Smithsonian Journeys Experts

Dr. Tempe Adams is an Australian conservation ecologist who has been based in northern Botswana since 2012 and works in elephant conservation and research throughout Africa’s savanna elephant range. She has a deep passion for improving human-wildlife coexistence by combining modern technology, indigenous knowledge, our understanding of ecology, and strong community relationships to build meaning conservation polices. She previously held several roles at the Botswana-based wildlife NGO Elephants Without Borders, investigating how humans and elephants can coexist in Africa for her PhD, leading innovative research and educational studies as co-existence and education manager, and conducting aerial wildlife surveys.

Tempe holds adjunct scholar positions with the Okavango Research Institute at the University of Botswana and with her alma mater, the University of New South Wales. In these positions, she teaches and supervises post-graduate students from both Botswana and Australia in their conservation research projects within Botswana.

Tempe’s work has been published in several scientific publications and featured in an array of media platforms including the BBC, The Sunday Times, CNN, and National Geographic to name a few.