Zoo Logic

Author Leokadia George has released her 4th children's book published by Briley and Baxter based on the real life endangered Mexican Gray Wolf named Trumpet. This special wolf lives at the Wolf Conservation Center in New York where George has volunteered for nearly a decade helping to care for this subspecies as well as red wolves. The WCC raises endangered pups that are often cross-fostered with wild wolves as part of the species ...

Longtime zoo professional Alan Toyne has a new book describing his many years working with lowland gorillas at Bristol zoo, including two experiences hand-rearing baby gorillas.  Gorillas in Our Midst: A zookeeper's tale of hand-rearing baby gorillas published by Summersdale centers on the lives of extraordinary characters like a female gorilla named Kera, a lone hand-reared female that never knew how to be an adult gorilla herself...

Dr. Dave Miller, DVM, PhD has a new chapter on euthanasia in zoological settings in the forthcoming second edition of Veterinary Euthanasia Techniques, edited by Kathleen A. Cooney, DVM. In the chapter he and his co-author, yours truly, try to describe the additional pressures and considerations on euthanasia in public display situations. It is no longer enough to simply be aware of the latest methods of humane euthanasia across ex...

Few names are as widely recognizable in the global conservation arena than Dr. Jane Goodall. Her passing last week has prompted praise from around the world. Dr Samantha Russak, Curator of Research and Welfare at Tanganyika Wildlife Park returns to discuss the complicated legacy of her childhood hero. We discuss Dr. Goodall's transition from a first of her kind chimpanzee field researcher at her beloved Gombe Stream National Park t...

Dr. Kathleen Dudzinski is the founder and driving force behind the Dolphin Communication Project. Its purpose is to engage students, collaborators, and members of the public in research, education, and conservation for the purpose of promoting the scientific study of dolphins and inspire their conservation. In her spare time, Kathleen also manages the peer-review journal, Aquatic Mammals. Recently, her decades of work was acknowled...

Over four decades ago, little did writer and artist Kevin Eastman or his co-creator Peter Laird think their stand alone, self-published comic about 4 mutant turtles well-trained in martial arts would become the global, multibillion dollar franchise it is today.  Kevin describes his appreciation of meeting original and new generations of fans at various conventions around the world. Plus he shares insights for aspiring creators on w...

Kyle Kittleson is a former marine mammal trainer and the author of  Wear a Wetsuit at Work, a guide book to help aspiring trainers how to land their first job. These days, Kyle has left the zoological field in favor of serving as a mental health advocate. Diagnosed with depression since he was nine, Kyle now combines his past training and media work with his own mental health journey interviewing renown therapists and physicians fo...

At nearly 150 years old, the American Humane Society is the world's oldest animal welfare organization. Its Associate Vice President of Conservation, Jill Nizan joins Zoo Logic to discuss its many programs designed to support improved welfare anywhere and everywhere through science-backed and evidence-based tools. Using independent experts across farm, zoological, entertainment, domestic, and working animal sectors, American Humane...

After five years and nearly 300 weekly episodes on animals, training, human behavior and much more, Natural Encounters' TEC podcast is hitting the long pause. Show hosts Ari Bailey and Chris Jenkins have decided now may be the right time to sunset the long-running, keeper-trainer favorite, now that Chris has accepted an executive director role at another zoo. The hosts discuss their mutual long history at NEI training animals and p...

Dr. Tony Monahan is an artist, writer and professional educator at City University of New York. His fascination with turtles from an artistic and conservation perspective led him on a nearly four-year journey to write: The Turtle Lovers' Guidebook.  With more than 500 photographs, the book features 164 public facilities across the U.S. where one can see these amazing creatures. In addition to celebrating the zoos and aquariums that...

Before even graduating high school, a young Randy Wells worked as an intern at Mote Marine Lab training dolphins as part of shark-dolphin interaction study. He would eventually become part of the world's longest running study of a population of wild dolphins known as the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP).  For decades, Dr. Wells has led the collaborative effort of veterinarians, researchers, students and volunteers to monito...

Dr. Paul Ling is a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Virology at Baylor College of Medicine. He also serves as an advisor to Colossal Biosciences. Following the death in 2010 of a 2-year-old elephant at the Houston zoo due to elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV), Dr. Ling formed a cooperative effort with the zoo and others within the community to address this highly lethal disease. Thanks to this partnership ...

After a long career as a wildlife manager and educator, David Kleven turned his zoological expertise and attention to improving animal welfare through better electronic recordkeeping. As President of Animal Care Software, he works with a range of animal facilities to use the power of smart phones to track animal behavior and health in the field and in real time. Recently, the cloud-based platform has been enhanced to include more t...

What began as one man's dream to rewild the eastern Cape of South Africa with the Big Five a quarter century ago has grown into the Mantis Collection of eclectic eco-lodges, waterways, and curated eco-scapes throughout Africa and the Middle East. The name Mantis stands for Man and Nature Together Is Sustainable. Its CEO, Craig Erasmus, describes the unique brand and the company's goal of not just being concerned with sustainability...

After years working for Merlin Entertainments building and renovating major aquariums, architect Benedikt Schikora founded  BSK Projects which handles project management in the hospitality, entertainment and tourism space. He's also a partner in the zoo and aquarium consulting firm, IZACS. We discuss the trends in zoological design, particularly those back of house aspects of animal care that have historically lagged behind today's...

Sooner or later most zoological professionals will meet a local or national celebrity as part of their work. Some, like our guest Lanie Angeles, have met dozens or possibly hundreds of popular actors, musicians, politicians and other influencers as part of her long career in educational and media outreach. Sharing some of her most memorable encounters, both positive and not so positive, Lanie is quick to remind us that most celebri...