Hans Larsson was born on July 15, 1971, in Edmonton, Canada. He grew up in a rural area with his younger brother, Stig and younger sister, Ingrid.

Hans' parents are from Sweden and all of the family speaks Swedish in addition to English. The family kept lots of pets, including three dogs, five horses, five cats, forty rabbits and some chickens.

Growing up in the country allowed Hans to spend a lot of time outdoors skiing, horseback riding and fishing. He also liked to model cars, draw and play saxophone, clarinet and piano. Hans went to elementary and high school in Ontario.

He then moved to Montreal to attend McGill University where he studied evolutionary biology. Hans spent many summers doing field work at Dinosaur Provincial Park, in Alberta. Hans is currently a graduate student in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago, where he is studying the way animals grow from embryos into adults and how that relates to their evolutionary history. This expedition will be his fourth to Africa. He was also a team member in the 1996 Expedition to Argentina. Hans is looking forward to seeing the diverse West African wildlife and hopes the team will discover a new carnivorous dinosaur, "with an awesome skull!"

Read Principal Player:
An interview with veteran expedition member
Hans Larsson