The team
Geoffrey Gomes has been leading and organising logisitics for naturalists, researchers and wildlife filmmakers into Trinidad and Tobagao's forests and other wilderness areas since 1992. He was on the management committee of Trinidad's Emperor Valley Zoo from 1988 to 1998, and currently serves on the Cabinet appointed, Wildlife Conservation Committee (WLCC). Geoffrey has been keenly interested in bat biology and conservation for many years, and is utilizing his position on the WLCC to advise government for changes in wildlife legislation leading ultimately to protection for T&T's nearly 70 species of bat.
Luke
Rostant lectures in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of West
Indies in Trinidad. Luke’s love for bats began in 2000 when he participated in
a study of neotropical bat species as indicators of forest health in the
Victoria Mayaro Forest Reserve in South-eastern Trinidad. Upon returning in
2011 from the University of Florida where he pursued his PhD, he was introduced
to Geoffrey and Daniel and his passion for bats was reignited. Luke is keenly
interested in biodiversity conservation in Trinidad and Tobago, and especially interested
in educating the public on the importance of bats for the many ecosystem
services they provide, and on bat research which will ultimately lead to
preservation of these often misunderstood critters.
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Darshan Narang has only been studying bats for about three years. He was initiated into the wonderful world of bats by handling a lone Carollia perspicillata at Chaguaramas Bioblitz 2012. He instantly fell in love with bats. In his day job he works as a research consultant studying birds and mammals in the Aripo Savannas, Trinidad. He has undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in environmental science
and biodiversity conservation from the University of the West Indies and in his
spare time he enjoys coordinating various projects on biodiversity. Darshan
hopes to see bats get the conservation they deserve in Trinidad and Tobago.
Janine Seetahal is a veterinarian with a deep fascination for bats
(particularly vampire bats) which developed while conducting research
on bat-transmitted rabies for her post-graduate degree in Public Health.
She now seeks to investigate the extent of bat movement between Trinidad and
the South American mainland by pursuing population genetic studies on the
vampire bat. In addition to supporting the control and prevention of
rabies within the Caribbean region, Janine strives to promote bat
conservation through research and evidence-based public education.
Daniel Hargreaves is a bat conservationist and researcher based in the UK; he has worked on various bat projects in many countries and fell in love with Trinidad's bats during a field trip with Bat Conservation International in 2010. Daniel is the creator of the website and organisers expeditions to Trinidad each year as a means of research and generating funds for field equipment.
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