Interview with Kin Morandi

By: Aglaia M, Junior Giraffe Club member

Kin was born 25 years ago in Ticino, the Italian speaking area of Switzerland. She grew up surrounded by dogs, cats and horses – which is where her love for animals began. She studied biology at the University of Zürich, with a particular focus on zoology, animal behaviour and conservation. In 2019 she had the wonderful opportunity to travel to South Africa and volunteer in a research center for big African cats. She fell in love with Africa and its fauna. When she went back to Switzerland, after an internship at the Zoo Zürich, she started her MSc in animal behaviour and behavioural ecology on the project about Masai giraffes. She submitted her Master thesis in 2021, and since then she has been traveling around Switzerland doing various internships for different zoological aspects, and is hoping to go back to Africa. Kin talked to the club about the research paper she recently completed on Masai giraffes (part of Wild Nature Institute’s Seeing Spots project).

1. How did your love for animals start?

I grew up with 3 dogs and 2 horses. I would say that I was born already loving animals. At the university I specialized in mammals, but I also really like ornithology and birds’ behavior.

2. What is your favorite fun fact about the Masai giraffe?

It is not really a fun fact, but I love that they can make a variety of sounds. They can even whistle!

3. What was the most challenging part of your research? How did you overcome this challenge?

I should say that thanks to Monica Bond and Derek Lee I didn’t have a real challenging part since they were always there to help me. However, I started my MSc thesis during the Covid pandemic and because of it I couldn’t travel to Tanzania to work on the field. I think that this was the most challenging part of my research: working on a species that I was not able to observe.

4. Who is your role model?

I would say Monica Bond: she didn’t have fear of leaving everything behind and traveling around the world to do what she loves.

5. What are three priorities you see needed for successful giraffe conservation?

As for every species' conservation, I think that the most powerful tool is the education of the people that live near these animals: if people have the opportunity to know what’s happening, they also have the opportunity to do something about it. Secondly, we need to protect the habitat that they need to survive - it may sound obvious, but it’s the biggest step we need to take to save them. Last but not least, we need to know them. So much it’s still unknown about these wonderful animals, and by studying their biology we can find the best solutions to ensure their future.