Pernilla Mosesson is a long time trainer from Sweden having started her career working with marine mammals.  We sat with her at the Johannesburg airport to hear her thoughts on the state of marine and terrestrial animal training across the zoological space.  While there are many similarities between European and North American facilities, particularly with regard to the current politics surrounding zoos and aquariums, there were a few surprising differences!

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Much has changed since Zoo Logic first examined six years ago the North American pangolin consortium formed by several zoological parks despite some pushback from the industry. Providing an update on the status of the species, the handful of animals living in human care, and the consortium is Mark Wanner is Associate Vice President, Animal Care & Conservation for Brookfield Zoo Chicago and the Chair of the North American Pangolin Consortium. He describes their white bellied pangolin program which has resulted in several successful births, development of specialized diets, and the funding of in situ and ex situ conservation research.

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Dr. Jason Bruck returns to discuss the seemingly increasing erosion of the peer review process by some authors looking to expand their legitimacy through overuse of self-citations and passing opinion articles off as science. The most egregious offenders of the process produce commentaries devoid of data or that refuse to address credible criticisms or contrasting data sets raised by other scientists through peer-reviewed rebuttals. Jason describes what structural business model changes and other obstacles have occurred to scientific publishing which have contributed to the rise in dubious publications printed in historically rigorous journals.

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Susan Kleven is the long time director of the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, TX.  She returns to Zoo Logic to discuss her upcoming children's book telling the true story of Nzuri, a premature giraffe whose first time mother was unable to nurse or otherwise care for him.  Nzuri Grows Up: A Preemie Giraffe's Story coauthored by Jennifer Keats Curtis is due out in wide release this fall through Arbordale Publishing. Now more than six years old, Nzuri is thriving with the zoological team that beat the odds and gave this underdeveloped calf a chance at life.

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Behaviorist Tim Sullivan has been with the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago for 47 years, nearly half the history of that leading institution. After two decades as a marine mammal trainer and leader, Tim moved to an internal consultant role at the zoo by guiding the change from free to protected contact with their elephant team. Needless to say those were challenging times early on, which led Tim to examine his teaching methods, not so much with animals, but with humans!  Since then he has temporarily (often for years at a time) led 4 other areas and departments.  These days he is happy to settle back into his role as behavioral coach for the entire collection and its animal care teams. He shares his insights on where we've been as an industry and where he thinks animal husbandry is headed in terms of an increasingly wholistic approach combining behavior, exhibit design, veterinary and nutrition.

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John M. Kinder is director of American Studies, professor of history at Oklahoma State University and author of the new book, World War Zoos: Humans and Other Animals in the Deadliest Conflict of the Modern Age. He chronicles the horrific effects of war on zoos throughout Europe, the US and the South Pacific and the sometimes heroic efforts by keepers and the public to preserve their animal charges even in times of scarcity and personal starvation. Zoos that were spared bombing still had to wrestle with difficult questions such as which animals should be euthanized when food supplies were low? Or which should be killed to prevent the escape of dangerous animals? Kinder examines the era from the Great Depression through the Cold War and its cumulative effects resulting in the zoological institutions and some of the policies we see today.

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Tom LaRock is a long time zoo administrator turned wildlife safari travel operator.  He founded Rewild Safaris to connect his travel organization with conservation organizations around the globe working on the ground to solve problems and preserve species and habitats. For him, the meaning behind rewild extends beyond the effort to return species to recovered habitats but also to connect travelers with the wild and wildlife.

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The Philadelphia Zoo is America's oldest zoological institution that takes pride in its history of firsts.  Dr. Jo-Elle Mogerman, President and CEO, exemplifies more firsts for the organization including serving as the first woman and first African American woman to hold the top leadership role. She describes how this urban Chicago introvert grew to love nature on her parents' front porch. She is candid about her personal interests which she realized in school did not include remote camping or field work, and the early and long hours of zookeeping.  Rather, her work has largely focused on the people side of the preservation equation, by connecting with diverse audiences through conservation and education.  

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A few weeks ago, Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences grabbed the world's attention when it announced the de-extinction of the Dire Wolf which last roamed the earth more than 12 thousand years ago, with the successful birth of three animals. Matt James, a long time zoo professional now serving as the company's Chief Animal Officer, discusses the science and technology behind the momentous announcement and the methodology's potential to help conserve extant but endangered species like red wolves. He also addresses some of the misinformation and misunderstanding about what this outcome has and has not achieved and where it   may lead in the future.

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According to its founder, Rebecca Rosenberg who was born with low vision, the name ReBokeh is derived from a photography term "Bokeh," a technique in which all light sources are out of focus and blurred. Re-Bokeh then represents her organization's efforts to re-clarifying of what is out of focus. When this eventual bioengineer was 17 and looking forward to college, she looked at the technology options for the vast majority of visually impaired peopled and discovered that most were geared towards the nearly or completely blind or resorted to auditory-based solutions, bypassing any visual input altogether.  The problem was these alternatives didn't serve the lives of millions of people with signifiant residual vision.  Joining Rebecca is Dr. De'Andrea Matthews, VP of Diversity and Community Engagement for the Detroit Zoological Society to discuss the recent rollout of ReBokeh's app designed to help visitors, staff and docents with low vision maximize their zoo-going experiences.

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