Episode 33: Patreon launch, UK nature festivals, BioShorts publication, banana slugs, immortal jellyfish, state of Europe's carnivores, backwards bills, dire wolves & rewilding rehabilitation

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

In this episode, Emma and Robi share exciting news about the launch of the Zoology Ramblings Patreon, where listeners can support the podcast and gain early access to episodes as well as behind the scenes notes. Emma shares updates from recent UK nature festivals and Robi also shares some positive news about his undergraduate dissertation getting published in BioShorts - an open access platform dedicated to supporting early career researchers. Emma and Robi then talk about weird and wonderful 'squishy things' - banana slugs and immortal jellyfish! For their local conservation news, Robi talks about the state of Europe's carnivores and Emma discusses the UK's new planning and infrastructure bill. They end with their global conservation stories, where Robi disputes dire wolf de-extinction and Emma talks about a rewilding rehabilitation programme for Ukrainian soldiers.

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