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David Ebert–the founder of Weeping Elephant Project, which, according to its website, “focuses on the awfulness of the use of captive elephants for zoos, circuses and other forms of supposed entertainment,” but has great ambitions for rectifying the plight of these pachyderms—recalls his 33-year career as a commercial litigation attorney, exploring opportunities, as he approached […] The post David Ebert, founder of the Weeping Elephant Project first appeared on Talking Animals.

Gretchen Primack–the poet, teacher, and animal activist who first appeared on “Talking Animals” a dozen years ago, discussing her animal-focused collection of poetry, Kind—catches me up on her undertakings in recent years, including the prison education program she’d decided to step away from after 20 years of teaching, so as to have time for other […] The post Gretchen Primack, poet-activist-march organizer first appeared on Talking Animals.

Ron King, co-founder of Oscar’s Place—a California-based nonprofit which rescues, rehabilitates, and rehomes donkeys—discusses not being an animal fan earlier in his life, but having transformed into a veritable donkey zealot, a point underscored by King nuzzling a pair of donkeys: 5-day-old Sherlock and his Mom, Maisy. Tranformation of lives—or, maybe more precisely, reinvented lives—is […] The post Ron King, Co-Founder of Oscar’s Place & Donkey Rescuer Extraordinaire first appeared on Talking Animals.

Marc Bekoff–professor emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who’s written or co-written more than 30 books; his latest, “Love in Their Hearts: A Celebration of Animal Emotions and a Guide to Compassionate Action,” features a foreword by the late Jane Goodall—recounts his long friendship and various professional collaborations with […] The post Dr. Marc Bekoff, co-author of “Love in Their Hearts….” first appeared on Talking Animals.

As we’ve done 17 times before—spanning five-plus years–today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the show-length feature, “Ask The Trainer.”  In each session of ATT, listeners are invited to call or email (or text) questions about their dogs or cats, mainly behavior or training issues. The Trainer these listeners have an opportunity to consult […] The post Glen Hatchell, dog trainer, behaviorist–“Ask The Trainer,” 18th edition first appeared on Talking Animals.

Laurie Sumiye–the artist-filmmaker who directed the striking documentary “A Paradise Lost,” a live action/animation hybrid telling the story of the Palila, a small, yellow bird, found only on the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, and for whom a landmark lawsuit was filed in 1978 to prevent its extinction—recalls growing up in Hawaii, more interested in […] The post Laurie Sumiye, director of “A Paradise Lost” first appeared on Talking Animals.

Dr. Edie Dopking–founder of Quantum Leap Farm, an Odessa, FL-based facility that, for 25 years, has offered an array of equestrian therapy programs, addressing a wide range of conditions, serving constituents who “range from age 2 to 92”—describes her lifelong passion for horses, growing up in Bowling Green, KY, and escalating when her Dad bought […] The post Dr. Edie Dopking, founder of Quantum Leap Farm first appeared on Talking Animals.

Bill Berloni–renowned for training rescue animals for stage, film, and television in a storied career spanning 50 years—recounts how, as a teenage aspiring theater kid in Connecticut, he was given the opportunity to prepare the dog as the Goodspeed Opera House there launched a then-new musical, “Annie.” Berloni had zero experience training animals, but went […] The post Bill Berloni, renowned animal trainer first appeared on Talking Animals.

Owing primarily to Holiday weekend-related snags in booking guests—and retaining guests that had seemed booked–we set aside our typical format, operating guest-free in something of a throwback to the earlier days of “Talking Animals,” when Animal News segments and multiple animal songs were the order of the day. So, we returned to our fabled Rip-&-Read […] The post Throwback Wednesday: Animal News and Animal Songs first appeared on Talking Animals.

Deni Elliott–author of the new memoir, “Catching Sight: How A Guide Dog Helped Me See Myself,” and writer or editor of ten previous books—explains the impetus for penning the new one. Befitting a longtime teacher—she’s professor emerita in the Department of Journalism and Digital Communication at the University of South Florida—Elliott emphasizes her desire to […] The post Deni Elliott, author of “Catching Sight: How A Guide Dog Helped Me See Myself” first appeared on Talking Animals.

Kevin S. Fridy–Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Tampa, and slated after this interview to deliver a talk, “Human Bycatch in a West African Wildlife Corridor,” as part of the Pints of Science lecture series offered monthly at venerable Tampa concert venue New World Brewery—traces his path from kid growing […] The post Kevin S. Fridy, Tampa Political Scientist first appeared on Talking Animals.

A.J. Sanjar–a field biologist who’s conducted research with significant implications for reducing the Florida population of the Burmese python, often-massive snakes with few natural predators, an apex invasive species in areas like the Florida Everglades. He recalls growing up in Austin, loving to be outside amidst nature and animals. Recognizing that, over the years, Sanjar […] The post A.J. Sanjar, field biologist studying Burmese pythons and opossums first appeared on Talking Animals.

Laura Hagen–managing director of wildlife at Humane World for Animals (formerly the Humane Society of the United States)—explains the rationale behind the organization changing its name some 70 years after its inception. Hagen addresses the effectiveness of the re-branding, including erasing the longstanding confusion that was triggered by, for example, donations to HSUS when the […] The post Laura Hagen, managing director of wildlife at Humane World for Animals first appeared on Talking Animals.

Ronan Donovan–a wildlife biologist turned visual storyteller, whose work is featured in an exhibition, Wolves: Photography by Ronan Donovan, on display at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art, in St. Petersburg—recalls a lifelong love of animals, and exploring the wilderness, that he forged growing up in rural Vermont. Give or take a detail, […] The post Ronan Donovan, visual storyteller first appeared on Talking Animals.

Tammy Thies–founder and executive director of The Wildcat Sanctuary, a nonprofit rescue refuge in Minnesota specializing in exploited, aging, and illegally-owned wild cats—recalls how her work in advertising (an earlier career) took her to a photo shoot featuring two Bengal tiger cubs, where she found the cats’ mistreatment concerning, spurring her to volunteer at some […] The post Tammy Thies, founder and executive director of The Wildcat Sanctuary first appeared on Talking Animals.