Wild For Life

I have the pleasure to sit down with Dr. Christopher Dutton, the Head of Veterinary Services at the Wildlife Centre at the Toronto Zoo, to discuss how a small number of people work with each other, the keepers, and other staff members care for the many species at the Zoo. We discuss what it takes to become a Veterinarian of a variety of species; how the animals' behaviour is conditioned to be examined without being immobilized; and, the new projects that Chris and his staff are undertaking at the Zoo.

Did you ever wonder what it's like to track bats during the night in a forest? I sit down with Eryk Matczak and Toby Thorne, two native bat researchers at the Toronto Zoo, to discuss their field work during the summers where they track, catch and release and learn about the native bat species in Ontario. Eryk and Toby have a great passion for bats and are here to bust myths about bats and discuss how they are trying to learn more about bat ecology to help protect them.

Kim Welfle joins me on the podcast today to discuss the care and conservation of the African penguins at the Toronto Zoo. Kim is a Keeper Grade 3 who has been working in the African Savanna area for the past 6 years; however, she has worked at the Zoo since she was a teenager. Kim tells me about the penguins' natural habitat along the coast of South Africa and how their habitat has shifted from the West to the East. The shift was caused because the penguin prey, sardines, shifted from West to East with shifting currents and heat of the Ocean due to Climate Change. The shift has caused a drastic decrease in the number of African penguins triggering a worldwide response that includes the zoos in North America as well as on the ground organizations such as SANCCOB (link) to help maintain the population.

Conservation at the Zoo starts with perfecting the husbandry of the penguins at the zoo. Kim and her colleagues take pride in providing the best care for the penguins as well as watching over their breeding program. The Toronto Zoo's African penguin conservation program contributes to the Aquarium and Zoo Association's (AZA) Safe Species Program The Safe Species program that focuses on the collective expertise of the AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums and leverages their passives audiences to save species.

Disclaimer: It was in the early 1900s (not 90's) that guano was being collected for use. By the '90s guano could not be found.

I sit down with Andrew Lentini, the Interim Director of Conservation and Wildlife at the Toronto Zoo, to discuss how the Zoo leads in conservation projects locally and internationally using its facilities as a way to help protect species.

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We are proud to present to you our new podcast. This episode introduces the Wild For Life Podcast to augment the Zoo experience for everyone who visits the Toronto Zoo.

I am your host, Andrew Lewin, and today I am joined by the CEO of the Toronto Zoo, Dolf DeJong. Dolf discusses what the Zoo is all about and his excitement for releasing this podcast to highlight the great conservation work done at this facility.

Enjoy the show!