I meet biologists who can track multiple cougars in the forest, thanks to some special collars, GPS, and the click of a mouse.

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Over the years the ways that researchers have used technology to study animals have changed dramatically. Just a few decades ago, scientists would tie a string to a chicken leg then attach the other end of the string to a camera shutter. When an animal pulled at the bone, the camera would be triggered. Today, far more sophisticated cameras and devices are used to study animals. We’ll look at how this has evolved and see first hand how technology is used to track a cougar.

The "salmon people" have lived on the Pacific Coast for more than 10,000 years. Through their long history, stories have been their lifeblood.

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When we talk about the wild in North America, the narrative is usually from the perspective of white European settlers. But the wild of this amazing continent, and it’s relationship with humans goes back way beyond that - thousands of years. Members of the Lummi Nation share with me their tradition of storytelling and how it is used to teach future generations about their past and their connection to the land and animals that live among them.

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These are strange times for all of us.....unknown territory......it's only reasonable that we're all worried - a global pandemic is a huge concern. We've heard from a lot of our podcast listeners about how THE WILD helps them escape for 20 or 30 minutes each week, and reconnect with nature, which is wonderful because that's what we set out to do. So we've decided to re-release our most loved episode from season 1. It's about the sounds of nature, and the silence you can find there.....it's the perfect place to reflect if you need to think and recharge. Maybe listen to the story, and then step outside, stare up at a tree, take a deep breath and think about wild creatures, your neighbors, and this amazing place we all call home.

A lot of time we go to nature to find silence, to find solace. But what is silence really? You might think you’re in a quiet place, but it is hard to find complete natural silence with no human noise pollution. In this episode, Chris hits the road with sound engineers Gordon Hempton and Matt Mikkelsen on a mission to find the quietest place on earth.

You can learn more about Matt and Gordon’s work [[here]](http:// https://www.quietparks.org/partners.).

I meet an adorable puppy that may be the key to saving bears and people.

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Karelian Bear Dogs were bred in Finland hundreds of years ago for hunting everything from bears to moose. Now, ironically, they are being used to save bears and other species. In some remote parts of the country grizzly bears have been known to wander into town, presenting a danger of encounters with humans. These Karelian Bear Dogs are being used to scare bears away and prevent future returns. We'll head to Montana to talk to the woman whose brainchild it was to bring this breed to North America to help with wildlife research, poaching, search and rescue, reducing conflict between humans and big wild animals.

I dial into the wood wide web to understand how trees communicate.

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When you walk through a forest and enjoy the beauty of the trees towering above, there is a giant social network pulsing just below your feet. Underneath the surface lives an extensive network of roots that trees use to communicate with one another, share nutrients to other sick and struggling trees and even alert fellow trees of danger. In this episode I’ll dive deep into the secret world below the forest floor and learn about the largest communications network in the world: the wood wide web.

Richard Louv writes about intimacy, but not in the way you might picture it. He says to stave off loneliness, tap into the "whisper of our fellow creatures."

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