‘My time at Kent, especially the Costa Rica fieldtrip, confirmed my interest in the field and doing hands-on conservation work. Two weeks discovering jungle life is all it took for me to need a longer adventure!
During lab work for my dissertation on invasive parakeets and the visit to Jersey Zoo I discovered the flora and fauna of Mauritius, sparking my interest as a potential next field adventure.
So, no less than a week after graduating from the BSc Wildlife Conservation, thanks to a helping hand from my supervisor, I was flying off to Mauritius for six months of volunteering with the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation on their island restoration team! Currently, I am a month in and I have already been able to apply knowledge and learn so many new skills. Finally seeing the species I have been studying in the wild has made the hard work all worthwhile.
I have been involved with work on Ile aux Aigrettes so far, focusing on tortoise and reptile monitoring as well invasive species control. Tortoise work has included taking care of the young Aldabra tortoises that are been introduced as slow grazers and seed dispersers. The reptile work has mainly involved doing visual estimate surveys to monitor the introduced Gunther’s gecko population of the island. Finally, I have been involved in the latest rat eradication. Rats can be a viscous invasive species, preying upon reptiles such as Telfair skinks or birds and their chicks. My interests in invasive species have grown immensely given my dissertation work as well as knowledge learnt over my course. So, being involved first-hand in an eradication has bee a unique and unexpected opportunity for me to develop skills in invasive species control.
Next stop on my adventure will be Round Island, 22 kilometres off the coast of Mauritius! Stay tuned to find out how it goes!’
Lucy Pecasse studied for a BSc (Hons) in Wildlife Conservation