Wildlife Health Talks

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, Katie Beckmann, presented the review at the 14th Conference of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in February this year. Links: Resolution 12.6(Rev.COP14) on Wildlife Health and Migratory Species Migratory Species and Health Review Avian Influenza (Resolution 14.18) Migratory Species and Health Review Preventing Poisoning of Migratory Birds (Resolution 11.15(Rev.COP14))

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 H5 on Antarctic wildlife. And what they found was more pretty concerning. Listen in to Flo’s story about the new thread to the Southern continent, the miraculous marine adaptations of seal lice and why Flo can’t get enough of the eternal ice in the far South. Flo is a postdoctoral researcher at the Biology of Marine Organisms (Instituto de Biología de Organismos Marinos) in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Links Article on HPAI Australis Expedition Video on Flo’s and her colleague’s work with Antarctic seal

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 carnivores. Ai-Mei completed her degree in veterinary medicine and her PhD at the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan. Since Feb this year, she has been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Tasmania in Australia. Check out Ai-Mei's website here.

They are small, agile, and incredibly cute and their numbers are steadily increasing in Germany. However, the Eurasian otter still faces many challenges in German waterways. Our guest, Dr Simon Rohner, studied their causes of death, their pollutant burdens, and the human-otter-conflict. Him and his colleagues have been working on solutions of how to make Germany a safer otter habitat. After his PhD at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Simon has recently started his new position as assistant curator at Frankfurt Zoo, Germany. And luckily, they have otters there, too. Join us on this otterly amazing journey into the German rivers and streams. Links https://www.otterspecialistgroup.org/osg-newsite/

Our guest this week is Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) first female vet. Dr Tania Areori is one of only three vets at the National Agriculture and Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA) in PNG. One of the first challenges in her new position was managing the African swine fever outbreak. Tania had to work hard to get where she is now. Since she was kid, she wanted to become a vet. Not an easy task considering PNG doesn’t have a vet school. Tania had to win a prestigious scholarship to go to vet school in Australia, having to leave behind her young family. Join our host Dr Cat Vendl on Tania’s remarkable journey to become PNG’s first female vet. Links: Want to learn more about Tania’s journey and work? Check out this article in the WDA’s Quarterly.

Deep in the rainforest between Peru, Colombia and Brazil there is a lot going on. Wildlife trafficking is likely to blame for the occurrence of reverse zoonoses transmitted from humans to owl monkeys caught for biomedical research. In addition to studying the occurrence of reverse zoonoses, our guest, Dr Fernando Vilchez Delgado, investigates the potential evolution of Flaviruses in the making in the local primate population. Join our host Dr Cat Vendl and Fernando on a trip of adventure, science and true crime to one of the most remote places on earth. Links NGO EntropikaArticle

Deaf dolphins, hooked turtles and manatees hit by boats, Dr Debra Moore has seen it all in her career as aquatic mammal vet. She is the former head vet of the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies, IMMS, in Southern Mississippi, US. In addition to her clinical work, she is an assistant clinical professor at Mississippi State University and gives vet students the opportunity to get hands-on training on sea lions, sea turtles and dolphins. She is passionate about teaching and believes that it is essential that students become aware of the critical role of ocean health for the planet’s and therefore our own well-being. And on a side note, Debra is one of our newest WDA members. She joined on the day of the podcast interview. Who thought podcasting can’t make a difference! Learn more about the Institute of Marine Mammal Studies: https://imms.org/

Ticks have a microbiome, too. They carry essential symbionts and sometimes less essential members like Borrelia. Our host Dr Cat Vendl and her guest Dr Alice Lau explore the secrets of tick microbiome, but also chat about what it’s like to move to different countries to follow one’s academic career. Alice is an expert in this. She speaks at least four languages fluently and loves to get to know new cultures. Alice is currently based in Tokyo. Dive into the world of tick bacteria and being sometimes lost in translation with the Wildlife Health Talks.

In this first Wildlife Health Talks episode of 2024, we are taking you back to the very beginning, back to the year of 1951, when 28 US and Canadian wildlife biologists at the 16th North American Wildlife Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, founded the Wildlife Disease Committee. Only one year later, in 1952 the Committee was renamed to, you might have guessed it, the Wildlife Disease Association. The WDA was born. And one of the WDA’s founding fathers and first elected president was the wildlife biologist, Dr Carlton Herman. For the first time on this podcast, our host Dr Cat Vendl has a whole bunch of guests to chat with about Carlton Herman and what drove him back in the days to found the WDA, a pretty visionary organization back then. After all, in the 1950s One Health was less than in its infancy. Cat chats with three of Carlton’s sons, two of his colleagues, Ed Addison and Tom Yuill, and the WDA’s very own Executive Manager, Peri Wolff.

Our guest, Dr Hezy Anholt, is a true world citizen. She has lived and worked in about 10 different countries. Originally from Canada, Hezy has found a second home in Malawi where she initially worked as a research veterinarian for the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust for two years. In addition to running her own wildlife vet business, she has been a PhD candidate since 2021. Through the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, she studies trypanosomiasis, or ‘sleeping sickness’, with a One Health approach. Malawi has the highest prevalence of this almost always fatal disease. Join our host Dr Cat Vendl on a trip into the heart of wildlife research in Malawi with Hezy. Links Hezy’s PhD work with UBC: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/anholt-heather-hezy Hezy’s blog post in the Lonely Conservationists on neo-colonialism: https://lonelyconservationists.com/2023/06/27/hezy-exploited-in-the-haze-of-a-dazzling-opportunity/

Koalas face a multitude of threats in their natural habitat on the east coast of Australia. These include habitat loss, infection with Chlamydia, dog attacks and car accidents. Our guest, Dr Julien Grosmaire, works as an environmental consultant and oversees the assessment of those threats. And as a side effect, he gets to hang out with incredibly cute koala joeys. In addition, Julien is the current student & mentoring lead for The Veterinary Kaleidoscope, a veterinary diversity and inclusion organisation in Australia, supporting the rights of LGBTQIA+ people in Australia’s veterinary field. In this episode, we are getting a little political. Indigenous rights are closely interconnected with One Health. Australia just had a referendum on the Voice to Parliament that could have meant a major boost of indigenous rights. But the referendum failed. Our host Cat chats with Julien about the consequences of the referendum outcome and Julien’s outlook for the future. Related links to check out: - Julien’s LinkedIn profile - The website of Veterinary Kaleidoscope - Uluru Statement from the Heart - Learn more about the Voice referendum in Australia that took please in Oct 2023

Dr Sarange Angwenyi knew that she wanted to become a wildlife vet at an early age. Experiences like acting as bait for an aggressive leopard to dart and relocate the animal, certainly wasn’t part of her initial plan. And yet, Sarange loves every minute of her journey that started with her 10 year-old self, shadowing her local vet. Today, Sarange serves as the Wildlife Health and Disease Surveillance Manager on the Smithsonian's Global Health Program. Earlier this year, she has been awarded the National Geographic Explorer. She is currently involved in projects reintroducing mountain bongos and introducing an app to wildlife rangers that aims to prevent disease outbreaks among wildlife in Kenyan National Parks. Our host, Dr Cat Vendl, chats with Sarange about her fascinating journey and also discusses the challenges that Sarange has faced like discrimination as a female wildlife vet and neocolonialism in Kenya. https://explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org/shaleen-angwenyi

Join us on a trip to the Mongolian steppe! You don’t need to be a mammal lover to find these creatures fascinating. Saiga antelopes have been around and unchanged since the last ice age when they roamed the Mongolian plains with woolly mammoths. But the saigas haven’t had an easy run for the past years. In 2016/2017 a massive disease outbreak that had spilled over from domestic livestock caused them to die by the tens of thousands. This episode’s guest, Dr. Enkhtuvshin Shiilegdamba, called Enkee, led the investigations and shares her experience. Enkee has had an impressive career in epidemiology and One Health that brought her to the US to study and research at UC Davis and back to her home country, Mongolia. After many years with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Enkee currently works as a transboundary animal disease specialist consultant for the Worldbank and the FAO. We are taking a speed tour through her career journey and wonderful and challenging experiences she had on the way. Links Enkee’s profile on LinkedIn: https://mn.linkedin.com/in/enkee-enkhtuvshin-shiilegdamba-50128413 An article from 2019 on Saiga conservation in Mongolia from Enkee: https://news.mongabay.com/2019/08/with-new-protections-saiga-antelope-may-continue-to-be-a-symbol-of-central-asia-commentary/

‘Pathologists know everything, they just know it too late’ For our guest Dr Heather Fenton, wildlife pathology is like being a detective solving a murder mystery case. Only that her victims are not human, but dolphins, penguins, sea snakes or turtles. For her that makes it even more exciting. Heather works for the Australian Registry of Wildlife Health and is based at Taronga Zoo in Sydney. The location of the zoo, overlooking beautiful Sydney Harbour is as amazing as what’s going on behind the scenes, lots of wildlife conservation, reconciliation work with indigenous groups and plenty of education for kids and adults alike. Join us for some of Heather’s story based at the heart of Sydney. Check out Heather’s profile and the Australian Registry of Wildlife Health: https://arwh.org/

Did we just find Galapagos 2.0? We are pretty sure we did. Guafo island is a pristine island in the south of Chila and just like the Galapagos Islands it is teaming of marine life, being a safe haven for South American fur seals, humpback whales, sea otters, and orcas. This is where marine biologist Dr Diego Perez-Venegas truly feels at home. He is part of the research group Guafo Island Science and studies the effects of macro and microplastic pollution on marine mammals and other marine vertebrates. Dive in to an untouched world of marine wonders and meet one of the scientists who can’t wait to share his passion about this magical place in the Pacific. Links Check out the website of Guafo Island Science: http://www.guafoislandscience.com/ Interested in volunteering or doing a research project with them? Don’t hesitate to reach out to Diego (diegojoaquin.pv@gmail.com).

Chicago is a great city with lots of opportunities for people and wildlife species alike. Our guest, Henry Adams, loves this city and its wildlife. They work as Wildlife Management Coordinator at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago and study the feathered, furry and scaly inhabitants and investigate how they deal with busy city life. Henry is also a self-taught illustrator and passionate science educator and they just started a WDA initiative for queer and ally members. Get ready for a jam-packed episode full of passion for science, art and kindness with Henry and Cat. Henry’s profile on the Lincoln Park Zoo website: https://www.lpzoo.org/experts/henry-adams-m-s/

Mac loves pathology and marine mammals. So he turned it into his career. On this week’s episode, our host Cat Vendl chats with Weerapong Laovechprasit, called Mac, about his journey from clinical work with stranded marine mammals in Thailand to his PhD in sea turtle health at the University of Georgia, US. Learn more about dugongs and why they make difficult patients, dive into the diversity of sea turtle viruses and find out why pathology is at the base of it all. Check out Mac’s profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/weerapong-laovechprasit-656a63120

Tapirs are Costa Rica’s megafauna. They are special in more than just one way. Visually, they are highly elusive, but they have a rich vocal life. Due to their immense appetite for fresh greens, they regularly get into conflict with the local farmers. That’s where the work of our guest, Dr Jorge Rojas Jimenez starts. Jorge is a PhD student at the University of Georgia in the US and the Conservation Program Manager of the Tapir Interdisciplinary Program Nai Conservation in Costa Rica. Jorge and his colleagues track the movements of tapirs, study their health, and run extensive outreach programs to restore the peace between tapir and people. Learn more about Costa Rica Wildlife and Jorge’s work here: https://costaricawildlife.org/ For internship opportunities with tapirs email Jorge directly (jorge.rojas@uga.edu). This is the Integrative Conservation (ICON) PhD Program that Jorge is part of: https://cicr.uga.edu/ Follow Jorge and Costa Rica Wildlife on social Media: @crwildlife @naiconservation @ugacicr @tapirvalleycr @tapirvet

In this episode, our host Cat Vendl chats with PhD student Joy Flowers. Joy is the co-founding mother and current president of the very first North America-wide WDA student chapter, called CANUSA. Joy is in the first year of her PhD at Pennsylvania State University, US. In her PhD, she studies the impact of deforestation on Ebola virus spillover. Get ready for our chat on WDA student activities and Ebola spillovers. Do you want to get involved with CANUSA? Email Joy: jgf5234@psu.edu

Our guest Dr Fransiska Sulistyo never planned to work with these amazing creatures. It happened just by chance and now, Siska can’t imagine her life without the gentle orangutans. She spent five years in the jungle of Borneo as animal welfare coordinator of BOSF (Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation). She got to know the hairy primates inside and out and in passing she also learned a lot about human psychology. After all we are not that different from our hairy cousins. Currently, Siska works with OVAG, the Orangutan Veterinary Advisory Group, as an independent consultant for several orangutan rescue & rehabilitation centers in Indonesia. Learn more about OVAG: https://www.ovag.org Learn more about BOSF, an Indonesian NGO that runs one of the biggest great apes rescue, rehabilitation, and reintroduction programs in the world: www.orangutan.or.id