That Tracks, A Lincoln Park Zoo Podcast

What does it take to make a whole city of kids care about conservation? Rosie explains. 0:00 Introduction 0:44 Bringing real-world science into classrooms 3:06 The importance of intentional curriculum design 3:25 Zoo conservation work with Chicago Public Schools 5:09 Building the relationship with schools 8:43 Field trips and Zoo Explorers program 9:00 Scholarships and accessibility 9:43 Conservat...

How do you know if an animal you see at the zoo is thriving? Welfare scientist Jason explains. 0:00 Introduction 0:27 What is animal welfare? 0:49 How Lincoln Park Zoo monitors animal behavior 2:55 Why feeding behaviors are central to welfare science 3:32 Introducing the Zoo Monitor app 4:25 Zoo Monitor's global growth 5:20 The large-scale giraffe study 7:38 Balancing population data with ind...

Why does understanding urban wildlife matter? Ecologist Seth explains.   0:40 What is an urban wildlife ecologist?  1:25 The Urban Wildlife Institute   2:15 Gathering data on urban wildlife   2:55 Understanding urban wildlife data   3:30 Surprising urban wildlife findings   4:15 Why are there coyotes in Chicago?  5:22 Chicago Rathole  7:15 Urban wildlife stories throughout the world  9:15 Improvin...

How does the zoo care for thousands of plant species? Horticulturist Katrina explains! 0:35 Being an accredited botanic garden  2:49 Importance of tree canopies  3:50 Collaboration at the zoo 5:20 Taking care of plants in a zoo setting 6:20 Curating 49 acres of plants 8:30 Geographical hardiness zones explained 10:25 Seasonality and caring for plants 12:20 Planning for the future 14:40 Plants with...

What is it like being a zookeeper? Keepers Cruz and Brittany explain!    0:22 Meet Brittany and Cruz  1:00 They journey to becoming a keeper  3:35 Education is key to being a keeper  4:20 A day in the life of a keeper  6:30 Different care for different species  9:30 How animals respond to keepers  12:40 Trusting the animals  16:10 Grieving animals   21:10 Collaboration across teams  22:55 Favorite...

How does one care for hundreds of animals representing dozens of species? Lincoln Park Zoo’s lead veterinarian, Dr. Kathryn, explains! 1:04 Dr. Kathryn’s background 1:30 The path to be a veterinarian 3:33 The breadth of veterinary work 5:20 Being flexible for different situations 6:35 Modeling to treat various species 11:00 Preventative exams 13:50 The future of veterinary medicine 17:05 Blood ban...

Bali mynas as canaries in the coal mine? Conservationist Sunny Nelson explains. 0:40 Sunny's career start 1:50 The switch from care to conservation 3:30 Lincoln Park Zoo's global impact 5:25 Conservation stories across different communities 6:50 Different tactics for conservation for diverse communities 8:55 Working with scientists 10:45 How Bali mynas inspired Sunny 12:55 What is a Bali...

How do you feed 700+ animals? Nutritionist Siga Lapinskas explains!