Dr. Özgün Emre Can
Associate Professor, Ankara University, Türkiye; Instructor, Center for Wildlife Studies
Member of multiple IUCN SSC Specialist Groups, including the Human–Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence Specialist Group and the Bear Specialist Group
Ph.D., Middle East Technical University, Türkiye
M.Sc., Middle East Technical University, Türkiye
M.Sc., CIHEAM, France
Email: ozgunemrecan@gmail.com
Emre is a wildlife research scientist operating at the interface of science, conservation practice, and international policy. Through his cross-disciplinary, problem-oriented research on human–carnivore conflict and carnivore conservation spanning Western and Eastern socio-cultural contexts, he provides students and professionals with insights directly grounded in real-world conservation challenges. He has mentored students and professionals from more than 20 countries.
For more than 25 years, he has led ambitious, high-risk research and conservation projects, developing science-based, practical approaches for the conservation of species including gray wolves, brown bears, leopards, and tigers. Emre is particularly interested in rare carnivores inhabiting remote and little-explored regions. His research led to the discovery of clouded leopards in Nepal’s Langtang Himalayas (2014), at a world-record altitude of approximately 3,500 meters above sea level, as well as the documentation of Caucasian leopards (2009) and striped hyenas (2001) in Türkiye. These discoveries catalyzed subsequent research, monitoring, and conservation initiatives. His contributions to science extend beyond carnivores to include the role of wildlife trade in emerging zoonotic pandemic threats, cognitive biases in species extinction assessments, and conflict cognition.
Pioneering modern wildlife research in Türkiye, he introduced camera trapping (2002) and GPS telemetry (2008) and led the first field-based ecological studies of gray wolves (1999), brown bears (2004), and European wildcats (2008). His work has contributed to strengthened species protections, the establishment of protected areas, and reforms in national wildlife monitoring and national wildlife law in Türkiye. In parallel, he has advanced transboundary conservation efforts in the Caucasus ecoregion, helped strengthen regional IUCN networks, and contributed to the establishment and early development of the IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group Human–Bear Conflict Expert Team and the IUCN SSC Human-Wildlife Conflict and Coexistence Specialist Group. He has supported evidence-based policy and institutional development through work with the United Nations, the European Commission, IUCN, UNDP, and four WWF country offices on human–carnivore conflict and carnivore conservation. Through sustained international collaborations, his scientific publications have informed species status assessments and advanced policy change.
Before joining Ankara University, Türkiye, as an Associate Professor, Emre held research fellowships at Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) (2011–2020) and at CIHEAM/MAICh (France/Greece) (1999–2000), and was a visiting researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey on the Superior National Forest Wolf and Deer Research Project (2004). Earlier in his career, he established and directed mammal research and conservation programs for WWF and BirdLife in Türkiye for 10 years.
He is a member of several IUCN Commissions and Specialist Groups and has served on the boards of the Society for Conservation Biology and the International Association for Bear Research and Management.
Beyond research, Emre has played a prominent role in science communication and public engagement through popular articles, news pieces, TV and radio programs, and award-winning documentaries. His coverage and outreach have reached audiences in more than 70 countries and been featured in nine languages.
His current work focuses on three areas: clouded leopard and leopard ecology in the Himalayas; the striking difference in perceptions of human–wolf conflict between Western and Eastern cultures, with a particular focus on Central Asia; and the development of transdisciplinary approaches to human–carnivore conflict through strategic identification of critical knowledge gaps.
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See a full list of his publications on Google Scholar
Lambert, H., Elwin, A., Assou, D., Auliya, M., Harrington, L. A., Hughes, A. C., Mookerjee, A., Moorhouse, T., Petrossian, G. A., Sun, E., Warwick, C., Can, Ö. E., & D’Cruze, N. 2025. Chains of commerce: A comprehensive review of animal welfare impacts in the international wildlife trade. Animals, 15(7), 971. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15070971
Chiaverini, L., Macdonald, D. W., Hearn, A. J., Kaszta, Ż., Ash, E., Can, Ö. E., Channa, P., Cheyne, S. M., Clements, G. R., Haidir, I. A., Kamler, J. F., Kyaw, P. P., Luskin, M. S., Rasphone, A., Singh, P., Tan, C. K. W., Yadav, B. P., & Cushman, S. A. 2025. Identifying gaps in the conservation of small wild cats of Southeast Asia. Biodiversity and Conservation, 34(4), 1471–1495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-025-03029-6
Sartor, C. C., Kaszta, Z., Kamler, J., Hearn, A. J., Ash, E., Bolongon, G., Can, Ö. E., Channa, P., Cheyne, S., Fitzmaurice, A., Haidir, I. A., Kyaw, P. P., Luskin, M. S., Singh, P., Rasphone, A., Wei, C. T. K., Yadav, B. P., Rostro-García, S., Cushman, S. A., & Macdonald, D. W. 2024. Identifying remnant biodiversity hotspots in Southern Asia reveals disequilibrium in mammalian communities. Biodiversity and Conservation, 33(11), 3057–3074. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-024-02902-0
Can, Ö. E. 2023. The future of bears. Science, Vol 381, Issue 6653. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adi4084
Can, Ö. E., & D’Cruze, N. 2023. Cognitive biases can play a role in extinction assessments: The case of the Caspian tiger. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 1050191. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1050191
Chiaverini, L., Macdonald, D. W., Hearn, A. J., Kaszta, Ż., Ash, E., Bothwell, H. M., Can, Ö. E., Channa, P., Clements, G. R., Haidir, I. A., Kyaw, P. P., Moore, J. H., Rasphone, A., Tan, C. K. W., Cushman, S. A. 2023. Not seeing the forest for the trees: Generalised linear model out-performs random forest in species distribution modeling for Southeast Asian felids. Ecological Informatics, Vol 75, 102026. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2023.102026
Montgomery, R. A., Boudinot, L. A., Mudumba, T., Can, Ö. E., Droge, E., Johnson, P. J., Hare, D., & Hayward, M. W. 2023. Functionally connecting collaring and conservation to create more actionable telemetry research. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation, 21(3), 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecon.2023.07.004
Can, Ö. E., Yadav, B. P., Johnson, P. J., Ross, J., D’Cruze, N., Macdonald, D. W. 2020. Factors affecting the occurrence and activity of clouded leopards, common leopards, and leopard cats in the Himalayas. Biodiversity and Conservation, 29(3), 839-851. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01912-7
Macdonald, D. W., Chiaverini, L., Bothwell, H. M., Kaszta, Ż., Ash, E., Bolongon, G., Burnham, D., Can, Ö. E., Campos-Arceiz, A., Channa, P., Clements, G. R., Hearn, A. J., Hedges, L., Htun, S., Kamler, J. F., Kawanishi, K., Macdonald, E. A., Mohamad, S. W., Moore, J., Naing, H., Onuma, M., Penjor, U., Rasphone, A., Rayan, D. M., Ross, J., Singh, P., Tan, C. K. W., Wadey, J., Yadav, B. P., Cushman, S. A. 2020. Predicting biodiversity richness in rapidly changing landscapes: climate, low human pressure or protection as salvation? Biodiversity and Conservation, 29(14), 4035-4057. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-020-02062-x
Macdonald, D. W., Bothwell, H. M., Kaszta, Ż., Ash, E., Bolongon, G., Burnham, D., Can, Ö. E., Campos-Arceiz, A., Channa, P., Clements, G. R., Hearn, A. J., Hedges, L., Htun, S., Kamler, J. F., Kawanishi, K., Macdonald, E. A., Mohamad, S. W., Moore, J., Naing, H., Onuma, M., Penjor, U., Rasphone, A., Rayan, D. M., Ross, J., Singh, P., Tan, C. K. W., Wadey, J., Yadav, B. P., Cushman, S. A. 2019. Multi-scale habitat modeling identifies spatial conservation priorities for mainland clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa). Diversity and Distributions, 25(10), 1639-1654. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12967
Can, Ö. E., D’Cruze, N., Macdonald, D. W. 2019. Dealing in deadly pathogens: Taking stock of the legal trade in live wildlife and potential risks to human health. Global Ecology and Conservation, 17, e00515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00515
Can, Ö. E., Macdonald, D. W. 2018. Looking under the bonnet of conservation conflicts: can neuroscience help? Biodiversity and Conservation, 27(8), 2087-2091. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1514-1
Can, Ö. E., D’Cruze, N., Balaskas, M., Macdonald, D. W. 2017. Scientific crowdsourcing in wildlife research and conservation: Tigers (Panthera tigris) as a case study. PLOS Biology, 15(3), e2001001. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2001001
Can, Ö. E., Macdonald, D. W. 2017. To protect everything, please click here: does a revolution in data collection guarantee one in conservation? Animal Conservation, 20(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12285
Can, Ö. E., D’Cruze, N., Garshelis, D. L., Beecham, J., Macdonald, D. W. 2014. Resolving human-bear conflict: a global survey of countries, experts, and key factors. Conservation Letters, 7(6), 501-513. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12117
Pullin, A. S., Baldi, A., Can, Ö. E., Dieterich, M., Kati, V., Livoreil, B., Lovei, G., Mihok, B., Nevin, O., Selva, N., Sousa-Pinto, I. 2009. Conservation Focus on Europe: Major Conservation Policy Issues That Need to Be Informed by Conservation Science. Conservation Biology, 23(4), 818-824. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01283.x