George Wittemyer works to develop solutions to biodiversity conservation issues, aimed at lessening human impacts to at-risk wildlife populations, with a focus on elephants in Africa and large herbivores in North America.

He studies how the landscape, humans and the climate impact demography, distribution, behavior and movement of at-risk wildlife populations, and works to actively translate his research into policy actions and incubate novel conservation solutions.

Wittemyer serves as the chief scientist of Save the Elephants, a technical advisor on elephants to the Kenya Wildlife Service, and on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s African Elephant Specialist Group.

He earned his B.A. in biology with honors from Colorado College and his Ph.D. in environmental science, policy and management from the University of California, Berkeley. He did post-doctoral work on a National Science Foundation international fellowship in both Uganda and Copenhagen.