Wild For Life The Toronto Zoo

The Jane Goodall Act will revolutionize animal welfare in institutions by revealing how accredited zoos, like the Toronto Zoo, prioritize animal welfare and conservation of their animals compared to roadside zoos and private owners of exotic animals such as big cats (tigers, lions, etc.), primates, and other animals that require trained zookeepers, veterinarians, and researchers that can care for the animals properly. 
 
I am joined by Dolf DeJong (CEO of the Toronto Zoo), Grant Furniss (CEO of the Assiniboine Park & Zoo), Dr. Clement Lanthier (CEO of the Calgary Zoo), and Marty McKendry (Senior Advisor to Senator Klyne) to discuss why the Jane Goodall Act is important for animal welfare and conservation.
 
Link to the Jane Goodall Act: https://janegoodall.ca/take-action/the-jane-goodall-act/

Every time there is a new edition to the Toronto Zoo, the staff is very proud to speak about it. Today is no different. Amanda Caroll joins me on the podcast to discuss the journey to the birth of the new Sumatran orangutan at the Zoo. We discuss the pregnancy, birth, and how well Sekali (the mother) is taking care of her new bundle of joy.

This episode is all about turtle conservation as every May 23rd we celebrate World Turtle Day. Donnell Gasbarrini joins me on the podcast to discuss the status of turtles around the world as well as the Toronto Zoo’s efforts to help protect turtles through their Adopt-A-Pond program (and app) and the Headstart program to help save the Blanding's turtle from going extinct. 
 
Donnell also provides some tips on how you can avoid running over turtles in the spring, summer, and fall when driving up to your cottages for some rest and relaxation. 

The Toronto Zoo has always been a conservation driven organization, where many of the initiatives started by the staff to reduce their impact on the surrounding environment and this is why I was not surprised when Kyla Greenham, Manager of Conservation and the Environment at the Zoo, told me about the release of their new program TZ Net0, a program where the total output of the Zoo will be zero. 
 
This program is not an easy one to pull off, but according to Kyla the staff have been the driving force behind many of the current accomplishments of the programs including reduce water waste. Kyla gives us a list of the goals of the program and why they chose them. 

Sophie De Vos joins me on the podcast to discuss her study on the behaviour of Juno, the polar bear, to ensure that the bear is doing well. Sophie is an undergraduate student from the Netherlands who flew over to the Toronto Zoo to study Juno on an overseas internship. Sophie recounts her journey from the Netherlands and how she is adapting to Canadian life. She also details the behaviour study and the type of behaviour patterns she is observing in Juno.

Jason Pootoolal, zookeeper, joins me once again on the podcast to talk about the new giraffe addition at your Toronto Zoo. Jason tells me the behind-the-scenes details of what it’s like to take care of a pregnant giraffe and how the baby is born.
He also discusses what it’s like to take care of a newborn giraffe and how the birth of this newborn will help the conservation of these endangered giraffes in the wild one day.