Staff, Students & Associates

Conservation Biology Masters Students (2012/13)

Daniël Cloete

Email: daniel.cloete@uct.ac.za

Although Daniël was born in Potchefstroom, he soon moved to George where he grew up. His love for nature was born at the age of four when he observed his first, and so far best, cheetah hunt and kill in Kruger National Park. At school he knew that he wanted to study Nature Conservation and completed a BSc Agriculture degree in Nature Conservation, Zoology and Animal Physiology at Stellenbosch University. He then worked as a member of the park development team at Kuzuko Contractual Park, part of Addo National Park, later becoming the Conservation Manager. He completed a post-graduate certificate in UNIGIS at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University while based at Kuzuko. After meeting and marrying his wife, Chrissie, he looked for opportunities to work more on the social side of conservation and was appointed Programme Director at the Nature’s Valley Trust. He quickly realised that conservation will be sustainable only if it is economically and socially viable. With this realisation he applied for the Conservation Biology course as he saw it as a golden opportunity for a stepping-stone into the world of real conservation. He hopes that this Masters degree will grant him the opportunity to bring together his work experience, knowledge and passion to contribute directly to the future conservation of South Africa and the world’s landscapes and ecosystems. His other interests include trail running, camping, sea kayaking and anything else that involves being outdoors. More sedentary interests are Pinball, Cricket, Formula 1 and MotoGP.