All About Change - Dr. Michelle Oakley - Treating Wildlife in the Wild
Episode Date: October 28, 2024Dr. Michelle Oakley decided that as a veterinarian, she wanted to treat all species in her practice. And as if that were not enough of a challenge, she built her career treating wildlife in some of th...e most remote areas of North America. Dr. Michelle Oakley joined host Jay Ruderman to talk about her career as a veterinarian specializing in treating all species of wildlife in Alaska and the Yukon. Dr. Oakley speaks about turning her lifelong love for animals into a career where she works with wildlife in remote areas, as documented on her show, Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet. Jay and Dr. Oakley also discuss her daughters’ involvement with her veterinary work, Dr. Oakley’s sustainable lifestyle in the remote wilderness, and the impact of climate change on wildlife and wildlife conservation. Episode Chapters (00:00) Intro to Dr. Michelle Oakley (00:32) Dr. Oakley’s Childhood Inspirations (03:05) Encouragement and Role Models (05:25) Pursuing a Career in Veterinary Medicine (07:43) Challenges and Adventures in Wildlife Care (11:52) Family Involvement in Veterinary Work (15:43) Dr. Oakley’s Leap into TV (17:56) A Day in the Life of a Remote Wilderness Vet (20:18) Using Innovative Treatments in Veterinary Medicine (24:25) How Dr. Oakley Maintains Her Mental Health (25:25) Impact of Climate Change on Wildlife (28:10) Sustainable Living in Remote Areas (30:22) Supporting Wildlife Organizations (32:17) Leveraging Her TV Show for Good (35:03) Conclusion and Credits For video episodes, watch on www.youtube.com/@therudermanfamilyfoundation Stay in touch: X: @JayRuderman | @RudermanFdn LinkedIn: Jay Ruderman | Ruderman Family Foundation Instagram: All About Change Podcast | Ruderman Family Foundation To learn more about the podcast, visit https://allaboutchangepodcast.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Welcome to All About Change.
Today I'm speaking with Dr. Michelle Oakley, a veterinarian specializing in treating all species of remote wildlife in Alaska and Yukon.
As the only vet in the region, she's a critical lifeline for local animals.
Her work is featured on Nat Geo Wild on the show Dr. Oakley Yukon Vet.
Her lifelong love of animals is evident
in everything she does.
Dr. Oakley, welcome to All About Change.
Thank you so much for having me.
So, Michelle, let me ask you,
how did you decide to become a veterinarian?
I think that was like in my DNA somewhere.
I don't ever really remember.
Suddenly like a light went on.
It's like I just always wanted to help animals. I always wanted ever really remember. Suddenly like a light went on. It's like, I just always
wanted to help animals. I always wanted to be around them. I wanted to be watching them.
I spent a lot of time growing up. We were down a creek. It was just like a suburban
neighborhood, not too far. We're out of Chicago. And all I wanted to do was go down the creek,
climb up in the trees, bait the raccoons into the house, like
just crazy stuff.
You know, my uncle had a dairy farm.
I always wanted to be out there.
So just, I'm not sure.
And then it was like I started watching a lot of like the Met Geo shows, like the, you
know, they had the National Geographic Explorer series.
When I was growing up, they had Wild World of Animals.
I mean, Jane Goodall was on there doing her thing. National Geographic Explorer series. When I was growing up, they had Wild World of Animals.
I mean, Jean Goodall was on there doing her thing,
and that was just fascinating.
That's amazing.
And did you have any pets growing up?
Yeah, I had everything.
What is the pet colors you have?
Everything from snakes to amsters,
dogs and cats, of course, horses.
Even people in the neighborhood knew that if an animal was injured, found baby rabbit,
they'd bring it over.
Baby raccoons, baby dog, anything that they thought needed help, they would bring to me
even as a little kid, which was pretty cool.
And yeah, so I had a little bit of everything.
But I think, I really think again, it was like like watching the series the TV series that showed like the wilds
You know not where I was growing up, but showed these wild places. I mean that was the big allure for me
That's where I wanted to go and early on that's what I wanted to do. Well, that's awesome
And how old were you when people started bringing you?
Injured animals and seeing if you could help fix them
I think like nine or ten, you know, and my mom would be like, okay, she was always supporting
me and she was probably helping to, you know, have the work.
But we'd, I remember raising baby ducklings when I was like seven or eight years old and
we released them.
That was pretty exciting too, you know, it was hard to let them go.
But then to watch them go away as a larger duck and we took them to another place where
it was sort of soft release and they were feeding the ducks and it was like
That was a good lesson too
I think is you know
I loved my pets my dogs and cats that I wanted to keep but then seeing the animals that I could help and
Put them back where they should go and watching them continue with their life
That was a lesson that that hit me hard and early. Wow. And so you had this calling from a very young age
Were your parents you mentioned that you were
at your uncle's farm.
Were the adults in your life encouraging you
at this point in time?
Oh yeah, totally.
I had my grandma was always feeding all the stray cats
in the neighborhood, so I'd help with that.
But the dairy farm, my uncle said I was the only kid
because there was lots of cousins and stuff that would show up
and wanna help milk and none of them wanted to get up
at four o'clock in the morning.
But he said I was the only one that would wake him up.
He'd wake up and I'd be standing there like,
is it time to go?
So, yeah, lots of encouragement.
And when I was around 10 years old, I guess,
I heard I was watching something and Nat Geo
was talking about how Jane Goodall was going around and I heard that she was going to be
at Brookville Zoo giving a talk.
I was like, Mom, well, we have to go.
And she pulled me out of school and took me and we went to listen to Jane Goodall, like
in person.
It was like, you know, my equivalent of like the biggest rock concert ever.
And because I sit there and listened to her talk about the things she was doing in
person. Um, you know,
couldn't wait to get in line afterwards go up and she was releasing her,
her new book at the time, Chimpanzees of Gombe, and you know,
get her to sign it. And, and I still remember to this day telling her,
you know, like I'm, I want to do what you're doing. You know, I just,
I couldn't wait to tell her that.
I stood the line and I got up to her and I'm like, I want to do what you're doing.
She just looked at me and said, and you shall.
Wow, that's amazing.
I'll never forget that.
Yeah, I'll never forget, you know, like anyone who's seen Jane Goodall on TV, you know, her
just kind of angelic looks and voice and the confidence with which she spoke.
It was just like, yeah, okay, that's what I'm going to do.
And that changed your life.
And I really think so. I think that moment and the encouragement I've had, it's just,
that's what I'm going to do, and you shall. And I feel that pretty lucky now with this
show. We've had a TV show and I have a lot of kids that write to me and they want to
be a vet and they want to do these things. know I try to say the same thing to them we say you can't
do it but you know super corny but I'm a cornball and it's just something to say
to them is you can do it you know that's you want to do it why not you will I
think it's so important that we encourage people especially younger
people to pursue their dreams and that's's awesome. That's an awesome story. Thank you so much for sharing that.
So I want to ask you,
when you decided to go into a career
as in veterinary medicine,
how did you decide to become an all species vet
as instead of focusing on farm animals and house pets?
In a way it's a little decided for you.
Every veterinarian that goes into vet school, you know, it's usually four years of undergrad
and four years of the veterinary medical school.
You have to study everything.
You know, and they encourage you not to pick kind of a track of small animal horses, large
animal, wildlife, and you know, until you kind of, you know, stay open to it till more like your second of four years.
But all the way through, I wanted to do everything.
I mean, I wanted to be a vet that helped with spay neuter clinics in places where, you know,
there wasn't anyone to do that.
I wanted to do the farm animal work, having grown up doing dairy work.
I wanted to definitely want to go help wildlife and really didn't even realize,
or just wasn't practical enough, I think, at the time to think about how would I get
a job as a wildlife vet or a zoo vet? Because that was, I graduated in 2000 and there really
weren't that many wildlife vet positions. I think there was a couple in Canada, a few
in the US. I had went from Indiana to University of Michigan to the Yukon to do a wildlife
study and then ended up staying there in the Yukon to do a wildlife study and then
ended up staying there in the Yukon.
So then I wanted to go back there after vet school.
So there was no wild vet or any job like that, but luckily I was too impractical to care.
It's just what I wanted to do.
And so, you know, as I got through vet school, I just kept coming back.
I want to do all of these things.
And really, I have to admit that the wildlife was what had my interest the most.
But when you first graduate, you have to work at a small animal or large animal clinic to
get your basic skills down.
But right away, like the first job, kind of second job, I guess, I had was six months
in, I started working for Yukon Fish and Wildlife on a wolf project.
And, you know, I thought I was in heaven.
Like it was a pretty lucky and amazing job to have.
Sierra and I are going to be vaccinating brown bears.
That boy is big.
That boy is big.
Winter is coming.
So we want to get them now
before they get into hibernation.
Let me ask you, when you're in Alaska and Yukon and you have to treat an animal in the
wild, most of these animals are large and dangerous.
Just tell me how it happens.
How do you get to the animal?
How do you keep yourself safe? How do you keep your assistants, your crew safe, since you're filming some of this, and
help the animal at the same time?
It's a big part of it is keeping them safe.
Right.
Yeah, I think it's just, you know, the situation can be so different.
Everything from an orphan's moose calf or bear cub, you know, and making sure there's
nothing else around it
is actually orphan when you're going to get it.
Anesthesia, you know, like darting animals
is really the main way that I can get my hands on them
and safely work on them,
because even a bear cub can really cause damage
and hurt you just because they don't know
you're trying to help.
So, you know, I'd say, you know,
half the time I'm working out of helicopters
when we're doing the wildlife work,
because you're going, you're flying in,
having to find them in super remote areas
where there's no roads.
And some of those are more like wildlife conservation studies
where we're, you know, getting information
from that individual that helps us understand
what the population needs, what, you know,
we're putting radio and set collars on that tell us where they're traveling,
where what's their most important habitat.
Is it okay that there is a proposal for a mine to go into this area?
You know, then we have a better idea of, you know, where those animals need to be and all
those important things.
But then other times, you know, I've worked with some sea lion disentanglements and they've
got plastic wrapped around their throat, you know, around their throat and they need help right now.
And again, the sea lion we did work on this summer was a big bull.
He's probably 2,200 pounds.
There's no way to just walk up to him.
We couldn't get up there and try to cut it or anything.
He would just disappear.
He would dive off the dock and disappear, but he was miserable.
So we had to dart him and hope that he didn't go dive in
and get trapped under a boat.
So it's a lot of figuring out your best anesthesia,
the best way to dart them and sedate them
so you can get your hands on them.
And yeah, you mentioned keeping everybody safe.
That's a whole other layer.
Right. I mean, you know, I think a lot of people listening to this show, they really care about
wildlife.
They care about, you know, our planet and you're doing the work on the front line, but
you're also putting yourself and your family and your crew at risk and you really have
to, you know, at some point take a chance. So it takes, I think, I mean, have you ever thought
about that, that, you know, your personality is such
that you are a risk taker?
Yeah, and I feel like a few people have said that to me,
like, oh, well, you like all the adrenaline.
I'm like, no, I don't.
It's just, it's required to get this job done.
And, you know, oh, you know, you fly around in helicopters
a lot of times, you know, when I'm darting,
I have a wearing a harness and the door's off
and I'm hanging out and darting and they're like,
oh, you must really like, you know, skydiving
or any of these kinds of things.
And it's like, no, I really don't.
It's like, I get enough of that in my life.
And, and it's just, it's what's required
to get the job done.
You know, I'm afraid of flying.
So I don't like getting in jets so I don't like getting in jets
I don't like getting in small planes, but
That's what you need to do to help animals to get the job done
so early on it was I had a mentor who was just like you just need to get over it and it's like I know that and
You know pull up your pants and get in there kind of things, you know
And then I find I'm not afraid at all when I'm doing the darting at all.
Like the helicopters diving and bombing
and going up and down.
And it's, you know, if you're so focused on your goal
and what you're trying to do, you just do it.
And I think that's, you know,
there's a bit of a lesson there for a lot of things.
And I remember talking to my girls about this is, you know,
there's a lot of fears that can hold you back
from all kinds of things.
You know, it may not be just a fear of flying
when you're in a helicopter that's diving,
but getting over it and doing it and focusing on your long-term goal, it'll get you through
it.
Can you talk a little bit about your family?
Because I know your girls are involved in the show and they help you out.
Talk about them and the different personalities and how they fit into your work.
They're, yeah, they're each their own beast and you know
That which is awesome and you know early on Sierra was always helping me and and Maya too. So Sierra is my oldest
She's 27 now Maya's 25 and
Willow is 20. So they're a lot older than we first started when they were like 7
14 and 15.
So it's kind of neat to see how they've, a lot of people who've seen the show over the
years, you know, for 10 years, they've watched the girls grow up and yeah, they all help
in their own way.
And it's really become more apparent, I think in the last couple of years of what their
best skills are.
I mean, Sierra, my oldest has always been, you know, helping me set up the clinics, helping me put in IVs.
I mean, when she was 14, 15, she was putting in the IVs,
successfully doing a great job,
helping me stabilize patients.
I mean, during COVID, we were separated.
She was on one side of the board and I was on the other,
and we had a dog choking.
And I got on FaceTime and talked her through
how to put an IV in, sedate the dog,
and clear the obstruction.
Wow.
And there was just no other way to do it.
You know, I mean, that's not something you should be doing with a kid who was 20 years
old and, you know, is not a veterinarian, but there was just no other way to do it.
And so she, you know, early on you could see she had what it, what it took to end the interest
in becoming a vet.
And so now she's in vet school in her second year.
So that's pretty cool to see her follow that path.
That's awesome.
Maya, I think, yeah, and Maya's, she's such a cool kid.
She's really has the most empathy, I think, of all of us.
She feels the animal's pain.
She is always, she's been so valuable in the clinic
because she's just been always making sure the animal
is comfortable when they're waking up from anesthesia, always making sure that we're
following up and how are they doing?
It's like Sierra and I are in there.
Sierra's off and scrubbed in helping me with the surgery.
And Maya's monitoring, checking, making sure she's there for the entire recovery of the
animal, making sure that all its needs are met.
And that's such needs are met.
And that's such a wonderful skill.
And now she's working as a vet assistant as well, part-time, when she's not looking with
me.
So it's kind of cool to see her following that.
And then there's Willow, who's always been the most feral.
And she was, she's, you know, one of the wild creatures, I'd say.
She'd always kind of, she'd be along, but she'd be out in the
mountains chasing things around or running around the farm or whatever.
But she has really come around to be just really into helping a lot of the feral animals.
So we started going to communities and she didn't seem to have an assigned job.
And next thing I know, she showed up with feral kittens that she
found. Someone told her about she went in and kind of dug them out of some hole
and their mom had died and they were just a wreck. And they said oh well
there's because we go to a lot of remote communities to do clinics in Alaska and
they said oh there's a bunch more and by the end of the day we had 22 feral kittens
that were just like on death's door.
Really, you know, there are a lot of these rhino, infectious influenza virus, like all
kinds of problems like that.
They were emaciated.
There's all, so we, she took care of them really for the next few days.
She talked to our boat captain, which is how we got there, because we were going out to
different ocean communities, talked him into letting us take them back, worked with the local shelter, and then we had homes for 21 kittens when
we got back already. So it's just like, wow, I know. And it's just like at that point,
she was I think 17 or something. And it was like, wow, you know, she had found her own
way to help animals. So that was pretty cool to see, you know. And tell us how you first started getting into TV. Like how were you approached and
what were your first thoughts on having yourself filmed as you're working?
It literally was just like a random email that came through. They were looking for someone
who was doing a lot of wildlife work. I honestly
ignored at the time because I was just, I had less government. I had been a wildlife
veterinarian for Yukon, Fish and Wildlife. But by that time I had three daughters. My
husband at the time, I'm divorced, my husband at the time was a firefighter. So he was gone
all the time. So, you know, it was really getting hard to work full time, have kids do all this stuff.
And then the email came through again.
This is the second time the email kind of crossed.
And this time it was sent from one of my best friends from vet school who's across the country
in Newfoundland.
So to me, she's like, you should do this.
They're looking for a vet to be on TV.
And I was like, okay, they came out, but it was fun to share.
And they're like, yeah, we were just one of the facilities.
They followed me in a little bit of bison helicopter darting we were doing on a conservation
project and a little bit of horse work.
And then they said, you know, I thought it would just be kind of a one-off thing.
And they said, oh, we'd like to do three more episodes and we'll pay you.
And I was like, oh, what?
Like I had no idea that was really again before much reality TV.
I certainly wasn't watching any reality TV and I think Dr. Polo just started the year
before and so I just didn't know much about it.
And then it was like, okay, we'll film for food because this setup I have is not practical.
You know, I'm trying to travel all over the place.
People can't afford to pay me.
I want to do the work.
I think the only thing that's maybe not really true is the financial aspect of you can't afford to pay me, I want to do the work. I think the only thing that's maybe not really true
is the financial aspect of you can't live as a vet
like that traveling all over, that's really expensive
and there's a lot of overhead.
But with the show, it's like, I can go help all these people.
And that was just amazing.
It was just like suddenly opened my eyes,
and I could work with equipment companies
and get portable X-ray.
And it's just like the type of medicine opened my eyes, you know, and I could work with equipment companies and get portable x-ray and
it's just like the type of medicine and the amount of animals and people that I could reach
just blew up. That was super exciting. That was the best part about the filming really. You're covering a large area, Yukon, Alaska. You're traveling around the world to help exotic species.
Is there a typical day for you?
And what does that look like?
Not really.
There's typical projects, I guess, and they're seasonal, you know, so like, right now I go
monthly to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
That's like my only real steady job.
I'm on the head vet there.
I go there once a month.
I'm on the phone and FaceTime almost every day doing kind of telemedicine with my tech
there to, okay, do this, do that kind of thing.
But then I have to go there if there's an emergency or, and that's, it was 1200 miles
away.
So, you know, that those are the distances you're working with in Alaska.
You know, it's not like, you know, I drive two hours, I have to drive 12 hours or I have
to do an hour and a half flight.
So that's like my typical monthly thing.
I go there, we work on all kinds.
It's a sanctuary.
So we have orphaned muskox calves or moose or bears, whatever is needed.
But then I also have other projects going.
I'm hopefully planning to go to Madagascar later in the year or next year to work with
endangered lemurs.
Yeah. Gasgar later in the year or the next year to work with endangered lemurs. Yeah, and then I'm going to Costa Rica.
I work with a sanctuary there who gets in a lot of sloths that get electrocuted, electric
shock on power lines or a lot of trafficked animals in Costa Rica, tons.
So it's, you know, trying to get that out.
When I went there last time, I organized someone who was an ultrasound specialist, a zoo ultrasound
specialist, and then she helped us all learn ultrasound, which has become a really portable,
handy tool, great for emergency medicine.
And the vets in Costa Rica had never had that training, and we were able to get them both
the ultrasound and the training.
And it's like kind of with a lot of these international trips, I feel kind of a new
goal or a new understanding of what's really needed and what I can do.
I can only help so many animals.
I'm me.
That's all I can do.
But if I can help train a lot of vets or get the right equipment in their hand, a lot of
them know how to, you know, they don't need the training, they just need the equipment
or the notoriety of the supplies.
That becomes more exponential of what I can do.
So I feel like that's really my new goal
and what a lot of my projects are reflecting now.
Let's see how he does.
Good boy.
It's okay.
Oops, sorry buddy.
You know, I'm a dog lover
and we've talked about dogs on many of our shows.
There's a story that I'd like you to talk about
of a dog that you found that was brought to you
with severe burns.
And that there was a unique,
someone taught you or told you to apply fish skin
to the burns of the dogs.
And can you tell me about that story
and how it helped the dog?
Yeah, we had, there was a dog here in Haynes
that was tied to his chain went from the house
and the people were away for the day.
And then the house was caught on fire.
When the firefighters came, the dog was actually on fire
and they cut him loose and he took off off running and it was a snowy day.
He was rolling in the snow and then he took off.
They couldn't get their hands on him.
He ran down a couple of miles to the ocean.
It was like in the ocean when they found him.
And these people lost everything in the fire and what they worried most about was losing
their dog.
It was incredible.
You know, they did not want to put the dog down.
That was honestly my first thing was like, okay, this is like horrible.
You have to put this down.
And then actually a tech who I'd been working with at the time said, well, there's like
she was the one who said, wasn't there something about fish skin?
I was like, oh, right.
Like I just read an article a few months before about a vet at UC Davis.
Her name is Jamie Payton.
Wonderful, wonderful woman.
She had been doing research on putting fish skin on wildlife that was burned in the California
wildfires.
So like bears that burn their paws, they'll push fish skin on our feet like slippers and
they could be released so much faster.
It was like it took away the pain, it covered up, you know, the sores, it decreased infection,
which is a big problem with burns.
So we reached out to Jamie, Dr. Payton, and said, we have this dog, because she works,
she has this fish skin technique, she's doing research on it, and learned so much.
Like she was saying, oh yeah, fish skin has been used in South America and Central America
for years.
It's really an old technique, but we're doing new research on it.
I can show you how,
and I'm trying to get the word out to the vets. So she came and helped us. We were putting
Tilapia skin on this dog. He had 40% of his body all across his back and his face were
burned. It's like as soon as we cleaned that up and put the fish skin on, it's like the
amount of pain meds we had to give the dog went down like more than half. We hardly had
to give him any pain meds. His risk of infection went way down. He didn't have any issues with
infection. So we cut down a lot of the meds we had to give him. And within about two or
three weeks, he was able to move around and do a lot of things where normally that type
of that severe severity of burns, it would would be months like probably more like four months before he'd be to that point. So it was incredible to see how fast he healed
and to learn that technique from an expert and then started looking into it more. I mean now
there's like recipes you can get where you can use the fish skin you know how to take it right from
the grocery store and treat it you know for, for veterinarians and use it. And then the bushfires happened in California right after that, sorry, in
Australia. And so I reached out to Dr. Payton, I'm like, other vets, this is the perfect
opportunity. Other vets really need to learn about this. Do you want to go? And she said,
yeah. So we did a GoFundMe, got all our airfare covered, got supplies covered for a bunch
of like probably five different organizations there that we helped fund.
And then we trained a bunch of other vets in how to use fish skin and use it to treat
some of the animals.
It was so cool.
It was such a cool experience to go there.
Both Willow and Sierra, my oldest and youngest, came and worked out there for months.
We did a lot of good work. And I feel like more than just treating
the individual animals, we got this new technique out
to a lot of vets and it all started with Archer.
We call Archer the dragon slayer
because that was the dog that we had treated
and when he was covered in the fisken,
he looked like a dragon.
But he survived.
He survived, oh yeah, thrived.
He's still alive.
He's still doing great.
You're in a very stressful job.
You're encountering stressful situations.
How do you handle your own mental health?
I run and I exercise.
That's definitely a big part of it.
I love it.
Yeah.
Like that's, if I can't get out and get exercise, I feel like it's definitely everything starts
closing in.
It's also the way, you know, when I have, I haven't had to deal with a lot of sick heads
lately.
I've been in a lot of clinics lately when I was doing a lot more of the clinical work
that was, is like, you know, getting out trail running, getting out into the mountains, hiking
up somewhere.
I think not only the exercise of important,
but the perspective of, you know, you've done what you can,
the perspective of seeing everything below you,
of seeing how you're not that important in this world.
Get back in there and do what you can,
but, you know, it's not all about you
and what you're feeling, let it go,
and then move on so you can help more animals, I guess.
Good advice. Let's go and then move on so you can help more animals, I guess. Good advice.
Let's talk about climate change because you're working in remote parts of Alaska and Canada
and you've seen the effects of climate change on habitats, on animal behavior.
How has these changes, maybe you can describe the changes,
but how have they affected your work?
It's just you can't predict to the climate, I think is the biggest thing we see in Alaska in the Yukon. So so many
more
Animals doing things they wouldn't normally do because you know, they they should have been hybrid ending but they weren't so they cut me
Don't go in our nation. They're hungry and they're skinny and they're doing you know, they're getting in trouble
You know way more
and they're doing, you know, they're getting into trouble. You know, way more problems with rain when there should be snow and snow when there should
be warmth.
And so that causes all of those issues, just these strange weather patterns.
We need the cold.
A lot of these animals are specifically adapted to, you know, 20 below, they're great, you
know, but then when you start getting 20 above or 30 above in the winter and everything melts and then freezes, that snow solidifies
and it's no longer insulating, it's no longer all the things that they're depending on to
happen, they can't catch prey or they can't get away from it.
So yeah, I see it every and everything from animals, you know, that are too thin, you
know, we see a lot of issues with lynx and wolves and bears
that just, you know, either bears don't make it
through hibernation or they're too thin
or they're getting in trouble.
Or, you know, we see lots of things with a lot of the lynx
and wild felids that they can't survive and make it
because of lack of snow.
It's a mess for sure.
But people are, people, you know, it's like the stories and we share
the stories on the show of what happened.
People hear about it and they see it's like, I might be dealing with this one individual
that, you know, got, we had a bear that was severely emaciated that showed up and we think
it was probably to do with it wasn't, could not hibernate appropriately.
It came out in the middle of winter and we were dealing with that and got it into a sanctuary.
It's like, well, that happened for a reason and being able to share that story, people
cared.
You know, when you talk about the individual animal and share that story, they care.
They want to get the group cause and they want to make a difference and they want to,
you know, so I think that really helps to have the show get that message out.
Yeah, things are changing rapidly. I just read a case about a polar
bear that came onto a beach in Iceland and you know was put down because they thought it was a
danger to the population but you know the animals are looking for new sources of food and new
habitats and it seems like our world is just changing in ways that we didn't expect it to.
Yeah, it's definitely extreme weather.
I want to talk about how you strive to lead a sustainable lifestyle with a low-impact
lifestyle on the area that you live in. Can you talk about how you do that?
The biggest thing we do is to, you know,
well, I mean, what are the ways, you know,
I mean, everyone tries to do recycling
and all the kind of basic things,
but how you live within an area, even just like the food,
you know, like the 100 mile diet is kind of an old concept,
but we definitely try to, you know, eat and use food from around our area.
We're out berry picking just all spring, catching salmon from here.
I mean, that's, you know, halibut, that's really what we eat through most of the year.
It's really expensive and difficult to get food into our, the rural areas where we live.
So you try to adapt to where you live and and you know, how can it feed you and support
you? I mean, that's a big one. Yeah, it's tough in remote areas because I like avocados.
They don't grow anywhere around here. So those kinds of things, you know, there's those things
that are tough, but and even things like that seem really straight up like things, you know, there's those things that are tough, but, and even things
like that seem really straight up like recycling, you know, it's really expensive to recycle
from here and to get things out.
But reusing is a much better way, you know, so instead of buying everything new, we get
so many things used, you know, just keep reusing that item.
Or you know, if we need parts, you go and take it from somewhere else or you do the things yourself. So a lot of that
reusing and using things secondhand, so there's not so much demand out there is, that's a
big part for me.
I wanted to ask you, for those people listening to the show who care deeply about wildlife, our environment, are
there organizations that you've become connected to that people can turn to to give money or
get involved and help the environment, help wildlife in these areas?
I mean, there's a lot. I think that's part of what I'm trying to do,
is to go out and ground truth them a little bit
and get their notoriety out, get them out there
so that people can look towards them, support them,
go volunteer.
The main one that I work for and volunteer for
is the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.
I mean, that that one we do so
much work all over Alaska, Yukon and you know we it's a sanctuary and animals that can't leave
are given home but we're also building now to do a really rehab and release center so that's a great
one. I'm also working with the group Toucan Rescue Ranch in Costa Rica. They're fantastic. They see so many critically endangered species,
and they're just constantly, you know, sloths are coming in,
ocelots, spider monkeys, the Dittaira,
which is a really endangered,
almost like a type of badger wolverine in Central America.
So there's some fantastic groups out there,
and we're actually starting a YouTube channel
to kind of go into that a bit more.
I can give you the link.
My daughter knows all these details.
So that's the other great part about Maya, my daughter, she's really good at social media
and she's my IT department.
I can't even remember the YouTube channel.
But anyway, we're going to be working on that is to go, we want to look at not as part of the show, but just to go cover in a little bit more detail some of
these different wildlife rescue organizations and also the aspects of animals being trafficked
to try to bring that to light more.
You have to be really careful.
It's quite dangerous because it goes way down into the depths of some of the crime that's going on in those countries.
But I think the more you bring out how wrong it is for the animals, the less it becomes
cool to have these animals just on your property running around, which is why a lot of them
are trafficked by a lot of drug cartels.
We touched on this, but I wanted to ask you, since your show has been out for 10 years,
how has the exposure helped you with the work
that you do?
You know, getting companies on board, you know, been able to work with some great radiology
companies, some of the companies even that do the blood work testing like Antec, you
know, Sound, all these companies are willing to give me equipment, not give, but let me
use equipment for the work that's life-changing.
And so that gives them exposure and that helps me do a much better job.
I can do much better medicine with that.
And then I can work with a lot of these other different wildlife projects and people all
over the world to help them get that exposure or
get that equipment.
So that notoriety is really what that's what I see it being about is, you know, being able
to get the stuff in the hands.
These great veterinarians and these really important, you know, biodiversity hotspots
and great projects.
I mean, they're the ones that should be in our, they're doing the work.
They just need some tools.
They need some help.
They need some help with fundraising where they need just the equipment.
So that's really been amazing to be able to be a part of that, you know, and sometimes
they need training too.
And I have a lot of experience in different types of anesthesia and different species.
So I go to a lot of the places first to work with some of the people if they need training.
But I mean, nine times out of 10, I come out of there learning way more than
I feel like I delivered. But that's cool too, you know, it helps the next one I work with.
So you know, we've worked on some products where the notoriety also has helped where
maybe I'm getting some business opportunities to work on products. That's been a kind of touch and go.
That's a tough world, a tough business.
But I think my ideal model is something
like the Patagonia model of where you can get a product
or going that's good for somebody
and then you can get this percent of sales back
that then helps support the wildlife work.
So that's kind of the model I'm kind of putting out there now
and hoping to get going.
But otherwise it's more, you know,
just trying to use a notoriety to get the word out,
to inspire people.
I think that that's helped so much with the show.
Like we get, I get all these awesome letters,
like these cool letters from kids, especially,
that they wanna do what I'm doing,
that they wanna help animals, that they're going to do it.
It's like, yes, if I do nothing else,
that's going to inspire change and people to get stuff done and help animals,
and go out into the world and make a difference.
That's so awesome and exciting that maybe Nat Geo helped me get that out.
That is so cool because the impact
that Jane Goodall had on you,
you're now having on the next generation.
Exactly.
That's really important.
Yeah.
So Michelle, I really want to thank you
for what you've dedicated your life towards,
helping animals in the most remote parts of the world
and Yukon, Alaska and other parts of the world,
helping our world and helping those in need.
And I wanna thank you for who you are and what you do
and the inspiration that you're providing to others.
And I wanna thank you for being my guest
on All About Change.
It was a delight speaking to you.
Thank you so much. Thanks for the interest.
And I'm so happy to share these stories.
-♪ MUSIC PLAYING. -♪
Today's episode was produced by Yochai Meytal and Mijan Zulu.
To check out more episodes or to learn more about the show,
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That's all for now.
I'm Jay Ruderman,
and we'll see you next time on All About Change.