André Couto
Field Officer of Rewilding Portugal
André Couto was born in 1990 in the center of Portugal, where he grew up exploring some of the oldest protected areas in the country, and helping with the traditional farming practiced by his family. Years later, his interest in zoology led to a BSc in Biology and an MSc in Applied Ecology at the University of Aveiro. During his studies, his passion for amphibians and reptiles took him to places like the brazilian Amazon or the mayan jungle of Calakmul. The contact with these truly wild and diverse places fueled his will to work in nature conservation and contribute to the restoration of natural landscapes in Europe.
In 2015, back in Portugal for his master’s thesis, he had the opportunity to live and work in Montesinho Natural Park, experiencing one of the most complete ecosystems in the country, with wolves and large herbivores, which evidenced the importance of natural processes and rewilding in creating opportunities for the environment and people. Between 2016 and 2018 he applied this philosophy as a conservation officer for the municipality of Lousada, in northwestern Portugal, where he worked with several groups of vertebrates, managing priority habitats for threathened species and collaborating in the creation of local protected areas.
André happily joined the Rewilding Portugal team in 2019, hoping to contribute to a wilder future in the Côa Valley and a better coexistence between man and nature.