Zoological Radio

QUICK BITES: Don’t let those long eyelashes fool you into thinking these birds are shy…ground hornbills have no qualms about killing snakes and can predict the weather, too. Lucy Kemp, Project Manager of the Mabula Ground Hornbill Project, will make you fall in love with these big birds.

Encore Broadcast: We are thankful that the Griffith Park Cougar, P22, survived the recent wildfires in Southern California.  We teamed up Beth Pratt-Bergstrom of the National Wildlife Federation with improvisational comedians Kelley Holden-Bashar and Stephen Kearin for an IMPROVology show live on stage at the beautiful Santa Barbara Zoo. Enjoy this encore presentation of a P22-themed episode from 2017.  

Laurie Marker explains how re-wilding orphaned cheetahs means taking a “pissy, spitty” animal from “I hate you” to “goodbye.”

QUICK BITES: When a mama cheetah needs to feed her hungry cubs, her to-do list is very specific: climb a tree to spot prey, dash off at speeds up to 70 mph, take ‘em down with a knife-like claw. Dinner is served.

QUICK BITES: They want your attention 100% of the time, smash things, and yell at their siblings. Meet 9-month-old grizzly cub orphans Hawthorne and Huckleberry. 

Elderly lizards get arthritis, too. When a Komodo dragon really needs to relax and loosen those joints, a massage therapist kneads out the kinks.

QUICK BITES: Mary Wykstra, founder of Action for Cheetahs, describes the excitement of a cheetah hunt. Vervet monkeys may disagree.

QUICK BITES: “The world can’t be whole without predators,” says Sy Montgomery. She tells more tales from the magical mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, where tigers can fly and become invisible.    

QUICK BITES: Most tigers want to be left alone, and don’t like the taste of humans. But hundreds of people disappear each year from the protected forests of India and Bangladesh—from tigers said to have "supernatural" behaviors.

QUICK BITES: What do YOU do when you’re in a bad mood? These tigers eat people. Sy Montgomery’s study of tigers in the Bay of Bengal reveals the balance of nature and myth.  

QUICK BITES: The job description is clear: candidates must be friendly, able to navigate wobbly surfaces, and devoted to toys. Can’t make the cut? Kirsten Fulk’s got a place for you.

QUICK BITES: Why would anyone use a Super Soaker to flush the stomach of a 12-foot-long wild crocodile? Dr. Marisa Tellez, aka the "Croc Doc," enlightens us.

QUICK BITES: Well, Dr. Cheryl Knott, "urine" luck...analyzing orangutan waste does produce a wealth of valuable information about these endangered animals.

Professional animal trainer Barbara Heidenreich shares her experience helping orphaned orangutans in Indonesia, while improv comedians relate their own experiences training animals. Who’s telling the truth?

QUICK BITES: Don’t let those big black eyes fool you…these cigar-shaped marine mammals can be feisty! CIMWI animal care coordinator Jennifer Levine shares some tricks of the rescue trade.

QUICK BITES: Even big cats need baby steps to take their medicine. Globe-trotting animal trainer Barbara Heidenreich uses food to make routine health care a comfortable experience. 

QUICK BITES: It's a dinosaur with a "killing claw." This muscular, red-eyed bird is as tall as you are and you'd better not threaten its family. 

QUICK BITES: Do you enjoy fishing? How about eating insect larvae? Crows in New Caledonia like to do both, and they make their own fishing rods.

QUICK BITES: Riley the yellow Labrador retriever is ready for his search and rescue certification test, but handler Eric Gray might need to "bone up" on his studies.

QUICK BITES: She may have a sweet disposition, but would you give “mouth-to-snout” CPR to a spiky mammal the size of a cocker spaniel?