Interim Director of International Programs Dr. Megan Murgatroyd was selected today as a finalist for a prestigious award in recognition of her contributions toward saving some of the world’s most threatened birds.
Officials from the Indianapolis Prize, the world’s leading award for animal conservation, selected Dr. Megan “Meg” Murgatroyd as one of 10 finalists for the newly created Emerging Conservationist Award. If selected, she will be awarded $50,000 to advance her work to protect at-risk birds of prey.
“The Emerging Conservationist Award supports the next generation of conservationists who re actively making a positive difference for the future of biodiversity,” said Dr. Rob Shumaker, President & CEO of the Indianapolis Zoological Society, Inc. “These Finalists, along with all of the Prize honorees, share a deep commitment to protecting nature and inspiring people to care for our world.”
Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Meg leads HWI’s International Program which focuses on the most understudied and threatened raptors globally. Recently, she has investigated the impacts of land-use change on Verreaux’s Eagles and implemented GPS tracking to understand and predict wind turbine collision risk for this species. If selected, Murgatroyd plans to use the funding to expand this research to Black Harriers, southern Africa’s rarest endemic raptor. “I hope to use my skills to find sustainable solutions to reduce human impact on the natural world,” she shared.
The Emerging Conservationist Award recognizes professional wildlife conservationists, biologists, and scientists under the age of 40 years who are working to save animal species from extinction. The inaugural Emerging Conservationist Award Winner will be announced in April 2023.
