Evan Douglas

Conservation Related Experience:
If studying at a scientific research station in the Ecuadorian Amazon with my freshmen year FIG wasn’t enough, during the summer of my sophomore year I was given the incredible opportunity to study the ecology and conservation of Southeast Asian elephants in Cambodia with the School for Field Studies. Not only was I able to observe elephants at a “true” sanctuary that improves the health and welfare of captive elephants whom have often suffered from the abusive industries of illegal logging and tourism riding, but I completed and presented a grant proposal project on implementing beehive fences to prevent wild elephants from raiding crop farms for food. My eye-opening experience in Cambodia with SFS inspired me to partake in a full semester long SFS program but this time in Tanzania, a place I always dreamed of going to. The SFS Wildlife Management program based in the small village of Rhotia, Tanzania enabled me to take courses in Wildlife Ecology, Techniques in Wildlife Management, Environmental Policy, East African Culture, and even Swahili. Being out in the field on safari’s in the some of the most famous national parks in the world such as the Serengeti and Amboseli National Park in Kenya, we were able to conduct behavioral studies and species counts on some of the diverse wildlife Africa has to offer from lions to elephants to giraffes to hyenas to even the endangered African wild dogs! The culmination of these courses led to a month-long directed research project that was presented to almost one hundred staff and community constituents for use in future wildlife policy and decision making. Collecting data for my groups research project on Carnivore occupancy in Makame Wildlife Management Area involved driving for up to ten hours a day at 4mph with a tracking expert sitting on the front of the vehicle to stop and identify every single carnivore track. From this data, we were able to analyze the density and occupancy of populations in the area to compare it to other areas in East Africa and understand the effect of human presence on carnivores.

Connection to Conservation Biology:
Through my field research experiences in places all around the world, I’ve truly gained a deeper understanding on today’s environmental issues and the role that humans play on our planet.  Being able to see first-hand the devastating impact that humans have had on wildlife, one of the most important things I’ve learned is that in order for wildlife conservation to be effective, policies must meet the needs of both people and wildlife. Getting the support of local people for protected areas is so important in biodiversity conservation as it is the local people who are impacted most and thus often have negative attitudes towards the wildlife, a side I was completely unaware of until interviewing farmers in Cambodia, Tanzania, and Kenya. By examining the wildlife management plans/techniques currently in place in these countries and hearing the perspectives of different stakeholders like the locals, we analyzed the most effective conservation plans and further efforts that should be implemented to better allow both humans and wildlife to coexist.