Episode 39: 2025 wrap up, to Beave or Not To Beave, festive reindeer and Arctic foxes, wolves sequestering carbon, European Young Rewilders, polar bear hunting and snowy owls

Welcome to the thirty-ninth episode of the Zoology Ramblings Podcast!

In this episode, Emma and Robi adopt a wintery, festive theme for this December episode. They start by looking back at their wildlife adventures from 2025. Robi also explores the question 'to Beave or Not To Beave?', when considering the role of beavers contributing to natural flood management. For his species of the week, Robi discusses the festive reindeer and Emma talks about the Arctic fox and her special connection to them in Iceland. For their local conservation stories, Robi spotlights some exciting new research showing how reintroducing wolves in Scotland could help regenerate forests and sequester carbon. Emma platforms the European Young Rewilders, with Emma and Robi keen to join the movement. Robi and Emma end with their global conservation news, with Robi delving deeper into polar bear hunting and management, breaking down WWF's stance on this topic. Emma ends by sharing some sad new for snowy owls in Sweden, but also some better news for the species in North America. We look forward to bringing you with us into 2026!

Robi Watkinson is a Conservation Biologist and wildlife filmmaker specialising in the spatial and movement ecology of large carnivores, camera trapping survey methods, rewilding, metapopulation dynamics and conservation planning. He has an MSc in Conservation Biology from the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, and the Institute of Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town. He is based between Cape Town and London, and has strong interests in equitable and inclusive conservation, palaeontology and wildlife taxonomy and evolution!

Emma Hodson is a Zoologist and wildlife content creator, currently working in the community and engagement team at Avon Wildlife Trust. Emma’s role as a Wildlife Champions Project Officer involves supporting and upskilling people to take action for nature in their local communities. Emma has experience in remote wildlife fieldwork, and has been part of Arctic fox, macaw and cetacean research teams in Iceland, Peru and Wales respectively. She has also been involved in animal care and rehabilitation work in Costa Rica and South Africa. Emma is particularly passionate about the interface between community engagement and wildlife monitoring, and enjoys running workshops and giving talks on topics including camera trapping, beaver ecology and rewilding.

You can watch "Rewilding A Nation" for free on WaterBear by following this link: https://www.waterbear.com/watch/rewilding-a-nation . You can follow more of our weird and wonderful wildlife adventures on instagram: @zoologyramblingspodcast & @robi_watkinson_wildlife & @emma_hodson_wildlife