WCS Wild Audio

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WCS Wild Audio Introduces "Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant" Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

While we're busy preparing our second season of WCS Wild Audio, we wanted to share a podcast from our friends over at PBS. "Going Wild," hosted by wildlife ecologist and Nat Geo explorer Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, explores the personal stories and human drama behind a life in conservation.
In today’s episode, you’ll join Dr. Wynn-Grant as she travels to Panama to study jaguars, with her toddler in tow - definitely giving a whole new meaning to “take your child to work day!” That’s just one glimpse into what it’s like being a wildlife conservationist – and a black female scientist at that. There are many more heart-pounding, and heartfelt, stories in the new season of "Going Wild."
If you like what you hear, follow "Going Wild with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant" on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, or your favorite podcast app. And tell them we sent you!

Last Season on WCS Wild Audio Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

Thanks for joining us for Season One of WCS Wild Audio. We'll be back on November 29th with new stories from the Wildlife Conservation Society’s field sites, zoos and aquarium, and conservation partners. In the meantime, check out some of the highlights of our conversations with WCS staff from across the world working to protect wildlife and wild places.

S1 E14: Talking Climate Adaptation During New York Climate Week Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

Timed to the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Climate Week brings together global leaders in business, government, and the climate community. This year, the theme is “Getting It Done,” so Wild Audio asked WCS climate adaptation scientist Lauren Oakes what she thinks about when it comes to adaptive strategies to confront the climate crisis.

S1 E13: More Trees, Fewer Cows: Protecting Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve for People and Wildlife Sep 15, 2022

Show notes

The Selva Maya represents the largest continuous forest in Central America. Encompassing parts of Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, it includes Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve, where a government campaign to target illegal ranching is reversing years of destructive deforestation. Wild Audio checked in with WCS Guatemala Country Director Gabriela Ponce Santizo to find out what that means for the people of the region and the wildlife that lives there.

S1 E12: Protection of Big Cat Prey in Laos Might Aid a Return of the “Big Guy” Sep 08, 2022

Show notes

Big cats today face multiple threats—from poaching and habitat loss to snares and human conflict. But also key to their survival is the presence of preferred prey. The WCS Laos program’s Akchousanh Rasphone knows which species are prized on the menu of the country’s clouded leopards and, one day, might help sustain a return of “the big guy,” as she refers to the tiger—now functionally extinct in Laos.

S1 E11: Monitoring Biodiversity at the Top of the World Aug 31, 2022

Show notes

More and more scientists today are using environmental DNA—or eDNA—to identify species or organisms inhabiting a particular area by measuring genetic traces found in water, soil, or air. In 2019, a group of researchers co-led by WCS’s Tracie Seimon surveyed Mt. Everest to explore high elevation biodiversity there using eDNA. Now that they have begun publishing their findings, WCS Wild Audio checked in with Tracie to find out what they learned.

S1 E10: A New Internship Program to Promote Greater Equity and Diversity in the Conservation Field Aug 25, 2022

Show notes

Internships in the science and conservation field have for too long failed to reach the full diversity of young people. To address that inequity, the WCS Education Department—based at the Bronx Zoo and led by Karen Tingley—recently launched a new internship program designed to proactively help more young people get a head start on a conservation career. Nat Moss spoke with Karen for WCS Wild Audio to learn more.

S1 E9: From Climate to Cannoli - Leveraging Conservation Science in the Policy Arena Aug 16, 2022

Show notes

Science is at the heart of effective conservation. It factors into everything WCS does at its global field sites and its New York City-based zoos and aquarium to better understand wildlife and wild places. But translating that knowledge into policy and action requires creative engagement with the public and lawmakers. Executive Vice President for Public Affairs John Calvelli oversees that effort in the U.S. and recently discussed with Wild Audio why it’s so important.

S1 E8: Peatlands - The Carbon Storage Powerhouse Protecting Us from Climate Change Aug 09, 2022

Show notes

Any discussion of climate change must consider the role of peatlands. These water-soaked ecosystems comprised of decaying mosses and other plant matter cover a mere 3 percent of the earth’s surface yet store more carbon than all of the world’s forests. But a debate in Canada now pits the mining of minerals essential to renewable energy against protection of critical peatlands. To learn more, WCS Wild Audio checked in with Lorna Harris, a scientist and the program lead for WCS Canada’s national program for Forests, Peatlands, and Climate Change.

S1 E7: Good News for Wild Tigers Aug 02, 2022

Show notes

When the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN, recently reported that wild tiger numbers had increased by 40 percent since 2010, WCS Tiger Species Coordinator Dale Miquelle wasn’t surprised. He was one of several scientists who contributed to the report. WCS Wild Audio’s Nat Moss recently caught up with him to find out what’s making the difference in tiger conservation today.

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