TITLE (PROF/DR/): DR.

NAME: FATSUMA OLALERU

POSITION: SENIOR LECTURER                                                                                                                                               

SPECIALISATION: Non-human Primate Ecology and Conservation

EDUCATION/TRAINING (Begin with Bachelor’s degree or other initial professional education, such as nursing, include postdoctoral training and residency training if applicable. Add/delete rows as necessary.)

Personal Statement

I am a natural resources conservationist with particular interest to non-human primates in urban spaces, where they have been threatened through human activities. My passionate pursuit about conserving the indigenous mona monkey (Cercopithecus mona, Schreber, 1774) populations in the University of Lagos, have earned me the recognition ‘Mama monkeys’. I study and advocate for the protection of this taxon and other Nigerian fauna in their natural habitats. Through my works, we have begun to understand the population status and feeding ecology of this species, the challenges they are facing through habitat destruction and urbanisation, and absence of protected areas in Lagos State. I also encourage non-lethal human-monkey conflict resolution in Lagos megacity and its relic forests where the mona monkeys are found, and seek to promote their eco-tourism potentials.

I have led and continue to coordinate several conservation bodies both locally and internationally. I was the first African to Chair the Young Women in Conservation Biology (YWCB), an arm of the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB), Africa Section. Presently I am the Director of the YWCB under the SCB-Africa Region. Through this, I have organized capacity building workshops both physically and virtually for African women in the conservation space. We also identify and recognise early career female conservationists from Africa through the YWCB Award. Through this, more female conseervationists and encouraged to come into the field and do more.

Positions, Scientific Appointments, and Honours

• Chair and now Director, Young Women in Conservation Biology, Society for Conservation Biology, Africa Region| 2014-2018; September 2024 till date.
• President Nigerian Society for Conservation Biology| November 2023 till date.
• President Nigeria Tropical Biology Association| January, 2021 – May, 2024
• Award of Service from Nigeria Tropical Biology Association| April, 2019
• Society for Conservation Biology, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Committee Member
• Reviewer for several local and foreign journals (The Zoologist, Elsevier Trees, Forests and People)

Selected Most Recent Publications/Contributions to Knowledge

1. Olaleru, F., Ogunfuwa, A.A. and Omoregie, Q.O. (2024). Evaluation of Human-monkey Conflicts in the University of Lagos, Nigeria: Public Perceptions and Resolution Options. Primate Conservation, 37:77-86.
2. Olaleru, F., Adeyemi, O.M. and Omoregie, Q.O. (2024). Preference and Proximate composition of Foods Offered to Captive Non-human primates at Zoological Garden, University of Lagos , Lagos, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Animal Production, 51(4):89-99.
3. Olaleru, F., Agbaosi, J.S., Tijani, O.F., Emmanuel, M.M., Agidi, H.C., and Otusanya, O. (2023). Assessment of Mona Monkey (Cercopithecus mona) Population Dynamics, Human-monkey Interactions, and Land Use Changes in Selected Areas of Lagos Megacity, Nigeria. African Primates17(2): 63-76.
4. Olaleru, F., Agbaosi, J.S., Tijani, O.F., Emmanuel, M.M., Agidi, H.C., and Otusanya, O. (2023). Assessment of Mona Monkey (Cercopithecus mona) Population Dynamics, Human-monkey Interactions, and Land Use Changes in Selected Areas of Lagos Megacity, Nigeria. African Primates17(2): 63-76.
5. Olaleru, F. and Ojo, J.A. (2023). Population Size and Conservation of Mona Monkeys (Cercopithecus mona), and Land Use Changes in some Localities in Ikorodu Local Government, Lagos State, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Wildlife Management, 7(2): 19-27.

Collaborators/Networks (International Inclusive)

1. B.G. Ogunjemite, Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria
2. O.J. Babayemi, Department of Animal Science, University of Ibadan, Nigeria
3. S. Fada University of Bangor and University of Jos, UK/Nigeria
4. J.E. Lambert, University of Colorado-Boulder, Boulder, United States of America
5. H. Kopnina Northumbria University, UK/The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands