All Creatures Podcast

In honor of Giraffe Day, June 21, we welcome Global Conservation Force Giraffe Project Coordinator Mike Bona. Giraffe are suffering what many are calling a "silent extinction." They have suffered a 40% reduction in their population in just the last 15 years. Mike is a long time hoof stock keeper at the LA Zoo and has been involved in many conservation projects with many endangered species. His focus has primarily been in Giraffe and has now joined Global Conservation Force to protect and preserve these majestic animals. 

You can learn more about Global Conservation Force by visiting their website HERE

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The Gerenuk like a giraffe is a long-necked herbivore. While not closely related to giraffes, the Gerenuk has evolved to grow long necks to reach foliage that many other herbivores cant. They are a very unique antelope species from Africa. In this week's podcast we talk about this species and all its interesting adaptations to survive in the Horn of Africa. The Gerenuk is also sliding towards extinction and we discuss what some conservation organizations are doing to help them. Yet, we do also bring some feel good conservation stories from Africa and just how you may participate as "remote rangers." We hope you enjoy this week's species. 

For one cup of "good" coffee a month you can support your favorite podcast on Patreon and give back to conservation. With your support we were able to donate to the Coral Reef Foundation, Red Panda Network, helped provide chum ($$) for OCEARCH, funding to train rangers in Africa with Global Conservation Force and so much more. We also offer bonus episodes and supporter only content.  Please considering supporting us at Patreon HERE.

Thank you so much for your support!

You can visit our website HERE

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Sammy Safari was recently awarded the prestigious Whitley Award from the Whitley Fund for Nature. Sammy is leading an effort to help save sea turtles off the coast of Kenya. Sea turtles have been poached off Kenya for many years, with a dramatic increase seen with the Covid pandemic. The loss of tourism in Kenya has pushed locals out into the oceans to survive. Sadly, sea turtles have been targeted for poaching. Sammy and his team with Local Ocean Trust have been educating the masses on not only why sea turtles are important, but also working to preserve the Kenyan coastline and its mangrove forests. He is a true conservation hero doing his part to save these animals. Congratulations to Sammy and his team!

You can learn more about Sammy Safari and the Whitley Nature Fund by going HERE

Show notes HERE

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In honor of Sea Turtle Week, we decided to return to sea turtles and specifically cover the largest of the group, the Leatherback. This sea turtle dwarfs their distant relatives and can reach over 6.5 feet (2 meters) and weigh nearly a ton (900 kg). They are enormous! Not to mention they are one of the deepest diving animals (outside of fish), among many other amazing facts. Sadly, sea turtle populations continue to decline and we discuss this more in depth in this episode. We also highlight conservation efforts to protect them around the globe. We learned quite a bit about these amazing animals and hope you do too. 

For one cup of "good" coffee a month you can support your favorite podcast on Patreon and give back to conservation. With your support we were able to donate to the Coral Reef Foundation, Red Panda Network, helped provide chum ($$) for OCEARCH, funding to train rangers in Africa with Global Conservation Force and so much more. We also offer bonus episodes and supporter only content.  Please considering supporting us at Patreon HERE.

Thank you so much for your support!

You can visit our website HERE

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Dr. Lucy Kemp was recently awarded the prestigious Whitley Award from the Whitley Fund for Nature. Dr. Kemp is leading a grassroots effort to help save and preserve the amazing Southern Ground-hornbill in Africa. Her story gives us so much hope for the future for not only the Southern Ground-hornbill, but all wildlife in Africa and beyond. Her project title is "A community-based approach to conserve the Southern Ground-hornbill." In our interview we discuss the issues that are driving this incredible bird towards extinction and what she and her team at the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project are doing to stop this from happening.  Congratulations to Dr. Kemp and her team! 

You can learn more about Dr. Lucy Kemp and the Whitley Nature Fund by going HERE

Show notes HERE

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We head back to Africa to highlight one of the continents deadliest snakes, the Black Mamba. The Black Mamba is revered and also feared throughout the portions of southern and eastern Africa where it inhabits. Not only is it is one of the world's deadliest snakes, its also one of its largest. In fact, the Black Mamba is the world's second longest venomous snakes, right behind the King Cobra. Their cocktail of venom is very deadly to other animals and humans alike. However, they are not responsible for many of the deaths in Africa due to snake bites. Still the Black Mamba has a well-deserved deadly reputation and is not one to be messed with. Like almost any snake, they are very shy and look to avoid people. A beautiful reptile that deserves understanding and our respect. 

For one cup of "good" coffee a month you can support your favorite podcast on Patreon and give back to conservation. With your support we were able to donate to the Coral Reef Foundation, Red Panda Network, helped provide chum ($$) for OCEARCH, funding to train rangers in Africa with Global Conservation Force and so much more. We also offer bonus episodes and supporter only content.  Please considering supporting us at Patreon HERE.

Thank you so much for your support!

You can visit our website HERE

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This week we welcome Martha Hunt Handler who is the current President of the Wolf Conservation Center, located in New York, USA. She also recently published her book Winter of the Wolf. During this episode we get an update on how not only grey wolves are doing in the Americas, but also the red wolves and Mexican grey wolves. We also spent a good amount of time discussing the passing of legislation in the state of Idaho, USA, allowing the slaughter of 90% of the states 1550 wolves. Martha has led an illustrious career working on environmental issues and is now passionate about protecting grey wolves. She raises many critical issues relating to wolves and other wildlife. 

You can learn more about Martha Hunt Handler HERE

You can learn more about the Wolf Conservation Center HERE (check out their wolf cams!)

You can order Martha's book HERE

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As much as we enjoy learning about each species, this week we were pleasantly and extremely surprised by what we learned about the Coyote! This is not the first canid we have covered, but one that just left us speechless. The Coyote is a master of survival and adaptation. They are the first non-invasive species we know of whose range has actually substantially increased due to human activity. Because grey wolves have been persecuted to near extinction, Coyotes have filled part of their niche and expanded their territories. Coyotes live among many people throughout North and Central America, are a common site and persecuted as a pest. They are just a spectacular and very much misunderstood animal. Coyotes are well worth your time to learn more about. 

For one cup of "good" coffee a month you can support your favorite podcast on Patreon and give back to conservation. With your support we were able to donate to the Coral Reef Foundation, Red Panda Network, helped provide chum ($$) for OCEARCH, funding to train rangers in Africa with Global Conservation Force and so much more. We also offer bonus episodes and supporter only content.  Please considering supporting us at Patreon HERE.

Thank you so much for your support!

You can visit our website HERE

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We welcome back our great friend Corbin Maxey from Animals to the Max podcast to discuss the latest Netflix documentary Seaspiracy. We all were moved in different ways by the documentary and were in agreement it brought the depletion of our world's oceans into focus. There is no doubt or argument that our oceanic wildlife are in serious decline. Seaspriracy raised numerous critical issues that needs to be brought to greater light. However, we do raise some concerns about some of the claims made in the documentary and also a perceived hidden agenda. Also, we discuss the horrific killing of dolphins in Taiji, Japan and the inhumane slaughter of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands. Both were graphic scenes in Seaspiracy and we do discuss why these barbaric practices need to end. Overall, we felt the documentary was well worth the time and a must see. 

Be sure to check out and subscribe to Corbin's podcast Animals to the Max 

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Pilot Whales are in fact not true "whales," but rather like Orcas are part of the Delphinidae (dolphin) family. Still, they are magnificent creatures that inhabit the world's oceans and lead complex, social lives. We decided to cover this species because of the recent Netflix documentary Seaspiracy. In it, a large family group (pod) of Pilot Whales are slaughtered by inhabitants of the Faroe Islands. For nothing more than "tradition." We wanted to learn more about these animals to understand the true nature of just how complex these animals are and why they are important to our world's oceans. These creatures and the many other whales and dolphin species are in decline. We need to learn more about them and more importantly, protect them!

For one cup of "good" coffee a month you can support your favorite podcast on Patreon and give back to conservation. With your support we were able to donate to the Coral Reef Foundation, Red Panda Network, helped provide chum ($$) for OCEARCH, funding to train rangers in Africa with Global Conservation Force and so much more. We also offer bonus episodes and supporter only content.  Please considering supporting us at Patreon HERE.

Thank you so much for your support!

You can visit our website HERE

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices