Dedan Ngatia (Postdoctoral Associate, Smithsonian Institution and Mpala Research Centre)
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 at the University of Wyoming, I addressed questions on the impacts of climate warming on disease transmission, predator-prey dynamics, and behavior of wild dogs. My postdoctoral work focuses more deeply on quantifying the effects of warmer, drier climates for wild dog reproduction, and also understanding the reservoir hosts for canine distemper virus in central Kenya.
Outside of science, I enjoy a lot of soccer.
National Geographic Young Explorer Bio
Local press on Dedan's work (Mpala newsletter)
National press on Dedan's work (The Nation)
