Wildlife Health Talks
Episodes
#85 Elizabeth and the Blood Feeding Network (Mexico)
14 Jun 2026
Contributed by Lukas
How do you find out which animals a mosquito has been biting? You start by thinking like one. In this episode, biologist Elizabeth Linares Alcántara ...
#84 Genevieve and the Wider Lens of Queer Ecology (USA)
31 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Genevieve Barnett spends their nights caring for one of the world's most misunderstood animals. From Night Flight Rehabilitation, the bat rehab N...
#83 Sabrina and the Turtles of the Holy Shrine (Bangladesh)
17 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This episode takes us to Bangladesh, a first for the podcast, where Dr. Sabrina Ferdous is doing wildlife health research in one of the most unusual f...
#82 Briana and the Social Media Epidemic (USA)
03 May 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Every day at Project Wildlife in San Diego, Briana Eisan sees the consequences of a scroll: baby raccoons scooped up by well-meaning strangers, people...
#81 Sharon and Wildlife on the Edge (Kenya)
19 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Northern Kenya is one of Africa's most biodiverse landscapes, and one of its most demanding places to be a wildlife vet. Dr. Sharon Mulindi, seni...
#80 Wendi, Slow Lorises and lived One Health in Indonesia
05 Apr 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a wildlife vet who spent years nursing slow lorises back to health walks into a live animal market, not to rescue animals, but to si...
#79 Justorien and the Fight for Madagascar's Lemurs
22 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Justorien Rambeloniaina grew up in northeastern Madagascar watching lemurs captured and killed, not yet knowing they were among the world's m...
#78 Conversations with Women of Wildlife (panel discussion on the occasion of International Women's Day)
08 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Six women. Five continents. Decades of experience spanning wildlife veterinary practice, disease research, government policy, and international conser...
#77 Steve and Some Good Gnus in Southern Africa
22 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the very fences built to protect livestock have been quietly driving one of Africa's greatest wildlife crises? Professor Steve Osofsky, o...
#76 Andrew and the Future of Wildlife Hospitals (Australia)
08 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
What if the key to saving more wildlife isn't treating more animals, but preventing them from ending up in hospitals in the first place? In this ...
#75 Dennise Ortiz and the Wild Cats of Costa Rica
25 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Journey to Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula with wildlife veterinarian Dennise Ortiz, who tracks pumas and ocelots to answer a critical question: do bi...
#74 Ny Aina and the Women Leading Madagascar's Conservation
11 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
From Madagascar's forests to the heart of conservation: meet Dr. Ny Aina Tiana Rakotoarisoa, a veterinarian on a mission to save critically endan...
#73 Niraj and The Carcass Café: How Carrion Shapes Wildlife Disease Risk
14 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if the biggest threat to Australia's wildlife during a disease outbreak might be lying dead in the bush? Join host Dr. Cat Vendl with Niraj ...
#72 Ana Maria and the sloths (Mexico)
30 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Ana Maria Villada has spent years unraveling the mysteries of sloths—creatures so physiologically unique that they're closer to chimpanzees ...
#71 Alex and the Bandicoots: Redefining the Wildlife Veterinarian (Australia)
16 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
By day, Dr. Alexandria Bullen treats cattle and cats at a veterinary clinic on Tasmania's rugged northwest coast. By night, she's out tracki...
#70 Leanne and the Swift Parrot's Future: Reimagining Wildlife Health Before Crisis (Australia & Vietnam)
02 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What if we could prevent wildlife health crises instead of always racing to respond to them? Dr. Leanne Wicker has spent decades asking this question ...
#69 Mya and the penguins (USA & Peru)
19 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From Peru's copper mines to penguin colonies, PhD candidate Mya Daniels-Abdulahad tracks a toxic trail that threatens an entire species. Winner o...
#68 Ralph and HPAI in the Southern hemisphere (Argentina)
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she follows Dr. Ralph Vanstreels tracking high pathogenicity avian influenza from South America to Antarctica. Ralph shares...
# 67 Pat and the parrots (USA)
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nearly one-third of all parrot species are threatened with extinction, yet most people picture these charismatic birds as noisy pets in cages rather t...
#66 Kate and the albatrosses (USA)
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A snowstorm that closed highways led English literature student Kate Huyvaert to an unexpected path—becoming one of North America's leading exp...
#65 Nick and the Lord Howe Island stick insects (Australia)
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she meets Dr. Nick Doidge, zoo veterinarian and researcher, working to save the world's rarest insect – the Lord How...
#64 Melting the Ice in People's Hearts: Indigenous Voices on Planetary Health (Canada)
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In honor of International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples on Aug 9, join host Dr. Cat Vendl for a special episode featuring two powerful In...
#63 Nelson and the gorillas (Uganda)
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she ventures into Uganda's misty mountains to meet Dr. Nelson Bukamba, one of the world's few gorilla doctors pro...
#62 Sam and the swift fox (USA)
29 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she ventures into Wyoming's vast wilderness to meet Dr. Samantha Allen, the state's wildlife veterinarian who jug...
#61 Damien and Canadian wildlife diseases
15 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 insist...
#60 Alexandra and wildlife conservation in times of war (Lebanon)
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Alexandra Youssef, Lebanon's first and only certified wildlife rehabilitator and co-founder and vice-president of the NGO Lebanese Wildlife,...
#59 Steve and the tale of the Storytelling Ape (Australia)
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Self-described "systems thinker" Dr. Steve Unwin has spent decades working at the human-wildlife interface across four continents and believ...
#58 Brett and rabies in Cape fur seals (South Africa & Australia)
04 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this captivating episode, host Dr. Cat Vendl speaks with zoo veterinarian and researcher Dr. Brett Gardner about the unprecedented rabies outbreak ...
#57 Helen, bighorn sheep, mountain caribou and WDA2025 (Canada)
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl with Dr. Helen Schwantje, British Columbia's pioneering wildlife veterinarian of nearly three decades. Journey from her u...
#56 Janelle and the kiwi (NZ)
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she travels to New Zealand's Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, where Dr. Janelle Ward leads native species restoration...
#55 Sonia and the science of pushing boundaries (USA)
23 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join host Dr. Cat Vendl as she speaks with Dr. Sonia Hernandez, Wildlife Disease Association president and professor whose research spans continents a...
#54 Will and the raccoons (USA)
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#53 Tim and conservation chemistry (USA)
23 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, our host Cat Vendl sits down with Dr. Tim Cernak, who is revolutionizing wildlife conservation through an unexpected lens: Conservati...
#52 K9 and queer ecology (Australia)
11 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
#51 Anna and the microbats (Australia)
26 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#50 Dianna and the wombats (Australia)
12 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Join us for an extraordinary conversation with Dianna Bisset, an Australian wildlife carer whose journey spans from creating equipment for James Camer...
#49 Michele and wildlife tuberculosis (South Africa)
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 R...
#48 Laura and the muskoxen (Canada)
10 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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....
#47 Rita and the cottontail rabbits (Portugal & Angola)
27 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, you will meet Dr. Rita Santos, a veterinarian whose passion for wildlife has taken her across continents. From rehabilitating cottont...
#46 Anastasiia and the brown bears (Japan & Ukraine)
10 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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. Ana...
#45 The making of WDA2024 off-country (online) conference
23 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#44 Jane and all things Australian wildlife health (Australia)
08 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our host Cat Vendl is talking all things Australian wildlife health with wildlife biologist Jane Hall. Jane is the project officer at the Australian R...
#43 Helena and Project 'Whale Exhale' (Norway)
25 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 he...
#42 Richard Kock and how colonialism threatened species survival (UK)
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
#41 Martin and the Amur tigers (all over the place)
28 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tigers, leopards and now one-horned rhinos. Dr Martin Gilbert studies them all. He is a wildlife veterinarian, epidemiologist and Associate Professor ...
#40 Sarah and the endeavour of scholarly publishing (USA)
14 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 syst...
#39 Elis and the bighorn sheep (USA)
30 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#38 Andrew and the upcoming international 72nd WDA conference (Australia)
16 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Our host Dr Cat Vendl chats with Dr Andrew Peters, past WDA president and Associate Professor in Wildlife Health and Pathology at Charles Sturt Univer...
#37 Nigel and the art of story telling (Special edition!)
02 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
This year’s international WDA conference in Canberra, Australia, is preceded by a series of webinars to familiarize the WDA community with the conce...
#36 Jess, bats and all that jazz (USA)
19 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#35 Ruth, Marja and Katie, and the Review of Migration and Wildlife Disease Dynamics (UK)
05 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In the aftermath of the Covid19 pandemic, the Convention on Migratory Species of the United Nations renewed their focus on One Health and migratory sp...
#34 Flo and the seal lice (Argentina & Antarctica)
21 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#33 Ai-Mei and the sika deer (Taiwan/Australia)
07 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We all love to see a conservation project on a previously endangered wildlife species succeed. But what happens if a formerly small population grows t...
#32 Simon and the otters (Germany)
24 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
They are small, agile, and incredibly cute and their numbers are steadily increasing in Germany. However, the Eurasian otter still faces many challeng...
#31 Tania and the pigs of Papua New Guinea
10 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 Quaranti...
#30 Fernado and the secrets of the Peruvian rainforest
25 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 revers...
#29 Debra and all sea creatures great and small (USA)
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 ve...
#28 Alice and the tick microbiome (Japan)
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ticks have a microbiome, too. They carry essential symbionts and sometimes less essential members like Borrelia. Our host Dr Cat Vendl and her guest D...
#27 How it all began: Carlton Herman and the birth of the WDA (USA)
14 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 w...
#26 Hezy and Malawi's sleeping sickness
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#25 Julien and the koalas (Australia)
03 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Koalas face a multitude of threats in their natural habitat on the east coast of Australia. These include habitat loss, infection with Chlamydia, dog ...
#24 Sarange and her adventures of becoming a Kenyan wildlife vet
19 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
#23 Enkee and the Saigas (Mongolia)
05 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#22 Heather and the Australian Registry of Wildlife Health
22 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
‘Pathologists know everything, they just know it too late’ For our guest Dr Heather Fenton, wildlife pathology is like being a detective solving a...
#21 Diego and Galapagos 2.0 (Chile)
08 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Islan...
#20 Henry and the ibises (USA)
24 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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. Th...
#19 Mac and the turtles (USA & Thailand)
10 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Laovechpras...
#18 Jorge and the tapirs (USA & Costa Rica)
27 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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. D...
#17 Joy, Ebola and CANUSA (USA)
13 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Am...
#16 Siska and the orangutans (Indonesia)
30 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#15 Gianmarco and everything wildlife everywhere all at once
16 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Let us take you on a trip from the mountains of the Pyrenees, over the lush rainforests of Costa Rica to the remote Pacific paradise of Cocos Island. ...
#14 Kaylee and the rats (Canada)
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
They are wildlife, too, but they are mostly overlooked in wildlife research. They are the rats that roam our cities! Our guest and rat detective, Dr K...
#13 Aricia and the seals (Brazil)
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why should you hurry to book your tickets to Guatemala this November? What does it mean to become a BioOne Ambassador? And why are more and more Antar...
#12 Anna and the aardvarks (South Africa)
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our host Cat interviews Dr Anna Haw, a south African wildlife vet, who seeks to understand the economics behind wildlife conservation. Anna made a ver...
#11 Ali and the fruit bats (Australia)
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Flying foxes are omnipresent on Australia’s east coast. Some people love them, others, especially horse and property owners with lots of yummy fruit...
#10 Tiggy and Australian Wildlife Health
07 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cat’s guest in this episode, Dr Tiggy Grillo wears many hats. She is the Chief Operating Officer of Wildlife Health Australia, works with the World ...
#9 Rick and the worms (USA)
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
However crawly and creepy, Rick loves them all. Dr Rick Gerhold is an Associate Professor of Parasitology at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the...
#8 Rachael and the Australian sea lions
09 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Australian sea lions are one of the most endangered mammal species in Australia. And they are not alone. Australia is infamous for one of the highest ...
#7 Fidu and the rhinos
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our host Cat chats with wildlife health veterinarian and anesthesiologist Dr Friederike (Fidu) Pohlin about her PhD on rhinos in South Africa and her ...
#6 Scott, his Wombot and the physics behind poo shapes
12 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Podcast host Cat chats with Dr Scott Carver about the secret lives of wombats. His team built a robot, the Wombot, that allows to explore the burrows ...
#5 Mel and the penguins
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Not even 30 bee stings in one hand and a fridge full of exploding penguin eggs could stop PhD candidates Mel Wells to study the pollutant exposure of ...
#4 Liz and the bats
12 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Why do bats carry so many deadly viruses that don’t affect them and why is it a fungus that brings them to their knees? Our host Cat chats with Dr E...
#3 Peri and the pot-bellied pigs
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cat chats with Dr Peri Wolff who has been the WDA’s executive manager since 2019. Few people know about Peri’s adventurous past. She used to treat...
#2 Sarah and the sea stars
15 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sarah loves the underdogs of the animal world. In 2013 she got up close with her study species for the first time. When doing an externship at the Sea...
#1 Lazy turtles, freezing manatees and the oil spill aftermaths with Dr Jenny Bloodgood
01 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Our host Cat chats with Dr Jenny Bloodgood about her work with turtles who grow into seafood-loving couch potatoes in rehab, manatees who are not qu...