Rossifari Podcast - Zoos, Aquariums, and Animal Conservation

Dateline: August 16, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!     We start off with a quick recap of what's going on in my life, including some viral video stuff. Who doesn't love discussing download numbers again? We also talk about Miles' birthday and how I hurt myself. We then get into...

Today, the Safari stays at Buttonwood Park Zoo and visits the red pandas, and red panda keeper Steph Durette-Medeiros! Come with me into the panda habitat and hear an interview as I feed the pandas and hang out with those little balls of perfection. You'll get to hear about a panda having a tantrum about getting the wrong kind of apples, what the family has been doing for the last year, and m...

Dateline: August 9, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!     We start off with a quick recap of what's going on in my life, including some viral video stuff. Who doesn't love discussing download numbers?  We then get into our births for the week including so many red panda cubs, an incredi...

Today, the Safari grabs a pair of sticks and heads to Massachusetts to drum with Emily the elephant for the second time. This amazing experience is shared with you here, with all of the audio from our jam session interspersed with my take on everything happening, and then an amazing lesson about elephant tongues! This one is an absolute must-listen!  EPISODE LINKS:  @buttonwoodparkzoo on socials ...

Dateline: August 2, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!     We start off with a cool story about my "real" job and my this job having a moment together.  We then get into our births for the week including an important peacock, two of the smallest monkeys, a puggle at Brookfield, a Sumatra...

Today, the Safari heads back to Greensboro and our favorite Science Center to chat with Lily Reavis, who heads up the Life Support Systems (LSS) at the zoo and aquarium. LSS is very different than anything we've talked about on the podcast before, and it is absolutely essential to keeping any of the animals that have habitats with water healthy.  EPISODE LINKS:  greensboroscience.org  @greens...

Dateline: July 26, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!     We start off with a quick update on my life and then head to our headline story, which is an interview this week! I talk to Paige Hale of the Georgia Aquarium about coral smuggling in the United States, and how a story about the Georgia Aqu...

Today, the Safari heads to Des Moines, Iowa, to sit down with Brittany Behler of Blank Park Zoo! We have a conversation that gets into all kinds of super fun topics, including wolverines and paid vs unpaid internships and vegan pinnipeds (ok, not really) and so much more!  EPISODE LINKS:  blankparkzoo.com  @blankparkzoo on socials  ROSSIFARI LINKS:  patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod and get...

Dateline: July 19, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!     We start off with a quick update on my life and then head to our headline story, which is a look at the economic effect of accredited zoos and aquariums on their local economies! For this, we take a look at a recent economic development tha...

Today, the Safari heads back for another great visit to Greensboro Science Center! This time we talk to Dakota Harriman all about her incredible viral videos, the many animals she gets to care for, and the greatest romance you'll ever hear of...at least as far as ones involving casques.  EPISODE LINKS:  @greensborosciencecenter on socials  greensboroscience.org  ROSSIFARI LINKS:  @rossifari o...

Dateline: July 12, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!     We start off with a quick reflection on my life recently, and then get to skip a headline story this week because my goodness do we have lots of births to cover!    We then get into our births for the week including red panda births at Sene...

Today, the Safari heads to Scottsdale, AZ, to chat with our dear friend Cassi Light about her career at OdySea Aquarium. In particular, we talk about the incredible SeaTrek underwater experience they offer at the aquarium. We chat about what guests can expect as they don wetsuits and helmets and head underwater for twenty minutes to spend time with rays, eels, and more! This is a really unique exp...

Dateline: July 5, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!     We start off with an unexpected Rossifari Poop Story! We then get to our headline story this week, saying goodbye to Charlotte the ray and trying to look at the situation from a different perspective.    We then get into our births and death...

Today, the Safari heads back to the Greensboro Science Center for a look at yet another fascinating position at the facility: beekeeper! Connor Harris is the official beekeeper of the GSC, and we talk all about that position, how taking care of a hive is very different than taking care of any other animals at the zoo, how you become a beekeeper, and more bee information than you can wrap your litt...

Dateline: June 28, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!     We start off with a cute Miles story, then get into a look at auditory enrichment for animals, featuring an incredible hyacinth macaw at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park!     We then get into our births and deaths for the week including so man...

Today, the Safari sits down with Jay Pratte, the director of Miller Park Zoo. We talk about all kinds of cool stuff including a lion named Mr. Big, otter training, turning morale around at a zoo, and so much more! We also get into the Bear Care Group, an organization I'm very excited to introduce y'all to!  EPISODE LINKS:  https://www.bloomingtonparks.org/facilities/miller-park-zoo   @mi...

Dateline: June 21, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!      We start off with a story about mayflies! You're welcome!  We then do a deep dive into the new EEHV vaccine that is being tested at the Houston Zoo!     We then get into our births and deaths for the week including the first red panda...

Today, the Safari heads to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado to speak to the associate veterinarian of the zoo, Dr. Lizzy Arnett-Chinn. We have an incredible far-ranging discussion about the unique challenges of being a zoo vet, how taking care of megafauna is an entirely different world from the rest of veterinary medicine, the amazing conservation work being done at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, and so...

Dateline: June 14, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!      We start off with a quick follow up to last week’s deep dive, and I want your thoughts on this one!     We then get into our births and deaths for the week a truly unnecessary and tragic loss.    We then move on to our other Zoo News stori...

Today, the Safari heads to the Lehigh Valley Zoo in Pennsylvania to celebrate their brand new red panda habitat! Join me as I visit the zoo on the very first day the pandas get to explore their new outdoor exhibit, listen in as I talk to Dr. Steve Marks all about his work as a zoo vet, the incredible pandas and habitat at the LVZoo, and his role on the new AZA SAFE Red Panda steering committee, an...

Dateline: June 7, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   We start off with a deep dive into the ongoing and troubling situation at the Natural Bridge Zoo, where transparency seems to be lacking even as the public moves on.  We then get into our births and deaths for the week, including a special ann...

Today, the Safari heads back to Greensboro for another lovely visit to the Greensboro Science Center! We sit down with Jessica Hoffman to discuss her unique career at the facility and also to dive into the newly published book she illustrated which helps support the AZA SAFE Andean Bear program!  Check out the book here: https://shorturl.at/XKViy  EPISODE LINKS:  greensborosciencecenter.org  @gree...

Dateline: May 31, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   We start off with a deep dive into a recent paper that was published looking at the effects of zoo and aquarium visits on attitudes and actions towards conservation. We then get into our births and deaths for the week, shared in a new way. Ple...

Today, the Safari heads to Cleveland to sit down with elephant keeper Kristen Scaglione to talk all about...well, nothing to do with Cleveland or elephants! Instead, we talk all about the American Association of Zoo Keepers (AAZK) Conference, which Kristen was the co-chair of last year. What goes into planning a conference? Running it? Why should YOU consider joining AAZK and attending a conferenc...

Dateline: May 24, 2024. Rossifari Zoo News is back with a round up of the latest news in the world of zoos, aquariums, conservation, and animal weirdness!   We start off with a deep dive into my own experience of saying goodbye to the first animal I've actually helped take care of, an incredible penguin who lived at Aquarium of Niagara.  We then get into a great interview with Dani Poirier-La...