Charles Mpofu

Charles loves travelling around the world, although mostly it’s been through the Google Earth app! He was born and raised in Botswana’s capital Gaborone and attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Environmental Science from the University of Botswana. He went on to study for an MSc in Conservation Biology at UCT, Fitz with his thesis exploring the use of GPS-tracking to investigate the diet of African vultures breeding in Botswana, under the supervision of A/Prof. Arjun Amar, Dr Gareth Tate and Dr. Glyn Maude.

Charles previously worked for over a decade as a wildlife biologist for the Botswana government’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks. He conducted biodiversity surveys within the central and northern part of the country. These included regular waterfowl and terrestrial bird monitoring and vegetation assessments. He furthermore, reviewed environmental impact assessment reports prior to any infrastructural developments, particularly in sensitive areas like the Okavango Delta, and provided relevant advice. 

Charles is now part of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project where he leads a team investigating the Wattled Crane population status in Northern Botswana with emphasis on the Okavango Delta. There have been almost two decades of data paucity on this species within the Okavango delta despite it being historically known to contribute a substantial number of the total population. Hence for his PhD, Charles is attempting to fill that data gap, under the supervision of Associate Prof. Arjun Amar and Associate Prof. Robert Thomson.

Thesis: Abundance, movement patterns and breeding success of Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) within the Okavango delta, with regional insights on population viability analysis