Talking Animals

Catherine Doyle--elephant expert extraordinaire

Catherine Doyle–an elephant expert with In Defense Of Animals, an international animal advocacy organization, and a central figure in the national story about the debate that’s erupted over the Los Angeles Zoo, its lone elephant, Billy, and the Zoo’s plans to build a $42 million “Pachyderm Forest” elephant exhibit— discusses various aspects of the debate and some of the underlying issues; a pioneering, peer-reviewed study published in the Dec. 2008 edition of the journal Science; documenting that elephants in zoos live dramatically shorter lives than their wild counterparts; In Defense of Animals annually issues a “Ten Worst Zoos For Elephants” list, and the IDA’s recently-released 2008 list includes Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo, Lowry’s first appearance on the list, so Doyle also discussed the list’s history and criteria, and what exactly qualified Lowry Park for inclusion on the list, and more. [www.IDAUSA.org, www.HelpElephants.com/topten2008]

COMEDY CORNER: Mitch Hedberg’s “Headless Horsemen” (www.MitchHedberg.net)

MUSIC: Jimmy Smith’s “Ape Woman,” Terry (A La Berry) Hall’s “Labradoodle” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: King Crimson’s “Elephant Talk”