Experts

  • Peter Fearnhead, Chief Executive Officer for African Parks
    Peter Fearnhead was born and grew up in Zimbabwe, and graduated with a BSc in Agricultural Economics from the University of Natal and an MSc in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of Oxford. He was a management consultant with Deloitte, before joining South African National Parks (SANParks), where he held a number of positions, including Resource Economist, Advisor to the CEO, and Head of Commercial Development. Peter was one of the Founders of African Parks. He was appointed as the CEO in February 2007.
  • Eugene Mutangana, Head of Conservation for RDB
    Eugene was raised in western and central Uganda, after his parents fled Rwanda in 1959. He attained an MSc in Environment at Trinity College, University of Dublin, and a BSc in Tourism Operations and Wildlife Management. Eugene has been involved in conservation for 11 years, having worked with the Rwandan Office for Tourism and National Parks and then in Volcanoes and Akagera National Parks from 2007 to 2009. In 2010, he joined the AMC as Deputy Park Manager and Head of Law Enforcement. In late 2016 he moved to RDB to head the conservation department.
  • Andrew Parker, Head of Park Development for African Parks
    Andrew’s experience in conservation management is the culmination of years spent in education, field research and working with various environmental institutions. After attaining an Honours degree in Ecology and an MSc in the Vegetation Ecology of Welgevonden Game Reserve, Andrew worked with several organisations, including SANParks, where he worked in Park business strategy. He has 17 years’ experience in conservation management and operations and was previously the Chief Executive of the Sabi Sand Wildtuin and Welgevonden Game Reserve where his responsibilities included financial management project, security programmes and initiatives to combat rhino poaching.
  • Jes Gruner, Park Manager for Akagera National Park, African Parks
    Raised on a farm in Malawi, Jes Gruner has worked in conservation for 13 years. He is of Swiss and Danish nationality, and studied in the UK where he obtained a BSc in Applied Biology and Animal Science. After helping to set up a community game ranch in Malawi, Jes joined African Parks at Majete in 2006, later moving to Akagera where he was initially appointed as Operations Manager and later, in 2012, became Park Manager. His primary goals for the park include working to restore and protect its wildlife and moving it along the path towards self-sustainability.
  • Kester Vickery, Co-founder of Conservation Solutions
    Kester Vickery will be coordinating the veterinary angle and the logistics of the rhino translocation. He has been intimately involved in the wildlife translocation field for 22 years and has translocated over 110,000 animals in his career. Kester has successfully completed translocation projects in 12 African countries. He and his team have developed unique specialist translocation systems to be able to move large numbers of mammals in a short space of time. Conservation Solutions regularly works with African Parks providing veterinary, technical and logistical assistance throughout their range of parks.
  • Dr Andre Uys, Wildlife Veterinarian, Co-founder of Conservation Solutions
    Dr Andre Uys has 20 years of field experience. Co- founder of Conservation Solutions, Andre has immobilised tens of thousands of animals in 13 African countries and has focused on the immobilisation and translocation of large African mammals. Andre regularly assists and advises African Parks on veterinary and technical conservation issues and is an essential cog in any large mammal capture operation.
  • Dave Cooper, Wildlife Veterinarian
    Dr Dave Cooper has spent the last 22 years as the Chief Veterinarian of the KwaZulu-Natal Parks Board, immobilising and treating wildlife in and around the parks and reserves of KwaZulu-Natal. He is respected as one of the world’s leading rhino translocation specialists, having immobilised an excess of 2,500 rhinos and assisted in a number of cross-border rhino translocations to countries including Zimbabwe, Botswana and Zambia. Dave is passionate about rhino conservation and regularly lectures locally and internationally on immobilisation techniques and veterinary disease issues.
  • Pete Rodgers, Wildlife Veterinarian
    Peter Rogers has a career spanning 30 years in the field of wildlife medicine, during which time he has immobilised over 2,000 rhinos. A seven-year period with KwaZulu-Natal Parks as their chief wildlife veterinarian and 22 years in private practice have positioned Peter as one of the leading wildlife veterinarians in the world in the field of cheetah and rhino immobilisation.