Meet the team

Nick Lindsay - Head of International Programmes

Nick Lindsay transferred to the Head of International Zoo Programmes from the post of Senior Curator for ZSL where he was responsible for the management of the two animal collections at ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.

Before joining ZSL Nick was a keeper for 14 years at Jersey Zoo (now Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) becoming Curator of Mammals in 1979.

Nick, therefore, has extensive knowledge of all aspects of management of a wild animal collection, as well as full understanding of the role zoos have to play in conservation of wildlife.

Prior to moving to a management position at ZSL, Nick had spent three years on the frontline working on a captive breeding and reintroduction programme for gazelles in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. From this work, in addition to more recent work for ZSL, Nick is a member of the IUCN SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group. The gazelle reintroduction programme is still one of the largest projects of its kind and a tremendous example of the benefits of this approach to conservation.

Nick heads the ZSL programme for the Recovery of South Asian Vultures involving the establishments of large breeding centres for three species of Gyps vultures in India and Nepal, find out more.

Nick is Chair of the EAZA Rhinoceros Taxon Advisory Group and EEP Coordinator for Nile lechwe (Kobus megaceros). He is a committee member of the EAZA Conservation Committee and the EAZA Technical Advice and Animal Welfare Committee and a member of the IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding and the Bison Specialist Groups.

Heather Koldewey is ZSL’s Curator, Aquarium Projects

brings to IZP a wealth of experience in aquariums. Heather is able to advise on:

Aquarium Design

Heather became the Curator of the Aquarium and Reptile House at London Zoo in 1997 and went on to become Senior Curator of the Aquarium in 2003. At the beginning of 2007 her position changed to reflect her role in the design and build of ZSL’s new aquatic conservation centre, Biota!. Heather has gained extensive experience in aquarium management and the husbandry of a wide variety of marine and freshwater fish and aquatic invertebrate species. She gained experience in aquarium design through the development of the aquatic components of the BUGS! exhibit at ZSL London Zoo which opened in 1999. She has built on this ever since, most notably with the development of Biota!

Aquatic research

Following a First Class honours degree at the University of Plymouth, she completed a PhD at the University of Wales (Swansea). Her research established novel, practical genetic techniques to monitor the movement and breeding of trout in English and Welsh rivers for use in fisheries management. She has maintained an active research interest and is a Research Fellow of the Institute of Zoology, publishes regularly in peer reviewed journals and supervises MSc and PhD students.

Aquatic Species Conservation

Since starting at ZSL, Heather has worked to advance the role of aquariums in fish conservation globally. In 1998, she facilitated a series of workshops that established the first co-ordinated conservation breeding programmes for fish and aquatic invertebrates in European aquariums. She has co-chaired this initiative (the Fish and Aquatic Invertebrate Taxon Advisory Group under both the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the European Union of Aquarium Curators) since its inception.

Historically, aquariums have not been well connected to conservation of animals in their natural habitats. Heather has developed a more direct engagement in marine and freshwater conservation efforts: She was part of a team that rediscovered a fish in Mexico that was thought to be extinct. She led a small team to a remote archipelago in northern Mozambique to conduct the first ever underwater surveys of the area. She initiated surveys of the fish biodiversity in a National Park in western Nepal, training Nepalese biologists. Her team are actively engaged in field conservation efforts for Greek killifish, Brazilian ornamental fish, native pink sea fans, European seahorses, and the reefs of the Chagos archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory).

In 1996, Heather co-founded Project Seahorse (Project Seahorse) and is now Associate Director. Seahorses are used a flagship species to address diverse and complex marine conservation issues. For example, she leads a team of biologists and social workers in the Philippines that have catalysed the creation of 27 locally-enforced marine sanctuaries and the development of an alliance of more than 800 subsistence fishers. Globally, Project Seahorse’s technical expertise led to 169 countries listing seahorses as the first marine fish of commercial importance to be managed by CITES (Convention of Trade in Endangered Species). This was followed shortly after by the first listing of shark species under CITES.

Heather is also currently Chair of the Fish Section of the IUCN Re-introduction Specialist Group, a board member of the Shark Trust and the Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation Inc., Philippines and a Special Advisor to the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums Marine Fish and Freshwater Fish TAG.