An Oxford First! Founded in 1986, WildCRU was the first university-based conservation research unit in Europe. Today we are recognised as a world leader in our field.

WildCRU was founded and developed by David Macdonald, Oxford's first Professor of Wildlife Conservation, who continues to guide its development. His concept was to tackle the emerging biodiversity crisis and wider environmental issues by bridging the gap between academic theory and practical problem solving. This scholarly approach provides the foundation for all of WildCRU's work and has been widely recognised. In 2004 David received the Dawkins Prize for Conservation, in 2006 the medal of the American Society of Mammalogists, and in 2007 the British equivalent. In 2008 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

WildCRU is part of the University of Oxford, with close links to Lady Margaret Hall, the University's college where David Macdonald and two senior colleagues hold Fellowships and where many of our graduate students are registered. Although strongly committed to WildCRU, the University is unable to provide funding, so we rely upon grants and donations. Thanks to the Tubney Charitable Trust, WildCRU is now based at Tubney House, just outside Oxford, home to our team of experienced conservation biologists, doctoral students, field assistants, volunteers and visiting collaborators.

Since 1986, WildCRU, now with over 50 researchers, has grown to be one of the largest and most productive conservation research institutes in the world. Our members have been drawn from more than 30 countries and our projects have a similarly international reach, ranging from the Scottish Highlands to Mongolia, West Africa and the Galápagos Islands.

Most recently, our longstanding specialisation in wild carnivores has led to a partnership with the Panthera, with whom we are developing our aspiration to become the world's foremost university centre for felid
conservation research.