In this episode, Wolf Conservation Program Director and podcast host Chelsea Greer reflects on her early fascination with the human-animal bond and how her post-secondary education transformed her perspective on what truly benefits wildlife. She discusses how exploring alternative paradigms to traditional conservation and animal welfare science sparked her curiosity about applying animal welfare principles to wildlife and developing creative coexistence strategies.

From studying elephants in Thailand to protecting wolves in British Columbia, Chelsea shares how her time as a graduate student in the Canid Conservation Science Lab at the University of Calgary deepened her understanding of the challenges facing wolves and coyotes in North America, ultimately leading her to Raincoast to help develop the Wolf Conservation Program. Working as a biologist and wolf researcher within the program, Chelsea also recounts her first encounter with a wolf in the wild, reflecting on the layers of meaning behind the experience and the actions it inspired.

Guided by the inextricable link of science and ethics, Chelsea emphasizes how Raincoast’s approach to wildlife conservation continues to be grounded in doing the most good and the least harm to people, animals, and the environment. We delve into the importance of wolves and wolf conservation, highlighting not only the profound role wolves play in ecosystems, but also the cultural and intrinsic value they hold both as a species and as individuals.

Finally, Chelsea reflects on what she has learned from interviewing this remarkable group of women and what studying wolves has taught her about herself.

Chelsea Greer is the director of the Wolf Conservation Program at Raincoast Conservation Foundation. The focus of her work is to support the protection and conservation of wolves in British Columbia through peer-reviewed research, community partnerships, public education, and wildlife management reform. This includes scientific and ethics-driven initiatives that are working toward the implementation of provincial policy that respects the welfare of wolves and their important role in functioning ecosystems.

Chelsea is particularly interested in the welfare concerns that arise from the lethal management of predators and is an advocate for animal welfare in scientific research. Her research interests also include better understanding predator-prey dynamics in salmon-bearing watersheds and the role wolves play in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem resilience.

Chelsea completed her master’s degree in Geography at the University of Calgary where she studied the behavioural ecology of rewilded Asian elephants in northern Thailand. Her graduate research used a compassionate model of conservation to investigate the rehabilitative and ecological requisites of elephants transitioning from captive to free-living settings. Chelsea also holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia where she majored in Applied Animal Biology. It was during this degree that she developed a keen interest in animal ethics and how animal welfare science applies to free-living wild populations.

Additional resources:

• Other series hosted and curated by Chelsea Greer
  • Wolf School
  • Wolf Stories
  • More podcast episodes
• Remembering Gudrun “Gudy” Pflüger
• Learn more about our Wolf Conservation Program

Raincoast Radio is hosted by Chelsea Greer and produced by Sofia Osborne, with additional audio editing by Oumar Salifou. This podcast is a production of Raincoast Conservation Foundation, a team of conservationists and scientists empowered by research to protect the lands, waters and wildlife of coastal British Columbia. Learn more and support our work at raincoast.org.