Wild Tales with Dr. Arnaud Desbiez

A leading conservation scientist shares frontline insights from Brazil’s threatened Cerrado during Zoo Miami’s Wild Tales speaker series. Wild Tales with Dr. Arnaud Desbiez takes place in the Florida Room at Zoo Miami, offering an in-depth look at one of South America’s most urgent wildlife challenges.

Dr. Desbiez, a Whitley Award-winning scientist and Conservation Project Manager for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, will discuss his work with the Giant Anteater & Highways Project. Giant anteaters are among the species most frequently killed on roadways in Brazil’s rapidly developing Cerrado biome, where expanding agriculture and infrastructure have fragmented critical habitat. Road mortality now poses a significant threat to the species’ long-term survival.

Through a multi-year research initiative, Dr. Desbiez and his team are collecting essential data on anteater movement patterns, including radiocollaring individuals to track how and when they interact with highways. Their findings aim to inform road management strategies, reduce wildlife collisions and protect one of the New World’s most distinctive mammals.

The program is part of Zoo Miami’s ongoing Wild Tales series, which highlights global conservation efforts and the scientists working to safeguard biodiversity worldwide.