Hiral Naik is a herpetologist and conservationist a passion for reptiles and amphibians. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and her research focuses on better understanding the behaviour of venomous snakes in relation to snakebite. Hiral also has an MSc in Ecology and Conservation from the University of Witwatersrand her research focused on the evolutionary ecology of diet in the snake family Lamprophiidae (check out her recent publication). Growing up in Zimbabwe, India and South Africa, Hiral spent much of her time outdoors, which ignited her love for the natural world. She has worked with various environmental organisations to implement education and research projects to conserve wildlife and mitigate human-wildlife conflict. Her interests are broad, spanning from conservation biology and herpetology to utlising technology and media platforms to find new ways to save species and their habitats. As the Africa Program Manager, Hiral has launched a snake conservation and education project in South Africa and we hope to see some exciting outcomes from this project. Hiral’s goal is to work with snakes from around the world and contribute to a better understanding of them and to increase awareness about snakes both in Africa and around the world.
