Applicants Announced for the 2027 Indianapolis Prize Emerging Conservationist Award

The Emerging Conservationist Award honors the next generation of animal conservationists.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Indianapolis Zoo today announced the applicants for the 2027 Emerging Conservationist Award, a global recognition honoring mid-career, animal conservationists whose innovative work shows extraordinary promise protecting threatened wildlife.

The Emerging Conservationist Award – made possible through a gift from the Kobe Foundation – is a biennial award recognizing conservationists under 40 years of age with the talent and drive to make a significant impact on saving an animal species or group of species. First awarded in 2023, only two Winners have been honored with the Emerging Conservationist title.

“The Indianapolis Zoo created the Emerging Conservationist Award to amplify the efforts of conservationists early in their careers and provide critical support and visibility to shape the future of conservation,” said Jake Oakman, senior vice president of External Relations at the Indianapolis Zoo. “This worthy group of applicants represents extraordinary efforts to prevent extinction and advance wildlife conservation.”

The honor joins the Indianapolis Prize, now in its third decade of impact as the world’s leading award for animal conservation. Both were established by the Indianapolis Zoo, which has contributed more than $8 million to conservation causes since 2004.

A review committee will select three Finalists from the pool of applicants. A Winner will be announced alongside the Indianapolis Prize Winner at a live event in Indianapolis on Sept. 25, 2027. The Emerging Conservationist receives a $50,000 monetary award.

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The Applicants for the 2027 Indianapolis Prize Emerging Conservationist Award are:

Alejandro Arteaga (Khamai Foundation, Ecuador) – Biologist specializing in herpetology. He protects critically endangered harlequin toad species by creating reserves to increase population densities.

Amaël Borzée, Ph.D. (Nanjing Forestry University, China) – Amphibian specialist who leads the Laboratory of Animal Behavior and Conservation at Nanjing Forestry University and promotes evidence-based solutions informing trade regulations in East Asia.

Charles Emogor, Ph.D. (Pangolin Protection Network, Nigeria) – Conservation scientist protecting pangolins by advancing community-based strategies to reduce pangolin hunting, build local partnerships and implement targeted interventions.

Christin Winter (Elephants Human Relations Aid, Namibia) – Elephant conservationist designing and implementing holistic human–elephant coexistence systems across communal and commercial landscapes in Namibia.

Ikegwu Chukwudi Michael (Howard University, USA) – Nigerian conservation biologist who focuses research on the macroecology and distribution patterns of herpetofauna in the Nigerian-Cameroonian Mountains to identify areas of high conservation value for future protection.

Daniel J.D. Natusch, Ph.D. (People for Wildlife, Australia) – Snake species expert who leads a charity dedicated to landscape‑level conservation and dedicated wildlife research, currently managing approximately 1.5 million acres of land in Australia, Indonesia and South Africa.

Diego Gallego Garcia, Ph.D. (Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, USA.; Center for the Study and Conservation of Birds of Prey (CECARA), Argentina) – Argentine biologist and guardian of the endangered Chaco eagle, a Neotropical raptor on the brink of extinction, in the Gran Chaco biome (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia) with a global population size of 800 to 2,000 left in the wild.

Rebecca Cliffe, Ph.D. (The Sloth Conservation Foundation, Costa Rica) – British biologist pioneering long-term field studies of wild sloths used to guide conservation research, policy and practice. Her work has informed national wildlife regulations and helped secure new legal protections for sloths.

Esther Vallejo Santamaria (Tropicos Colombia) – Ornithologist running the only active fall migration site in South America for raptors and hawks. These sites generate critical data on migration patterns, seasonal fieldwork and monitoring of roosting areas.

Kristen Marie Lear, Ph.D. (Bat Conservation International, USA) – Bat conservationist focused on the recovery of the endangered Mexican long-nosed bat. Translates foraging and migration pathways across 14 U.S. and Mexican states into restoration design. She co-founded the Agave Restoration Initiative, which works to restore connected habitats along a 750-mile corridor.

Kumar Paudel (Greenhood Nepal) – Social scientist spearheading policy work along the Nepal-China border to protect pangolin populations, which resulted in the country’s first pangolin survey and species conservation action plan more than a decade ago.

Maggie Hirschauer (African Parks, Zambia) – Indiana zoologist leading the Shoebill program in the Bangweulu Wetlands for the African Parks program in Zambia. She focuses on the rare, threatened and geographically scattered species.

Matthew Orolowitz (BirdLife International, South Africa) – Conservation biologist conducting targeted research and monitoring of Botha’s lark, while engaging landowners and local communities to advance grassland bird conservation across key sites. This critically endangered bird species has an estimated 340 mature individuals left in the wild.

Mouhamadou Mody Ndiaye (Panthera, Senegal) – Conservation scientist working in the Niokolo-Koba National Park with multiple species, including lions, African wild dogs and antelope. As the local conservation practitioner, he links conservation science and its operational implementation in one of the most complex and challenging landscapes in West Africa.

Olabisi Tawakalt Atofarati, (Aquatic Systems Conservation, Nigeria) – Environmental biologist working to understand the distribution and conservation patterns of poorly studied and threatened fish species in the biodiverse Cross River Basin of Nigeria.

Rama L. Mishra, Ph.D. (Wild Care Nepal) – Focused on the fishing cat species in Nepal’s Terai landscape, this medium-sized wild cat is primarily found in lowlands and wetland areas. This zoologist monitors, collects data and engages in outreach education events that have reached more than 20,000 people.

Simon Addayire Akuliga (West African Primate Conservation Action, Ghana) –A geographer and conservationist coordinating community-based wildlife patrols across a 7,000-acre forest, Ankasa-Tano landscape in southwestern Ghana, supporting threatened primate species through local governance and management plans.

Tiasa Adhya (The Fishing Cat Project, India) – Ecologist researching the fishing cat species and associated with the Fishing Cat Conservation Alliance, a global network of experts working across eight range countries. This elusive species is one of the most understudied small cats in the world and faces habitat loss due to human-wildlife conflict.

Vania A. Tejeda-Gómez (NODO Center for Tropical Ecology & Conservation, Peru) –Conservation biologist leading transnational wildlife research expeditions across South America's tropical forests and mountains, where she studies large and elusive birds and mammals, including jaguars, mountain tapirs and spectacled bears.

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Indianapolis Zoo
The Indianapolis Zoo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Charity Number 35-1074747) that does not receive tax support and is governed by a board of trustees. The Zoo is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

David Hosick
Indianapolis Zoo
+1 317-630-2010
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