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Zoologist
Studies animals — their behavior, biology, genetics, and ecosystems.
Did you know?
Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees use tools — previously thought to be uniquely human
How subjects help
- Biology: Watch how animals hunt, court and raise their young to understand why they behave that way.
- Chemistry: Analyse hair or droppings to learn what an animal eats and how stressed it is.
- Mathematics: Count animals in sample areas to estimate the size of a whole population.
- Environmental Science: Study how a new road or dam changes where animals live and feed.
A famous name
Dian Fossey: Studied mountain gorillas in Rwanda for nearly 20 years and fought to protect them from poachers.
Try it yourself: Watch an animal for ten minutes
- Choose an animal and stay still and quiet so you don't disturb it. Don't touch or chase it.
- Make a tally of what it does: eating, moving, resting, calling, grooming.
- Draw one feature that helps it survive, like a beak shape, legs or colour.
- What was it doing most? What question would you want to answer next time?
Zoologists observe animals patiently, often for hours, recording what they really do rather than what we expect.
Also try: How many fish can be caught?.
Known for it in
USA, UK, Australia, South Africa, Costa Rica