A Sickness Called Panda Love: Bill McShea at TEDxFoggyBottom

Dr. Bill McShea doesn't love pandas as much as we do. In this talk about the "average bear," he hilariously explains why, and how our affection is actually a good thing for our world.

Dr. Bill McShea is a wildlife ecologist for the Smithsonian's Conservation Biology Institute at Front Royal, Virginia. He received his education at Bucknell University (B.S.), University of New Hampshire (M.S.), and State University of New York at Binghamton (PhD). He has worked at the Front Royal facility since 1986. He is currently co-chair of the IUCN Deer Specialist Group which is responsible for setting endangerment levels for deer species worldwide. He has edited 3 volumes on wildlife management (deer, oak forests and Asian wildlife) and a co-authored a book on deer ecology. When not in Virginia, Bill has worked in Southeast Asia, Gabon, Brazil, and China. He has over 100 publications in scientific journals, many involving wildlife in the Virginia area. Bill's current research focuses on the management of wildlife populations in forested ecosystems, including giant pandas in China, rare deer in Cambodia, large mammals along the Appalachian Trail, invasive plant/animal interactions, chestnut tree restoration, and wood turtles in Virginia.

"SimplyZinhle Production" - Filming and production directed by Zinhle Essamuah.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)