MSc in Wild Animal Biology

Each MSc student will be required to undertake an individual research project, between May and the middle of August and to submit a typewritten report not exceeding 10,000 words in the form of a grant application and a scientific paper suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. A conference is held in September where each student gives a presentation on their research findings.  Over 100 scientific publications have resulted from research projects undertaken by MSc WAH and WAB students. The project will encompass a practical study on an approved aspect of wild animal biology. 

The research project provides the opportunity to study a topic suited to the student’s desired career. A wide variety of topic areas have been chosen including projects in welfare, behaviour, infectious diseases, reproduction, nutrition, rehabilitation and management of both captive and free-living wild animals.  The project may be undertaken at any place approved by the Zoological Society of London/Royal Veterinary College with the guidance of a course supervisor.

The research project can be carried out abroad and the map below shows the locations of research projects undertaken by MSc Wild Animal Biology students.

Wild Animal Biology Research project locations 2003-2016

Recent Research Projects

Ka Yiu (Michael) Hui

Using Wildlife eco-park to unite tourists and communities for wild elephant conservation: A study from Wild Elephant Valley, Xishuangbanna, China

Human-wildlife conflict is an increasingly important issue in many conservation circles and the economic and emotional impact these conflicts can cause is still being understood. Michael’s project aimed to study the human-wildlife conflict issues between villagers and Asian Elephants in rural villages in China where severe economic loss caused by elephants resulted in the lack of support for conservation from local communities. Michael travelled to China to evaluate the current situation of human-elephant conflicts and to find out how local people mitigate their loss. He also broached into the potential for eco-tourism in the area as a way to sustainably support villagers and simultaneously protect the elephants in order to achieve human-elephant coexistence.

Rebecca Lewis

The Effects of Visitor Density and Noise on the Behaviour of Western Lowland Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Rebecca’s project was designed with the aim of quantifying the effects of visitor presence on the gorillas housed at London Zoo to determine if visitors impact welfare. Behavioural observations are important in captive wild animals as they can provide insight into an animal’s mental wellbeing, highlighting potential problems, as certain behaviours or patterns of behaviour can be linked to increased stress. By using a focal scan sampling technique and continuous observations, Rebecca determined activity budgets and frequencies of stress-related behaviours in the gorillas at different categories of visitor density, frequency and noise volume.

Surabhi Sharma

What are the risk factors contributing to adverse surgical outcome in zoo birds & reptiles and does surgical outcome varies with the amount of surgical caseload and holding numbers of the zoological collections?

 Zoological collections house a large variety of different species. Hence, veterinary teams have to be well equipped and well versed in a variety of surgical techniques because when surgical intervention is required, it may be in a species of conservation importance, and thus individual of value. Surabhi decided to evaluate the risk factors leading to adverse surgical outcomes in zoo birds and reptiles so that the findings could be used in decision making for future surgical cases. 

The MSc in Wild Animal Biology is completed over one- year full-time study, commencing in the autumn. It is taught jointly by the RVC and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL).

• Postgraduate Certificate
• Postgraduate Diploma 
• Master of Science Degree

 All three levels start at the same time, towards the end of September each year. The Certificate is taught between September and February, the Diploma between February and May) and the MSc also includes the research project which is undertaken during the summer months, May-August, finishing with a student conference and oral examination in mid-September. None of the levels are available as part-time or distance-learning courses. To confirm the exact start date please email admissions@rvc.uk. 

Certificate in Wild Animal Biology

• Introductory week
  You will be introduced to the course objectives, the mission of the partner organisations running the course, and the services you can receive at the ZSL and the RVC.

• Conservation Biology Module
  You will develop a conceptual understanding of which species and populations are vulnerable to extinction, how we can monitor their population dynamics and how resources to conserve species can be allocated most successfully using a scientific approach.
   
• The Impact of Disease on Populations
  The effects of diseases on populations can be complex but even subtle influences can markedly unbalance free-living and captive populations of wild animals. An understanding of these effects requires a critical evaluation of epidemiology and the population biology of infectious agents. Armed with this knowledge you will be equipped to make informed decisions on control methods, where these are considered an ethical approach.
   
• Health and welfare of captive wild animals
  Considering the enormous diversity of animal species, the management of healthy populations in captivity is an exacting challenge. In this module, you will gain a critical understanding of the principles of animal management and preventive medical approaches to maintaining healthy populations and enhance their welfare.
   
• Interventions Module
  Where anthropogenic threats endanger free-living populations of animals, people increasingly see a need to intervene for the conservation or welfare of these populations. However, given the need to understand complex ecological systems, the disease risks of manipulating them and the potential stress of intervention methods, such activities require detailed planning, highly skilled input and scientific evaluation to ensure lessons are learned. Using real examples this module will help you to develop a conceptual understanding of intervention methods.

Diploma in Wild Animal Biology

• Detection, surveillance and emerging diseases
  Morbidity and mortality in free-living populations of wild animals are difficult to detect and monitor given ecosystem processes and the bias of convenience sampling strategies. In this module, you will learn about the complex methods required to detect and monitor changes in endemic diseases, detect emergent diseases, and interpret the findings in a scientific manner.
   
• Ecosystem Health Module
  Ecosystem health is a rapidly advancing field of scientific inquiry, which will be studied in the context of the health and sustainable utilization of ocean and freshwater fauna.
   
• Evaluation of the health and welfare of captive wild animals
  In the Certificate, you will have gained a critical understanding of the management and preventive medical care required to maintain healthy populations. In this module, we investigate the scientific evaluation of wild animal welfare and critically analyse the relationship of health with both reproduction and nutrition.
   
• Practical Module
  This module covers the complex set of skills required to effectively maintain healthy captive populations of wild animals, and to monitor and intervene in the health of free-living populations. You will gain a conceptual and practical understanding of critical aspects of remote tracking, monitoring of free-living wild animals, pharmacology, anaesthesia, pathology, dentistry, and imaging in wild animals.

Master of Science in Wild Animal Biology

A graduate of the Master of Science in Wild Animal Biology must demonstrate (in addition to the achievements of the PG Certificate and Diploma):

• A comprehensive understanding of research and inquiry including (i) critical appraisal of the literature, (ii) scientific writing and (iii) scientific presentation
• The ability to design and analyse hypothesis-driven laboratory and/or field studies

Research Planning

In this module, you will develop the extensive skills required to design and conduct practical research projects, critically appraise and review the literature, deliver effective scientific presentations, and write scientific papers suitable for submission to peer-reviewed journals. 

Project

You will be required to undertake an individual research project, between May and mid-August, and to submit a typewritten report not exceeding 10,000 words in the form of a grant report and a scientific paper suitable for submission to a peer-reviewed journal. The project will encompass a practical study on an approved aspect of wild animal biology. The project may be undertaken at any place approved by the Institute/College with the guidance of a course supervisor. 

Assessment

You will be assessed by seven written papers, coursework (scientific review, critical review, scientific presentation, scientific poster and a case report), an individual research project report and an oral examination. All candidates will undertake a full assessment irrespective of their performance in other parts of the course. Project reports are submitted in mid-August and oral examinations are held in mid-September.

Graduates go on to pursue successful careers in wildlife management (government agencies, developing and developed countries), wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife related research (universities, zoological collections) and zoo management. Some continue to study towards a PhD, either with the Institute of Zoology or with another leading scientific research institute.

Sasha Dines  Sasha Dines graduated from the Wild Animal Biology (WAB) course in 2016 and now works as the head field specialist at Oceans Research, South Africa. She currently works under Dr. Enrico Gennari on White Shark population dynamic studies and cetacean studies amongst many other projects. Her main duties include managing the student research internship, organising their schedule, teaching and supervising all of the research projects, maintaining equipment and databases and ultimately ensuring the interns are receiving an excellent learning experience. In addition to her main scheduling responsibilities she has continued her interests in marine mammal biology by helping to run the marine mammal stranding course at Oceans and is currently helping to develop a national stranding response network.

Femke Broekhuis  Femke Broekhuis graduated from the Wild Animal Biology (WAB) course in 2007 which launched her career in cheetah research. Supervised by Dr. Sarah Durant, Femke conducted a dissertation on cheetah habitat selection after which she was awarded the Tom Kaplan Prize scholarship do a PhD with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford. She then conducted 4/5 years of research on cheetahs in the Okavango Delta assessing cheetah interactions with lions and hyaenas. Femke is currently Project Director of the Mara Cheetah Project in Kenya where she aims to determine the current cheetah population in the Greater Mara Ecosystem, identify major threats and mitigate against them by implementing a science and community-based conservation approach.

Kristen Steele Kristen Steele is Programmes Coordinator at the International Society for Ecology and Culture (ISEC), overseeing the Economics of Happiness Project, including organising a recent international conference in California. She also works on fundraising and writes articles and reports on the environmental and social impacts of economic globalisation and localisation.

Xinli Yap Xinli Yap, who graduated from the course in 2010, now works as Conservation and Research Officer in Wildlife Reserves Singapore. Her main duties include: liaising with governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals on local and regional conservation projects; organizing seminars, talks and conservation events; preparing materials and conducting public outreach programmes; and conducting in-house scientific research.

Lydia Tiller Graduate from the 2008/2009 class, Lydia is currently carrying out research on elephant cognition in Thailand. She is working for a scientist called Dr Joshua Plotnik who is a Newton post-doctoral research fellow from the University of Cambridge. She is also field team leader for the Earthwatch programme that is run at the field site.

Paul Rose Paul Rose at Martin Mere 2012, MSc Wild Animal Biology 2004/05 writes: I graduated from the MSc WAB in 2005 and went straight into academia teaching undergraduate animal science/animal management at Sparsholt College Hampshire. Since then I have developed my PhD in the Animal Behaviour group at the University of Exeter, together with the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and I am researching the social organisation of captive flamingos. I teach part-time still at Sparsholt College, as well as guest lecturing for a number of other institutions around the UK. Through my links to zoos I am a member of the BIAZA Research Committee and the BIAZA Bird Working Group, and the IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group. Without the stepping-stone of the MSc to help me develop my own research skills, experience of working with captive wild animals and contacts in these disciplines, I would have found my career path much harder to develop.

Nicola White  Graduated from MScWAB in 2004 and is Senior Scientific Officer: Exotics & Wildlife Trade for the RSPCA, responsible for leading science-based projects, activities and programs relating to the welfare of exotic pets and wildlife trade. Prior to this she was Scientific Information Officer for the RSPCA's wildlife department, responsible for researching and checking wildlife content for the Society's publications and website, compiling reports, providing wildlife data and responding to wildlife enquiries.

I completed the MSc Wild Animal Biology course in the years 2014-2015, and all I can say is I really enjoyed it. Although I liked my undergraduate university course, there was a definite lack in the practical side in terms of seeing real-life animal cases and witnessing firsthand how captive animals are managed. The collaboration between the Royal Veterinary College and the Zoological Society of London meant I was able to see the best of both worlds - see how veterinary medicine is progressing alongside the improvement in keeping wild animal collections in captivity. The link also meant we were able to witness some fascinating post mortems- a personal highlight was when I was present during the post mortem of a giant porcupine. Through my course I was able to gain many connections, and it also opened my eyes to the amount of work and research taking place in the wildlife epidemiology field. I would recommend this course to anyone who is passionate about conservation and research, and interested in all the different types of work going on worldwide. 

Inez Januszczak 

The MSc in Wild Animal Biology is a unique opportunity to benefit not only from the knowledge and experiences of experts from around the world, but also from the exchange of ideas between the zoologists and veterinarians that come to the course from a variety of backgrounds. I learned far more than I expected to in the space of just one year.'
Avanti Wadugodapitiya, Sri Lanka

‘After several years of searching for the right graduate program, I was inspired to pursue the MSc Wild Animal Biology course. I had been working as a big cat keeper at Busch Gardens in hometown of Tampa, Florida for six years. While it was a difficult decision to leave a career I loved, I went on the journey to study abroad to gain a greater understanding of conservation and wild animal management on a global level. This unique course encompassed all aspects of conservation -- in situ and ex situ wild animal management, veterinary medicine, epidemiology, and research. The lecturers were amazing, truly leaders in conservation. The research component of the degree was exhilarating as we could design any project based on our interests. I chose to study polar bear behaviour, where I spent time at zoos in five different European countries, gaining insight into their ex situ management. The very best part of the course was collaborating and developing close friendships with people from all around the world.’
Ashleigh Lutz, USA

‘It was really fantastic for me. I got theoretical as well as practical knowledge from this course which proved invaluable in my career when working on the rehabilitation of native wildlife. My MSc dissertation provided me the opportunity to study a particular species, the Common Swift, which has since been my main focus of interest and further, future research ( www.falciotnegre.com ).’
Enric Fuste, Spain