Sarasota Dolphin Research Program
Zoo Logic
Before even graduating high school, a young Randy Wells worked as an intern at Mote Marine Lab training dolphins as part of shark-dolphin interaction study. He would eventually become part of the world's longest running study of a population of wild dolphins known as the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (). For decades, Dr. Wells has led the collaborative effort of veterinarians, researchers, students and volunteers to monitor and assess the behavior, biology and ecology of generations of resident bottlenose dolphins along the west central Florida coast. To date he has trained about 100...
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EEHV Breakthrough
Zoo Logic
Dr. Paul Ling is a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Virology at Baylor College of Medicine. He also serves as an advisor to . Following the death in 2010 of a 2-year-old elephant at the due to elephant endotheliotropic herpes virus (EEHV), Dr. Ling formed a cooperative effort with the zoo and others within the community to address this highly lethal disease. Thanks to this partnership and significant funding from the Houston zoo, a mRNA vaccine was successfully introduced last year to a few vulnerable individuals at the Cincinnati zoo. Other key partners in the...
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Recordkeeping
Zoo Logic
After a long career as a wildlife manager and educator, David Kleven turned his zoological expertise and attention to improving animal welfare through better electronic recordkeeping. As President of Animal Care Software, he works with a range of animal facilities to use the power of smart phones to track animal behavior and health in the field and in real time. Recently, the cloud-based platform has been enhanced to include more than a dozen languages to better ensure accurate and detailed records by staff members whose first language may not be english.
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The Mantis Collection
Zoo Logic
What began as one man's dream to rewild the eastern Cape of South Africa with the Big Five a quarter century ago has grown into the of eclectic eco-lodges, waterways, and curated eco-scapes throughout Africa and the Middle East. The name Mantis stands for Man and Nature Together Is Sustainable. Its CEO, Craig Erasmus, describes the unique brand and the company's goal of not just being concerned with sustainability like its competitors, but leading the hospitality industry as the experts in wildlife and habitat conservation, as well as, local community engagement. As such, its focus is on...
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Building Better Zoos and Aquariums
Zoo Logic
After years working for Merlin Entertainments building and renovating major aquariums, architect Benedikt Schikora founded which handles project management in the hospitality, entertainment and tourism space. He's also a partner in the zoo and aquarium consulting firm, . We discuss the trends in zoological design, particularly those back of house aspects of animal care that have historically lagged behind today's modern, more enriching public display exhibits. One of the biggest challenges according to Benedikt is working across the many stakeholder groups from owners, curators,...
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Celebrity Encounters
Zoo Logic
Sooner or later most zoological professionals will meet a local or national celebrity as part of their work. Some, like our guest Lanie Angeles, have met dozens or possibly hundreds of popular actors, musicians, politicians and other influencers as part of her long career in educational and media outreach. Sharing some of her most memorable encounters, both positive and not so positive, Lanie is quick to remind us that most celebrities, like everyday people, are enamored by animals, which offers an informal opportunity to educate and motivate those with larger platforms to get involved with...
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Elephant Beach
Zoo Logic
Christine Devane is a former elementary school teacher with a new children's book entitled, Elephant Beach. The story revolves around a shy girl who just wants to read her book while at the beach and a nearby playful group of elephants with other ideas. Devane hopes that introverted kids can learn to try new experiences and that extraverted children can be patient with those who may need a little more encouragement to participate in new activities or to make new friends. Also, Dr. Jason Bruck returns to discuss unfolding events in the Mexico legislature this past week. A bill likely to...
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One European Trainer's Perspective
Zoo Logic
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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Pangolins!
Zoo Logic
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...
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Peer Review Crisis
Zoo Logic
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...
info_outlineWith a new administration and one party control of both houses in Congress, the impact on animal-related legislation, facility oversight, and code enforcement is likely to change from the previous administration. Tom Albert, government affairs consultant for the Zoological Association of America discusses the differing historical perspectives of the two major political parties on the role of zoos as well as steps professionals can take to help garner more bipartisan support for the work of zoos and aquariums at home and globally.
Animal Care Software