Zoo Logic

Dr. Jason Bruck and his collaborator, Dr. Jamey D. Jacob, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at Oklahoma Sate University describe their efforts to develop a suitable drone platform to study small cetaceans in the wild. Known as PHASM, Passive Health Assessment in Sea Mammals, the team has already worked through several iterations of the emerging technology to best collect and assess resp...

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium announced the significant birth of several weedy seadragons.  It is the first successful birth of these uncommon animals at Columbus, one of only a handful of institutions that have successfully bred seadragons.  Senior Aquarist Aaron Jeskie, who was instrumental in the successful outcome, describes these unique creatures and some of the reasons they are so challengin...

Jasmin Graham describes her unique path as a shark scientist at Mote Marine Lab and Aquarium , as well as, her efforts to increase diversity among the biological sciences, especially in marine science. She's also the president and CEO of Minorities In Shark Sciences (MISS), an organization dedicated to "see representation of gender minorities from historically-excluded communities of color and the...

Dr. Jeremy Goodman President and CEO of the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium returns to discuss the organization's rural 1000 acre offsite conservation center. Originally acquired to facilitate African elephant breeding and closed to the public, the International Conservation Center (ICC) has added a few additional species and developed educational programming and other recreational activities to meet...

In 2021, Dr. Jeremy Goodman succeeded long time leader Dr. Barbara Baker to become the president and CEO of the  Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium , one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the US. Following years working as a clinician, Dr. Goodman elected to change his professional focus to serve as chief administrator of several other zoological institutions leading them through periods of signifi...

Dr. Tim Shu is the founder and CEO of VetCBD , a California based company that specializes in cannabis products for domestic, farm and zoological animals. As the legal cannabis industry for humans and animals grows across the US, state by state, the public has many questions as to the safety and efficacy of extracts like CBD or full spectrum products that include low doses of THC, which is the psy...

Troy Hayden has been a journalist and TV news anchor for over 35 years. We asked for his perspective concerning the news industry's views on zoos and aquariums and whether a reporter's approach varies if the names "sanctuary" or "rescue" are attached. Troy admits to being a fan of zoos as a kid but admitted major controversies like that portrayed in Blackfish have tarnished the zoological communit...

Shelley Ballmann is the force behind Ocean Futures and its nonprofit wing, Ocean Connections . Starting her career as a dolphin trainer, Shelley earned her niche working with pinnipeds at a time when everyone was more focused on cetaceans like bottlenose dolphins and orcas. She believes that training sea lions truly hones one's skill as a trainer in ways unique to pinnipeds.  Following the closing...

Hurricane Beryl's effect on the Texas power grid still being felt by millions of people reminds us all that natural disasters like wind, fire, or flood can can occur anywhere with devastating consequences. Fortunately the team at Zoological Disaster Response, Rescue and Recovery ( ZDR3 ) has experience helping facilities plan for and if needed, respond to emergencies that can disrupt the lives of...

Dennis Christen, Senior Director, Animal Wellbeing & Behavior for the Georgia Aquarium was one of the architects that helped move two beluga whales from the NEMO Dolphinarium in Putin-ravaged Ukraine to the safety of Europe's largest aquarium, Oceanographic, in Valencia, Spain. This story made international headlines recently and involved a host of zoological facilities and other agencies to rescu...

Growing up on the beautiful Italian island of Ischia 19 miles off the coast of Naples, Dr. Valerio Mazzella of the  Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn Napoli grew to love the ecosystem's unique features and species.  As a natural source of thermal and pH gradients due to the region's secondary volcanism, which gives rise to carbon dioxide vents, Ischia and the surrounding ocean waters have long been a...

Best selling author, Emmy winning actor, and fierce animal advocate, Carolyn Hennesy returns to discuss her recent comments at the annual meeting of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums ( AMMPA ) about how zoos and aquariums can begin to build better relationships with entertainers and influencers. In many instances, entertainers and those who work behind the camera inside the film an...

Long time zoological statistician and animal manager, Kevin Willis, returns to discuss dolphin demographics and other mathematical insights into current species populations in human care. The overall population of dolphins in facilities looks promising, but Kevin warns this view is not reality since the animals are not actually maintained as one but several small islands of sub-populations that ar...

The team from GRAZE (Growing Resiliency for Aquarium and Zoo Employees) Erin McNally and Hannah Fullmer return to discuss a widespread problem in most fields, including the zoological profession. While not unique to animal facilities, bullying takes a tremendous toll on an already beleaguered workforce. If social media content is to be believed, younger professionals seem increasingly disillusione...

Long time animal trainer and consultant, Jade Fountain from Animal Behavior Matters returns to discuss her latest work in East Africa with a global organization called  APOPO (Anti-Persoonsmijnen Ontmijnende Product Ontwikkeling", or in English, Anti-Personnel Landmines Detection Product Development . For the past 25 years, APOPO has been utilizing African Pouched Rats trained for scent detection...

Dr. Jay Sweeney, cofounder of Dolphin Quest, returns to discuss the latest strain of avian flu making its way across the globe with lethal effects. It was an avian flu strain that caused the global pandemic in 1918 that killed tens of millions of humans. The current strain H5N5 seems to be mild in infected dairy cows and humans but it has caused thousands of pinniped and a handful of dolphin death...

Dr. Terrie Williams, long time UC Santa Cruz wildlife researcher interested in species energetics returns to discuss the race against geometric levels of extinction. We are losing species at pace well above the normal background rates. Her mission is to gather basic bioenergetic data to help inform regulators, lawmakers, and industry about the potential harmful effects from undersea noise pollutio...

Following a recent industry webinar, we asked ethicist, Dr. Raymond Anthony and veterinarian and researcher, Dr. Dave Miller to weigh in on the subject of using hormone therapy to curb aggressive behavior in managed settings. Under what conditions and to what extent is modifying animal behavior through pharmacology, specifically hormones or their synthetic analogs, an acceptable practice?  Is ther...

Before she accepted the role of executive director of the Zoological Association of America in 2023, Dr. Kelly George was a researcher with Ohio State University studying human-animal relationships with an emphasis on welfare and behavior. Today she leads the young but growing trade association focused on improving standards of husbandry care, educating the public, and promoting greater conservati...

As director of research for the Dolphin Research Center , Dr. Kelly Jaakkola spends much of her time studying the cognitive abilities of bottlenose dolphins, as well as, refuting the false or unsubstantiated narratives stemming from all places, recent peer-reviewed publications by authors opposed to marine mammals in human care. One of two of her recent publications examines whether these small ce...

Before she became an expert avian trainer with Natural Encounters , Ari Bailey got her start working with crocodilian species at a time when aversives and physical restraint were still commonly in use. Fortunately, the state of animal training for crocodilians and other ectothermic species has since advanced; in many ways, the same sort of husbandry behaviors commonly seen with mammals and birds c...

The post Civil War era gave rise to unprecedented social changes. The energy and activism directed at ending the scourge of slavery found new life in improving the welfare of animals, particularly those species in American homes, industry, entertainment, and on the dinner plate. Authors, Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, DVM have written their second book together (Knopf, 4/23) examining the extraordi...

On a recent visit to a zoological facility, their senior animal manager asked about my current views on the use of negative reinforcement given past treatment of the subject in my book ZOOmility going back to the mid 2000's, when I largely discouraged trainers from using the training tool. So we thought it might be time to take another look at that behavioral tool to better understand if, when or...

What is the secret to longevity and relevance in any career path?  While the answer may vary among differing professions, one ingredient seems to be a willingness to "apply the joy of exploration to our own lives," according to actor, director, best selling author, musician, and real life space traveler, William Shatner. In 2022, Shatner now 93, best known for his iconic role on Star Trek as Capta...

It would likely surprise most people that until about a decade ago, military service dogs were routinely euthanized at the end of their working service life rather than be transported back to the U.S. and a life of retirement. Congress and the Department of Defense finally provided some resources to ensure military working dogs are returned to U.S. soil at the completion of their service. These fu...