We’ve added two new speakers to our Wonders of Wildlife Lecture Series! In May, we Follow the Evidence with a life long wildlife crime investigator and then we Encounter Extinction with the head veterinarian of a Wildlife Safari’s world renowned cheetah breeding program.
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Saturday, May 15, 2:00 – Following the Evidence
Bonnie Yates, Wildlife Crime Investigator, (retd.)
Bonnie Yates spent her career dedicated to investigating crimes against wildlife around the world. From poaching to trafficking Bonnie shares stories of crimes against wildlife that would shock any animal lover.  After two decades at the United States Fish & Wildlife Service National Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, Bonnie retired as chief of the Mammal Unit.  The FWS lab in Ashland is the only Federal facility fully devoted to assisting law enforcement solve crimes involving wildlife. Bonnie examined mammalian evidence as part of wildlife crime investigations from around the globe. Before her time at the Forensic Lab, she analyzed bones from archaeological sites and headed the Zooarchaeology Laboratory at UNT’s Institute of Applied Sciences. Hear about her incredible career and the unique facility in our own backyard.
Saturday, September 11, 5:00 – Encountering Extinction
Dr. Benji Alcantar, MVZ, Exotic Veterinarian/Species Conservation Breeding Specialist
Dr. Benji Alcantar, MVZ, is a consulting veterinarian to Wildlife Images and the Head Veterinarian at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. He specializes in exotic animals and species conservation breeding. Wildlife Safari boasts a world renowned cheetah breeding program and works with facilities around the country to ensure species not only survive in the wild, but thrive. Dr. Benji, as he is referred to, shares his expertise on how species breeding can not only bring a species back from brink of extinction but also provide genetic diversity which is vital to the species survival in the future. Benji will dispel myths around zoological breeding and share some of the amazing developments that prevented species from encountering extinction.