Captive | Talking Animals

Stan Kroh, manatee ally and expert

Duncan — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:08:12 +0000

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 anniversary. Kroh charts the evolution of the Manatee Viewing Center, from the earliest days, when the […]

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Ed Stewart, co-founder, president and CEO of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)

Duncan — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 04:00:42 +0000

Ed Stewart, co-founder, president and CEO of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)—which blazed a trail in animal rescue, welfare, education, and legislation, and this year, marks its 40th anniversary—recalls what she and co-founder Pat Derby were doing in the earliest days of PAWS. Stewart notes that Derby, his longtime partner who died in 2013–and […]

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Scott Blais, co-founder of Global Sanctuary for Elephants

Duncan — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 04:00:56 +0000

Scott Blais–co-founder of the Global Sanctuary for Elephants, whose initial facility is the Elephant Sanctuary Brazil (ESB); he also co-founded The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee—starts by attempting to field my curveball opening question: what makes elephants special? Drawing on 35 years of caring for elephants, he responds chiefly observing how quickly these animals—typically traumatized from […]

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Kitty Block, President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States

Duncan — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 04:00:21 +0000

Kitty Block—President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), as well as CEO of Humane Society International, HSUS’ global division—discusses getting a precocious start working in animal welfare, in that her Mom was an animal activist. Block recalls how, as a second grader, she went on a school field trip to […]

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Carol Buckley, longtime expert in the care of captive elephants

Duncan — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 04:00:11 +0000

Carol Buckley—a longtime expert in the care of captive elephants, who co-founded The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee, moving on to found Elephant Aid International, a nonprofit organization “that creates innovative approaches to the care and management of captive elephants”—seeks to address, 47 years into working with these animals, what exactly it is about elephants that […]

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Barbara Trask Lovett, president of Save Nosey Now, advocate for captive elephants

Duncan — Wed, 05 May 2021 04:00:34 +0000

Barbara Trask Lovett—president of Save Nosey Now, member of the Board of Directors of The Elephant Advocacy Project, and generally a veteran advocate for improving the lives of captive elephants—recounts part of her background and how earlier efforts for Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (at times, working closely with Paul Watson) gradually mutated into parallel concerns […]

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Caitlin O’Connell, author of “Wild Rituals: 10 Lessons Animals Can Teach Us about Connection, Community, and Ourselves”

Duncan — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 05:00:34 +0000

Caitlin O’Connell—a noted scientist who’s spent much of her career studying elephants and their communication, and author of several books, most recently “Wild Rituals: 10 Lessons Animals Can Teach Us about Connection, Community, and Ourselves”—addresses some of her varied professional pursuits, including a NASA project that involved the Space Station, that had prompted me, tongue […]

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Michelle Gadd, elephant expert, head of global conservation for Walters Conservation

Duncan — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 04:00:20 +0000

Michelle Gadd—who heads global conservation for Walters Conservation, created and funded by philanthropists Mark and Kimbra Walter, and owner of White Oak Conservation, a 17,000-acre spread in northeastern Florida, which houses and cares for endangered and threatened species, among other animals—recounts how, at 19, she embarked on a three-month study abroad program in Africa…and ended […]

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Scott Blais, co-founder of the Global Sanctuary for Elephants, currently running Elephant Sanctuary Brazil

Duncan — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 05:00:40 +0000

Scott Blais—co-founder of the Global Sanctuary for Elephants, whose initial facility is the Elephant Sanctuary Brazil—begins the conversation aiming to answer my question about what makes elephants magical, what provokes such passionate response to them in so many people. Noting our last full-length interview was in 2013, at which point the Elephant Sanctuary Brazil was […]

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Natasha Daly, author of National Geographic story “The Hidden Cost of Wildlife Tourism”

Duncan — Wed, 22 May 2019 04:00:21 +0000

Natasha Daly—a staff writer for the National Geographic, where she wrote the June cover story, “The Hidden Cost of Wildlife Tourism”—addresses her role as the magazine’s “wildlife crime reporter,” how she landed on that beat, and what sort of stories she’s written in that capacity. Daly outlines the approach that she and photojournalist Kirsten Luce […]

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Dr. Toni Frohoff, wildlife behavioral biologist

Duncan — Wed, 23 Jan 2019 05:00:44 +0000

Dr. Toni Frohoff—a wildlife behavioral biologist who has researched the lives and behaviors of elephants and cetaceans for more than 30 years—recalls how, as an aspiring surfer growing up in Southern California, encountering dolphins in the ocean there, spurred her initial interest in studying those cetaceans. Frohoff laments that she never learned to surf, but […]

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Barbara Trask Lovett, president of Save Nosey Now!

Duncan — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 04:00:46 +0000

Barbara Trask Lovett—the president of Save Nosey Now! (SNN), an organization that helped a high-profile, long-suffering circus elephant (Nosey) win freedom from the neglectful, exploitative treatment of her owner…and seeks to educate the public about the plight of captive elephants, and pursue elephant-related litigation, legislation, protests, and other measures designed to improve their lives—recounts a […]

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Dr. Keith Lindsay, author of “Solitary Elephants in Japan” report

Duncan — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 04:00:39 +0000

Dr. Keith Lindsay—the conservation biologist whose career reflects a longstanding dedication to studying elephants—recalls how he got started in 1977 at the Amboseli Elephants Research Project, in southern Kenya, by something of a fluke. He notes that he returned to Amboseli in ensuing years, first as part of obtaining his Masters degree, then in pursuit […]

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Jo-Anne McArthur, photojournalist with new book, “Captive”

Duncan — Wed, 23 Aug 2017 04:00:36 +0000

Jo-Anne McArthur—the acclaimed photojournalist who specializes in documenting animals and their stories—explains how her work, compared with that of most other photographers with similar specialties, is informed by more than just a love for animals, but a profound concern for them. As part of this distinction, McArthur discusses how, just as she sees animals differently, […]

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Panel Discussion About The End Of Ringling

Duncan — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 05:00:08 +0000

For today’s edition of Talking Animals, I jettisoned the usual format and convened a panel discussion about the end of the Ringling Bros. circus. I was inspired to present the panel because I was struck by the array of reactions in the wake of the announcement by Feld Entertainment that it was shutting down the circus […]

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Chris Hegedus, Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker

Duncan — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 04:00:46 +0000

Chris Hegedus—co-director of the new documentary, “Unlocking The Cage”—explains the criteria she and her partner of 40 years, D.A. Pennebaker, use when deciding on the films to make, an eclectic body of work that includes the Oscar-nominated “The War Room,” which examined Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, and 2009’s “Kings of Pastry,” providing a front-row […]

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Dr. Lori Marino, founder of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy

Duncan — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 05:00:59 +0000

Dr. Lori Marino—founder and executive director of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy, as well as a neuroscientist and expert in animal behavior and intelligence—explains exactly what a neuroscientist is, and how that academic orientation informs her thinking about animal behavior as opposed to, say, an animal behaviorist without that scientific training. Marino describes what prompted her […]

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Neko Case, singer-songwriter-animal guardian

Duncan — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 04:00:36 +0000

Neko Case—the singer-songwriter who has created a large, revered body of work, much of it laced with nature and animal themes—recalls how her lifelong kinship with animals began as a kid whose parents were infrequently present, so she spent a great deal of time with the household critters. And while Case might seem, fundamentally, like […]

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Catherine Doyle, Director of Science, Research and Advocacy for PAWS

Duncan — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 04:00:15 +0000

Catherine Doyle–Director of Science, Research and Advocacy for the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), and a noted, veteran elephant advocate —explains what’s behind her longtime passion for working to improve the welfare of captive elephants, while noting, interestingly, that in her formative years in Chicago, she was a regular zoo visitor yet has no particular […]

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Don Anthony of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF)

Duncan — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 04:00:37 +0000

Don Anthony–Communications Director of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF), which, since 1989, has been speaking and acting on behalf of animals in a multitude of ways—traces the history of the organization, including the impetus for its founding. He discusses ARFF’s initial campaigns, and initial victories, including helping persuade the city of Hollywood, FL […]

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Ed Stewart, co-founder and president of PAWS

Duncan — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 05:00:30 +0000

Ed Stewart—co-founder and president of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)—recalls what prompted he and his late partner, the indefatigable Pat Derby, to launch PAWS, now marking its 30th anniversary. In answer to a question about what ways the PAWS mission has changed over the years, Stewart explains they never expected to be running a […]

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Dr. Vint Virga, veterinarian and animal behaviorist

Duncan — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 01:49:09 +0000

Dr. Vint Virga—veterinarian, animal behaviorist and author of “The Soul of All Living Creatures: What Animals Can Teach Us About Being Human”—explains how the anti-zoo view he held earlier in his career evolved into seeing zoos in a more positive light. He also assesses whether there’s been a parallel shift in the public perception of […]

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Lily Tomlin, actress, comedian and animal advocate

Duncan — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 04:00:03 +0000

Lily Tomlin, who’s collected a trunkful of major awards, including Emmys, Tonys, a Grammy and two Peabody Awards—and who has a similarly distinguished record in the realm of animal welfare—recalls childhood experiences with animals, growing up in Michigan and spending summers in rural Kentucky. She also describes the current animal residents of the Tomlin-Wagner home: […]

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Scott Blais, elephant expert & ambassador

Duncan — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 04:00:44 +0000

Scott Blais—CEO and Board President of the newly-formed Global Sanctuary for Elephants—discusses his more than 20 years experience working with elephants, including co-founding, in 1995, The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. He addresses some of the traits and dynamics that make the elephant, for many people, such a singular and alluring animal. Blais also explains […]

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Adam Roberts, Executive Vice-President Born Free USA

Duncan — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 04:00:41 +0000

Adam Roberts—executive vice president and co-founder of Born Free USA—outlines the chief categories of animal welfare that Born Free USA concerns itself with, noting where those efforts overlap and differ from those of the Born Free Foundation, which gave rise to and shares DNA with the American organization. He also addresses the extensive databases that Born […]

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Ron Kagan, Director and CEO of the Detroit Zoo

Duncan — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:00:39 +0000

Ron Kagan, who’s been Director of the Detroit Zoo for nearly 20 years, and whose career working for zoos has spanned 35 years–discusses the philosophy behind functioning as something of an iconoclast in the zoo industry, including how he arrived at the decision (with input from the community, among others) that it was no longer […]

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Archele Hundley- Former Ringling Employee

Duncan — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:49:33 +0000

Archele Hundley–a former Ringling Bros. employee on the animal crew who’s done PSAs for PETA (though, interestingly, is not a PETA member), has spoken in front of various groups about the plight of circus animals, and testified at the big federal lawsuit against Ringling –discusses her background, including growing up in West Virginia, where her […]

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Charles Siebert–Writer-reporter-poet essayist

Duncan — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:00:15 +0000

Writer-reporter-poet essayist Charles Siebert, the author, most recently, of “The Wauchula Woods Accord: Toward A New Understanding Of Animals”–which chronicles his extended encounter with a retired circus chimp named Roger at The Center For Great Apes, a chimpanzee sanctuary in Wauchula, FL and widens out considerably from the personal reportage of that encounter, including incorporating […]

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Catherine Doyle–elephant expert extraordinaire

Duncan — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:00:25 +0000

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 […]

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Tom Rider–Circus whistleblower

Duncan — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:00:24 +0000

Tom Rider–who once worked for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus caring for the elephants, became a whistleblower after witnessing the abuse of the circus’ elephants, and is now a central figure in a federal lawsuit brought against Ringling by multiple animal groups –discusses his two and a half year stint working for Ringling […]

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RaeLeann Smith–of People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals

libby — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 16:30:15 +0000

RaeLeann Smith–who works for People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as a full-time circus specialist–discusses The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus (three units of which had engagements in various parts of Florida pending, and had just completed other Florida stints) and the cruelty routinely visited upon their animals, documented anew in […]

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