Fancy Scientist with Dr. Stephanie Manka

This week’s episode is inspired by photos posted to a Facebook group. A user posted these photos of part of a deer carcass high in a tree. They asked what animal would cause this? I watched the responses pour in and I knew what they would be.  Cougar. Mountain lion. Puma. These are different names for the same species ( Puma concolor ) and I knew people would say with certainty that this big cat d...

A week ago, I made a YouTube video in response to a cougar “attack/stalking” video that went viral. But what was missing from the cougar viral video is what actually happened. That’s where I came in to get to the truth. In brief, the video shows a cougar advancing towards a hiker and at times VERY aggressively. There is good reason why the cougar (AKA mountain lion, puma) did this, which is what I...

This is the fifth episode in a series all about how I actually studied elephants. For my Ph. D., I studied the social structure and genetic patterns of African forest elephants in Gabon. Here I follow up on aggressive elephants in the park, fun field stories, extracting and amplifying elephant DNA, and how to conserve elephants. It may be a good idea to catch up with episodes #24-27 so you can ful...

This is the fourth episode in a series all about how I actually studied elephants. I recently gave a talk and people were really curious about how I went about this (how does one study elephants?).  I decided this would be the perfect thing to talk about on my podcast – taking you through step-by-step of how I set it all up and what it was really like to study forest elephants.  Before you continu...

This episode is the third part of a series all about my dissertation research on African forest elephants. People were really curious about how I actually went about this (how does one study elephants?), so I made a series about how I set up the research and what it was like to study them. Make sure you are up to date with the first two episodes: #24. How Do You Study Elephants? The Start of My Jo...

Welcome back to this series on how I set up my forest elephant research and what it was like to study them.  In the last episode, I take you through the process of how and why I decided to study African forest elephants, and how I came up with the research questions I would ask for my dissertation research. At this point of my Ph. D., I knew what I was going to study and now I had to find where I...

I chose to study elephants for my dissertation research. But how does one even set something like that up? Where do you begin? I recently gave a talk to undergraduate students in wildlife studies. I talked about my past research including my dissertation research on forest elephants, but also more recent research on camera traps. At the end of the talk though, I got a lot of questions about how I...

In this episode, I talk with scientist and science communicator Stephanie Martin about a topic near and dear to her heart – barriers to entry in the field of wildlife biology. A lot of people may not know this, but experience is key for young wildlife biologists. Because conservation and science both are not lucrative fields, it is common for organizations and employers to hire people without payi...

Last week in episode #21, I talked about the importance of voting for the conservation of wildlife. This is the perfect follow-episode! I interview marine scientist and science communicator Dr. Chris Parsons of the Speak Up for Blue Network. Chris has decades of experience working in conservation and knows that you cannot separate politics from wildlife.  In this episode, we talk about Chris’ vast...

As a wildlife biologist, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is: “What can I do to help animals?” Well this episode is all about that exact topic. And guess what? It’s probably not what you think it is.  Want a clue? It happens every year, but we mostly pay attention to it every four years here in the US. It’s also super easy to do, although there are real barriers for many Americans...

I am so excited – My book on wildlife biology careers is finally available on pre-order for Kindle . The paperback version will be out next month.  For the past year, I’ve been writing a book on wildlife biology careers from everything that I’ve learned over the past 17 years in my career. It’s jammed packed with information about my personal journey and advice for you on how to go about getting a...

Conservation is all about trying to protect and save plants, animals, and other organisms from going extinct. We do this work because we love nature, and it’s tough to read stories about people or organizations poaching wildlife, destroying primary rainforests, or plastics encompassing our oceans.  In other words, conservation can get you down.  It’s hard not to get affected by the gloom and doom,...

If you’ve listened to previous episodes of the podcast (like # and #), you know how important communication to the public is for science and conservation. Many scientists are on Twitter, Instagram, and even Tik Tok now, but hardly anyone I know uses Pinterest for science communication and conservation.  This is a mistake! Lots of people don’t even think about Pinterest when it comes to choosing so...

On this episode, I interviewed Dr. Chris Cloney , a combustible dust fire and explosion researcher who created a six-figure online business from his blog.  My podcast tends to focus on wildlife and conservation, so why am I interviewing an explosion researcher? Because Chris is amazing at science communication and all of the principles behind Dust Safety Science, GradBlogger, and now the Self Tenu...

Within the past decade, there have been several prominent issues where the public has showed distrust in science and the scientists behind the studies: climate change, evolution, vaccines, and now COVID-19 and wearing masks. This week on the podcast, I talk about what science actually is. We’re taught in school that science is about memorizing facts or taxonomic names (at least in biology). But sc...

In today’s episode, I interview wildlife biologist and YouTuber Kristina Lynn on what it’s like to be a wildlife biologist and her success going viral on YouTube. She offers lots of great career tips and fun stories.   Kristina has a degree in ecology, animal behavior, and evolution. Her research includes many projects on understanding and assessing the influence of human development on wildlife s...

This is a bonus episode! I recorded a webinar on Monday night to talk about my new Confusion to Clarity beta group. I realized that I had a Zoom audio file too and thought it would be a good addition to the podcast because even if you don't join my group, it has valuable advice for those interested in careers in wildlife biology. When I looked for jobs after my PhD, I found out I was overquali...

Every day in the summer summer around dusk, I would look up above and see bats flying above my yard. I love bats, but so many people don’t. But bats are SO COOL! In this episode I talk with my friend and bat biologist Lisa Gatens of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. She’s been studying bats for about 20 years. In this interview, she tells us some amazing bat facts as well as tips on h...

Elephants are sought after for their ivory, which comes from their tusks. In most countries, it is illegal, but this has’t stopped people from killing them.  Elephant poaching was at its highest ever within the past two decades. But some studies are reporting that poaching decreased.  However, a new study contradicts this overall narrative; that poaching has decreased for elephants. Previous studi...

Over the summer, kids go to summer camps and aspiring wildlife biologists have technician positions, internships, or volunteer opportunities. With COVID-19 causing much of the country to shut down, many outdoor programs for kids have been cancelled and young wildlife biologists are left without any summer experience. Summer is the perfect time to go outside and connect to wildlife. In episode 7 ,...

I have been applying for jobs in wildlife biology on and off since I graduated with my Ph. D. in 2012. While I knew jobs in academia were competitive, I didn't realize until after I finished school, how competitive careers in wildlife biology were too. My biggest mistake in my wildlife biology career has been my source of inspiration for writing my upcoming book.  This week, I have been writin...

t's summertime which means lots of people are headed to the beach, which also means lots of sunscreen. But before you grab a new bottle, you might not have known that what you put on your body has been harming ocean life in a big way.  Sunscreen has had such a big impact on the marine environment, that the state of Hawaii even banned a certain type of it. Some ingredients in sunscreen hav been...

Birds are one of my favorite backyard animals because they are everywhere! I invited ornithologist Lauren Pharr on the podcast to discuss bird basics. In this episode we go over:  How to attract birds to your backyard including: • Songbirds • Hawks and other raptors • Owls • Hummingbirds Bird basics on food: • Is feeding okay? • What kinds of foods to give for different types of birds • Keeping fe...

Summer is a key time for aspiring wildlife biologists. To be successful in this career, you need experience. Most wildlife biologists conduct their field work in the summer when professors don't have to teach and students don't have to take courses. Therefore, summer is a key time to gain experience.  But in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced biologists to cancel their field work and stay...

I grew up loving snakes, but I also grew up in an area with 0 venomous snakes. Since then I've lived alongside venomous snakes in Kenya, Gabon, and now North Carolina, where I see them on a near-regular basis.  But guess what? I still love them! The goal of this podcast is to hopefully get you to love them - or like them - or at least live with them.  In this podcast, I go over: My experiences...