Amy Dickman, Kaplan Senior Research Fellow in Felid Conservation at Pembroke College, University of Oxford, will give a free, public lecture on “Warriors, Witchcraft & Women: Carnivore Ecology and Conservation in Tanzania’s Ruaha Landscape,” Wednesday, April 16 at 3 p.m. in Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building.

Dickman, a UVM James Marsh Professor-at-Large, has more than 15 years experience working on large carnivores in Africa, specializing in big cats and human-carnivore conflict mitigation. In 2009, she established the Ruaha Carnivore Project, based in southern Tanzania. The Ruaha landscape is one of the most important areas in the world for lions, leopards, and cheetahs, but has been largely ignored by researchers, hindering the development of conservation plans. In addition, it has the highest rate of lion killing documented in East Africa, because lions and other carnivores impose high costs on poverty-stricken local people.

Dickman and her Tanzanian team are researching the ecology of these vital populations and working to reduce the pressing threat of human-carnivore conflict in this critical area. The project focuses upon reducing carnivore attacks, providing local communities with real benefits from carnivore presence and training the next generation of local conservation leaders.

The goal of the James Marsh Professors-at-Large Program is to bring outstanding individuals to campus of international distinction in the arts and humanities, sciences, social sciences and applied fields.

A reception will immediately follow the lecture in Waterman Manor.

Information: (802) 656-3186.