Liza Lehrer will introduce the bats of Chicago, discuss their conservation status, dispel some common myths, and dig into her research at at Lincoln Park Zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute that seeks to understand how habitat in the region can be designed to best support this at-risk taxa.
Assistant Director of Lincoln Park Zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute and the Chicago Lead for the zoo's Urban Wildlife Information Network, Liza Lehrer’s interest in wildlife began as a kid while digging through her backyard and looking for bugs and worms to scare her sister. In college, she studied zoology, spent a semester abroad in Australia, and held internships working with wildlife rehabilitation and studying the behavior of captive Mexican wolves.
After earning her degree in zoology, Liza worked as a research intern at Lincoln Park Zoo and later as animal records keeper. It was her work at the zoo, and life in Chicago, that led to her fascination with urban wildlife and her return to graduate school to study how urbanization affects survival, movement, and behavior of an urban-adapter species: the woodchuck.
As assistant director of the Urban Wildlife Institute, Liza assists with strategic planning, coordinates partnerships, oversees wildlife management for the zoo’s Nature Boardwalk, and collaborates with the Learning department. She manages and collects data for several of the institute’s field research projects, including the Biodiversity Monitoring and Bat Monitoring projects, and is the Chicago lead for the Urban Wildlife Information Network.
Liza’s research interests include landscape, behavioral, and acoustical ecology; managing human-wildlife conflict; and the design of wildlife-friendly cities. She is endlessly fascinated by the resiliency and behavioral flexibility of animals, especially those that live in cities.
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