Hyenas might be the most misunderstood animal – Are they dogs? Big cats? Evil, trouble-making sidekicks? (Thanks, Lion King!) Dr. Christine Wilkinson relates to this ambiguous perception as a bi-racial woman, especially one working in the fields of science and conservation. She couldn’t wait to go to Kenya to study hyenas, but once there, she was labeled a “Mzungu,” a term often used to describe white foreigners. Hear about how she fought to save hyenas from being misunderstood (and even started a conservation effort for the animals considered a nuisance), and in doing so, found a community where she was accepted.

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This episode of “Going Wild” was hosted by me, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Production by Caroline Hadilaksono, Danielle Broza, Nathan Tobey, and Great Feeling Studios. Editing by Rachel Aronoff and Jakob Lewis. Sound design by Cariad Harmon. 

Danielle Broza is the Digital Lead and Fred Kaufman is the Executive Producer for Nature. 

Art for this podcast was created by Arianna Bollers and Karen Brazell. 

Special thanks to Amanda Schmidt, Blanche Robertson, Jayne Lisi, Chelsey Saatkamp, and Karen Ho. 

NATURE is an award-winning series created by The WNET Group and made possible by all of you. Funding for this podcast was provided by grants from the Anderson Family Fund, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and PBS.

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