Kai Ting Yeo
Kai Ting is also an official Nominator of The Earthshot Prize. Wildly passionate with wildlife conservation, she is currently into her ninth year volunteering with Mandai Wildlife Group in two roles, both of which are related to primates. In her role as a wildlife ranger, she is fully-trained to confidently manage conflict and interaction between wild long-tailed macaques frequenting the zoo premises and guests. She also collects useful data on the macaque behaviour that could be used for future wildlife mitigation strategies. She is also a docent in the Primarily Primates section, where she specialises in creating public awareness of primate species, including orangutans, black-and-white colobus, and ring-tailed lemurs, and conservation issues relating to their wild counterparts. She’s also got bird care of parrots and rainforest species under her wings, while volunteering as a keeper at the Jurong BirdPark over four years while in high school.
In 2024, Kai Ting spent a month living in Botswana, Africa as part of her postgraduate (Master of Science in Wildlife Forensic Sciences and Conservation) with the University of Florida. Through experience out in the field, she bolstered knowledge surrounding unique interdisciplinary wildlife conservation issues faced by scientists, conservationists and local communities. There, she had hands-on veterinary training and implemented research tasks including remote tranquilisation methods, use of wildlife tracking technology(telemetry and trail cameras), and ear notching and collaring of white rhinos, African elephants, brown hyenas, and African lions. She also had the opportunity to deep-dive into issues like human-wildlife conflict, wildlife forensic investigations, wildlife and livestock management and mitigation; encroaching development, eco-tourism and environmental degradation.
Kai Ting has built a name as an expert media storyteller who can break down difficult science and environment concepts into relatable stories that attract audiences from all walks of life. She has also clinched interviews with high profile interviewees such as Dr Sylvia Earle, Jacinda Ardern (Former Prime Minister of New Zealand), Andrew Mercer (Deputy Minister for Energy, Republic of Ghana); H.E. Mattias Frumerie (Chief Climate Negotiator, Kingdom of Sweden); and Emmy-award winning Canadian filmmaker Richie Mehta, who directed a series called “Poacher”, just to name a few.
