During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Marcus Wernicke about what Marcus has experienced and learned working at Marine Mammal Rescue for over four thousand hours. Marcus talks about the most common mammals rescued at the two locations, California and Vancouver, and California’s surrogate programs to teach orphaned seals how to survive in the wild. Later, Marcus helps answer many questions from chat about otters such as their threats, diets, and favorite toys. Marcus does a...
Jul 16, 2021•1 hr 18 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Simon Morgan about how Morgan decided to help found the Wildlife ACT fund and their mission. ACT helps to protect many species in Africa such as the African Wild Dog, Cheetah, and the major focus of this talk, the Black and White Rhino. ACT prevents the poaching of these species by monitoring and tracking them, educating people, and by using anti-poaching techniques like dehorning rhinos. Maya’s community raised $642.83 for the Wildli...
Jul 16, 2021•1 hr 15 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Dr. Tara Stoinski about Tara’s personal experiences with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and what DFGF does in Africa to uphold their organization’s four pillars of conservation. DFGF is continuing to expand its conservation area and research campus in order to provide more room not only for the endangered gorillas but also for scientific research and training new conservationists. On Earth Day, DFGF announced an exciting new agreement w...
May 13, 2021•1 hr 19 min
Maya speaks with Louie Psihoyos, the famous director of award-winning documentaries such as “The Cove” and “Racing Extinction” about the importance of influential conservationists and their impact on society. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Louie about how he became so invested in his cause and transitioned from National Geographic photographer to director. Louie shares some of the most interesting and impactful stories of his experience becoming a conservationist a...
Apr 11, 2021•1 hr 13 min
Maya speaks with Niko Ankergren, a video game developer turned zookeeper, about his zoo in Denmark focused on rescuing and providing homes for all kinds of animals. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Niko about a few of the 600 rescued animals living at Play Rescue Zoo. Play Rescue aims to save animals from illegal industries like the pet or fur trade. Niko and Maya visit some of the cutest animals found around the zoo and discuss the increased difficulty of running a ...
Apr 11, 2021•1 hr 50 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Larson about his work and experience tracking, tagging, and researching bears. Larson answers viewer questions about each bear’s unique characteristics, their hunting styles, and about being a wildlife biologist. However, Larson knows about more predators than just bears. Larson’s Tooth and Claw podcast hopes to bring attention to some of the wildest and most fearsome animals in order to teach humans to give them the amount of respect...
Apr 11, 2021•1 hr 16 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Michael about founding a non-profit and his path to becoming a pilot. Michael shares how lucky he feels to be able to do something this fulfilling and impactful. He also encourages others to try flying to feel the freedom it gives. Michael hopes that he and his organization can continue to bring awareness to the hundreds of thousands of animals that could be saved from euthanization if they were given more opportunities for adoption. ...
Apr 11, 2021•1 hr 17 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Downey about her role and mission at the Wolf Conservation Center. Downey explains how WCC hopes to help wolf conservation by educating people, providing wolves with tools to survive, and rearing wolves. An important topic brought up by Downey is the devastating impact habitat loss has on many of the endangered animals today, including wolves. Downey hopes that by raising awareness, wolves can have a fighting chance of coming back. Ma...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 19 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Kirsten about her 12-year journey studying hellbenders, and how her aquatic ecology background and love for salamanders led to her position on the board of directors at FCSAL. Kirsten informed viewers of the lack of attention salamanders get despite the sheer importance of salamanders, given their role in their ecosystem as central links in the food web. The two discussed the aim of FCSAL in providing seed grant funding for projects s...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 37 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with aquatic ecologist and assistant professor Dr. Solomon David, about his favorite fish, the gar. Dr. David shows off all of the interesting and unique attributes of gar in hopes of sparking the same joy he feels for gar in others. He even gives a live demo of gar feeding! Another important topic brought up is the story of how Dr. David got into conservation. He showcases the importance of conservationists sharing their passion with the ...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 26 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Dr. Hennen about the underappreciated work and beauty of millipedes. Throughout the podcast, Maya showed photo after photo of millipedes taken by Dr. Hennen himself. Both Maya and her viewers were surprised at how interesting and nice-looking millipedes are up close. Dr. Hennen expressed an infectious passion for his favorite arthropod which helped everybody fall in love with them. By showing their ecological importance and beauty, Dr...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 34 min
During this special episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with her Mom, Vicki, about the rehabilitating effect animals can have on adults and kids alike. Vicki shares stories showcasing their animal’s ability to brighten up one’s day or be there for those in need. Vicki also emphasizes their animal’s unique ability to connect with kids with special needs and give them a friend to open up with. After seeing these effects firsthand, Vicki hopes to continue to spread smiles using her non-pro...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 52 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Jonathan about what exactly chytridiomycosis is, and how it became one of the main factors in the dramatic decline of amphibians in many parts of the world. Jonathan explained the way in which it infects and attacks the amphibian’s keratin production, thus negatively affecting levels of keratin in the skin which they require to function on land. The two discussed the effect of the harsh decline on the ecosystem, and emphasized the imp...
Dec 18, 2020•1 hr 20 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Samantha about what it means for an animal to be an ‘ambassador’, and their significance in educating the public about how to share our environment with them, and how to reduce the negative impact we might have on them. Samantha introduced a few ZooToYou ambassadors including Bruno the harris hawk, Gumbo the alligator, and Disco the grey fox. Samantha and Maya answered viewer-sent questions about the ambassador friends and shared stor...
Nov 27, 2020•2 hr 28 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Kelsey about her studies into the ecology of ground pangolins and how she fell in love with them. Kelsey highlighted the value of pangolins and the important role they play within their ecosystem as pest control as a result of their ant and termite diet. The two discussed the threats that pangolin face, including droughts, poaching, and trafficking for their scales for use in traditional Chinese medicine. Kelsey shared stories from he...
Nov 20, 2020•1 hr 20 min
During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Nick Gladstone, an evolutionary biologist and doctoral student at Auburn University who works in freshwater snail conservation. Nick shared his current studies and research, as well as his story of how he got into the field of freshwater life, particularly freshwater snails. Nick also shared his myriad of experiences in cave biology, detailing the way in which biospeleologists study organisms that live in caves. The two answered viewe...
Nov 20, 2020•1 hr 29 min
Maya speaks with Dr. Andrew Halloran, director of chimpanzee behavior and care at Save the Chimps who is in charge of direct non-veterinary care of the chimps in the sanctuary. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Andrew about his role in the sanctuary and when he first started working with chimpanzees. Andrew spoke of his studies into vocal communication of chimps prior to his involvement in the sanctuary. The two delved deep into the saddening history of scientific exp...
Oct 30, 2020•1 hr 29 min
Maya speaks with Sonam Tashi Lama, a representative of Red Panda Network who became involved in the organization after contacting its founder who was studying red pandas in his remote area within Nepal. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Sonam about the red panda and their important role in our ecosystem as an indicator species. The duo discussed some of the many threats faced by red pandas, as well as the severity of habitat loss on the species. Other topics included ...
Oct 23, 2020•1 hr 22 min
Maya speaks with Shah Selbe, an engineer with 10 years of experience in spacecraft propulsion engineering who started his own non-profit organization in order to answer the question ‘how can technology play a bigger role in conservation?’. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Shah about the origin of Conservify, and the issues in conservation which Shah aimed to address with the creation of open-source field kits. The two discussed the significance of a Field Kit's abili...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 21 min
Maya speaks with Susan Tsang, a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, whose primary interest is in the evolution and biogeography of flying foxes. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Susan about the wonders of flying foxes and their important roles in their ecosystem as a pollinator. Susan explained that one of the largest issues faced by flying foxes in the Philippines is hunting, with causes ranging from bushmeat trade to medicinal ...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 28 min
Maya speaks with Dr. Robyn Miller and Connor O’Brian from American Eagle Foundation, who have 35 years of conservation education and rehabilitation experience as an organization. During this special episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya collaborated once again with her friends from the American Eagle Foundation to raise funds for Nepal Vulture Restaurants in celebration of international vulture awareness day. Unlike traditional episodes of the podcast, Maya and Robin paint a King Vulture whilst...
Oct 15, 2020•4 hr 29 min
Maya speaks with Jasmin Graham, a co-founder of the Minorities in Shark Sciences (MiSS) organization During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Jasmin explained her aim to help change the culture of marine science and shark science in particular and ways in which MiSS is going about making marine science inclusive. Jasmin shared her experiences of boat trips, summer camps and workshops set up and funded by MiSS, igniting a passion for children in low-income communities who don’t typically hav...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 31 min
Maya speaks with Dr. Robin Morrison, a postdoctoral researcher studying gorilla social behavior, social complexity, territoriality, and the evolution of cooperation. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Dr. Morrison about her studies into the social dynamics of gorillas within family groups, as well as the importance of gaining an understanding of such social behaviors. The two discussed where the more unusual social behaviors may come from, the benefits of cooperation f...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 29 min
Maya speaks with James, an anti-poaching conservationist living on one of South Africa’s largest reserves, accompanied by his multi-purpose anti-poaching canine, Puma. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with James about his roles on the South African reserve which he and his anti-poaching dog, Puma, live on. The two discussed how they provide research capability through having Puma track and monitor certain endangered or keystone species within the reserve. James explained ...
Oct 15, 2020•48 min
Maya speaks with Colleen Weiler, an expert on Southern resident orcas and author at Whale & Dolphin Conservation (WDC) USA. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Colleen about WDC’s dependency on individual donations as well as their Adopt a whale program, allowing those who adopt a specific whale to receive monthly updates on their sightings and wellbeing through tracking and identification. These check-ups also inform adoptees of what WDC is doing to help protect wh...
Oct 15, 2020•49 min
Maya speaks with Laura Kojima, a herpetologist who studies alligator ecotoxicology and behavior at the University of Georgia. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Laura Kojima about the field of ecotoxicology and what the data collection process involves. Viewers were taught about the issues faced by reptiles and amphibians as a result of various human activities as well as their importance in our natural and cultural heritage. Other points of discussion included the com...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 18 min
Maya speaks with Jordan Veasley, a zookeeper and content creator who focuses on wildlife conservation education. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Jordan Veasley about his journey to becoming a zookeeper in a field lacking diversity and his efforts to inspire a similar passion for zookeeping in people of color through his social media presence. The two also discussed the importance of zoos and the role they have in the world for conservation and education as well as t...
Oct 15, 2020•1 hr 21 min
Maya speaks with Kassandra Ford, a biologist who studies the craniofacial morphology of electric fishes from South America and Africa. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Kassandra Ford about what defines an electric fish, adaptations that electric fish have developed, and how Kassandra’s academic journey led her to study electric fish species. Kassandra answered many viewer questions regarding misconceptions that electric fish face. The two also had a discussion about ...
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 14 min
Maya speaks with Lizzie Daly, a wildlife videographer and filmmaker, BBC wildlife presenter, and a host for National Geographic’s “Meet the Expert.” During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Lizzie Daly about her experiences filming projects for BBC, National Geographic, and for her own independent Youtube channel. Lizzie answered viewer questions about the daily life of a wildlife videographer and the importance of the patient work that filmmakers put into their projects in ...
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 20 min
Maya speaks with Clayton Pilbro, the founder of Aye-aye Conservation which is an organization that engages in public education and research collaboration to promote the conservation of aye-ayes. During this episode of the Conservation Cast, Maya spoke with Clayton Pilbro about the threats that aye-ayes face such as habitat loss, human-animal conflict, and superstitions associated with aye-ayes that are shared by local communities. Clayton answered viewer questions about special adaptations that ...
Jul 24, 2020•1 hr 33 min
