Amazing Wildlife: A San Diego Zoo Podcast iHeartPodcasts

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22, but around here, every day is Earth Day. In this episode, hosts Rick and Marco discuss the origins of Earth Day and why it was first established in 1970. After starting in the U.S., the holiday is now observed in many nations around the world. Listen in to learn how preserving the environment benefits humans and wildlife alike. 
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Spring is fluttering by! It’s April, and that means Butterfly Jungle is currently open at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. In this episode, we are talking with the McKinney Family Curator of Invertebrates, Paige Howorth, about butterflies and butterfly conservation. We know so little about invertebrates in comparison to other wildlife, yet they are the backbone of our ecosystem.The butterfly population faces many challenges, and hosts Rick and Marco learn from Paige about how we can all help our fluttery friends survive and thrive.
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Who’s in charge here? In this episode we are talking all about the female's role in leading the group, troop, herd, or family with Kristi Burtis, vice president of wildlife care at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Rick, Marco, and Kristi discuss the role of the females in lions, gorillas, elephants, meerkats, lemurs, and even killer whales! We learn how some of these females lead as matriarch or as an influencer. The hosts and Kristi unpack how it’s the behaviors and actions of a single female and not brute strength that can lead an entire family of animals.
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Welcome to Season 3 of Amazing Wildlife! Hosts Rick and Marco are joined by a returning friend of the show, Kim Gray, the curator of herpetology and ichthyology (reptiles, amphibians, and fish) at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. Oftentimes, people have some fears around snakes, but Kim shares the misconceptions about the king cobra, who is the top predator in their environment. So, if we can conserve their habitat, we can save a lot of species! Our hosts and Kim share a story with a positive ending about San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance saving king cobras from wildlife trafficking and explain why it's an important element for conservation.
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Amazing Wildlife is returning for season 3 starting Friday March 15! From the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, hosts Marco Wendt and Rick Schwartz will spotlight the heroes working worldwide to care for the species we know and love. 
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In the season finale, Rick and Marco take a trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park Biodiversity Reserve to speak with Charlie de la Rosa, Ph.D., natural lands manager for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. This 900-acre preserve in San Diego's North County supports large expanses of coastal sage scrub vegetation along two regionally important wildlife corridors. Here, in the most biodiverse county in the continental United States, we take a look at the importance of native plants including the prickly pear cactus, and Charlie gives us insight on technology used to study the movement of mountain lions and other wildlife. We also discuss how conservation is all about people, our connections to one another, and to the delicately balanced ecosystems that we all share.
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