Lucy Chimes

Lucy grew up with a love of nature and the outdoors, though she never imagined she could build a career from it. She completed an MSc in Global Wildlife Health and Conservation, studying the impacts of dehorning on Black Rhinoceros ecology, before completing her field guiding qualification in Pilanesberg National Park.

It was there she realised she wanted to be more directly involved in wildlife conservation, and she joined Wildlife ACT as a Priority Species Monitor at Somkhanda Game Reserve in 2022.

Lucy now coordinates Wildlife ACT’s Applied Research Unit, supporting standardised data collection across the organisation’s projects, collaborating with external researchers, and conducting internal research and statistical analysis to inform conservation work. She also assists the Somkhanda team with Priority Species Monitoring, with a particular focus on Black and White Rhinoceros and the organisation’s wider Rhino range expansion work.

She is currently completing a PhD assessing the impacts and effectiveness of Rhino dehorning to inform security and population management. Over her four years living and working on Somkhanda, she has helped grow the project’s capacity, supporting the implementation of new technologies and data systems and expanding Rhino monitoring and dehorning programmes across the reserve.

Outside of work, Lucy enjoys hiking, camping, game drives, and being immersed in nature, making the most of KwaZulu-Natal’s bush, mountains, and coastline.

“I feel so privileged to live and work in the places that I do, surrounded by so much nature, wildlife, and dedicated, hard-working people who are all as determined as I am to make a difference and contribute towards protecting our planet.”