Stotra Chakrabarti (PI)
Assistant Professor, Macalester College
Dr. Stotra Chakrabarti is an Assistant Professor of Animal Behavior & Conservation at the Department of Biology, Macalester College, Minnesota, USA. He has a MS in Wildlife Sciences from the Wildlife Institute of India, and a PhD in Animal Behavior from the Forest Research Institute University, and he did his Postdoctoral Research from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He is a behavioral ecologist & conservation biologist, who’s expertise is in studying the links between fundamental animal ecology and applied conservation, with large mammals (especially carnivores) as study species. Stotra’s curiosity in the natural world began with a childhood spent watching leopards and elephants in the vicinity of where he grew up: the foothills of Himalayas in India. Subsequently, a very immersive and rigorous graduate program at the Wildlife Institute of India cemented his interest in animal behavior and conservation biology. When he is not studying or teaching about animals, he loves to cook, play ping pong and soccer, hike and travel.
Sophie Carpenter
Honors Student
Sophie is from Denver, Colorado, and is finishing up her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at Macalester College. She is passionate about wildlife conservation with community engagement, as well as environmental justice. She first began pursuing wildlife biology while taking (Stotra’s) courses at Macalester, and through her study abroad program in Tanzania. Currently, she is working in the lab pursuing herhonors thesis examining spatial and temporal patterns of livestock predation by large carnivores in northern Tanzania. Outside of work, Sophie enjoys throwing a frisbee with friends, rock climbing, and drawing.
Montan (Monty) Manufred Kalyahe
Research Affiliate
Monty grew up close to Udzungwa and Mikumi National Parksin Tanzania. He has PG Diploma in Nature Conservation and Tourism from the Durell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent, UK where he conducted field research examining the potential of ecotourism as a conservation incentive for local communities in and around Ngorongoro Conservation Area. He has a MS in Conservation Biology from Manchester Metropolitan University, where his thesis focused on assessing mammalian diversity in the Ruaha Ecosystem of Tanzania. He joins the lab as the lead field researcher and investigator for the Saadani Lion Project.
Eliza King
Undergraduate Researcher
Eliza is from California, and completed her undergraduate degree in Biology and English at Macalester College in 2023. Her love of animals was fostered by the many she was surrounded while growing up, and she currently has two black cats at home. She began her career in wildlife biology in the CAB lab examining diet and prey preference of lions in Tsavo for her capstone research, and continues as a summer researcher in the lab investigating meso-predator community ecology in Yellowstone. When not with animals, she enjoys volleyball, game nights with friends, playing piano, and bettering her cooking skills.
Zoe Lowe
Undergraduate Researcher
Zoe was born and raised in Colorado. Her passion for animals began with all the pets she had while growing up, and expanded to wild animals because of her time outdoors with her dad. She graduated from Macalester College in 2023 with a B.A. in Biology and minors in both Math and Statistics. During her undergrad study-away program in Panama, she researched Opiliones (daddy long legs). She is currently working in the CAB lab, examining spatial and temporal patterns of meso-predator distribution in Yellowstone.
Lab Alum
Avery Munster
Undergraduate Researcher
Avery is from San Luis Obispo, CA, and recently graduated from Macalester College with a degree in Biology. Her interest in wildlife began with an internship at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in MN, where she completed a Songbird Internship and then worked as part of the Medications Staff. While at Macalester, Avery pursued undergrad research in the CAB Lab, investigating the effect of forage and wolf predation on beaver activity in northern Minnesota. Avery is currently finishing up writing her research results for peer-review, and will be attending the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania from Fall’23 with the goal of becoming a wildlife disease veterinarian.
Lara Boudinot
Undergraduate Research Collaborator
Lara recently completed her BS in Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota. Throughout her undergraduate education, Lara had several opportunities to conduct field research around the globe, working on a range of projects and species (from fish to small mammals). She collaborated with the CAB lab for her undergrad honors thesis where she examined the demography and population structure of lions in Lake Manyara and Tarangire National Parks. She is currently finalizing her research paper for peer-review, and will be attending the University of Oxford for her PhD program, starting September 2023.
Ian Smith
Undergraduate Researcher
Ian grew up around the world. He’s lived in Honolulu, Tokyo, Washington D.C., and Minnesota. He completed his undergraduate degree in Biology from Macalester College in 2022. For his capstone and undergrad research, he worked with the CAB lab and the Bump Lab (at UMN) to investigate interactions between scavengers at elephant carcasses in Tsavo, Kenya, using photos from remote cameras. The paper resulting from this work is in review and the preprint can be accessed here. Ian is currently working as a Research Tech with the Voyageurs Wolf Project. When he’s not out bushwhacking in the Northwoods, you can probably find him on a basketball court, making all his threes.
In the CAB lab, we believe
