Panthera

Known as one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation, Dr. George Schaller now serves as the Vice President of Panthera. Born in Germany in 1933, Dr. Schaller received his undergraduate degree from the University of Alaska and completed his graduate work at the University of Wisconsin. In 1956, Dr. Schaller joined other conservationists on the Murie expedition to Northeastern Alaska, which resulted in the establishment of the world’s largest wildlife preserve, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

From 1962 to 1963, he served as a Fellow within Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences before working as a Research Associate at Johns Hopkins University’s Department of Pathobiology from 1963-1966. Dr. Schaller went on to work for the New York Zoological Society as a Research Associate and Zoologist from 1966 to 1979, after which he joined the Wildlife Conservation Society as Director of Wildlife Conservation International.

In addition to his position with Panthera, which he assumed in 2008, Dr. Schaller continues to serve as a Senior Conservationist with the Wildlife Conservation Society. Dr. Schaller has also worked as a Research Associate for the American Museum of Natural History and taught as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Rockefeller University, Shanghai’s East China Normal University and Beijing’s Peking University.

Spending most of his time in the field in Asia, Africa, and South America, he has led seminal studies on, and helped protect, some of the planet’s most endangered and iconic animals ranging from the mountain gorilla in present Democratic Republic of the Congo, snow leopards in Mongolia, jaguars in Brazil, giant pandas in China, tigers in India, lions in Tanzania, wild sheep and goats of the Himalaya. These animals have been the basis for his scientific and popular writings, including 16 books, among them The Year of the Gorilla, The Serengeti Lion, The Last Panda, and Tibet’s Hidden Wilderness.

In collaboration with Chinese and Tibetan scientists, Dr. Schaller has worked for nearly two decades studying and developing conservation initiatives for the snow leopard, Tibetan antelope, and wild yak, among other species. His most recent conservation projects have been based in Laos, Myanmar, Mongolia, Iran and Tajikistan. Over the years, he has accrued a variety of international wildlife conservation awards, including the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, Japan’s International Cosmos Prize, the China Environmental Prize, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Geographic Society’s Adventure magazine and the North American Nature Photography Association and the Indianapolis Animal Conservation Prize.

Selected Videos Featuring Dr. Schaller

	Indianapolis Zoo: George Schaller, Ph.D., Winner of 2008 Indianapolis Prize		The Indianapolis Prize: A Life in the Wild - A Conversation with Dr. George Schaller: Snow Leopards
	The Indianapolis Prize: A Life in the Wild - A Conversation with Dr. George Schaller: Serengeti Lions		The Indianapolis Prize: A Life in the Wild - A Conversation with Dr. George Schaller: Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge
	National Geographic: Saving the Mountain Gorillas		Voice of America Interview
	Joseph Vattakaven on NatGeo		George Schaller's message to the Year of the Gorilla

Click here to find more videos featuring Dr. Schaller.

Selected Books by Dr. Schaller

Schaller, G.B. (2007). A Naturalist and Other Beasts: Tales from a Life in the Field.   Sierra Club Books.

• Zhi, L., Schaller, G.B., Martin, C. and Wenshi, P. (2005). Giant Pandas in the WIld: Saving an Endangered Species. New York: Aperture. 
• Schaller, G.B. (1997). The Year of the Gorilla. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 
• Schaller, G.B. (1997). Tibet's Hidden Wilderness: Wildlife and Nomads of the Chang Tang Reserve. Harry N Abrams.
• Schaller, G.B. (1994). The Last Panda. Chicago: Univeristy of Chicago Press.
• Schaller, G.B., and Nichols, M. (1992). Gorilla: Struggle for Survival in the Virungas. New York: Aperture.
• Schaller, G.B., Jinchu, H., Wenshi, P., and Jing, Z. (1985). The Giant Pandas of Wolong. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Schaller, G. B. (1967/1984). The Deer and the Tiger: A Study of Wildlife in India. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
• Schaller, G.B. (1972/1976). The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator-Prey Relations. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Winner of the 1973 National Book Award.
  

Click here to find more books by Dr. Schaller.

Selected Popular Articles and Blog Posts by Dr. Schaller

• Schaller, G.B. (2010). Saving America's Last Great Wilderness. Defenders Magazine, pp. 17-21.
• Schaller, G.B. (2010, April 5). A Night in the Wild. Huffington Post: Panthera's Cat Tales.
• Schaller, George B. (2010, June 1). 25 Ideas to Change the World - George Schaller: Everyone's Environment. Forbes India.

Click here to find more publications by Dr. Schaller and other Panthera staff.

Click here to read more of Panthera's Cat Tales on the Huffington Post.

Selected Publications Featuring Dr. Schaller

• Miller, Robert. (2010, February 6). Roxbury's Schaller Talks of the Need for Conservation. NewsTimes.
• Allen, John. (Summer 2010). A Voice in the Wilderness. On Wisconsin Magazine. University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• Indianapolis Zoo Press Release. (2009, September 4). Indianapolis Prize Winning Conservationist Fights for Snow Leopards’ Survival.
  
• Voice of America. (2008, August 12). Biologist and Conservationist Saves Animals to Help Preserve the Environment.
• Panthera Press Release. (2008, December 18). Dr. George Schaller Wins Award for Chinese Conservation.
  

Click here to find more publications featuring Dr. Schaller.

Selected Scientific Publications and Reports by Dr. Schaller 

• Schaller, G., & Kang, A. (2008). Status of Marco Polo sheep Ovis ammon polii in China and adjacent countries: Conservation of a vulnerable subspecies. Oryx, 42(1): 1-7.
• Hunter, L., Jowkar, H., Ziaie, H., Schaller, G., Balme, G. Walzer, C., Ostrowski, S., Zahler, P., Schaurre, N., & Kashiri, K. (2007). Conserving the Asiatic cheetah in Iran: Launching the first radio-telemetry study. Cat News, 46:8-11.
• Carbone, C., Frame, C., Frame, L., Malcolm, G., Fanshaw, J., FitzGibbon, G., Schaller, G., Gordon, G., Rowcliffe, I., & Du Toit J. (2005). Feeding success of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) in the Serengeti: The effects of group size and kleptoparasitism. Journal of Zoology, London, 266:153-161.
• Olson, K., Fuller, T., Schaller, G., Lhagvasuren, B., & Odonkhuu, D. (2005). Reproduction, neonatal weights, and first-year survival of Mongolican gazelles (Procapra gutturosa). Journal of Zoology, London, 265: 1-7.
• Rabinowitz, A., Schaller, G.B., & Uga, U. (1995). A survey to assess the state of Sumatran rhinoceros and other mammal species in Tamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary, Myanmar. Oryx, 29(2): 123-128.
• Schaller, G.B. & Vasconcelos, J.M.C. (1978). Jaguar predation on capybara. Z. Saeugetierk, 43:296-301.

Click here to find more Scientific Publications by Dr. Schaller.

A Selection of Awards

• 2011 Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Awards - Lifetime Service Award
• 2009 North American Nature Photography Association - Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2008 China Environmental Protection Foundation - Baogang Environment Prize
• 2008 Indianapolis Prize
• 2007 Rabinowitz-Kaplan Prize - Lifetime Achievement in Wild Cat Conservation
• 2007 International Wildlife Film Festival - Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2006 National Geographic Society Adventure Magazine - Lifetime Achievement Award 
• 2005 American Society of Mammalogists - Aldo Leopold Conservation Award
• 1995 UNEP Global 500 Roll of Honor
• 1985 National Conservation Achievement Award, National Wildlife Federation

Upcoming Events with Dr. Schaller

• Wildscreen Festival - Lecture and screening of film Nature's Greatest Defender.  October 10-14, Bristol, UK.
• Palm Beach Zoo - Lecture.  November 18, 2010, West Palm Beach, FL

Click here to learn about other Panthera events.