Rossifari Podcast - Zoos, Aquariums, and Animal Conservation

Dateline: July 29, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about another zoo shelter in place situation, the Columbus Zoo impact report, a multi-zoo effort to help track elephants, and more! We then have a bonus section with five stories out of Australia, and one out of New Zeala...

Today, the Safari steps away from animals to sit down with actress and all-around awesome human Hayley Holmes, who I became  a huge fan of in her portrayal of Drama Girl on Better Call Saul! BCS is my favorite show on television, and I consider myself incredibly lucky to spend time talking to Hayley about it! We talk about her career, her time on the show, and what the creative process is like on...

Today, the Safari celebrates the start of our third season in style, by bringing you my interview with Kristy Hayden, President of Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium! Krisy is an incredibly passionate person who I instantly hit it off with, and we have a great conversation about all things zoo, including her sharing a lot of what goes into taking animals on TV shows to educate the public that way! It...

As the title says, this mini Bonus Episode is a quick update on what to expect from Season 3 of The Rossifari Podcast, and also features a huge life update from Jon! Enjoy!  

Dateline: July 22, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about stuck up penguins and otters, new blue penguins, a new sea turtle hospital at Zoo Miami, a cool polar bear story, a ton of new babies, and so much more! In Conservation News, we discuss wildlife trafficking, harbor...

On today's Season 2 finale, I sit down with Wouter Stellaard, an animal behavior expert who spent much of his career as the Animal Training Programs Director at the Columbus Zoo before heading out to start his own company, Behavior 360! This is an episode that goes deep into a discussion of behavior and training, but also focuses on Wouter's goal to train the trainer.  There are few peop...

Dateline: July 15, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about how you can help Lions, Tigers and Bears help a bunch of rescued cats in Mexico, how Lion Country Safari is starting to track rhinos, new binturongs and a red panda at Ross Park Zoo, baby lions and tigers, the loss...

Today, the Safari heads back to our home away from home zoo, the Cincinnati Zoo!  We sit down with ambassador keeper Mark Muthersbaugh...but we also get some help from our dear friend Colleen Adams, who serves as co-host!  It's a wide-ranging conversation that gets really silly, but also goes really deep.  You'll hear about Rico the porcupine and other ambassador animals at the zoo, hear...

Dateline: July 8, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about a recent incident at the Brookfield Zoo, have giraffe stories to share at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Lincoln Children's Zoo, discuss how you can help Woodland Park Zoo design a new habitat, check in on Bi...

Today, the Safari heads back to Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ to meet Genny and Button, the two hippos that live at the aquarium! We also hang out with their porcupine pal, Theo, and get to know some of their other ambassador animals.  And when I say we get to "meet" the hippos, I mean that quite literally, as you'll come behind the scenes with me to actually hang out with Genny...

Dateline: July 1, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about another zoo defending its Pride month celebration (yup...again), a few deaths and a bunch of births, some cool sports and zoo stories, and so much more!  In Conservation News, we discuss some conservation-themed legi...

Today, the Safari heads back to the fabulous Cincinnati Zoo to sit down with reproductive specialist and CREW scientist Dr. Erin Curry.  Erin and I have an incredible time in which she mostly tells me wildly intelligent things while I pretend I understand her.  We talk about red pandas, polar bears, and more! This is one of those episodes I love because it illustrates the amazing behind-the-scenes...

Dateline: June 24, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about another zoo defending its Pride month celebration, turtles at the Oregon and Toronto Zoos, a cool and less cool story from the National Zoo, and so much more!  In Conservation News, we discuss talk about newly disco...

Today, the Safari takes another break from zoo visits as I sit down and talk with world-famous author Mary Alice Monroe, author of "The Beach House" (also a movie starring Andie McDowell), and a series of books for young readers called The Islanders, including her brand new book, "Search For Treasure." While we do spend time discussing the book, the focus on this interview is a...

Dateline: Saturday, June 18, 2022.  Today, we are celebrating Veterinary Appreciation Day by brining you an examination of some of the pressures and concerns facing veterinarians today. We look at the recent story out of Maine that helps us address this very issue, and we discuss some surprising statistics about the veterinary field.  Why is veterinary care so dang expensive? We look into that. An...

Dateline: June 17, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about a bunch of new births, ZooMontana stepping it up for Pride, whether an elephant is a human, a few stories about dogs at zoos, and so much more!  In Conservation News, we discuss a rediscovered tortoise species, talk...

The Safari heads to San Diego, California, for a discussion with Bobbi Brink, founder of Lions, Tigers, and Bears, an accredited animal sanctuary that takes care of...well...lions, tigers, and bears...and other animals.  You'll hear the devastating stories of the lives of these animals before they were sent to the sanctuary, but also the joyous personalities that emerge once the animals are l...

Dateline: June 10, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about the latest Best Zoos, Aquariums, and Zoo Exhibits In The Country lists, new accreditation info for the Columbus Zoo, a bunch of cool births, and Avian Influenza update, and so much more!  In Conservation News, we ar...

Today, the Safari sits down with New York Times Bestselling author Eliot Schrefer to discuss his new book, "Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality." This book take a deep dive into, well, the natural world of animal sexuality! And while I have spent some time looking at this topic myself, I was shocked at the amazing information Eliot reveals in this book....

Dateline: June 3, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about a new pregnancy at the Toronto Zoo, a new cheetah ambassador at Cincinnati, a turtle dog, binturongs, a new habitat coming at the John Ball Zoo that is cool for many reasons, and so much more!  In Conservation News,...

Today, the Safari heads back to Camden, NJ, to start celebrating...or shell-ebrating...Sea Turtle Awareness Month! We head to Adventure Aquarium to meet up with Bob, Old Green, Ozzy, and Stitches, the four sea turtles who call Adventure home! We also talk about the other species of turtles that live at the aquarium, and how YOU can help celebrate turtles with your everyday actions!  EPISODE LINKS:...

Dateline: May 27, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about some weird internet stuff that has happened with zoos we love, and how annoying it is, great news about wolves from Zoo Tampa, a study on ambassador animals, and so much more! In Conservation News, we talk about how...

Today, the Safari heads to central California to spend some time in San Jose, where we visit Happy Hollow Park and Zoo.  After a private tour, I sit down to interview Rachel Atkins, the vet tech at the zoo! We talk about what a vet tech does, a bunch of the cool animals at the zoo including red pandas, fennec foxes, wallabies, a sulfur-crested cockatoo, and more! We get into some really cool medic...

Dateline: May 20, 2022. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   In Zoo News, we talk about the latest with Avian Influenza, an incredibly rare animal birth at the Nashville Zoo, an amazing and inspiring story about a fennec fox, and so much more! In Conservation News, we talk about red wolves again, some g...

Today, the Safari stays put at America's Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College to bring you the other side of the story! Last week you heard from Mara Rodriguez, who is on the staff...but today, it's time for the students to shine!  I talk to Charlie Burke, Jacob Betancourt, and Roxie Shekarabi about their time as second-year students at the zoo.  We talk about the animals they take care of,...