ZSL #027 Madagascar's missing megafauna: life after lemurs, hippos and elephant birds
Release Date: 05/14/2020
ZSL #046 Feeding the Zoo: Nutrition for animals under managed care
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
Making sure that the animals held in ZSL’s two conservation zoos, London and Whipsnade, are fed a diet that can help them thrive is crucial, both for keeping them healthy under managed care, and ensuring they are in the best possible shape for a return to the wild. Amanda Ferguson is ZSL’s Diet Management Officer and is responsible for creating tailored diets for all the animals across both ZSL Zoos, from snails to elephants! We learn how to feed an animal for which there are no guidelines, why enriched feeding methods are so important, and why you’ll rarely see a monkey at London Zoo...
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ZSL #045 BONUS Nature's Negotiators: Saving the planet one meeting at a time
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
After our Nature’s Negotiators miniseries, where we learned all about the complexities, challenges and importance of United Nations climate and biodiversity meetings, we wanted to give the gift of a bonus episode to round things off! We catch up with Bethan to hear how things went after she attended COP29, United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Azerbaijan. Overview 00:11 , Host of Wild Science, Episode introduction 00:54 , ZSL’s Senior Policy Specialist, on how the finance negotiations at COP29 played out 06:37 Bethan on...
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ZSL #044 Nature's Negotiators: The UN's Wildest Diplomatic Mission - Part 2
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
2024 has been a big year for international climate policy, with two UN Conference of Parties, or COPs, taking place in quick succession; COP16 in Colombia followed just a few weeks later by COP29 in Azerbaijan. In this episode of Wild Science, we follow on from part one of our Nature’s Negotiators miniseries, and are once again joined by Bethan Laughlin, ZSL Senior Policy Specialist. We discuss the challenges and successes of the two biodiversity and climate COPs, tackle some new UN lingo, and hear about key hopes for the future of climate policy. Overview 00:12 , Host of...
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ZSL #043 Back to the Wild: Assessing disease risks for species reintroduction
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
What does it take to reintroduce an animal to the wild safely? How do we make sure that disease risk to existing populations, and to the animals being reintroduced, is mitigated? Hear from the Disease Risk Analysis and Health Surveillance Team (DRAHS) at ZSL who are working to give animals the best start possible as they return to the wild, and whose work has contributed to the recovery of over 30 species across the world. Overview 00:11 , Introduction to episode 01:01 , DRAHS lead, ZSL 05:44 Clare McNamee, Wildlife Veterinarian and Research...
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ZSL #042 Nature's Negotiators: The UN's Wildest Diplomatic Mission - Part 1
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
You may have heard of a COP, and you’ve almost definitely heard of the United Nations (UN), but how much do you know about the negotiations that go into getting nature, climate and biodiversity embedded into international policy? Ahead of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP16) in Colombia this autumn, we’re hearing from policy experts in this two-part miniseries on how we can save the planet one meeting at a time…or at least try to. Overview 00:11 Introduction to Nature’s Negotiators mini-series 00:24 , ZSL’s Senior Policy Specialist,...
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ZSL #041 Reimagining Coral Reefs
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
Out of sight…but not out of mind? Coral reefs exist largely out of sight for the majority of the world’s population, so the vast array of ecosystem services they provide for local communities are often forgotten, leading conservation efforts to feel like an uphill battle. In this episode, we talk to the people trying to tackle this problem; from using the sounds that healthy and degraded coral reefs make to monitor their restoration, to bringing people closer to coral reefs using virtual reality. Overview 00:13 Introduction to the topic from 01:26 ,...
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ZSL #040 Mammal conservation in Korea: Human-carnivore coexistence on the Korean Peninsula
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
Co-existence between communities living on the Korean Peninsula and carnivores such as leopards, tigers and black bears, has historically presented many challenges leading to population declines in these species. However, thanks to international treaties such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, as well as economic growth and conservation translocations, the tide is now turning on these declines in South Korea. In this episode, host Harriet McAra is joined by Joshua Elves-Powell to discuss how wildlife trade has impacted carnivores in East Asia, and the conservation...
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ZSL #039 Wild Science is back for 2024
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
The ZSL Wild Science podcast is back! After a break, we have returned to explore even more topical issues in zoology, conservation and the environment. New host, Harriet McAra, Science Communications and Events Manager at ZSL's Institute of Zoology, will take listeners on a journey to learn more about the incredible science behind ZSL's cutting-edge conservation work. Resources If there’s a topic you’d like to hear on a future podcast, or if you’d like to share your thoughts any previous episodes, email the ZSL Wild Science Podcast at Check out our science and conservation...
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ZSL #037 How can we recover nature in our cities: rewilding, reconnecting habitats and restoring rivers
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
It’s no secret that cities are generally perceived as spaces of little conservation relevance, yet local urban wildlife underpins a range of ecosystem services. In a time where rapid changes in the climate are causing more extreme natural events, wildlife is disappearing and we are becoming more and more disconnected from nature through urbanisation, could the recovery of urban ecosystems be a potential solution for a more resilient planet? In this episode, our host Ellie Darbey will discover how we can recover nature in our cities, with ZSL’s experts in rewilding, reconnecting habitats...
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ZSL #036 What lies beneath: investigating the amazing world of wildlife pathology
ZSL Wild Science Podcast
In this episode, our host Ellie Darbey will explore the unseen…or rather, unheard world of wildlife pathology with the help of ZSL’s experienced pathologists, veterinarians, and scientists. Through post mortems on black widow spiders, to giant stranded humpback whales, these four pathology professionals will show the value of this diagnostic work to the conservation and welfare of animals in zoos and in the wild.
info_outlineMadagascar is famed for its incredible biodiversity and charismatic lemurs, but has also seen extensive loss of natural habitat. Monni finds out from a panel of Madagascar aficionados what the island has been like in the past and what the challenges are for its surviving wildlife. How big is an elephant bird and its poo? What can old bones tell us? What are the ups and downs of conservation efforts on Madagascar? And why is the Madagascar pochard such a special bird?
This episode was recorded in November 2019