Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she ventures into Wyoming's vast wilderness to meet Dr. Samantha Allen, the state's wildlife veterinarian who juggles budget spreadsheets and helicopter captures of bighorn sheep. From her unforgettable first WDA conference moment wielding a Stryker autopsy saw on a porpoise, Sam shares her journey from small-town kid told she'd only work with "cows and cats" to tackling Wyoming's diverse wildlife health challenges. Discover how chronic wasting disease has become endem...
Jun 29, 2025•26 min•Season 3Ep. 62
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she heads to Vancouver Island to meet Dr. Damien Joly, CEO of the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative – though he insists he's just a "boring old disease ecologist!" But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Discover how Canada's unique cooperative approach tackles wildlife diseases across the world's second-largest country, from bird flu that's here to stay to chronic wasting disease threatening deer and potentially caribou. Damien shares captivating stories from ...
Jun 15, 2025•27 min•Season 3Ep. 61
Meet Alexandra Youssef, Lebanon's first and only certified wildlife rehabilitator and co-founder and vice-president of the NGO Lebanese Wildlife, based in Beirut. Alexandra fights to save wildlife amid economic collapse, war, and ancient cultural myths that drive species toward extinction. From the striped hyena (Lebanon's national animal, yet its most killed) believed to hypnotize victims, to snakes executed on sight despite most being harmless, Alexandra battles superstition alongside bullets....
Jun 01, 2025•26 min•Season 60Ep. 3
Self-described "systems thinker" Dr. Steve Unwin has spent decades working at the human-wildlife interface across four continents and believes we've got our scientific name all wrong. According to Steve, we're not Homo sapiens but Pan narrans: the storytelling ape. Host Dr. Cat Vendl explores Steve's journey from "pretending to be a zoo vet" to creating vital conservation networks and leading Wildlife Health Australia's International One Health Program. Discover how orangutans taught him patienc...
May 18, 2025•33 min•Season 3Ep. 59
In this captivating episode, host Dr. Cat Vendl speaks with zoo veterinarian and researcher Dr. Brett Gardner about the unprecedented rabies outbreak in Cape fur seals along South Africa's coast. Brett reveals how this once-impossible disease jumped from black-backed jackals to marine mammals, creating a new wildlife health crisis. Discover the detective work behind tracing the virus's origin, the devastating impacts on both seal colonies and human communities, and the race to protect sub-Antarc...
May 04, 2025•28 min•Season 3Ep. 58
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl with Dr. Helen Schwantje, British Columbia's pioneering wildlife veterinarian of nearly three decades. Journey from her unexpected career beginnings to her groundbreaking work with bighorn sheep and the complex fight to save mountain caribou through a variety of conservation strategies. Helen shares insights about Indigenous partnerships and previews the upcoming WDA conference in Victoria, where scientific presentations will blend with diverse perspectives in a spectacul...
Apr 20, 2025•29 min•Season 3Ep. 57
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she travels to New Zealand's Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, where Dr. Janelle Ward leads native species restoration behind the country's largest predator-proof fence. Discover how four kiwis introduced in 2005 grew into hundreds, leading to the largest kiwi translocation in history. Janelle reveals the challenges of managing this booming population, from specialized conservation dogs tracking elusive birds to navigating new health conditions as the sanctuary reaches...
Apr 06, 2025•27 min•Season 3Ep. 56
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she speaks with Dr. Sonia Hernandez, Wildlife Disease Association president and professor whose research spans continents and species. From studying prehistoric-looking tapirs adapting to human landscapes in Costa Rica to tracking white ibises navigating between Florida's wetlands and city parks, Sonia shares insights from her remarkable career. Discover how her journey from intimidated veterinary student to association leader has shaped her vision for science communic...
Mar 23, 2025•29 min•Season 3Ep. 56
Join our host Dr. Cat Vendl as she takes you to Oklahoma, where Will Funk directs wildlife rehabilitation at WildCare Oklahoma, caring for over 8,000 native patients annually – from hummingbirds to bald eagles, and even tarantulas! Will shares his fascinating journey from studying red kites in London to investigating mysterious neurological outbreaks in raccoons that challenge conventional wisdom about parvovirus. Discover his research on raccoon roundworm, a zoonotic parasite with serious publi...
Mar 09, 2025•18 min•Season 3Ep. 54
In this episode, our host Cat Vendl sits down with Dr. Tim Cernak, who is revolutionizing wildlife conservation through an unexpected lens: Conservation chemistry. From developing human medicines at Merck to fighting wildlife extinction with artificial intelligence, Tim shares how he's creating a "One Health Pharmacy" – where cutting-edge drug development meets conservation. Discover how the same tools used to combat COVID-19 are now being deployed to save endangered species, from frogs battling...
Feb 23, 2025•32 min•Season 3Ep. 53
Join us for an eye-opening conversation with K9 Jenns, a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney's Bat One Health Research Team, who brings a transformative perspective to the study of flying foxes and their viruses. Through the lens of queer ecology, K9 reveals how their personal journey has enriched their understanding of the complex relationships between bats and viruses, challenging traditional binary thinking in both science and society. Discover how their team's collection of over 60,000...
Feb 11, 2025•28 min•Season 3Ep. 52
In this episode, our host Cat Vendl takes you to Berlin to meet Anna Langguth, a PhD candidate studying one of the most devastating wildlife diseases recorded in mammals: white nose syndrome. From childhood bat enthusiast to innovative researcher, Anna shares her fascinating work on understanding how Australian microbats might respond to this deadly fungal disease before it reaches their shores. Learn about her groundbreaking approach to studying bat immune responses by growing bat wing cells in...
Jan 26, 2025•26 min•Season 3Ep. 51
Join us for an extraordinary conversation with Dianna Bisset, an Australian wildlife carer whose journey spans from creating equipment for James Cameron's deep-sea expeditions to rehabilitating wombats and kangaroos at Rocklily wildlife refuge. Diana shares her firsthand experience of the devastating 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires and their profound impact on wildlife, challenging long-held beliefs about the Australian bush's resilience. Through moving stories, including the remarkable recover...
Jan 12, 2025•34 min•Season 3Ep. 50
In this episode, we are taking you on a dive into the world of wildlife tuberculosis with Professor Michele Miller. Michele is the NRF South African Research Chair in Animal TB at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Her career has spanned from clinical work in major U.S. zoos to groundbreaking research in South Africa's Kruger National Park. Her multidisciplinary approach has combined veterinary medicine, immunology, and public health. We'll be discussing Michele's current research, includi...
Dec 09, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 49
In the 1960s, the Canadian government decided to relocate 14 muskoxen to the Eastern Arctic, a region where these large bovines had never been native. The intention was to support the local Inuit community by providing a new source of food and other resources. However, it appears the government did not consult the community about its needs or preferences. Farming the muskoxen was suggested, but the practice wasn’t culturally relevant. With little interest shown, the government released the musko...
Nov 10, 2024•20 min•Season 48Ep. 2
In this episode, you will meet Dr. Rita Santos, a veterinarian whose passion for wildlife has taken her across continents. From rehabilitating cottontail rabbits and hummingbirds in Minnesota to treating wildlife in the UK, Rita shares insights from her diverse experience in wildlife medicine. We discuss the fascinating differences between European and American rabbits, explore the challenges of wildlife rehabilitation across different countries, and learn about her research on blood parasites i...
Oct 27, 2024•23 min•Season 2Ep. 47
Our host Cat Vendl chats with Anastasiia Kovba about all things viral diseases of wildlife in Japan, to be more precise on the island of Hokkaido. Anastasiia is a PhD student, based at the University of Hokkaido in Sapporo. Anastasiia grew up in the Ukraine and did her vet degree there. For her Master’s, she moved to Japan to study HIV. But since her passion has always been wildlife, she is now investigating viral diseases in wildlife. Links The link to Anastasiia’s most recent paper Anastasiia’...
Oct 10, 2024•21 min•Season 2Ep. 46
Have you heard of the upcoming WDA2024 off-country conference from Dec 1-6? In less than 2 months the annual international WDA conference is coming up. It will take place in Australia’s capital, Canberra, from Dec 1-6. Australia! Sounds great, you might think. But that may not be in the budget right now. Fear not! We have you covered. This year’s conference will come in two ways: an on-country version, which will be in person on Australian soil, and an off-country part which will be held online....
Sep 23, 2024•27 min•Season 2Ep. 45
Our host Cat Vendl is talking all things Australian wildlife health with wildlife biologist Jane Hall. Jane is the project officer at the Australian Registry of Wildlife Health at Taronga Zoo and a PhD candidate at Griffith University. In her many years with the Registry, she has worked with all creatures big and small, from the tiniest marsupials to the giants of the sea, the humpback whales. Her work took her on many trips to one of her favorite places on Earth, Christmas Island, where she has...
Sep 08, 2024•28 min•Season 2Ep. 44
This week on WDA's Wildlife Health Talks podcast, host Dr Cat Vendl immerses herself and our listeners in an interview with Dr Helena Costa on her project 'Whale Exhale'. Helena studies the viruses in the blow of humpback whales that visit the coastline of Norway for the annual herring run. A PhD student at Nord University in Bodø, Norway, it's a far cry from Helena's homeland of Portugal. Links: Helena's research gate profile Helena's parapoxvirus paper WhaleExhale's X account Article written a...
Aug 25, 2024•26 min•Season 2Ep. 43
Our host Cat Vendl chats with WDA's own vice president Richard Kock. Richard has lived almost a life time of promoting wildlife health in Africa, Central Asia and the UK. Born in Rhodesia (today's Zimbabwe), Richard worked in Kenya for many years. He has seen the devastating consequences of colonialism to wildlife conservation first hand and has worked hard to counteract them. Listen in to Richard's story! Wanna be a guest on the show? Feel free to email communications(at)wildlifedisease.org or ...
Aug 12, 2024•30 min•Season 2Ep. 42
Tigers, leopards and now one-horned rhinos. Dr Martin Gilbert studies them all. He is a wildlife veterinarian, epidemiologist and Associate Professor of Practice at Cornell University, US. Originally from Scotland, he has investigated infectious diseases and mysterious mass die-offs all over Asia. It was him and his colleagues who discovered that it was the administration of Diclofenac to livestock that killed millions of vultures in India in the early 2000s. Listen in to Martin’s story! Links: ...
Jul 28, 2024•30 min•Season 2Ep. 41
Our host, Dr Cat Vendl chats with yet another winner of the 2024 BioOne Ambassador awards, Dr Sarah Wright. Sarah studied an aspect of the immune system of South American sea lions. She is based in Illinois in the US and is the Associate Editor for two veterinary journals and the co-host of the podcast Veterinary Vertex . Listen in to Sarah’s story! Links Watch Sarah’s BioOne Ambassador award video Sarah’s paper the video is based on Sarah’s podcast veterinary vortex Sarah’s LinkedIn profile Lea...
Jul 14, 2024•25 min•Season 2Ep. 40
Our host Dr Cat Vendl and her guest Dr Elis Fisk dive into the mystery of the bighorn sheep. Elis is a PhD candidate and anatomical pathology resident at Washington State University in the US and one of the winners of the 2024 BioOne Ambassador Award. In his video for the award, he showcases his impressive drawing skills and explains how he and his colleagues solved the mystery around the dying bighorn lambs. Links: "Draw and Learn: A Bighorn Sheep Mystery" – 2024 BioOne Ambassador Dr. Elis Fisk...
Jun 30, 2024•19 min•Season 2Ep. 39
Our host Dr Cat Vendl chats with Dr Andrew Peters, past WDA president and Associate Professor in Wildlife Health and Pathology at Charles Sturt University in Australia. A small revolution is about to take place within the WDA and hopefully the world of conference-ing as we know it. Andrew is the main organizer and creative head of the upcoming international WDA conference taking place in Canberra in early December this year. What is it that will make this conference so special, you might wonder....
Jun 16, 2024•30 min•Season 2Ep. 38
This year’s international WDA conference in Canberra, Australia, is preceded by a series of webinars to familiarize the WDA community with the concept behind the conference. This conference will differ quite a bit from the conventional. One of the new concepts introduced will be the special presentation style applied through-out the conference. There will be no complicated figures, equations, or data tables. Presenters will showcase their work via story telling or through the arts. Sounds easier...
Jun 02, 2024•25 min•Season 2Ep. 37
In this episode, we are diving into the fascinating world of the Egyptian rousette bat and its rich variety of pathogens. Our host Dr Cat Vendl chats with Dr. Jessica Elbert, a board-certified pathologist and PhD candidate at the University of Georgia. Marburg virus is just one of many viruses that the Egyptian rousette bat carries. Jessica has been intrigued by the bats’ immune system and their special way of dealing with infectious pathogens. We also delve into Jessica’s amazing transition fro...
May 19, 2024•20 min•Season 2Ep. 36
In the aftermath of the Covid19 pandemic, the Convention on Migratory Species of the United Nations renewed their focus on One Health and migratory species. In the wake of this renewal, researchers from the University of Edinburgh in the UK wrote a review titled "Migratory Species and Health: A Review of Migration and Wildlife Disease Dynamics, and the Health of Migratory Species, Our host Cat Vendl is joined by two of the authors, Dr Marja Kipperman and Dr Ruth Cromie. Ruth and her colleague, K...
May 05, 2024•29 min•Season 2Ep. 35
Seals have lice. This might not sound like a revolutionary fact. Many mammal species carry lice. However, as it happens, seal lice are the only marine insects that exist on this planet. In this episode, our host, Cat Vendl interviews Dr Florencia Soto about her work on the host-parasite-relationship between seals and lice and her recent trip to Antarctica. On this expedition, an international team of researchers investigated the presence and impact of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza subtype H...
Apr 21, 2024•20 min•Season 2Ep. 34
We all love to see a conservation project on a previously endangered wildlife species succeed. But what happens if a formerly small population grows to a point where its size becomes unsustainable? Performing a cull? Definitely not the most pleasant option. Our guest, Dr Ai-Mei Chang, works on a way more ethical solution: She develops and tests immuno-castration vaccines for the population control of wildlife species. In addition, she has worked on a range of infectious diseases in small wild ca...
Apr 07, 2024•20 min•Season 2Ep. 33
