Dr Nikki Tagg trained as a zoologist at the University of Wales, Cardiff, specialising in conservation science, and then defended her PhD in evolutionary ecology at Southampton University, in 2004. Nikki then lived and worked in Central Africa for the best part of the next decade, predominantly involved with great ape conservation and research projects in Republic of Congo, Gabon and Cameroon. Through this time, Nikki’s research focussed on socio-ecology, behaviour and conservation of chimpanzees and gorillas in the face of changing human pressures.
In 2018, Nikki moved back to the UK and started working for Born Free Foundation, where she began as Conservation Manager and became the Head of Conservation in January 2021. Today, she oversees the design and implementation of five Born Free conservation programmes in Africa and Asia. The programmes promote coexistence between people and wildlife in large multi-land use landscapes and seek to address issues such as human-wildlife conflict, unsustainable hunting, and degradation of habitats, focusing on the conservation of Born Free ‘hero’ species, including lions, tiger, elephants, giraffes, chimpanzees and gorillas. Nikki’s focus is on the evidence base of the team’s conservation work, as well as it’s effective communication to an academic and public audience.
