WCS Wild Audio

Latest Episodes:

S6 E11: Freedom to Roam | Defending the Guanaco’s Grassland Home Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

Guanacos—fleet-footed cousins of the llama—roam the windswept grasslands of South America in one of the world’s longest overland migrations. But fences, hunting, and competition with livestock are putting their survival at risk.

Ahead of the 2nd International Guanaco Day, WCS Argentina is joining forces with local communities and the government to secure vast migration corridors, promote sustainable livelihoods, and bring guanaco populations back from the brink.

From live—shearing innovations to landmark land protection, this story reveals how conservation is turning the tide for these resilient creatures—and why their future matters for ecosystems and people alike.

Reporting: Hannah Kaplan

Guests: Dr Andrés Novaro, Dr. Susan Lieberman

S6 E10: WCS’s New York Aquarium Helps Rescue Confiscated Corals Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

Recently, staff at WCS’s New York Aquarium got a call from the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The authorities had intercepted an illegal shipment of corals and they needed WCS’s help. When corals come into the country like this, they typically can’t be returned to the wild. So the Fish and Wildlife Service turns to accredited facilities like the New York Aquarium to care for the animals.

Reporting: Dan Rosen

Guests: Aaron Brett, Camilla Piechocki

S6 E9: The Graduate Scholarship Program Jun 26, 2025

Show notes

Talented, passionate local conservation leaders are critical for the durable conservation of wildlife and wild places around the world. To address the need for them, WCS launched the Graduate Scholarship Program in 1996 to provide financial support for the highest quality, graduate-level academic training to promising conservationists.

Over its nearly 30 years, the program has awarded 163 scholarships to conservationists from 42 different countries to pursue advanced degrees. With those skills, recipients are able return home and make a significant impact on their countries.

They now lead conservation efforts in governments, universities, local organizations, and WCS itself—building lasting conservation capacity from within and delivering tangible conservation results on the ground.

Reporting: Dan Rosen

Guests: Denise Garcia, Richard Malonga, Peter Umunay

S6 E8: The WCS 30x30 Ocean Accelerator Is Leveraging $40 Million for Marine Conservation Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

Participants from around the world have gathered in Nice this week for the third United Nations Oceans Conference. It’s an opportunity to assess the current state of marine conservation and seek ambitious new opportunities to achieve progress toward ocean protection. WCS was there with a big announcement to make.

Reporting: Nat Moss

Guests: Stacy Jupiter, Pamela Castillo

The 30x30 Ocean Accelerator is made possible through funding support from the Thomas L. Kempner, Jr. Foundation, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, BlackRock, The Tiffany & Co. Foundation, the Shark Conservation Fund, and several other visionary private donors, with multilateral partners now engaged to expand its reach.

S6 E7: Small Fish, Big Impact May 28, 2025

Show notes

In today’s episode, we journey to the heart of the Amazon Basin—home to the largest freshwater system on Earth. These waterways don’t just support rich biodiversity—they’re a vital source of food and nutrition for millions across South America, where fish are often the most affordable and accessible source of protein.

But this life-sustaining resource is under threat. Mercury contamination, overfishing, and the pressures of a globalized food market are putting fish populations—and the health of the people who rely on them—at risk. In this episode, we explore how conservationists are working to reimagine food systems in the Amazon—blending traditional knowledge with science to protect rivers, restore fisheries, and ensure a healthy, sustainable future for communities and ecosystems alike.

Reporting: Hannah Kaplan

Guests: Silvia López Casas, Sebastian Heilpern

S6 E6: This Endangered Species Day, Uncovering the Secrets of the Rainforest May 09, 2025

Show notes

A leopard. A giant pangolin. A group of forest elephants. They can be almost impossible to spot in the wild. But in February, WCS and wildlife photographer Will Burrard-Lucas released a series of high definition camera trap photos of these species and more from the Republic of Congo’s Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park. The hope is that sharing these remarkable pictures of rarely seen animals in their natural environment will inspire people to protect them.

See some of the photos: https://www.wcs.org/get-involved/updates/unseen-rainforest

Reporting: Dan Rosen

Guest: Will Burrard-Lucas

S6 E5: The Conservation Leadership Programme Turns 40 May 07, 2025

Show notes

For four decades, the Conservation Leadership Programme, or CLP, has been providing critical early career funding awards to emerging conservationists. Born out of a partnership between Birdlife International, Fauna & Flora, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, the CLP has opened the door countless scientists working across the globe in countries rich in biodiversity but often lacking resources for their protection. As the program turns 40, we checked in with a few alumni to hear how the program has helped them to advance in their journey to become conservation leaders.

Reporting: Nat Moss

Guests: Camila Kass, Jorge Parra, Deepshikha Sharma

S6 E4: This Earth Day, Working to Save the Heart of the Wild Apr 17, 2025

Show notes

As Earth Day turns 55 this year, it seemed like a good moment to reflect on WCS’s mission to protect wildlife and wild places. Why does the protection of biodiversity carry with it so many other benefits for people and the planet? What are the approaches that work and what are the challenges? And what can the average person do to make it a priority in their lives? WCS Wild Audio knew just the right person to ask.

Reporting: Nat Moss

Guest: Dr. Elizabeth Bennett

S6 E3: Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant & Peter Gros of NBC’s Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Host “Family Day” at the REEL WILD™ New York Film Festival, April 5 Apr 02, 2025

Show notes

In Part 3 of our series featuring the inaugural REEL WILD New York Film Festival, which launches in New York City this week, we talk to the hosts of the popular television series Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom “Protecting the Wild.” They’ll be on hand for the screening of several of the show’s episodes in an exciting and inviting family-friendly program on Saturday, April 5.

Reporting: Nat Moss

Guests: Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, Peter Gros

To learn more about the festival and purchase tickets, go to https://www.wcs.org/reelwild

S6 E2: Stories That Inspire, Films That Matter | REEL WILD™ New York Film Festival Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

In the second episode of our three-part series on WCS's REEL WILD New York Film Festival, we go behind the scenes to uncover the inspiration behind this inaugural event celebrating remarkable filmmakers and extraordinary wildlife stories from around the globe.

From Namibia’s resilient desert lions to a massive annual walrus gathering in the Russian Arctic, this year’s lineup aims not only to captivate audiences but also to spark meaningful conservation action. Hannah Kaplan has this report.

Get your tickets for The REEL WILD™ NEW YORK Film Festival: reelwild.org

Reporting: Hannah Kaplan

Guests: Natalie Cash, John Calvelli

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