To celebrate International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month the Museum is sharing the stories of 27 inspirational women, alongside the animals they work with the most.

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Sophia Cooke

Department of Zoology

“Alongside my PhD (looking at the impacts of roads on British birds), for the last few years I have been running a project I set up in the Galápagos, studying the impact of a bird called the smooth-billed ani.

It is thought that anis were deliberately introduced to the islands by farmers in the 1960s, in the hope that they would eat the ticks that were plaguing the cattle. Unfortunately, instead of eating ticks, the birds seem to eat almost everything else, including the chicks of Galápagos finches. I am researching their spread, impact and possible methods of control or eradication. ”

Find out more about this research on Sophia’s website here.

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