Earth to Humans

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on our relationship with wildlife. The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, is zoonotic, which means it originated in an animal. Experts believe the virus emerged in bats then jumped to an intermediary host, possibly pangolins, before infecting humans. Evidence suggests that the virus made the first leap from animal to human in a wet market in Wuhan China where a wide variety of wild animals, including bats, crocodiles, wolf puppies, giant salamanders, snakes, rats, peacocks, and porcupines, were being bought and sold. 

That market was temporarily shut down and the city of Wuhan has vowed to end the sale of wild animals within its borders. However, the threat of a new pandemic looms. All over the world, humans are creating perfect conditions for zoonotic disease emergence. Not only are people trafficking wildlife for food, traditional medicine, and trinkets all over the world, we are destroying wilderness, forcing wild animals and people closer together. 

In the months since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, scientists, conservationists, and world leaders have called for a crackdown on the sale of wild animals. However, few countries have taken meaningful steps to do so. The Chinese government said it would ban the sale of several species of wild animals, but left exemptions for wildlife products sold for use as traditional medicine. 

In this episode, environmental journalist Annie Roth speaks with Rachel Nuwer about what the future of our relationship with wildlife might look like in a post-pandemic world.

Song used in today's show: Postman Jack by Lobo Loco via Creative Commons Licensing.

There is more of this conversation! For full access, visit patreon.com/wildlenscollective.

This episode was produced by Annie Roth. For more of her work, please visit rothreporting.com. For more information about Rachel Nuwer and her work, please visit rachelnuwer.com.

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Common Land is a radio documentary series that explores the creation stories behind protected areas. Season Two of Common Land will be focused on the Appalachian Trail, and production was scheduled to start in March of 2020.  Unfortunately, the spread of COVID-19 has forced us, along with many others hoping to thru-hike the entire 2,200-mile-long trail, to postpone their trips.  In this bonus episode of the show, we explore the motivations behind those seeking to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, and examine how the spread of COVID-19 has affected these hikers, as well as the trail itself.

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Documentary producer Nate Ford invites two big cat experts to weigh in on the record breaking documentary series, “Tiger King.” Did you watch the show and fall in love with tigers? Find out ways to get involved in big cat conservation and learn how to impact legislation (like, right now) by supporting the Big Cat Safety Act. Are you tired of hearing your neighbor talk about getting a pet tiger? Tune in to find out the legitimate reasons why that is a TERRIBLE idea. Then, go tell your neighbor. And then, consider moving.

 

Kimberly Craighead is the co-founder of the Kaminando Habitat Connectivity Initiative, where her team collects data on wild jaguars in Panama through the use of camera traps. One of her main goals is to empower local Panamanians as well as conservationists around the world to participate in preserving suitable natural environments for the jaguar. Tune in to hear about her treks in the jungle and the touching story about a tapir that was captured in a village in Panama, and how the villagers responded. To learn more about Kimberly's work, visit Kaminando.org.

 

Amy Gotliffe is the Director of Conservation for the Oakland Zoo, which has provided “forever homes” to rescued big cats for years. They continue to push the limit of what a zoo can be by sparking ideas and fostering a global response to animal conservation. Amy gives pointers on how to get involved in the stewardship of a species you love and expands on the myriad of ways in which we can maximize small personal decisions for a global impact. Grab your favorite stuffed animal and sequined jacket…EOC takes on the Tiger King!

  

Music by David Bashford (via Bloc Films)

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In today’s episode of Eyes on Conservation, filmmaker Kristin Tieche invites two women in bat conservation who appear in her upcoming feature documentary about bats, The Invisible Mammal. 

Dr. Winifred Frick is the Chief Scientist at Bat Conservation International and an Associate Research Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz. Dr. Frick has studied the ecology and conservation of bats for nearly 20 years and has worked around the globe on bat conservation, including projects in Mexico, Rwanda, Guinea, Fiji, and Jamaica. With nearly 1,400 species, bats are the second most diverse group of mammals on earth, yet many species are threatened by the forces of global change.

Corky Quirk is the founder of NorCal Bats, an organization that provides care for injured

bats and educational programs for libraries, school, nature programs, fairs and other

events throughout the region. Corky has been working intensely with native bats since

2004 and has educated thousands of people. She is permitted through the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife and the USDA to work with injured and orphaned bats, and returning them to the wild. She keeps a captive colony of non-releasable bats for use in education.

How has the coronavirus pandemic disrupted bat conservation? On April 10, 2020, the US Government suspended all bat research across the country, in an effort to curtail the spread of the virus. Frick and Quirk discuss how the new restrictions have affected their work, dispel new myths that have arisen about bats and their connection to coronavirus, and explain why protecting bat biodiversity and bat habitat around the world (and in your backyard) is so important.

Important links:

The Invisible Mammal:

http://www.theinvisiblemammal.com/

Bat Conservation International:

http://www.batcon.org/

NorCal Bats:

http://norcalbats.org/

Yolo Basin Foundation:

http://yolobasin.org/

EcoHealth Alliance:

https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/

Bracken Cave

https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/bats/bat-watching-sites/bracken-cave-preserve.phtml

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Happy Earth Day!

Talk to us! What's your favorite quarantine activity? Call the voicemail! 208-917-3786

Join Wild Lens Collective members and EOC producers for a Covid-19 Roundtable on Earth Day roundtable talking about how the Coronavirus has affected all of our lives, our work, and most importantly - the environment. For a full list of show notes including web links, articles, and MEMES discussed in today's show - head over to the show notes page at www.wildlensinc.org/eoc198!

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It’s Startup meets YouTube meets Twitch meets National Geographic. You know what? To really understand you’re just going to have to check it out yourself! www.mammalz.com.

 

Co-founders Rob Whitehair and Alex Finden (Happy birthday!) tell the story of how this brand new tech startup began, and what truly makes it a one-in-a-million platform.

 

From the Mammalz Website:

“Founded by wildlife filmmakers Rob Whitehair and Alexander Finden, Mammalz is the “Twitch for Nature”; an app- and web-based media streaming and social platform dedicated to nature storytelling and driven by community. Whether you are a professional media maker, scientist, educator, artist, writer, or one of over 600 million nature enthusiasts across the planet, Mammalz provides you with the tools to personalize your experience, share your love of nature, and truly make a difference. 

The Mammalz mission is to promote a greater global public understanding of nature and the environment while acting as a bridge between science, media makers, and the public. 

Rob Whitehair, Co-Founder and CEO Rob is a 20 year veteran of the natural history film industry. He is a multi-award-winning filmmaker, producer, and executive who has directed, produced and shot films for broadcast and theatrical markets worldwide. He is known throughout the industry for his vision, leadership, inspiration and his ability to take seemingly impossible ideas and turn them into a reality. Mammalz is the culmination of Rob’s dream to create a next-generation media platform that will connect people on a global scale through their love for nature. 

Alexander Finden, Co-Founder and COO Inspired by the underwater world, Alex is a highly creative, award-winning wildlife filmmaker, Divemaster, YouTube channel manager, Twitch content editor, and operational guru. He is known for being a master of details, turning ideas into actions, and keeping calm in the storm. Alex is fascinated with portable live-streaming technologies and plans to encourage outdoor streaming as one of the most popular content types on Mammalz.”

 

Music used in today’s show, “Questing” and “Green Iver” from Ari de Niro on the Free Music Archive via Creative Commons Licensing.

Real Mammalz audio from real Mammalz users: Day's Edge Productions, The Great Mexican Bird Resurvey Project. Ben Zino, How to find rare winter salamanders. Dusty Hulet, Friction Fire with Ford Thunder Erickson. Billy Heaney, In search of the killer whale. Kathryn Chalk, Ever seen a cricket present the weather forecast. Angus Hamilton, Stop, Drop and Roll! The Brookesia Chameleons of Madagascar. Jim Michael, A torrent of snow geese. Renee Sweaney, Our resident kestrals.

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Turn down the lights, pour yourself a beverage, and tune your ears to the smooth offerings of Ayana Young, host and author of the podcast and book, For the Wild. Ayana visits with Matthew Podolsky about how she got started in activism going all the way back to her childhood poetry. Ayana is no stranger to speaking truth to power. A graduate of the Occupy movement, she went on to live the camper life, traveling at home and abroad in a quest to understand this crazy world just a bit better.

 

To read about her book, listen to her amazing podcast, and for links to her social media visit her website at https://forthewild.world/

 

Music used in today’s show: “As I Was Saying” by Lee Rosevere, “Forgotten Landscape” by Daniel Birch, and “Variation Waldheim” by Blue Dot Sessions from the Free Music Archive via Creative Commons Licensing.

 

For a list of the show notes, please visit the website www.wildlensinc.org/eoc196

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When we think of wetlands, most of us see them as ghostly swamps where spiders have huge webs that look like banshee in veils, or the dangerous Dead Marshes through which Gollum led Frodo in the Lord of the Rings. However, wetlands are not at all these dangerous, murky, smelly, marshy areas. In fact they are the most cheerful places full of life and activity. It’s where life gravitates to, where human settlements started and where wildlife will gravitate around as well. These marshes, swamps and lagoons are a critical part of our natural environment. Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. But sadly today, they are disappearing 3 times faster than our forests. A meagre 6% of the Earth’s surface is covered by wetlands whereas 31% of the earth’s surface still has forests. And yet people don’t seem to appreciate them in the same way, don’t love them as much as forests. They are hardly considered even important. 

In this episode, a young wildlife presenter and film-maker, Aishwarya Sridhar from India, talks to Mr. Debi Goenka and Mr. Nikhil Bhopale about the importance of wetland eco-systems in a world plagued by climate crisis. Mr. Goenka has been working towards the protection of mangroves and wetlands for over 35 years of his life. He is the executive trustee of Conservation Action Trust (a non-governmental organisation in India) engaged in environmental protection and he’s the force behind the recent policy protecting the Indian mangroves. 

On the other hand, Mr. Nihil Bhopale is an educationist, conservationist and an author, having written a book on the birds of the Indian subcontinent. He is the founder of Green Works Trust, an NGO pioneering environmental education in India. 

They discuss the role of wetlands, the crisis facing them and the need to protect them urgently. 

"Crescents" by Ketsa used via Creative Commons Licensing from the Free Music Archive.

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Send us a voice note or even a regular ole email to [email protected]!

 

On this episode of EOC, I spoke with author and environmental historian, Bathsheba Demuth. Demuth is an Assistant Professor at Brown University who specializes in the intersection between humans, ecosystems, ideas, and history. We talked over Skype while Demuth was in Fairbanks as the professor was performing research for her new book. Her first book is titled Floating Coast, An Environmental History of the Bering Strait. NPR called it “A deeply studied, deeply felt book that lays out a devastating but complex history of change, notes what faces us now, and dares us to imagine better.”

 

As we proceed I will note that I spoke with Professor Demuth from the university library, so it can be a little loud in the background at times. I can promise you, however, that this will be one of the most compelling and interesting accounts of the history of whaling that you have ever heard.

 

Demuth was drawn to the arctic in her formative years, even living in the Yukon for two years – doing all the things you’re imagining right now: tracking bears, fishing salmon, and yes, even husky mushin’. And no, I’m not making that up. She’s that for-real.

 

Special thanks to Bathsheba Demuth for taking the time to share with us about her experiences and research from her book, Floating Coast, and recounting her findings around Soviet Whaling in the Bering Strait. For information about Professor Demuth visit her website at http://www.brdemuth.com/ and for stunning images from the arctic, check out her Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/brdemuth/. She is also on Twitter @brdemuth.

 

For a full list of this episode’s links, and contributors including music used in this show, please visit the show note’s page at www.wildlensinc.org/eoc194.

 

Music used via Creative Commons licensing. Running on Empty by Poddington Bear, Ben Bolt; In the Gloaming by Bohumir Kryl, and Failed Moments by Ari de Niro.

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In this era of climate crisis and extinction crisis, it’s not hard to feel like there’s nothing we can do to stop these cascading and devastating global environmental trends. Some activists have taken the motto "Think globally, act locally" to heart.

In this episode, Kristin Tieche talks to Ildiko Polony, an environmental activist who is the founder of a new organization called Wildfires to Wildflowers, whose mission is to restore California lands for climate stability and reach carbon negativity by 2046.

Kristin joins Ildiko for a hike on Ring Mountain in Marin County, California. Ildiko shares her extensive knowledge of native plants and invasive species, and is joined by naturalist Paul Bouscal as they hike the mountain and interpret the landscape along the way.

For Ildiko, reconnecting and restoring natural habitat is the most effective and rewarding way to create positive change in the face of our planet's most pressing environmental crises.

For more information, please visit: https://www.wildfirestowildflowers.org/

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