Animal Instinct

We're placing a call to Spain on today's episode of Animal Instinct, to speak with Jose Antonio Fernandez Flores.

eZOO seeks to bring an IMAX-like experience to zoos, giving them the opportunity to replace captive animals with big-screen visuals and augmented reality.

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Cookie is an Eastern Gray Squirrel who was found at one day old. She required months of close attention and care to pull through after being abandoned in a storm. She now lives in Florida with her chihuahua, horse, cat, and human.

That human is Gil Webb, the Florida resident who rescued Cookie, and our guest this week on Animal Instinct.

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For episode 100 (!) of Animal Instict, Ann Greenberg joins us in the studio to tell us all about her line of fashionable vegan products for pets. They're not snacks; they're cute backpacks (for your dog to carry) and fashionable purses (for you to carry your dog!).

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Dr. Katie Tripp of the nonprofit Save the Manatee Club joins us to discuss the plight of the creature, a sea mammal living alongside the Atlantic coast of the Americas and beyond. Not unlike its close relative, the elephant, the manatee today is endangered. Threats to the animal include hunting, habitat destruction, being hit by watercraft – on pace for records number this year – and getting caught in fishing nets.

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Mike Mease of the Buffalo Field Campaign joins us on the phone to talk about the American buffalo. Also known as the bison – and recently named the US's national mammal – the creature faces culling in the state of Montana.

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According to the CDC, 4.5 million dog bites happen each year in the United States. On the last day of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, certified professional dog trainer Lisa J. Edwards joins us in the studio to talk to us about her new book. Please Don't Bite The Baby (and Please Don't Chase the Dogs) tells the story of her approach to introducing new human members of the family to our furry friends.

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This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher speaks with Michael C. Blumenthal, a poet, lawyer, and educator who has also ventured into essays, memoirs, and fiction. His nonfiction works includes Because They Needed Me: The Incredible Life of Rita Miljo and Her Struggle to Save the Baboons of South Africa (2015), a book about a remarkable woman and how she came to play a significant role in baboon conservation in South Africa.

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Adrienne Wisok is working on an app to help the dogs of Detroit and other cities.

Many dogs in the Motor City live tethered outside to ward off burglars, as Wisok writes on her GoFundMe page. She's raising money to fund a free app that connects people with information on how to look out for their pets, including notifications for vaccine clinics and weather warnings for very hot or cold days.

Up to 50,000 stray dogs roamed the streets and empty homes of Detroit, as Bloomberg reported in 2013, the year the city declared bankruptcy.

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This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher is joined by Dave Magpiong of the Fledging Birders Institute.

Over a decade ago, a single Gray Catbird changed the trajectory of Dave Magpiong's life - leading him on a mission to bring the joy and benefits of birdwatching to others. From writing for local outlets to leading walks, his first efforts focused on southern New Jersey but ultimately grew to impact people around the world. Dave has been involved in many bird outreach activities such as the Bird Education Network (BEN) Bulletin and Winter Bird Count for Kids. After founding the Fledging Birders Institute, he organized a series of Focus on Diversity: Changing the Face of American Birding Conferences, which were aimed at making birdwatching a more inclusive activity. He was also a co-founder of the Pledge to Fledge initiative which inspired new birders on every continent (but Antarctica!)

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On this week's Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher speaks with Jeanne Selander, who runs a petting zoo in the Florida Keys that is located on the grounds of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office Stock Island Detention Center.

The Sheriff's Office Animal Farm features all sorts of animals, both the traditional farm animals like horses, chickens, pigs, goats and rabbits as well as exotic animals like a sloth, kinkajous, lemur, pythons, peacocks, tropical birds, alpacas, Patagonian cavies, alligators, sugar gliders, and African Spurred Tortoises. Many of the animals have come from abusive or neglectful homes, or have been donated by people who simply cannot care for them any longer. Farmer Selander oversees a crew of inmates from the detention center. The animals at the farm are cared for primarily by Detention Center inmates, who also benefit from the experience. They receive training in some aspects of animal husbandry, which they may be able to use once they are released from the facility. At the very least, they learn to work closely with many creatures in need of the compassion and caring of a human being - an experience that cannot help but be a positive factor in their lives.

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