Eli Knapp ’00, professor of ecology, contributed to a National Geographic article about the incentives behind elephant poaching in African countries.

In 2017, Knapp co-authored a survey that asked Tanzanians who lived on the perimeter of one of the country’s many national parks why they illegally killed wildlife.

“It’s my own small contribution to help spread the word about two beleaguered populations that need assistance: East Africa’s rural poor and the African elephant,” said Knapp. “We’re in this together, people and wildlife; diminishing one diminishes both. So we have to find a way to coexist. I’ve long agreed with the notion that ultimately conservation is about people. My research—and this article—shows exactly that.”