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By Amber McMillan
Smulders with a captured lion “Lion vomit might just be the worst smell in the world.” That juicy tidbit is just part of the ongoing education of geography master’s student Mary Smulders. Smulders won’t be on hand to receive her MSc degree during Fall Convocation because she’s busy conducting research on lions in Kenya.
Smulders came to UVic in 2007, and has been involved in the geography department’s Spatial Pattern and Analysis Research (SPAR) Laboratory, examining the spatial-temporal habitat use of grizzly bears in the Alberta Rocky Mountains.
Starting out with no background in biology, Smulders completed a highly praised thesis examining how grizzly bears use habitat and how habitat use changes through time as female bears have cubs.
Asked about her experience at UVic, Smulders notes the lasting relationships she developed with her classmates and her supervisor, Dr. Trisalyn Nelson, adding, “My MSc field work was also a highlight of my time at UVic.” She spent two weeks in the Alberta Rocky Mountains climbing in and out of grizzly bear dens and exploring characteristics such as vegetation, climate and slope of the terrain.
She was also able to hone her research skills by working on projects involving various branches of the Canadian government, including the Pacific Forestry Research Centre.
Encouraged by Nelson to attend academic conferences, Smulders presented her research at two national conferences in Fernie, BC, and an international conference in Las Vegas.
Born in Vancouver and raised in Toronto, Smulders chose UVic because of the “fantastic masters opportunity with Dr. Trisalyn Nelson.” Another reason was locale. “One of the wonderful opportunities about living on the West Coast is the range of outdoor recreational activities available,” she says. “I love snowboarding, biking, running, kayaking, hiking and camping.”
“Mary is the type of student that a supervisor is happy to see succeed but very sad to see go,” says Nelson, who praises her willingness to take on a challenge and see it through.
Smulders is currently conducting research on lions in Northern Kenya, where she assists with lion captures, taking body measurements, organizing blood and tissue samples, and helping attach GPS and radio telemetry collars to monitor lion movement. For now, Smulders explains, “I hope to use spatial analysis techniques learned from my MSc to model lion movement in relation to thorn enclosures, called bomas, where herders keep their livestock. With this information we hope to better examine the relationship between lions, livestock and herders as lion predation on cattle often results in their death.”
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