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PODCAST

Our Wild Lives

The Wildlife Society

Our Wild Lives takes listeners into the heart of wildlife conservation, 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. Each episode dives into the wild lives of diverse species, explores complex ecosystems, and unpacks the urgent issues facing wildlife conservation.

science nature

All Episodes

51:53

Communication in Conservation with Rae Wynn-Grant

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/10/02

As a kid, Rae Wynn-Grant dreamed of traveling the world to tell stories about wildlife science. But the path to realizing this dream wasn’t always clear. In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Rae Wynn-Grant, large carnivore ecologist, author, podcast host and co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild recounts the long days in the field, advanced college degrees and harsh rejections that led to her dream career as a nature show host. This episode spans tales from...

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55:18

Where the Wind Blows: Navigating Wildlife and Wind...

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/09/18

Since the first mass wildlife casualty events at commercial windfarms in the early 2000s, conservationists have raised concerns about the impacts of wind energy development. In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Misti Sporer, senior director of Environment and Permitting at Deriva Energy and Greg Forcey, senior principal scientist at Normandeau Associates, Inc. talk about their experiences working as wildlife biologists in wind energy projects. Together they share the advancement...

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34:09

Hawaii's Plastic Predicament

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/09/04

Plastic waste travels from your doorstep to the most remote places. In the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, currents concentrate vast amounts of marine debris along the shores of what should be a wildlife paradise. Within the protected waters of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, plastic debris and derelict fishing nets threaten endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals (Neomonachus schauinslandi), seabirds, sea turtles and fragile coral reef systems. These islands have become the frontline...

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48:10

Tracking elusive fishers in British Columbia

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/08/21

Somewhere deep in British Columbia’s boreal forest lives a small population of unique and secretive carnivores most humans never see. The fisher (Pekania pennanti) is a critter exceptionally good at eluding even the most talented wildlife trackers. But for today’s guests, who have spent many cold mornings out in the field to learn more about these mustelids, even the stealthiest of fishers couldn’t keep all of their secrets. In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Katie Perkins-Rohrbach,...

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17:00

Tracking the Impact of Ecotourism

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/08/07

Ecotourism can bring great benefits to a struggling economy and conservation attention and investment to fragile biomes and struggling species. But is everything that glitters made of gold? This week, TWS’ associate editor Joshua Rapp Learn joins host Katie Perkins as they travel through South Texas to learn more about the positive and negative impacts of ecotourism on an otherwise struggling economy. In this episode—the companion piece to the cover feature in the latest issue of ...

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30:20

Conservation on Tribal Land with Julie Thorstenson

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/07/17

Indigenous people have been involved with wildlife conservation and management in the Americas for thousands of years. But it’s only since the 1980s when different Tribes in the U.S. organized into the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society. In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Julie Thorstenson, executive director of the Native American Fish and Wildlife Society (NAFWS) and a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation discusses her background working with black-footed ferret reintroductio...

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35:29

Following the Birds | A 30,000 KM Journey

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/07/03

Every year, millions of birds make some of the most arduous journeys in the natural world. The Hudsonian whimbrel (Numenius hudsonicus) travels from its breeding grounds in Alaska’s High Arctic to as far south as Argentina. Two endurance athletes are preparing to embark on their own journey to follow the paths of three GPS-tracked whimbrels. In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Timm Döbert, tropical ecologist and scientific explorer, and Leanna Carriere, extreme athlete, join us to talk...

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50:37

The Value of Working Forests

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/06/19

How does harvesting timber impact wildlife around the world? In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Darren Miller, vice president of forestry programs and director of research programs for the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) Foundation, and Jessica Homyack, director of environmental research and operational support at Weyerhaeuser, explore how commercial timber forests can coexist with wildlife conservation. As the forest industry undergoes organizational shifts an...

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40:34

Solving a Pig Problem

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/05/29

Since their introduction to North America in the 16th century, uncontrolled populations of wild pigs have wreaked havoc across North America.They can disrupt native wildlife, decimate riparian ecosystems, cause billions of dollars in agricultural damage and more. Reducing the population has proved complex, but the state of Missouri has successfully removed feral swine populations from nearly 10 million acres throughout the state since 2016. In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Ala...

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40:27

Restoring a Cultural Keystone Species

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/05/15

For Remington Bracher, working on the reintroduction of bison back to Canada is not only a win for his wildlife career, but also for his culture as a Nêhiyaw (Cree) member of Muskoday First Nation. In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Bracher, an Indigenous Liaison with Parks Canada and graduate student at the University of British Columbia, shares how growing up hunting and fishing led him into wildlife conservation. His current research combines policy analysis with quantitative popul...

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54:54

Keeping Wild Sheep on the Mountain

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/05/01

Wild sheep are known for their tenacity to endure some of the harshest landscapes around the world, yet the global population of the subfamily continues to decline due to a bacterium, Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi). Pneumonia caused by this bacterium can wipe out entire herds. In this episode of “Our Wild Lives,” Kurt Alt and Corey Mason from the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) join us to talk about all things sheep conservation. They discuss the role of the WSF, the unique way she...

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33:51

Big Cats and the Border

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/04/17

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).&nbs...

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48:52

The Forgotten Bird Artist

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/04/03

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, h...

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47:30

Keeping Birds on the Map: Bird Conservation in North...

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/03/27

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 collabo...

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41:19

Building a Better Backyard for Wildlife

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/03/13

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, bui...

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27:40

Reforestation, Reggaeton and the Recovery of Puerto...

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/03/06

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 ...

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34:49

Montana’s Migration Marvel

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/02/27

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...

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52:40

When Wildlife and Aviation Collide

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/02/20

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 yea...

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36:59

Wildlifer Wellness

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/02/13

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 share...

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59:52

Conserving Wildlife on Working Landscapes

Our Wild Lives ·

2026/02/06

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 ...

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40 results

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