Zoo Logic

Friends of the Zoo Logic Podcast, animal trainers and authors, Chuck Tompkins and Clicker Training's Ken Ramirez discuss the impact of using positive reinforcement on people. Each describes their own occasionally bumpy journey as young, inexperienced managers learning to tap into the individual motivations of their team members while also avoiding the management style errors of their predecessors.

That Sounds Wild: Eurasian Eagle Owl. Cleveland Metroparks zoo.

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Whale Done!

Wildlife biologist and president of the conservation organization, Save Giraffes Now, David O'Connor returns with the real life account of a recent rescue of endangered giraffes stranded on an island in Kenya as lake waters continue to rise. With support of Save Giraffes Now, its international partners, and the local community united in its concern for this group of animals, the team was able to safely and successfully coax two of about a half-dozen Rothschild's giraffes onto a barge which was then towed to a nearby protected conservancy. Depending upon the travel obstacles posed by COVID-19, David and the team plan to reconvene in Kenya in early 2021 to rescue the remaining adults, plus an additional "castaway" born in recent weeks!

That Sounds Wild: Shoebill. Dallas World Aquarium.

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It is difficult to launch a new zoological facility and major community resource under the best of times, much less during a global pandemic. That is exactly what the brand new Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport did just a few months ago on the 15th anniversary of hurricane Katrina, the historic storm that leveled homes and businesses throughout much of the gulf coast. President and CEO Kurt Allen describes the building process, the economic revival that has already begun in large part to the aquarium, and the spirit of collaboration that exists among all facilities to lend a hand during the good times and bad.

That Sounds Wild: Fennec Fox. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

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Mississippi Aquarium

Earlier this year it was announced that former Columbus Zoo Director turned Emmy winning wildlife TV host, Jungle Jack Hanna was retiring from his busy zoological career. Who better then to discuss the life and conservation legacy he and his wife of over 50 years, Suzi, have built, than their eldest daughter, Kathaleen. What was it like growing up in a zoo surrounded by wild animals, a famous dad, and later working with him on camera? Plus, several of Jack's famous and not so famous friends drop in to share a favorite memory and well-wishes for their next adventure.

Friends of Jack and Suzi in order of appearance: Carolyn Hennesy, Dana Perino, Julie Scardina, Patty Neger, Mickey Ollson, Nancy Grace, Joe Stegmeyer, Sue and David Kleven, Paul Shaffer, Jim Nemet, Frederick Nsabaramiye, and Larry King.

That Sounds Wild: IMATA 2017.

Ubumwe Community Center, GISENYI, RWANDA

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Many people dream of building their own zoo but few individuals ever make that childhood wish a reality. For nearly 40 years, Mickey Ollson has directed the zoological facility he founded known as Wildlife World Zoo. Today that zoo has grown from its original 40 acres and a few hundred animals to well over one hundred acres featuring a Safari Park and Arizona's first public aquarium. In total Wildlife World now houses over 500 species and thousands of individual birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish in what has become one of the largest zoological collections in the western United States. From the lean early years to the unfolding 2008 financial crisis during a major collection expansion to this year's COVID disruptions, Mickey describes the organization's journey against a backdrop of tremendous growth of the desert southwest, and why, despite activism and over-regulation he's still bullish on the future and importance of zoos.

That Sounds Wild: Night safari Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

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Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park

Last year's historic and devastating fires in Australia may have resulted in billions of animals lost, including many listed as threatened or endangered species, across 12 million hectares of habitat. That's roughly equivalent to the area of Spain according to guest, Beau Peberdy, a former zoo professional turned wildlife rescuer involved with several rescue organizations. Beau works with Bushfire Wildlife Rescue Support to help caregivers throughout much of Australia obtain needed medical and basic husbandry supplies to treat injured, orphaned, or burned koalas and macropods in the wake of fires and other natural disasters.

That Sounds Wild: Kookaburra

Bushfires Wildlife Rescue Support

Far North Queensland FNQ Wildlife Rescue

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Rapid ecological destruction has been underway on the southern border of Arizona along some of the most pristine and inaccessible regions of the Sonoran desert. It isn't being done by poachers, crime syndicates, or undocumented immigrants. It's being done without serious public input, oversight, environmental impact studies, or objection by elected state and federal officials.

Over the past 2 years, photographer, John Kurc, has been documenting the work of the Trump administration to build a wall in remote areas, some with 70-90% inclines. Paradoxically, in order to build this barrier, roads must first be blasted into these mountainsides. And, as we know from examples around the world in other formerly pristine and remote places, when you build roads, the people will follow.

The impact on wildlife migration, watersheds, habitats, endangered plant and animal species, not to mention the increase in human migration in areas previously untravelled thanks to the new access courtesy of the federal government, are incalculable. Undeterred by the intimidation he's experienced at the hands of contractors, John's ongoing video documentation of the widespread destruction is shocking and suggests the scars upon this beautiful but fragile region will never heal.

John Kurc @iamKurc

Videos of desert destruction

That Sounds Wild: Harris' Hawk

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The term pioneer is overused but how else to describe the person contributing to our basic understanding of cetacean health and husbandry, anatomy and physiology, and behavior for the past 60 years? In the early 1960's, Dr. Sam Ridgway became one of the architects of the US Navy's Marine Mammal Program. Trained first as an Air Force veterinarian, Dr Ridgway went on to earn his doctorate and has for decades collaborated with some of the world's most renown marine mammal researchers in the areas of cetacean neuroscience, hearing and echolocation, sleep, deep diving physiology and more.

That Sounds Wild: Bottlenose dolphin

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National Marine Mammal Foundation

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It's part two of our discussion about modern behavioral training applications to improve animal husbandry and wildlife conservation with friends of Zoo Logic, large animal managers Erin Ivory, Chuck Tompkins and Ted Turner. Using examples from their work with animals in human care and in the wild, the trio downplay the role of rewards like food while stressing the importance of establishing strong relationships with large predatory and prey animals through creative, fun, and unpredictable consequences.

That Sounds Wild: tropical Australia.

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Friends of Zoo Logic, large animal managers Erin Ivory, Chuck Tompkins and Ted Turner return to discuss success stories from 3 decades or more of positive reinforcement-based training principles utilized with zoological and domestic species. The trio downplay the role of rewards like food while stressing the importance of establishing strong relationships with large predatory and prey animals through creative, fun, and unpredictable consequences.

That Sounds Wild: Beaver pup.

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