Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode Animal Enigmas
The tapir, South America's largest land mammal, plays a key role in maintaining the biodiversity of forests and wetlands. Conservation biologist Patrícia Medici works to protect this elusive species.
About Patrícia Medici
Patrícia Medici is a Brazilian conservation biologist who has dedicated her life to the conservation of tapirs and their remaining habitats in Brazil. She is a founding member of Brazilian non-governmental organization IPÊ, Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research), where she has worked for over 20 years, and since 1996, she is the coordinator of the Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative. Medici has been honored with three very prestigious conservation awards: Harry Messel Conservation Leadership Award from the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2004, Golden Ark Award from the Golden Ark Foundation in the Netherlands in 2008, and Whitley Award from the Whitley Fund for Nature in the United Kingdom also in 2008. Patrícia received the 2011 Research Prize from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) of the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. In 2013, Patrícia was one of the 39 nominees for the Indianapolis Prize, and in 2014 she was honored with the TED Global Fellowship. Medici has a bachelor's degree in forestry sciences from University of São Paulo, a master's degree in wildlife ecology, conservation and management from Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil and a Ph.D. in biodiversity management from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent in the United Kingdom.
This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Andrea Gutierrez and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.
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