The Spy Whale Who Loved Me

A prolific naturalist, award-winning and bestselling author Sy Montgomery and her colleague, Warren Carlyle founder of Octonation, the largest octopus fan club in the world, have a new release entitled Secrets of the Octopus. This book is a follow up to Sy's scientific treatment of the species in 2015's bestseller, Soul of the Octopus. Warren and Sy's passion for this unique species is unmistakable. Both share their journey learning about and promoting further study and preservation of these animals beginning with their very personal encounters with an octopus at an aquarium. The new title comes in advance of a mini series of the same name produced by James Cameron and narrated by actor Paul Rudd scheduled to air on National Geographic on Earth Day. Both Sy and Warren are contributors to the docu-series and believe zoos and aquariums play a vital role in conservation and research.

Animal Care Software

The Executive Director of Zoological Disaster Response, Rescue, and Recovery (ZDR3), Julia Matson Wagner, returns on the eve of this coming season for natural disasters such as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes. After several years focusing on providing immediate disaster response and support for affected zoological facilities, ZDR3 has grown in scope in terms of the number of participating facilities and expanded educational outreach. In just a few years, ZDR3's growing response network has more than 170 member facilities in 36 states. Julia describes how important disaster planning and drills along with having frank conversations about individual facility risks are before they are ever needed. 

Animal Care Software

After years of working with some of the world's top tequila brands, particularly on the elimination of production waste water, retired police officer Tony Boyle and his news anchor spouse, Olivia Fierro have embarked on a new venture producing Tequila Corrido. The relaunch of the award-winning spirit rests on the principles of sustainability and paying homage to tradition. From harvesting the hundreds of thousands of blue agave plants each year from local farms in the highlands of the Jalisco region of Mexico, featuring the skills of a well-known master distiller in Mexico respected for her knowledge of the agave to bottling in recycled glass--nearly every aspect of production is sourced in Mexico.

According to their website, the name Corrido comes from the poetic ballads sung by smugglers who risked everything to peddle tequila in Prohibition-era border regions. Many of the early corridos celebrated these border bandits and folk heroes—telling tales of triumph and tragedies along trails and around campfires.  To celebrate these folk songs and traditional methods of producing tequila, each bottle of Tequila Corrido ships with a guitar pic.

Animal Care Software

Kathy Finley found herself bullied as a child but she drew comfort, confidence, and courage from the pets she loved so well, especially her cats. She thought of her animals as the source of her superpower to make friends which helped build up her self-esteem. That is, until later in life she allowed an abusive husband to remove animals from her home life and thereby, sapping her confidence and feelings of self-worth. It was the gift of a shelter kitten by coworkers that changed everything following a bitter divorce. Today, she is happily remarried, retired, and is a published author of My One-Eyed, Three-Legged Therapist thanks in very large part to an independent and "self-proclaimed queen of the universe" cat named Clio who Kathy claims saved her even as they both experienced challenges and setbacks.

Animal care Software

Kevin Willis has served the zoological community for decades in a variety of posts, including time with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, as one of our most important statisticians. His work is documented in peer-reviewed publications and essays across a multitude of terrestrial and aquatic species, from elephants to orcas. His greatest skill seems to be explaining and applying statistical principles to complex conservation questions in a manner the rest of us can easily grasp. He describes some of the history, key figures, and rationale behind the formation of Species Survival Programs (SSP), their original purpose, and where conservation biology and statistics stand today. 

Animal Care Software

The journal, Animals, has published a special issue that includes overviews and original research papers that rigorously assess zoo and aquarium behavior, welfare and ethics. One of the papers, The Cetacean Sanctuary: A Sea of Unknowns is written by frequent Zoo Logic guest, Dr. Jason Bruck and concerns the elusive cetacean sanctuary standards put forth by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS). Jason methodically asks questions about important aspects of animal welfare arising from these standards, which point to no supportive peer-reviewed citations or a history of best practices as seen in other zoological welfare and husbandry standards such as the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums or the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. In the final analysis, it is difficult to reconcile the stated top priority of sanctuary proponents, maximizing animal welfare, with the more likely motivation, the end of cetaceans in managed care.

Animal Care Software

The International Elephant Foundation turns 25 this year and the conservation organization continues to break new ground in preserving the world's largest land mammal. Conservation Coordinator, Sarah Conley describes the three species of elephants and the unique challenges to their respective survival. From working with local communities to support the work of game rangers, supporting research for the study and prevention of deadly EEHV to piloting the training and use of feral dogs as detection and protection canines, IEF excels at reducing overhead expenses and thus, maximizing the effectiveness of donations in the field where they can do the most good to help animals and humans successfully co-exist.

Animal Care Software

According to its website, the Dolphin Research Center promotes peaceful coexistence, cooperation and communication between marine mammals, humans and the environment. They achieve this through education, research and rescue. Home to generations of bottlenose dolphins as well as California sea lions, the DRC is uniquely situated to study cognition, behavior and husbandry. DRC president and CEO Rita Irwin and Director of Research, Dr. Kelly Jaakkola discuss 40 years of scientific investigations and the future of marine mammals in human care.

Animal Care Software

A fun day of snowboarding for 18-year-old Forrest Allen ended in a life-threatening traumatic brain injury, which forever altered his life and that of his family and friends. Neurologists told his well-known parents, veterinarians, Kent Allen and Rae Stone, cofounder of Dolphin Quest, that he would likely not survive the night. Despite that dire warning, Forrest did indeed survive but not without surgeons having to remove 1/3 of his skull which resulted in its own set of complications and life threats. Throughout years of surgeries, setbacks, and rehabilitation therapies the family has been open about the highs and frightening lows of their journey including the vital role of supportive friends and colleagues within the zoological community, music therapy, and a wonderful service dog that helped Forrest regain his speech. Much of Forrest's recovery through music was documented in the 2020 award winning film "Music Got Me Here." Now, at 31, Forrest is rebuilding his life working summers with the Dolphin Quest teams, getting his driver's license, and serving as an inspiration to other families with loved ones experiencing terrible, debilitating brain injuries.

Animal Care Software

Many people dream of going on safari. Given the distance, time, and expense involved it is important to research and understand what options, locations, and experiences are most important to you and your travel companions. We talk with one expat with nearly 20 years of experience living abroad, combined with dozens of safaris to well known and more remote locations in east Africa for her suggestions on building that trip of a lifetime.

Animal care Software