The Zoology Ramblings Podcast

Welcome to the twenty-fifth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! This week we begin by sharing some quick nature and conservation news, and then onto the species of the week! This time, Robi talks about the fascinating brown hyenas and how they might (or might not) actually be living members of an extinct genus - taxonomy nerds, this one’s for you! Emma talks about the invasive American signal crayfish and how it’s come to dominate British waterways. For the local conservation story, the dynamic duo talk about community-based stories of people drawing inspiration from taking action for nature at the local scale, as well as delving into a recent fear-mongering article about great white sharks “allegedly” spotted in Ireland. For the global conservation story, the team tackle a bizarre proposal to kill 1.5 million barred owls in the USA, and then celebrate the amazing female rangers of the North Luangwa Valley. Robi Watkinson is a Conservation Biologist and wildlife filmmaker specialising in the spatial and movement ecology of large carnivores, camera trapping survey methods, rewilding, metapopulation dynamics and conservation planning. He has an MSc in Conservation Biology from the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, and the Institute of Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town. He is based between Cape Town and London, and has strong interests in equitable and inclusive conservation, palaeontology and wildlife taxonomy and evolution! Emma Hodson is Zoologist and wildlife content creator, currently working in the community and engagement team at Avon Wildlife Trust. Emma’s role as a Wildlife Champions Coordinator involves supporting and upskilling people to take action for nature in their local communities. Emma has experience in remote wildlife fieldwork, and has been part of Arctic fox, macaw and cetacean research teams in Iceland, Peru and Wales respectively. She has also been involved in animal care and rehabilitation work in Costa Rica and South Africa. Emma is particularly passionate about the interface between community engagement and wildlife monitoring, and enjoys running workshops and giving talks on topics including camera trapping, beaver ecology and rewilding.  You can follow more of our weird and wonderful wildlife adventures on instagram: @thezoologyramblingspodcast & @robi_watkinson_wildlife & @emma_hodson_wildlife To get exclusive access to podcast notes, background research and references, consider supporting our Patreon (link to come), where you can get all sorts of extra goodies and Zoology Ramblings merch!

Welcome to the twenty-fourth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! This is the first of a new episode structure for the ZR podcast: most episodes will follow the normal structure - News, Species of the Week, Local Conservation Story, Global Conservation Story - but every other episode, we will be doing a “Deep Dive” into a potential species reintroduction! At the end of each “Deep Dive”, we will rank the species in question out of 10, and ask our lovely listeners on which species you’d like to hear more about on the next Deep Dive! So for our news this week, we talk about the bizarre, slimy, jawless hagfish, and the discovery of tree-dwelling shrimp the size of a grain of sand! And for the deep dive, the dynamic duo delve into how European bison were almost completely eradicated from Europe, and how restoration efforts and careful breeding have allowed bison numbers to recover across the continent. Get ready for in-depth discussions on the numerous ecological benefits that bison provide, and look at how we can learn from African conservationists on how to manage metapopulations of megaherbivores. Robi Watkinson is a Conservation Biologist and wildlife filmmaker specialising in the spatial and movement ecology of large carnivores, camera trapping survey methods, rewilding, metapopulation dynamics and conservation planning. He has an MSc in Conservation Biology from the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, and the Institute of Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town. He is based between Cape Town and London, and has strong interests in equitable and inclusive conservation, palaeontology and wildlife taxonomy and evolution! Emma Hodson is Zoologist and wildlife content creator, currently working in the community and engagement team at Avon Wildlife Trust. Emma’s role as a Wildlife Champions Coordinator involves supporting and upskilling people to take action for nature in their local communities. Emma has experience in remote wildlife fieldwork, and has been part of Arctic fox, macaw and cetacean research teams in Iceland, Peru and Wales respectively. She has also been involved in animal care and rehabilitation work in Costa Rica and South Africa. Emma is particularly passionate about the interface between community engagement and wildlife monitoring, and enjoys running workshops and giving talks on topics including camera trapping, beaver ecology and rewilding.  You can follow more of our weird and wonderful wildlife adventures on instagram: @thezoologyramblingspodcast & @robi_watkinson_wildlife & @emma_hodson_wildlife To get exclusive access to podcast notes, background research and references, consider supporting our Patreon (link to come), where you can get all sorts of extra goodies and Zoology Ramblings merch!

Welcome to the twenty-third episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! This week, for the news section, the dynamic duo got together to speak at a Pride Community Campfire that Emma hosted for the Avon Wildlife Trust, followed by a wonderful conversation about the innate queerness of nature featuring lesbian bonobos and elephant orgies … as you do! For the species of the week, Robi pitches the majestic Iberian lynx and Emma puts forward the unusual whistling dogs of Asia, the dholes. For their UK conservation section, Robi and Emma delve into the recent story of “Panthera” genus DNA found wild in the UK, and whether this evidence is enough to prove that big cats are living wild in Britain. For the global conservation section, the pair talk about the Festival of Nature that celebrates action being taken for biodiversity. Robi Watkinson is a Conservation Biologist and wildlife filmmaker specialising in the spatial and movement ecology of large carnivores, camera trapping survey methods, rewilding, metapopulation dynamics and conservation planning. He has an MSc in Conservation Biology from the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, and the Institute of Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town. He is based between Cape Town and London, and has strong interests in equitable and inclusive conservation, palaeontology and wildlife taxonomy and evolution! Emma Hodson is Zoologist and wildlife content creator, currently working in the community and engagement team at Avon Wildlife Trust. Emma’s role as a Wildlife Champions Coordinator involves supporting and upskilling people to take action for nature in their local communities. Emma has experience in remote wildlife fieldwork, and has been part of Arctic fox, macaw and cetacean research teams in Iceland, Peru and Wales respectively. She has also been involved in animal care and rehabilitation work in Costa Rica and South Africa. Emma is particularly passionate about the interface between community engagement and wildlife monitoring, and enjoys running workshops and giving talks on topics including camera trapping, beaver ecology and rewilding.  You can follow more of our weird and wonderful wildlife adventures on instagram: @thezoologyramblingspodcast & @robi_watkinson_wildlife & @emma_hodson_wildlife To get exclusive access to podcast notes, background research and references, consider supporting our Patreon (link to come), where you can get all sorts of extra goodies and Zoology Ramblings merch!

Welcome to the twenty-second episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! We begin this episode with a poignant discussion of Emma’s attendance of the Funeral of Nature in Bath, and a more light-hearted discussion of Robi’s recent sightings of the rare bat hawks in the Okavango Delta! For our species of the week, the dynamic duo discuss the weird, cow-stomached hoatzins, and two new species of deer and anaconda described in South America! For the local conservation topic, the pair scrutinise the UK governments new bovine tuberculosis consultation - a policy which fails badgers, fails farmers and fails cattle. For the global conservation section, Emma and Robi discuss a recent workshop Robi attended in South Africa, looking at how AI and footprint tracking are being used in conservation, and then share stories about satellite tagging crocodiles, and Skywalker gibbons in Myanmar! Robi Watkinson is a Conservation Biologist and wildlife filmmaker specialising in the spatial and movement ecology of large carnivores, camera trapping survey methods, rewilding, metapopulation dynamics and conservation planning. He has an MSc in Conservation Biology from the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, and the Institute of Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town. He is based between Cape Town and London, and has strong interests in equitable and inclusive conservation, palaeontology and wildlife taxonomy and evolution! Emma Hodson is Zoologist and wildlife content creator, currently working in the community and engagement team at Avon Wildlife Trust. Emma’s role as a Wildlife Champions Coordinator involves supporting and upskilling people to take action for nature in their local communities. Emma has experience in remote wildlife fieldwork, and has been part of Arctic fox, macaw and cetacean research teams in Iceland, Peru and Wales respectively. She has also been involved in animal care and rehabilitation work in Costa Rica and South Africa. Emma is particularly passionate about the interface between community engagement and wildlife monitoring, and enjoys running workshops and giving talks on topics including camera trapping, beaver ecology and rewilding.  You can follow more of our weird and wonderful wildlife adventures on instagram: @thezoologyramblingspodcast & @robi_watkinson_wildlife & @emma_hodson_wildlife To get exclusive access to podcast notes, background research and references, consider supporting our Patreon (link to come), where you can get all sorts of extra goodies and Zoology Ramblings merch!