Francesse Léna Zoyem Tsafack
Francesse Léna Zoyem Tsafack is a Cameroonian Master’s student in Applied Ecology and Wildlife Management at the University of Dschang. She supports our elephant initiatives in Boumba-Bek National Park through field research, data collection, community awareness and conservation activities. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Biology, specialising in Zoology, and has training in ArcGIS and mapping. Her interests centre on wildlife conservation and field research. The internship is strengthening her practical field experience while she contributes teamwork, adaptability, scientific communication and a strong commitment to protecting Cameroon’s biodiversity.
Atulinde Mapendano
Atulinde Mapendano is an early-career conservation biologist and ornithologist from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He supports conservation initiatives focused on biodiversity monitoring, research and community engagement aimed at protecting threatened ecosystems and wildlife. He is pursuing a PhD in Ecology and Wildlife Management at the University of Dschang, specialising in avian ecology, tropical forest biodiversity and protected area conservation, with a focus on bird diversity and ecological dynamics within the Albertine Rift and Congo Basin. Since 2021 he has served as a Research Assistant at the Centre de Recherche en Sciences Naturelles de Lwiro (CRSN-Lwiro), participating in biodiversity inventories, bird monitoring programmes and ecological research in and around Kahuzi-Biega National Park and the Itombwe Natural Reserve. His technical expertise includes GIS and spatial analysis, ecological data management and biodiversity monitoring, using tools such as QGIS, R, SMART, CyberTracker and Distance Sampling.
Eva Johnson Ayaro
Eva Johnson Ayaro is a Tanzanian wildlife conservationist, herpetologist and conservation researcher advancing the conservation of threatened reptiles, amphibians and biodiversity-rich ecosystems across East Africa. She provides strategic and technical guidance on biodiversity research, species conservation, community engagement and conservation leadership. She holds a BSc in Wildlife Science and Conservation from the University of Dar es Salaam and a Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice from WildCRU at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the ecology, conservation and trade of threatened reptiles and amphibians, particularly the Critically Endangered pygmy chameleons of Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains. She has collaborated with the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), the Women in Conservation Organization (WICO), and national and international conservation partners on biodiversity monitoring, conservation education, species recovery and community-based conservation programmes. Her work has been recognised through the EDGE of Existence Fellowship, the Tasso Leventis African Biodiversity Fellowship, and the Berlin Zoo–WildCRU Kick-Start Initiative Grant.