Paws for a Moment

Today, Lands of Change Area Supervisor Mic McPherson and Senior Keeper Alyssa Padmos are filling us in on what it takes to care for our two 12-year-old dingoes, Sydney and Victoria. From tunnel time to their daily training walks, there's never a dull day for our two dingo sisters.

What does it take to move three lions? Today we're chatting about how we moved our lion trio, Chobe, Karoo and Ruaha, to their new habitat in our Expedition Africa loop and how they've acclimated to the space so far! Joining us are senior Expedition Africa keeper Cindy Watson and Africa keeper Matt Ward.

Zookeepers Grace Scott and Christen Carrillo join us for today's episode to talk all about what goes into the daily care of our macaws! 

We check in with our Restore Our Shores conservation team to learn more about some of their newest projects: buffer zones and seagrass!

Providing our animal residents with meaningful choices in their daily lives is essential to their wellbeing! We're joined by Animal Wellbeing and Bear Coordinator Marc Franzen and Curator of Ambassador Animals Madison Polk to learn more about how we do this at Brevard Zoo. 

The Barnyard is home to some of the animals open to pets at Brevard Zoo: our goats, bloodhounds, chickens, and African spurred tortoise! Learn more about what life's like in The Barnyard. 

We're featuring two members of our Hurricane Rideout Team: Jess Patterson, a Sea Turtle Healing Center coordinator, and Albert Ferraro, a Rainforest Revealed zookeeper. We are so thankful for the efforts from our rideout team and the safety of our Zoo.

Learn more about the amazing animals who call the area our Cape to Cairo Express travels in home. Think of our Ankole-Watusi cattle, Eastern bongo, male impala and, of course, Frankie the Dromedary camel! 

We have a new host for our podcast! Meet Jenny, our new communications coordinator, who will be joining us on future podcasts. 

Two members of Brevard Zoo's Horticulture team join us to share more about their work at our Zoo, from beautifying guest spaces to landscaping habitats to creating areas for native species to thrive. 

Ssssssit down and enjoy our latest podcast all about the two largest snakes at our Zoo: Brittany the Burmese python and Tsodilo the African rock python! 

Get to know our ever-growing North sulawesi babirusa family with Lands of Change area supervisor Kristen and senior keeper Mic McPherson! 

Happy National Zookeeper Week! Two of our keepers, Wild Florida keeper Mallory Bourne and Herps & Aquatics keeper Jenna Bakhuisen, joined us to share their zookeeper journeys, give advice to folks thinking about entering this field, and more!

We've nearly doubled our white-nosed coati band with the birth of eight (yes, eight) kits to coatis Sky and Rita! These births aren't just important for our Zoo, but also for this species populations in organizations accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Join director of animal programs Lauren Hinson and assistant curator of animals Sidnee Santana-Mellor as we learn more. 

Happy Father's Day to human and animal moms alike! On this episode, we learn more about a few of our Zoo resident dads. 

Get to know our three lion brothers, Chobe, Karoo and Ruaha on this episode! Two members of their animal care team, Alyssa Simon and Matt Ward, share what it's like caring for the trio. 

Happy Mother's Day to human and animal moms alike! On this episode, we learn more about a few of our Zoo resident moms. 

Brevard Zoo has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1997. This accreditation needs to be updated about every 5 years - and we've completed the re-accreditation process! Learn more about this process from our director of animal programs Lauren Hinson and curator of animals Mack Ralbovsky. 

We recently hosted a conversation on the Indian River Lagoon with our CEO Keith Winsten and Dr. Duane De Freese, the executive director of the IRL Council and National Estuary Program . Dr. De Freese is widely regarded as a leading expert and advocate for the conservation of the Indian River Lagoon, so what came from this talk was a really interesting look at the state of the lagoon and insights on the work being done to help this incredibly important waterway. This conversation took place over Zoom, and if you want to see some of the slides and images shared by Keith and Duane – head to our YouTube channel!

Our Ambassador Animal care team has transformed a habitat in our Rainforest Revealed loop into a comfortable, natural habitat for our skunk trio, Shelley the prehensile-tailed porcupine, and Higgins the two-toed sloth.

Dr. Brian Ogle, Director of Conservation Learning & Audience Impact, walks us through all the incredible new changes coming to this department - including new camps and classes that you can join in on right now! 

In honor of #FebruBEARy, we're re-sharing our "Bringing Up Bears" episode from February 2023! Brevard Zoo's director of animal programs Lauren Hinson and Wild Florida Area Supervisor Marc Franzen shared the stories of our three Florida black bears and how our Zoo helps them live their best lives with us. 

BREAKING NEWS: Sasquatch spotted monkeying around Brevard Zoo! Word is that the creature with the big feet has been camping out in Wild Florida. Explore his campsite - or enjoy one of our Education team's fun programs!

Is it a racoon? Is it a monkey? No it's a white-nosed coati! Get to know our five-member coati band from two members of their animal care team. 

Dive into one of our best pods yet! We're "shore" you'll be enthralled as we "rays" the bar for all future episodes. 

Podcast hosts Lauren Delgado and Clarice Knelly chat over some of the top stories of 2023 at Brevard Zoo and what to look forward to in 2024. 

Learn all about our turkey flock from Wild Florida keepers Marc Franzen and Christen Carrillo!

We're joined by senior keeper and enrichment specialist Michele Quinn as we learn about ways our keepers enrich our animal residents. 

We have a new host for our podcast as Bri moves to our philanthropy department! Get to know our new communications specialist and podcast host, Clarice. 

Our Rainforest Revealed loop is home to two big cats: Masaya the jaguar and Pepper the cheetah! Yes, you read that right - a cheetah. Listen to two of our keepers share their experiences working with these incredible animals - and learn why there's a cheetah in the Rainforest!

Learn more about native gardening - at Brevard Zoo and beyond! We talk about our Restore Our Shores plant programs, orchid conservation at the Zoo, and our bees!

Brevard Zoo has been accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums since 1997. This accreditation needs to be updated about every 5 years - and we've begun the re-accreditation! Learn more about this process from our director of animal programs Lauren Hinson and curator of animals Mack Ralbovsky. 

In this week's podcast episode, we chatted with members of our DEAI - diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion - committee. In response to society's growing awareness of social justice issues, we established this employee-driven committee in 2020 to create positive change at the Zoo and in our community. Our work has only just begun!

Brevard Zoo is home to animal residents who could not be released back to their native range due to injuries or a connection with people. Many of those animal residents live in our Wild Florida loop, so we chatted with two Wild Florida keepers about these special animals. 

Learn all about our incredible volunteering opportunities with our director and manager of volunteer programs and internships. 

Learn more about our ever-growing  Grévy's zebra herd and their lives at our Zoo from Curator of Animals Kim Castrucci and Area Supervisor Alyssa Simon. 

With nearly 200 animal residents, our free-flight aviaries are always a fun place to visit! Join us as we learn more about all of the species that call this habitat home - and the work of their animal care staff in this week's podcast episode. 

To mark World Oceans Day (June 8) and World Sea Turtle Day (June 16), we chat with our Sustainability Manager Amy Reaume and Sea Turtle Healing Center Manager Shanon Gann about how we can protect our oceans and the creatures that call it home.

Our Venom House is home to about 40 animals! Learn more about each of them as well as their care from Nicole Moyer, the Area Supervisor of our Herps & Aquatics team! 

Rainforest Revealed Area Supervisor Sidnee Santana-Mellor and keeper Albert Ferraro talk all about our three tapirs, Josie, Mia and Antonio! You'll learn more about the personalities of our trio, their lives here at Brevard Zoo, and more. 

Brevard Zoo's director of animal programs Lauren Hinson along with Zoo Hoofstock Trim Programs' Steve Foxworth join us to talk hoof trims! Hoof stock in human care need their hooves to be maintained by people. These "trims" help them avoid overgrowth, arthritis, fractures and more issues. We learn more about the importance of hoof trims and implementing them zoo-wide in the podcast. 

Members of our Animal Ambassador team join us to talk about our ambassador residents, their lives at our Zoo, their work with guests and more!

Conservation Training Officer Luis Carrillo joins us to talk about the amphibian extinction crisis and how Amphibian Ark and Brevard Zoo are helping. 

Conservation coordinator Kelly Currier joins us to talk about her work helping critically endangered species through Brevard Zoo's conservation breeding programs. 

Brevard Zoo's communications team, Bri Wright and Lauren Delgado are in the hot seat in this week's episode as Community Engagement and Outreach Officer Zach Marchetti talks to them about creating content for a Zoo. 

In honor of #FebruBEARy, Brevard Zoo's director of animal programs Lauren Hinson and Wild Florida Area Supervisor Marc Franzen share the stories of our three Florida black bears and how our Zoo helps them live their best lives with us. 

Brevard Zoo's Sustainability Manager Amy Reaume shares information about the Zoo's eco friendly choices - and how we can make more sustainable choices at home too!

Learn all about alligators and crocodiles from Curator of Animals Mack Ralbovsky - as well as an inside look at the care our alligators and crocodiles receive at our Zoo. 

We're taking a little winter break, but we'll see you next year with our Croc Cast on January 8! Happy Holidays!

Brevard Zoo's Sea Turtle Healing Center nurses sick and injured sea turtles back to health, from mighty adults to petite hatchlings and washbacks. Learn more about their work from our team!

Zach Marchetti, our Community Engagement and Outreach Officer, joins us to answer some of YOUR questions! You can always email Podcast@BrevardZoo.org with additional questions for a future mailbag episode!