About Me

At 5 years old, I caught my first rabbit by hand, and at 7, I was rushed to the hospital brandishing a feral rat bite that had opened an artery, the last in a string of varied animal bites. I was there lectured by two doctors, who told me to stop approaching wild animals—because they were dangerous! Since then I've worked on 3 continents and tracked, caught and studied various carnivores, from black bears to African lions to badgers. I lead the Patagonia puma project in southern Chile, where I’m supported by an NSF Graduate Fellowship, and am as happy as a bear in an apple orchard. More about me can be found at http://wildlifetrackers.com/.  

Current Project

Huemul-Puma Project

Research Interests

My research interests are diverse, but can broadly be split into two categories: Wildlife and People. 

    In wildlife, I’m invested in questions that require field skills and an appreciation for natural history, AND that result in real conservation. I especially enjoy working with carnivores, and am entranced with varied aspect of behavioral and community ecology, especially predator-prey dynamics, intraguild predation, apparent competition, other indirect effects of large predators, wildlife corridors and food webs.

      Concerning people, I'm interested in 1) observer reliability in field efforts, especially with regards to methods using sign counts, 2) supporting a greater involvement of knowledgeable local people in conservation projects, and 3) tackling the persistent carnivore-human conflicts that so plague conservation efforts of all large carnivores.

Curriculum Vitae

Related Publications

Elbroch, L.M., Wittmer, H.U., Saucedo, C. & Corti, P. in press. Long-distance dispersal of a male puma (Puma concolor puma) in Patagonia. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural.