Wildlife Management and Conservation

Wildlife Management scientists study the needs of both wildlife and people in order to find a balance that conserves their environment. Wildlife management can include wildlife conservation, game ranch management and pest control and is a holistic discipline, drawing on diverse fields such as biology, ecology, physiology, chemistry, climatology, geography and hydrography.

Teaching and research on Wildlife Management and Conservation at the University of Pretoria has been running under the umbrella of the Eugène Marais Chair of Wildlife Management for 50 years. This theme is co-led by Professor Michael Somers and Dr Mark Keith. There are several MRI fellows who also associate with the wildlife management theme; amongst them, Prof. Matt Hayward, Dr Jan Venter, and Dr Harriet Davies-Mostert.

We are committed to developing a greater understanding of wildlife, and the management and conservation thereof, through the training of scientists and the pursuit of primary research in aspects of wildlife biology. We work on management-related subjects in several southern African countries and abroad.

The Wildlife Management and Conservation Theme, through the MRI and the Department of Zoology and Entomology, offer a number of courses. Hundreds of graduates have progressed through these courses, many of whom now hold important positions in conservation in South Africa and abroad. The BSc (Hons) Wildlife Management programme, although about managing wildlife, is primarily an Honours degree that teaches students how to be scientists. The primary aim is therefore not how to handle animals directly (although game capture is covered as part of the course), but how to conduct research and make decisions as to how vegetation should be managed to maintain wildlife populations. It teaches students quantitative population dynamics skills to manage animal numbers for whatever purpose (e.g. harvest or conservation). The course therefore has much plant-related work, some mathematics, statistics and other scientific skills. Both the MSc and PhD in Wildlife Management are 100% research based and done on topics of interest to the students and academics.

Owing to diverse needs and interests, the research done is broad but mostly relates to how animals adapt to changing landscapes, pest management (rodents), livestock predation, and how managed animals adapt to new environments (invasion biology) or environments they have been reintroduced to (reintroduction biology).