Biology Graduate Student Awarded Fulbright; Will Study Snow Leopards in China

Ever since she was a child growing up near the water, biological sciences graduate student Charlotte Hacker has been fascinated by how people co-exist with the fragile natural environments around them.

Thanks in part to that fascination, Hacker was recently awarded a prestigious Fulbright Scholarship to study an at-risk population of snow leopards in their natural habit of Qinghai province, a mountainous and sparsely populated region in China.

A third-year doctoral student, Hacker will study the eating habits of snow leopards in the region. One particular issue is that snow leopards have been eating herders’ livestock when they can’t find food. Livestock loss causes large financial burdens for herders, promotes negative attitudes toward carnivores and prompts retaliatory killings. Snow leopards typically eat larger wild ungulates, such as blue sheep.

“We will research why snow leopards are eating livestock, if it’s happening seasonally and discover what else they are eating to work toward finding appropriate solutions for human-wildlife conflict mitigation,” said Hacker. She became interested in snow leopards while working with Duquesne Biological Sciences Assistant Professor Dr. Jan Janecka, who has studied the animals for more than a decade.

Hacker will work with the local community to collect scat, or feces droppings, and then use DNA to determine the animals’ diet. She said involving the local community in her work is essential to conservation efforts.

“It’s important to have local conservation stewards who understand the environment and culture of the region,” Hacker said, noting that she will conduct some conservation training while in the province. “For example, the predominant religion in Qinghai province is Tibetan Buddhism, which reveres snow leopards. Understanding how religion influences the culture also impacts conservation strategies.”

A native of Dover, Del., Hacker also has studied elephant behavior in Africa and worked at the San Diego and Toledo zoos. But she finds snow leopards particularly fascinating due to their adaptive nature.

“They are striking animals in their dexterity and movement,” she said. “Living in high altitudes and cold weather, snow leopards adapt well in their environment and are especially good at camouflaging themselves. You could be looking directly at one and not know it.”

As a Fulbright Scholar, Hacker will begin her fourth trip to China in June.