Captive Exotic | Talking Animals: Recent Episodes
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Tanya Smith–Founder and President of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a 459-acre sanctuary in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, chiefly housing abused, abandoned, and neglected big cats—recalls a precocious first foray into big cat rescue…at age 11. She explains that this was the outgrowth of her parents—inveterate animal lovers—intervening in an odd, colorful situation where a lion cub […]
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Howard Baskin—often identified as Advisory Board Chairman of Big Cat Rescue, and spouse of Carole Baskin, the founder of the sanctuary that operated in Tampa for more than three decades—recalls, as a savvy businessman wielding a Harvard MBA, his reaction upon first getting a close look at the details of Big Cat’s financial operation: He […]
The post Howard Baskin, financial guiding light of Big Cat Rescue first appeared on Talking Animals.
Bobbi Brink–founder and director of Lions, Tigers & Bears (LT&B), a 140-acre animal sanctuary in east San Diego she launched in 2002—recalls living in Texas, planning to open a restaurant (she’s from San Diego), and seeing her first advertisement offering the sale of big cats. She responded to the ad, she explained, not to make […]
The post Bobbi Brink, founder and director of Lions, Tigers & Bears first appeared on Talking Animals.
Anton Ptushkin–director of the PBS Nature documentary profiling the efforts of Ukrainian citizens to rescue animals amidst the destruction of the war—describes the sort of travel pieces he produced as a YouTuber, before he morphed into a war correspondent. Ptushkin notes that this transformation wasn’t the product of a specific ambition, but rather, reflected an […]
The post Anton Ptushkin, director of “Saving the Animals of Ukraine” first appeared on Talking Animals.
Ed Stewart, co-founder, president and CEO of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)—which blazed a trail in animal rescue, welfare, education, and legislation, and this year, marks its 40th anniversary—recalls what she and co-founder Pat Derby were doing in the earliest days of PAWS. Stewart notes that Derby, his longtime partner who died in 2013–and […]
The post Ed Stewart, co-founder, president and CEO of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) first appeared on Talking Animals.
Scott Blais–co-founder of the Global Sanctuary for Elephants, whose initial facility is the Elephant Sanctuary Brazil (ESB); he also co-founded The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee—starts by attempting to field my curveball opening question: what makes elephants special? Drawing on 35 years of caring for elephants, he responds chiefly observing how quickly these animals—typically traumatized from […]
The post Scott Blais, co-founder of Global Sanctuary for Elephants first appeared on Talking Animals.
Dr. Jane Goodall–the ethologist, activist, and conservationist who rose to international attention in the 1960s, propelled by her pioneering work studying chimpanzees in Gombe, Tanzania—offers her current impressions of young people’s attitudes about animals and the environment. She recalls the beginnings of Roots & Shoots, a youth program of the Jane Goodall Institute, launched in […]
The post Dr. Jane Goodall first appeared on Talking Animals.
Sy Montgomery—the bestselling author of 30-plus books, including “The Soul of an Octopus” and “The Good Good Pig”—discusses what prompted the exploration of raptors and falconry at the core of […]
The post Sy Montgomery, author of “The Hawk’s Way: Encounters with Fierce Beauty” first appeared on Talking Animals.
Helaine Olen— an opinion writer for The Washington Post, an expert on personal finance, and author or co-author of books, including “The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have To […]
The post Helaine Olen, opinion writer for The Washington Post first appeared on Talking Animals.
Michael Webber—director of the new documentary, “The Conservation Game,” which explores the realm of people who bring animals on late-night talk shows and morning news programs, and may be secretly […]
The post Michael Webber, director of “The Conservation Game” first appeared on Talking Animals.
Amy Kight—executive director of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary, a multifaceted operation in Jupiter, Florida serving as wildlife refuge, veterinary hospital, rehabilitation facility, and education center–recalls loving animals so much, so young, […]
The post Amy Kight, executive director of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary first appeared on Talking Animals.
Patrick Craig—founder of The Wild Animal Sanctuary, launched in 1980, located in Keenesburg, Colorado, and devoted to housing lions, tigers, bears, wolves and other carnivores—recounts what spurred him, at age […]
The post Patrick Craig, founder of The Wild Animal Sanctuary first appeared on Talking Animals.
Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the fifth program prepared this way at the Talking […]
The post Patti Ragan, founder of The Center for Great Apes first appeared on Talking Animals.
Owing to the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing Stay at Home order, I produced and recorded this show remotely from home, the second program prepared this way at the Talking […]
The post William Nimmo, founder of Tigers in America, assesses “Tiger King” first appeared on Talking Animals.
Helena Kriel—founder of Baby Rhino Rescue, which seeks to raise awareness of the rhino poaching crisis, and raise money for the care of baby rhinos who’ve become orphaned through that […]
The post Helena Kriel, founder of Baby Rhino Rescue first appeared on Talking Animals.
William Nimmo— founder of Tigers In America, a New York City-based nonprofit that seeks to help mitigate the captive-bred tiger crisis in the U.S.—explains how a guy in the midst […]
The post William Nimmo, founder of Tigers In America first appeared on Talking Animals.
Michele Raffin— founder and CEO of Pandemonium Aviaries, a Northern California conservation organization dedicated to saving birds—recounts how rescuing an injured dove she spotted on the side of the road […]
The post Michele Raffin, founder of Pandemonium Aviaries first appeared on Talking Animals.
Ed Stewart—co-founder and president of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)—recalls what prompted he and his late partner, the indefatigable Pat Derby, to launch PAWS, now marking its 30th anniversary. […]
The post Ed Stewart, co-founder and president of PAWS first appeared on Talking Animals.
Janice Wolf—founder of The Rocky Ridge Refuge, a rescue sanctuary in Midway, AK that’s gained notoriety on Facebook and elsewhere online for its distinctive blend of animals: cats and dogs […]
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Laura Fletcher-Taylor—co-founder of Loving Friends Transport, a Clearwater, FL-based nonprofit that transports animals from overcrowded shelters in one part of the country to shelters in another part, where they stand […]
The post Laura Fletcher-Taylor, co-Founder of Loving Friends Transport first appeared on Talking Animals.
Claudine André—a Belgian conservationist who in 1994 founded Lola Ya Bonobo, the world’s only sanctuary for orphaned bonobos, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—provides an overview of bonobos… […]
The post Claudine André, bonobo partisan first appeared on Talking Animals.
Kari Bagnall—founder and director of Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary—recounts the history of how she launched this facility in Gainesville, FL that houses for more than 100 monkeys that were […]
The post Kari Bagnall, founder of Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary first appeared on Talking Animals.
GUEST: Scott Blais, Suzanne House, Stephen Payne, Bryan Wilson–Panel Discussion About Ringling Circus Every year since we launched “Talking Animals” in Southern California in 2003, we’ve devoted at least one […]
The post Featuring Two Activists, The Co-Founder Of The Elephant Sanctuary & The VP of Corporate Communications at Feld Entertainment/Ringling first appeared on Talking Animals.
Karen Atwood–Senior West Coast Vice President and Southwest Coast Foster Coordinator for Florida Parrot Rescue–discusses the founding and evolution of Florida Parrot Rescue (earlier called Tampa Bay Parrot Rescue), and […]
The post Karen Atwood, of Florida Parrot Rescue first appeared on Talking Animals.
Deborah Nelson–the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter who wrote a major expose on the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey circus in the November/December issue of Mother Jones Magazine–outlines aspects of her […]
The post Deborah Nelson, Pultizer-winning writer of Mother Jones expose on Ringling circus first appeared on Talking Animals.
Jane Wiedlin–The Go-Go’s singer-songwriter-guitarist and longtime animal advocate–discusses the forthcoming film, “Doggie Boogie,” which she stars in and for which she wrote the title song (which we heard at the […]
The post Jane Wiedlin, The Go-Go’s singer-guitarist & veteran animal advocate first appeared on Talking Animals.
Jill Robinson–the founder and executive director of Animals Asia Foundation., a Hong Kong-based organization devoted to the welfare of wild and urban animals in Asia – recounts her initial experiences […]
The post Jill Robinson, founder of Animals Asia Foundation first appeared on Talking Animals.
Tim Harrison–a recently retired Ohio public safety officer who’s spent much of his 30+-year career rescuing exotic animals kept as pets (and sometimes, rescuing the people keeping those pets)–explains what […]
The post Tim Harrison, exotic animal rescue veteran first appeared on Talking Animals.
Alan Rabinowitz–the world-renowned zoologist, conservationist and field biologist, whose latest book, “Life In The Valley Of Death: The Fight To Save Tigers In A Land Of Guns, Gold And Greed” […]
The post Alan Rabinowitz, Zoologist-Conservationist-Author first appeared on Talking Animals.
Scott Lope–Director of Operations at Tampa’s Big Cat Rescue, one of the largest sanctuaries of its kind in the world, housing more than 100 big cats, spanning more than 40 […]
The post Scott Lope–Big Cat Rescue “Hero” first appeared on Talking Animals.
Archele Hundley–a former Ringling Bros. employee on the animal crew who’s done PSAs for PETA (though, interestingly, is not a PETA member), has spoken in front of various groups about […]
The post Archele Hundley- Former Ringling Employee first appeared on Talking Animals.
Writer-reporter-poet essayist Charles Siebert, the author, most recently, of “The Wauchula Woods Accord: Toward A New Understanding Of Animals”–which chronicles his extended encounter with a retired circus chimp named Roger […]
The post Charles Siebert–Writer-reporter-poet essayist first appeared on Talking Animals.
Dr. Joel Parrott, Executive Director of the Oakland Zoo–considered by many, including those staunchly anti-zoo, to be one of the best zoos anywhere–discusses what traits he feels constitute a great […]
The post Dr. Joel Parrott, Executive Director of the Oakland Zoo first appeared on Talking Animals.
Les Schobert, a consultant on zoos and captive wildlife with 30+ years of experience–including a 15-year tenure as General Curator of the North Carolina State Zoo & a somewhat more […]
The post Les Schobert–zoo & captive wildlife consultant first appeared on Talking Animals.
Julie Woodyer–director of Zoocheck Canada, a Canada-based organization devoted to protecting wild animals, with a particular emphasis on captive wild animals & issues–discusses its history & evolution, array of concerns […]
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