The continued development of ecotourism and conservation in southern Africa has brought with it an increase in the amount of land set aside for conservation and has been associated with the re-introduction of animals that had previously been extirpated from the region. This development, and particularly the re-introduction of large carnivores and herbivores, has created the need for research that will firstly provide important information for reserve managers and secondly generate novel and fundamental information on the biology of the species.

The aim of the Wildlife and Reserve Management Research Group is to meet this need for information and to utilise the research opportunities to train postgraduate students.

The Wildlife and Reserve Management Research Group is based in the Department of Zoology & Entomology at Rhodes University and comprises staff and postgraduate students. Although initially formed to address the need for focused research within the Eastern Cape Province, the research group now has a broad student base addressing ecological questions throughout southern Africa.