Earthwatch Award Recipient Summary

Awardee: Alison Leslie, Ph.D.
Affiliation: University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
Project: Crocodiles of the Okavango
Award: 2004 Principal Investigator of the Year

Project Synopsis
For four years, Earthwatch teams have been helping Dr. Alison Leslie trap and examine Nile crocodiles in Botswana's rich Okavango Delta to monitor their diet, health, movements, and reproductive biology. Populations of these fearsome predators, growing to a length of 6 meters, have dwindled due to overexploitation by hide hunters and conflicts with nearby communities. In addition to documenting crocodiles, Earthwatch volunteers have also helped the outreach efforts of Leslie's research team, surveying villagers about crocodile impacts on their communities and visiting local schools to familiarize students with crocodile ecology.

Award Outcomes
The Principal Investigator of the Year Award allowed Dr. Leslie to:

· Add to her general research pool, where it contributed to current projects

In addition to supporting her ongoing research, the award helped Leslie launch a captive-rearing program for crocodiles in the region. The effort will benefit the local economy, stem the hunting pressure on wild populations, and provide breeding stock for crocodile reintroduction. Her research team started a pilot crocodile farm in the Shakew/Samochima area, including fenced ponds and a visitor's center to enhance local education and ecotourism. The capture of a four-meter male crocodile, which had lost all fear of humans in Moremi Game Reserve, was observed by Botswana wildlife authorities and has led to a growing national interest in the captive-rearing program.

The award has supported the research providing data for as many as 20 publications in scientific journals, as well as many public presentations about crocodile conservation.

Publications and Papers
Pending, as many as 20 publications by the end of 2007.

Quotes
"It was a great honor to win this award. It has certainly helped my research profile here at the university, and has also very much put Earthwatch more on the map here. Fellow researchers, upon hearing about the award, have definitely shown more interest in my research projects in general."