Manager of Behavioral Sciences

Education

M.S.—Evolution, Ecology and Systematics, University of Missouri-St. Louis
Graduate Certificate in Tropical Ecology, University of Missouri-St. Louis
B.S.—Integrative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Areas of Expertise

Behavior monitoring and analysis
Environmental enrichment
Mate choice

About Eli Baskir

Eli’s career at the Saint Louis Zoo began as a Research intern in 2008. He studied mother-infant interactions in Grevy's zebra and Somali wild asses as well as mating behavior in pairs of Channel Island foxes. Beginning in the summer of 2010, Eli started working as an adjunct instructor of Biology at Jefferson College and as an interpreter in the Zoo's Education Department, delivering conservation messages to guests. In 2013, he rejoined the Research Department, and his role has expanded to managing dozens of Behavior Interns a year as well as designing, implementing, and analyzing data from multiple projects studying various animal species.

The Behavior Lab at the Saint Louis Zoo studies animal behavior in a variety of species and contexts. As Behavior Research Associate, Eli focuses on social and reproductive behaviors, as well as animal interactions with enrichment, exhibit use, and activity level to answer both research and management questions. Eli and the Behavior Lab work closely with the Zoo’s Endocrine Lab to correlate live or video-recorded observations with hormone measures.

Eli is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Statistics at Washington University. His Research Gate profile can be found here.