Episodes
Monday Feb 22, 2010
The WildLife: Wildlife Veterinarian in Botswana, Steve Osofsky, Part I
Monday Feb 22, 2010
Monday Feb 22, 2010
Wildlife veterinarian Steve Osofsky begins the first of a two-part interview when he talks about his adventures as the first wildlife veterinarian in Botswana. He tells “The WildLife” host Laurel Neme some captivating stories – like how he played “MacGyver” and used locally available materials to run medical tests on eland, and when he stared down an angry elephant who’d woken up a might too soon after being darted and entered his helicopter before he did! Dr. Osofsky worked for years at the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas as the Director of Animal Health Services, where he cared for a variety of exotic game, before moving to Botswana in 1991 when he became the first Wildlife Veterinary Officer for Botswana’s Department of Wildlife and National Parks (in the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism). Since leaving Botswana, his career expanded well outside the bounds of a traditional veterinary clinical career into a variety of policy positions, including at the U.S. Agency for International Development and World Wildlife Fund. Since 2002, he’s been at the Wildlife Conservation Society, first as that organization’s first Senior Policy Advisor for Wildlife Health and now as Director of Wildlife Health Policy. In addition to his current position with WCS, Dr. Osofsky is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland and has served on eight International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (IUCN/SSC) Specialist Groups. This episode of “The WildLife” aired on The Radiator, WOMM-LP, 105.9 FM in Burlington, Vermont on February 22, 2010.
Monday Feb 15, 2010
The WildLife: Wild Cats, Lisa Tekancic & Creature Call Contest Answers
Monday Feb 15, 2010
Monday Feb 15, 2010
Lisa Tekancic, president of the WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society, discusses captive wild cats and the wild cat pet trade. She tells “The WildLife” host Laurel Neme about the history of wild cats in captivity, how captive wild cats are used for commercial purposes such as in the entertainment industry and the pet trade, and why this is a big problem for wild cats. Lisa Tekancic is an attorney in Washington, DC and founder and president of WildCat Conservation Legal Aid Society. Their mission is to protect and defend all native and non-native wildcats. She is an active member of the DC Bar’s Animal Law Committee and has organized and moderated two legal conferences: “Trafficking, Trade, and Transport of Wildlife,” and “Wildlife and the Law.” She presented a paper on the methodology of “Animal Ethics Committee” for the International Conference on Environmental Enrichment, and for four years was volunteer staff at the National Zoological Park’s, Cheetah Station. This podcast also features the answers for "The WildLife's first Creature Call Contest. This episode of “The WildLife” aired on The Radiator, WOMM-LP, 105.9 FM in Burlington, Vermont on February 15, 2010. Article and transcript available on Mongabay.com.
Monday Feb 08, 2010
The Wildlife: Amphibian Trade, Alejandra Goyenechea
Monday Feb 08, 2010
Monday Feb 08, 2010
Alejandra Goyenechea, international lawyer, discusses the global amphibian trade and its impact on rare and threatened species. She tells “The WildLife” host Laurel Neme about the benefits of frogs and the many threats – such as habitat loss, climate change, pollution, disease, and overexploitation – to their survival. Did you know frogs indicate environmental quality, like canaries in a coal mine? Or that many have medicinal properties, like the phantasmal poison dart frog which produces a painkiller 200 times the potency of morphine? A booming international trade exists that uses frogs for food, pets, medicine and scientific purposes – a trade that is now jeopardizing the continued existence of many species. Ms. Goyenechea is International Counsel at the International Conservation Program of Defenders of Wildlife and also Chair of the Species Survival Network’s (SSN) Amphibian Working Group. Her primary focus is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and other international trade law issues, with an emphasis on Latin America. She has worked at several international institutions and organizations and has experience in wildlife policy and broader experience in other environmental areas. During her work with the Mexican government she represented the Environmental Enforcement Agency at the international level. She also has interned or worked at the Organization of American States, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) North American office, and the DC law firm Baker Botts. Alejandra earned her law degree at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, in Mexico, and came in 2000 to Washington DC to complete a Masters degree, LLM, in International Environmental Law, at the Washington College of Law at American University, with a Fulbright scholarship. She speaks fluent English, Spanish and French. This episode of “The WildLife” aired on The Radiator, WOMM-LP, 105.9 FM in Burlington, Vermont on February 8, 2010.
Monday Feb 01, 2010
The Wildlife: Wildlife Biologist Adventures, Susan Jewell
Monday Feb 01, 2010
Monday Feb 01, 2010
Wildlife biologist Susan Jewell shares her adventures studying wildlife throughout the East Coast. She tells “The WildLife” host Laurel Neme about her trials and tribulations as she rehabilitated owls, cared for rattlesnakes, chased an escaped coyote, tracked the elusive bobcat, investigated the habits of wood storks and slogged after alligators. She’s a modern day “Indiana Jane” of the wild world who has researched wildlife from Maine to Florida by motorboat, airboat, canoe, airplane, helicopter, tree climbing, scuba diving, and muddy feet. She has worked for the National Audubon Society, the National Park Service, and others. Since 1992, she has been a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In her spare time, she is a freelance writer on wildlife and environmental issues. Her books include Exploring Wild South Florida: A Guide To Finding the Natural Areas and Wildlife of the Southern Peninsula and Florida Keys, Exploring Wild Central Florida: A Guide to Finding the Natural Areas and Wildlife of the Central Peninsula and her most recent, Gators, Gourdheads and Pufflings: A Biologist Slogs, Climbs and Wings her Way to Save Wildlife. This episode of “The WildLife” aired on The Radiator, WOMM-LP, 105.9 FM in Burlington, Vermont on February 1, 2010.