Hey there, friends, and welcome to episode 207 of Just the Zoo of Us.

This week, I'm joined by a wildlife ecologist for a review of Savannah royalty, African lions.

We discuss what it's like to be an ecologist working in the field alongside truly awe-inspiring wildlife.

What makes lions such iconic big cats from their

impressive mane all the way down to their surprisingly tactical tale, and why their

relationship to us is so important for inspiring passion for conservation and learning to live

peacefully with our wild neighbors. Just the Zoo of Us presents African Lions with Dr. Ray Wynne Grant.

Music Hey there, everybody, it's Ellen Weatherford with Just the Zoo of Us, your favorite animal review podcast. I'm so excited and like a little bit starstruck this week to talk to Dr. Ray Win Grant.

Say hi. Hey, everybody. Thanks for having me. Thank you for being here. You are like living the dream, I think, for like so many, especially like animal and nature loving kids, right? I feel like you are like living the dream of getting to be out there and working with amazing animals and then also getting to like info dump on other people about those amazing

animals. I have to say I have been astonished by my career because it has continued to deliver

on what I wanted as a kid. And I just never necessarily knew that that was real and possible,

but I'm very, very fortunate.

It's been a lot of fun and very wild, that's for sure.

Wild is right because you're working with wildlife.

And for friends listening that maybe this is their first time hearing your voice, I would love to get to know you a little bit.

What is your work with these wild animals, these large carnivores and these amazing creatures that you work with? Like,

what has that work been like for you? Yeah, I am a wildlife ecologist, and an ecologist is a type

of biologist that studies the environment and organisms and how they interact with their

environment. So I'm a wildlife ecologist, which means I said to wild animals, so not pets like dogs and cats

and goldfish, but the ones in the wilderness that are untamed and how they interact with

their environment.

And I've always focused on large carnivores.

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