In Season 5 Episode 15 of the EEARSS by Alligator Robb Podcast, Frank Robb (Alligator Robb), along with his co-hosts Bill and Cindy, sit down with Lonnie McCaskill, a lifelong conservation professional with nearly 40 years of experience in zoo management, field conservation, and global wildlife protection.
Lonnie recently retired from the Wildlife Conservation Society, where he served as Assistant Director of Operations and Curator of Animal Care at the Prospect Park Zoo in Brooklyn, New York. Over the course of his career, Lonnie has worked in more than 20 countries, contributing to both zoological institutions and frontline field conservation efforts.
With a strong passion for working with people and for the captive husbandry of animals, Lonnie has played a key role in the planning, development, and staff training of highly successful breeding and rearing programs. These programs have focused on the reintroduction of critically endangered chelonian and crocodilian species back into the wild. In addition to this work, Lonnie has served as a Board Member of the Turtle Survival Alliance and as Co-Chair of the IUCN Crocodile Specialist Group for Southeast Asia. Lonnie’s extensive field experience has placed him alongside “boots on the ground” conservation teams around the world.
Through this work, he has seen firsthand the daily challenges faced by field conservation staff and has focused on building collaborations that bring new resources, training, and support to improve both conservation outcomes and quality of life for those doing the work.
A major focus of this episode is the role of rapidly advancing technology in modern conservation. Lonnie discusses how tools such as drones and sensors are being used for data collection, habitat and wildlife monitoring, population surveys, and the safety of field teams who increasingly face risks from both wildlife and illegal human activity. Lonnie has been flying drones for more than seven years and has developed strong collaborations within the law enforcement UAV community and wildlife NGOs. He regularly works with these groups to train teams and share best practices for using technology as a powerful conservation tool.
The EEARSS by Alligator Robb Podcast is produced by Terrier TV at Titusville High School and is part of the outreach efforts of EEARSS (Environmental Education Awareness Research Support and Services), a Florida-based nonprofit focused on education, research, and conservation.