Rossifari Podcast - Zoos, Aquariums, and Animal Conservation

Today, the Safari visits Mystic Aquarium to talk to the chair and vice-chair of the AZA Accreditation Committee. What does accreditation mean? What does it look like? What happens when an AZA-accredited facility is accused of not living up to the gold-standard that AZA accreditation represents? Can accreditation be revoked? Can special circumstances be accounted for from facility to facility? We ask all this and more! 

EPISODE LINKS: 

mysticaquarium.org 

@mysticaquarium 

@bronxzoo 

bronxzoo.com 

@zoos_aquariums 

aza.org 

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 

Rossifari.com 

Patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod 

@rossifari on socials 

@rossifaripod on TikTok 

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Dateline: April 17, 2026. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!  
 
We start off with a quick life update, including sending love to our buddy Taylor as he gets married this weekend! 

Our headline story is an Other News interview with Dani Larson about the submarine bird!

Then it's time for Zoo News stories from Cincinnati Zoo, Chester Zoo, Dallas Zoo, San Diego Zoo, John Ball Zoo, San Francisco Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Denver Zoo, New Zoo, and a look at the aquariums vying for top billing in this year's Top Ten Aquarium poll from USA Today.

Conservation News stories include bad news for mountain lions and good news for rhinos and Amur tigers.

All that and Animal Holidays! 

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 
patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod 
rossifari.com 
@rossifari on socials 
@rossifaripod on TikTok 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, the Safari sits down with Grayson Ponti of ZANE and Kari Hart of the AZA to discuss accessibility. This episode is dropping during Autism Acceptance Month, and is a great way to look at the neurodiversity that is so common in the zoo and aquarium fields. 

EPISODE LINKS: 

zanezoo.com 

@zane_zoosandaquariums on socials 

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 

rossifari.com 

Patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod 

@rossifari 

@rossifaripod on TikTok 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dateline: April 10, 2026. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!  
 
We start off discussing the current crazy trip I'm on, including a visit to Emily the elephant! 

Our headline story comes at the end, and is an attempt at a balanced look at the Plumes Official account. 

Then it's time for Zoo News stories from Cincinnati Zoo, St. Louis Zoo, Kansas City Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, the Jacksonville Zoo, SeaLife Sydney, Greater Vancouver Zoo, Virginia Zoo, National Zoo, Reid Park Zoo, Henry Doorly Zoo, San Francisco Zoo, ZooAmerica, and more. 

Conservation News stories include good pangolin news, a crazy story about stopped smugglers, and the uplisting of two beloved species. 

Other News has a look at Plumes Official and playing music for animals. 

All that and Animal Holidays! 

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 
patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod 
rossifari.com 
@rossifari on socials 
@rossifaripod on TikTok 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, the Safari takes you to Cincinnati to hang out with us as we attend the joint ABMA/IAATE Conference! We talk about our zoo visits, goof around in a hotel room, make dumb jokes, and also dive into a lot of the training discussions that spoke to us all. 

EPISODE LINKS: 

@theabma 

theabma.org

@_iaate_ 

iaate.org 

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 

@rossifari 

@rossifaripod on TikTok 

rossifari.com 

Patreon.com/rossifari 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dateline: April 3, 2026. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!  
 
We start off discussing the crazy trip I've been on.

Our headline story is a deep look at how governments can affect zoos and aquariums featuring a lot of information about Capron Park Zoo.

Then it's time for Zoo News stories from the Philadelphia Zoo, Elmwood Park Zoo, EAZA, and more. 

Conservation News stories include a a look at how governments can affect conservation work in a variety of ways good and bad, and some exciting news for a few different bird species! 

All that and Animal Holidays! 

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 
patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod 
rossifari.com 
@rossifari on socials 
@rossifaripod on TikTok 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, the Safari heads back to Wildlife World Zoo to catch up with our dear friend Delaney. We discuss her new role as the face of the zoo's social media, what she has learned in the role, and so much more. Of course, we also talk about the amazing animals she takes care of, catch up on what's going on with the crew at Shipwreck Cove, and get into a fight or two. 

EPISODE LINKS: 

@wildlifeworldzoo on socials 

wildlifeworld.com 

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 

Rossifari.com 

Patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod 

@rossifari on socials 

@rossifaripod on TikTok 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, the Safari reports on all we experienced at the AZA Midyear meeting. From presenting for SAFE Red Panda and SAFE Tree Kangaroo to discussing some of the panels we attended to being shocked about live karaoke at the ice breaker, there's a lot to cover! 

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 

rossifari.com 

Patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod 

@rossifari on socials 

@rossifaripod on TikTok 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, the Safari engages in a PODSWAP! This is my episode with Rick Schwartz, formerly of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and now an independent wildlife educator and podcaster! Catch up with Rick to find out what led to this career change, what the future may hold, and so much more! Truly an inspiring guest! 

EPISODE LINKS:

@zoologyrick 

@animalsnatureandyou

zoologyrick.com

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 

rossifari.com 

@rossifari 

@rossifaripod on TikTok 

Patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dateline: March 20, 2026. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!  
 
We start off discussing the trip I'm currently on, what it means for the next few weeks of the pod, the movie Hoppers, and more! 

Then we do a deep dive into the Top Ten Zoos in the Country, according to USA Today.  We look at additional topics of interest including Top Ten Zoo Memberships, Top Ten Zoo Exhibits, and Top Ten Wildlife Safari Parks. 

We also discuss some new tactics that are out there to confuse people about zoos and aquariums or to just flat-out make them look bad. 

Finally, we discuss my concern about the penguins and rocks from last week, and hit some animal holidays!

ROSSIFARI LINKS: 
patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod 
rossifari.com 
@rossifari on socials 
@rossifaripod on TikTok 

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.