The Wild Enrichment Podcast

Ep. 44- Animal Psychology and Perception with Dr. Jenna Congdon

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Jenna Congdon. Dr. Congdon is a Psychologist, specializing in comparative cognition and behaviour in animals. Her research spans many topics, from, songbird communication to training artificial intelligence to analyze Orangutan behaviour. During this conversation, we explore the exciting ways animals perceive the world, the power of artificial intelligence, how we can better understand animal behaviour and much more. 

Resources: 

• https://jennacongdon.weebly.com/ 
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-congdon-phd/
• https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3357236.3395559

Ep. 43- Cooperative Care for Humans and Animals with Peter Giljam

In this episode, I am joined by Peter Giljam, founder and head trainer at Zoospensfull. Peter has spent many years as an animal trainer, influencer, educator and consultant and brings his expertise to this wide-ranging conversation. We talk about the most important things to consider in a training program, cooperative care and the future of positive reinforcement training. We also discuss dealing with burnout and compassion fatigue in the industry. 

• https://zoospensefull.com/ 
• https://www.facebook.com/zoospensefull/
• https://www.instagram.com/zoospensefull/?hl=en 

Ep. 42- Conducting Welfare Research and Building Resilient Animals with Ezekiel Gading

In this episode, we sit down with Ezekiel Gading, a master's student and animal welfare researcher. We talk about Ezekiel's fascinating research on Orangutans, building resilience in the animals you work with and how animals are perceiving their environment.

Resources we covered: 

• https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/our-people/professor-marian-dawkins-cbe-frs/ 
• https://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/directory/profile.php?dmb16 
• https://suzannemacdonald.ca/ 

Ep. 41- Creating effective teams and tips for being a great leader with Tim Husband

In this episode, I am joined by Tim Husband, a former zoo director with over 40 years in the animal care industry. Tim brings the perspective of having worked at all levels of animal care facilities to this wide-ranging conversation.

Tim currently owns a consulting company ZooWorks, where he and his team perform audits of animal care facilities to determine strategic goals for the facility as it relates to leadership and operations. 

You can find Tim on Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-husband-26413b22/ 

Ep. 40- Collaborating for Better Human and Animal Wellbeing with Alice Vassalo

In this episode, I sit down with Alice Vassalo, Director of the Keeper Educational Exchange Programme and host of Asshole Animals With Alice. We chat about the importance of collaboration on animal welfare and learning as well as some of the animals that we still loved working with despite them being jerks. 

Resources: 

• https://www.keeperexchange.org/about-us-2
• https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/a-e-animals-with-alice/id1667378735 
• https://www.instagram.com/assholeanimalswithalice/

Ep. 39- Animal Cognition, AI and it’s Welfare Impacts with Nick and Emily of WildThink

In this episode, Nick Naitove & Emily Cain-Bernhart of WildThink are back! We chat about the enrichment vending machine, animal cognition, our sensory biases and the future of animal welfare with things like AI. Check it out! 

Resources: 

• https://www.wildthink.org/ 
• https://czaw.org/ 
• https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/616914/an-immense-world-by-ed-yong/9781039003903

Ep 38- Leading in Animal Care and Becoming Great Educator with Grant Kother

In this episode, I sit down with Grant Kother, Senior Consultant at Zoospensfull. Grant brings his expertise in leading animal care teams, enrichment and training as well as extensive experience as an animal educator. Please enjoy this wide-ranging conversation! 

Resources 

• Sabrina Brando 24/7 care 
  • https://animalconcepts.mykajabi.com/247approachtopromotingoptimalwelfareforcaptivewildanimals 
• https://zoospensefull.com/

Ep. 37- Animal Behaviour Matters with Jade Fountain

In this episode, we chat with Jade Fountain, owner of Animal Behaviour Matters. Animal behaviour matters is a behaviour consultancy that works with people and animals worldwide to teach the fundamentals of applied behavioural science and behaviour change via positive reinforcement training. In this conversation, we go over what makes a great animal trainer, decision-making in behavioural husbandry, and some of the fundamental principles of Animal Behaviour Matters. 

 

Resources 

• https://www.clickertraining.com/the-steep-price-of-conservation
• https://animalbehaviourmatters.com.au/
• https://www.facebook.com/AnimalBehaviourMatters
• https://www.instagram.com/animalbehaviourmatters/

Ep 36- Positive reinforcement training in canines with Dr Valli Fraser-Celin

In this episode I am joined by Dr Valli Fraser-Celin, an expert on human- canine relationships and positive reinforcement training advocate. In this wide ranging conversation we talk about Valli's doctoral research on human-canine conflict and relationships in Africa, how this informed her advocacy around R+ in canines and some common myths around dog behaviour.

Resources: 

• https://www.instagram.com/thelivesofwilddogs/?hl=en
• https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=F-yUFmgAAAAJ&hl=en

• The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs—A review

  • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1558787817300357

Ep. 35- Enhancing the Welfare of Laboratory Animals with Kristina Bartley

In this episode, we sit down with Kristina Bartley, Founder and President of the American Association of Laboratory Animal Enrichment. We chat about the unique challenges with the enrichment and welfare of lab animals as well as some of the parallels between the research field and the zoo field. 

Some resources we talked about: 

• https://www.aalae.org/about-us/
• https://www.aalae.org/enrichment-database/