My name is Deo Tarimo and I grew up in the southern part of Tanzania. I have gained a BSc degree in Wildlife Tourism at the College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka.

In August 2015, I started working at the Tarangire Lion Project and the Research on the Ecology of Carnivore and their Prey (RECaP) Laboratory. Throughout these projects, I have participated on lion monitoring studies and have been involved in data collection related to lion demography, sightings, and mortality. I also gained experience with carnivores-human conflict, collecting data on livestock predation and promoting activities for education and awareness.

I have taken two distance-learning short courses taught online by University of Oxford, Department of Continuing Education titled ‘Data analysis in Ecology’ and ‘Field Techniques for Surveying Mammals and Reptiles’. I have also completed Durrell Endangered Species Management Graduate Certificate (DESMAN) 2019 at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust in Jersey, UK.

Currently I am a founder and director of the Mkomazi Carnivore Project in Northern Tanzania. My ultimate goal is to implement a Lion research project at Mkomazi National Park, which still lacks research on lion ecology, behaviour, and demography. Through long-term monitoring, I want to investigate the population trends and the threats related to human-lion conflicts.

Obtaining a PGDip in International Wildlife Practices would be transformative for me. Throughout this course, I hope to greatly improve in data analysis and interpretation, research and grant writing skills. I look forward to learning about and benefiting from the research atmosphere here at WildCRU. My greatest desire is to continue with further studies such as Master to DPhil.