Zoo-notable

National Zookeeper Week is here! On this special episode of Zoo-notable, I sit down with Ken Ramirez, animal trainer extraordinaire, Vice President of Karen Pryor Clicker Training, and author of The Eye of the Trainer. We discuss training animal trainers, meeting people (and animals) where they are, how punishment works and doesn't work, and not jumping to conclusions, among many other topics covered in The Eye of the Trainer.

From the book description on Karen Pryor Clicker Training site: "In The Eye of the Trainer, Ken Ramirez brings to life the power of positive reinforcement training to build trust and transform lives.

Ken is one of the most creative, cogent, and effective animal trainers in the world. His positive reinforcement training principles and practices are studied, replicated, and applied in settings as diverse as conservation efforts with elephants on the African plains, canine search and rescue in Texas, oil-disaster recovery for sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico, butterfly training in England, and animal shelters in Chicago.

In this inspiring, heartwarming, and hopeful series of essays chronicling his 40+ years of global exploration and observation, Ken shares not only the intriguing personalities of the animals that shaped his life, but how their unique challenges influenced his training choices, philosophy, and worldview.

A must-read for anyone who lives with, studies, or works with animals, Ken’s training wisdom, principled guidance, and practical advice call us to see the world through his eyes. Ken’s world is one where great training transforms the shy animal into the confident one, the aggressive into the calm, and the mistrustful into the trustful—and even the unsupportive boss into an ally.

See the world better. See it differently. See it through The Eye of the Trainer."

Want more goodness from Ken and Karen Pryor? Join Ken on The Ranch to take your training skills to the next level, get certified, or join hundreds of other positive reinforcement trainers at the Karen Pryor ClickerExpo. Learn more at ClickerTraining.com

Grab a copy of The Eye of the Trainer online, or at your local bookstore. And ask your library to get a copy for distribution.

Want more ZooFit and Zoo-notable goodness? Join the ZooFit Pride on Patreon and get access to bonus material, excerpts from my new book, and opportunities to connect with me and other ZooFitters. And join me all week long on our blog at ZooFit.net for National Zookeeper Week celebratory blog posts. 

What better way to celebrate Plastic Free July than learning how to be more mindful in our consumption and daily practices? Thich Nhat Hanh, great Buddhist Zen Master shows us how social justice, compassion, and environmental practices are interwoven in this profound book, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet.

Grab your copy here: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet

Learn more about Thich Nhat Hanh and his tremendous work: Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation and Plum Village 

Connect with ZooFit and learn how to become more mindful, as well as how to establish healthy self-care habits:

ZooFit

Support ZooFit and Zoo-notables on Patreon

We end June with a special Pride Month celebration of LGBTQ representation in the animal kingdom and the fascinating book Queer Ducks by Eliot Schrefer. 

This groundbreaking illustrated nonfiction title from two-time National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer is a well-researched and teen-friendly exploration of the gamut of queer behaviors observed in animals.

A quiet revolution has been underway in recent years, with study after study revealing substantial same-sex sexual behavior in animals. Join celebrated author Eliot Schrefer on an exploration of queer behavior in the animal world—from albatrosses to bonobos to clownfish to doodlebugs.

In sharp and witty prose—aided by humorous comics from artist Jules Zuckerberg—Schrefer uses science, history, anthropology, and sociology to illustrate the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world. Interviews with researchers in the field offer additional insights for readers and aspiring scientists.

Queer behavior in animals is as diverse and complex—and as natural—as it is in our own species. It doesn’t set us apart from animals—it bonds us even closer to our animal selves.

Find out more at eliotschrefer.com

Learn more about diversity in the animal kingdom with Biological Exuberance by Bruce Bagemihl and Evolution's Rainbow by Joan Roughgarden.

Connect with ZooFit to share Pride in the Animal Kingdom. Check out my blog and even my favorite workout on YouTube

In our second book celebrating World Oceans Month, I sit down to talk to author Erin Pyne to discuss her book Dolphin Journey. We discuss empathy and how we can help dolphins to save the oceans and other marine animals, plus we geek out about Harry Potter (because of course we did!) and take trips down memory lane. Erin also shares a special story with her animals, inspiring me to work on building trust with myself and others to create more heroes. Heroes have strength for two, and protect what they love!

Want more? Grab your copy of Dolphin Journey, and connect with Erin on her website and social media.

Join the ZooFit Pride on Patreon, check out ZooFit's new podcast, and sign up for our newsletter/blog. 

To celebrate World Ocean Day, I'm diving into a fantastic book that inspired me and motivated me to get in touch with nature, myself, and connect with others in a nurturing way. 

Blue Mind by Wallace J. Nichols celebrates and honors the way being near, in, on, or under water makes us happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what we do! 

Check out Blue Mind and Jay's work at wallacejnichols.org

Related Zoo-notables:

Secret Lives of Bats by Merlin Tuttle

Braving the Wilderness by Brené Brown

Want more Zoo-notable goodness? Support us on Patreon and receive bonus Big Ideas and much more!

Stay updated and informed: https://zoofit.net/

On this International Day of Biodiversity, I show how we are all connected, and how you have a special purpose in life, no matter who you are. You can make a difference.

Our Big Ideas: Everyone has a special and important purpose (Lessons from a Sea Star), Everything is Connected (Lessons from Reintroducing Wolves to Yellowstone), Keystone Species and Keystone Habits (Lessons from a Sea Otter), We Will Never Know it All (Lessons from Researchers), and Biodiversity Makes Communities Thrive (Lessons from the Animal Kingdom).

Find this book and other great books from Zoo-notable at your local library: https://www.worldcat.org/libraries

Support ZooFit and future projects and stay updated with exciting offers and opportunities:

Join the ZooFit Pride on Patreon 

Follow more of ZooFit online: https://www.zoofit.net/

This is part two of one of my favorite books of all time, Animal Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Last week we delved into the general Big Ideas from the book; this week I'm having some fun and sharing some of my own personal stories that mirror or parallel Barbara's. We'll talk about growing zucchini, cooking pumpkin, and how to talk to restaurant and store managers about conservation issues.

Listen to last week's episode here.

Read some of my delicious recipes for pumpkin on ZooFit.net:

Add Some Pumpkin Spice to Your Life

Craving Pumpkins Instead of Carving Them

Roasted Pumpkin for Halloween

Join my Patreon to get bonus recipes and watch recipe demos!

Other mentioned or related Zoo-notables:

Cooking Green by Kate Heyhoe

A Year of Living Kindly by Donna Cameron

To celebrate Mother's Day, here's one of my mom's favorite authors and our favorite book, Animal Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. This is Part one, focusing a little more on Mother Earth (for Mother's Day) and next week I'll share some more fun ideas and stories inspired from the book.

Animal Vegetable Miracle is a chronicle of one family's journey to eat closer to home, literally, and bringing home to a worldly stage with wisdom about the Food Industry and how local eating, and supporting your community has a ripple effect to protect the planet, eat healthier, and make the world a little brighter of a place. 

Other Zoo-notables mentioned: Planet Palm by Jocelyn Zuckerman; Year of Living Kindly by Donna Cameron

Learn more about Empathy and the impact it has on growing a more resilient and conservation-focused community with Seattle Aquarium's Empathy Cafe. 

Learn more about ZooFit and our projects at ZooFit.net

We're heading to the kitchen (my favorite room in the house!) to learn how our eating and cooking habits impact the environment with today's book Cooking Green by Kate Heyhoe. Connect with her at New Green Basics.

Check out ZooFit for some Eating Green recipes!

Support us on Patreon for bonuses such as recipe demos, eating green tips, and more!

What better way to celebrate Easter and Earth Day than a children's classic environmental tale, The Lorax? We'll share some great insight on environmental practices, but also great life lessons such as never giving up and always trying to do better. 

Check out Danny Devito reading The Lorax on YouTube.

Check out my blog on the Lessons from a Tiger.

And some related Zoo-notables on the subject: 

The Cartoon Introduction to Climate Change