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The Zoology Ramblings PodcastAuthor: Robi Watkinson and Emma Hodson
Welcome to the Zoology Ramblings podcast! Join conservation biologists and wildlife filmmakers Robi Watkinson and Emma Hodson as they ramble away about zoology, the pressing conservation issues of our times, the global climate and biodiversity crises, wildlife taxonomy, and everything in between! Robi and Emma met during their undergraduate studies and the Zoology Ramblings podcast grew from their infectious love for the wild world! The podcast was one of the recipients of the Spotify Next Wave Initiative, 2021, and they also co-founded The Biome Project, an educational filmmaking platform. Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Episode 41: Snot otters, giraffe weevils, guga hunt, toad patrols, forest elephant dung research, & Nepal pangolin conservation
Episode 41
Monday, 23 March, 2026
Welcome to the forty-first episode of the Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In this episode, Emma and Robi start by welcoming the newest Patreon members and sharing some exciting news about Robi's new research paper and Zoology Ramblings merch on Teemill. For their species of the week, Robi talks about the brilliantly named snot otter and Emma discusses the small but mighty giraffe weevil. For their local conservation stories, Robi sheds light on a little known hunting practice in the UK called the guga hunt and Emma talks about the importance of toad patrols in helping toads reach their breeding ponds. For their global conservation stories, Robi shares some good news for forest elephants, with DNA from dung helping improve the accuracy of recording this species across its range. To end, Emma spotlights the amazing work of 'pangolin lady', Dr. Tulshi Laxmi Suwal, who has been pioneering pangolin research in Nepal over the last 15 years. 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
