David Macdonald (biologist)

David Whyte Macdonald CBE FRSE (born 1951) is a British zoologist and conservation biologist. He first became internationally known for his early research on red foxes, which led to award-winning documentary films and books, as well as contributions to wildlife conservation policy. He is best known as the founder of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at the University of Oxford, established in 1986, which he directed for 35 years. Macdonald is a Senior Research Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford with the Title of Distinction of Professor of Wildlife Conservation at the University of Oxford. He has been an active conservation biologist since graduating from Oxford in 1972, where he earned a BA (1972), MA (1973), DPhil (1977) and DSc (2004).