Zoo Logic

Dr. Jay Sweeney, cofounder of Dolphin Quest, returns to discuss the latest strain of avian flu making its way across the globe with lethal effects. It was an avian flu strain that caused the global pandemic in 1918 that killed tens of millions of humans. The current strain H5N5 seems to be mild in infected dairy cows and humans but it has caused thousands of pinniped and a handful of dolphin deaths over the past few seasons as migr...

Dr. Terrie Williams, long time UC Santa Cruz wildlife researcher interested in species energetics returns to discuss the race against geometric levels of extinction. We are losing species at pace well above the normal background rates. Her mission is to gather basic bioenergetic data to help inform regulators, lawmakers, and industry about the potential harmful effects from undersea noise pollution, climate change, over fishing, an...

Following a recent industry webinar, we asked ethicist, Dr. Raymond Anthony and veterinarian and researcher, Dr. Dave Miller to weigh in on the subject of using hormone therapy to curb aggressive behavior in managed settings. Under what conditions and to what extent is modifying animal behavior through pharmacology, specifically hormones or their synthetic analogs, an acceptable practice?  Is there an ethical difference between acu...

Before she accepted the role of executive director of the Zoological Association of America in 2023, Dr. Kelly George was a researcher with Ohio State University studying human-animal relationships with an emphasis on welfare and behavior. Today she leads the young but growing trade association focused on improving standards of husbandry care, educating the public, and promoting greater conservation efforts for species in human car...

As director of research for the Dolphin Research Center, Dr. Kelly Jaakkola spends much of her time studying the cognitive abilities of bottlenose dolphins, as well as, refuting the false or unsubstantiated narratives stemming from all places, recent peer-reviewed publications by authors opposed to marine mammals in human care. One of two of her recent publications examines whether these small cetaceans in human care live in "impov...

Before she became an expert avian trainer with Natural Encounters, Ari Bailey got her start working with crocodilian species at a time when aversives and physical restraint were still commonly in use. Fortunately, the state of animal training for crocodilians and other ectothermic species has since advanced; in many ways, the same sort of husbandry behaviors commonly seen with mammals and birds can also be seen with reptiles at mod...

The post Civil War era gave rise to unprecedented social changes. The energy and activism directed at ending the scourge of slavery found new life in improving the welfare of animals, particularly those species in American homes, industry, entertainment, and on the dinner plate. Authors, Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, DVM have written their second book together (Knopf, 4/23) examining the extraordinary animal welfare movement that e...

On a recent visit to a zoological facility, their senior animal manager asked about my current views on the use of negative reinforcement given past treatment of the subject in my book ZOOmility going back to the mid 2000's, when I largely discouraged trainers from using the training tool. So we thought it might be time to take another look at that behavioral tool to better understand if, when or with what species it is ever approp...

What is the secret to longevity and relevance in any career path?  While the answer may vary among differing professions, one ingredient seems to be a willingness to "apply the joy of exploration to our own lives," according to actor, director, best selling author, musician, and real life space traveler, William Shatner. In 2022, Shatner now 93, best known for his iconic role on Star Trek as Captain James T. Kirk, wrote Boldly Go ...

It would likely surprise most people that until about a decade ago, military service dogs were routinely euthanized at the end of their working service life rather than be transported back to the U.S. and a life of retirement. Congress and the Department of Defense finally provided some resources to ensure military working dogs are returned to U.S. soil at the completion of their service. These funds do not cover all transport cost...

Recently, the open access scientific journal Animals published a special issue entitled: Zoo and Aquarium Welfare, Ethics, Behavior.  Many of the peer-reviewed papers within this special issue focus on and in some instances call for improvements to animal welfare assessment, husbandry, training, housing, and overall management. The goal of the invited editors, which includes the host of Zoo Logic, was to highlight advances and curr...

A prolific naturalist, award-winning and bestselling author Sy Montgomery and her colleague, Warren Carlyle founder of Octonation, the largest octopus fan club in the world, have a new release entitled Secrets of the Octopus. This book is a follow up to Sy's scientific treatment of the species in 2015's bestseller, Soul of the Octopus. Warren and Sy's passion for this unique species is unmistakable. Both share their journey learni...

The Executive Director of Zoological Disaster Response, Rescue, and Recovery (ZDR3), Julia Matson Wagner, returns on the eve of this coming season for natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. After several years focusing on providing immediate disaster response and support for affected zoological facilities, ZDR3 has grown in scope in terms of the number of participating facilities and expanded educational outre...

After years of working with some of the world's top tequila brands, particularly on the elimination of production waste water, retired police officer Tony Boyle and his news anchor spouse, Olivia Fierro have embarked on a new venture producing Tequila Corrido. The relaunch of the award-winning spirit rests on the principles of sustainability and paying homage to tradition. From harvesting the hundreds of thousands of blue agave pla...

Kathy Finley found herself bullied as a child but she drew comfort, confidence, and courage from the pets she loved so well, especially her cats. She thought of her animals as the source of her superpower to make friends which helped build up her self-esteem. That is, until later in life she allowed an abusive husband to remove animals from her home life and thereby, sapping her confidence and feelings of self-worth. It was the gif...

Kevin Willis has served the zoological community for decades in a variety of posts, including time with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, as one of our most important statisticians. His work is documented in peer-reviewed publications and essays across a multitude of terrestrial and aquatic species, from elephants to orcas. His greatest skill seems to be explaining and applying statistical principles to complex conservation qu...

The journal, Animals, has published a special issue that includes overviews and original research papers that rigorously assess zoo and aquarium behavior, welfare and ethics. One of the papers, The Cetacean Sanctuary: A Sea of Unknowns is written by frequent Zoo Logic guest, Dr. Jason Bruck and concerns the elusive cetacean sanctuary standards put forth by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS). Jason methodically asks ...

The International Elephant Foundation turns 25 this year and the conservation organization continues to break new ground in preserving the world's largest land mammal. Conservation Coordinator, Sarah Conley describes the three species of elephants and the unique challenges to their respective survival. From working with local communities to support the work of game rangers, supporting research for the study and prevention of deadly...

According to its website, the Dolphin Research Center promotes peaceful coexistence, cooperation and communication between marine mammals, humans and the environment. They achieve this through education, research and rescue. Home to generations of bottlenose dolphins as well as California sea lions, the DRC is uniquely situated to study cognition, behavior and husbandry. DRC president and CEO Rita Irwin and Director of Research, Dr...