The Akongo team

Sharing experiences, ideas, inspiration with scientists, zoo teams, field researchers, visitors... to bring you more and more appropriate and innovative solutions for the benefit of the animals concerned and arouse interest for the protection of the extraordinary flora and fauna that surround us all over the world.

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Amélie Romain, PhD


Director of AKONGO consulting, animal welfare scientist


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Léa Briard, PhD


Research engineer, Animal behaviour specialist


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Joseph Caspar Cohen, MSc


Research engineer, Animal behaviour specialist


Louise Loyant

Louise Loyant, PhD, DVM


Research engineer, Animal behaviour specialist, Veterinarian

Meet the team

Dr. Amélie Romain


Director of AKONGO consulting, PhD, animal welfare scientist

Amélie Romain undertook her PhD project in Biology and Animal Behaviour at the French National Research Institute (CNRS) in Strasbourg, in the Department of Evolutionary Ethology. During this time and ever since, Amélie Romain has divided her working life between fieldwork in Africa in national parks, working with great apes in Gabon and Congo, and research projects in various European zoos, including Besançon, Leipzig and Edinburgh. Passionate about wildlife and animal behaviour, she strongly believes that zoos are great places with a great responsibility to help visitors understand the value of wildlife in its native environment.

Nora Loudiyi



Biology and Animal behaviour specialist

Nora Loudiyi worked in Australia on a pygmy penguins’ conservation program. Back in France, Nora has four years of experience as mammals’ curator in Besançon zoo and Thoiry, zoos that differ in terms of surface area, collections and visitor numbers, but sharing common objectives on cultural activities, conservation programs, awareness campaigns and visitor education.

Dr. Mylène Chaumette


PhD, animal welfare scientist
Director of Ethope (Canada)

Ethope et AKONGO work together to share member’s experience and ensure a high standard quality of service in Europe and North-America.

The huge interest for animals conducted Mylène Chaumette to study animal biology and more specifically Animal behavioural science. She did her first experiences in ethology with monkeys and great apes in France and Gabon. Then, she decided to specialize in canine behaviour by doing a PhD with pet dogs at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Austria).

Membership

Our team are members of:

  • SFECA (French Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour)
  • ASAB (Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour)
  • EHBEA (The European Human Behaviour and Evolution Association