TAMMIE MATSON
Dr Tammie Matson is an Australian wildlife conservationist who specializes in human-wildlife conflict. Tammie has worked for over a decade to conserve Africa wildlife, including wild dogs, black rhinos and hippos, with a special focus on Namibia’s black-faced impala, the subject of her Ph.D. in zoology and first non-fiction book, Dry Water – Diving Headfirst into Africa. Since 2005 she has worked with local people to reduce human-elephant conflict in southern Africa and north-east India. This is the subject of her second non-fiction book, Elephant Dance – A Story of Love and War in the Kingdom of Elephants.
She is an environmental consultant, freelance writer and speaker on conservation issues affecting threatened species around the world. She led WWF Australia’s national species program in 2007 and 2008 before co-founding the not-for-profit conservation organization Animal Works, which works to raise funds and awareness for threatened species, in particular elephants. She has written and edited articles for numerous magazines including Africa Geographic and Africa Wild, as well as international reports for WWF such as the Species and Climate Change report (2009). Tammie’s work has been featured on the BBC, ABC and Channel Ten Australia, and on national radio in Australia. She is working with Animal Media Australia on a documentary about human-elephant conflict, Elephant Wars. In 2010 she is a nominee for InStyle magazine’s Women of Style awards.
Tammie is based in Sydney but travels extensively for her work. She is married to Andy Ridley, the creator and global director of WWF’s Earth Hour, and they had their first child in November 2009, a boy, Sol.
LATEST BOOK: ELEPHANT DANCE
From the magic of Bushmanland, to the banks of Chobe River in Botswana, to the civil strife of Assam, India, Elephant Dance takes us to the heart of a conservationist's fight to find a way for elephants to live peacefully in a world with too many people, too few resources and the increasing threat of climate change.
Passionate, funny, and moving, Elephant Dance is also a classic story of self-discovery, love, and the courage it takes to follow your calling, especially when it takes you places you least expected.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Dry Water – Diving Hheadfirst into Africa; Hodder Headline Australia & NZ; 2006. Elephant Dance – Elephant Dance – A Story of Love and War in the Kingdom of Elephants, Pan Macmillan Australia; 2009.
