Talking Animals

Amy Kight—executive director of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, a multifaceted  operation in Jupiter, Florida serving as wildlife refuge, veterinary hospital, rehabilitation facility, and education center–recalls loving animals so much, so young, that she made an arrangement to start helping out at a veterinarian’s office at age six. Kight goes on to note this represents a lifelong passion—she remained at the vet’s office into her 20s—propelling her to her present job running Busch Wildlife Sanctuary. The core of the conversation was discussing the 19-acre parcel of land Busch purchased, and the game plan they’re formulating to move every aspect of the Sanctuary—including the 200 permanent animal residents, among them an alligator, crocodile, bears, bobcats, Florida panthers, snakes, raptors, and parrots. It’s a highly ambitious, panoramic relocation, and Kight answers the proverbial $64,000 question—Why?—by explaining that the hospital typically sees an 8-10% increase in the number of patients at the hospital each year, so one major goal of moving to the new campus is broadening its capacity to treat that ever-expanding group of animals. Mentioning that the Sanctuary is currently leasing 11 acres, but only actively using about six, Kight says the new 19-acres spread will also allow them to provide expanded habitats for some of the resident animals, and they’re contemplating other programs or services the larger digs might allow them to launch; a significant difference is Busch will own, as opposed to lease, this property. Kight touches on “Inside Busch Wildlife Sanctuary,” the facility’s recently unveiled monthly podcast, which, she says, provides glimpses of the resident animals, Sanctuary keepers and caretakers, educational programs, and will likely devote some episodes to documenting the relocation effort. (https://www.buschwildlife.org, https://www.facebook.com/BuschWildlife/, https://www.instagram.com/buschwildlife/?hl=en)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Don Goldstein, the show’s longtime “Greyhound Correspondent,” weighing in with some observations tied to greyhound racing in Florida ending when 2020 did. Goldstein explained that people who imagined the end of Florida dog racing meant an idyllic new retired life for all the dogs had to understand that a number of those dogs had not completed their careers—being sent to one or another of the still-functioning U.S. dog tracks (one in Arkansas, one in Iowa, two in West Virginia). Goldstein also helped illuminate, in the wake of Florida’s remaining tracks closing down, why there are so few greyhounds currently available to adopt.

COMEDY CORNER:  Martha Kelly’s “Horses Hate That We Ride Them” (https://marthakelly.net)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/TAJan6Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

This morning, I once again set aside the customary “Talking Animals” format to deliver the Annual Christmas Animal Song special—that is, a show entirely devoted to Holiday-oriented animal tunes.As has been required in the previous years of this special, and as I unapologetically concede while over-explaining this program’s premise (over-explaining the premise has become its own tradition—one of many here), the only way to effectively pull off this conceit is to assemble the special with a liberal sprinkling of “Rudolph”-related songs. Which meant including various versions of “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” including Chris Isaak’s velvety-smooth yet rollicking take, as well as an inimitable rendition by the inimitable Ella Fitzgerald. And it’s essential to include at least one version of “Run Rudolph Run,” this one a barn-burner by Keith Richards. But we believe in giving other reindeer if not equal time, exactly, we did acknowledge not all are named Rudolph–making the point by placing Otis Gibbs’ “Lloyd The Reindeer” back-to-back with Joe Diffie’s “Leroy The Redneck Reindeer.” These numbers took their place alongside a longtime staple on this show, the quirky, if delightfully verbose “Dominick, The Italian Christmas Donkey” by the also delightfully-verbose Vinnie Bonofici And His Italian American Band. And while it’s been a signature song on this show for a few years, I actually got a request for it! To round out our playlist, a program of this nature is practically constitutionally obligated to spin “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas”—in this case, the more recent version by Kacey Musgraves. We also worked in something by my beloved EELS, the propulsive fave, “Christmas Is Going To The Dogs.” We also played the Bobs’ lilting “Rasta Reindeer.”  I took a brief break from playing cool yule songs for the traditional reading of what I call the Dorothy Strauss Christmas message, as dictated by tradition, or at least the tradition of the Talking Animals Annual Christmas Animal Song special. That message, whose author had always been unknown to me and my family while I was growing up–my Mom hung a poster of it each Christmas season, as part of our home’s holiday decorations–-was written by Howard W. Hunter, whom we credit multiple times in this show for fashioning those poignant, powerful words.

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/TADec16Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Sharon Stiteler—who’s so steeped in the birding world, as a blogger, photographer, author of “1001 Secrets Every BirderShould Know,” and more, that she’s also known as “Birdchick”—recalls when the birding bug first bit, when she was seven, and snagged a field guide intended for her older sister. She explains that her mother helped cultivate this precocious interest in birds, giving Striter bird books and other items as birthday gifts, and encouraging others to do the same. She goes on to outline how, in her college years, when she was studying drama, she had something of an epiphany, realizing she didn’t love acting with the great passion she loved birding. That was it. That was in 1997. And that spawned her oft-repeated mantra: “Since 1997, I have successfully made it my goal to get paid to go birding.” Striter catalogs the string of jobs, gigs, and projects she’s undertaken in service of fulfilling that mantra. While that involved a certain level of travel, including international sojourns, she observes that one by-product of the pandemic-forced lockdown is the way it enabled Stiteler to settle in and more fully appreciate the birds in her backyard, and native plants. She discusses digiscoping, placing the lens of a digital camera, or smart phone, to the eyepiece of a spotting scope to take photos, and offers a few tips from her book, “1001 Secrets Every Birder Should Know” (including that, especially as new birder, if you see a bird that doesn’t appear in a birding guide or app, you probably didn’t discover a new bird! Stiteler fields questions and comments from listeners—about hummingbirds, pelicans, and more, plus plants and flowers that will help attract an array of birds—and some listeners weighed in, providing suggestions to fellow listeners. She also responds to a request for guidance on what equipment a brand new birder would need to get started. (http://www.birdchick.com,   https://www.facebook.com/Shaz.Stiteler https://www.instagram.com/birdchick/

PLEASE NOTE: Big Cat Rescue CEO Carole Baskin was booked for a brief interview to discuss two wildly disparate things that happened on the previous Thursday, Dec. 3: the awful incident in which a tiger attacked and severely injured a longtime volunteer at the sanctuary, and The Big Cat Public Safety Act, important legislation Baskin (and many others) had worked on for years, passed the House. However, when it came time for the interview, Baskin couldn’t talk, explaining in a message that the USDA showed up for a surprise inspection, making her unavailable for the interview.

COMEDY CORNER:  Jackie Kashian’s “New Dog”  (https://www.JackieKashian.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Stephanie Seymour’s “Veery,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Leonard Cohen’s  “Bird on the Wire”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/TADec9Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Norty Cohen—founder and CEO of Moosylvania, a multifaceted, St. Louis-based marketing agency, which also operates a record company, Rafter Records; he spearheaded “Rock And Roll Over”—explains the origin of his company name, a direct reference from “The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show.” He recounts how the idea for “Rock And Roll Over”– a 17-track collection of  canine-saluting songs and musical-mutt memoirs—was spurred while walking his dog, Doc, and singing him songs, subbing in Doc-specific lyrics. Cohen recalls that he ran the seedling of the idea by singer-songwriter Steve McWilliams, of the Nashville band The Truehearts. McWilliams told Cohen that he and fellow Nashville musicians—unable to tour or even perform locally under Covid lockdown, so with extra time on their hands—could write a fresh batch of canine-centric songs. So, Cohen explains, he essentially commissioned a slew of dog songs, assigning a breed to each songwriter, to help ensure a broader array of tunes—besides, Cohen notes, these songwriters had passion and expertise for the breeds of their own dogs. He also explains how the shelter element was introduced—to download or stream “Rock And Roll Over,” listeners are asked to donate to an animal shelter—and widened out, through an alliance with the Givz platform, so that now, patrons can put the name of their favorite &/or local shelter into a database on the project website (https://justfurrfun.com), and earmark their donation as precisely as they’d like. Cohen says that, thus far, the “Rock And Roll Over” project has raised about $30,000 for those shelters. Over the course of the interview, and after, I played four “Rock And Roll Over” songs. Titles and songwriters outlined below. (Photo of Norty Cohen: Dilip Vishwanat/St. Louis Business Journal)

COMEDY CORNER:  Mitch Hedberg’s “Smackie The Frog”

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” “King Of The Pack,” by Mike Younger, “Woooooo All Day” by Brett Ryan Stewart & Irakli Gabriel, “He’s A Poodle,” by Jason Quicksall,” and “Berner,” by Steve McWilliams, instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  John Hiatt’s “My Dog & Me” (https://www.johnhiatt.com)

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/TADec2Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Michael Hingson—a former high-tech executive, now an author and international public speaker—recounts some of the experiences around the time of his last “Talking Animals” appearance, when he had published the book, “Thunder Dog: The True Story Of A Blind Man, His Guide Dog and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero,” which immediately landed on The New York Best Seller List, later rising to No. 1 on that list. Hingson clarifies an aspect of the central story in that book—a story about working for a company housed in the World Trade Center, and how on 9/11, he and his guide dog Roselle made it safely from the 78th floor: He corrects the error that I and others have made, suggesting it was Roselle who guided Hingson down, when it was actually Hingson who guided them both to safety. This reflects a fundamental, common misunderstanding of the roles guide dogs and their handlers can and should play. Hingson introduces a new coaching program he created, “Blinded by Fear,” noting many people are “blinded by fear because they have experienced a major life change and are so blinded that they can’t see how to decide to move forward. The pandemic is a good example. However, today there are still people who are so fearful from September 11, 2001 that won’t fly. The Blinded by Fear website is here. http://blindedbyfear.net In response to an observation of mine, wondering how he, as a blind man, “saw” things as he was studying physics and becoming skillful enough to earn a Master’s Degree in that discipline, he explains there are numerous ways to approach solving a problem, adding that “eyesight is not the only game in town.” He describes a bit of the process of forging a relationship with his newest guide dog, a black Lab named Alamo—his eighth guide dog—and some of the pluses, minuses, and challenges in working with the previous dogs. He repeats a detail about blind people that had haunted me since our last interview—that they tend to be seriously underemployed, mainly because people don’t hire them for jobs they absolutely are qualified; Hingson placed the employment rate at 65%.  (https://michaelhingson.com, https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Claudia Baeza, a former adjunct college professor and attorney who moved to Florida, opening the Pineapple Yoga + Cycle Studio in Sarasota. Baeza discusses launching Yappy Yoga Sundays With Dharma,” a yoga class you can take accompanied by your dog—it’s offered the last Sunday of every month, and the class takes place outdoors.  The titular Dharma is Baeza’s English bulldog (pictured), who, she says, often plays host at these classes. Baeza outlines some of the post-Yappy Yoga activities that typically happen for the dogs and their humans.(https://pineappleyogastudio.net, https://www.facebook.com/pineappleyogastudio/, https://www.instagram.com/pineappleyogastudio/)

 

COMEDY CORNER:  Mike Feeney’s “Service Dogs Are A Miracle” (portion) (https://www.mikefeeneycomedy.com)

 

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  The Beatles’ “Dig A Pony”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/TANov25Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Michael Shikashio—a dog behaviorist whose credentials include serving as past president of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC), and a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), reportedly one of fewer than 200 CDBCs worldwide—describes growing up in “a Japanese family,” so they had dogs, but the pooches were required to live outside. Shikashio recalls that while in his 20s, living on his own—in something of a “my house, my rules” rejection of the family protocol—he rescued and fostered a string of dogs which ultimately grew to more than 100, the shelter sending him increasingly challenging canines, recognizing that behavioral issues often lead to owners surrendering dogs back to the shelter or, worse, being euthanized. This experience, Shikashio recounts, prompted him to seek a more “formal route” of expanding his understanding of dog behavior, going to school to study applied behavior, ethology, and more. He sifts through the alphabet soup of acronyms prevalent in the dog behavior and wider animal behavior world, what they mean and what’s involved in become certified in some of those endeavors. Shikashio explains why he decided to speicialize in helping dogs overcome aggression issues, noting the important of keeping in mind that “aggression is behavior, not personality.”  He responds to a number of listener calls, emails, and texts with questions about aggression and other behavioral issues about their dogs.  (https://aggressivedog.com, https://www.instagram.com/michaelshikashio/)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Sarah Veatch, Senior Legislative Specialist at the Humane Society Legislative Fund, about the recently-announced move by the State Department to deny visas to wildlife traffickers trying to enter the United States. (The pangolin, left, is the world’s most trafficked animal.) She places the decision in context, outlining the history here, and the confluence of factors that prompted the State Department to act now. Veatch describes the means by which the policy will be implemented, with information about criminal syndicates and other trafficking operations being funneled to those State Department employees charged with carrying out the directive. She also addresses the implications of the new policy.  (https://blog.humanesociety.org/2020/11/u-s-will-deny-visas-to-wildlife-traffickers.html)

COMEDY CORNER:  Bill Burr’s “Dog Trainer” (portion) (https://billburr.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Heart’s “Barracuda”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/TANov18Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Jeffrey Masson—the New York Times bestselling author of books about animals and their emotions, including “When Elephants Weep” and “Dogs Never Lie About Love”—explains how being on the cusp of turning 80, and contemplating his own mortality, formed the chief impetus for writing his new book, “Lost Companions: Reflections on the Death of Pets.”He elaborates on that motivation, noting the family’s beloved dog Benjy, a senior dog increasingly showing signs he was reaching the end of his life. So,  Masson says, he researched the literature for good books about losing a pet, didn’t find what he was looking for, and decided at that point to write his own–“Lost Companions.”  He responds to my observation that the book represents something of a surprising potpourri, that while a central premise might involve contending with the loss of a pet, Masson widens out considerably over the course of the book, addressing livestock, wild animals, dog-meat markets, veganism, and more…topics and discussions that a reader drawn to a book about pet death wouldn’t necessarily expect. We touch on his musings in the book about animal grief might feel to the animal. And he outlines what sorts of issues he hopes to explore in his next book, provocatively (and, I suspect, temporarily) titled, “What The Fuck Is Wrong With Our Species.” (https://jeffreymasson.com, https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.m.masson/, https://www.instagram.com/jeffrey.m.masson/)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Quinn Pigott, one of the leaders of Replace Denver BSL, an organization pivotal in passing the recent repeal of Denver’s ban on pit bulls, which had been in place for more than 30 years. Pigott describes the ban, its flaws, previous efforts to overturn it—and the strategy she and her Replace Denver BSL colleagues, and others formulated to defeat it, which hinged in no small measure on the alliance forged with Denver City Councilman Christopher Herndon. She also notes the chief obstacles the campaign faced, and the implications its victory has for other cities (and provinces) with pit bull bans. (https://replacedenverbsl.org, https://www.facebook.com/ReplaceDenverBSL, https://www.instagram.com/replacedenverbsl/)

COMEDY CORNER:  Eddie Pepitone’s “Dog Therapy” (portion) (https://www.eddiepepitone.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Culture Club’s “Karma Chameleon”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/TANov11Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Dr. Neal Barnard—founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine, among other notable hats he wears—recalls growing up not particularly interested in being a doctor, like his Dad, then after becoming more inclined to pursue medicine, initially veering toward psychiatry. But  it turned out he ended up, among other areas, treating patients with diabetes—which had long been his Dad’s specialty, and I asked him to address how the medical perspective on treating diabetes has changed—just within one generation (maybe within one family, for that matter). In what becomes something of a running motif of the conversation, Barnard speaks to the connection between diet and certain diseases, noting that his Dad’s generation of doctors didn’t have the inclination to think in those terms, when the prevailing principle for treating various ailments was keeping the patient alive as long as possible, without directly dealing with the ailment. He discusses the evolution of PCRM, including the nutrition courses it offers to help satisfy physicians’ continuing education requirement, as well as annual conference featuring all sorts of programming and additional continuing education courses. Barnard offers a sneak preview of a webinar he’ll be delivering on Halloween day, “Your Body In Balance: The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health AND How Foods Can Help Us Fight Covid-19,” part of a trio of webinars presented over Halloween weekend through a collaboration between Tampa Bay Veg Fest, Central Florida Veg Fest, and Florida Voices for Animals. (Tickets for the webinars: http://www.cfvegfest.org/webinars.html) He later weighs in on the Impossible Burger, Beyond Meat, and comparable products. At the end, we touched on a rarely-discussed topic in the realm of Dr. Barnard interviews: That’s he’s an accomplished guitarist and has played for years with a band called CarbonWorks—he describes their latest song, a lullaby, called “Everything’s All Right,” which can be accessed on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ER86cLvaC4 )as can the beautiful French version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsUm-q_cZb8 (https://www.pcrm.org, https://www.facebook.com/PCRM.org, https://www.instagram.com/physicianscommittee/)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Jackie Ott Jaakola, executive director of the Cat Depot, in Sarasota, FL. She outlined the history of this multifaceted shelter (opened in 2003, moved to current location in 2009), and its mission, which includes adoption, a cat-only veterinary clinic, and a 10,000 square education center. She noted the adjustments they’ve made for Covid-19, yet pointed out their number of adoptions for the year, thus far, appears to be nearly on track with adoptions in pre-Covid years. She also discussed some of the cats there currently available for adoption, including orange tabbies Mario and Luigi, brothers deemed a “bonded pair,” meaning the two cats must be adopted together. (https://catdepot.org, https://www.facebook.com/CatDepot, https://www.instagram.com/catdepot/)

COMEDY CORNER:  Chris Porter’s “Vegan Date” (portion) (https://chrisportercomedy.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  The Beatles’ “I Am The Walrus”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TAOct28Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Jacky Poon—filmmaker-producer-cinematographer of “Pandas: Born to be Wild,” a new documentary in PBS’ “Nature”—recounts that he did not have a particular passion for animals or wildlife while growing up in China, but those interests were spurred after he moved to the UK at 12 years old. Subsequently, Poon says, he additionally gravitated toward cameras, enrolling in a two-year photography course, and wound up in a program with a natural history focus. He points out that there were people who sought to dissuade him from heading in that academic direction, suggesting it would be an impractical field, tough to make a living, etc. But Poon says he recognized this was his passion, and that he had to pursue it or potentially be haunted by regrets. Turns out he was right–more than a little professionally prescient: He’s 32, and already his CV includes work on films for such first-tier television outlets as PBS, BBC, multiple National Geographic channels, and among those was part of a series headlined and narrated by a towering figure in the world of wildlife films: Sir David Attenborough. Addressing “Pandas: Born to be Wild,” Poon describes some of the unique challenges of shooting the film, including how solitary wild pandas tend to be…and, not unrelated, how unpredictable their movements can be, noting that for every 10 outings planned to see or film pandas, they’d actually spot the animals maybe twice…how dense the forested areas are in and around the Qinling Mountains, where much of the filming was centered. Shooting of “Pandas” spanned three years, and outlines some of the surprises he and his colleagues experienced, part of illustrating the sharp contrast that there turns out to be between “cute and cuddly” captive pandas and their wild counterparts. He also discusses a key storyline of the film: a cub born in captivity undergoing training to become a panda that, once released, could live in the wild. (Photos: Jacky Poon) (https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/, https://www.instagram.com/pbsnature/, http://www.jackypoon.org, https://www.instagram.com/wildlifechinaman/)

 

 

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Maria Matlack, Marketing & P.R. Manager at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, about its inaugural “Wagoween” extravaganza, to be held Saturday, Oct. 24. Matlack outlines some of the activities on tap for the day, including decorating pumpkins, enjoying grilled food and snacks, and—perhaps the centerpiece of “Wagoween”—costume contests for kids and for dogs. Categories for the dog contest include Best Costume and Best Trick. (https://humanesocietytampa.org/event/wagoween/)

COMEDY CORNER:  Matt Braunger’s “Panda Butler” (https://www.mattbraunger.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Loudon Wainwright’s “Dead Skunk”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TalkingAnimalsOctFinal.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Michelle Gadd—who heads global conservation for Walters Conservation, created and funded by philanthropists Mark and Kimbra Walter, and owner of White Oak Conservation, a 17,000-acre spread in northeastern Florida, which houses and cares for endangered and threatened species, among other animals—recounts how, at 19, she embarked on a three-month study abroad program in Africa…and ended up staying about 13 years. Gadd briefly describes the research and fieldwork with elephants in Africa that constituted the core of work on her Master’s degree, and then her PhD thesis. She also notes she spent a number of years overseeing the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s African elephant and African rhino programs. Gadd explains what White Oak Conservation is, and its mission, which includes providing a home for such endangered and threatened species as rhinos, okapis, bongos, and cheetahs, breeding many of those animals—some with the intention of returning them to the wild, some to be sold to zoos or other facilities, or exchanged with them. (White Oak also houses fauna native to its northeastern Florida locale, and devotes efforts to rehabilitating injured Florida panthers, Gadd says.) But the core of the conversation, and chief reason for it, was to address the recently-announced plans that White Oak will provide a home for 34 elephants that had performed with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey, until they were retired in 2016. They have been living in a 200-acre facility in Polk City, owned by Feld Entertainment, which operated Ringling Bros. But Gadd points out that White Oak has purchased the Polk City place, as well as the elephants, and is now caring for them—making the transition to protected contact, in which elephant and keeper do not share the same space; the use of bullhooks has ended, Gadd says–in preparation for relocating them to a 2500-acre habitat that’s being constructed for them at White Oak, featuring wetlands, grass, forest and 11 waterholes. Gadd went on to relate that of those 34 elephants set to move to White Oak, 16 are female, and of those, 13 will be made available for breeding. Some of the resulting offspring will be sent to zoos or other facilities that house captive animals; none will be released into the wild, Gadd says. White Oak is open to the public, and offers tours, but Gadd notes it’s unclear what arrangements will be made for seeing the elephants, especially during the pandemic, so it may involve virtual viewing and/or webcams. (Photo of two elephants: Stephanie Rutan/White Oak Conservation) (https://www.whiteoakwildlife.org, https://www.facebook.com/whiteoakwildlife, https://www.instagram.com/whiteoakconservation/)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Mindy Weisberger, Senior Writer at Live Science, to discuss Fat Bear Week. As she did in her Live Science story (https://www.livescience.com/fat-bear-week.html), she describes the yearly competition, in which the brown bears in Alaska’s Katmai National Park gorge themselves on as much salmon as possible in an extended pre-hibernation feast—and onlookers from across the country and beyond wager on which ursine contestant will pack on the most pounds by the end of the week, Sept. 30-Oct. 6. For those who might be critical of Fat Bear Week, or misunderstand its intent, Weisberger explains why those in Katmai and elsewhere consider this a positive event, evidence that nature is functioning as intended. Spoiler alert: At the end of our chat, we announced that this year’s winner was…Bear 747.  (https://explore.org/fat-bear-week, https://www.livescience.com )

COMEDY CORNER:  John Mulaney’s “Horse In A Hospital” (http://www.johnmulaney.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/TAOct7Final.mp3 | Open Player in New Window