STEVE BOYES is a biologist and ecologist, a National Geographic Fellow, a TED Senior Fellow, and the mastermind and director of the decade-long Okavango Wilderness Project. A seventh-generation South African, he is also the scientific director of the Wild Bird Trust, which grew out of his early work studying and protecting the Cape parrot. He spends large portions of each year on expedition, and also travels throughout Africa and elsewhere to raise awareness and support on behalf of the wildlife and waterways of central Africa. He lives with his wife and children in Paarl, South Africa.