Conservation Cast

35 episodes listed below

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Wildlife rescuers and conservationists, questioned live by Twitch chat.

The gist

Conservation Cast brings people from conservation and animal-rescue groups onto a Twitch livestream, from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund to Pilots to the Rescue. Chat sends in questions, donations are thanked by name, and the talk runs from gorilla behavior to why baby seals have such big eyes.

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About Conservation Cast

Conservation Cast is a livestreamed Twitch show credited to Maya Higa, and the titles alone show how it works. Each one names a guest and an organization. The numbered run includes Marcus Wernicke from Marine Mammal Rescue, Simon Morgan for the Wildlife ACT Fund, Dr. Tara Stoinski for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Louie Psihoyos for the Oceanic Preservation Society, Niko Ankergren for Play Rescue Zoo and Michael Schneider for Pilots to the Rescue. Several episodes open with a video from the featured group. The Wildlife ACT Fund's video lays out monitoring, anti-poaching and community outreach across Africa, and the Oceanic Preservation Society's relies on hidden cameras to expose back-room sales of endangered species. Then the stream takes over. Viewers send questions through a chat bot, donations are thanked by name as they arrive, and much of the conversation follows what the chat asks. That leads to detours a scripted interview would skip. Asked whether sea otters eat birds, Marcus Wernicke says he isn't sure, though he has seen a dolphin try. Asked about the size of baby seal eyes, he explains that seals dive to depths where little light gets through, and that big eyes aren't only a baby trait. That episode also has a mix-up flagged at the start: donations are going to the Pacific Marine Mammal Center, while the guest comes from the BC Marine Mammal Rescue Society and was found through a Twitch otter stream called Marine Mammal Rescue. Dr. Tara Stoinski, who studied male gorilla behavior, recalls her first time with gorillas in the wild. An authoritarian male named Shinda charged, she got down low and made herself small, and he sniffed at her neck while the people with her told her not to worry. Simon Morgan explains why volunteers aren't taken on foot toward black rhino and what they do instead: join monitoring teams working from vehicles or with camera traps. At the rescue zoo in Denmark, a green monkey who expects to be fed first cuts right across the conversation. The Pilots to the Rescue conversation turns to red wolves, including one named Marley who was rescued to Chattanooga, Tennessee, and to the argument that removing a predator lets its prey multiply. The Oceanic Preservation Society talk quotes Margaret Mead on a few thoughtful citizens changing the world. The livestream's loose ends stay in. Episodes close with plans for later streams, shout-outs to people in chat and plugs for other channels, and one line comes back at sign-off: 'Twitch is an untapped reservoir for doing good.' A listener gets conservation and rescue groups explained by the people who work in them, with live chat pushing the talk toward specific and odd details.

Made for: Suits a listener who likes animal stories told by the people inside conservation and rescue groups, and who doesn't mind the looser rhythm of a livestream full of chat questions and donation thank-yous.

What sets it apart: It runs as a live Twitch stream, so each interview shares space with viewer questions, donations read out by name and plugs for the rest of the channel. The titles pair a guest with a named organization.

In their own words

Conservation Cast by Maya HigaLivestreamed on twitch.tv/mayaContact / Socials: https://streamerlinks.com/maya

Why you'd press play

A jealous monkey wants feeding priority; your wildlife lesson comes with chat questions and a donation tally.

Press play if you want

  • to hear Maya react to a gorilla researcher's unnerving face-to-face encounter
  • bear research with a honey trick that finally worked when the traps weren't catching anything
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
wildlife conservation organizationsmarine mammal rescueanti-poaching and wildlife monitoring in Africagorilla protectionanimal rescue and rehomingendangered speciesviewer questions from Twitch chaton-air fundraising

Talks about

Best episodes of Conservation Cast

Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.

CONSERVATION CAST E. 63 with Marcus Wernicke from Marine Mammal RescueJul 16, 2021

A steady, practical conversation about marine mammal rehabilitation, animal behavior, and rescue work.

Marine mammal rehabilitation gives the episode a clear center, as Marcus Wernicke brings more than 4,000 hours of volunteer experience to the conversation.

CONSERVATION CAST E. 62 with Simon Morgan for the Wildlife ACT FundJul 16, 2021

A grounded field look at monitoring, anti-poaching tools, and community outreach in endangered-species conservation.

This PlayNext review follows the Wildlife Act Fund from field monitoring to the community conditions that help conservation hold. The episode covers work with Africa's endangered species through tracking equipment, training for monitoring teams, anti-poaching tools such as rhino…

CONSERVATION CAST E. 61 with Dr. Tara Stoinski for the Dian Fossey Gorilla FundMay 13, 2021

A close encounter opens into the patient research and daily work behind gorilla conservation.

Gorilla conservation is treated here as slow, disciplined closeness: daily protection in the park, long-running research, and the training of future conservation leaders all working in the same direction.

CONSERVATION CAST E. 57 with Michael Schneider for Pilots to the RescueApr 11, 2021

A volunteer pilot links roadside puppy rescue with the fragile future of red wolves.

Michael Schneider traces his rescue work back to summer 2015, when a litter of 10 puppies was thrown into a roadside ditch, then broadens the story into the volunteer flights that move animals at risk of euthanasia toward no-kill shelters, foster homes, and adoption centers.

CONSERVATION CAST E. 58 with Wes Larson for the Tooth and Claw PodcastApr 11, 2021

A practical bear-research episode with GPS collars, den work, and a honey trick that turns field improvisation into the best story.

Wesley Larson's bear-conservation work gives this wildlife podcast a grounded look at what it means to share national parks with bears. His work with black bears in Bryce Canyon centers on GPS collars, habitat use, and the practical goal of helping the park reduce visitor…

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Episodes

  1. 1

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 62 with Simon Morgan for the Wildlife ACT Fund

    Hidden gem

    ["Wildlife Act co-founder Simon Morgan says rhino horn demand has spiked since 2007 or 2008, and that poachers often kill adult females and leave calves behind.", "He describes how Wildlife Act monitors black rhinos, white rhinos, wild dogs, and vultures across South Africa and Botswana using trackers, VHF collars, satellite tags, camera traps, and GPS notes.", "The episode also covers dehorning, rhino orphan rehab, Stanford University's conservation genomics work, and a four-day bush camp for rural children.", "The conversation stays practical and field-heavy, with live questions, donation callouts, and repeated discussion of how community education changes conservation outcomes."]

    Jul 16, 2021·1h 15m·5 clips
  2. 2

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 63 with Marcus Wernicke from Marine Mammal Rescue

    Hidden gem

    Conservation Cast episode 63 brings Marcus Wernicke, a web app developer and BC Marine Mammal Rescue Society board member, onto a fundraiser for the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.

    Jul 16, 2021·1h 18m·5 clips
  3. 3

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 61 with Dr. Tara Stoinski for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

    Hidden gem

    Conservation Cast talks with Dr.

    May 13, 2021·1h 19m·5 clips
  4. 4

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 59 with Niko Ankergren for Play Rescue Zoo

    Hidden gem

    Nico Ankergren describes growing up at Åsele Zoo Rescue in Denmark, where more than 600 animals from private ownership, industry, and other difficult situations receive long-term care.

    Apr 11, 2021·1h 50m·5 clips
  5. 5

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 60 with Louie Psihoyos for the Oceanic Preservation Society

    Hidden gem

    Conservation Cast Episode 60 features Luis Ahoyas, executive director of the Oceanic Preservation Society and director of The Cove, Racing Extinction, and The Game Changers.

    Apr 11, 2021·1h 13m·5 clips
  6. 6

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 58 with Wes Larson for the Tooth and Claw Podcast

    Hidden gem

    ["Conservation Cast episode 58 interviews Wes Larson, the bear biologist known as Grizz Kid, about the Tooth and Claw Podcast and the practical side of animal attacks.", "Larson says he grew up in Montana, found Dr.

    Apr 11, 2021·1h 16m·5 clips
  7. 7

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 57 with Michael Schneider for Pilots to the Rescue

    Hidden gem

    ["Michael Schneider says he does not think it is right that \"we slaughter 4 million animals in this country each year,\" and he built Pilots to the Rescue around volunteer flights for animals facing euthanasia.", "He traces the organization to a summer 2015 rescue of 10 puppies thrown into a ditch in North Carolina and says that first case led to hundreds of later rescues.", "The interview covers a 20-puppy flight, a 100-pound sea turtle transfer with the New England Aquarium, Sea Turtle Rescue, turtles fly, and NOAA, and a red wolf transport to Chattanooga, Tennessee.", "Maya and Michael also talk about discovery flights, stall awareness, and the Piper Saratoga Turbo SP, giving the episode a practical look at rescue aviation."]

    Apr 11, 2021·1h 17m·5 clips
  8. 8

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 52 with Maya’s Mom for Animal Assisted Happiness

    Hidden gem

    Conservation Cast E.

    Feb 16, 2021·1h 52m·5 clips
  9. 9

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 53 with Dr. Derek Hennen for The Nature Conservancy

    Hidden gem

    Derek Hennen explains how a Nature Conservancy workshop at Ohio's Edge of Appalachia Preserve led him to study Appalachian millipedes.

    Feb 16, 2021·1h 34m·5 clips
  10. 10

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 54 with Dr. Solomon David for Ranger Rick Magazine

    Feb 16, 2021·1h 26m
  11. 11

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 55 with Dr. Kirsten Hecht for Foundation for the Conservation of Salamanders

    Feb 16, 2021·1h 37m
  12. 12

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 56 with Regan Downey for the Wolf Conservation Center

    Regan Downey, director of education at the Wolf Conservation Center, explains how wolves regulate prey and support plants, songbirds, beavers, pronghorns, and fish as a keystone species.

    Feb 16, 2021·1h 19m·5 clips
  13. 13

    CONSERVATION CAST ep. 51 with Dr. Kolby for The Honduras Amphibian Rescue & Conservation Center

    Dec 18, 2020·1h 20m
  14. 14

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 33 with Dr. Michael Dobbins for T.R.E.E.S.

    Jul 24, 2020·1h 47m
  15. 15

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 32 with Clayton Pilbro for Aye-Aye Conservation

    Jul 24, 2020·1h 33m
  16. 16

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 31 with William Sorley for The Butterflyway Project

    Jul 24, 2020·1h 23m
  17. 17

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 35 with Kassandra Ford for the Amazon Conservation Association

    Jul 24, 2020·1h 14m
  18. 18

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 34 with Lizzie Daly for Black Girls Dive

    Jul 24, 2020·1h 20m
  19. 19

    CONSERVATION CAST E.22 with Jennifer Gilbert of the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Center

    Jul 15, 2020·1h 18m
  20. 20

    CONSERVATION CAST E.21 with Jason Ward Benefiting Birds of North America

    Jul 15, 2020·1h 10m
  21. 21

    CONSERVATION CAST E.26 with Sam Allen for UTS Fish Ecology Lab

    Jul 15, 2020·1h 17m
  22. 22

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 27 with Corina Newsome for Skype a Scientist

    Jul 15, 2020·1h 27m
  23. 23

    CONSERVATION CAST E.28 with Dustin Growick for Dinos 101

    Jul 15, 2020·1h 23m
  24. 24

    CONSERVATION CAST E.29 with Dr. Sebastian Alejandro Echeverri for Xerces Society for Invertebrates

    Jul 15, 2020·2h 29m
  25. 25

    CONSERVATION CAST E.30 with Dani Rabaiotti for Zoological Society of London

    Jul 15, 2020·1h 19m
  26. 26

    CONSERVATION CAST E.24 with E-League SuperPunch

    Jul 15, 2020·2h 13m
  27. 27

    CONSERVATION CAST E.23 for Live for Wildlife

    Jul 15, 2020·1h 32m
  28. 28

    CONSERVATION CAST E.25 with Wes Larson for Wildlife SOS

    Jul 15, 2020·1h 44m
  29. 29

    CONSERVATION CAST E.20 with Graham Wallington of WildEarth

    Jul 14, 2020·1h 22m
  30. 30

    CONSERVATION CAST E.19 with Dr. Michael Dobbins, Mizkif and John Farmer (Valentine's Day Special)

    Jul 14, 2020·2h 22m
  31. 31

    CONSERVATION CAST E. 18 with Ben Novak

    Jul 14, 2020·1h 58m
  32. 32

    CONSERVATION CAST E.17 with Joey Santore

    Jul 14, 2020·1h 7m
  33. 33

    CONSERVATION CAST E.16 with Save the Manatee Club

    Jul 14, 2020·1h 30m
  34. 34

    CONSERVATION CAST E.15 with Imogene Cancellare

    Jul 14, 2020·1h 29m
  35. 35

    CONSERVATION CAST E.14 with Dr. Michael Dobbins

    Jul 14, 2020·2h 23m