Jo Taylor Email & Phone Number

Nelspruit, Mp, Za

Karingani Game Reserve, Mozambique

Key responsibilities include developing, implementing, and overseeing wildlife monitoring programs, conducting data collection and analysis, and leading predator census surveys. Additional duties involve assisting with wildlife translocations, addressing human-wildlife conflict (HWC) situations, and managing biological data. A crucial aspect of the role is building and maintaining relationships with project donors and sponsors, supporting research efforts, and delivering presentations at meetings, workshops, and conferences. Furthermore, responsibilities extend to managing social media accounts, writing reports, producing digital media content, and photography.

South Africa

Professional natural scientist in conservation science through the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions. Compensated and voluntary ecology work assisting various governmental, NGO and private organisations. Work includes cheetah reintroduction programme transport and post-release monitoring, elephant collaring, wild dog capture, collaring and monitoring, rhino notching and DNA collection, camera trap survey consulting and GPS cluster analysis of satellite collared leopards.

Cape Town Area, South Africa

Research technician setting up and managing camera trap surveys as part of an ongoing leopard population density study. Responsibilities include selecting sites camera trap placement, managing ecology and volunteer groups assisting with surveys, working with reserve management, analysing camera trap data, statistical modeling in R for density, public education, writing blogs, videos and posts for social media outlets and managing and working with citizen scientists.

Otjiwarongo, Namibia

Assisting in the daily operations of CCF, trainer for the Scat Detection Dog Programme, and supervision of volunteers and interns. Responsibilities include scheduling staff, volunteers, and interns, daily husbandry for detection dogs and resident cheetahs, operant conditioning training, developing and implementing comprehensive training plans for dogs, ecological field work, monitoring free ranging rhinos and giraffes through camera trapping and on the ground tracking, organisation and analysis of data, creating research proposals, writing grants, assisting on human-wildlife conflicts, creating blogs and posts for social media, assisting the director on various projects, assisting on educational programmes, and writing, compiling, and editing mid-year and annual organisation reports.

Pittsburgh, Pa

Primary keeper for the Pittsburgh Zoo's Masai giraffes, Grant's zebra, Dama gazelle, springbok, and ostriches. I also assist the elephant keepers with general husbandry in the elephant barn as needed. Responsibilities include husbandry care, training, preparation and distribution of diets, observation of animals, record keeping, daily interactions with guests through behind the scenes tours, keeper talks, and overnight zoo functions.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Temporary keeper at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium caring for cheetahs, African lions, Amur leopards, Amur tigers, a snow leopard, clouded leopards, Northern black rhinos, Caribbean flamingos, and Visayan warty pigs, Masai giraffes, zebra,springbok, Dama gazelle, and ostriches. Responsibilities include husbandry care, operant conditioning training, preparation and distribution of diets, observation of animals, record keeping, daily interactions with guests through behind the scenes tours, keeper talks, and overnight zoo functions. I work both as part of a team and on my own in the different sections of the mammal department.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Keeper intern at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium helping to care for multiple species of large cats, North American black bear, Northern black rhinos, and Caribbean flamingos. I trained an 0.1 Amur leopard to shape her basic behaviors for voluntary ultrasounds to detect pregnancy.

Zookeeper at Nemacolin Wildlife Academy at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort. Responsibilities include care and husbandry of a variety of exotic mammals, reptiles, and birds, maintenance of exhibits, guide for safari tours, train tours, horseback trail rides, dog sled tours, and performing in educational exotic animal shows. Knowledge of many different species of animals, both exotic and domestic, as well as public interaction and presentations are critical aspects of my position. Animals in my care are from a wide variety of families including, but not limited to felidae, canidae, hyaenidae, ursidae, equidae, mustelidae, procyonidae, and camelidae. Working at Nemacolin has helped me to become accustomed to long, labor-intensive hours, has increased my skills in public speaking as well as knowledge in the husbandry of exotic animals, and has taught me managerial skills such as leading and training interns.

Bismarck, North Dakota Area

I worked with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department through Frostburg State University as a project coordinator working on a human dimensions project about overall attitudes of American beaver which included meeting with organizational heads (Delta Waterfowl, USDA Wildlife Services, Ducks Unlimited, etc), interviewing anglers in person, and mailing out and recording data. I also conducted numerous range assessment surveys for river otters within the southwestern portion of the state. I assisted the ND Game and Fish on various projects where help was needed. Data collection included; mail out surveys, field work, organizing and analysis on Excel, and working directly with individuals. I learned how to work independently, how to organize my time efficiently, and increased my team leadership skills.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Assisted as the first intern to work on the Big Cats Initiative. The Big Cats Initiative is an action-based program to safeguard and restore big cat populations and the ecosystems they inhabit. I helped to organize big cat grant applications, money transfers, data collected from the field, press releases, publication, and grantee information and communications. I helped to plan and organize the 2011 Big Cats Educator’s Event, and assisted with the 2011 National Geographic Explorers Symposium. I participated in local outreach and education at an affiliated local elementary school through their Cause An Uproar program. I learned a lot about the office aspects and organization of wildlife conservation and all the work that goes into requesting, choosing, and funding major grants. I also learned about conservation efforts that are currently being practiced in Africa for lion and cheetah conservation.

Hondo, Texas

Responsible for daily maintenance, cleaning, feeding, and medical care of white-tailed deer fawns. Responsible for record-keeping of assigned animals, leadership of station for fawns 24 hours-10 days old, and responsible for assessing health of mature 3 to 5 year old bucks. Other responsibilities included: ranch maintenance, trapping of nuisance mammals (armadillos, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, porcupines), and operation of ATVs and small equipment machinery. I learned how to handle and work with a prey species of wildlife that is extremely skittish and nervous. I also learned different medication techniques, how to individually assess animals from a distance, how to work in a completely new climate, and some of the workings of a successful breeding and hunting business.

Master Of Science - Ms, Conservation Biology

Dissertation: From big spots to little spots: Influence of camera trap deployment on spatial capture-recapture estimates of servals.

B.S, Wildlife And Fisheries Resources

Activities and Societies: The Wildlife Society, American Fisheries Society, Ducks Unlimited, Dean's List, WVU Truck and Muscle Car ClubWVU.

Wildlife And Fisheries Resources