At the beginning of my doctoral research, I had no knowledge about tsetse flies, except for a distant memory from high school mentioning that their bites transmit sleeping sickness. Unraveling the intricacies of their behavior emerged as the most fascinating aspect of my research. Understanding why they behave the way they do and translating these behaviors into meaningful insights using satellite data became a thrilling endeavor.

Initially, because tsetse flies feed only on blood, I thought that their eradication might have little impact on the ecosystem, particularly considering their absence as pollinators. However, as my learning and research progressed, I realized that the existence of tsetse flies contributes to the delicate balance of biodiversity conservation in Africa. I learned that their complete removal could pose a significant threat to the biodiversity in Africa because their absence in protected zones could lead to a surge in human encroachment.

While the negative impacts of tsetse flies in areas where they coexist with humans and livestock cannot be minimized, the paradoxical dilemma — to kill or not to kill — embodies the intricate interplay between public health and biodiversity conservation, urging us to carefully weigh the consequences of our actions on both fronts.