As we look forward to our International Women’s Day breakfast event on 5th March, Robyn Foyster interviewed one of our speakers, the inspiring Dr Phoebe Meagher, a wildlife conservation scientist at Taronga Conservation Society.
But first, here she shares her journey and work which includes new technology revolutionising wildlife detection in the fight against wild animal trafficking which sadly is big business nowadays.
Robyn: Let’s start with you telling me about your career journey.
Phoebe: Growing up, I didn’t see many women in science, so I didn’t initially consider it. I loved wildlife, particularly marine life, because I spent my childhood on Kangaroo Island. At first, I leaned more towards eco-tourism, thinking scientists were mainly older men stuck in labs. But a teacher encouraged me, and I realised my passion for biology. I studied biodiversity and conservation at Macquarie University, did an Honours project on grey nurse sharks, and later worked as a divemaster in Thailand.
I received a PhD scholarship to study elephant seals in Antarctica, but after a ship explosion destroyed the data, I switched to researching the impact of fisheries on shovelnose rays. Balancing my PhD with motherhood was challenging—my thesis was due just months before my first child was born. Taking time off for my kids made returning to academia difficult, and then I took a job at Taronga Zoo as a Pathology Assistant, cleaning up after deceased animals. It was an eye opener into that sacrifice women have to make in their career when they decide to have children. I don’t think men experience making career sacrifices as often. Despite this tough transition, I proved myself, earning promotions to research and pathology coordinator and later wildlife conservation officer. I’ve now been at Taronga for 12 years, six in my current dream role, where I lead field projects and see the direct impact of our work in releasing animals back into the wild.
Robyn: What projects are you currently leading?
Phoebe: My main projects focus on platypus conservation, marine turtle tracking and combating illegal wildlife trade through forensic technology. We’ve repurposed mining tech—a handheld X-ray device originally used for soil analysis—to analyse elemental signatures in animals. This helps determine whether animals are wild-caught or captive-bred, addressing a major loophole in illegal wildlife trade. The device, connected to the cloud and a phone app, has a 75-95% accuracy rate and
provided intelligence data to prosecuting authorities has already led to multiple arrests as a result of us providing intelligence data to prosecuting authorities for court proceedings.
We’re also working with Rapid Scan, the company behind airport X-ray machines, to develop the first wildlife detection algorithm, which is already 82% accurate at identifying trafficked animals.
Robyn: What animals have you detected with this technology?
Phoebe: Our pilot study focused on echidnas, after discovering Indonesia was exporting 150 “captive-bred” echidnas annually—an impossible number given Taronga and reputable zoos have only ever bred around 30 of these animals in 30 years. We expanded the project to Palawan Forest turtles, red cockatoos, and pangolins in the Philippines, working with ex-poachers who now use their skills for conservation.
In Australia, the most trafficked species are shingleback and blue-tongue lizards, often smuggled to Hong Kong and the US, where a pair can sell for $30,000 in collaboration with out academic partners at University of New South Wales (UNSW) and University of Technology Sydney (UTS). We analysed over 300 lizards, feeding the data into our model to track their origins. Our findings were just accepted for scientific publication.
We’ve received interest from Canada and Thailand, and there’s potential for applications on species like African pangolins and even polar bears. We initially developed the tool independently with the UNSW and the UTS. Now, the mining tech creators have approached us to explore further collaborations.
Robyn: It’s incredible that mining technology is now being adapted to help fight wildlife trafficking globally.
Phoebe: Yes! It’s amazing to see a simple science idea evolve into applied technology with real-world impact.
For more information about Phoebe’s work, check out Taronga Conservation Society here.
