Mx Ali Shams

"Demographic and genetic status of north-west African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki), their unique ecology and the future of conservation along the African Sahel" (Dr Vincent N. Naude, Prof. M. Justin O’Riain, Prof. Mohammad S. Farhadinia)

Ali is a conservation biologist focused on cheetah conservation. He has been actively protecting the last surviving Asiatic cheetah population in Iran since 2014 and has collaborated with diverse institutions and organizations. Ali expanded his conservation efforts to encompass different cheetah subspecies in South Africa, Central Africa, and Northwest Africa. He holds a master's degree in Assessment and Land use planning and is currently pursuing a PhD in biological science at ICWild.

As part of his PhD thesis at ICWild, Ali is leading the Northwest African cheetah conservation project in Benin and Chad. The project is the first multifaced monitoring of northwest African cheetahs in challenging regions in the north and center of Africa like Pendjari National Park, Zakouma National Park, and Siniaka Minia Reserve. Ali's research involves their demographic placement, ecology, genetics, and home range through camera traps, capturing, collaring, and tracking cheetahs. This endeavor is supported financially and logistically by Ashia Cheetah Conservation and African Park Networks while receiving scientific expertise from prestigious institutions such as UCT, Stellenbosch, Oxford, and IZW.