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LEARN ABOUT WILDLIFE

Virtual Speaker Series with AZGFD

Meet the Speakers

Jeff Meyers is a wildlife biologist for the Arizona Game & Fish Department, managing the Watchable Wildlife Program. He has spent his entire adult life studying mammalian carnivores and enjoys the opportunity to educate others about all of the fascinating wildlife species we have here in Arizona.

Cheyenne Towne is the Wildlife Viewing Program Coordinator for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Her educational background is in Forestry and Wildlife Biology. She is an Arizona native who enjoys any opportunity to share her enthusiasm for wildlife with others.

VIRTUAL SPEAKER SERIES WITH AZGFD BIOLOGISTS

LEARN ABOUT WILDLIFE FROM EXPERTS IN THE FIELD

Join Southwest Wildlife ONLINE for our VIRTUAL Speaker Series!

Local organizations and wildlife professionals will tell us about living with our fascinating local wildlife and conservation efforts to save them for future generations. Hosted via Zoom, these virtual webinars will feature a 45-minute presentation from Arizona Game and Fish biologist Jeff Meyers followed by a Q&A session from attendees. Learn about wildlife living around Arizona, as well as the challenges they face - from the comfort of your couch! 

Each month will feature a new topic. You can see them listed below!

The Speaker Series events are by reservation only. Tickets are sold for each talk and are $20 for an individual viewer, $40 for a family viewing (one household), and $60 for a Watch Party (more than one household).

To register for one of these Speaker Series events, click the "BOOK NOW" button at the top or bottom of the page, then choose the date you'd like to attend. Organizers (ticket purchasers) will receive the Zoom link several days in advance of the talk.

  • ARIZONA DESERT MAMMALS
    ARIZONA DESERT MAMMALS

    June 15, 2023
    6:30 PM

    The ecology of Arizona is the by-product of physio-geographical phenomena with both tropical and boreal influences. These phenomena impact all aspects of the state’s natural history and give Arizona it's unbelievable diversity of plants and animals. Arizona has one of the most diverse mammalian faunal assemblages in the nation, with 134 native mammal species! Join Jeff Meyers, Wildlife Biologist, at the Arizona Game and Fish Department to learn about these different species that call Arizona home.

    Photo by Randy Babb

  • "UNLOVABLE" CRITTERS (But We Love Them)
    "UNLOVABLE" CRITTERS (But We Love Them)

    July 13, 2023
    6:30 PM

    Ahhh! What is that gross thing? Surely there has been a time in all of our lives where we had this same recreation to certain critters or creepy crawlers, but now is the time to correct our thinking and learn about these incredible creatures that live among us. Join Jeff Meyers and Cheyenne Towne to learn about these “unlovable” critters that get a bad reputation. During this presentation we will quickly dive into the lives of animals like bats, skunks, vultures, opossums, snails, snakes, rodents and arachnids. Who knows, by the end you may love all of them!

    Photo by Randy Babb

  • ADAPTATIONS OF WILDLIFE TO THE SOUTHWESTERN DESERT ENVIRONMENT
    ADAPTATIONS OF WILDLIFE TO THE SOUTHWESTERN DESERT ENVIRONMENT

    August 24, 2023
    6:30 PM

    Arizona is home to some extreme climates and weather; thus, our varied habitats present a multitude of challenges for both plants and animals. To cope with these challenges, organisms have adapted over time physiologically, behaviorally, and physically. For example, many of the native species here in Arizona have adapted to not needing as much water as say a similar species in a different state - some can even go their entire lifetime without drinking any free-standing water at all. Animals can be incredibly resilient and resourceful, and their specialized adaptations make their lifeways possible in some of the most inhospitable habitats on Earth. Join us to learn more about these highly specialized species and how they adapted to existence here in our deserts.

    Photo by Randy Babb

  • ARIZONA UNGULATES
    ARIZONA UNGULATES

    October 19, 2023
    6:30 PM

    Ungulate is just a fancy word for hooved animals, specifically a mammal. You have your even-toed hoofed animals like deer and sheep, then you have your odd-toed hoofed animals like rhinoceros. Now, I know what you're thinking, but no sadly rhinos are not native to Arizona; though they did have ancestors that lived here in the distant past. In this presentation we will be focusing on Artiodactyla, or, the even-toed ungulates that we do have here in our state presently, but we will cover a few of their prehistoric ancestors as well. Learn about the natural history, unique adaptations, and lifeways of this diverse group of animals with us.

    Photo by Bruce Taubert

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