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Today’s interview is with Douglas Chadwick, an American wildlife biologist, author, photographer and frequent National Geographic contributor. He has also written several books, most interestingly in this case he wrote a book called The Wolverine Way! You guessed it, it’s all about wolverines! Listen as Douglas tells us the unbelievable stories he’s experienced with Wolverines, why they are in so much danger and how he is pushing to save the natural world with a slightly different approach to most people.  Buy The Wolverine Way & Four Fifths a Grizzly: A New Perspective on Nature That Just Might Save Us All from Patagonia! Important Times: 00:10 Intro02:05 Welcome Douglas!02:40 Glacier National Park is still one of the wildest places04:25 The original food chain05:50 Public lands are important06:35 Wolverines in Glacier, how did they get there?07:20 I just finished reading The Wolverine Way! How did you start studying them?13:00 Trapping and tagging19:30 They can take down much larger animals20:45 They are mostly scavengers24:50 Handling the Wolverines27:20 Attacking humans32:20 Mountain climbers, why do they climb mountains?35:40 We didn’t expect they were climbing over mountains36:50 They are extremely territorial and one animal can cover huge areas of land38:25 The problem with National Parks -  they don’t solve the conservation problem!41:15 They have very unexpected family dynamics49:45 We need to connect conservation lands to eachother45:15 Are Wolverines on the endangered species list?57:35 Meeting captive Wolverines01:01:00 They can be breakout artists01:03:35 Reading a passage of The Wolverine Way01:07:20 Four Fifths a Grizzly: A New Perspective on Nature That Just Might Save Us All01:16:35 Outro

In 2009 Bob Pitman, his team and a BBC film crew were in Antarctica filming Killer Whales wave washing seals off of the ice as it had never been filmed before. What they witnessed next would blow them away! They captured evidence of Humpback whales actively protecting seals from Killer whales! Hear the story of this discovery and some interesting conversation about the new questions that this discovery made us ask.  Please check out our YouTube channel The All Things Wild Podcast! Important Times: 00:10 Intro01:20 Welcome Bob Pitman!02:05 Altruism in Humpback whales, what lead you to this point?08:15 Mobbing behaviour13:55 Natural instinct to react to predators17:00 Two main types of Killer whales in this area: fish eaters and mammal eaters19:15 Why isn’t this mobbing behaviour?21:28 Humpback calves don’t go to Antarctica 24:45 Do you think they know they are protecting a different species?26:22 Killer whales hunting in Western Australia28:10 Do you think the seal knew what was going on? Animals escaping predators by climbing onto your boat!31:00 Types of Killer whales in Antarctica: 5 types32:35 Where did this experience rank in your career?35:00 Dolphins helping people38:35 Altruism in humans40:05 Why haven’t Killer whales attacked humans?42:55 Killer whale intelligence44:00 Do they speak a language?44:40 Do they compare to human intelligence?45:20 Outro

Hello everyone and welcome to the show! Today’s episode is a little different to usual, it’s just me talking! Learn about the history of this podcast, what inspired it to begin with, what motivates me to keep it going and what lies in the future for the show.  I have also recently found some really interesting information on wolves and how they hunt and perceive the world, including picking up on things that we are only now discovering, like the Grandmother Effect!  We hope you enjoy today’s episode, we’ll be back next time with more interviews with experts from around the world! 00:10 Welcome to the show! Let me introduce myself and tell you the history of this podcast!06:20 The future of the All Things Wild Podcast09:20 Interesting new information about wolves referencing the book: Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey by Daniel R. MacNulty, Douglas W. Smith, and L. David Mech10:45 The Grandmother Effect13:10 Closing thoughtsCheck out our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/channel/UC5_MH_H-LW9ZUBR-layMc6w

Welcome back to the show! Today we have Cassie Volker of the Wild Dolphin Project and she studies aggression in dolphins! Did you know that dolphins can form small gangs which then go and beat up rival pods? Neither did we! Lot’s of super interesting info on today’s show, thank you so much Cassie for making time for this interview! Be sure to visit their website: https://www.wilddolphinproject.org/ and follow them @WildDolphinProject 00:11 Hello and welcome back! 02:10 Hello Cassie, welcome to the show! 03:50 How long have you been doing this for? 06:30 So you’re interested in dolphin aggression? 07:55 How did you figure out what they were doing? 09:50 Do they get injured? 11:45 Orca attack 16:15 Males or females? 18:05 Youtube Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nce9LVlApzI) 19:35 Coalitions and alliances in dolphin communities 21:10 Do they practice their fight moves? 22:30 Do these groups stay together? 24:05 Separating from their mother’s 25:45 Lamda the dolphin 31:20 They seem to recognize individual people 32:20 Bottlenose vs spotted dolphins 36:20 How do the fights start? 38:00 Worst injuries and have they hurt humans before? 43:00 Reading their behaviour 45:20 Dolphin vs chimp violence 47:45 Communication in dolphins 52:45 Dolphin language 57:20 Your favorite moment in the water 58:40 What do you think of their intelligence? 01:01:20 Thank you Cassie! 01:01:30 Outro

Jim Williams, author of Path Of The Puma, is on the show this week! Find out all about mountain lions, where they live, how they hunt and a bunch of interesting facts about them! They are very interesting creatures that are spread over a large area, come and learn about the similarities and differences between them and other big cats and how their relationship to humans is changing. You can find out more about his book here: www.pathofthepuma.com Check out All Things Wild YouTube channel here: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5_MH_H-LW9ZUBR-layMc6w 01:10 Hello and welcome to the show!02:55 Welcome Jim Williams03:30 You wrote a book, The Path Of The Puma04:40 It is an audio book too, how long did it take to make?06:15 You started out in marine biology?10:00 Decline in kelp forests and Great White sharks12:25 From working with dolphins to studying mountain lions?!18:25 What was it like working with dolphins? Do you think that zoos and aquariums are still necessary?25:40 Tell us about the Mountain Lion habitat30:00 Most of the time we don’t know they are around32:40 Great tracking story34:30 How do they compare to leopards?36:40 Jaguars37:55 Regional differences between the same species40:45 Mountain lion conservation should be an easier thing to get right42:30 People and mountain lions46:05 The hunters are leading the conservation for these cats50:55 Predator vs prey ratio55:25 Predators keep the food chain stable59:40 Glacier National Park01:02:30 Thank you for being on the show! Your last thoughts

Today's interview is with Dr Eduardo Mercado, a professor of psychology at the University of Buffalo in New York. He is interested in how humans and animal brains change when they learn new things, and more specifically to study animal cognition and in particular dolphin cognition. He has come across some startling new evidence that could rewrite a lot of what we know about Humpback whales and large cetaceans alike. Listen in on our interview as we find out Dr Mercado’s answer to “why do Humpback whales sing?”. Find his research here! Check out All Things Wild YouTube here: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5_MH_H-LW9ZUBR-layMc6w Important Times: 00:10 Intro01:15 Welcome Dr Mercado! Please tell us about yourself and what you study02:00 How did you end up studying dolphins and whales?04:35 So why do Humpback whales sing?06:05 Are these like bird songs?07:55 Other whales sing predictable and similar songs09:20 Regional differences11:55 What are the problems with the current accepted theories?16:50 Humpback mating has never been observed before18:15 Mating season22:45 So what do you think they are doing?27:00 Mapping the ocean’s whales30:55 What are the sounds they use? Tell us about the songs themselves32:30 What do you want to happen next with this research?34:50 Great experiment idea36:30 Convincing people and standing up to pushback from the scientific community39:30 Whale ears42:00 Echolocation controversy45:55 What are your next steps?47:40 How can people follow your research?49:25 Outro

Today’s episode is with Erik Frank from the University of Wuerzburg in the department of animal ecology and tropical biology! He has made some groundbreaking discoveries about ants, they have paramedics! The ants he studies, the Matabele ant, is constantly at war with termites, attacking multiple colonies per day to take them as food. These battles often leave ants injured. Erik has discovered that these injured ants are taken from the battlefield and nursed back to health by these paramedic ants! Get ready to have your mind blown and be faced with questions about consciousness, human society and life itself! Thank you Erik for being on the show! You can find him on Twitter @ETF1989 Check out All Things Wild YouTube here: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5_MH_H-LW9ZUBR-layMc6w Important Times: 00:10 Intro01:30 Welcome Erik! How and why did you start studying ants?03:45 The Matabele ants04:55 The role and jobs of ants06:20 How are termites divided up? Workers and soldiers06:50 How do the ants kill the termites?08:05 Tell us about your big discovery: ant paramedics!12:45 Which ants do they help?14:00 The individual vs society17:45 Ants could be ahead of us in evolution19:25 How are they treating the injured ants?21:00 Ant anatomy: tongues22:00 How they treat wounds24:10 How long does the treatment and rehabilitation take?25:05 Could you describe the battle between the ants and the termites28:05 Termite foraging29:15 How far away do the ants and termites live from each other?30:30 What predators do these ants have?32:30 What decisions does an ant as an individual make? 33:25 Consciousness vs instinct34:30 What do you think? What’s your opinion on any consciousness?35:05 Brain size335:40 Do you think they are aware that they are alive?37:35 What is next for you? How can people find and follow your work?38:40 Outro

Today’s episode is with Lauren McGough, a social anthropologist passionate about flying and hunting with eagles! She is one of the few people in the United States that actively flies and hunts with eagles. When she was young she convinced her dad to take her to Mongolia, where they still hunt with eagles, to learn from the generations of eagle falconers there. She has a Golden and a Black Eagle that she hunts with! Listen in on the interview and learn some really interesting things about birds of prey and hunting using eagles! Visit her website laurenmcgough.com Find her on Instagram: @eaglefalconer Check out All Things Wild YouTube here: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5_MH_H-LW9ZUBR-layMc6w Important Times: ● 00:11 Intro ● 01:20 Hello Lauren! You fly eagles, tell us about that! ● 01:50 What is a Black Eagle? ● 02:55 Can any Raptor species be taught to hunt with humans? ● 05:38 Origins of Falconry ● 06:40 How did you go to Mongolia and learn to fly eagles? ● 12:05 Tell us about Mongolia! ● 17:30 How long ago have eagles been used for hunting? ● 20:40 Regional prey ● 22:20 What’s the biggest prey that a Golden Eagle can take? ● 31:40 What speed do they go? ● 33:20 Eagle intelligence ● 36:17 Caring for eagles ● 42:10 Training eagles vs other birds ● 46:35 Raising birds and rehabilitation ● 52:44 Birds getting lead poisoning from hunter’s bullets ● 55:45 Hunting environment ● 01:00:05 Do eagles hunt Coyotes? ● 01:01:10 Quick questions: Favourite memory from Mongolia ● 01:03:55 Favourite eagle you’ve ever flown ● 01:09:20 How happy are people in Mongolia? ● 01:12:56 Thank you for your time! How can people contact you?

With all the crazy stress and noise that daily life has been throwing at us lately, we all need to get outside into nature to relax and unwind. A great way to do that from the comfort of your own home is to get into Birding, get an identification guide and try find out what types of birds visit your garden or that you see in daily life. One type that you will definitely find is the House Sparrow and despite being the most common bird around, their numbers are declining massively!  Today’s episode is with Harry Munt, a passionate birder and a student of wildlife management, who has set up a group that aims to stop the decline of House Sparrows in modern and urban environments. There are well over a billion individual birds that cover the earth and are the most common bird most people see, yet their numbers are dropping fast! They have a hidden link with humans, some of the first human remains being found with Sparrow bones shows a species long connection with humankind. They also play a big part in controlling pests and diseases, the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-1961 is the perfect example of the importance these birds play and why it is so important that they are able to survive and continue into the future. You can find out more about Harry’s work on SaveTheHouseSparrow.com or on Instagram or Twitter with the handle @save_the_house_sparrows.  Enjoy the episode and let us know what you think of it! Do you see many House Sparrows where you live?  Also, here is the link if you are interested in Shrek’s 99 Spero Recipes Cookbook https://www.noobspearo.com/ Check out All Things Wild YouTube here: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5_MH_H-LW9ZUBR-layMc6w 00:11 Intro  03:00 Welcome to the show! Tell us about House Sparrows and your organization 05:39 House Sparrows in North America and how they spread  08:16 They are very social but get aggressive  10:25 Social structure  14:12 Hierarchy  17:33 Intelligence  21:08 Diet  22:25 Do they mate for life?  24:07 They use beneficial plants  25:50 The origins of House Sparrows and how they spread all over the world 29:44 Pest control and the Great Chinese Famine of 1959-1961  36:17 European House Sparrows  39:30 Why they are in decline  40:47 Mining with birds  42:58 Bugs don’t hit your windshield anymore  46:06 Urban and modern issues  48:13 Hedges are great for House Sparrows  49:49 Sparrow Hawks  53:40 Cats  55:48 Predators keep the population healthy  57:15 How you can stop your cats killing birds  59:10 What do Sparrows talk about when they sing and shout?  01:03:12 What things is your organization doing?  01:08:55 What law changes would you like to see?  01:11:00 What can we as the public do? 01:12:40 How to put up birdboxes 01:17:50 How can people reach you? 01:21:44 Thanks Harry!

Liah McPherson is the next guest on the show! She is a Masters student with the Marine Mammal Research program through the University of Hawaii and a field assistant  with the Wild Dolphin Project in the Bahamas. I was able to join her and the Wild Dolphin  Project on their boat in the Bahamas doing research on Spotted  dolphins! Important Times: ● 00:11 Intro ● 02:23 Hello again Liah! You have a really interesting lifestyle, introduce yourself! ● 03:28 Why did you choose to study dolphins? ● 05:08 Spinner dolphins and the species you study ● 05:57 Using drones ● 07:00 What research are you doing in Hawaii? ● 09:48 Tell us about these Spinner dolphins! ● 11:45 Why do they spin? ● 13:00 How do they rest and sleep? ● 14:45 Do they travel as a group? ● 18:42 Conflict with humans ● 21:28 Federal offense if you get too close to them ● 24:56 Spinner vs Bottlenose dolphins ● 27:38 What research are you doing in the Bahamas? ● 32:44 Favorite memory with the dolphins ● 33:22 Taking samples ● 36:46 Seaweed game they play with humans ● 40:09 What is the coolest part of your job? ● 41:02 Martin’s experience with a baby Dolphin named Basmati ● 42:16 Do you feel like you’re swimming with an intelligent animal? ● 43:10 Language and communication ● 45:45 How do they navigate? ● 47:26 Humans using echolocation ● 48:00 Sound underwater ● 48:32 Triangulating individual dolphins from their sound ● 51:25 Thank you for being on the show! Any last thoughts? Liah’s Instagram: @mcfearsome Wild Dolphin Project: @wilddolphinproject Marine Mammal Research Project: @mmrp_uh

Lindsay Lyon is the CEO  of Ocean Guardian, a company that manufactures shark deterrents! Can you really put a device on your surfboard or attached to your leg that will stop a 15 foot Great White Shark from attacking you? Ocean Guardian claims to do just that and have the evidence to prove it works! He has a small company down in Western Australia where they manufacture a whole range of shark deterrent devices: for surfboards, spearfishing and diving, boating and angling. In 2018 they changed their name in Ocean Guardian to make a name that would stand out and prove itself to be trustworthy. There is a ton of great footage HERE of the Ocean Guardian in action! They also have plans to make the world's first electric shark barrier to make sharky beaches safer to swim in, protecting humans and sharks! Ocean Guardian products are designed to reduce the risk of shark attacks, letting you enjoy the ocean without fear. Check out All Things Wild YouTube here: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5_MH_H-LW9ZUBR-layMc6w Check out Ocean Guardians website here: https://ocean-guardian.com/ ● 00:11 Intro ● 02:06 Hello Lindsay! Have you always been surfing? What is it like in Western Australia? ● 04:38 What is the technology you use and where did it come from? ● 05:50 We developed an entire range of shark deterrents, the marketing is just really difficult ● 07:00 There are a lot of myths about these “shark shields”, why do people have such a sceptical view on them? ● 08:57 Where did the name come from? ● 10:05 How does Shark Shield Technology work? ● 12:04 Ampullae of Lorenzini, small gel sacks on shark’s noses that detect electrical fields ● 13:22 We create an electrical field with two stainless steel electrodes ● 15:17 It does NOT attract sharks ● 15:50 Peer research ● 18:52 It can be very helpful for spearfishing ● 21:58 These are safety devices, designed to reduce risk of attack ● 22:50 Shark attacks are extremely rare ● 24:25 We made these products so that you can enjoy the ocean without fear, the psychology of fear of sharks ● 26:14 Sharks learn that the sound of a speargun being fired means free food ● 27:57 The danger depends on where you are, what is the most dangerous ocean activity? ● 29:09 Fatalities in Western Australia, the government gives you money to purchase an Ocean Guardian device! ● 31:41 Are surfing attacks a case of mistaken identity? ● 32:30 Testing footage ● 35:30 Big sharks are smarter, most attacks are from younger sharks ● 36:26 Great White, Bull Shark and Tiger Sharks are responsible for around 97% of human attacks. The technology works better the bigger the shark ● 38:03 Shark attacks and population growth ● 39:26 We have a program to help survivors get back into the water ● 42:12 Shark Barrier: an electric alternative to shark nets ● 43:22 We have products for surfing, diving, boating, ocean fishing and now shark barriers ● 48:55 Sharks are treated very unfairly by society ● 49:47 Great White Shark diving in South Africa: the sharks have all disappeared! Could Killer Whales be to blame? ● 52:05 Toe nibbling Killer Whales ● 53:00 Great Whites in Australia ● 53:54 Outro

Today we have Dr. Lynn Sneddon of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, she is a leading researcher of animal welfare and is particularly interested in aquatic animals. She asks questions like “do fish experience pain?”, how can we minimise the suffering of fish when we catch them and overall promote a better and more humane fishing industry. We chat about recreational fishing, spearfishing and commercial fishing and how they compare. She also gives us some tips and advice on caring for your catch, the best way to dispatch and store your fresh catch and how catch and release fishing can better look after the fish. The best way for you to care for your catch is using barbless hooks, knotless nets and if you are going to eat them, kill them quickly and efficiently. Do NOT let them suffocate, it is bad for the fish and it spoils the meat. Is harvesting your own meat or buying it from the store more ethical? Send us your thoughts on this topic, we’d love to hear from you! Let us know what you think of this episode! ● 00:11 Intro ● 01:09 Dr. Lynn thanks for being on the show! Tell us about your background and the subject you study ● 03:15 Testing if animals have the same brain structure for pain ● 06:20 The effects of pain ● 07:28 The difference between pain and the desire to not be eaten ● 08:08 Where did the idea of “fish can’t feel pain” come from? ● 12:10 What does pain and consciousness have to do with each other? ● 16:35 Emotional vs sensory pain ● 18:43 Reflex response vs actual pain, does the animal’s behaviour change permanently or is it just a reflex? ● 21:11 Crabs and lobsters ● 22:13 Speciesism: what is an animal's life worth? ● 27:27 Where do you draw the line? ● 30:41 We are not in a position to judge and rank an animal's pain as more or less important ● 31:14 Basic fish physiology: how do they experience their world? ● 32:30 They live in a visual and chemical world that can detect movement well. Some fish even use electricity! ● 33:49 Rainbow trout’s lateral line detection ● 34:25 How do rainbow trout see at night? ● 35:22 Fly Fishing at night ● 36:00 Recreational fishing, how do you feel about it? ● 38:11 Improving fish welfare: using barbless hooks, knotless nets, killing quick and efficiently and not letting them suffocate. Do not let them suffocate! ● 40:09 The best way to dispatch a fish ● 40:19 What do you recommend for catch and release fishing? ● 41:09 Catch and release mortality rates ● 42:23 Would it be more humane to kill an injured fish than to let it die out in the wild? Common myths and misconceptions ● 43:28 Scaling care up to commercial fishing ● 44:26 Bringing up the catch slowly, get better at avoiding by catch, cameras on the bait and some boats stun the fish with electricity ● 45:13 The public drive the push for animal welfare ● 46:07 Harvesting your own meat vs from the shop: which is more ethical? ● 48:45 Better welfare products are more expensive, the public pushes the prices down when they demand it ● 50:04 Do you have a book or any way that people can support your work? Follow Dr Lynn Sneddon on Twitter! @LynneUSneddon