabwean government policy at that time. From 1992 - 1998 we collected and analysed data from radio-collared rhino. These data indicated that repeated immobilization of pregnant females for collar replacement/repair and/or other manipulations was having a significant negative effect on their fertility. Clearly this was not acceptable for an endangered species. Our data also showed the lifespan of the collars to be inadequate, and that they could cause significant damage to the animal. It became clear that the collaring policy was impractical and inadequate either as a deterrent to poachers or for effectively monitoring movements of the collared animals.

Working every day with local trackers, who had great expertise in understanding and interpretating animal tracks, we began to look at the idea of monitoring using footprints. After many trials using different approaches we developed the footprint identification technique (FIT), which is effectively an interpretation of an ancient bushman skill into modern technology.

FIT enabled us to track and monitor populations in Zimbabwe and Namibia (where we found FIT adapted well for the white rhino) and had the undoubted benefit of being non-invasive. Interestingly, monitoring using footprints often gave a much broader insight into the true home range and distribution of animals than had been possible with limited locations available from standard radio-collars.

In 2004, due to a growing interest in FIT from wildlife researchers working on different species, we formed WildTrack (www.wildtrack.org); with the research objective of developing FIT as a non-invasive and cost-effective wildlife monitoring technique for a wider range of endangered and elusive species, and an accessible resource in wildlife conservation.

FIT has proven itself adaptable for different species, and to date has been developed for black and white rhino, lowland and Baird’s tapir and the Bengal tiger. It has been used to identify at the species, individual, gender, age class and laterality levels for different species. We are currently developing FIT for Polar bears in an initiative with Queen’s University, Ontario. Here our aim is to construct an Inuit-friendly means of monitoring Polar bears, which will harness local knowledge and empower local custodianship of wildlife. WildTrack is also working with a research group from Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece, to assess the impact on an established brown bear population of a huge highway construction through their territory in northern Greece.

FIT is not the only non-invasive method of effectively monitoring and protecting wild animals. Other non-invasive techniques are continually being reported and documented, including identification using coat/skin pattern/texture comparisons and vocalisations at different ranges of the audible spectrum. WildTrack aims to work with other researchers conducting research into non-invasive monitoring research to build capacity in this area, and to collaborate across different disciplines to develop new techniques. For example, we are currently working with JMP experts from the SAS institute to develop new statistical routines for analysis, and with Hewlett Packard to investigate means of improving image contrast in difficult environmental substrates, for example dark forest-floors and contrast-limited Polar regions.

In 2008-2010 we hope to develop the first footprint database for endangered species (FITbase) which will act as a foundation for the development of species’ algorithms for FIT and enable monitoring strategies to be developed more quickly and effectively. We also hope to develop a WildTracker hardware device which will combine the capabilities of a digital camera, GPS, voice-recorder, satellite phone and database. This will be a multi-tasking field tool for the practical implementation of FIT whether for collection of biological, forensic or environmental data.

Referees and examples of published work are available on request.