Send us a text What does it take to bring a national bird back from the brink? In this opening episode of our three-part Talons of Hope special on the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund's signature project in Mongolia, Dr. Andrew Dixon—the Partners for Raptors Lifetime Achievement Award honoree and MBZRCF’s Science & Conservation Director—tells the inside story of how an Abu Dhabi–driven vision became one of the most ambitious raptor conservation efforts of our time. Long before t...

Send us a text Across the world’s scattered islands, from the volcanic ridges of the Philippines to the icy fjords of Tierra del Fuego, live some of the rarest and most extraordinary birds of prey on Earth. These are the island raptors—hawks, owls, eagles, and falcons that evolved in isolation, mastering ecosystems shaped by wind, salt, and solitude. But that same isolation now places them in peril. Science tells a stark truth: every known extinction of a raptor has occurred on an island. Fro...

Send us a text In this inspiring episode of Talons of Hope, we sit down with Dr. Laurie Goodrich—Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary—and explore what it takes to build the next generation of true conservation leaders. Drawing on decades of raptor migration data, groundbreaking studies on kestrel declines and broad‑winged hawk wintering behavior, Laurie shares not only the science, but how she’s weaving training in communication, storytelling, fundraising...

Vultures prevent disease, recycle nutrients, and even reduce greenhouse gas emissions — yet they face extinction at an alarming rate. These birds are the silent guardians of our ecosystems, nature’s clean-up crew that protect both wildlife and human health. Beyond ecology, they are also woven into human culture and history — from ancient Egyptian deities to Indigenous traditions that see them as symbols of purification and renewal. In this special Talons of Hope episode for International Vult...

What happens when an injured hawk, eagle, falcon, or owl beats the odds, survives rehabilitation, and is released back into the wild? Do they truly make it? Do they matter? In this episode of Talons of Hope, host Munir Virani talks with Dr. Christian Hagen — Senior Research Scientist and Associate Professor at Oregon State University — about a groundbreaking study that combed through decades of data on more than two million raptors. The results challenge long-held skepticism and reveal...

In this compelling episode of Talons of Hope, Dr. Munir Virani sits down with one of the rising stars in global raptor conservation—Dr. Megan Murgatroyd, a field biologist, scientist, mother, and Director of International Programs at HawkWatch International. From the cliffs of South Africa to the jungles of Indonesia, Megan shares her bold and deeply personal journey tracking and protecting some of the world’s most elusive and endangered raptors. Listeners are taken behind the scenes of her f...

Deep in the grasslands of Kenya’s legendary Maasai Mara, where lions roar and wildebeest thunder, a quieter crisis is unfolding. Vultures — nature’s essential clean-up crew — are dying in silence, poisoned by the very communities that once lived in harmony with them. But one woman is fighting back. Meet Valerie Nasoita Sankok, a proud Maasai woman and frontline conservationist. She’s not just saving birds. She’s saving ecosystems, cultural values, and future generations. As the Vulture Liaiso...

In this episode of Talons of Hope, we travel to the windswept tundras of Alaska to explore the frontline of polar raptor conservation. Host Munir Virani, of the Mohamed bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund (MBZRCF), speaks with Michael Henderson—field biologist with The Peregrine Fund and PhD candidate at Boise State University—whose groundbreaking research on Gyrfalcons, the Arctic’s apex raptors, is offering urgent insights into a rapidly changing world. Why should you tune in? Because ...

Poachers laced an elephant carcass with poison in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, and by next morning 123 critically endangered vultures lay dead. Dozens more were barely clinging to life, sparking an urgent race to save them. Amid this carnage, Gareth Tate – head of the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Birds of Prey Programme – sprang into action. He hooked up a specialized “vulture ambulance,” gathered vets and rangers, and raced to the scene even enlisting a SANParks helicopter Against a...

Talons of Hope: A Conversation with Dr. Jayson Ibanez – Saving the Soul of the Forest In this powerful and moving episode of Talons of Hope, host Munir Virani speaks with Dr. Jayson Ibanez, the Director of Operations at the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), a pioneering raptor biologist and champion of culture-based conservation. Their conversation delves deep into the remarkable efforts to save the critically endangered Philippine Eagle—a species that symbolizes both the ecological and cult...

On this special World Environment Day, Talons of Hope takes flight—soaring into the lives, landscapes, and legacies of those fighting to protect the world’s most awe-inspiring birds of prey. Hosted by raptor biologist and conservationist Munir Virani, this launch episode sets the tone for a podcast rooted in urgency, science, and deep storytelling. From the Arctic tundra to the tropical forests of the Philippines, Talons of Hope explores how raptors—eagles, falcons, vultures—are not just pred...