Header image courtesy of Ewaso Lions
Margot Willis, a National Geographic Society staff member, wrote this post.
The National Geographic Society supports the work of female Explorers across a wide variety of industries and fields of study, including biology and conservation. As we continue to celebrate Women’s History Month, take a moment to learn more about five female National Geographic Explorers who are working to protect wildlife populations and the habitats they call home.
1. Dominique D’Emille Correia Gonçalves
Dominique D’Emille Correia Gonçalves is a Mozambican ecologist and conservationist who has spent years working to protect the lives and habitats of African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique. She currently manages Gorongosa’s Elephant Ecology Project, and works with local communities to build sustainable solutions for humans to coexist with both elephants and other species that call Gorongosa home.
To learn more about Dominique’s work, check out her Explorers at Work video For a more in-depth look at the programs at Gorongosa National Park, including Dominique’s work, take a look at the Last Wild Places: Gorongosa video.
2. Asha De Vos
While Dominique works with the largest land animals on our planet, National Geographic Explorer and marine biologist Asha De Vos works with the largest animal on either land or in the ocean: blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus). Working primarily in the Indian Ocean around her native Sri Lanka, Asha studies whale populations and, specifically, how these massive mammals support their ecosystems by recycling nitrogen and iron back into the ocean. The first and only Sri Lankan to hold a PhD in Marine Mammal research, she left academia to found her nonprofit, Oceanswell, which supports marine conservation and education programs.
To learn more about Asha De Vos and what inspired her to study whales, check out her Explorers at Work video. To learn more about her research on blue whales and their impact on ocean ecology, check out this video from the “Today I Learned” series.
As human communities grow and expand, they begin to overlap with local wildlife populations, which can spark conflict and inspire fear, particularly for large carnivores, like black bears (Ursus americanus). Working primarily in the United States, Rae-Wynn Grant is a large carnivore ecologist who uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and radio collars to track carnivores, such as black bears, and identify areas where they might come into conflict with humans. Using this information, she works with local communities to educate and design solutions so that humans and wildlife can coexist peacefully.
To learn more about Rae’s work with black bears, check out her Explorers at Work video as well as the video Exploring with GIS: Tracking Black Bears. Finally, don’t miss the MapMaker resource that depicts where Rae has tracked black bears around Lake Tahoe.
Shivani Bhalla is a Kenyan wildlife conservationist whose research and conservation work focuses primarily on the declining population of lions (Panthera leo) in Kenya. In 2007, she founded Ewaso Lions, an organization whose mission is to study lions and educate local communities about these iconic large cats. Outreach and education are incredibly important to her work. Similar to other large carnivores, lions often come into conflict with humans due to habitat loss, and local communities can have very negative attitudes towards lions. Through education and outreach programs, Shivani and her team at Ewaso lions work with local communities and leaders to learn more about lions and find ways for humans and lions to coexist.
To hear more about Shivani’s work with lions, check out her Explorers at Work video. You can also visit the Ewaso Lions website to learn more about the organization’s work in Kenya.
A native of Colombia, Rosamira Guillen is a landscape architect who for many years worked at the Barranquilla Zoo, as an environmental architect and later the director of the zoo. It was through her work at the zoo that she first learned about the cotton-top tamarin (Sanguinus oedipus), a critically endangered primate native to Colombia. As the Zoo’s director, she prioritized awareness and education campaigns to highlight the importance of the cotton-top tamarin to Colombia’s biodiversity. In 2004, she co-founded Fundación Proyecto Tití, an organization focused on the conservation of cotton-top tamarins. Since its founding, Fundación Proyecto Tití has helped stop construction projects that would’ve destroyed tamarin habitat, and supported the creation of protected areas and wildlife preserves that support conservation efforts.
To learn more about Rosamira’s work with cotton-top tamarins, check out her Explorers at Work video. You can also learn more about the work of Fundación Proyecto Tití and the conservation of cotton-top tamarins on the organization’s website.