From the organization:
Snapshot Safari
Project avatar for Snapshot Serengeti

Snapshot Serengeti

The Team

Snapshot Serengeti Team

Sarah Huebner: Sarah is a researcher with the University of Minnesota and Zooniverse. Her research focuses on the practical aspects of conserving and restoring wild mammal populations, including long-term continuous monitoring to safeguard biodiversity and assess trends in wildlife demographics and distributions in response to anthropogenic disturbances. She directs Snapshot Safari, a multinational distributed network of ecologists, wildlife managers, data scientists, citizen scientists, and local community members working together to protect and restore African mammals, which expanded upon the flagship project, Snapshot Serengeti. Snapshot Safari has deployed camera trap grids at >50 sites in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe using standardized data collection protocols to allow for cross-site comparisons of wildlife populations and conservation programs.
Craig Packer: Craig is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota and a research scientist at the Tanzanian Wildlife Research Institute. He has worked in Tanzania for 40 years and has two enduring passions: the Serengeti and photography. But he no longer carries his own camera, preferring the dramatic and exciting photographs captured by Snapshot Serengeti.
Meredith Palmer: Meredith is a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University studying large mammal communities in Tanzania and South Africa. She is interested in predator-prey interactions, particularly what ungulates do to avoid becoming lunch. When not plodding through data analyses, she can be found in Serengeti digging Land Rovers out of the mud and continuing Ali's work with the camera traps.
Michael Anderson: Michael is an Associate Professor of Biology & Endowed Chair in Environmental Resources at Wake Forest University. Michael has been conducting research in Serengeti since 2000, where he has been studying plants, herbivores and how to fix a Land Rover with nothing but a Leatherman. He is particularly interested in how interactions among large herbivores and their predators can influence savanna dynamics. Michael is thrilled to be part of the Snapshot Serengeti and is happy to be working with such a great team of collaborators.
Tom Morrison: Tom is a postdoc research associate in the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. With a background in population demography, Tom’s work addresses the practical aspects of wildlife management and conservation, particularly in Tanzania. He spent 2 years living in Serengeti National Park as a postdoc of Michael Anderson at Wake Forest University on a project to understand changes in tree cover in savannas.
                                           

Snapshot Serengeti Alumni

Ali Swanson: Ali initiated the Snapshot Serengeti camera trapping survey for her dissertation research on how Serengeti carnivores coexist (and spent much of her time trying to stop they hyenas and elephants from destroying the cameras). After her PhD, she spent three years at the Zooniverse working to build citizen science projects for ecology and is now a AAAS fellow working on environmental policy at the US Department of State.
Margaret Kosmala: Margaret is an ecologist who earned her Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota and is now a researcher at Harvard University. She explores how plant and animal species and ecosystems change over time. In addition to Snapshot Serengeti, she is involved with Zooniverse projects Season Spotter and Jungle Rhythms.
Daniel Rosengren: Daniel got his master’s degree in Sweden studying vole population dynamics. After cycling from the Northern Cape of Europe to the southernmost point in Africa, Daniel left his bike for a Lion Project Land Rover. He is now the senior Serengeti field assistant and is rarely seen without his camera in hand.
Stanslaus Mwampeta: Stan joined the Lion Project after graduating from the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. When he’s not watching lions, he’s making the rounds on the camera trap survey to ensure that Snapshot Serengeti never runs out of footage.
                                           

Organizations

University of Minnesota: The members of Snapshot Serengeti’s science team are ecologists at the University of Minnesota in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. The University of Minnesota, founded in the belief that all people are enriched by understanding, is dedicated to the advancement of learning and the search for truth; to the sharing of this knowledge through education for a diverse community; and to the application of this knowledge to benefit the people of the state, the nation, and the world.
Minnesota Zoo: The Minnesota Zoo has provided partial funding for the camera trap survey through a Ulysses S. Seal Conservation Grant and has helped recruit volunteers who have assisted the development of Snapshot Serengeti. The Minnesota Zoo connects people, animals, and the natural world. It is dedicated to inspiring guests to act on behalf of wildlife and wild lands. To accomplish this, the zoo provides award-winning recreational, educational, and conservation programs, locally, nationally, and internationally.
National Science Foundation: The National Science Foundation (NSF) provides ongoing funding support for the long-term Serengeti Lion Project (grant DEB‐1020479) that provides the underlying infrastructure for the camera trapping survey. The mission of NSF is to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense. NSF envisions a nation that capitalizes on new concepts in science and engineering and provides global leadership in advancing research and education.
National Geographic: National Geographic is a global nonprofit membership organization driven by a passionate belief in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world. Working to inspire, illuminate and teach, National Geographic reaches more than 700 million people a month through its media platforms, products, events and experiences.
The Global Programs and Strategy Alliance: The Global Programs and Strategy Alliance provided the funding for the first 50 cameras of the camera trap survey, which were established in June 2010. The mission of the Global Programs and Strategy Alliance is to be the driving force for the University of Minnesota in globalizing teaching, learning, research, and engagement. The office sponsors many programs and strategies that promote and support international activities by students, faculty, and staff across the University system.
University of Minnesota Graduate School: The University of Minnesota Graduate School provided funding for the initial camera trap survey in 2010 through a Thesis Research Grant. As one of the world's most comprehensive public research universities, the University of Minnesota offers outstanding graduate and professional education across a range of disciplines—agriculture, engineering, humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
Explorers Club: The Explorers Club provided funding for the initial camera trap survey through its Exploration Fund. The Explorers Club is an international multidisciplinary professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research and the ideal that it is vital to preserve the instinct to explore. The Explorers Club promotes the scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space by supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences.
American Society of Mammalogists: The American Society of Mammalogists provided funding for the initial camera trap survey through its Grants-in-aid of Research program. ASM was established in 1919 for the purpose of promoting interest in the study of mammals. The ASM is currently composed of over 4,500 members, many of whom are professional scientists. Members of the Society have always had a strong interest in the public good, and this is reflected in their involvement in providing information for public policy, resources management, conservation, and education.
James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History: The James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History provided funding for the initial 2010 camera trap survey through a James W. Wilkie Fellowship for Natural History. The Bell Museum was established by Minnesota legislative mandate in 1872 to collect, preserve, skillfully prepare, display, and interpret our state's diverse animal and plant life for scholarly research and teaching and for public appreciation, enrichment, and enjoyment. Collecting, researching, and teaching serve to inform exhibits, exhibitions, and public outreach.
University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences (CBS): The College of Biological Sciences provided funding for 2009 pilot work that led to the camera survey through a Rothman Fellowship. CBS promotes research that will improve human welfare and global conditions by advancing the knowledge of the mechanisms of life. With its exclusive focus on biology, CBS seeks to prepare today’s students to create the biology of tomorrow.
TrailCamPro.com: TrailCamPro has provided affordable camera traps for the survey and has shared invaluable personal expertise and advice on using them, which has had a large impact on the survey’s success. TrailCamPro specializes in selling trail cameras, camera traps, and security cameras.
Frankfurt Zoological Society: The Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) provides logistical support for the field team in the Serengeti. FZS is a non-profit, internationally operating, conservation organization based in Frankfurt/Main. The Society is committed to conserving biological diversity. FZS is therefore faced with one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century: the preservation of the world’s natural environments.
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute: Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI) provides permission and facilities for the camera trapping project. TAWIRI is a parastatal organization under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism responsible for conducting and coordinating wildlife research in the United Republic Tanzania. TAWIRI’s overall objective is providing scientific information and advice to the Government and wildlife management authorities on the sustainable conservation of wildlife and natural resources.
Tanzania National Parks: Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) provides permission and facilities for the camera trapping project. The mission of TANAPA is to manage and regulate National Parks to preserve the country’s heritage, encompassing natural and cultural resources. TANAPA sustainably conserves and manages park resources and their aesthetic value, for the benefit of present and future generations of mankind, as well as efficiently provide high-class tourism products and services.

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