Check out my invited talk on tackling rhino poaching on YouTube here.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-fU...

Thnx National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences at Stellenbosch University for hosting me!

Based on our recent paper in Science: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... (DM me for )

The FitzPatrick Institute is immensely proud to count a Fellow of the Royal Society among its ranks! Warm congratulations to Prof. Claire Spottiswoode on this excellent and thoroughly well-deserved achievement 👏
bit.ly/3FoJasf
#AfricanOrnithology

🦏 This was a follow on from our recent paper on rhino dehorning published d in Science last week: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

FINAL POINTS

🦏 This work was MANAGER-LED. People on the ground came up with the idea and are using the results. Special thanks to Iain Olivier and Julie Olivier for their collaboration onthis (it was their idea).

✅ Solutions based on these behavioral insights include early response to space–time clusters of poaching, spatially targeted implementation of rhino dehorning, and bolstering ranger resilience to the corrupting influence of criminal syndicates.

✅ Results suggest poachers strategically leverage space–time variation in opportunity and risk.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

✅ Understanding human behaviour is key to biodiversity conservation. Human behavior shapes both our impact on nature and the success of solutions to safeguard it.

*️⃣ Poachers also avoided tourist activity and minimized time on the reserve.

*️⃣ Poachers repeatedly targeted specific reserve regions for set periods before shifting, mirroring the “near-repeat” behavior observed for other crimes. Crime science helped us understand the underlying drivers of the patterns we found.

NOTE: Only a minority of rangers are corrupt and are more likely to become so when they are poorly treated. Let's not forget the vast majority of rangers who are incredibly committed, passionate, and hard working.

*️⃣ The probability of poaching activity was higher near ranger camps. Together with supplementary evidence from internal investigations, this suggests that criminal syndicates collude with some rangers to facilitate poaching (read our results and discussion for the full picture)

New paper - what can we learn about rhino, ranger, and poacher behavior by looking at where/when poaching happens? We analysed data on >500 poaching incidents to find out. A story of corruption, maximizing opportunities, and minimizing risks:

Read: conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Are you an early career researcher (ECR) passionate about #Conservation? See below for an amazing opportunity to work with fellow motivated ECRs to explore and develop important themes around Biodiversity conservation! Deadline is 12 June 2025. www.linkedin.com/posts/celest...

Still can't believe we got onto the cover of Science! Across 11 reserves and 7 years, we found that dehorning achieved large reductions in poaching, but it's not a magic bullet

Full article: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Popular version: www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025...

We have an exciting opportunity to join us as an Associate Professor (or Professor) in Molecular Plant Biology!

Establish or maintain your own collaborative, supportive research group and offer innovative teaching to students.

Deadline to apply is 1 March ➡️ bit.ly/3OgnqQO
#plantsci