Masters Candidate
Division of Biological Sciences
226 Tucker Hall
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO  65211
e-mail: mtbdn2<at>mail.missouri.edu

Education

University of Missouri – Columbia, Columbia, MO – Animal Science, BSc 1986

Employment

Saint Louis Zoo
Curator of Mammals/Ungulates and Elephants
Director, WildCare Institute Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa
Coordinator, WildCare Institute Elephant Conservation Program

Research Interests

As the Saint Louis Zoo’s Curator of Mammals Ungulates and Elephants, Martha leads a team of professional animal caretakers in caring for, breeding and studying ungulates and elephants under the guidance of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) cooperative programs with the long-term goal of conserving these species in zoos and in the wild into the future. Martha also champions one of the twelve centers within the Zoo’s WildCare Institute by serving as the Director for the Center for Conservation in the Horn of Africa which was established to provide in situ and ex situ conservation support for wildlife of the Horn of Africa.

For her dissertation research, Martha is partnering with the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) community conservancies and the Grevy’s Zebra Trust (GZT) in northern Kenya and focusing her research on African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africanus).  The results of this research will provide important information about conservancy land use by elephants and will be used to enhance ongoing wildlife conservation efforts as well as enhance the welfare of the animals that seek refuge in conservancies.  A better understanding of elephant migration, resource utilization, and response to human settlement in northern Kenya will allow us to predict the future dispersal of this species, thus enabling proactive planning and identification of the most effective locations for future conservancies.

Martha Fischer’s CV

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