In the news: Laura M. Bolt on new species discoveries and wildlife conservation

Assistant Professor Laura M. Bolt is a conservation biologist whose research interests include animal behavioural ecology, primatology, forest fragmentation, edge effects, and animal communication, among other topics.

Commenting on the recent identification of the likweli, a previously undocumented monkey species in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolt told told CBC News that the discovery highlights how much remains unknown about the natural world, even as scientific tools and technologies continue to advance.

In other conservation news, the August birth of a pygmy hippo at the Toronto Zoo prompted renewed attention to the species’ conservation status. In an interview with Now Toronto, Bolt discussed the challenges facing pygmy hippos in the wild, noting that the endangered species occupies a limited habitat range in the forests and wetlands of West Africa.

Bolt is the director of  U of T’s Forests + Animal Behavioural Ecology (FABE) lab.