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ALERT Communities Trust (ACT) and Conservation Centre for Wild Africa (CCWA)
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Study with Us "Deciding to undertake a postgraduate thesis was a huge life decision for me and the whole process seemed quite overwhelming at first. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but turning that into a viable research study was a daunting prospect. Given that my field work was to take place in Africa my university was limited in how much support they could provide. The team at ALERT were hugely helpful as I prepared for my study. Their thorough understanding of the animals that they work with and the environment that they operate in was incredibly useful to me in establishing my methodology and making sure that it would really work on the ground. They handled all the logistical arrangements for me and have been incredibly supportive as I have embarked on this journey. I would highly recommend their programs to anyone interested in carrying out a research study in Africa.” Lisa Clifforde, MPhil, Exeter University
The ALERT Facilitated Research Program offers unique and unrivalled opportunities for study, whether you want to be up close and personal with lion cubs as they practice their hunting skills, watching a pride of released lions as they adapt to a wild environment, observing a variety of African game species or implementing a study with local communities assessing conservation awareness or the impact of conservation initiatives on livelihoods for example. Our program not only allows students undertaking dissertations or senior theses to complete their course requirements in a unique environment, but will also enable valuable data sets to be produced that will greatly assist our organization in developing sound conservation and management plans. Support is available throughout your research process, from preparing your methodology to its implementation and data analysis from our highly experienced scientific officer, expert consultants and project-based research technicians. ALERT also offers subsidies from the program fees to students conducting research that directly assists in achieving the aims of the Trust. Ten percent of all program fees paid by research students from non-African nations are retained by the Trust to provide fully funded placements to students from African universities that will enable capacity building within Africa for research. This pack will provide you with all the information that you will need as you consider your options for what may be the most important piece of work you have ever undertaken, however if you have further questions please do not hesitate to contact our experienced team at research@lionalert.org who will be happy to assist you. Full Information Pack - Download PDF
Studies facilitated so far... Kristin Arguedas of Princeton is on site at Victoria Falls looking at the ever present human / wildlife conflict and speccifically whether social influence is a better promoter of conservation attitudes that education alone amongst affected communities. Undergraduate thesis in Psychology Simon Jansen of Wageningen University in the Netherlands is on site in Livingstone studying the differences in hunting success and prey preference in a different group compositions of lions. Masters thesis in Biology / Animal Ecology. Lisa Clifforde of the University of Exeter has an ongoing study for her MPhil looking at Behavioural Sequencing and Character Development in Lion Cubs. Hannah Rae Kokes of Manchester Metropolitan is currently writing up her study of the lions in Livingstone looking at the influence of human presence on play behaviour and development in captive bred lions cubs. Masters thesis in Animal Behaviour Jennifer Majors of the University of Denver is currently writing up her undergraduate thesis looking at Can Captive Breeding and Release be a Viable Compliment to In-Situ Conservation in Preventing the Extinction of the African Lion (Panthera leo)? John Murphy of University of East Anglia has completed his Masters thesis in Environment & International Development focussed on Exploring the Motivations of Participants in Volunteer Conservation Toruism and their Unerstandings of Biodiversity Conservation. Read the thesis here. Oyvind Handberg of the University of Oslo has completed his undergraduate thesis in Development Studies looking at Voluntarily Ending Aid Dependence. Read the thesis here. Andreas Doppelmayr of the University of Oslo has completed his undergraduate thesis in Development Studies looking at the Economic Impacts of Tourism in the Livingstone Area, Zambia. Read the thesis here. Sibonokuhle Ncube of the National University of Science & Technology in Zimbabwe has completed her undergraduate thesis in Forest Resources and Wildlife Management looking at the Influence of Social Upbringing on the Activity Pattern of Captive Lion Panthera leo cubs: Benefits of behaviour enrichment. This study has now been published by the journal Current Zoology, and is available here. Jennifer Bradley of Newcastle University has completed her paper, Life as a Lion on the Red List for her BSc Zoology course. Roseline Mandisodza of the University of Zimbabwe has completed her Masters thesis in Tropical Resource Ecology entitled The Rehabilitation of Captive Bred Lions (Panthera leo) in a Semi-Wild Environment for Release into the Wild: Case Study of Antelope Game Park, Zimbabwe. All papers are published with the kind permission of the authors.
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