The Wolf Connection

Matt Metz has been a biologist with the Yellowstone National Park Wolf, Cougar, and Elk projects for over two decades. He specializes in studying prey dynamics among these species and their ecological impacts on the park. Matt provided an in-depth analysis of the wolves' effects on prey species, highlighting shifts in the prey base and changes in the distribution of ungulates throughout the p...

Madeleine Nyman is the Project Manager for LIFE BOREALWOLF, which conveys information about wolves and their behaviour, promotes local interaction and provides tools for the prevention of adverse impact and losses caused by wolves. Mari Lyly is a Special Planning Officer with the Finnish Wildlife Agency, which romotes sustainable game husbandry, supports the activity of game management association...

Cassi Camara is an Environmental Education Specialist for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. She works to bring conservation, stewardship and environmental education to younger generations both domestically and through her work with the European Union. Cassi went into great detail discussing her environmental educational work in Virginia, bringing those insights to countries i...

Cecilia Di Bernardi is a post doctorate at Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Ecology, SLU, with a research focus in Ecology and Management of large mammals. The majority of her work with wolf populations is conducted within Scandinavia (Sweden & Norway). Cecilia spoke about her background beginning in Rome, Italy. Her main focus of study is wolf diets, identifying individual wolv...

Dr. Jeff Reed is a computational linguist who is based just beyond the northern border of Yellowstone National Park. Working in tandem with the Yellowstone Wolf Project, the Cry Wolf Project records wolf sounds 24 hours a day from up to 60 recorders. One of the many goals is to explore wolf communication, what it may mean, and how we can better understand what they are relaying to one another. Dr....

Kayla Fratt is the Co-Founder of K9 Conservationists, whose mission is to unite highly trained conservation detection dog teams with researchers to collect scientific data. They aim to provide mentorship, education, and foster collaboration among scientists, novice handlers, and local communities. We spoke about the process of selecting dogs for this research, the types of projects Kayla and her t...

Kurt Holtzen has been a Conflict Mitigation Specialist for around 20 years. He has spent the last 4 years in Colorado helping create relationships to foster coexistence and promote good conflict mitigation methods as wolves were set to be reintroduced to the state. Kurt went into great detail about the conflicts and situations he witnessed during the first 9 months of the wolf reintroduction, conv...

Daniel Mallwitz has been the Head of Field Work for the County Board in Vastmanland, Sweden for about 10 years. He is in charge of monitoring and managing many of the large carnivores in his county, including wolves, bears, lynx and wolverine. Daniel went into great detail about his work with wolves, building relationships within the communities of his county, and shared his experiences in the fie...

Sarah Hanafin has been volunteering with both Wolves of Maine and Wolf Hollow for almost a decade. She uses her Instagram platform to promote wolf education and conservation, while sharing her stories with wolves and wolfdogs from around the country. Sarah spoke about her early years of volunteering, how her platform has been able to help wolves and people in their individual journeys, and her vis...

Wendy Keefover has been the Senior Strategist for Carnivore Protection at The Humane Society of the United States for over 10 years. She has been a wildlife advocate and working to protect carnivores for over 30 years. We talked about multiple topics with Wendy, including the numerous initiatives that The Humane Society is involved in, the motivations for killing carnivores, trophy hunting, issues...

Jeremy SunderRaj has been a Science Technician with the Yellowstone Wolf, Elk and Cougar project for over 5 years. Prior to his work in Yellowstone, he spent three summers trapping and collaring wolves for the State of Montana. Jeremy shared many stories about those summers in Montana, detailing his encounters with wolves, experiences working within Montana, and how influential this time was for h...

Kira Cassidy has been a Research Associate with the Yellowstone Wolf Project for over 12 years. She has always been a source of important facts & research of the wolves in Yellowstone National Park. Kira spoke about Wolf 907F, who has reached the age of 11.4 years old, the dynamics of the Junction Butte Pack which she's been a part of her entire life, and discussed important topics regard...

Forrest Galante has many titles, a wildlife biologist, television host and explorer just to name just a few! His mission is to inspire and educate people about animals and adventure through the media, including hosting programs on Animal Planet, on-camera expert interviews, and production of his own wildlife and natural history shows. Forrest came to Wolf Connection to visit the pack, shared his t...

Taylor Rabe has been a Wildlife Technician in Yellowstone National Park for the Wolf, Cougar and Elk Projects for over 2 1/2 years. She is also the Inaugural Fellow for Conservation Nation. Taylor updated us on what's happening inside Yellowstone National Park, the new Bioacoustics Program they are using to help identify populations of wolves, cougars and other animals, how they're deali...

Marc Bekoff is a professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Marc has published 31 books and has won many awards for his research on animal behavior, animal emotions (cognitive ethology), compassionate conservation, and animal protection. He has worked closely with Jane Goodall as co-chair of the ethics committee of the Jane Goodall Institute, and...

Will Stenberg and his brother Zack Stentz recently visited Wolf Connection to spend time with the pack and recorded a quick podcast! They gave an update on their Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone  project, and spoke about their visit to the sanctuary.   Will Stenberg is a writer and musician, and his brother Zack Stentz is a writer and film producer known for his work on films like X-Men: First Class &a...

Samantha Miller is the CATs (Cats Aren't Trophies) Campaign Manager in Colorado. The Colorado Ballot Measure, Initiative 91, has gained enough signatures to be on the ballot in the November Election. The basis of the proposal is to end trophy hunting of mountain lions and fur-trapping of bobcats. Samantha went into great detail on the ballot measure, the dangers mountain lions, bobcats and Ca...

Leo Leckie is the Lead of Program Education & Outreach for Wolf Connection and has begun working with Yellowstone Wolf Tracker. He recently came back onsite to visit Wolf Connection, worked with the program staff, visited the wolf pack, and sat down for a quick podcast! Leo spoke about moving back to Yellowstone, shared stories about wolves & elk, specifically Wolf 907F, and his connection...

This is our first podcast crossover episode and we were so excited to have this discussion with Brooke Mitchell from Rewildology! Brooke is the host, founder and executive producer for Rewildology which is a podcast that talks about conservation, travel and rewilding the planet. Brooke engages with guests from across the globe, delving into their personal stories, what motivates them to dedicate t...

Ryan Sedgeley is the Southern Rockies Representative for the Endangered Species Coalition. Alan Lacy is the Founder & Chief Filmmaker for Reel Earth Films. Both organizations worked on the new film 'Welcome Home', that tells the story of wolves’ return to Colorado and how wildlife and people can live together. Ryan and Alan spoke about their own connections to nature, the process of...

Doug Smith is a former Senior Wildlife Biologist and the former Yellowstone National Park Wolf Program Lead for 28 years. Chris Servheen was the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator for 35 years. Both Doug and Chris went into great detail about the history of grizzly bear and wolf recovery, the changing landscape in predator management since the 1980's, and their...

Joel Cates has been the Facilities Manager for Yamnuska Wolfdog Sanctuary since 2019 after starting as a volunteer in 2013. He spoke about growing up around the wilderness in North Western Ontario, his journey in the early days of Yamnuska, and gave updates on recent rescues and projects happening around the sanctuary. Yamnuska Website @yamnuskawdsanct @cates239

Emily Weidner has been a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Biologist at the Bend Field Office in Orgeon since 2017. She is the office lead for eagles, sage-grouse, bats and wolves. Emily spoke about her role as a USFWS Biologist in Oregon, the types of research happening with wolves in their specific area, told us an incredible wolf encounter story, and about her experiences in the field. @onebrown...

Screenwriter, director and producer Ashley Avis came back to Wolf Connection for the second time in 2 weeks! Ashley filmed at Wolf Connection for the new initiative, A Cry for the Wild , which will culminate in a 3-day event & rally for wolves and wildlife in Washington, D.C. this month. She also disclosed information about the next steps in the new film project, American Wolf. Ashley is the P...

Ashley Avis is a screenwriter, director and producer of 6 feature films and is the President of The Wild Beauty Foundation. She is the writer, director and editor for Black Beauty  on Disney+ and directed the award winning documentary Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West. Ashley spoke about her visit to Wolf Connection, her new film project, American Wolf , and the similarities between her work...