The Wildlife Ecologist

By Chelsé Craig

Dr. Ivana Mali (faculty) saves the world one turtle at a time! Born and raised in Serbia, Dr. Mali is a herpetologist with a passion for turtles. She received her Master of Science and Ph.D. at Texas State University and has focused her career on freshwater turtle research. In 2015, Dr. Mali decided to pursue her love of teaching and is currently an assistant professor of wildlife biology at ENMU.

The University offers a unique experience for her students with a wildlife preserve behind the old Greyhound Stadium. “Not many universities have the land where professors can take students … we really cherish it!” Dr. Mali’s transition, into academia was challenging, in an effort to find the balance between her research and the classroom, but she explained that when you love what you do, there really are no obstacles. “It’s been very rewarding seeing students get excited about their research and succeed in my classroom. I don’t make it easy for them. They will tell you that!”

Dr. Ivana Mali is an ENMU assistant professor of wildlife biology, and the director of the Gennaro Natural History Live Exhibit.

Photo by Chelsé Craig

In fall 2016, Dr. Mali established the Mali Lab at ENMU where students assist her research on the threatened Western River Cooter Turtle, graduate students work on thesis projects, and undergraduate students assist in collecting the data. “ENMU has been very supportive,” she said. The lab received internal research grants for a study on the disease ecology of rodents last year. This year, the grants have allowed the lab to set up game cameras to monitor vertebrate animals that use prairie dog burrows and to study soft ticks that often inhabit these burrows using fluorescent dye. “When it comes to this region, the wildlife is so diverse and everything is so undersurveyed,” observed Dr. Mali. “Very rarely do people come over here to do research … It’s a great opportunity.”

Besides her role as an assistant professor and researcher, Dr. Mali is director of the Gennaro Natural History Live Exhibit, the sponsor of the campus Wildlife and Fishery Club, and she is working to educate the public about box turtles. “They’re cute! Everybody loves them and wants to take them home and you can’t really do that.” Box turtles are threatened and although they are commonly found in this area, they are rare to find elsewhere.

Dr. Mali lives by the idea that you should do what you love. “I spend my summer camping in the desert, working [to collect data on the Cooter] with students ... A lot of people will hear that and think, ‘Oh my goodness, you worked all summer!’ But my turtle trapping trips are my vacation because that’s what I love doing.”

To learn more about the Mali Lab and Dr. Mali’s research, go to: imwildlife.weebly.com