In this episode, international lawyer and natural resource ecologist Susan Bragdon discusses her early work as a young girl studying wolves in captivity. She shares the groundbreaking discovery her observations led to about the role of female wolves, challenging the biases that had shaped previous understandings. We also explore the dynamic nature of wolf interactions and the importance of considering personality in understanding wolves and advancing wildlife conservation.

From wolves to multilateral negotiations, Susan shares how her desire to protect wildlife and biological diversity led her to recognize the importance of agricultural diversity for food and nutrition security. Driven by a passion for both science and advocacy, she discusses her career as an international lawyer working with the United Nations and the founding of Seeds for All — a non-profit dedicated to supporting and expanding agroecology by amplifying the voices and participation of small-scale farmers and promoting inclusive, democratic governance.

Susan H. Bragdon is an international lawyer, natural resource ecologist, and U.S. patent agent with more than 25 years of experience working with governments, United Nations agencies and multilateral institutions and donor organizations on policy and science related to sustainable food systems, biological diversity, small-scale farmers, and agroecology.

She served as Legal Advisor to the Convention on Biological Diversity and was the first attorney-senior scientist hired within the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) at a senior level to develop and implement policy strategy on plant genetic diversity and food security and to leverage its role through critical partnerships. Susan also developed and led the Food and Sustainability Programme at the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva and was a Policy Advisor for Oxfam Novib’s Sowing Diversity=Harvesting Security Programme.

Susan is the Director of Seeds for All, a non-profit organization with a mission to support and expand agroecology by amplifying the voices and participation of small-scale farmers and building democratic, participatory and inclusive governance at all levels.

Additional resources:

• Seeds for All
• Susan H. Bragdon’s early wolf research
  • Scent rubbing in wolves (Canis lupus): the effect of novelty (2011)
  • Mutual Rearing of Simultaneous Litters in Captive Wolves (1982)
• Books mentioned throughout the episode
  • The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species by L. David Mech
• Films featuring Gudrun Pflüger
  • A Woman Among Wolves
  • Running With Wolves
• 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.