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Wildlife Featured in this article
- Bobcat
- Cougar
- Grizzly bear
- Rivver otter
LISTEN: How to stalk a predator
How does a lifetime of research lay the foundation for what we know about the world’s top predators?
Face to face with a 182-pound male mountain lion, Maurice Hornocker didn’t shirk. Instead, he greeted “Rex” like an old friend passing in the street.
Hornocker, the 2024 Aldo Leopold Memorial Award winner, is widely considered the godfather of carnivore research.
A TWS member since 1959, Hornocker helped pioneer the practice of marking individual animals and had a hand in the first life history studies of many large carnivores. From grizzlies (Ursus arctos horribilis) and cougars (Puma concolor), to bobcats (Lynx rufus) and river otters (Lontra canadensis), Hornocker has seen it all. His stories reveal the fundamental base for which much of the wildlife profession now works off.
“Our Wild Lives” is The Wildlife Society’s weekly podcast, sharing compelling stories from wildlife professionals doing critical work around the world. Your hosts, Katie Perkins and Ed Arnett, of The Wildlife Society, bring you thought-provoking conversations with leading experts and emerging voices.
New episodes are released weekly wherever you get your podcasts. Please email comms@wildlife.org with feedback or future episode suggestions.
Header Image: From grizzlies and cougars to bobcats and river otters, Maurice Hornocker has seen it all. His stories reveal the fundamental base for which much of the wildlife profession now works off.
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