The Nagging Naturalist

In this final episode for the Zambezian flooded grasslands, we take a look at Africa's largest otter species, the African clawless otter. I also go off on a tangent about conservation after some further reflection on Gabi and I's discussion. I'm going to be traveling for a week, so there will not be an episode next week.

Since it was too long for the serval episode, this is the rest of Gabi and I's conversation about conservation. It's a lot. While conservation as a concept is a good thing, there are wrong ways to do it that can result in harm. We need to shift our perceptions on conservation and its applications. You can follow Gabi on Twitter, @fleurygs and check out their website: fleurygs3.wixsite.com/gabifleury

In this week's episode, I had the wonderful opportunity to chat with conservation biologist Gabi Fleury. We discuss not just servals, but also African conservation in general and how our views of conservation are/need to evolve to better protect wildlife and people. You can follow Gabi on Twitter, @fleurygs and check out their website: fleurygs3.wixsite.com/gabifleury

This week's species from the Zambezian flooded grasslands, my partner Barry researched the Tsetse and taught me about this infamous fly from sub-Saharan Africa. Learn about the connection between these blood-sucking flies and the British mumiani (vampires) of colonial Rhodesia (modern day Zimbabwe) in the 1930's.

I’m back with a new ecoregion, the Zambezian flooded grasslands, and a new species! This week, I talk about the Saddle-billed stork, a large wading bird of Sub-Saharan Africa that is unfortunately very understudied, yet it has had a surprising impact on culture, in particular one very well known ancient culture. Join me for an educational tangent about this beautiful bird, African geography, and even Afro-Asiatic linguistics.

Sorry this is a bit late, but this is the final episode for this month about wildlife rehab. I'm joined by my partner Barry as we discuss box turtles, primarily Easter box turtles, and the dangers they face that lead them to need rehab. I will be going on a break for April so I can focus on my schoolwork, but I will be back in May with a new habitat to explore!

Please enjoy my very off script talk about raptors aka birds of prey, how they are impacted by people, and what we can do to reduce our impact on these birds! I cover window and car collisions, lead and rodenticide poisoning, power lines, and wind turbines.

In this final installment of Jess and I's discussion about baby animals, we talk deer fawn, when people should leave them be, and when people should call a wildlife rehabilitator. As with the other baby animals we talked about, often people just need to leave the animals be and do nothing. You  can follow Jessica on Instagram (Jessinthewild) & Twitter  (@College_FIIT). You can also follow the rehabilitation center she works  at, the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, on Facebook, Instagram  (BlueRidgeWildlifeCtr), and Twitter (@BRWildlifeCtr).

In this second part of our discussion about baby animals, Jess and I talk baby birds and bunnies, when they need to be rescued, and when they need to be left alone as we enter the spring time "baby season". You can follow Jessica on Instagram (Jessinthewild) & Twitter (@College_FIIT). You can also follow the rehabilitation center she works at, the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, on Facebook, Instagram (BlueRidgeWildlifeCtr), and Twitter (@BRWildlifeCtr).

Happy National Wildlife Rehabilitators Appreciation Day! I welcome Jessica Andersen back to talk about baby animals, what we can do to prevent conflict with wildlife, and when we need to take them to a rehabilitator. This long episode will be broken into 3 parts with today's part 1 being about baby opossums and squirrels. You can follow Jessica on Instagram (Jessinthewild) & Twitter (@College_FIIT). You can also follow the rehabilitation center she works at, the Blue Ridge Wildlife Center, on Facebook, Instagram (BlueRidgeWildlifeCtr), and Twitter (@BRWildlifeCtr).