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This episode is a conversation with Gerhard Steenkamp, a vet who is a dental specialist and pioneer in surgery on the skull and teeth of wild animals. With a successful practise in South Africa, Gerhard conducts some 500 operations a year, many on domestic pets. However, his passion is the wildlife of his native continent and he has conducted numerous operations on elephants, rhinos, lions, cheetahs and other symbolic animals of Africa. I worked with Gerhard on Big Animal surgery where he operated on a lion in South Africa and an iconic elephant in Tbilisi Zoo, Georgia. But it’s not just the big animals Gerhard works with. He also operates on the very small, like hedgehogs and pet bats. Many of his tools are custom-made and his procedures need incredible levels of expertise from the anaesthetists he works with. The conversation covers the challenges of operating on wildlife and the challenges wildlife faces in Africa with habitat loss and human encroachment. We discuss zoos, poaching, elephant contraceptives, science literacy and the HIV crisis in South Africa, but the focus throughout is on the animals Gerhard works with and his passion for improving their welfare. The conversation was recorded on 14th May, so the discussion reflects the context of Coronavirus at the time. There has been a delay as I built up all 8 episodes of Series 1, which are now recorded and ready to launch.