Why is that owl grumpy? Anthropomorphism means assigning human qualities to non human things, such as animals and even our computers. We do it all of the time. Where it becomes important to assess is how it influences our relationship with animals in our homes, conservation measures, and even environmental policy. We go broad, talking about our dogs faces all the way to the California Condor Recovery Project. 

Losing an animal can be a horrific experience, and a lot of research has gone into understanding the human-animal connection as well as how we grieve over animal loss. In this episode, we speak frankly about death and loss. We also broaden the lens to look at how understanding emotional pain can help us be better in our professional, personal, and online lives.

Behavior management techniques are not all created equal. Some methods may look like they are working, but either have to be used over and over again or actually contribute to larger problems down the road. How do we know if behavior advice that we receive from other animal trainers, social media forums, and even veterinarians will help or hurt our relationship with the animal we are working with? Three important questions to ask in this podcast!

Owl conservation ambassadors can make a huge impact on an audience for wildlife educators. As iconic and instantly recognizable, they foster important connections with the natural world that have been ingrained in human culture for centuries. However, there are many reasons why an owl is a challenging training prospect and takes experience and keen observations. Here we explore some of these concepts.

From our Companion and Ambassador Parrot Webinar series at the beginning of the Coronavirus stay at home mandates, we hosted a 4 webinar series for parrots addressing a variety of topics. These questions stemmed directly from that, honing in on how to get through disruptions on routine. However, we also worked through some very serious issues of biting and trust building. Issues that could easily lead to adopting out a parrot, rehoming it, or at least, a stressful household. Join us in this densely packed episode for practical tips on how to stop a biting parrot.

A discussion about bird training and operant conditioning, raising owls, and our zoo free flight program ethos, this is from our raptor workshop that goes beyond just raptor training and behavior. It's a wonderfully deep dive and powerful conversation for animal trainers and caregivers.

Aggressive behavior in parrots looks like different things to each of us. While different terms like dominant, bold, or territorial are often used as explanatory variables, none of these describe in precise terms what the behavior actually is or under what conditions it occurs. Understanding this foundation is an important step to working through small and large challenges with our birds.

This Q&A tackles sensitive and challenging subjects: progressive weight management principles and working with birds with problem histories. It is part of larger conversation and is by no means all inclusive. The information in this podcast may not be suitable for all situations and is meant to be used in conjunction with tailored, individual help. Please understand that when working with your birds' weight and diets, you out always know the health and welfare of your bird. Avian Behavior International believes strongly in the practice of healthy flying, training, and relationships with food and the limited use of weight management, and only when needed. We have many other resources to be used in conjunction with this podcast.

Bonus Content! We discuss many variables that go into a serious decision about whether or not to add another parrot to your flock and how we can know whether the birds will get along. There are many things that we can take into account as to how the decision will impact our household long term.

This episode is inspired by a profound discussion from our Raptor Workshop earlier this year. We discuss some of the benefits and challenges of the different species with respect to hand raising versus parent raising, what it means to imprint and what it means to let grow up, how to ask the right questions, and what you can do if you aren't sure if acquiring an conservation ambassador owl is right for your organization