Wild Animals/Expert Profile

Expertise

I can answer questions about wild mammals, as well as other wild animals. I can also answer questions on extinct animals and zoos. PLEASE DON'T SEND ME ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PETS. IF YOU ARE REALLY WORRIED, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A VETERINARIAN. PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THAT UNPAID PEOPLE ON ALLEXPERTS ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY AND WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH ADVICE THE MOMENT YOUR ANIMAL GETS ILL. Find out how to look after a pet before you get it. It is unfair to keep an animal in inappropriate conditions and give it the wrong food. If you can't keep an animal in good conditions, please don't bring it into your home. I'm not a vet and I don't have any expertise in animal medicine and care. I don't agree with people taking animals out of the wild and then expecting other people to give free advice on how to look after them. It is cruel to take animals away from their parents, who are able to look after the babies and may look for them, while putting their other babies at risk. You may need a licence to look after some animals. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals; please check with a local wildlife organisation. IF YOU FIND AN INJURED ANIMAL, PLEASE CONTACT A WILDLIFE VETERINARIAN OR CHARITY AND LET TRAINED STAFF LOOK AFTER THE ANIMAL. DO NOT TRY TO LOOK AFTER AN INJURED ANIMAL IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Please do not remove eggs from nests. The mother birds will know the right temperature for the eggs and will not sit on them if the temperature is warm enough for them to develop naturally. It is illegal to remove eggs of some species and, unless you have an incubator or a broody hen, the egg may not develop. If you are allowed to touch the eggs, you can candle them (check details on websites) to see if the eggs are fertile. If the eggs are not fertile, they will not hatch. I do not agree with fights between different animals. Please do not ask me questions about them.

Experience in the area

I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two years old. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.

Organizations

World Wide Fund for Nature. Zoological Society of London. London Bat Group.

Publications

Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group

Education/Credentials

BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' levels in Zoology and Chemistry. 'O' Level in Biology.

What do you like about this subject?

I like the fact that there is always new material being discovered and that scientists are becoming more adventurous in the species which they are studying. There are also more books and television programmes about unuaul animals.

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

I want to write a series of animal books. I would like to see living mammals belonging to orders which have eluded me - flying lemurs (sometimes included in primates), marsupial moles, colocolos, rat opossums and golden moles (which may be more closely related to elephants than moles.)

Something interesting about this subject that others may not know:

Most mammals are much smaller than humans. People seem to be more attracted to large mammals, rather than small mammals. Over 30% of mammals are rodents and about 20% are bats. There are also many small species of primates, marsupials and insectivores.

Something controversial or provocative about this subject

Scientists considered that humans were created separately from all other animals. Linnaeus included humans in a distinct order, Bimana, due to having two hands. Recently, great apes have been placed in the same family as humans, namely the Hominidae.