Every summer, Briana Abrahms, University of Washington associate professor of biology, and members of her lab head to northern Botswana to study how large predators, such as lions and African wild dogs, are affected by climate change and other shifts in their environment.
The researchers are particularly interested in understanding how these predators are changing their behavior - including where they go and when they reproduce - as the days get hotter and as the animals are more likely to come into contact with people. One example is a project studying how interactions between lions and wild dogs, which don't typically get along, might change during heatwaves and droughts.
Abrahms is returning to Botswana again this summer, along with two other researchers in her lab: Kasim Rafiq, a UW research scientist in biology, and Marie-Pier Poulin, a UW doctoral student in biology. Laura Prugh, UW professor of environmental and forest sciences, will also be joining for parts of the season. UW News asked Rafiq and Poulin a few questions about their upcoming work for the occasional series "In the Field," which highlights UW field efforts.
"We like to think of these collars as Fitbits for wildlife. Just like your fitness tracker helps you better understand your movement and your sleep, these collars allow us to get deep insights into an animal's behavior."
Tell us about the trip. Where are you going?
Kasim Rafiq: Our team will be traveling to the fringes of the Okavango Delta. We have a long-standing partnership with Wild Entrust, which has been operating a long-term monitoring program there since the 1990s. As part of this program, Wild Entrust operates a remote bush camp that we work out of, which we affectionately call "Wild Dog Camp," or "Dog Camp" for short. This is really just a collection of tents in the middle of the African bush, and everything is non-permanent, meaning it could be quickly taken apart.
The camp is located in an area managed by the local community for wildlife tourism, and it borders the Moremi Game Reserve. So, it's a wild landscape with lots of wildlife and lush vegetation. There's no fence around the camp, so it's not uncommon for animals to wander through the camp day and night, including lions, elephants, leopards and various species of snakes.
Have you visited this site before?
KR: I first came to Dog Camp in 2013 as a research assistant and then I completed my master's and doctoral research there studying leopards. For my doctoral project, I stayed at the camp for two years because leopards are pretty tricky to study. I've been back to Dog Camp every year since I joined the Abrahms lab as a research scientist in 2021.
I feel very privileged to have been able to work with the people in camp for such a long period of time. It's been special to see how the camp has developed over that period, and also to maintain relationships with the Botswana-based teams.
MP: I joined the Abrahms lab in 2024 and spent time in the field that year to become familiar with the carnivores that we study. I returned in 2025 and I began to learn essential field skills, such as how to track and follow carnivores in the bush. I'm excited for my third visit to the field site this year.
How do you study these creatures?
KR: We use a combination of techniques. We directly watch these predators and use new conservation technologies to monitor animals year-round and during periods when it's just not possible to follow them, such as when it's too wet.
One key technology we use is wildlife tracking collars that use GPS sensors to let us see where the animals are going and accelerometers and microphones to let us know what they're doing. We like to think of these collars as Fitbits for wildlife. Just like your fitness tracker helps you better understand your movement and your sleep, these collars allow us to get deep insights into an animal's behavior.
Can you talk about some of the projects you're working on?
MP: I'm looking at how social structure in wild dogs may influence how they respond to environmental change. Wild dogs live in tight-knit packs, just like grey wolves in North America. In each pack, usually only one lead pair has pups, while the rest of the pack - often aunts, uncles and older siblings - all work together to babysit, feed and protect the pups.
In my research, I am investigating how a pack's "social profile," such as its size, family ties and history, affects how the animals adjust their movement patterns during heatwaves and droughts. I'm also looking at how increasing temperatures affect the timing of these dogs' reproduction.
Overall, I'm interested in understanding if the benefits of living in a group, such as the higher hunting success, pup care, and reproductive success seen in larger packs, might help buffer the impacts of environmental change on animal populations.
What are your goals for this trip?
KR: This year, our plan is to deploy tracking collars on the long-term lion and African wild dog study populations across our field site. The data that we'll get from these collars is crucial for helping us understand how behaviors change year after year as a result of environmental change.
A key part of this field season will also involve following animals with these sensors and collecting video recordings of them doing different behaviors, such as where and how they hunt and feed. We will use the video data to train AI models that allow us to better understand how climate change is affecting these behaviors.
What's something you really enjoy about doing this field work - especially something that might not occur to most people?
KR: Two of the things I enjoy most are the behind-the-scenes parts of the work that are critical to this type of fieldwork, but that people rarely think about or see.
First, I really enjoy tracking animals. There's something quite meditative about following a wild animal's footprints through the grass.
The second is vehicle mechanics. Around 80% of fieldwork is fixing your Land Rover when it breaks down for some unknown reason, and although that tinkering can be frustrating, it's also fun. Some of my favorite memories in the bush come from sitting in the sand and taking apart the engine.
MP: I love tracking animals using radio telemetry. The tracking collars we put on animals send out radio signals that we can detect with an antenna and receiver. By listening for the "ping," we can tell which direction the animal is in and roughly how far away it is. The carnivores we study roam across huge areas, so tracking them often means a lot of driving on rough roads and not always having successful searches. But, hearing that first -often really faint - "ping" is always super exciting, and finding the animals feels rewarding.
I also especially love being in the field around sunrise and sunset, when the landscape looks golden, feels peaceful and the animals are most active.
More generally, is there anything you find surprising about doing field work?
KR: Although fieldwork is intensive and often the busiest part of the year, it's busy in a very different way from office work. I'm often surprised that, despite the long hours, I feel more energized in the field than I do at my desk. I think part of that comes from being so close to the animals and the landscape you're trying to understand.
I'm also a big believer that, although technologies like GPS collars and audio recorders now allow us to collect huge amounts of data from the comfort of our offices, those data are only as useful as our ability to interpret them. To do that well, you really need to understand your study animal. There are many ways to build that understanding, from reading books to watching documentaries, but for me, nothing compares to spending time in the field. I always come back with a dozen new ideas that have appeared while simply sitting and watching the animals.
MP: Doing field work is really enlightening. It's extremely valuable because it gives us a better understanding of the animals and their environment. By observing where animals spend their time, how they interact with one another and with other species, and the challenges they face, we can develop more meaningful research questions. Spending time in the field also sparks creativity, because it allows us to see and notice unexpected behaviors and inspires new ideas for research.
