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Speaker 1: Ruby, Bunosias World a Marco Went and this is Amazing

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Speaker 1: Wildlife where we explore unique stories of wildlife from around

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Speaker 1: the world and uncover fascinating animal facts. This podcast is

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Speaker 1: in production with Iheartradios, Ruby Studio and San Diego Zoo

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Speaker 1: Wild lefl Lions, an.

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Speaker 2: International nonprofit conservation.

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Speaker 1: Organization which oversees the San Diego Zoo and the Safari

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Speaker 1: Park Wunasias World. I speak with someone whose legacy has

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Speaker 1: shaped the way we take care of wildlife, how we

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Speaker 1: educate people and connect human beings to this beautiful blue planet.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: Joan Embery's work has opened doors, it's shifted culture, and

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Speaker 1: it's helped raise the bar in how we communicate wildlife

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Speaker 1: to the rest of the world. Who work continues to

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Speaker 1: inspire generations the world over, and especially our work here

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Speaker 1: at San Diego Zoo Wild Leflllions. It is oh. It

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Speaker 1: is an honor to speak with her today. So Vinelzies

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Speaker 1: and thank you so much for joining me today.

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Speaker 2: Friend, happy to be here.

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Speaker 1: Thank you now, this has been a total total pleasure.

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Speaker 1: You know what's so unique for Amazing Wildlife. We share

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Speaker 1: stories all over the world from wildlife care at the

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Speaker 1: zoo or safari park, our partners out in Africa or

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Speaker 1: all over the world.

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Speaker 2: You have a special place in my heart, you know.

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Speaker 2: But I'll tell you why.

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Speaker 1: But first the very serious question, like to start off with,

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Speaker 1: what is your favorite animal?

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Speaker 3: Without a doubt?

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Speaker 2: Is the elephant? Oh not even.

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Speaker 3: It's such a big part of my career.

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Speaker 2: Elephant.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, if you think about I was in a question

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Speaker 4: before I went to work at the zoo. Oh really,

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Speaker 4: And you know that required a partnership of the horses

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Speaker 4: athletic ability and you developing that partnership with the horse.

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Speaker 4: But when I cross the exhibit over the moat and

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Speaker 4: with the elephant, I was just really blown away with

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Speaker 4: how intelligent they are. And when I worked so many

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Speaker 4: years with elephants, how social, they know everything about you.

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Speaker 4: They know if you're joking around, they know if you're

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Speaker 4: having a good day or a bad day, totally playful

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Speaker 4: at times. And uh, what they're able to learn was incredible.

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Speaker 4: So there are very few animals in the animal world

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Speaker 4: but have that level of intelligence. And of course you

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Speaker 4: put out with the power and the capabilities that they have.

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Speaker 4: It's amazing to be able to work with them.

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Speaker 2: Oh that's incredible.

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Speaker 1: I didn't know that the elephant was your shining glory,

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Speaker 1: your favorite animal.

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Speaker 2: You know.

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Speaker 1: For me, it's an animal not too many people know that,

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Speaker 1: but it's called the crusty katta gotta. It's a falcon

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Speaker 1: that acts like a vulture. And if people don't know,

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Speaker 1: they get the name for this sound that they make.

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Speaker 2: It's like.

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Speaker 1: Throwly heads straight back. But it's a reminder of like

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Speaker 1: the diversity of wildlife.

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Speaker 2: We have a beautiful I've seen.

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Speaker 3: Them in Mexico and they're just incredible.

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Speaker 2: You just got back from coast. She got us out there?

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Speaker 2: Did we did?

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Speaker 3: We covered a lot of ground in about a week's time.

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Speaker 3: We talked quite a bit a while.

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Speaker 2: That's awesome.

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Speaker 1: You know, I'm getting distracted, But before we get going,

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Speaker 1: really with the interview, because sometimes there may be people

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Speaker 1: in the world who maybe don't know your time with

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Speaker 1: us at San Diego Zoo wand the Full Lines, could

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Speaker 1: you just say for our listeners, you know what your

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Speaker 1: relationship has been with the San Diego Zoo wand the

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Speaker 1: Full Lines, what you represent.

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Speaker 4: So I spent fifty years working with a zoo, most

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Speaker 4: of that representing the zoo as their spokesperson developing animal shows,

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Speaker 4: doing public programs, doing media, television, radio, all of that.

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Speaker 4: So when I was a kid, I wanted to work

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Speaker 4: with animals, and I wanted to be a veterinarian, and

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Speaker 4: I went up to UC Davis veterinary school were not

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Speaker 4: accepting any women. And if you looked around, where would

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Speaker 4: you work with animals? The zoo or SeaWorld, And of

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Speaker 4: course there were no women in the keeper department, no curators,

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Speaker 4: directors or all men, no women, no women anywhere. It

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Speaker 4: was like really crossing. There were two jobs available to women.

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Speaker 4: You could work in the secretarial staff, or you could

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Speaker 4: work in the children zoo because women were better raising

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Speaker 4: baby animals and with kids, and so of course no

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Speaker 4: brainer there. I wasn't a secretary, so I applied for

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Speaker 4: the job to work in the children's zoo, and it

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Speaker 4: turned out to be a great opportunity because animals came

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Speaker 4: in and were reared and went back out on exhibit

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Speaker 4: or shipped elsewhere, and so there was a turnover.

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Speaker 3: So I got to work with quite an array.

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Speaker 4: Of different types of animals, from primates to lions and

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Speaker 4: tigers and primates and everything. So for me, that first

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Speaker 4: day on the job, when I crossed that moat.

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Speaker 3: It was like a dream come true.

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Speaker 4: So to be able to actually be in with the

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Speaker 4: animalstead being a visitor to the zoo, it was like

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Speaker 4: what more could you want? And I thought maybe if

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Speaker 4: I really developed my skills working with animals, that maybe

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Speaker 4: the vet school might reconsider allow.

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Speaker 3: Me in their program. And even to this day, I

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Speaker 3: support a lot of veterinary programs.

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Speaker 4: I'm interested in that field, and the zoo had one

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Speaker 4: of the best veterinary programs of any zoo.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean to be right, Yeah, you know, and

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Speaker 1: it's amazing for me your growth in the alliance and

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Speaker 1: you're high with the zoo. A little bit of my

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Speaker 1: background and my family is from Mexico, so when I

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Speaker 1: was born here in San Diego, I knew Spanish first

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Speaker 1: and I actually learned English watching cartoons and watching you

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Speaker 1: on television.

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Speaker 2: You made me want to be a wildlife ambassador. So

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Speaker 2: this is why this.

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Speaker 3: Is so interesting. I hear from women who are vested.

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Speaker 4: Now over fifty percent, as much as seventy percent of

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Speaker 4: the veterinary classes are women. Well, there are women in

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Speaker 4: every aspect of zoos, from director, curator, veterinarians, keepers, and

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Speaker 4: so it's wide open, and I have so many women

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Speaker 4: come and say I watched you and thought maybe there's

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Speaker 4: a chance I could do something wrong.

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Speaker 1: I add one more Latino to that mix, you know,

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Speaker 1: and speaking to that to breaking down barriers. And I

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Speaker 1: represent not only the Latino community, but the queer community.

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Speaker 1: So honestly seeing you, they're representing a meneside and really

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Speaker 1: showcasing who you are and they of what you represent.

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Speaker 1: Like I want to take the moment and say thank

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Speaker 1: you for helping inspire me being in this role. So

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Speaker 1: it's really it's giving Goosey's thinking about, like you the

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Speaker 1: ultimate ambassador, wildlife ambassador for the zoo, and me I'm

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Speaker 1: the new guy in town, you know. But it's a

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Speaker 1: really honor hanging out with you today and talking about this.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no, thank you.

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Speaker 4: I'm glad you were able to pursue your dream too,

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Speaker 4: because for me, I mean, if I had ever known

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Speaker 4: that I was going to have the life I had,

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Speaker 4: I would have been really amazed.

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Speaker 3: So I have traveled all over the world.

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Speaker 4: I've done all kinds of animals shows and programs and

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Speaker 4: been to many of the zoos in the United States.

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Speaker 3: So it's been a fascinating run.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, you can ask you.

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Speaker 1: So you were thinking about veterinary school in the beginning.

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Speaker 1: The concept for me is like sometimes a lot of

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Speaker 1: my friends who are wildlife care staff back in the day,

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Speaker 1: we'd say zoo keeper as an example, but they would

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Speaker 1: tell me, you know, I got into this business because

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Speaker 1: I love animals.

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Speaker 2: I don't really want to be around people.

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Speaker 1: But I'm sure you agree with me that you know

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Speaker 1: we're not going to change the world. We're not going

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Speaker 1: to make that connection if we don't connect with human

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Speaker 1: beings inspire them to do it.

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Speaker 3: It's kind of my passion.

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Speaker 4: So I recently wrote a book about our environment because

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Speaker 4: when I started looking, I could not find a book

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Speaker 4: about the environment in San Diego in its entirety. There

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Speaker 4: were bits and pieces like the desert or the mountains

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Speaker 4: or the ocean, but not something that looked at how

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Speaker 4: are we unique from every other place in the United States.

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Speaker 4: We have the highest diversity anywhere, and I love We

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Speaker 4: call translational science, so that is that you look at everything,

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Speaker 4: You look at what the scientists are doing, the conservation people.

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Speaker 4: You reduce it down and bring it to a relatable,

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Speaker 4: understandable format for your audience, right, Yeah, so you know,

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Speaker 4: we want to get them engaged, and so that's kind

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Speaker 4: of been just translating everything the zoo represents. And of course,

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Speaker 4: you know when I started, we had the San Diego Zoo, right,

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Speaker 4: and we added the wild animal right now way, and

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Speaker 4: then we developed the research institute, and then the vendary

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Speaker 4: program was growing, and so exponentially from the San Diego

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Speaker 4: Zoo that I started with to what the organization now

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Speaker 4: represents is just huge growth.

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Speaker 2: It's amazing when you see it all.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, it's almost impossible for one person to keep up

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Speaker 4: with it all.

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Speaker 1: Well, that's why it's a whole team dynamic, right, the

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Speaker 1: community of people in this industry. But can we go

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Speaker 1: back a little bit, like back when you started, What

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Speaker 1: did it feel like, one, you know, trying to break

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Speaker 1: down those barriers getting people excited about wildlife. And you

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Speaker 1: would do it in different ways. From my understanding, you

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Speaker 1: would do it on the grounds at the zoo, but

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Speaker 1: also you'd go out and maybe do the Tonight Show

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Speaker 1: as an example, right, Donny Carson, which I know a

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Speaker 1: lot of listeners are familiar with, But how is that

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Speaker 1: How was that experience for you?

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Speaker 4: It was challenging say about that women weren't you know,

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Speaker 4: prominent in the field, and then now you're representing an

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Speaker 4: organization that has curators, veterinarians, research the director all the

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Speaker 4: way down through every aspect of the zoo, and it

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Speaker 4: was overwhelming.

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Speaker 3: I felt like a sponge. I just couldn't get enough information.

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Speaker 4: I was constant researching, constantly learning, which I love, but

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Speaker 4: constantly trying to kind of keep my head above water.

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Speaker 4: And I always had this feeling that if I didn't

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Speaker 4: get it right or I made a mistake, that would

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Speaker 4: be the end of it all.

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Speaker 2: Right there, that's a lot of pressure, though.

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Speaker 3: It's a lot of pressure.

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Speaker 4: You talk about national television where millions of people are watching,

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Speaker 4: and the keepers and the curators and the vets and

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Speaker 4: the risk management people and the director. They're all sitting

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Speaker 4: at home, maybe in an easy chair, evaluating what you're

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Speaker 4: saying and what you're doing, and it goes so fast.

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Speaker 3: You're working live.

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Speaker 4: There really isn't a practice as such. You kind of

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Speaker 4: do blocking. You kind of look at where are we

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Speaker 4: going to enter, where we're to physician the animal, and

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Speaker 4: try to tell them how's the segment going to go,

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Speaker 4: so they know if the sound man needs to know

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Speaker 4: he needs to pick up sound or they know what

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Speaker 4: those close up shots are going to be. Of a chameleon,

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Speaker 4: You're going to offer it a cricket and this tongue's

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Speaker 4: going to come out, and so help them get the shots.

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Speaker 4: But they were an amazing crew, especially on the national

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Speaker 4: shows where they had the budgets to have really the

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Speaker 4: t top people in their field. And if you can

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Speaker 4: imagine people sitting in their living room, they're seeing animals

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Speaker 4: that they've never seen before.

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Speaker 2: Oh no, I you had Ardvark before, you know, but

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Speaker 2: Ardvark to ze A z you know.

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Speaker 1: But it's interesting because you know, earlier before the interview started,

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Speaker 1: we talked about how technology changes. Right now we're looking

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Speaker 1: at the crew behind us right now filming today and

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Speaker 1: just all the new ones is attack and how we

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Speaker 1: engage now. I'm big on social media myself now as

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Speaker 1: a wild Left ambassador, but these are the things you

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Speaker 1: have to navigate to you how do we connect with

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Speaker 1: human beings with wildlife And it's getting that emotion right.

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Speaker 1: You trigger something curiosity maybe or they see something you need,

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Speaker 1: wouldn't you say?

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Speaker 4: That was always a challenge to me to try and

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Speaker 4: kind of step up and meet everybody's expectations. Get all

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Speaker 4: the information right. Maybe I'd go through five hundred pages,

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Speaker 4: but I have to reduce it down to a couple

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Speaker 4: of minutes. And if you're live, you have a host,

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Speaker 4: you don't know what they're gonna.

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Speaker 2: Say, and you have to feel their vibe right.

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Speaker 4: And depending on the show, Like the morning shows are

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Speaker 4: based on the news departments in the evening shows, the

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Speaker 4: late night are in the entertainment division, so they kind

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Speaker 4: of have a different focus. Different but you have to

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Speaker 4: be asked about something that was in the paper this morning,

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Speaker 4: and maybe that's not what you went there to talk about,

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Speaker 4: but you better be prepared to respond to whatever. The

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Speaker 4: travel internationally helped so much for me to see from

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Speaker 4: the global.

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Speaker 3: Down to the local.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, and to try and read as much as I

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Speaker 4: could keep up with the local events. What are the trends,

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Speaker 4: what's happening?

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Speaker 3: You know? How can we help people?

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Speaker 4: Because we were coming into an age where you were

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Speaker 4: getting over sixteen thousand messages a day. Now, how do

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Speaker 4: people process that? So if you can help bring them in,

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Speaker 4: catch their interest, give them kind of the basic information

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Speaker 4: which hopefully will translate to them wanting to learn more.

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Speaker 2: Oh no, definitely.

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Speaker 4: So I always felt my job was to get them

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Speaker 4: to the zoo. I'm only showing you a small bit,

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Speaker 4: Come see the rest. And then once they're there, I

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Speaker 4: really feel like there's where it's the park's responsibility through

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Speaker 4: however they educate, whatever visuals say or how they display

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Speaker 4: their animals, that's where the whole learning process really expands

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Speaker 4: and becomes very important. So oh no, definitely getting a

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Speaker 4: tension first, and then translating that too.

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Speaker 2: You gotta hook them, you gotta get them in, you know.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And to your point too, we have to navigate,

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Speaker 1: especially you and I in these positions as the spokespeople

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Speaker 1: for wildlife, how do we communicate wildlife to a growing

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Speaker 1: change and culture of human beings on this planet. It

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Speaker 1: may be it could be through social media or audio

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Speaker 1: like we're doing the podcast or the visuals doing now,

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Speaker 1: But we have to navigate all these different things, you know,

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Speaker 1: to try it is, and we have to say ahead

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Speaker 1: of the game. To your point too, I'm doom scrolling

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Speaker 1: on TikTok or social media to make sure I'm aware

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Speaker 1: of all that's going on in the world wildlife wise,

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Speaker 1: before I enter a national news setting as an example.

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Speaker 2: Right, so some things have say the same.

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Speaker 1: I got to point out, you know, but you know,

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Speaker 1: I think of other things too, because one in particular,

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Speaker 1: a little Birdie told me that the first time the

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Speaker 1: Sandy Kazoo Wild Full Lines as part of Pasadena.

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Speaker 2: You were on the float, right. I think I saw

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Speaker 2: a picture of it as well.

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Speaker 1: I was right like nineteen ninety one, promoting a party time.

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Speaker 1: I think it was called Little Hippo Habitat happening. You

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Speaker 1: were in the front wave and smiling. You know, I

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Speaker 1: don't remember.

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Speaker 3: I think I had a ball constructor.

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Speaker 1: I think I saw a promo at the Zoo you

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Speaker 1: were showcasing some of that as well. But it's interesting,

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Speaker 1: you know how those relationships keep growing. So at the

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Speaker 1: time you were promoting a new hippo experience, and this

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Speaker 1: year for us it's going to be our new habitat

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Speaker 1: called Elephant Valley.

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Speaker 2: It's coping up next year.

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Speaker 3: Excited about that.

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Speaker 4: That's something that I always wanted, that I always hoped

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Speaker 4: would happen for the elephants, because they're such spectacular, yeh,

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Speaker 4: such a draw to see them as close as possible,

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Speaker 4: how they behave in nature.

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Speaker 1: I Oh yes, Oh Johan, you're going to be blown away.

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Speaker 1: I don't need bragging about it.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's going to be pretty epic, I gotta say.

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Speaker 1: And it's going to get people immersing that elephant culture

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Speaker 1: like never before.

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Speaker 2: You know my background, I'm more of a bird guy.

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Speaker 4: You know.

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Speaker 1: I trained reptiles and mammals and insects, but birds have

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Speaker 1: definitely been my cup tea. But to your point, sometimes

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Speaker 1: we can use a flagship species with the kids listening,

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Speaker 1: don't remember what flagship means. It means, you know, we

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Speaker 1: protect an elephant as an example, We're gonna help out

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Speaker 1: the secretary bird. We're gonna help out the crocodile. And

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Speaker 1: also the people, the communities behind that as well, which

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Speaker 1: I think is a really big deal.

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Speaker 4: I know, it's really interesting because if you ask people

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Speaker 4: what they like, it's what they're familiar with. Oh no,

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Speaker 4: and yet you think of reptiles. Well, no, we're not

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Speaker 4: really into reptiles. And yet it's one of the biggest draws.

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Speaker 4: You can't wait to run over and look at them

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Speaker 4: and protect it from.

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Speaker 2: Right that class and that's fact class.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, and so we really have to open up their

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Speaker 4: minds to the world is more than just the mega

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Speaker 4: mammals that you know, they might be more familiar with.

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Speaker 1: No, no kidding, And with your time in San Diego

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Speaker 1: Zoo other full ones, you've been doing a lot more too.

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Speaker 1: I was researching a little bit and you have some

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Speaker 1: other nonprofits that you're involved in. Can you start a

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Speaker 1: little bit of that if some of your nonprofit work

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Speaker 1: that you're doing.

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Speaker 3: These days, well, I have my own non I.

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Speaker 2: Was gonna say, I didn't want to be and.

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Speaker 4: That is educating, helping people understand and support the environment.

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Speaker 1: For instance, there was one I saw you in Africa.

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Speaker 1: You had a promo you were helping out wild dogs

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Speaker 1: at one point as well, right right, that was a

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Speaker 1: good one.

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Speaker 4: The wild dog was extirpated from the Serengetti. There were none,

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Speaker 4: and you know, it was a major representative species there.

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Speaker 4: So they began to bring the wild dogs back in

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Speaker 4: and to track them, and so they needed to put

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Speaker 4: callers on them because there's an interface with the populations

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Speaker 4: of Masai that live there and have cattle and have dogs,

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Speaker 4: and that was one of the reasons they disappeared, because

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Speaker 4: the domestic dogs introduced rabies and distemper and that would

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Speaker 4: wipe out whole populations wild dogs. Then they tried to

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Speaker 4: inoculate them, and I guess there were problems with their

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Speaker 4: reaction to that, so they just didn't exist. So that's

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Speaker 4: one of the programs. They wanted to be able to

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Speaker 4: monitor where they're moving. And they were actually moving from

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Speaker 4: the Serengetti following along that corridor down into Kenya, and

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Speaker 4: they were interfacing coming close to populations of peace people

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Speaker 4: and in the historically in the past they killed them

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Speaker 4: because they thought it's a threat to our cattle. And

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Speaker 4: so by tracking them they could see how are they

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Speaker 4: coming into contact with people. Also, it gave them an

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Speaker 4: opportunity to allow people to see the dogs because they

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Speaker 4: knew where they were, and that money then goes into

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Speaker 4: the program.

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Speaker 3: So I thought that was.

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Speaker 2: Really an important thing. I loved it.

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Speaker 4: Excellent will dogs were not thought of well historically and

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Speaker 4: now they're one of the most popular species to go

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Speaker 4: see when you go to Africa to watch them, and

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Speaker 4: watching them is like watching an NFL football team.

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Speaker 3: They're amazing animals. So that was one.

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Speaker 4: I'm on the board for the Tucon Rescue Ranch and

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Speaker 4: they rescue sloths and tukons and birds and primaries. They

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Speaker 4: had a hell or a baby howler monkey there, and

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Speaker 4: they have a release site so once they get them

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Speaker 4: up and going where they can fend for themselves, and

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Speaker 4: they teach them how to utilize the environment, and they

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Speaker 4: release them. So I support that. In fact, one of

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Speaker 4: the things I'm going to do is give them a

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Speaker 4: second anesthesia machine, so on their release site they have

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Speaker 4: one at each location when they have to tranquilize our

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Speaker 4: you know, an esthetize an animal. I was on the

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Speaker 4: board for UC Davis Wildlife Health Center School of Veterinary Medicine,

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Speaker 4: So there's my contact.

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Speaker 2: You're doing it, You're doing all these things.

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Speaker 3: Huh. Yeah.

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Speaker 4: The River Park, I've been on a couple of River

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Speaker 4: Park Foundation boards, the local one here in Lakeside and

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Speaker 4: then the San Diego River Park Foundation, trying to develop

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Speaker 4: the corridor which goes all the way from Julian down

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Speaker 4: to Ocean Beach.

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Speaker 3: That is where we have two major corridors.

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Speaker 4: Yes, YEA one is from Vulcan Mountain out to right

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Speaker 4: there at the del Mar Fairgrounds and that's the San

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Speaker 4: Diegedo River and then the San Diego River. People say,

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Speaker 4: what river? Because our rivers don't flow the water is

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Speaker 4: all held all around me. Our reservoirs holding the water,

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Speaker 4: which is so important for us, since ninety percent of

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Speaker 4: it's important. If we lost that, we'd be in real trouble.

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Speaker 4: So so we don't see the rivers flow except in

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Speaker 4: extreme rain events.

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Speaker 3: But those two corridors are really.

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Speaker 4: Important for corridors, not just for people and recreation, but

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Speaker 4: for wildlife movement throughout the environment.

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Speaker 1: And being the native San Diegans we are, we know

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Speaker 1: what the beauty of San Diego County.

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Speaker 2: You know, I grew up.

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Speaker 1: I'm more of a North County kid, so I grew

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Speaker 1: up in Espdido by the Safari Park.

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Speaker 2: Actually, never been to this part of East County. It's

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Speaker 2: gorgeous here by the way.

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Speaker 1: In fact, listeners are in a unique location in your

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Speaker 1: beautiful ranch here.

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Speaker 4: I'm kind of between the coasts and the mountains of

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Speaker 4: the desert. So this inland area has high diversity, right,

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Speaker 4: So I have back on the hill, I have barn

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Speaker 4: owls that nest over here on the other side of

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Speaker 4: the driveway of a redtail hawk. You speaking, Yeah, I

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Speaker 4: have bluebirds that nest here and black Phoebe's nest in

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Speaker 4: the barn. They use the horse hair, so they have

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Speaker 4: nests with horse hair hanging about eighteen inches lawn from

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Speaker 4: their nests. And then reptiles. We have a lot of reptiles.

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Speaker 4: We have the California ksak, the rosy boa.

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Speaker 2: I love.

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Speaker 3: The whips sake, the racers.

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Speaker 2: There's so many.

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Speaker 3: The rain A snake.

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Speaker 2: Oh, yes, there's so many. They're beautiful.

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Speaker 4: I mean when you find them, like I'll be digging

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Speaker 4: around and all of a sudden, I go, oh my gosh.

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Speaker 3: You know they have that.

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Speaker 4: Brilliant green with that orange collar are strap around there

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Speaker 4: and every day reminds me of Africa. Sometimes the eagers

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Speaker 4: come in and they eat the lizards around here over

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Speaker 4: at the only lake in San Diego County is right

436
00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:35,960
Speaker 4: here in Lakeside, Lino Lake. But they expand out and

437
00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,320
Speaker 4: they like to come over here, and they're deadly accurate.

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Speaker 4: You see their beaks and they sit there and they

439
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Speaker 4: kind of waver back and forth and allan shoot out

440
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Speaker 4: and grab that lizard. And they're so accurate.

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Speaker 2: Amazing.

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Speaker 1: I've seen one at the Safari Park actually hunted gopher

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Speaker 1: and swallow the whole glower down. But you know, listen,

444
00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:55,440
Speaker 1: as I know this might sound a little squeamish with

445
00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,240
Speaker 1: some of you. But it's part of wildlife, right, all

446
00:19:57,280 --> 00:19:59,040
Speaker 1: the beauty at the Safari Park and the Zeo and

447
00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:01,439
Speaker 1: here in San Diego. I mean, you said it already,

448
00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:03,439
Speaker 1: but this is one of the more biodiverse areas in

449
00:20:03,480 --> 00:20:07,880
Speaker 1: the United States, which why it makes this excited.

450
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:11,040
Speaker 4: Because we have the ocean, we have a coastal area,

451
00:20:11,480 --> 00:20:14,320
Speaker 4: and then the inland here the mountains and the desert.

452
00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:19,120
Speaker 4: So the climate zones and the range of animals dependent

453
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,520
Speaker 4: on certain climatic conditions and certain factors for food, so

454
00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:26,280
Speaker 4: each one is kind of unique in its own way.

455
00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:29,080
Speaker 4: The lines are kind of blurred where the animals move.

456
00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:32,720
Speaker 4: They're not distinct lines. But you know, in general, you

457
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,720
Speaker 4: tend to find certain types of animals at higher elevations,

458
00:20:35,800 --> 00:20:36,840
Speaker 4: lower elevations.

459
00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,280
Speaker 1: You know, all these microclimates here in San Diego. It's

460
00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,800
Speaker 1: something I'm always telling kids. You know, a healthy ecosystem,

461
00:20:41,840 --> 00:20:44,320
Speaker 1: it's a diversity of plants and animals. But I also

462
00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:46,760
Speaker 1: preface that that includes human being, because that's something I'm

463
00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:47,720
Speaker 1: always pushing in.

464
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,000
Speaker 2: I'm sure that was some of your challenges you mentioned earlier.

465
00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:53,560
Speaker 4: I understand that a healthy environment for wildlife is a

466
00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,679
Speaker 4: healthy environment for people and wildlife for indicators. And we

467
00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:59,879
Speaker 4: have issues and problems with wildlife, it usually relates to

468
00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:02,399
Speaker 4: special resources that we are also depending on.

469
00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:03,920
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I don't care who you are, whether

470
00:21:03,920 --> 00:21:06,280
Speaker 1: you support a credited zero crame or not. We all

471
00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:09,240
Speaker 1: want freshwater, we all want clean air, you know, we

472
00:21:09,280 --> 00:21:11,719
Speaker 1: all want that connection with wildlife. So this is why

473
00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:13,600
Speaker 1: our roles are so important, you know, And that's why

474
00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:15,520
Speaker 1: it's exciting to have this moment with you talking about

475
00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:17,800
Speaker 1: these things. And you know, how did it feel like

476
00:21:17,840 --> 00:21:20,280
Speaker 1: initially growing up as the wildlife ambassador because you were

477
00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:23,560
Speaker 1: representing such a big organization, you know, any like highlights

478
00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:25,159
Speaker 1: that come up to mind, you know, for you in

479
00:21:25,200 --> 00:21:26,480
Speaker 1: your work that you've done thus far.

480
00:21:26,920 --> 00:21:30,479
Speaker 4: I remember, actually when I'm working live on camera thinking

481
00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:33,720
Speaker 4: one situation, we had a very unique sake. It was

482
00:21:33,760 --> 00:21:36,960
Speaker 4: a two headed stake. Oh yeah, an incomplete process in

483
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,840
Speaker 4: twenty We've had you know, two or three over the years.

484
00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,919
Speaker 4: And it was with really special consideration that they allowed

485
00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:46,920
Speaker 4: me to actually take it because it was so unique, right,

486
00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:49,600
Speaker 4: And I remember as I was doing the show, it

487
00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:54,080
Speaker 4: started to climb a Johnny Carson's arm and it climbed

488
00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:57,520
Speaker 4: into his sleeve, and I was panicked because I thought

489
00:21:57,520 --> 00:22:00,720
Speaker 4: if he pulls his arm back, he could in that snake.

490
00:22:00,760 --> 00:22:02,720
Speaker 4: And I know the curators are sitting at home and

491
00:22:02,760 --> 00:22:05,320
Speaker 4: the keepers, and they're watching every move that I make,

492
00:22:05,840 --> 00:22:09,479
Speaker 4: and so I kind of reached over to him and

493
00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:11,760
Speaker 4: he put his hand kind of my leg as if

494
00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:14,200
Speaker 4: to say it's okay. I got okay, So I know

495
00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:18,040
Speaker 4: it was okay. You knew I was worried. Yea, it

496
00:22:18,080 --> 00:22:21,359
Speaker 4: was going to be careful. So you never know what

497
00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,800
Speaker 4: exactly is going to happen, but you do have to prepare.

498
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:28,040
Speaker 4: You do have to think about, okay, if they play

499
00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,600
Speaker 4: out with the band on a commercial break, all of

500
00:22:30,600 --> 00:22:33,399
Speaker 4: a sudden, it's going to be boomed sound. So you

501
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,200
Speaker 4: have to before the show, you have to say, look,

502
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,200
Speaker 4: let's don't play out with the band with this particular

503
00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:40,600
Speaker 4: animal because it's more set.

504
00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:43,840
Speaker 3: What about the footing? How am I going to get

505
00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:44,080
Speaker 3: it in?

506
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:46,760
Speaker 4: And is this enough footing? You know for an animal

507
00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:50,280
Speaker 4: hoofd animal on a slip floor. And so all the

508
00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:54,040
Speaker 4: professionals who work at the zoo, each in their own division,

509
00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:57,960
Speaker 4: I felt like responsible to everybody that I do the

510
00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:00,960
Speaker 4: best possible job to represent them right not only what

511
00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:03,480
Speaker 4: I say, but how I handle the animals and how

512
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:06,640
Speaker 4: it comes off. You know, in the entertainment shows, if

513
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:09,920
Speaker 4: you're not entertaining, you're probably not coming back. No, no,

514
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:13,080
Speaker 4: but literally, you don't get the information out that people

515
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:16,040
Speaker 4: at the zoo to that is so important.

516
00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:17,840
Speaker 3: Are you probably not coming back?

517
00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:18,200
Speaker 2: No?

518
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:21,119
Speaker 3: No, It's like walking. I actually did a program.

519
00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,000
Speaker 4: It's like walking a tight rope to get that balance,

520
00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:27,679
Speaker 4: you know, to keep people engaged and to have a

521
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,760
Speaker 4: little levity, but at the same time get those key

522
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,560
Speaker 4: points in. So in my mind before every time I

523
00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,320
Speaker 4: would speak with animals, I would have the points that

524
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:38,280
Speaker 4: I want to make if I have this, this is

525
00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,680
Speaker 4: most important, number one, number two, number three, number four,

526
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:43,760
Speaker 4: and I always try to get through the list. As

527
00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:46,200
Speaker 4: soon as I walk off stage, in my mind, I'm going,

528
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:48,400
Speaker 4: how many of those points did I get?

529
00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:48,720
Speaker 2: Check?

530
00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:50,800
Speaker 3: Check? What could I have done better?

531
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:51,359
Speaker 4: You know?

532
00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,400
Speaker 3: Did I get it? You know? As close to what

533
00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 3: I wanted as possible.

534
00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:57,199
Speaker 1: I mean, if I have a mean copy point, I'm

535
00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:59,359
Speaker 1: saying it in the very beginning, and then I'm at

536
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:00,280
Speaker 1: the dinner right.

537
00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:00,640
Speaker 3: Yeah.

538
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:04,440
Speaker 4: The other thing is something I can't teach people, and

539
00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,720
Speaker 4: it's what I call learning to read an animal.

540
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:09,280
Speaker 3: Oh, that is so so important.

541
00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:13,520
Speaker 4: To understand the animals behavior and how it's responding in

542
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:17,160
Speaker 4: the moment and say, Okay, this animals had enough, it's

543
00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,480
Speaker 4: time to move on. And if I have to, even

544
00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,480
Speaker 4: mid conversation, I will stand up and say, well, let

545
00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:24,960
Speaker 4: me make that transition, but not push.

546
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:26,480
Speaker 3: An animal beyond his comfort level.

547
00:24:26,560 --> 00:24:26,760
Speaker 2: Yeah.

548
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,720
Speaker 4: So it's everything's how they breathe, it's a look in

549
00:24:29,760 --> 00:24:33,560
Speaker 4: their face, their eye, their hair is up, are down,

550
00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,400
Speaker 4: their tents there so much so just learning to read

551
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:40,720
Speaker 4: how comfortable is this animal and trying to do everything

552
00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:43,680
Speaker 4: you can to be supportive so that animal.

553
00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:45,600
Speaker 1: Does not feel Yeah, and that's what I really respected

554
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:47,720
Speaker 1: about you growing up and just seeing your skill set

555
00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:51,080
Speaker 1: in particular because I think about you, Steve Irwin, Rick

556
00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,360
Speaker 1: Schwartz myself. We all come from wildlife backgrounds. My background

557
00:24:54,359 --> 00:24:57,679
Speaker 1: is reading behavior to your point, applying those operating conditioning,

558
00:24:57,800 --> 00:25:01,320
Speaker 1: positive reinforcement techniques, and it's shifted through the years and

559
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,080
Speaker 1: the way we communicate wildlife through the world, you know,

560
00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:05,879
Speaker 1: So we have to stay one head of the games

561
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,480
Speaker 1: a public perception to make sure to your point, that

562
00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,920
Speaker 1: the public are being inspired that whatever the production crew

563
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:14,320
Speaker 1: is getting what they need for the entertainment value and

564
00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:17,719
Speaker 1: to your points, connecting with the public and also representing

565
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:20,960
Speaker 1: the wildlife teams because people don't realize how hard they

566
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:22,640
Speaker 1: work right and how passionate right they.

567
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:27,439
Speaker 4: Are person they work most closely with that particular I

568
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:31,280
Speaker 4: remember we had some hyenas that came in and I said, well,

569
00:25:31,280 --> 00:25:33,320
Speaker 4: what do you think about taking them? Because we did

570
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:36,040
Speaker 4: over one hundred shows just for that particular show that

571
00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:38,399
Speaker 4: should I show, And so sometimes it's like what do

572
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,199
Speaker 4: we have that's new or different? And they'd come in

573
00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:43,400
Speaker 4: and so I asked the curator and he said, well,

574
00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:45,399
Speaker 4: hook up with a keeper. And I went down and

575
00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,640
Speaker 4: met the keeper and she walked over and she out

576
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,080
Speaker 4: opened the door, and I said, are you going in

577
00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:54,360
Speaker 4: with me? And she said, oh no. You know, So

578
00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:57,280
Speaker 4: I walk in solo and there's a cave and they're

579
00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:01,200
Speaker 4: both in the cave. They're young highness and I kind

580
00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:05,440
Speaker 4: of peered in and said, oh, and then.

581
00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:05,680
Speaker 3: They go.

582
00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:13,040
Speaker 4: And you know, their old mouth they have huge amounts.

583
00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:15,400
Speaker 4: So I'm seeing all the teeth and I'm seeing this yeow,

584
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:18,960
Speaker 4: and I'm trying to figure okay, So like I'm backing

585
00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:21,520
Speaker 4: up and I'm looking at it, and then I went

586
00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:24,600
Speaker 4: down a number of times, and what I began to

587
00:26:24,680 --> 00:26:29,280
Speaker 4: realize is that was a defensive response. They were like

588
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,480
Speaker 4: a baby, don't hurt me. But if you didn't know that,

589
00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:34,639
Speaker 4: and you see the teeth in the big mouth and

590
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,200
Speaker 4: the vocalist, thinking oh, are they going to be aggressive?

591
00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:40,240
Speaker 4: And they weren't aggressive, But I had to kind of

592
00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:42,720
Speaker 4: figure that out as far as their.

593
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,600
Speaker 3: Behavior and what that was meaning.

594
00:26:44,720 --> 00:26:46,240
Speaker 4: And a lot of the animals that I worked with

595
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:48,800
Speaker 4: had never ever been out of the zoo, they'd never

596
00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:52,440
Speaker 4: appeared on a TV show anywhere live before, and so

597
00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:56,960
Speaker 4: everyone was a training session. Everyone was trying to figure

598
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:57,840
Speaker 4: out how to get.

599
00:26:57,720 --> 00:26:59,000
Speaker 2: It right right, you know.

600
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:01,080
Speaker 1: No, it's something I I'm always telling people. You know,

601
00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,639
Speaker 1: all wildlife communicates it. We just have to learn how

602
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:06,600
Speaker 1: to listen. And that's a good application for life in general. Right, Yeah,

603
00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:08,639
Speaker 1: I mean, I literally have the word coexist in Spanish

604
00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:10,320
Speaker 1: on where I'm trying to remind me, you know, regardless

605
00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:12,320
Speaker 1: of what you believe in the world, again, we're all

606
00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:14,920
Speaker 1: connected to this beautiful loup planet, right, And your story

607
00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:18,359
Speaker 1: reminds me of the importance of wildlife ambassadors, whether it

608
00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:21,720
Speaker 1: be human like you or I, or animal or plant

609
00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:24,240
Speaker 1: can ask you why do you feel a wildlife ambassador

610
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:28,639
Speaker 1: is so important for a zoo representation or an aquarium.

611
00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:32,480
Speaker 4: Because I think that if people see you with an

612
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:36,320
Speaker 4: animal that you're showcasing, they actually imagine.

613
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,639
Speaker 3: What it would be like to work with an animal,

614
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:40,280
Speaker 3: or see an animal like.

615
00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:43,040
Speaker 2: That, or to connect with it and connect with it.

616
00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:47,480
Speaker 4: And so they actually experienced vicariously through what you're doing

617
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:50,160
Speaker 4: with the animal right to what it would be like, Oh,

618
00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,600
Speaker 4: say you do that, and it opens their minds. So

619
00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:55,000
Speaker 4: if I get up and I'm just going to start

620
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:59,600
Speaker 4: into a serious lecture with a lot of information, you

621
00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:02,840
Speaker 4: can just watch people and they just you know, you

622
00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:07,480
Speaker 4: don't walk out there with an animal already there are

623
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:11,600
Speaker 4: the questions, questions, questions, open mind, you know, wanting to

624
00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:15,159
Speaker 4: learn more. It just opens that door and allows you

625
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,119
Speaker 4: to move from there. Every animal that I've ever worked

626
00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:22,600
Speaker 4: always has some kind of conservation story that goes the rainforest.

627
00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:25,560
Speaker 3: It's the pressures that exist in the wild.

628
00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:29,159
Speaker 1: It's wildlife conflict interacts with human beings. Yeah, and some

629
00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:31,240
Speaker 1: of the issues you mentioned, the plight of the wild

630
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:33,280
Speaker 1: dog is an example. Those are issues that are happening

631
00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:35,479
Speaker 1: right now with the Catalina Fox, the Great Fox as

632
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,280
Speaker 1: well domestic dogs coming in. So it's funny to me

633
00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,480
Speaker 1: that some of the issues are consistent. They're happening, But

634
00:28:40,520 --> 00:28:42,240
Speaker 1: we have people like you and I and everyone behind

635
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:46,120
Speaker 1: the camera today and listening and our listeners, everyone getting together.

636
00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:48,160
Speaker 1: And I always tell people like, I don't care if

637
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:50,240
Speaker 1: you're like the Emperor of the world, a kid from

638
00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:52,920
Speaker 1: the bodrio, like the zoo and the quarium is for everyone,

639
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:54,840
Speaker 1: and everyone has a part to play, wouldn't you say,

640
00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:56,800
Speaker 1: like everyone can do something right, help.

641
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,080
Speaker 4: Absolutely, and hopefully when they leave at the end of

642
00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:01,680
Speaker 4: the day they understand that and want to be more

643
00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,880
Speaker 4: actively involved. You know, if you think about it and

644
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,800
Speaker 4: you think about our environment. One of the sections that

645
00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,200
Speaker 4: I put together by book of all the agencies in

646
00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:13,920
Speaker 4: the different levels for the local, the federal level that

647
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:18,920
Speaker 4: manage our environment, that control what's done in the environment,

648
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,280
Speaker 4: all the science projects that are going on to learn more.

649
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,840
Speaker 4: All of this is going on, but it's each individual

650
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,800
Speaker 4: human that really dictates the success of those programs. How

651
00:29:29,840 --> 00:29:33,040
Speaker 4: we vote, how much funding are given so that they

652
00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:35,920
Speaker 4: can carry out the work that they do, how.

653
00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:37,640
Speaker 3: We accept the information that.

654
00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,520
Speaker 4: They're giving us and telling us about what they're learning

655
00:29:40,560 --> 00:29:44,400
Speaker 4: and what we should know about animals. For instance, the

656
00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,120
Speaker 4: mountain lion, right, very little was known about the line.

657
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,360
Speaker 4: Most people know more about the African line than the

658
00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:53,040
Speaker 4: mountain line in their backyard right here, right, And they're

659
00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:56,840
Speaker 4: very elusive and they're you know, crepuscular, even to the

660
00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,640
Speaker 4: point of being nocturnal, and so people don't see them,

661
00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,280
Speaker 4: but they exists and they're moving through our county. They've

662
00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:05,959
Speaker 4: increased in number because they've been given protection. So we

663
00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,520
Speaker 4: need to understand that interface. If you're moving out into

664
00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,880
Speaker 4: an area where mountain lions exist, particularly where deer exists

665
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:16,440
Speaker 4: their primary foods, and you're putting hobby animals out with

666
00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:18,480
Speaker 4: no protection, then.

667
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:20,360
Speaker 2: You get unfortunate situation that may.

668
00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:25,600
Speaker 4: Right that you're making yourself vulnerable by not understanding how

669
00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:26,600
Speaker 4: these animals live.

670
00:30:26,680 --> 00:30:28,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you for that. How they survived?

671
00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:30,400
Speaker 1: No, exactly, because I mean, we're not the only organism

672
00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:31,440
Speaker 1: on this big, beautiful planet.

673
00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:33,080
Speaker 2: I'd say we got to conserve it all. It's the

674
00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:35,280
Speaker 2: only planet with chocolates and we got to protect life.

675
00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:37,160
Speaker 4: You're be amazing when you think that we actually have

676
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,280
Speaker 4: a large cat moving around our environment, so I want

677
00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:43,480
Speaker 4: to see them. And I worked with the UC Davis

678
00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,640
Speaker 4: Waldlife Health Center did the first collaring monitoring.

679
00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:48,440
Speaker 3: Out of Mountain Lion. So we use my Mountain Lion.

680
00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,160
Speaker 4: To see how big of a battery they could put

681
00:30:51,200 --> 00:30:53,760
Speaker 4: on the collar to not make it so heavy that

682
00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,160
Speaker 4: it would affect the movement or its ability to hunt.

683
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:58,600
Speaker 4: But at the same time, the bigger the battery, the

684
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:01,719
Speaker 4: more content that it would carry to give them the

685
00:31:01,720 --> 00:31:04,360
Speaker 4: information that they need, and the longer it would last.

686
00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:08,680
Speaker 4: And so it's really interesting when the information was downloaded

687
00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:11,600
Speaker 4: to see for the first time, where are these cats moving.

688
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:15,280
Speaker 4: It's amazing at what elevations they're moving right through boy

689
00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:18,040
Speaker 4: Scout camp, They're moving through a golf.

690
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:19,200
Speaker 2: Course, their environment.

691
00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:20,520
Speaker 3: Yeah, they're in the environment.

692
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:23,280
Speaker 1: It's so rare for an interaction and negative ones who occur, right,

693
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,160
Speaker 1: But it's our responsibility, you know, to.

694
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,120
Speaker 3: Do yes, just understanding that.

695
00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:30,880
Speaker 4: It's just amazing to watch the evolution of just finding

696
00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:33,520
Speaker 4: out the data and the information to learn more about

697
00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:36,680
Speaker 4: this animal that we've coexisted with for so long. I

698
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:37,880
Speaker 4: know nothing about.

699
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:40,000
Speaker 2: Exactly, and I grew up here and I get to

700
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:40,480
Speaker 2: see a while.

701
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:42,440
Speaker 1: But of course you know, listeners can visit us at

702
00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:45,960
Speaker 1: the San Diego Zoo or Safari Park and happened years

703
00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:46,360
Speaker 1: we did.

704
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:48,680
Speaker 3: I'm happy to see the local animals.

705
00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:51,240
Speaker 1: It's all about the locals and their dogs in particular. Yeah,

706
00:31:51,240 --> 00:31:52,720
Speaker 1: so I love that story because you know, it's things

707
00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:55,120
Speaker 1: are applying today. Could be the Peninsula prong horn and

708
00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:57,800
Speaker 1: bachac Elli Forteny where we're doing the same exact monitoring system,

709
00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:01,080
Speaker 1: but to live right here, yes now, Yeah, there's like

710
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:03,520
Speaker 1: six five six species of pronghorn I think in the

711
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:05,840
Speaker 1: United States. But it's a reminder, I think for the

712
00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,440
Speaker 1: listeners right now listening to us talk that what an

713
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:12,920
Speaker 1: accredited zoo organization aquarium can do to help out wildlife

714
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:15,960
Speaker 1: in their wild habitats. You know, we can talk forever.

715
00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:18,200
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you, like I always thinking about

716
00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:20,400
Speaker 1: the kids listening right now, So think about like a

717
00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,440
Speaker 1: little right in front of us, there's a little Joan

718
00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:24,480
Speaker 1: right now, a little five year old Joan looking at you.

719
00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:26,880
Speaker 1: So what words of advice would you give like a

720
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:28,880
Speaker 1: little boy, little girl? You know, however, they want to

721
00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:32,080
Speaker 1: identify and maybe thinking about being a spokesperson like you

722
00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:34,040
Speaker 1: and I like what words of wiziness or does.

723
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,920
Speaker 4: It have an interest, follow that interest and learn. Learn,

724
00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:41,680
Speaker 4: go to programs if there's volunteer opportunities, are educational or

725
00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:46,160
Speaker 4: summer camps. Participate and get out there and like I

726
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:48,960
Speaker 4: was a sponge, just be a sponge and right learn

727
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,760
Speaker 4: everything you can, because you then become more valuable as

728
00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:54,840
Speaker 4: an employee or participant when you have something to offer,

729
00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:58,560
Speaker 4: and then it shows that you have enough interest to

730
00:32:58,680 --> 00:33:02,200
Speaker 4: learn about the animals you want to work with. I

731
00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,040
Speaker 4: had trained dogs, I had trained horses. I of course

732
00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:08,680
Speaker 4: never trained wildlife, but all of that became very helpful

733
00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:12,320
Speaker 4: to me when I transferred to the wildlife arena. So

734
00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:15,320
Speaker 4: if you can't go out there and train an elephant,

735
00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:17,160
Speaker 4: you can learn how to train a dog. You can

736
00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:19,680
Speaker 4: learn how to work with a horse. A horse has

737
00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:24,720
Speaker 4: some wild animal and so a lot of ranches they

738
00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:26,680
Speaker 4: look for help. But you have to be willing to

739
00:33:26,720 --> 00:33:29,680
Speaker 4: do whatever is needed and start at the bottom of

740
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,200
Speaker 4: work your way up. You know, I can apprentice. You

741
00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:34,240
Speaker 4: can't expect that you're going to walk in and say

742
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:36,960
Speaker 4: I want that person's job with no skill set.

743
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:38,440
Speaker 2: You're not going to roll into it right.

744
00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:41,320
Speaker 4: And the kids today, I think are a little more

745
00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:45,320
Speaker 4: focused on what they're going to need. Educationally, they learning

746
00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,000
Speaker 4: how to build resumes, so they're learning how to integrate

747
00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:52,840
Speaker 4: into the job market. But it's challenging, it's very competitive,

748
00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:54,120
Speaker 4: and I think that was tough for me.

749
00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:58,000
Speaker 3: I was very shy. The last thing, extremely shy.

750
00:33:58,280 --> 00:33:59,960
Speaker 4: The last thing that I would have wanted to do

751
00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:04,000
Speaker 4: is stand up in front of people and speak, or

752
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:05,080
Speaker 4: me in front of a cad.

753
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:05,560
Speaker 2: You did it.

754
00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,239
Speaker 4: It was a courage step. I wanted to work with animals.

755
00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,200
Speaker 4: That if I wanted to work with animals, that was

756
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:13,480
Speaker 4: my opportunity. And so I had this thing from the

757
00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:17,600
Speaker 4: very very beginning Doctor Schroeder, who was an amazing director

758
00:34:17,640 --> 00:34:19,799
Speaker 4: for a New Year's at a VET. He was the

759
00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:23,640
Speaker 4: one who kind of set me into the role. And

760
00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:26,600
Speaker 4: he would stand up and he's supposed to be speaking

761
00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:28,279
Speaker 4: in front of five hundred people at the rotor and

762
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:30,520
Speaker 4: he would say, now, Jon's going to talk to you,

763
00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:32,799
Speaker 4: and I thought I would die, My stomach would fall.

764
00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:35,840
Speaker 3: No, you're the speaker. I just brought the animals.

765
00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:41,120
Speaker 4: No, But so I convinced myself that everybody was looking

766
00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:43,600
Speaker 4: at the animal, but they were so focused on that

767
00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:46,640
Speaker 4: animal that they're not looking at me, And it was

768
00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:49,480
Speaker 4: almost a crutch. It would be difficult to get up

769
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,799
Speaker 4: without an animal because that was the focus. That took

770
00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:56,200
Speaker 4: the focus off me. I didn't feel quite so vulnerable,

771
00:34:56,440 --> 00:34:59,640
Speaker 4: but it was difficult in the beginning. I almost turned

772
00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:02,799
Speaker 4: down opportunity for the job because of that, because I

773
00:35:02,840 --> 00:35:06,080
Speaker 4: didn't feel comfortable, you know, with the whole public speaking.

774
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,000
Speaker 4: And now, you know, I'll speak to a thousand people.

775
00:35:09,000 --> 00:35:10,440
Speaker 2: You don't care, don't you know.

776
00:35:10,520 --> 00:35:12,080
Speaker 4: You get a little you look out and say, oh,

777
00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:14,560
Speaker 4: there's a thousand people at this conference, you know, Oh

778
00:35:14,600 --> 00:35:15,000
Speaker 4: my gosh.

779
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:17,719
Speaker 2: I mean, I wish I could say I know I

780
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:18,239
Speaker 2: at this.

781
00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:20,840
Speaker 4: Moment when I go, how did I get here? What

782
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:23,680
Speaker 4: am I doing here? Really it's only a moment. And

783
00:35:23,719 --> 00:35:26,680
Speaker 4: then once I'm into the work mode, once I walk

784
00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:30,480
Speaker 4: out and I start talking, then it just becomes, you know,

785
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:34,520
Speaker 4: more natural. But that was a major obstacle that I

786
00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:37,640
Speaker 4: struggled within the beginning, and I think it was doctor

787
00:35:37,680 --> 00:35:40,640
Speaker 4: Schroeder basically throwing me out there in a sinker swim

788
00:35:40,719 --> 00:35:43,040
Speaker 4: situation where I had to figure it out.

789
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:44,759
Speaker 1: Sometimes the best way to learn a mega you know,

790
00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:46,640
Speaker 1: I wish I could say I could identify with that,

791
00:35:46,680 --> 00:35:48,759
Speaker 1: But honestly, I think I was born out with a

792
00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,800
Speaker 1: spotlight and a flock of macaustline behind me and a blowhorn.

793
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:53,560
Speaker 2: Just I'm an advocate for life.

794
00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,520
Speaker 1: But the point is, like everyone is different orange story,

795
00:35:56,600 --> 00:36:00,080
Speaker 1: different way to approach the world. And you're courageous. You

796
00:36:00,239 --> 00:36:02,040
Speaker 1: saw a door open and you push through it. You

797
00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:06,000
Speaker 1: broke down barriers. You mentioned you're nervous about accepting this

798
00:36:06,040 --> 00:36:09,040
Speaker 1: position when they offered it to me. I thought of you, honestly,

799
00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:12,120
Speaker 1: and I thought of me watching that television and thinking like, man,

800
00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,080
Speaker 1: I want to do that one day, and now being

801
00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:15,960
Speaker 1: in this role, and I think of the things that

802
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,440
Speaker 1: you were thinking about, you representing women as a whole,

803
00:36:18,560 --> 00:36:20,800
Speaker 1: the power of women, and I again think about the

804
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,840
Speaker 1: queer community and the Latino community. But some things change,

805
00:36:23,960 --> 00:36:26,840
Speaker 1: like seasonal, like nature basically, but we have to remember

806
00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:28,920
Speaker 1: how to connect to all sorts of walks of life.

807
00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,440
Speaker 2: So super appreciate the time that you.

808
00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:35,080
Speaker 4: Spent that used to get over those hurdles.

809
00:36:35,120 --> 00:36:36,080
Speaker 2: It's a bonus for me.

810
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:39,040
Speaker 1: Honestly, I don't care if it's a million people live TV.

811
00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:41,960
Speaker 1: Live TV is personally my favorite, but it's a great role.

812
00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:44,600
Speaker 1: I'm sure you understand too. Right The uniqueness of being

813
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,879
Speaker 1: a wildlife ambassador for a zoo or an aquarium.

814
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,120
Speaker 4: Well, and I think that what people see is just

815
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:53,400
Speaker 4: such a small part of the whole thing, you know,

816
00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:57,879
Speaker 4: So that five minutes represents probably two weeks of hard

817
00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,280
Speaker 4: work trying to figure out how to put that together

818
00:37:00,560 --> 00:37:03,160
Speaker 4: and make that work. And this is a small part

819
00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:05,439
Speaker 4: of who I am and the job that I did,

820
00:37:05,440 --> 00:37:07,760
Speaker 4: but it's the most visual part. So that's what people

821
00:37:08,239 --> 00:37:10,439
Speaker 4: relate to. But I do a lot of work.

822
00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:12,839
Speaker 3: I'm very interested in the conservation.

823
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:15,000
Speaker 1: Field, and you're still doing it out of the spotlight totally,

824
00:37:15,480 --> 00:37:17,680
Speaker 1: So you're still on the spotlight. So again, listeners, be

825
00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:19,920
Speaker 1: sure to check out your website to keep an eye

826
00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:21,759
Speaker 1: open for the new books. So make sure you let

827
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:23,239
Speaker 1: me know when that comes out, because I'd be super

828
00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:24,000
Speaker 1: excited about that.

829
00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:26,680
Speaker 4: Well, I'm excited about it because everything in that book,

830
00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:29,360
Speaker 4: I thought the things like what would I want to know?

831
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:32,280
Speaker 4: Are looking at everything? What do I think best represents

832
00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:35,920
Speaker 4: San Diego? And what are our challenges moving forward? How

833
00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:38,279
Speaker 4: do we maintain why we all want to live here

834
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:39,600
Speaker 4: in this beautiful environment?

835
00:37:39,719 --> 00:37:40,640
Speaker 3: How do we keep it?

836
00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:42,760
Speaker 2: Love it? Friend, I could have said it better myself.

837
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:43,080
Speaker 2: A mega.

838
00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:44,560
Speaker 1: I always saying it with some knuckles, give me some

839
00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:46,560
Speaker 1: ambassador knuckles, right, just like that.

840
00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:48,600
Speaker 2: Thank you very much, and we just got this jown.

841
00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:57,520
Speaker 1: This was amazing, awesome, what a cool experience.

842
00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:00,719
Speaker 2: Hopefully you enjoyed that journey as much as man.

843
00:38:00,800 --> 00:38:04,600
Speaker 1: It's been such an adventure here at Amazing Wildlife, interviewing

844
00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:09,120
Speaker 1: the og, the original Wildlife Ambassador, and of course being

845
00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:10,800
Speaker 1: here in her beautiful range.

846
00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:12,440
Speaker 2: But don't forget listeners.

847
00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:14,960
Speaker 1: You can always look back and listen to older or

848
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:16,480
Speaker 1: newer episodes.

849
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:18,320
Speaker 2: And get reinspired from everything from.

850
00:38:18,400 --> 00:38:21,920
Speaker 1: Maybe a mirrcat to an oxlanel to even an elephant.

851
00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:25,400
Speaker 1: Just be sure to stay inspired with conservation, feel the

852
00:38:25,440 --> 00:38:28,279
Speaker 1: grass beneath your feet, maybe even breathe some fresh air.

853
00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:31,080
Speaker 1: And if you can, go visit your accredited zoos and

854
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:33,839
Speaker 1: aquariums for all the amazing work that they're doing.

855
00:38:37,000 --> 00:38:39,399
Speaker 2: All right, stay wild out there, catch your end.

856
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,040
Speaker 1: For more information about the San Diego Zoo and San

857
00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:51,960
Speaker 1: Diego Zoo Safari Park, go to SDZWA dot org. Amazing

858
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:55,920
Speaker 1: Wildlife is a production of iHeartRadio. Our supervising producer is

859
00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:58,800
Speaker 1: still in Fagan, and our sound designers are Sierra Spring

860
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,200
Speaker 1: and Matt Russell. For more shows from iHeartRadio, check out

861
00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:05,920
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to

862
00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:15,360
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.