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Biological Science Technician. Large Carnivore Researcher. Wildlife Enthusiast.
Name: Mike Current Affiliations: USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Uganda Carnivore Program, Wildlife Science Center, Society for Conservation Biology Other Affiliations: National Geographic Society, East African Wild Life Society, Mongabay, Africa Geographic Summary: I'm a biological science technician, large carnivore researcher, and wildlife enthusiast. As a researcher, I've been fortunate to study wildlife in South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota, and New York. Most importantly, I'm husband to an amazing wife and father to a wonderful son. That's the short version.
I currently work in the biological science field for the USDA under an agency known as Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. APHIS's role includes wildlife and plant health and protection, human-wildlife conflict mitigation, wildlife epidemiology and zoonotic disease research, and animal care. I have had professional experience in black bear, mountain lion, and wolf research, and have also been a research assistant with the Uganda Carnivore Program since 2017. In Uganda, I primarily investigate the population and community dynamics of lion, leopard, and spotted hyena in northern Queen Elizabeth National Park while assessing ongoing compensation strategies for pastoral communities who've lost livestock to carnivore predation. When not researching wildlife, I sometimes coordinate and lead safaris, primarily in Tanzania and Uganda. I'm especially fond of Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park, though South Africa's Welgevonden Game Reserve (the first wildlife park in Africa I visited back in 2005) holds a very special place in my memory. Prior to wildlife science, I was an aspiring nature and science journalist, following in the footsteps of trail blazers like writer David Quammen and photographer Michael "Nick" Nichols. Having been strongly influenced by their 2004 MegaTransect through Africa's Congo Basin with ecologist J. Michael Fay, I eventually worked as a freelance writer, independent researcher, and amateur photographer for the National Geographic Society's Voices for Wildlife from 2014 to 2018. I'd earned a BA in journalism so I could hone my writing skills and my MA in African Studies with a focus on natural resources to learn more about the a place that, in Quammen's words, "encompasses an extraordinary richness of biological diversity as well as an extraordinary richness of human cultures." Cultural curiosity dovetailed well with my longstanding fascination with wildlife. I recall when I was a youngster, obsessively pouring over images in wildlife photographer Mitsuaki Iwagō's 1987 book Serengeti: Natural Order on the African Plain. It amazed me that such a place existed with so many different species. It was a number of travels around several countries in Africa for the National Geographic Society, spending time with local people, volunteering my time with field biologists and rural communities, talking at length with lion biologist Craig Packer, and earning another degree in biology and natural science that transitioned me from journalism to wildlife science. Today, my love of nature and wildlife exists as a focal point for my dual interests in naturalistic observation and applied scientific research. I enjoy wildlife surveying, data collection, and biodiversity conservation. Much of my focus is large carnivores and human-carnivore conflict mitigation, though my interests range to include birds, small mammals, and ungulates. I also have general interests in the disciplines of biogeography, taxonomy, and temperate, boreal, and tropical forest ecology. My favorite activity is spending time with my wife and son. Aside from that I enjoy the outdoors, taking walks or hikes, exercise, and reading as many books as possible. Or just sitting in my backyard, watching the birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and other wildlife at my feeders. With thanks and appreciation:
Family My wife & son My parents Researchers/Other Professionals Craig Packer - Director, Serengeti Lion Project David MacDonald - Wildlife Conservation Research Unit Head, Oxford University Dereck Joubert - National Geographic Explorer In-Residence Moses Konde - Owner, Uganda Tours Dan Stiles - Member, IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group Mike Norton-Griffiths - Wildlife Economist Laurence Frank - Project Director, Living With Lions Glen Martin - Author & Environmental Journalist Thomas O. McShane - Senior Sustainability Scientist, Arizona State University Jonathan S. Adams - Conservation Biologist & Science Writer Philipp Henschel - Lion Program Coordinator, Panthera Luke Hunter - Executive Director, Big Cats Program, Wildlife Conservation Society Byron du Preez - Oxford University/WildCRU Hwange Big Cat Project John Bittner - Coworker at USDA APHIS Editors David Braun - Director, Voices for Wildlife, National Geographic Oliver Payne - Articles Editor, National Geographic George Okello - Editor, East African Wild Life Society John Nyaga - Editor, East African Wild Life Society Andy Hill - Editor, East African Wild Life Society |
Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers
Mike & Dr. Siefert radio collar a lion.
Uganda Carnivore Program field team (James, Lu, & Mike)
Capture and sedation of a gray wolf in Minnesota.
Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National Park (America's Serengeti)
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