Rossifari Podcast - Zoos, Aquariums, and Animal Conservation

Dateline: October 16, 2026

Rossifari Zoo News is back with an update on all things zoos, aquariums, conservation, and general animal weirdness.

We start off with me sharing an absolutely crazy story of friendship and a puppy!

Our Headline Story this week is about the man mauled to death by a tiger at Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

Then we have Zoo News stories starting with a look at the facilities that earned accreditation from the AZA at the recent conference, and then additional stories from Chattanooga Zoo, Bronx Zoo, Fort Worth Zoo, Nashville Zoo, Denver Zoo, Cincinnati Zoo, Smithsonian's National Zoo, Indianapolis Zoo, Rosamond Gifford Zoo, Shedd Aquarium, Virginia Aquarium, and still another controversy around Vantara.

In Conservation News we talk about two new species discovered in different ways, killing owls to save owls, and do a deep dive into what population numbers mean, and why the definition of what a species is can matter so much, all in light of research shared at the first ever Red Panda Symposium hosted by Red Panda Network in partnership with SAFE Red Panda!

In Other News we share a reason you need to get to IKEA ASAP!

All that plus Animal Holidays!

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Email: rossifaripod@gmail.com

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Today, the Safari brings you the first of many interview episodes from the AZA Annual Conference in Portland Oregon! I had the pleasure of sitting down with Dan Ashe and Sarah Milberg of the AZA to talk about some recently conducted public perception polling. We discuss what the polling found, what it means, and where accredited zoos and aquariums go from here.

SHOW LINKS:

rossifari.com

Support the pod at Patreon.com/rossifari

Join the Discord at https://discord.gg/hvWZguvu4

Find us on social media @rossifari and @rossifaripod on TikTok

Email: rossifaripod@gmail.com

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Today, the Safari heads to Portland, Oregon, for the 2026 AZA Annual Conference! I chat with Caitlin Doggett, my boss at the Virginia Living Museum, about her time at the conference and how our facility benefitted from sending multiple people. Then I recap my conference day by day.

ROSSIFARI LINKS:

rossifari.com

Support the pod at Patreon.com/rossifari

Join the Discord at https://discord.gg/hvWZguvu4

Find us on social media @rossifari and @rossifaripod on TikTok

Email: rossifaripod@gmail.com

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Today, the Safari heads to Portland, Oregon, for the 2026 AZA Annual Conference! I chat with multiple guests about their experiences at the conference! Guests include:

Dr. Lisa Dabek of Woodland Park Zoo and the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program

Dr. Jenn Torpie of the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium and SAFE Red Panda

Schaneé Anderson of Sedgwick County Zoo

Kaylee Doughty, Andrew Evans, Heidi Schultz, Sean DePaola, and Jaiden Landsdowne-Vaughn of Friends University

Elaina Jones, a former student at the start of her career

ROSSIFARI LINKS:

rossifari.com

Support the pod at Patreon.com/rossifari

Join the Discord at https://discord.gg/hvWZguvu4

Find us on social media @rossifari and @rossifaripod on TikTok

Email: rossifaripod@gmail.com

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Dateline: October 2, 2026 - Rossifari Zoo News is back with a deep dive into some surprising breaking news this week: The Indianapolis Zoo has lost the gold standard accreditation that can only be obtained through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. We talk through what we know, what we don't yet know, and what might be next for this zoo.

ROSSIFARI LINKS:

rossifari.com

@rossifari on socials

@rossifaripod on TikTok

Patreon.com/rossifari to support the pod

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