Rutendo Wazara

PhD student

Rutendo Wazara

Research interests

My PhD research will focus on quantifying social bonds in captive Asian elephants. Elephants are highly social creatures, able to retain very complex social information. I hope to develop a tool that can be used to monitor the stability of social bonds of captive elephants over time and that allows institutes to study the effects of different factors on herd stability. To be able to use their social structure as a welfare measure will help the zoo community ensure proper development and management of captive elephant herds. These techniques could also be used further in in situ conservation projects.

I am interested in the One Plan approach to species conservation, which sees the development of interdisciplinary management and conservation strategies for both the in situ and ex situ populations of a species.

Education and career

  • Bachelor Veterinary Medical Sciences (Honours), University of Nottingham (2010 – 2013)
  • MSc Veterinary Science (Distinction), University of Liverpool (2013 – 2014)
  • PhD Student Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group, University of Liverpool (2015 – 2019). Supervisors: Professor Paula Stockley and Professor Jane Hurst

Back to: Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution