204: The Elephant Translocation Disaster with Jens Ulrik Høgh

A group photo of approximately 20 Black people from a rural African community, including adults and children, standing and sitting together in a lush agricultural field. The group appears to be a farming community, with people of various ages wearing casual clothing in bright colours including orange, blue, yellow, and traditional patterned fabrics. In the foreground and surrounding the group are green crops including what appears to be maize plants and other vegetables. The setting suggests a rural farming area with rich, fertile soil. On the right side of the group stands a white journalist with glasses wearing olive-green clothing. The sky overhead is partly cloudy, and there are trees visible in the background. The image captures what appears to be a community gathering or visit to showcase local agricultural work.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7M2rtUYPfW5shNdwOgzjTb How does a wealthy animal welfare organisation, funded by well-meaning donors from Europe and North America, end up relocating hundreds of elephants to an area where some of the world's poorest people live? What happens when two people are killed within 24 hours of the first four elephants arriving, yet the organisation presses on … Continue reading 204: The Elephant Translocation Disaster with Jens Ulrik Høgh →

193: Human-Wildlife Conflict – Romanian Bears and African Elephants with Jens Ulrik Høgh

Bear on the side of the road at the Transfagarasan road in Arges county, Romania. Photo by Fermoar.ro on Unsplash

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2OI5ygBsMnCQZUFjNAhnIe Can hunting be an effective way to manage human-wildlife conflict? What happens when well-intentioned wildlife protection measures backfire? I spoke with Jens Ulrik Høgh, a Scandinavian hunting journalist, to find answers to these questions through the lens of Romania's bear management crisis. When hunting was banned in 2016 under pressure from animal rights groups, … Continue reading 193: Human-Wildlife Conflict – Romanian Bears and African Elephants with Jens Ulrik Høgh →

126: The Saviour Fish with Mark Weston

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5EFjiJ9fltI5hmxRJrcDNw?si=R8CXOCmKSQm1nxZNP81dJw In this episode, our guest is Mark Weston, the author of “The Saviour Fish: Life and Death on Africa's Greatest Lake”. It is always fun talking with authors and exploring details of events described in their books that didn’t make the cut to the final version. And so, I had the pleasure to talk … Continue reading 126: The Saviour Fish with Mark Weston →

Episode 124: African Wildlife Conservation with Lilian Mremi

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1Ue73g4hvkMuS9177c5OPe?si=c70bc4b6bbeb4d28 Those of you who either read the excellent book “Cries of the Savanna” by Sue Tidwell or listened to the podcast episode with her are familiar with Lilian Mremi, a Game Scout and Tanzanian Wildlife Ranger. Shortly after the episode was published many of you expressed great interest in hearing directly from Lilian. I … Continue reading Episode 124: African Wildlife Conservation with Lilian Mremi →

Episode 121: Cries of the Savanna with Sue Tidwell

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5HxaFqNcltM1E2NAQOVD7G?si=f2686540950645c9 In this episode, once again, we’re going to take on the subject of hunting in Africa. Our guest is Sue Tidwell, the author of a wonderful book titled “Cries of the Savanna” that I reviewed in last week’s blog post. And since I really liked the book I was itching for the opportunity to … Continue reading Episode 121: Cries of the Savanna with Sue Tidwell →

Cries of the Savanna by Sue Tidwell – A Book Review

Hunting in Africa is a controversial subject that I have discussed with expert guests a few times on my podcast. I also follow related social media discussions. Unfortunately, I get the impression (confirmed on many occasions) that people taking part in these discussions have very limited, or purely theoretical, experience. This often leads to ridiculous … Continue reading Cries of the Savanna by Sue Tidwell – A Book Review →

Episode 111: Shepherds of Wildlife with Tom Opre

https://open.spotify.com/episode/21OzaKKQR2z9OeVn8SLbOG?si=905b4b1877da461c Recently I’ve noticed, and sometimes participated, in discussions about the fact that wildlife conservation can never be successful if the needs of local, indigenous peoples are not taken care of first. It becomes especially apparent when Western environmental NGOs move into Africa with poorly designed conservation programs. On my podcast we’ve also pointed out … Continue reading Episode 111: Shepherds of Wildlife with Tom Opre →

Episode 97: Human-Wildlife Conflict with Amy Dickman

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1BHVSCw9b07IgwR4w8l5KZ?si=ZIwXo-nsTKCANQdBXJfLew&dl_branch=1 Dr Amy Dickman needs no introduction. She is well known and hugely respected in both academic and conservation communities. She’s a conservation biologist and works on resolving human-wildlife conflict on human-dominated landscapes. Amy is a Kaplan Senior Research Fellow in Wild Cat Conservation under Oxford University’s Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. She is also the … Continue reading Episode 97: Human-Wildlife Conflict with Amy Dickman →

Episode 94: African Big Game with Steve Scott

https://open.spotify.com/episode/066Y97ggmbZFuJJpF5oRIS?si=ncAc_oanTHuJ50OAkqIHfQ&dl_branch=1 Hunting in Africa is on the bucket list of many hunters. But for many, that dream might seem very distant. Almost impossible. But as you will see in this conversation with Steve Scott, a veteran hunter, TV host, and producer of television hunting shows, this doesn’t have to be the case. https://youtu.be/IyzJUYoI0wY Problems caused … Continue reading Episode 94: African Big Game with Steve Scott →

Episode 80: Into the Wilderness with Byron Pace

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0cG8fs4cAcrpNdOOzTWQQ4?si=fEZpdz8XQ2GDyklIW2Lh_g&dl_branch=1 Byron Pace needs no introduction to most of you. He is a man of many talents: a filmmaker, photographer, writer and the host of the excellent Into The Wilderness and Into The Anthropocene podcasts. Given that we share many topics, and even guests, on our podcasts I was delighted to talk with Byron. During … Continue reading Episode 80: Into the Wilderness with Byron Pace →