Dr. Hoof Stock

Centered at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, we are a small group of students, managers and scientists engaged in a collaborative learning project to improve management of tropical hoofstock species on private lands across America. We are starting with waterbuck and plan to network with other institutions to apply what we learn to other species such as addax, addra gazelle and Przwalski’s horse.

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From Texas A&M University:
Faculty:
Dr. Jane Packard, Associate Professor in the Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University, has focused on biodiversity stewardship for two decades. She has served on the non-profit boards of the Society for Conservation Biology, Organization for Tropical Studies, Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, and Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History. After completing a Ph.D. in Ecology and Behavioral Biology at the University of Minnesota, she did a postdoc at the University of Florida. Her B.A. was in Psychology at Swarthmore College.

Dr. Susan Cooper received her Ph.D. from the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). She was appointed to the faculty at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 2002 and currently holds the rank of Assistant Professor and Research Scientist in the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute with a joint appointment at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Uvalde, and now conducts research in wildlife ecology and management.

Graduate Student Assistants:
Hollie Colahan is an M.S. student in the Wildlife Science Distance program. She recieved her B.S. in Biology at Kansas State University and is currently the Curator of Primates and Carnivores at the Houston Zoo. Her research project will focus on parental care in cotton top tamarins. Other interests include behavior, carnivore conservation, and captive husbandry and population management.

Renee Jones is a M.S. student studying Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences under Dr. Jane Packard at Texas A&M.  She has a B.S. in Recreation, Parks and Tourism Sciences from Texas A&M.  Her interest is understanding conservation and preservation of wildlife.  She has received a fellowship for graduate studies in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. She is continuing the waterbuck study for her thesis research. And she hopes to combine her Recreation, Parks and Tourism Sciences degree with her master’s studies in an interdisciplinary study that will be useful in a zoo profession.

Ashley Woldhagen is an M.S. student in the Department of Wildlife & Fisheries. She received her B.S. in biomedical science from Texas A&M. Her major research interest is in the care and management of exotic species, with a secondary interest in public wildlife education.

Chris Lituma is an M.S. student in the Department of Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University. He recieved his B.S. in Environmental Biology from Millersville University in Pennsylvania. He is working with grassland passerines in the Blackland Prairie region in central TX. His research interests are avian ecology, behavior, conservation, and evolutionary biology.

Alexandra Sutton is an M.S. student in the Department of Wildlife & Fisheries at Texas A&M. She received her B.S. in biology from Howard University, and her research interests include behavioral ecology, wildife-human conflict, and human dimensions of wildlife conservation.

Robin Vaughn is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences at Texas A&M University. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Miami University and B.S. in Biology from Adams State College. Her research interests include cetacean behavior, ecology, and conservation.

Krystal Windham is an M.S. student in the Wildlife & Fisheries Department at Texas A&M. She received her B.S. in Animal Science from Texas A&M. Her major area of interest is in education relating to wildlife & conservation, and her current research is focused on the creation of a Wildlife & Fisheries Departmental Assessment Plan.

John Putegnat is a graduate student in the Wildlife & Fisheries Department at Texas A&M. After completing his master’s degree, he is employed on the fisheries observer program in the Pacific. He has extensive practical experience managing tanks and ponds for landowners, some of whom also include exotic hoofstock in pastures on their properties.

Larry Redmon is our extension forage specialist for Texas, formerly out of Overton, now based in College Station. He works with landowners in thinking about carrying capacity for pastures with domestic, exotic and native hoofstock. He has extensive experience with white-tailed deer, and is pursuing another graduate degree, this time in wildlife, to prepare for certification as a wildlife biologist. His network includes faculty in wildlife, soil science and forage production.

Eryn Larrison is a graduate student in Poultry Science. At an early age, her dad got her involved in caring for exotics on their family place, so she has lots of experience with both hoofstock and avian species. Comparing the ostrich and rheas, she prefers rheas! Her dream job is starting a quail production enterprise. Her network includes faculty who advice on production of quail and other game birds.

Undergraduate Student Assistants:
Michael Birt is a B.S. student in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences. He has done an internship in nutrition at the Fort Worth Zoo, assisting with a project on gut loading crickets to provide better nutrients in reptile diets. As an assistant in the laboratory of Biodiversity Stewardship, he is gaining experience in technology supporting behavioral studies.

Heather Chance is a B.S. student in Zoology. She loves research and has volunteered on the waterbuck study to get extra field research experience. She is working with a grad lab team on her undergraduate research on fish behavior.

Jared Zakarian earned a B.S. in Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences. He is enrolled in the non-degree seeking graduate program, as he plans for a career in zoo biology. He is doing an internship at the Houston Zoo in summer 2008.
Lauren Payne will be a freshman at TAMU in Fall 2008 and is getting a jump-start by helping with waterbuck observations this summer. She has written up a report on her project for college credit in the fall. Lauren knows Fossil Rim, the staff and animals, since her family lives on a neighboring ranch. Lauren has been active in 4H and FFA. She is currently interested in a major in Ag Business.

Chloe Matelski is finishing up her undergraduate degree in Animal Science and is focused on a career in Veterinary Sciences. She toured 9 national parks in Africa, as part of a study abroad program, and shared her field experiences and photos with us. Her perspectives from the field helped us understand better how the different subspecies of waterbuck occupy different habitats, separated geographically. Her fascination with physiology also helped us understand better how behavior is at the interface between what goes on outside and inside each organism. Her dream job would be working as a veterinarian on a game reserve in Africa.

Andrea A. Lewis is a student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.  She visited Fossil Rim during spring break and recorded her observations of the waterbuck.  She will be preparing a summary to be presented at a Medical Conference in November.
For any questions, comments, or just generally more information, feel free to leave us a note on the blog, or contact us through the site. To contact Fossil Rim Widlife Center staff, please visit their website at www.fossilrim.org.

Thanks and see you at Fossil Rim!