Iroro Tanshi (born ) is a Nigerian tropical

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

and conservationist who studies the

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

and diversity of African

bats Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

. She is a co-founder of, the

Small Mammal Conservation Organisation Small may refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...

(SMACON), a Nigerian

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

, where she is director of research programs and mentors students and peers in species conservation.

Education

Tanshi obtained a degree in

environmental science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical ...

and a master's degree in environmental quality management at the University of Benin in

Benin City Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan, with a population estimate of about 3,500,000 as of 2022. It is situated ...

, Nigeria. She then studied at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

in England, where she obtained a master's in

biodiversity conservation Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an int ...

before undertaking research with

Tigga Kingston Tigga may refer to: * Manoj Tigga, Indian politician * Shanti Tigga, soldier *Torra Tigga railway station Torra Tigga Railway Station ( ps, ; ur, ) is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The station is on the discontinued Khybe ...

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

in the US, where she was awarded a PhD in 2021.

Career

Tanshi discovered the only population of the

short-tailed roundleaf bat The short-tailed roundleaf bat (''Hipposideros curtus'') is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is found in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and caves. It is t ...

(''Hipposideros curtus'') in Nigeria, near the

Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary The Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary in Cross River State in southern Nigeria covers . The wildlife sanctuary was founded in 2000 to provide refuge for endangered animal species, including the Cross River gorilla, the Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee, t ...

, and saved it from extinction. Tanshi also protected Nigeria's largest colony of

straw-coloured fruit bat The straw-coloured fruit bat (''Eidolon helvum'') is a large fruit bat that is the most widely distributed of all the African megabats. It is quite common throughout its area ranging from the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, across forest and sav ...

s (''Eidolon helvum'') from a government proposal to destroy their roost tree. Tanshi was recognized for discovering bat species in Nigeria that were last seen 45 years ago. Her 'Zero Wildfire Campaign', engages local people to protect critical habitats for this bat species is yielding results and is helping bring back this species from the brink of extinction. In parallel with her work at SMACON, Tanshi works as a lecturer at the University of Benin.

Awards

In 2020, Tanshi won a Future for Nature award from the

Future for Nature Foundation The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently ...

, in recognition of her pioneering work discovering bat species. She was the first African woman to win the award. In 2021, Tanshi won a Whitley Award issued by the

Whitley Fund for Nature The Whitley Awards are held annually by the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) to recognise and celebrate effective grassroots conservation leaders across the Global South. The charity's flagship conservation prizes, worth £40,000 in project funding o ...

References

External links

*, video by Iroro Tanshi (2020)
Small mammal conservation organisation
* Living people 1980s births Nigerian scientists Conservationists Ecologists University of Benin (Nigeria) people Alumni of the University of Leeds {{Ecologist-stub