Greenwich Native Is Raising Money to Fund Research Project in Africa

Axel Hunnicutt, a Greenwich native conducting postgraduate research at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, is raising funds to help pay for his studies.

Here is what Hunnicutt wrote on his GoFundMe profile:
"For the next two years I will be studying a population of Spotted Hyenas in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa for my masters. This research is done at Munyamana Conservancy through the University of Pretoria in Pretoria, South Africa. 

"The aim of the project is to monitor and study the hyena population on the reserve to better understand their movements, prey use, and survivorship. Monitoring the population numbers and group dynamics of a never before studied population will help us prepare a conservation plan for these animals' future."

"I will be living remotely on this reserve setting up camera traps and monitoring the hyenas. While the reserve has offered some financial support we are still lacking sorely needed funding mostly for fuel, vehicle repairs and equipment such as camera traps."

Hunnicutt will talk about his previous research work "The Plight of the Rhinos" at Audubon Greenwich in a program at 3 p.m. Jan. 25.

He grew up in Glenville, graduated Greenwich High School in 2008, is an Eagle Scout, and has volunteered at the Round Hill Volunteer Fire Company for many years. He has studied wildlife biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, graduated from the UCONN with a Bachelor of Science in ecology and evolutionary biology, and in 2012 went to work studying grizzly bears in southern Canada.