ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR COMMUNITY AFRICA
There is an amazing wealth of animal behaviour science and knowledge in Africa. By sharing this expertise and making opportunities accessible, the field of animal behaviour as a whole and its individuals would benefit. Unfortunately, funding obstacles, imbalances in knowledge distribution, and biases in access to information and resources make this a challenging endeavor.
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We would like to initiate the Animal Behaviour Community Africa. Our intentions are to create a space in which we uplift, empower and boost the visibility of the research and researchers in animal behaviour in Africa. We aim to build and maintain a viable community of passionate animal behaviour enthusiasts dedicated to celebrating the ongoing animal behaviour research and studies in Africa, while incorporating indigenous knowledge systems.
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Furthermore, we aim to build bridges and improve connections between individuals and research entities within Africa and around the world. Through transparency, we strive towards a more equitable setting aimed at improving relationships within the scientific community, with other bodies and instances through mutual respect. We do not only want to boost careers through opportunities, but also want to implement a mentoring programme to help deal with work related pressures and power imbalances. To this end, our first action is launching Twitter and Facebook accounts @BehaviourAfrica. Please follow us for more updates as we evolve/develop together. We are in the early development stages of this Community, and we welcome new ideas and look forward to developing these together.
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We extend an invitation to students, volunteers, scientists (regardless of academic degree), as well as holders of indigenous animal behaviour knowledge. Individuals passionate about creating opportunities and collaborations with African researchers in animal behaviour are also welcome. We wish to especially encourage the younger generation of animal behaviour researchers and enthusiasts as they are facing increasing competition for limited opportunities. Everyone is welcome regardless of their tribe, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, and religion. We believe in celebrating each other’s successes and would like to have a nurturing community, in which we help each other reach their full potential. Working together through capacity building can achieve this.
The committee's current caretakers:
Bakari Mtili, BSc (Tanzania) – Teaching assistant, College of African Wildlife Management in Tanzania
Brendah Nyaguthii, BSc (Kenya) - Field manager of the Vulturine Guineafowl Project in Kenya
Chima Nwaogu, PhD (Nigeria) - postdoc at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, UCT, South Africa
Jessica van der Wal, PhD (Netherlands) – postdoc at the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, UCT, South Africa.
Keafon Jumbam, PhD (South Africa) - postdoc, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Nada el Shanawany, MSc (Egypt) – PhD student in the Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen Research and Research, the Netherlands
Nilza De Catarina, BSc (Mozambique) – MSc student in Marine Biology and Sustainable use of Marine Resources, Universita di Stuglio di Napoli Federicoll, Italy
Princiah Mihaja, BSc (Madagascar) - Master student in Primatology and Sustainable Development, Universite d'Antananarivo, Madagascar.
Ulrich Maloueki, BSc (Democratic Republic of the Congo) - Primatology field researcher, University of Kinshasa, DRC
Xavier Pedrol, MSc (Uganda) - Freelance researcher and conservationist specialized in Biodiversity and Evolutionary Ecology.