What could be more festive than talking about the frozen North with snow, ice and the worlds largest species of owl?

In episode 4 we chat to Jonathan Slaght a wildlife biologist working for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) as their Russia & Northeast Asia co-ordinator and who is probably best known as one of the worlds foremost experts on the Blakiston’s Fish Owl.

I have tried to follow Jon’s work on this rare and elusive owl from afar here in the UK often picking up small articles with updates on this incredible species and his work. I was so excited when after 10 years of studying this species in the remotest parts of Russia Jon has published his first book titled ‘Owls of the Eastern Ice’ about his exploits attempting to understand the Blakiston’s Fish Owl. The book has been a huge success including winning The Times UK nature book of the year - it is a must read for anyone with even the slightest interest in nature, I couldn’t put it down.

In this interview I find out what its like trying to understand the ecology of a rare and poorly understood species in some of the harshest terrain with an eclectic mix of human characters. Hopefully you get a feel for being on the front line of real cutting edge conservation.

You can find out more about Jonathan Slaght and buy the book at

https://jonathanslaght.com/

Thank you for listening and have a great festive season & new year!

In epsiode 3 of Raptor Rambles I catch up with director of the Vulture Conservation Foundation Jose Tavares. The VCF have gone from strength to strength since Jose has taken the helm and we find out what it takes to lead a progressive forward thinking NGO.

Jose shares with us how the VCF came to be returning the Bearded vulture to the skies of Europe and how captive breeding and understanding the genetics has helped return this species to many of its traditional haunts.

VCF work to protect all European vulture species through practical conservation methods and collaboration across the world with fellow scientists and conservationists. It was great to hear from Jose how things are looking bright for European vultures.

You can find out more about the amazing work of the Vulture Conservation Foundation below

https://www.4vultures.org/