Update on the lions of Dinder-Alatash

04/10/2017

Last year, an expedition led by WildCRU’s Hans Bauer ‘discovered’ a lion population (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35460573) in a transboundary ecosystem with two National Parks, Dinder (Sudan) and Alatash (Ethiopia). Those lions had been protected by authorities and communities for a long time; they simply went unnoticed by the international community because the area is remote ... Read full story

Himalayan wolves are special

21/09/2017

Whose who taxonomically is vital to conservation, both in terms of preserving the full spectrum of biodiversity, and because taxonomic status (is it a species, a subspecies or a local variant) often affects an animal’s legal status. Therefore, genetics matter. That’s why WildCRU’s remarkable graduate student, Geraldine Werhahn (remarkable for her tough and tenacious trekking ... Read full story

WildCRU Diploma alumnus, Girma Eshete Genbere, successfully completes his PhD at Leiden University

13/09/2017

Girma Eshete Genbere, a member of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, and a graduate of the WildCRU’s Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice, successfully defended his thesis at Leiden University on Monday 5th of September. Girma’s  research is part of an innovative collaboration between the prestigious Dutch university and the WildCRU. In his ... Read full story

History, as Harold Macmillan memorably, and perceptively observed, is one damn thing after another. Furthermore, its been happening for a long time. Its widespread practice, when in doubt about the provenance of a good quote, to attribute it to Churchill, who might have said that to understand the future you must understand the past, which is why, writes David Macdonald, we started to think about big cats in art through the ages

26/09/2017

We had just finished a study of mammalian charisma and discovered that amongst 1500 modern, lap-top using English-speaking people from America to Australia, there was a significant preference for big cats. Was a similar preference apparent in different cultures at different times, and might the answer be deduced from paintings through the ages. We were ... Read full story

Can lawyers save lions?

13/09/2017

WildCRU’s approach is essentially inter-disciplinary, as vividly illustrated by our new collaboration with international lawyers. It’s hard to imagine a more charismatic mammal – emblazoned on football shirts, royal coats of arms, chocolate bars and then just think of the attention dedicated to Cecil – but lions are nonetheless declining at an alarming rate. Where ... Read full story

RCP 2016 Digital Overview

13/09/2017

WildCRU’s Ruaha Carnivore Project has come a long way since its inception in 2009, when we had a team of 3 in tiny tents, and had no trust with the local community, who were killing lions very frequently. Since then, we have developed multiple programmes to reduce conflict by reducing livestock losses, providing real benefits ... Read full story