The History of Turtle Conservation

CheloniaCast is joined by both Dr. Russ Mittermeier and Dr. Anders Rhodin to holistically discuss the origins of chelonian conservation as well as the founding and evolution of some of the largest organizations in the field. The conversation ranges from the beginnings of IUCN-SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group to the future outlook on chelonian conservation. Dr. Mittermeier has been a part of wildlife conservation for the last 50 years. From primates to South American side-necked turtles, Russ has had a diverse and impactful effect on wildlife conservation. Russ was previously President of Conservation International for 25 years, and then Executive Vice Chair until 2017. Russ is currently the Chief Conservation Officer of Re:wild (formerly Global Wildlife Conservation) and an active member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) which he used to serve as Vice President of. Russ is the author of 40 books and almost 800 scientific papers. Dr. Rhodin is a retired orthopedic surgeon that has had a lifelong passion for turtles and tortoises. He is the Founder and Director of the Chelonian Research Foundation, Founding Editor and Publisher of the journal Chelonian Conservation and Biology and the monograph series Chelonian Research Monographs, and has served as both Chair and Co-Chair of the IUCN-SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.   You can learn more about the Chelonian Research Foundation here: https://chelonian.org/    Access Chelonian Conservation and Biology here: https://chelonian.org/ccb/    Or through BioOne Digital Library here: https://bioone.org/journals/chelonian...    Access Chelonian Research Monographs here: https://chelonian.org/crm/    Learn more about the IUCN/SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group here: https://iucn-tftsg.org/pub-chron/   To learn more about Russ and his work with Re:wild visit: https://www.rewild.org/    To learn more about seed grants for conservation, like the Turtle Conservation Fund, visit: https://turtleconservationfund.org/   Learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast here: https://theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast/   Learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast Fund here: https://theturtleroom.org/project/cheloniacast-podcast/   Follow the CheloniaCast Podcast on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter @cheloniacast   Host social media - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi / Wyatt Keil - @wyatts_wildlife_photography / Paul Cuneo - @paul_turtle_conservation42 / Alex Mione - @alex.mione