\u201cThe idea is to share the drama and excitement that happens out in nature all the time but rarely gets seen by people,\u201d Kays said. \u201cTracking animals gives us a new way to learn about this drama, and it’s fun to share it with others.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kays, who is also director of the Biodiversity Lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, launched the podcast in 2019 after reflecting on his own experiences with individual animals over the course of his career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an expert in using technology to track wildlife, Kays has traversed the globe to study the movements of animals. He\u2019s also led the creation of tools like Movebank to streamline the data management processes of wildlife monitoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn my own work tracking animals, I have met a lot of interesting characters. And by chatting with my colleagues, I realized they have too,\u201d Kays said. \u201cAnimal tracking provides a unique way to learn about wildlife, and the podcast format is a great way to allow people to share these stories.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since launching the podcast, Kays has completed two seasons worth of interviews \u2014 more than 25 episodes to be exact. He\u2019s currently in the middle of the third season and releasing episodes on a weekly basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Guests have so far discussed a wide range of animals, from mammals to reptiles to birds. In the second season, Katie Rubin of the University of Alaska Fairbanks shared her story of John Snow, a hoary marmot that died and came back to life. And more recently, Eli Strauss of the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behavior shared his story of Waffles, a spotted hyena that rose through the ranks of her clan to become queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, Kays said he hopes listeners not only enjoy the stories of these animals but that they also learn something about the species and the research surrounding them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe main goal is to share a good story about a particular animal that led an interesting life. But in the process we also get to learn about the species in general and about the research that is underway, including some of the excitement of doing fieldwork with animals in wild places,\u201d Kays said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Roland](\"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/01\/01212021-roland-kays-camera-trap-provided-featured-1024x576.jpg\")
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