Lorcan McHarry

My fascination with the natural world started early, and I have a passion for all things outdoors, from exploring game reserves, hiking, scuba diving, and birding. Raptors were always what caught my eye. As a youngster I spent hours trying to identify birds of prey in the wild, drawing and studying them at home, and the Gymnogene was always a particular favourite because of its quirky appearance and behaviour.

I began my studies with a career in conservation in mind, ended up studying germs through a BSc(Hons) in Medical Microbiology, and then in, a complete change of direction, ended up building a career in the commercial world. The desire to get into conservation research never left me, though, and I’m grateful to now have the opportunity to do what I love, a decade or two later, maybe, but never too late!

I’m especially interested in how wildlife adapts to human-modified landscapes, and what that means for how we share our cities with the species that live in them.

For my MSc, I am studying the nesting and breeding ecology of the Gymnogene in Cape Town. The species is declining across parts of its African range, yet it has been thriving in the city over the last 20 years. My research looks at its nesting and breeding behaviour to understand what allows it to thrive in an urban environment. I am supervised by Prof. Arjun Amar and Assoc. Prof. Robert Thomson.