Peter Damerell, Interim Director of the Saiga Conservation Alliance, shares his journey from aspiring wildlife filmmaker to leading conservation efforts across Central Asia for one of the world's most unusual antelopes. From the vast steppes of Kazakhstan to working with traditional medicine markets in Asia, Peter coordinates an alliance of organizations protecting a species that has crashed twice and recovered dramatically—and could crash again at any moment.

In this conversation:
19:03 - What is a saiga? The biology of an Ice Age relic
32:12 - How the Saiga Conservation Alliance works
40:28 - When conservation succeeds: new challenges emerge
1:00:06 - Vision: Ecosystems where saiga and people flourish together

Learn more about Saiga Conservation Alliance:
Website: https://saiga-conservation.org/
Donate: https://wildnet.org/wildlife-programs...
Facebook: / savesaigas
Instagram: saiga_conservation

CONNECT WITH SAVING WILDLIFE WITH SAM:
Subscribe: / @savingwildlifewithsam
Facebook: / savingwildlife
Instagram: / savingwildlifewithsam

Please like, comment, and share to help more people discover these conservation stories!

Most marine biologists dream of studying dolphins. Dr. Louisa Ponnampalam actually did it - and discovered that saving wildlife requires far more than science.

Louisa shares her journey from teenage "dolphin obsession" to founding and running Marecet, Malaysia's leading marine mammal conservation organization. She opens up about the steep learning curve from field researcher to organizational leader, the surprising skills conservation work demands, and why protecting animals means understanding the humans around them.

In this conversation:

→ The baby dugong encounter that took 11 years to happen

→ Why marine mammals are legally protected but their habitats aren't

→ Building trust with fishermen to reduce dolphin bycatch

→ The reality of conservation funding and facing "get a real job" criticism

→ Making marine conservation accessible to marginalized communities

Key timestamps: [UPDATE WITH FINAL TIMES]

0:00 - The baby dugong encounter

8:00 - Why Louisa founded Marecet and filling knowledge gaps

10:30 - The turning point: Conservation is more than science

25:00 - Working with fishermen on bycatch solutions

32:00 - Marine debris and habitat threats

40:00 - Getting research into policy and protected areas

44:00 - Learning to lead and communicate

53:00 - "Just because it's never been done doesn't mean it can't be done"

About Louisa: Dr. Louisa Ponnampalam is a Pew Fellow and co-founder of Marecet, living the childhood dream she never gave up on. She's spent nearly two decades researching dolphins, dugongs, and whales, and has helped establish multiple internationally recognized marine protected areas in Malaysia while training the next generation of homegrown marine conservationists.

Learn more about Marecet:

• Website: https://www.marecet.org/
• Donate: https://wildnet.org/wildlife-programs/dolphins-and-dugongs/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/marecet-research-organization/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marecetresearchorganization
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marecet/

CONNECT WITH SAVING WILDLIFE WITH SAM:

• Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@savingwildlifewithsam
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/savingwildlife
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/savingwildlifewithsam/
• Join the newsletter: https://forms.gle/3v5UCmN6CgLGGM3s5
• Follow Sam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-williams-0989483/

Please like, comment, and share to help more people discover these conservation stories!

Weddell Seal audio from NOAA

Rosamira Guillen shares her inspiring journey to becoming Executive Director of Proyecto Tití and shows us that conservation is more than just biology. We range from fun stories of the Cotton-tops, protecting their dry-forest and working finding ways to benefit local Colombian communities to values, culture and leadership!

Follow Rosamira and her team’s work

https://www.facebook.com/proyectotiti

Instagram: Proyecto Tití (@proyectotiti) · Barranquilla

Support the protection of the world’s cutest little monkey: https://wildnet.org/wildlife-programs/cotton-top-tamarin/

Signup for the Saving Wildlife With Sam email https://forms.gle/3v5UCmN6CgLGGM3s5

More about Saving Wildlife with Sam https://www.facebook.com/savingwildlife

Please support the channel and subscribe to help more conservationists tell their story!