Join us for an extraordinary conversation with Dianna Bissett, an Australian wildlife carer whose journey spans from creating equipment for James Cameron's deep-sea expeditions to rehabilitating wombats and kangaroos at Rocklily wildlife refuge. Diana shares her firsthand experience of the devastating 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires and their profound impact on wildlife, challenging long-held beliefs about the Australian bush's resilience. Through moving stories, including the remarkable recovery of a Wallaroo with a broken spine, Diana reveals both the heartbreak and hope in wildlife rehabilitation. She offers unique insights into innovative wildlife protection solutions and the evolving role of wildlife carers in the face of increasing environmental challenges.

Links
Visit Dianna's website and learn more about her wildlife rehab work
@rocklilywombats on Instagram

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In this episode, we are taking you on a dive into the world of wildlife tuberculosis with Professor Michele Miller. Michele is the NRF South African Research Chair in Animal TB at Stellenbosch University in South Africa. Her career has spanned from clinical work in major U.S. zoos to groundbreaking research in South Africa's Kruger National Park. Her multidisciplinary approach has combined veterinary medicine, immunology, and public health. We'll be discussing Michele's current research, including her work on TB diagnostics and management in various wildlife species. Michele will share her perspectives on the One Health intersections between wildlife, domestic animal, and human health. And Michele has just been elected as one of the new members at large on the WDA Council!

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In the 1960s, the Canadian government decided to relocate 14 muskoxen to the Eastern Arctic, a region where these large bovines had never been native. The intention was to support the local Inuit community by providing a new source of food and other resources. However, it appears the government did not consult the community about its needs or preferences. Farming the muskoxen was suggested, but the practice wasn’t culturally relevant. With little interest shown, the government released the muskoxen into the wild—again, without consulting the community. Since then, the muskoxen have thrived, with their population growing substantially. But Inuit people and researchers suspect they may be competing with native caribou, a species central to the Indigenous diet and culture for thousands of years and whose numbers have been declining.

In this episode, host Cat Vendl speaks with Dr. Laura van Driessche, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Montreal, who studies the health of both muskoxen and caribou. With a background in domestic bovine health, Laura brings her passion for wildlife into her research as she and her colleagues investigate the causes behind the caribou population decline.

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