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The cutest mammal you haven’t heard about and how to save it

Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode Animal Enigmas

The tapir, South America’s largest land mammal, plays a key role in maintaining the biodiversity of forests and wetlands. Conservation biologist Patrícia Medici works to protect this elusive species.

About Patrícia Medici

Patrícia Medici is a Brazilian conservation biologist who has dedicated her life to the conservation of tapirs and their remaining habitats in Brazil. She is a founding member of Brazilian non-governmental organization IPÊ, Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas (Institute for Ecological Research), where she has worked for over 20 years, and since 1996, she is the coordinator of the Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative. Medici has been honored with three very prestigious conservation awards: Harry Messel Conservation Leadership Award from the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2004, Golden Ark Award from the Golden Ark Foundation in the Netherlands in 2008, and Whitley Award from the Whitley Fund for Nature in the United Kingdom also in 2008. Patrícia received the 2011 Research Prize from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) of the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. In 2013, Patrícia was one of the 39 nominees for the Indianapolis Prize, and in 2014 she was honored with the TED Global Fellowship. Medici has a bachelor’s degree in forestry sciences from University of São Paulo, a master’s degree in wildlife ecology, conservation and management from Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil and a Ph.D. in biodiversity management from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent in the United Kingdom.

This segment of TED Radio Hour was produced by Andrea Gutierrez and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. utm

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Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

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