Dr Christie Craig

Activities and research interests

Christie Craig completed her PhD at UCT in 2024, under the supervision of Prof. Peter Ryan. For her PhD, she did an assessment of the conservation status of the agriculturally adapted Blue Crane, focusing mainly on population trends, survival, movements and the threat of powerline collision to the species. During her PhD she was employed at the Endangered Wildlife Trust in the role of PhD candidate/Western Cape field officer, and co-supervised Michelle Bouwer’s MSc, where she investigated Blue Crane nest success in the Overberg. Prior to this Christie worked as a research assistant at UCT and did her Masters in Conservation Biology at UCT. Her research interests are in conservation outside of protected areas and conservation in agricultural landscapes, with particular interest in understanding the complexities of these socio-ecological systems. She also has a keen interest in conservation assessments, using tools such as the IUCN Red List, IUCN Green Status, and Population Viability Analysis (PVA) to inform conservation action.

Since completing her PhD she has moved into a Research Analyst role within the International Crane Foundation/Endangered Wildlife Trust partnership. In this role she critically evaluates crane conservation projects across Africa and the data collected in these projects. She is training and mentored by the Conservation Planning Specialist Group to do PVAs for conservation planning and is currently working on South African conservation plans for Blue Crane and Wattled Crane. She looks forward to a collaborative and mutually beneficial relationship with the FitzPatrick Institute, fostering collaboration between academic research and applied conservation.

Recent publications:

  • Grace, M.K., Akçakaya, H.R., Bennett, E.L., et al., Craig, C.A ., et al., Young, S., 2021. Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact. Conservation Biology 35: 1833–1849. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13756
  • Craig, CA, Scott, A & Scott, M. 2021. Anthropoides paradiseus (Green Status assessment). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T22692109A2269210920221. Accessed on 09 May 2024.
  • Craig CA, Thomson RL, Girardello M, Santangeli A. 2019. The drivers and extent of poison use by Namibia’s communal farmers: implications for averting the African vulture crisis. Ambio 48(8): 913-922. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1128-6
  • Craig, C.A., Thomson, R.L., Santangeli, A. 2018. Communal farmers of Namibia appreciate vultures and the ecosystem services they provide. Ostrich 89(3): 211-220. https://doi.org/10.2989/00306525.2018.1435566