[Music]
about two years ago I was basically
stuck on a couch after two rounds of
colon surgery within a month normally I
work in wildlife management and snake
removal so I enjoy being outdoors and
active to say the least
instead stuck indoors I was a little bit
depressed something I’m kind of prone to
anyway and I was looking for ways to
distract myself but I was bored and I’m
able to escape my own board which is the
worst right so as a self-confessed
animal nerd some of the most fascinating
conversations I get to have are with
wildlife and conservation scientists
sometimes these can be difficult
Australia despite its phenomenally
unique biodiversity is an extinction
hotspot we’ve lost more than 50 animal
and 60 plant species in the last 200
years we have the highest mammalian
extinction rate of any country in the
world that’s 30 since colonisation
compared to just one in the u.s. in the
last decade alone and we’ve lost two
mammal and one reptile species and
planting more are at risk considering
ongoing rates of habitat loss and land
clearing considering this wildlife
conservation in Australia is a hugely
important but often challenging subject
nevertheless it was those kind of
discussions I was after in the online
world of podcasting but without a lot of
success so I figured let’s give it a
shot
why not right all I really had to do was
float the idea for a wildlife podcast
passed a few people including my friend
Christian Summers who just happened to
be in sound production he basically ran
with the idea set up all the recording
production leaving me to contact various
people I know in wildlife science and
industry and off we went our idea was
very simple
getting our guests relaxed enough to
tell some amazing stories about wildlife
science we do this by bribing these
incredibly intelligent people with cake
colourful drinks and a couch where we
can rant about animals
works every time I go to now as a
self-confessed animal node so you’re
right that this has been an amazing
experience for all of us and look I
could obviously talk wildlife all day
but if you don’t mind I’d like to just
share with you briefly three stories
that have caused us to create some
change in our own lives and we hope they
inspire you to do the same starting with
this the night parrot Pez operas
occidental Asst it’s been called the
planet’s most elusive bird following
declines likely due to feral cat
predation it was considered potentially
extinct by the early 1900’s until a few
records were collected from 1979 onwards
recently video and DNA evidence
confirmed its precarious existence and
on April 4 2015 one apologists Steve
Murphy and Rachel bar radio tagged Pedro
a live night parrot in in southwest
queensland reserve we were super lucky
to be joined by mr. Nicholas Berg from
the University of Queensland who just
happened to be a PhD researcher on that
project in fact these are his photos
that he sent through so you get to chat
with Nick one of the few people on the
planet to have seen this animal and
heard it’s strange croaky contact call
in real life was super humbling and a
massive honour for all of us and I think
deserves just one more shot that super
adorable juvenile isn’t that the coolest
moving on naturally we’re huge ly
supportive of citizen science projects
and one of the coolest that we’ve had a
chance to not only discuss but also use
in our field shows is frog ID it’s a
free smartphone app a groundbreaking
collaboration with every Museum in
Australia as well as several
universities and zoos led by the
Australian Museum using your phone you
can record 20 seconds of local frog call
the audio and GPS are uploaded to the
Frog ID database at the Australian
Museum to identify who’s calling and
where we’ve also had the great fortune
to meet dr. Jody Raley it actually a
second from the left next to her
pathologist Scott Aybar she’s Australian
museums the Australian museum’s curator
of amphibian and reptile conservation
also involved in the development of frog
ID and looking at the data downstream
this data is hugely important frogs are
currently experiencing a global mass
extinction event largely driven by the
fungal disease Katrina and mitosis as
well as other factors such as habitat
loss and climate change having this
australia-wide frog census will
hopefully help scientists like dr.
Railly understand where our frogs are
and track any
changes that happen over time and
anybody with a smartphone can get
so Christmas Island few Australian
environments are more unusual a remote
volcanic Li formed island 1,500
kilometres northwest off Australia’s
mainland it’s home to a bizarrely unique
range of ecosystems and species an
unfortunate history of exploitation and
invasive species means much of this
island paradise is under threat we
crossed over to wildlife Graduate
wildlife science graduate Hamish Miller
and Ranger Jason tell over on the island
assisting the Christmas Island
blue-tailed skink breeding program and
here it is right here this fantastic
little lizard crypto blepharospasm tail
coloration this animal behind me is one
of the islands several extinct in the
wild reptiles along with animals such as
Lister’s gecko other species were even
less fortunate and I’d like to play you
a little bit of audio here courtesy of
what you just heard was the last
recording of an extinct species the
Christmas Island Pipistrel at three to
four grams the size and weight of an
empty matchbox it was one of the world’s
smallest that’s sadly extinct as of 2009
an extinction that was predicted we
recently spoke with Charles Darwin
University’s professor John Winiarski
about his book on the extinction of the
Pipistrel as well as conservation on
Christmas Island
as with many island ecosystems there are
still clearly plenty of challenges so in
just a few months with the help of some
incredibly talented people we managed to
turn an interest in curiosity into a
show with a growing audience for
wildlife science we’re truly proud that
we can share these difficult but often
inspiring stories with anybody who’s
interested and hopefully create some
positive change for wildlife along the
way one thing we’ve learned about
conservation during this whole process
don’t be discouraged if anything our
amazing guests and audience demonstrate
just how many people are fighting daily
for the environment and you can help too
whether by minimizing your carbon
footprint and supporting renewable
energy projects or by jumping on any of
these amazing citizen science
initiatives that are coming out such as
frog ID herb MapQuest again Birds ardour
and much much more all by joining your
local land care contemplative care and
conservation groups and getting your
hands in there there’s plenty of ways
you can be part of the solution for the
truly curious you can also always join
us as we continue our journey into the
forever fascinating world of wildlife
science as for anybody stuck on a couch
or board we’re just stuck in general I
encourage you to explore what you’re
most curious about whatever that weird
thing is that lights your interest when
you get to share that with others well
first of all you can be a lot of fun but
secondly those people around you can
catch that fire and energy from you as
well at least for myself getting to
discuss what I’m most passionate about
wildlife clearly as being super
illuminating and has definitely gotten
me off the couch more which is the very
least I could do for our
native species thank you
[Applause] [Music]
about two years ago I was basically
stuck on a couch after two rounds of
colon surgery within a month normally I
work in wildlife management and snake
removal so I enjoy being outdoors and
active to say the least
instead stuck indoors I was a little bit
depressed something I’m kind of prone to
anyway and I was looking for ways to
distract myself but I was bored and I’m
able to escape my own board which is the
worst right so as a self-confessed
animal nerd some of the most fascinating
conversations I get to have are with
wildlife and conservation scientists
sometimes these can be difficult
Australia despite its phenomenally
unique biodiversity is an extinction
hotspot we’ve lost more than 50 animal
and 60 plant species in the last 200
years we have the highest mammalian
extinction rate of any country in the
world that’s 30 since colonisation
compared to just one in the u.s. in the
last decade alone and we’ve lost two
mammal and one reptile species and
planting more are at risk considering
ongoing rates of habitat loss and land
clearing considering this wildlife
conservation in Australia is a hugely
important but often challenging subject
nevertheless it was those kind of
discussions I was after in the online
world of podcasting but without a lot of
success so I figured let’s give it a
shot
why not right all I really had to do was
float the idea for a wildlife podcast
passed a few people including my friend
Christian Summers who just happened to
be in sound production he basically ran
with the idea set up all the recording
production leaving me to contact various
people I know in wildlife science and
industry and off we went our idea was
very simple
getting our guests relaxed enough to
tell some amazing stories about wildlife
science we do this by bribing these
incredibly intelligent people with cake
colourful drinks and a couch where we
can rant about animals
works every time I go to now as a
self-confessed animal node so you’re
right that this has been an amazing
experience for all of us and look I
could obviously talk wildlife all day
but if you don’t mind I’d like to just
share with you briefly three stories
that have caused us to create some
change in our own lives and we hope they
inspire you to do the same starting with
this the night parrot Pez operas
occidental Asst it’s been called the
planet’s most elusive bird following
declines likely due to feral cat
predation it was considered potentially
extinct by the early 1900’s until a few
records were collected from 1979 onwards
recently video and DNA evidence
confirmed its precarious existence and
on April 4 2015 one apologists Steve
Murphy and Rachel bar radio tagged Pedro
a live night parrot in in southwest
queensland reserve we were super lucky
to be joined by mr. Nicholas Berg from
the University of Queensland who just
happened to be a PhD researcher on that
project in fact these are his photos
that he sent through so you get to chat
with Nick one of the few people on the
planet to have seen this animal and
heard it’s strange croaky contact call
in real life was super humbling and a
massive honour for all of us and I think
deserves just one more shot that super
adorable juvenile isn’t that the coolest
moving on naturally we’re huge ly
supportive of citizen science projects
and one of the coolest that we’ve had a
chance to not only discuss but also use
in our field shows is frog ID it’s a
free smartphone app a groundbreaking
collaboration with every Museum in
Australia as well as several
universities and zoos led by the
Australian Museum using your phone you
can record 20 seconds of local frog call
the audio and GPS are uploaded to the
Frog ID database at the Australian
Museum to identify who’s calling and
where we’ve also had the great fortune
to meet dr. Jody Raley it actually a
second from the left next to her
pathologist Scott Aybar she’s Australian
museums the Australian museum’s curator
of amphibian and reptile conservation
also involved in the development of frog
ID and looking at the data downstream
this data is hugely important frogs are
currently experiencing a global mass
extinction event largely driven by the
fungal disease Katrina and mitosis as
well as other factors such as habitat
loss and climate change having this
australia-wide frog census will
hopefully help scientists like dr.
Railly understand where our frogs are
and track any
changes that happen over time and
anybody with a smartphone can get
so Christmas Island few Australian
environments are more unusual a remote
volcanic Li formed island 1,500
kilometres northwest off Australia’s
mainland it’s home to a bizarrely unique
range of ecosystems and species an
unfortunate history of exploitation and
invasive species means much of this
island paradise is under threat we
crossed over to wildlife Graduate
wildlife science graduate Hamish Miller
and Ranger Jason tell over on the island
assisting the Christmas Island
blue-tailed skink breeding program and
here it is right here this fantastic
little lizard crypto blepharospasm tail
coloration this animal behind me is one
of the islands several extinct in the
wild reptiles along with animals such as
Lister’s gecko other species were even
less fortunate and I’d like to play you
a little bit of audio here courtesy of
what you just heard was the last
recording of an extinct species the
Christmas Island Pipistrel at three to
four grams the size and weight of an
empty matchbox it was one of the world’s
smallest that’s sadly extinct as of 2009
an extinction that was predicted we
recently spoke with Charles Darwin
University’s professor John Winiarski
about his book on the extinction of the
Pipistrel as well as conservation on
Christmas Island
as with many island ecosystems there are
still clearly plenty of challenges so in
just a few months with the help of some
incredibly talented people we managed to
turn an interest in curiosity into a
show with a growing audience for
wildlife science we’re truly proud that
we can share these difficult but often
inspiring stories with anybody who’s
interested and hopefully create some
positive change for wildlife along the
way one thing we’ve learned about
conservation during this whole process
don’t be discouraged if anything our
amazing guests and audience demonstrate
just how many people are fighting daily
for the environment and you can help too
whether by minimizing your carbon
footprint and supporting renewable
energy projects or by jumping on any of
these amazing citizen science
initiatives that are coming out such as
frog ID herb MapQuest again Birds ardour
and much much more all by joining your
local land care contemplative care and
conservation groups and getting your
hands in there there’s plenty of ways
you can be part of the solution for the
truly curious you can also always join
us as we continue our journey into the
forever fascinating world of wildlife
science as for anybody stuck on a couch
or board we’re just stuck in general I
encourage you to explore what you’re
most curious about whatever that weird
thing is that lights your interest when
you get to share that with others well
first of all you can be a lot of fun but
secondly those people around you can
catch that fire and energy from you as
well at least for myself getting to
discuss what I’m most passionate about
wildlife clearly as being super
illuminating and has definitely gotten
me off the couch more which is the very
least I could do for our
native species thank you
[Applause] [Music]
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