Dr Laura LaBarge (she/her)

I am interested in how animals navigate environments to minimize risk (from humans and other predators). Most of my fieldwork is from montane ecosystems and I have spent years living in remote environments collecting data on wildlife across the Adirondack mountains (USA) and in the mistbelt forests of the Soutpansberg (northern South Africa). 

I lead collaborations using movement data to uncover the ecological consequences of inter-individual variation in large predators ('keystone individuals', with Dr. Andy Allan, Durham University) and to better understand the behavioural consequences of fear in wildlife. I was previously a Postdoctoral Scientist with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (2021-2023) and work collaboratively with multiple wildlife NGOs.

In my fieldwork I use remote experiments, biologgers/GPS, and camera traps and I have experience managing remote field sites / teams of fieldworkers, and working in cross-cultural groups for the benefit of wildlife.

My role at Exeter includes building a (near) real-time tracking system for terrestrial wildlife in Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park with the long-term Banded Mongoose Research Project. This system will deliver data on interactions and avoidance between groups that are difficult to directly observe, but highly risky for these animals. 

Before my PhD (2016-21, The State University of New York, which I spent mostly in Limpopo, ZA), I held a range of roles in research and wildlife management. 

I have received funding from the L.B.S Leakey Foundation (2018-2020), Animal Behavior Society (US), Explorer's Club, Mark Diamond Awards, RGZ Conservation Fund, and held a SUNY Presidential Fellowship (2016-2020).

Media/Outreach:

Pumas maintain relationships with nearly 500 living species

The Guardian: Why the puma is a leading influencer in the animal kingdom

This cat holds ecosystems together

National Observer: When it comes to the animal kingdom pumas have their claws in everything