caro gained his bachelor's degree in zoology at cambridge university in 1973, and his doctorate in psychology at the university of st andrews in 1979. he was a professor of wildlife biology at university of california davis, in the departments of population biology and wildlife and fish conservation biology. he is currently a professor of biology at the university of bristol. he has studied the colour polymorphism of coconut crabs, the conservation of fragments of forest, and the function of coloration in mammals, especially zebra stripes.