Dr. Alex Dehgan is the cofounder and CEO of Conservation X Labs as well as author of the book, The Snow Leopard Project and other adventures in war zone conservation. His policy and field work have taken him to 80 countries over his distinguished career, which includes time in the Obama administration and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Perhaps no country in his portfolio means as much to this conservation biologist and innovator as Afghanistan. Despite the false narrative from decades of war coverage of the country being a harsh barren desert, Dr. Dehgan describes the countryside's long human history matched only by the nation's rich biodiversity and ecological importance to European, Asian and African species, including migratory species.

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A recent science publication describes the social bonding that seems to occur among male chimpanzees towards the alpha male that has the effect of enabling less dominant males access to females. The data is based upon nearly 40 years of longitudinal observations of our closest relatives made at Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Primatologist Dr. Samantha Russak from Tanganika Wildlife Park discusses the implications of the study for understanding early humans as well as the conservation importance of preserving primate species.

That Sounds Wild: Fisher's Turaco.

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At age three, future animal care professional, Mike Dech, discovered a love of sharks. So much so that by age twelve, he earned his SCUBA certification, which has served him well in his zoological career, as a hobby, and as a growing side business teaching new generations of divers and leading offshore excursions. Mike shares his insights after a lifetime of exploring his home state of Florida's reefs and offers advice to those looking to grow personally and professionally by pursuing their passion.

Erin Ivory from Veterinarians International stops by to announce their walkathon and how listeners can participate.

That Sounds Wild: Argus Pheasant. Dallas World Aquarium.

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Bill Street, Sr VP at Indianapolis Zoo describes attending the recently concluded International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress held in Marseilles, France. The IUCN is organized by taxa to address global preservation issues affecting the survival of animal, plant and fungi species. It publishes the well known Red List database which lists species according to their current population status such as endangered, threatened or least concern. The work to assess thousands of wild species is largely conducted by volunteers, so the Indianapolis Zoo has formed and funded the Global Center for Species Survival to help support IUCN committees. This center includes several paid positions for conservation coordinators whose purpose is to assist IUCN committees.

That Sounds Wild: Rhinoceros Hornbill and Pesquet's Parrot. Dallas World Aquarium

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Chicago Zoological Society's Dr. Lance Miller is one of the principle investigators of a recently published comprehensive Dolphin Welfare Study. Using new technology and software to track study animals, researchers examined physiological and behavioral metrics for dozens of cetaceans from more than 40 AMMPA and AZA accredited facilities across 4 continents to better understand the factors that contribute to improved animal welfare. Such factors include habitat size, access to environmental enrichment, training, age, guest interactions, and more.

That Sounds Wild: Hippos

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In search of some happier news to amplify, we turned to San Antonio Zoo director, Tim Morrow and American Humane President and CEO, Dr. Robin Ganzert. Tim describes how his local community responded to support the zoo during the financial hardships posed by COVID-19, so much so, that recently, staff members were reimbursed for lost wages from a year ago.

Robin shares her great news about the passage of the Paws Act, a new federal law that funds the Veterans Administration's pilot project to support the training of more therapy dogs for service men and women.

That Sounds Wild: Safari Ants

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Denver Zoo behavioral manager, Heather Genter describes her lifelong passion for animal training. Starting out with her own dog training business, she graduated to working with exotic species at a time when zoos didn't have behavioral managers and it seemed only sea lions and elephants were being trained. Following the operant conditioning and positive reinforcement principles she learned training dogs and by observing the sea lion keepers, she began working with spider monkeys to teach them how to safely and calmly participate in annual exams despite the initial protests by her manager. With zoos and aquariums widely using behavioral techniques across an array of species today, she thinks zoological professionals have only just begun to realize the benefits for animal health, welfare, research and the guest experience.

That Sounds Wild: Bald Eagle

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Within days of opening the new Mississippi Aquarium in 2020, hurricane zeta made a nearly direct hit on the Gulfport attraction. While the harrowing experience left some damage to the campus shade structures, a larger lesson had been learned. The staff, exhibits, and disaster planning had withstood the test of a category 3 storm in a region once completely devastated by Katrina. As a result of the confidence stemming from weathering the storm, the newly formed aquarium team went on to handle more challenges in the facility's freshman year. We are on location with curators Andy Horn and Matt Fripp as they describe that first year and the process of building a culture of excellence.

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Dr. Alexa Delaune, Vice President of Veterinary Services at the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport discusses her career, the challenges of launching a brand new zoological facility, and a very special patient named Stella. When the sand tiger shark developed a bulging spine affecting her health and well-being, Dr. Delaune reached out to colleagues in animal and human medicine for treatment and surgical solutions. Within 48 hours, a team of professionals assembled to conduct the first of its kind stabilization of a shark spine in attempt to preserve Stella's quality of life.

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Animal trainer Stephanie Mantilla has a new book How to Clicker Train Your Cat, which draws upon her many years working with exotic animals including cheetahs, hoofed animals, primates, and even elephant shrews! While COVID and raising a toddler may have put her client work on hold temporarily, Stephanie continues to encourage cat owners to refrain from labeling their pets as stubborn in favor of recognizing and appreciating the behavioral and natural history differences between cats and dogs. While dogs tend to be more social, most cat species are solitary which has a dramatic impact on their behavior and interest in play and learning.

That Sounds Wild: Cheetah purr

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