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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
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,...
Michael San Juan, a veteran Animal Control Officer with Hillsborough County Animal Control—his career spans 22 years, including initiating it in New Jersey—recalls that animals played a huge role in his life starting when he was a kid, when he regularly tended to...
