I was always the kid who played in a muddy puddle or brought home animals without my mom's permission. Everyone said, "It's just a phase she's going through, don't worry, she'll grow out of it," but it's been a few years now and I'm still not over it. It wasn't a phase, and quite honestly, it shaped me.

Against most people's advice, I skipped A-levels and enrolled for a diploma in wildlife management, and by the time I turned 18 I had completed my first degree in Wildlife Conservation. During my studies I was able to travel a lot and spent a lot of my time collecting data for my thesis and researching other predators in southern Africa. It was here that I realized what I was really fighting for and why it was all so important. It was also here that someone told me: "If you want to save predators, you have to learn to work with people". Since then, I have focused my research interests on large carnivorous mammals and especially on their coexistence with humans.

I would say my approach to work and life in general is "be a woman who can". Besides field work and research, I (like most people) enjoy traveling, reading and the outdoors. I also have a two-year-old daughter who can usually be found with me in the jungle looking for jaguars or margays!