Talking Animals

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 […] T...

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-a...

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 […]...

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...

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 [&...

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 o...

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...

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, r...

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 Wednes...

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...

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 Po...

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 po...

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 […] T...

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...

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 Tam...

Mike Birkhead–longtime producer-director of wildlife documentaries (grounded by no less than a doctorate in zoology from Oxford), who served as co-director, co-producer, and co-writer of  “Legendary Tigers Of India,” an episode of Nature that premiered on Earth Day—seems disinclined to highlight the credentials populating his long résumé. Rather, he spends much of this interview enthusiastic...

Melanie Sue Bowles–co-founder of Proud Spirit Horse Sanctuary, who alongside her husband, Jim, has shepherded the sanctuary through nearly 35 years of challenges, changes, and relocations, in service of rescuing horses and providing them refuge–recalls the unlikely beginning, when they were decidedly not horse people. Bowles explained that having bought a home on a five-acre […]...

Armando Ubeda–primarily appearing in his guise as a shark expert, although his CV is notably long and wide, having studied marine fauna ranging from coral reefs in Nicaragua to crocodiles in Florida—recalls being first intrigued by the ocean as a young boy, corroborating my observation that being in the sea, and researching its inhabitants, seem […] The post Armando Ubeda, shark expert...

Kevin Nealon–the veteran comedian, longtime animal advocate, former “Saturday Night Live” star (amidst a long list of TV and film credits), and host of the YouTube  series, “Hiking with Kevin”—explains why his animal advocacy and championing of certain animal welfare organizations has receded in recent years. He clarifies that his objection to the animal abuse […] The post Kevin Nealon...

Lenore Braford and Paul Drake–co-founders of Piedmont Farm Animal Refuge, a highly-innovative animal sanctuary in North Carolina; owing to Drake being an architectural designer, each structure is uniquely tailored to the species housed there, reflecting their behavioral inclinations and preferences—discuss “Forever Home,” the new documentary by award-winning filmmaker Allison Argo profiling...

As we’ve done 15 times before—spanning Just shy of the five-year mark-–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. The Trainer these listeners have an opportunity to […] The post Glen Hatche...

Stan Kroh– whose broad scope of duties at Tampa Electric Company includes overseeing the company’s Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, spanning the 26 years he’s worked there—describes the history of the Viewing Center, which is approaching its 40th anniversary. Kroh charts the evolution of the Manatee Viewing Center, from the earliest days, when the […] The post Stan Kroh, manatee...

Dr. Bonita Bergin, who, in 1975, invented the concept of the service dog to assist people with mobility limitations—then launched Canine Companions for Independence, later founded the Assistance Dog Institute, now called the Bergin College of Canine Studies–recalls the scenes of disabled people improvising she’d observed while traveling in Pakistan, India, Turkey, and other countries [...

NOTE ABOUT THIS SHOW: I’ve had better mornings. As many know, each Wednesday, around dawn, I drive from my home on the east coast of Florida to the west coast, landing at WMNF in Tampa, where I broadcast “Talking Animals.” The trek is long (later, I reverse course, and drive home), but usually uneventful. Today, […] The post Paula Poundstone, comedian and cat devotee first appeared on Talkin...

Gene Baur–president and co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, considered the world’s first farm animal sanctuary and advocacy organization, now marking its 40th anniversary—is nice enough, at my request, to recount the Sanctuary’s origin story for the umpteenth time, incorporating (also at my request!) where the Grateful Dead figures into the narrative, partly in a nod to […] The post Gene Bau...