Rebecca Spindler

Rebecca Spindler (born in Melbourne) is an Australian zoologist, researcher, and conservationist. She is the head of science and conservation at non-profit conservation organisation Bush Heritage Australia, and an adjunct professor at the University of New South Wales. She previously worked with the Taronga Conservation Society and was the manager of research and conservation at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

Her research has focused on animal reproduction and has contributed to improved health and conservation of animals including giant pandas in China and jaguars in the Amazon. She established the Taronga Green Grants program to support community conservation projects.

Early life and education
Spindler completed a PhD on marsupial reproduction at the University of Melbourne in 1997.

Career
After completing her doctorate, Spindler left Australia for 10 years, working at the Smithsonian Institute in the United States and at the Toronto Zoo in Canada. She worked at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, where she managed a laboratory and integrated reproduction, her own area of expertise with other disciplines of science to conserve species. She spent five giant panda breeding seasons in the Wolong Nature Reserve, coordinating the Smithsonian's Giant Panda and Wild China Programmes. During this same period she established the Neotropical Carnivore Initiative and with colleagues throughout the Americas, embarking on a multidisciplinary program aimed at improving the health, reproduction and conservation of jaguars.

In 2007, she joined the team at Taronga as manager of research and conservation, coordinating and facilitating the research of the zoo science team investigating wildlife health, ecology, behaviour, reproduction, genetics and nutrition. Spindler also helped Taronga protect species and their habitats through the Taronga Field Conservation Grants.