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...
Dr. Temple Grandin--who truly wears multiple hats: fervent activist for autistic people, longtime professor of animal science at Colorado State University, expert on animal behavior, prolific author, tireless lecturer—discusses her forthcoming book, “The Grandin...
Susan Hanus--executive director of Cat Depot, a unique feline-only shelter in Sarasota—recalls when she first became a cat person. Hanus has remained staunchly feline-friendly ever since, though, she explains, she stopped living with them when it turned out one of...
Kathy Finelli--the director of Gainesville Rabbit Rescue (GRR), a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 by two University of Florida students—recalls how her involvement with GRR began 20-plus years ago, when she sought their help after finding a domestic rabbit...
We did things a little differently on today’s show—an understated, somewhat belated, acknowledgment that June marks the 20th anniversary of “Talking Animals.” I launched the program in June of 2003 at KUCI in Irvine, CA, moving to WMNF not quite three years later....
Valerie Benka--the Director of Programs for the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (ACC&D)—recalls being someone who was nuts about animals from the time she was a kid, growing up in a family amidst a veritable menagerie. This early pet passion created...
Jane O’Hara, the animal advocate and artist--whose paintings tend to celebrate animals or explore animal issues—recalls a regular upbringing, amidst conventional companion animals. Only some years later, O’Hara adds, did she start researching animals, reading some...
Susan Tellem--executive director of American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), a nonprofit established in 1990 for the protection of all species of turtles and tortoises—recalls that she began helping animals in cat rescue. Some years later, she recounts, she and her husband...
Diana Goodrich--co-director of the Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest, located not far from Seattle, and housing 15 chimps—says she can’t recall a time she didn’t want to work with animals. Goodrich traces the winding path, academically and professionally, that led her...
Eleanor Spicer Rice, PhD--an entomologist by training, and the author of multiple books, focused on ants and spiders—recounts how she came to write a book about microbes, “Unseen Jungle: The Microbes That Secretly Control Our World.” Spicer Rice explains that a...
