New evidence reveals that mountain lions can fit through small wildlife crossing cut-outs on the border wall dividing the U.S. from Mexico. But researchers are concerned about the future connection of the population of the big cats. 

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” carnivore ecologist Lisanne Petracca walks us through the monitoring being done to determine the potential effects of the construction of the 30 foot high wall along the Texas border on mountain lions (Puma concolor). 

Preliminary results show that openings the size of a sheet of paper could be the solution keeping the United States and Mexico populations connected. 

“Our Wild Lives” is The Wildlife Society’s biweekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett, of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices. New episodes are released weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Read more: 

About Lisanne Petracca: https://www.tamuk.edu/agriculture/departments/rwsc/faculty-staff-rwsc/Petracca.html

Spatial and Population Ecology of Carnivores (SPEC) Lab: https://thespeclab.weebly.com/

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Rex Brasher was one of the greatest bird artists of his time. His life’s mission was to see and paint every bird species in North America. But today, many people–even avid birders–have never heard his name. 

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Cynthia Carter Ayres and Matthew Schnepf from the Rex Brasher Association join us to tell the story of the man who painted 874 different bird species of North America. 

Brasher's approach was unique. Unlike most other artists of his time, he painted live birds in the field, not after shooting them or from consulting stuffed study specimens. Now, the Association is working to bring his body of work to the modern age for all to enjoy.

Learn more: 

About Rex Brasher: https://rexbrasher.org/

The digitized “Birds and Trees of North America” collection: https://rexbrasher.org/collection/birds-and-trees

Cover Images courtesy of the Rex Brasher Association

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Birds have been declining since the 1970s. Now scientists, non-governmental organizations and everyday birders are doing everything they can to stabilize and rebound populations across the globe. 

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Katie and Ed are joined by Tammy VerCauteren, Executive Director at Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, and Steve Riley, Chief Conservation Officer at American Bird Conservancy, to catch up on the state of bird conservation today. 

From multi-state collaborations to track birds across the annual migration cycle to backyard birders supporting populations, our guests dive into the opportunities to get involved in bird conservation.

“Our Wild Lives” is The Wildlife Society’s weekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett, of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices. New episodes are released weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Further reading:

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies: https://www.birdconservancy.org/

American Bird Conservancy: https://abcbirds.org/

Motus Wildlife Tracking: http://motus.org/

Bird City USA: https://birdcity.org/

Keep Cats Indoors: https://abcbirds.org/solutions/keep-cats-indoors/

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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As spring begins to emerge, so does the opportunity to support wildlife and increase biodiversity in your own yard. 

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” TWS member Shaun McCoshum, a botanist and landscape ecologist, tells us about what has been lost from North American landscapes and how homeowners can mimic missing ecological processes to support wildlife in their own yards. 

McCoshum shares practical yard strategies beyond planting native plants, including amending your soil, building structures for wildlife success, underground habitat needs for pollinators and more. Whether helping a monarch butterfly on their migration or giving your local lizards a place to retreat, your yard can be the little slice of paradise for wildlife with a few, simple changes. 

“Our Wild Lives” is The Wildlife Society’s weekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett, of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices. New episodes are released weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Further reading:

Connect with Shaun McCoshum: 

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-mccoshum/
• https://www.youtube.com/@mccoshsm

Shaun’s new book: Natural Habitats and Wildlife Gardening: Inviting Nature into Your Backyard. Use code NHWG30 for 30% off

• https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691261003/natural-habitats-and-wildlife-gardening

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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Wildlife lovers had a special treat at this year’s Super Bowl—Bad Bunny’s halftime show featured an endangered Puerto Rican toad. While it may have been the first time some viewers saw the species, the amphibian’s natural and cultural significance goes much deeper.  

The Puerto Rican crested toad’s story is emblematic of both environmental destruction and more recent attempts at restoration on the island. European colonizers deforested most of the island to cultivate sugar cane, leaving a devastated environment in their wake. Today, conservationists are working to rebuild these forests by following nature’s lead. The endangered Puerto Rican crested toad, a species that was almost wiped off the island entirely, is just one of the species benefiting from these efforts. 

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” staff writer Olivia Milloway visits Hacienda la Esperanza nature preserve to investigate how Puerto Rican nonprofit Para La Naturaleza is restoring the island’s forests for the sake of endemic birds and crested toad populations.  

“Our Wild Lives” is The Wildlife Society’s weekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices. New episodes are released weekly wherever you get your podcasts. 

This episode features reporting from a three-part online series on habitat restoration and wildlife management in Puerto Rico. Read the first part on deforestation and habitat fragmentation, the second part on Puerto Rican oriole conservation and the third part on the reintroduction of the crested toad.  

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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For a few short weeks starting in late February, there is a window of opportunity to see an enormous congregation of geese, swans, ducks and other birds at a wildlife management area in Montana during their annual migration to northern breeding grounds. 

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Brent Lonner, a wildlife biologist with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and Ali Marschner, a farm bill biologist with Pheasants Forever, dive into the annual staging of hundreds of thousands waterfowl at Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area. 

This episode tackles several issues, including the impact of drought, how a small-town festival built a tourism industry around the spring bird liftoff and the shifting uses of wildlife management areas. 

“Our Wild Lives” is The Wildlife Society’s weekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices. New episodes are released weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Further reading:

Wild Wings Choteau Festival: https://www.wildwingschoteau.org/

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

Richard Dolbeer has spent his career trying to strike out airplane collisions on birds–his pitch for a solution has always been to support management action with good science.

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” host Katie Perkins sits down to learn about Dolbeer’s storied career. From reducing agricultural conflicts with the Bye-Bye Blackbird Committee to sorting through the wreckage of the “Miracle on the Hudson” for ‘snarge,’ the stories he tells are wild to say the least. 

At 80 years old and 50 years of TWS membership, he still has no plans to retire. He continues to research and develop ways to keep wildlife and people safe on the runways and in the skies. 

“Our Wild Lives” is The Wildlife Society’s weekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices. New episodes are released weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Further reading:

Richard Dolbeer’s memoir “A Life on the Wild Side” - https://a.co/d/0fK9TgAf

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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Our winter 2026 issue of The Wildlife Professional featured a special focus on the mental health of wildlifers with articles discussing burnout, rehumanizing the workplace, imposter systems and more. 

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” TWS digital content manager Katie Perkins is joined by TWS member and special focus contributing author Michelle Doerr. Together they explore Doerr’s path from urban deer biologist to conservation wellness and culture consultant. Along the way, she shares actionable tips for wildlifers looking to prioritise their mental health.

“Our Wild Lives” is The Wildlife Society’s weekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett, of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices. New episodes are released weekly wherever you get your podcasts.

Further reading:

About Michelle - https://anavahconsulting.com/about-us/

Michelle’s business: https://anavahconsulting.com/

Read The Wildlife Professional - https://wildlife.org/the-wildlife-professional/

About her book, “Grapevine” - https://store.bookbaby.com/book/grapevine?srsltid=AfmBOoqz0mrkuo-3pry83_H7oiX_zslC3wo7FEysjssAHt6skFnYii7X

The Voice of the Earth by Theodore Roszak - https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Voice_of_the_Earth.html?id=RnyxQgAACAAJ

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold - https://www.aldoleopold.org/products/a-sand-county-almanac

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

Follow us on 

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

With nearly 60% of the United States under private ownership and management, private landscapes are a significant opportunity for large-scale wildlife conservation.

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” TWS member Joe Roy, private lands wildlife biologist at Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and Erik Glenn, CEO at Colorado Cattlemen’s Agricultural Land Trust explain how easements, incentives and other science-based management tools keep working lands intact while improving and protecting wildlife habitat.

Erik Glenn's work: https://ccalt.org/meet-our-team/

Joe Roy's work: https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fish-wildlife/wildlife/beginning-with-habitat/about/index.html

Bird Friendly Maple: https://www.audubon.org/our-work/grasslands-aridlands-forests/bird-friendly-maple

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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After nearly 60 years of the National Environmental Policy Act, proposed changes could threaten the strength of this cornerstone conservation legislation.  

In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” TWS members Natalie Jacewicz, assistant professor of law at the University of San Diego and Cameron Kovach, Juris Doctor and TWS Chief Program Officer, break down the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and discuss what proposed changes could mean for the future of environmental review.  

Tune in to learn more about what NEPA is and is not, the difference between procedural and substantive laws and what it all means for wildlife professionals.  

Learn more: 

About Natalie - https://www.sandiego.edu/law/about/biography.php?profile_id=16111

TWS Conservation Affairs Network - https://wildlife.org/conservation-affairs-network/

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/membership/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

Follow us on 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewildlifesociety/

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YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society