In Love With Lovebirds

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‘We shan't save all we should like to, but we shall save a great deal more than if we hd never tried.’ This quote by Sir Peter Scott, the founder of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Nature, inspired Dr Tiwonge Mzumara to pursue her studies in the field of ecology.    

Mzumara always had a passion for the conservation of biodiversity in her home country Malawi, in southern Africa and in Africa as a whole.  Her MSc was in conservation biology and to her it seemed natural that her PhD should be in ecology, as she believed that in order to conserve any species it was imperative that one knows its ecology.

Her PhD thesis was on the ecology and conservation biology of the Lilian’s Lovebird in Malawi. This is a small parrot endemic to Africa that is found in Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Tanzania. Her study is the first full ecological study on the species.

Mzumara’s thesis highlighted the breeding, feeding and roosting requirements of Lilian’s Lovebird. It also flagged one of the current key threats to the bird in Malawi, namely, the poisoning of waterholes in Liwonde National Park by poachers.

Mzumara’s plans are to put the skills acquired during her studies to work, by participating in conservation projects in Malawi and in Africa as a whole. She describes her time spent at UKZN as ‘absolutely amazing’ and ‘the best of her academic career thus far'.

The opportunities provided by her supervisor, Professor Colleen Downs, to participate in other students’ projects allowed her to broaden her knowledge base and gain experience in different facets of research, for which she is eternally grateful.

With graduation behind her,  Dr Mzumara will be returning to her post as Ornithologist for the Museum of Malawi and will continue her work in conserving Malawi’s birds.

Swasti Maney