Dedan Ngatia (PhD student, UW)

I work on a spectacular species! I would be offended if someone doesn’t love the African wild dogs. Although I’m not new to the Laikipia landscape, I only came to know of the wild dogs 10 years ago. Since then, my passion for conserving this species has never faded.

I am a carnivore biologist and a National Geographic Young Explorer, working in Laikipia, Kenya. My background is in wildlife management with both a BSc and an MSc from Karatina University, Kenya. My work has mostly concentrated on the spatial and disease ecology of small carnivores, domestic dogs, and African wild dogs.

I’m a co-founder of the Laikipia Rabies Vaccination Campaign, a project aimed at eradicating rabies in central Kenya. So far, we have vaccinated 43,000 domestic dogs over 60% of the Laikipia Plateau. Currently, I’m working with the Kenya Rangelands Wild Dog and Cheetah Project. Through my PhD work, I will answer questions on the impacts of climate warming on disease transmission, predator-prey dynamics, and behavior of wild dogs.

Outside of science, I enjoy a lot of soccer.