Rewildology

What is the journey of the sloth? Where does their story begin? To answer these questions and so much more, today we’re sitting down with Tinka Plese, the mother of sloth conservation. Tinka was first introduced to sloths in the 90s after moving to Colombia from Croatia and finding two badly injured sloths that needed rescuing. After receiving no help from professionals, she took it upon herself to learn everything there was to know about the mammals, from their biology, to their rehabilitation, release, and conservation. She started the Aiunau Foundation in the early 2000s, and since then has released countless sloths back into the wild, starred in documentaries, and has shared her knowledge all across Central and South America with conservation centers hoping to successfully rehab and release sloths. Tinka is also a member of the IUCN Anteater, Sloth & Armadillo Specialist Group (if this group rings a bell for you, there’s a good reason. We’ve now had on four IUCN Xenarthran specialists). 

While sloths have been discussed a couple of times on the show, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring you stories from a wildlife conservation pioneer. Be sure to share this episode and any of the show’s former sloth episodes this Saturday to spread sloth conservation awareness from the experts that know these animals the best!

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To teach us about biomimicry, today we’re sitting down with Andrew Meador, biomimicry expert and educator for the Biomimicry Institute. In college, Andrew studied chemistry and physics and began his career as a nanotechnologist after graduation. While he loved being at the forefront of science, he missed social interactions and decided to become a formal educator. After ten years of teaching in all sorts of science courses, he switched his career again after learning about biomimicry and is now an educator for the Biomimicry Institute and is currently working towards his Master’s in the field. Having both strong science and education backgrounds, Andrew is the perfect person to teach us all about what biomimicry is, what it isn’t, and how it can be used to solve design problems on any scale to create a greener, more interconnected world.

Our Rhino Conservation Campaign with The Katie Adamson Conservation Fund is still running! Purchase a specially designed hoodie or t-shirt for rhino conservation! Proceeds are donated to KACF. https://rewildology.com/shop/

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September was a ton of fun with new episode styles, very philosophical and inspirational stories, and a deep dive into Brooke's favorite topic: conservation tourism. In case you missed an episode or were on the fence about listening to the full thing, check out these clips from each episode to see if you might want to go back and listen to it in its entirety.

Episode Recaps:

Our Rhino Conservation Campaign with The Katie Adamson Conservation Fund is still running! Purchase a specially designed hoodie or t-shirt for rhino conservation! Proceeds are donated to KACF. https://rewildology.com/shop/

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Check out ways to support the podcast! https://rewildology.com/support-the-show/

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To chat about Greater One Horned Rhinos, Gangetic River Dolphins, and Tiger Reserves, today we’re sitting down with Harshini Jhala, wildlife conservationist and PhD student at the University of Minnesota. Harshini’s love of nature and wildlife was nurtured early in life by her father, as he himself is a very accomplished carnivore scientist at The Wildlife Institute of India. Harshini saw her first Greater-One Horned rhino at the age of 14 in Sauraha, just outside of Chitwan National Park in Nepal, and she knew she wanted to contribute to conserving the species when it came time to go to college. For her Master's, she published an influential paper on the feasibility of reintroducing rhinos and water buffaloes to areas of their historic range in India, and from that moment on she was hooked on merging conservation science and policy working to save India’s wildlife. After her Master’s, she had a stint working on a project studying Gangetic river dolphins, and now is working on her PhD to answer a very important question - does relocating people out of tiger reserves actually work for biodiversity, and if so, on what scale? We chat about so much - rhinos, crazy adapted dolphins, and the always taboo topic, conservation ethics.

Our Rhino Conservation Campaign with The Katie Adamson Conservation Fund is still running! Purchase a specially designed hoodie or t-shirt for rhino conservation! Proceeds are donated to KACF. https://rewildology.com/shop/

If you’re liking the show, please hit the follow button and share with someone you think would enjoy this episode. Sharing is the best way to help the show grow!

Check out ways to support the podcast! https://rewildology.com/support-the-show/

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Today is a very special day for conservation. It’s World Rhino Day, and I guarantee you that most stories you hear will be tragic, depressing, and defeating. While it is important to be fully aware about the tragedies our rhinos have faced, today, I want to bring you a different story. A story of hope, determination, and perseverance.

In this episode, we’re sitting down with Mark Butcher, more commonly known as Butch, the founder and Managing Director of Imvelo Safaris in Hwange, Zimbabwe. Butch and I have a marvelous conversation about his time as a ranger, how he discovered ecotourism as a way to empower the communities surrounding the park while protecting wildlife, what it was like watching the last rhino being shot in his country, and why he took on the massive project of safely and sustainably bringing rhinos back to Hwange.

Purchase a specially designed hoodie or t-shirt for rhino conservation! Proeeds are donated to Katie Adamson Conservation Fund. https://rewildology.com/shop/

Book a safari to see the rhinos in this episode: https://thewildsource.com/zimbabwe-rhino-conservation-safari/

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In this episode, Brooke analyzes the field of conversation tourism and answers these questions:

See full show notes at rewildology.com.

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Check out ways to support the podcast! https://rewildology.com/support-the-show/

To take us on a journey through coexistence and the evolving philosophy of conservation, in this episode we’re sitting down with John Linnell, PhD, Senior Researcher Scientist and Professor at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research. John and I have one of the most philosophical conversations I’ve had yet on the show. We explore large carnivores’ history across the European continent using the lynx as a model species, what the term coexistence means to him, where the Rewilding Europe initiative fits into carnivore restoration, and what conservation actually means in 2022.

See full show notes at rewildology.com.

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Check out ways to support the podcast! https://rewildology.com/support-the-show/

Today we are sitting down with Dena Spatz, PhD, David Will, and Nick Holmes, PhD - the three leading scientists on the historic paper that was just released called, “The global contribution of invasive vertebrate eradication as a key island restoration tool”. In this massively important paper, these scientists synthesized over 100 years of invasive vertebrate eradications from islands and found that this type of intervention had an 88% success rate. Yes, an 88% success rate! It’s rare that anything in conservation can give such a clear path forward.

Dena, Dave, Nick and I chat about a wide range of topics including the history behind our islands’ decline, what’s all involved in island conservation interventions including eradications and restoration, how they created the novel database that’s at the center of their historic paper, how to prevent future invasions from opportunistic species, and how we all can help save our islands.

See full show notes at rewildology.com.

If you’re liking the show, please hit the follow button and share with someone you think would enjoy this episode. Sharing is the best way to help the show grow!

Check out ways to support the podcast! https://rewildology.com/support-the-show/ Recording gear provided by Focusrite: https://store.focusrite.com/en-gb/categories/focusrite/vocaster/vocaster-one Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology Join the Rewildologists Community Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rewildologists Follow Rewildology Instagram: https://instagram.com/rewildology/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rewildology Twitter: https://twitter.com/rewildology YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxNVIeC0km8ZGK_1QPy7-iA

In case you missed one of July’s wide-ranging episodes, check out these snippets to see if you might want to go back and listen to the whole thing!

Episode Recaps:
Ep. 84 | From Dream Trip to Reality: Exploring the Pan-American Highway with Kayla Fratt
Ep. 85 | Recovering America’s Wildlife Act: A New Hope for North America’s Biodiversity
Ep. 86 | Restoring Traditional Plant Knowledge through Ethnobotany with Rose Bear Don’t Walk
Ep. 87 | Into the Headlines: Translocating African Cheetahs to India with Stotra Chakrabarti, PhD

See full show notes at rewildology.com.

If you’re liking the show, please hit the follow button and share with someone you think would enjoy this episode. Sharing is the best way to help the show grow!

Check out the new Rewildology merch shop! https://rewildology.com/shop/
Recording gear provided by Focusrite: https://focusrite.com/en/usb-audio-interface/scarlett/scarlett-solo-studio
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Join the Rewildologists Community Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rewildologists

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In today’s episode, we’re going to take another deep dive into a very recent headline that was just released a couple days ago. In case you missed it, eight African cheetahs are being translocated to India. Instead of me analyzing this breaking news story, I phoned a friend, someone you all have heard more than once, and who happens to personally know the scientists in charge of this historic move – Stotra Chakrabarti, PhD. Stotra, with all of his connections and wisdom, kindly opened my eyes to aspects of this historic translocation that I didn’t know anything about and I’m excited to share them with you, too.

See full show notes at rewildology.com.

If you’re liking the show, please hit the follow button and share with someone you think would enjoy this episode. Sharing is the best way to help the show grow!

Check out the new Rewildology merch shop! https://rewildology.com/shop/
Recording gear provided by Focusrite: https://focusrite.com/en/usb-audio-interface/scarlett/scarlett-solo-studio
Discover more ways to watch, listen, and interact: https://linktr.ee/Rewildology
Join the Rewildologists Community Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rewildologists

Follow Rewildology
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rewildology/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rewildology
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rewildology
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxNVIeC0km8ZGK_1QPy7-iA