A century ago, black bears in North Carolina were on the brink. Today, they’re thriving in mountains, coastal swamps, and even neighborhoods.

In this episode, we sit down with Colleen Olfenbuttel, TWS member, longtime bear biologist and the NCWRC game mammals and survey unit supervisor, to unpack how science-based management helped the once-rare species rebound. They also talk about how wildlife managers are tackling coexistence in a quickly urbanizing state.

Colleen takes us inside the state’s pivotal moves in the 1970s—mandatory harvest reporting, protections for females and cubs, and the creation of bear management areas that seeded recovery across the landscape. We dig into human-bear conflict, why unsecured attractants and intentional feeding sit at the root, and how BearWise communities, feeding bans, and bear-resistant trash cans cut problems at the source.

Colleen shares practical safety advice for black bear encounters, explains why relocating “problem bears” fails, and demystifies dens and hibernation.

Learn more:

About Colleen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleen-olfenbuttel/

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission: https://www.ncwildlife.gov/

BearWise: https://bearwise.org/

Bear cub rehabilitation program: https://www.ncwildlife.gov/wildlife-habitat/species/black-bear/what-happens-orphaned-black-bear-cubs-north-carolina

Become a Certified Wildlife Biologist - https://wildlife.org/certification-programs/

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Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

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A century ago, wild turkeys were a rare sight in many parts of the United States. Populations were estimated to be 200,000 or less across the country. Through science-based conservation and management, education, and sound policy, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) helped grow turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) populations to over 6 million.

In this episode, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett of The Wildlife Society join Mark Hatfield, former national director of science and planning, Jen Davis, hunting and shooting R3 coordinator for Michigan and Teresa Carroll, education and outreach program coordinator of the NWTF at turkey camp to share how their work has contributed to this remarkable recovery.

Through a mentored hunt, we learn what it took to bring wild turkey populations back from the brink and the role hunting can play in wildlife conservation.

Learn more:

The National Wild Turkey Federation: https://www.nwtf.org/

Mark Hatfield: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hatfield-mark/

Jen Davis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-davis-29a30817b/

Teresa Carroll: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresa-carroll-06912725/

NWTF Programs - https://www.nwtf.org/who-we-are/programs-outreach

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/join/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

Follow us on

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewildlifesociety/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildlifesociety

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wildlife-society/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society

How do a lifetime of “firsts” and a fearless curiosity reshape everything we know about the world’s top predators?

In this episode, we sit down with Maurice Hornocker—TWS member, Aldo Leopold Memorial Award winner, and a widely considered godfather of carnivore research—to uncover the work that helped write the playbook for studying large predators.

Hornocker helped pioneer the practice of marking individual animals, and transformed wildlife research in the process. Along the way, he built something just as critical: the credibility and community trust needed to turn data into policy that lasts.

From grizzlies and cougars to bobcats and river otters, Hornocker has seen it all. His stories reveal not only how we learned to study carnivores, but how we learned to understand them.

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Learn more:

About Maurice Hornocker - https://wildlife.org/maurice-hornocker-wins-aldo-leopold-memorial-award/

Maurice's memoir, "Cougars on the Cliff" - https://www.cougarsonthecliff.com/

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Maurice-G-Hornocker-31501351

Aldo Leopold Memorial Award Speech - https://youtu.be/vjtevQzncWg?si=oCM0lYKBDzyTqBjH

Share your thoughts on the Our Wild Lives Podcast by sending us a text here!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

Become a member of The Wildlife Society: https://wildlife.org/join/

Support Wildlife, Invest in Wildlife Professionals: https://wildlife.org/donate/

Follow us on

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewildlifesociety/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildlifesociety

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wildlife-society/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The_Wildlife_Society