I come from Vietnam, and am currently a third-year undergraduate at the University of Queensland, undertaking the courses of Environmental Science, with a major in Ecology and Conservation. As a part of the Southeast Asian populace, I find it concerning how little conservation efforts are recognised. Hunting endangered species has also become so repetitive on news sources, the population have grown desensitised, further exacerbated by traditions of exotic medicine and cuisine.

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That is why when I came to Australia, another tropical haven of exotic species, EPBC and environmental acts that gave voice to conservation efforts were a pleasant surprise. As Lady Luck would have it, I met Matthew and his lab colleagues and students who share the same concern for various species in Southeast Asia. My research interests are the Greater hog badger and Sumatran hog badger, two similar species with hog-like snouts and statutory of a cat with big claws. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with amazing lab partners and on such interesting species that I never would have thought of back in Vietnam!