Meet our grantees

Wild Animal Initiative funds academic research on high-priority questions in wild animal welfare.

The goal of our grants program is to fund research that deepens scientific knowledge of the welfare of wild animals in order to better understand how to improve the welfare of as many wild animals as possible, regardless of what causes the threats to their well-being.

We showcase our grantees and their projects here and continuously update this page as new projects are added.

Least concern, Small, United Kingdom, Animal behavior, Population ecology, Community ecology, Mammals, South Africa, 2023, Not published Wild Animal Initiative Least concern, Small, United Kingdom, Animal behavior, Population ecology, Community ecology, Mammals, South Africa, 2023, Not published Wild Animal Initiative

The animal welfare of animal warfare: how inter-group interactions affect wild animal wellbeing

Grantee: Dominic Cram

Institution: University of Cambridge

Project summary

This project will investigate the welfare consequences of inter-group conflicts in wild Kalahari meerkats. It will use an established dataset of meerkat behavior, body weight, territory use, and reproduction, covering more than 500 inter-group interactions over 14 years. Identifying the short- and long-term welfare implications of inter-group interactions in meerkats will shed light on similar animal warfare in group-living insects, fish, birds, and mammals. Clarifying the circumstances that lead to the most harmful battles will provide a first step in understanding how their frequency could be reduced, which could limit the suffering they cause and enhance the welfare of group-living wild animals.

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