Dr Ben Garrod

Dr Ben Garrod is an evolutionary biologist and expert primatologist, having spent the last decade working on great ape conservation projects across the globe. He is also an award-winning TV presenter, working with the BBC on a number of television programmes including The Day the Dinosaurs Died, Secrets of Bones and Attenborough and the Giant Dinosaur alongside Sir David Attenborough.

After completing a BSc in Animal Behaviour at Anglia Ruskin University and an MSc in Wild Animal Biology from the Royal Veterinary College, Ben completed a PhD with UCL and the Zoological Society of London. His thesis, entitled ‘Primates of the Caribbean’, looked at monkey evolution on tropical islands. He now works as a Teaching Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University.

Ben has travelled all over the world working on conservation projects, particularly focusing on great ape conservation.

He spent several years in Uganda developing a chimpanzee conservation field site for the Jane Goodall Institute, where he was responsible for habituating troops of wild chimpanzees. In addition, he has worked extensively with an orangutan conservation charity in South East Asia, studied introduced monkeys throughout the Caribbean and led numerous wildlife watching tours in the Svalbard archipelago. He is a Trustee of the Jane Goodall Institute UK, an Ambassador for the Marine Conservation Society and a Council Member for the Primate Society of Great Britain, as well as being affiliated with a number of other charities and organisations.

Ben returned to Uganda in September to lead a primate-focused safari with NWS, tracking the mountain gorillas of Bwindi Forest National Park and the chimpanzees of Kibale Forest, sharing his in-depth knowledge of these incredible apes and their threatened habitats. You can read about the trip in NWS client Patricia's blog.