Team

Members of the Black-footed Cat Working Group

Dr. Alexander Sliwa

Curator at Cologne Zoo, Germany
Conducted the first ecological and behavioural study on black-footed cat between 1992 – 1998 on Benfontein, Kimberley, Northern Cape Province, South Africa and has led annual field operations of the Working Group since 2005
Conducted field research on sand cats (Felis margarita) as co-leader of the Sand Cat Sahara Team (Facebook) in the Moroccan Sahara
Invited member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group
Chair of the Felid TAG (Taxon Advisory Group) for the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) with 300 scientifically led zoos as members
Former International Studbook Keeper for Black-footed Cat and Coordinator for the Black-footed Cat European Breeding Programme (EEP) while at the Wuppertal Zoo, Germany
Also worked in the field on Aardwolf and Gordon’s Wildcat

Research Associate at McGregor Museum, Kimberley
Completed her MTech degree in 2015 at the Tswane University of Technology on current and historical distribution records of black-footed cats
Has been active in black-footed cat research since 1992
Wildlife biologist and forensic criminologist by training
Patron of the Cat Conservation Trust

Chief Conservation and Wildlife Health Officer, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Escondido, California, USA
Has been working on health and infectious disease monitoring in Black-footed Cats and sympatric small carnivores between 2004
Veterinary Advisor to the Black-footed Cat Species Survival Plan (North American breeding programme)
Active in national and international veterinary organizations
Several in-situ and ex-situ conservation projects involving endangered species such as the thick-billed parrot, desert tortoise, and African elephants

Director of Reproductive Sciences, Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Has conducted research on the basic reproductive biology of Black-footed Cats in captivity
Actively involved in research to introduce founder genes into captive populations of Black-footed Cats using cryopreserved semen from wild cats for in vitro fertilization procedures
Also involved with studies of reproduction in Sand Cats and other small felids
Reproductive Biology Advisor for the Black-footed Cat Species Survival Plan

Veterinarian and Director of Wuppertal Zoo, Germany
Veterinary Advisor to the Black-footed Cat EEP (European Endangered Species Programme)
Has worked on wild black-footed cats in 1997-1998 and extensively on captive Black-footed Cats
Supervisor on dissertation on research into AA-Amyloidosis in wild and captive Black-footed Cats
Joined the Black-footed Cat Working Group in 2009

Field Technician for the BFCWG 2013-2018
BTech in Nature Conservation, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa
Fifteen years of field work experience in telemetry tracking
Collecting distribution records in Namibia since 2012; the species’ northern range
Joined the BFCWG as member in 2014

Field Technician with the BFCWG since 2019
Studied small carnivores in the western US
Studied cheetah survival in South Africa for master’s thesis in Conservation Biology at the University of Cape Town
Using specially trained dogs for scat detection and subsequent molecular analyses to assess BFC populations, now the focus of her PhD at the University of Cape Town.

Field technician since April 2023
Completed Advance Diploma in Nature Conservation in 2023 at Tshwane University of Technology.