Episode 118: Wildlife Diseases

As the Provincial Wildlife Disease Specialist, Dr. Margo Pybus has led Alberta’s wildlife health efforts for four decades. Responsible for managing provincial and national policy on wildlife parasites, Margo’s work bridges the gap between scientific research and real-world conservation. In this episode, she joins the podcast to discuss how hunters, farmers, and locals serve as the front line for disease surveillance and what we can learn from the "stories" told by the animals around us.

In this episode:

• A deep dive into the meningeal worm: its complex lifecycle, how it 
  spreads, and the significance of the first confirmed cases appearing in 
  Alberta in the summer of 2025.
• Roadside mortalities and harvested animals as critical data points to confirm the presence of infectious diseases and track their movement across the landscape.
• The shifting scale of susceptibility regarding avian flu, from its impact on snow geese to the surprising cases involving skunks and fox pups.
• What outdoor enthusiasts and landowners can do to help manage parasites and maintain the health of Alberta’s wild populations.

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