Dr. Nurzhafarina Binti Othman
Institut Biologi Tropika Dan Pemuliharaan, UMS
Nurzhafarina binti Othman or Farina, hailed from Kedah but live in Sabah for the last 18 years. She is very fortunate to be able to follow and observe daily activities and behavior of elephant groups at Lower Kinabatangan for almost four years and she enjoys learning the personality of these elephants. After she completed her Doctoral studies in 2018, she founded Pertubuhan Pemuliharaan Biodiversiti Sabah or locally known as “Seratu Aatai” with the mission to create a society that willing and capable to take responsibility to protect Bornean elephant in Sabah. She has also been involved in the various management aspect of Bornean elephant where she was a committee member during the establishment of the latest Action Plan for Bornean elephant. In 2015, she is recognized as one of the Disney Conservation Hero for her dedication to elephant conservation in Borneo and as the Top 8 of the Future for Nature Award 2020. Now, as a Senior Lecturer at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Farina hopes to inspire dan train the next generation of Malaysian conservationists. Elephants are close to her heart and she plans to continue working with this species in the future.
