0:04

Hi, I'm Rick Schwartz.

0:06

When us the world of Marco went.

0:08

Welcome to Amazing Wildlife, where we explore

0:10

unique stories of wildlife from around the world

0:12

and uncover fascinating animal facts. This

0:15

podcast is a production of iHeartRadio's Ruby

0:17

Studio and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance,

0:20

an international nonprofit conservation

0:22

organization which overseas the San Diego

0:24

Zoo and Safari Park.

0:26

Oh, Rick, I can hardly believe it.

0:28

We are kicking off season three

0:31

of Amazing Wildlife. It's

0:33

officially episode one of season

0:35

three. Oh.

0:35

I agree, Marco. It is really exciting,

0:37

and especially when we think about last season. We

0:40

all learned so much about wildlife and conservation

0:42

and of course meeting and talking

0:44

to all the amazing people who help make it happen.

0:47

Oh yeah, I mean, I know it's you mean, it

0:49

was such a great season. And I

0:51

don't know about you, but I can honestly

0:53

say I learned a lot from our guests last

0:55

year, and I'm really excited

0:58

for everything we have lined up for this seas

1:00

Oh.

1:00

I'm right there with you, Marco. And of course, as

1:02

our listeners know, you and I have spent

1:04

the majority of our lives really working with wildlife

1:07

and in conservation, and yet I still learn

1:09

so much from our guest last season, and

1:11

looking at this season, Oh, it promises to

1:13

be just as interesting and educational for you and

1:15

me both.

1:16

I am so glad you said that because a

1:19

lot of times, you know, people forget that learning

1:21

about wildlife is not just about

1:23

the cute, cuddly critters or the

1:26

megafauna like elephants or gorillas.

1:28

Interesting and fascinating facts

1:30

can be found with any species.

1:33

Okay, I'm going to break the fourth wall here, I'm

1:35

talking directly to you, our dear listeners. Marco

1:37

is currently setting us up for this episode's

1:39

main topic, the king cobra. And before

1:42

you even think about skipping this episode because maybe

1:44

you don't like snakes, I need you to rise

1:46

above your possible discomfort with these

1:49

limitless reptiles. Hang out with us

1:51

just for a bit longer and you won't be disappointed.

1:52

A promise. And in this episode we

1:55

have the pleasure of not only learning

1:57

about a king cobra, but we will also

1:59

learn more about the impact wildlife trafficking

2:02

has on these and other species.

2:04

I couldn't have said it better myself, Marco, and I must admit

2:06

I know a little bit about the who and

2:09

the what we're going to discuss today, and

2:11

it's really an eye opening story filled with challenges

2:13

and setbacks. But in the end, well I

2:15

don't want to give it away, but let's just say I

2:18

really like the ending.

2:19

All right, then you go, I think it's time

2:21

we head to this use reptile department, maminos.

2:26

My name is Kim Gray, and I'm the Curator

2:28

of Herpetology and Ichthyology at

2:30

the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and

2:32

that means I'm the curator of reptiles, amphibians

2:34

and fish.

2:36

We've had you on the show before, so our listeners probably

2:38

remember you know, they've been know this for a couple of seasons now. You've

2:40

always brought such great and compelling

2:42

information because the world you work in is not

2:45

necessarily the number one reason

2:47

people come to the zooper Vionana's right, it's

2:50

just the reality of it. They want elephants,

2:52

they want tigers, you know, all the big ones,

2:54

but there are those that are curious about reptiles.

2:56

And what I love when we have you on is

2:59

the stories you share, I honestly

3:01

think spark more interest in your world,

3:03

and I don't think today's going to be any different.

3:06

Well, that's good news for me. We're

3:09

going to talk about it. Pretty cool animal that

3:11

I actually really enjoy working.

3:13

With and love. And that's the other thing to think

3:15

about, too, is a lot of people think of And

3:17

I'll just say it just so our audience knows we're talking about

3:20

snakes today. If you're picked

3:22

out by snakes and you think you hear Kim saying

3:24

she loves working with him, I really encourage you to

3:26

keep listening because this story

3:28

is so important, not just for snakes, but many

3:30

species that we work with at the San Diego

3:33

Zoo. And this story, like

3:35

we mentioned earlier Marko, ends on a pretty cool note.

3:37

So, Kim, what exactly do

3:40

you want to share with us today?

3:41

Well, it's a little bit well say it's

3:44

spring, right, Okay, we're going to start talking

3:46

about how we work at zeus like

3:49

a little matchmaking, right, let's

3:51

start there. How about that? So we're talking about

3:54

king cobras in particular, which

3:56

in our previous podcast I got to share

3:58

that's one of my favorite animals and I always

4:00

wanted to work with. Well, now we kind of have

4:02

a bit of a dating game that the zoos play.

4:05

So we do a match, we look at genetics,

4:07

we look at how related the animals are to each

4:09

other and how unique they might

4:12

be. So we want to preserve some unique

4:14

traits, maybe a unique location, and

4:16

we work together. And so we're

4:18

going to talk about one particular snake that

4:21

we have, and she's a girl and

4:23

she's looking for a mate, so we're going to be bringing

4:25

in a boy, and she's got a pretty unique

4:27

story with us.

4:28

Yeah, and I think it's important to mention a lot of

4:30

what matters too, are the genetics. We want to make

4:32

sure there's genetic diversity in the

4:34

population to keep it healthy. And her

4:37

story kind of lends to why she's

4:39

kind of special to have that opportunity

4:41

for the new genetics.

4:42

Exactly, it's a little more than swiping left

4:44

and swiping right right. There's

4:46

a little more involved everyone, But it's very good reason,

4:49

you know. And again, Cobra is like every other while

4:51

that that we have under our care here to day with the Safari

4:53

Park, they really deserve full support, right, So

4:55

I'm super stoked to listen about this amazing story.

4:57

Yeah, for sure they do. And honestly,

5:00

King Cobras I'll share a little bit about what makes them

5:02

special is they eat other snakes, so they're

5:04

the top predator in their environment. So they

5:06

speak for preservation of habitat.

5:08

They really do.

5:09

They require a lot.

5:10

Of space and if you can conserve their habitat,

5:12

you're saving a lot of species. So

5:14

that's kind of number one with them. And

5:16

again, just really unique. Guests love to see and they always

5:18

ask, where's the king cobra. So this

5:21

particular female, she's what we call a Chinese

5:23

banded king cobra, So within their

5:25

native range, they're all known as king cobra's.

5:28

They're quite large. She's a little

5:30

bit unique that she's found in a specific region

5:32

within China and she's gotten more banded. And

5:35

again, so other zoos in the Asia

5:37

community within North America have

5:39

their populations and we work really hard to

5:41

see. Okay, this particular location is

5:44

important. She's unique because

5:46

she came from Asia, which

5:48

means she's not related to any of the other ones we

5:50

have, and that she can serve this

5:52

important role as being a mom for

5:54

the next generation.

5:56

Wow, wow, that's super interesting. Really

5:58

quick. With cobras, I always think of this funny land,

6:00

like these snakes are in the hood and it's a weird reference,

6:03

but it has to do everyone go with me

6:05

here. Yeah, well, it has to do with that unique

6:07

look right right, No, it's true. I'm not talking about

6:09

a rattlesnake. Can you speak a little bit. I

6:11

mean when I picture the cobra, I know you guys

6:13

are thinking the same thing listening to this podcast

6:15

about that beautiful hood like

6:18

it's expansion of ribs, right, Can you talk a little

6:20

bit about that?

6:20

Sure, yeah, exactly. And it's most

6:23

likely evolved to make themselves look

6:25

larger prey or predators rather

6:28

that are going to come and try to attack them, But

6:30

there is some evidence that they use it also

6:32

for mating behaviors and communicating

6:35

amongst their own cohort, their own group,

6:37

their own species. But with king

6:39

Kobra's in particular, the added uniqueness

6:42

is not only do they eat other snakes, they

6:45

will eat each other. So when

6:47

we do go to introduce them, we have to watch

6:50

for hooding behaviors and types of things

6:52

that we need to pay extra special attention

6:54

to make sure that they are going to be compatible,

6:57

and hooding is part of that.

6:59

So, just like people, the dating app can

7:01

only take yourself, Fara.

7:05

This was not there impressive.

7:07

I'm gonna swipe to the left. That's

7:09

super. I didn't know that they can actually eat each

7:11

other. And there's something we had said last year.

7:13

But you know, all wildlife communicates,

7:16

so you have to learn how to listen, so you in

7:18

your experience, you know, to read these behavioral

7:20

cues, which is why this is so unique that you're

7:22

going to try this matchmaking game exactly.

7:24

Yeah, and we just have to go very slowly

7:26

and make sure the animals tell us when they're ready.

7:29

And also there's some of that what we call mate

7:31

choice. These animals might look great on paper,

7:33

like genetically they look great, they're like the

7:35

best match. Then we might introduce

7:38

them and they might want nothing to do with each

7:40

other. We just have to go real slow and let

7:42

the animals tell us what they want to do.

7:44

Yeah, oh I love that.

7:45

Yeah, it's so amazing.

7:46

So much goes into it.

7:47

Yeah, consent is the thing. I

7:49

was just talking about this with kids the other day. We're

7:52

referring to castawaars because to get the females

7:54

much bigger and can give quite a good kick

7:56

to that male if he's not careful. So yeah, you got to really

7:58

be careful about those behavioral nuance.

8:00

Yeah.

8:00

The other really neat thing about king kobers that people

8:02

don't realize is they actually build nests, and

8:05

the females will wrap around leaf litter and

8:07

build these large mountain nests and

8:09

even stak they're really unique.

8:11

I'm really objective too. Yeah. Yeah,

8:13

and the babies even after they hatch, they're protectively right.

8:15

Yeah, yeah, fascinating.

8:17

It really is, because I think often snakes

8:19

get such a bad rap on so many levels, and people like, oh,

8:21

it's just a stupid reptile. There's no use to them, all

8:23

all the nuanced things that humans

8:25

go down that path with snakes. But when you get

8:27

to know them, and that's why I love talking to you, Chimus, because you share

8:30

this information with us, and it's like, no, they care about

8:32

their eggs, they build a nest, they protect a nest,

8:34

They will to a certain extent also protect the

8:36

youngsters for a little bit before they head off in their own little

8:38

ways. And yeah, it's just it's so awesome

8:41

to learn all this stuff.

8:41

Yeah, right, I mean I think people think these attributes

8:44

are just for birds or manimals, right, No,

8:46

I mean reptiles are the same thing. So that's amazing.

8:48

Yeah, it's really neat, And again it's just it's a fascinating

8:51

opportunity for me to just see that I've

8:53

always wanted to work with this species and

8:55

getting the chance too. It's really neat with

8:57

that.

8:58

Now. We kind of teased out at the beginning when

9:00

you first joined us that this young lady has

9:02

a unique story and it's

9:05

a big part of what we have to deal

9:07

with working in the zoo and conservation worlds

9:09

is making sure wildlife is respected, wildlife

9:12

has cared for, and we as people are thoughtful.

9:15

Even though if you don't see wildlife in the

9:17

wild, we see somewhere else, we still have to respect

9:19

these individual animals. I think that would

9:21

be a great time for you to share her story

9:23

for our listeners to get a better understanding not

9:25

only how she came to live at the San Diego Zoo,

9:27

but why we have to be thoughtful in what we

9:30

do as humans for their other species on this planet.

9:32

Yes, exactly, and I think she serves as

9:34

a great ambassador for this. So back

9:36

in March of twenty seventeen, we

9:39

did receive a call from our colleagues at the United

9:41

States Fish and Wildlife Service and they

9:43

were investigating wildlife

9:45

trafficking, so some smuggling was occurring,

9:48

and they had found some turtles and tortoises,

9:50

which is very common, but also unfortunately

9:53

reptiles are just targeted a lot, and they weren't

9:55

aware at that particular time that snakes

9:57

were involved, but they went in to investigate

9:59

and they found they were anticipating

10:02

just some other small tortoises. And

10:05

you know, smugglers come up with very unique ways

10:07

to smuggle wildlife. They put them in water

10:10

bottles or film canisters or

10:12

flashlight cases. When they went

10:14

to open these small like the

10:16

short stack pringles containers, there

10:19

was three of them and when they opened them up, the

10:21

king cobras one was in each

10:23

one. Wow and very

10:25

sad and so but also too for those

10:27

personnel, the staff, they didn't know.

10:29

It was very dangerous and it's

10:32

not you can't just go and get anti

10:34

venom. We are one of the only institutions

10:36

in the United States that even carries anti venom,

10:38

which is the medication that would be needed to use

10:41

by the doctors if you're bitten. So

10:43

we've of course we were ready on standby

10:45

in case of a bite but you know, as they're

10:47

investigating this, and it was part of a program

10:50

that they were working all called Operation

10:53

Jungle Book.

10:56

The Jungle Music, right, Yeah, but it.

10:58

Was kind of a there was a lot of individual,

11:02

how should we put it, not so great

11:05

people involved in smuggling wildlife,

11:07

and there was a large number of animals.

11:09

Yeah, and so the king cobras and when again

11:12

there was a wide variety of other taxa involved,

11:14

species involved, but the king cobras,

11:17

this gentleman had smuggled in at least

11:19

twenty three others in addition to

11:21

these three, and all of those had died.

11:24

So you know, these were animals were coming into the

11:26

United States to make pets. They're dangerous

11:29

animals. You have to have very skilled tools

11:31

and capacity to care for them. They're very

11:33

big. There's not anti venom for them.

11:36

It's legal right most states.

11:38

It is some it can be still legal,

11:40

but it's just a very complicated scenario.

11:43

And why they didn't have the paperwork,

11:45

the permits for bringing them in, so they were

11:47

confiscated and we ended up

11:49

with them right off. The bat one had

11:52

passed away, so within a

11:54

month one had died, it was dehydrated, and

11:56

the animals to go through a lot of stress and

11:59

in these tiny springles containers.

12:01

But the good news is that of

12:04

the three that we received, two made it. One

12:06

has gone off to be at another institution

12:08

and will likely have a breeding recommendations

12:11

as well. And then this female that we have, so she's

12:13

been with us this whole time and she's doing great.

12:15

Wow, and it's nice to hear that she's doing great. And

12:17

the other one is save a another facility. I

12:20

want to reiterate. I want to point out to our audience

12:22

because I think it's so important what you said.

12:25

Of the twenty three plus,

12:27

only two survived. And

12:29

this is just a small sample size

12:32

of illegal wildlife trafficking that occurs,

12:34

whether it's reptiles or birds or any other

12:36

species like you mentioned, they're put

12:38

into these horrible situations to be illegally smuggled.

12:40

These smugglers don't want them found, so they're

12:43

very stressful, they're dehydrated, they don't

12:45

have food. Many of them pass away,

12:47

so maybe a few can make it through so that smuggler can

12:49

make some money. And where does that money

12:51

come from? How do they make money is because

12:53

there's a market for people who want to buy

12:55

exotic pets. And that's

12:57

one thing we always talk about Markis

13:00

and wildlife ambassadors, the importance

13:03

of understanding when you are

13:05

looking at things in stores,

13:07

whether they're trinkets or animals, you

13:09

have to know where they came from. You absolutely,

13:11

if there's any question you're not sure, you don't

13:13

purchase. The big problem

13:16

is that there's a market for it, and this wildlife

13:18

suffers because of it. And again I want

13:20

to bring it back to the happy note. This ends on for our

13:22

young lady who lives with us here at the San Diego Zoo.

13:25

But we also have to really understand the harshness

13:27

of wildlife trafficking and why it's an important

13:29

element for conservation.

13:31

Exactly again her speaking as

13:33

an ambassador for her species, but for

13:35

all confiscated wildlife. Is that you

13:38

nailed it is we need to just be

13:40

aware of our impact. And

13:43

even if we're as a tourist going overseas

13:45

and purchasing something, always make sure you ask,

13:47

Now these were actually imported into

13:50

the United States, They're already here, and it's just

13:52

ask. If you're at a pet store, you can just ask

13:54

these questions, you know, and just really try to

13:56

get that information.

13:58

Yeah, I mean it's a line. I always bring it up with pay it's

14:00

you know, illegally trafficked, especially have a lot

14:02

in America. And that you said it right on the

14:04

money. Even kids out there listening right now, like you

14:06

guys have the power ask the questions,

14:08

right where did this bird come from? I mean I just

14:11

got back from Beliezing. I saw the cutest

14:13

little wooden earrings that I wanted to buy, and

14:15

I asked the staff where did it come from? And

14:17

all they could tell me was local wood. But

14:19

they couldn't verify where this wood was coming

14:21

from. So I want all of you out there when you travel

14:23

to think about it could be It could be a scale,

14:26

It could be a tooth, thrush ark tooth, They could be

14:28

a feather, a piece of wood. You never know,

14:30

but know that you have the power. You can

14:33

make that positive impact right exactly.

14:35

And that's why I'm coming to visit us at

14:37

the zoo. Come visit her, you can see her,

14:39

join, get a membership, visit your local zoo,

14:41

and it's supporting all our conservation work

14:43

together. And also when you do travel, you

14:45

know, take pictures.

14:47

Is kind of the.

14:47

Theme pictures, Yeah, yeah, nothing

14:50

else, Yeah,

14:52

you memories and going down the pet

14:55

theme here, I always in my

14:57

heart it's always look, if you're looking for a companion.

14:59

Go the shelter and rescue somebody. Yes, and

15:02

leave it at that. I mean, this is your best veteran. But

15:06

the other side of the pet story too. Several

15:08

years ago, we ended up with a very unique

15:10

cobra that was loose in the Thousand Oaks area

15:12

of California. And for those who don't know that, it's just outside of

15:14

Los Angeles, Can you share a little bit about

15:17

that cobra's story and and sort

15:19

of that scenario as well.

15:21

Sure, And oftentimes we

15:23

among the zoo community are approached

15:25

to not just help take in

15:28

these confiscated wildlife, but also

15:30

to assist our colleagues because maybe they don't

15:32

have the experience working with venomous.

15:34

Right or the anti venom which exactly

15:36

we.

15:36

Have the medicine to help. So it was one of those scenarios

15:39

where they had a neighbor had seen

15:41

it loose. It was an albino, so it's a bright

15:43

white snake, and there

15:45

was some evidence to show that

15:47

it was likely a cobra. Quickly

15:50

there was some photos surfaced

15:52

and it became very popular.

15:58

Yeah, I thought, its own Facebook page, on

16:00

Twitter account and you name it. And so at

16:02

the time we were trying to just help navigate in our

16:04

colleagues at the Los Angeles who were closer,

16:06

so we were all trying to help. Again, we had anti venom

16:08

for it, and so I'd offered at the time

16:10

to like, if you can capture it, we

16:13

will take it and we will care for it. But I do

16:15

distinctly remember thinking, this poor snake,

16:17

it's going to be gone, and it's an albinos,

16:19

so it's going to be prime prey, like

16:23

exact honey. And so I was

16:25

very doubtful we would end up with it,

16:27

but sure enough we did. I remember driving

16:30

up there to pick it up and coming back. But he still

16:32

with us.

16:33

Yeah.

16:34

Again another ambassador talking about

16:36

the.

16:36

Fact that it was loose in a neighborhood. Yes, you know,

16:38

is so important to touch on the

16:40

fact that these venomous reptiles

16:43

and other animals that have these abilities

16:46

to defend themselves properly or hunt properly in their

16:48

native environment do not belong in our

16:50

neighborhoods, don't belong in your home, And the

16:52

fact that we're one of the few facilities

16:55

that have this anti venom is a great example too of

16:57

the dangers then that if the anti venom

16:59

is not available, we can't just go to the hospital and get this.

17:02

It's not readily available. So we have

17:04

to be thoughtful in what we're doing

17:06

for our neighborhoods and our people too these

17:08

situations.

17:10

And ye know, I'm thinking to people right now, like my mom in particular,

17:12

that's color up. But she's not a snake fan anittally,

17:14

right. But you know, there's a lot of perceptions about snakes

17:16

in general. We were just talking about this great story

17:18

Ricky Ticky Tabby. Yeah,

17:21

it's a wonderful story, but it depicts snakes

17:23

in a negative light, you know. But there are the

17:25

cultures Native American cultures in Mexico,

17:27

India of course, in Asia Africa as well

17:30

with a revere snake. So, yes,

17:32

venom. I know it's a little spooky for some people,

17:34

but they deserve respect and appreciation of

17:37

being an important role in whatever ecosystem

17:39

they can be found in, right exactly.

17:41

And I think too, even locally

17:43

with our own native habitats,

17:45

for example, our ripe paring habitats or

17:47

alltle streams even our little local garter

17:49

snakes are in so much trouble from the historical

17:52

droughts and then the catastrophic rains we're

17:54

having. Their habitats really disturb so

17:57

the snakes need love to and even our little

17:59

garter snake that a lot of us grew up playing with,

18:01

they all just need some support exactly.

18:04

Yeah, And I think it'd be fair for you to add in there, Kim.

18:06

Why are they important for the habitats they live in? They

18:08

kind of painted a quick picture for our audience. What

18:10

role do they play? Because it's that opportunity

18:13

where when we understand something,

18:15

we can better respect it.

18:17

Sure. Well, the king cobra is a top

18:19

predator in its environment. We talked about all the keystone

18:21

species, whereas like the garter snake, it's going to be

18:23

eating smaller prey, but it's

18:25

also prey to other animals. So it's just a

18:28

member of that food web, and it's just helping keep

18:30

it healthy, keeps a balance exactly, that

18:32

balance that's still.

18:33

Critical even th look the one health concept. I

18:35

mean, these snakes are helping out just for the selfish

18:38

human reason alone, for our own health,

18:40

right, I mean, there's a lot I used to say a bird

18:42

show at the safari park. You get two mice, you put them

18:44

in a field, no predators around. In one year

18:46

you get close to a million mice in that field.

18:49

Not to talk negatively about mice, they're adorable, they're

18:51

important for ecosystems. But the point is,

18:53

you guys, I mean, we don't have snakes out there are

18:55

beautiful rattle snakes, the garter snake,

18:57

the cobra, of these other animals

18:59

like rats and rodents may just overpopulate

19:02

and then diseases can you know, be transferred

19:04

to human beings, right, So we don't want that.

19:06

Exactly, in that albino cobra we talked

19:08

about that its main predator or prey

19:10

rather is mice rats, and exactly

19:12

that so helping keep that rat population

19:15

low so that the grain population that

19:17

can be available for human Yeah, exactly,

19:19

it's all a balance.

19:20

Yeah. So, not to put you on the spot,

19:23

but we've talked about the king cobra, and you said

19:25

there's many different kinds of king cobras in

19:27

general, how many actual species

19:29

of cobras You don't have to go in too subspecies, but how many different

19:31

species of cobras are there?

19:33

You know what. I would love to answer that, but I'm a

19:35

I'm what we call there's lumpers and there's splitters

19:39

splitter, so I want to name like

19:41

all of them. And each mountain range will have a different

19:43

species. So there could be sixteen, likely

19:45

more. Even just in a Kuthiak

19:48

complex or the monocled cobra complex

19:50

there's like could be eight. And so yeah,

19:52

you can vary, right, I'll have to get back to me, vinal

19:55

cam.

19:55

No, that's fine, that's fine, And I love that you mentioned the

19:57

lumpers and the groups. Could you define that

20:00

for our audience. I know if that means. In the science

20:02

world and biology world, we understand what that means.

20:04

But help kind of paint the picture for our

20:06

audiences to the challenges we have

20:09

working in this world of biology and zoology

20:11

is to really defining how many of a

20:13

particular species, right, Okay.

20:15

So species is basically where there

20:17

might be a natural mountain range or an ocean,

20:20

maybe an animals on an island, and it's not able

20:22

to mate naturally with another

20:25

of its closest kin, and over time

20:27

they become different.

20:28

And they aren't able and whatnot.

20:29

Yeah, and so they become unique. Now

20:31

in an area like North America, let's say with our native

20:34

rattlesnakes, it's not so defined, so

20:36

there might be some more squishy gray areas

20:38

between, like overlap of populations.

20:41

So people like.

20:42

To either say there's a subspecies, I

20:45

am more of a full species. And

20:47

so I like to look at genetics and we

20:50

call that philogeography, where we overlay

20:52

genetics with topographic maps

20:54

like geography.

20:55

Ye, mountains, rivers exactly

20:58

cause barriers.

20:59

Yeah, and so all of that plays into back

21:01

to the beginning of picking who should be breeding

21:03

with who. We could be just breeding

21:05

king cobras, but we know now, like there's

21:08

these unique alleles, unique capito

21:10

types, these banded the one she's a banded Chinese

21:12

king cobra variant, and maybe

21:15

she'll be a full species one day. But yeah,

21:17

so we have to manage for.

21:18

All of those things. Yeah. Yeah, I

21:20

love that you shared that because often I

21:22

think in the general public. I know, for me, growing

21:25

up, I just thought there was king cobra's you know,

21:27

that's just what it is. They got the cool little thing and the design,

21:29

that's all there. And then as I got further into my education

21:31

and zoo all just whoa, wait a minute.

21:33

There's so many different versions.

21:35

So I love that you you explained that

21:37

out for us because it's so fascinating.

21:39

And I think when people come to the zoo they just go, oh, snake,

21:42

snake, snake. If they take the time to look

21:44

at the sign and really appreciate the little nuances,

21:47

you get such a love for the biodiversity

21:49

exactly. Of all these different.

21:51

Reptiles, you nailed it.

21:52

Biodiversity board again, right, diversity. I

21:54

love it so much. The color is the shade

21:56

yeas snakes all over the world. Right, That's

21:59

that's amazing.

22:00

I love it. And as much as wildlife

22:02

trafficking is a horrible

22:04

and damaging thing that we're constantly faced

22:06

with, I am glad to hear at least this

22:09

one lady here has been able

22:11

to find her forever home, if you will, to

22:13

the San Diego Zoo and her counterpart

22:15

that survived as well. It's another one. It's one

22:17

of those things where I think, maybe we're gonna have to check in with you

22:19

to see if she does get a match and it

22:22

has become a boss and see how

22:24

things go for her. It's one of those stories

22:26

where the journey was rough, and tough, but

22:28

the outcome, hopefully is going to be a benefit

22:31

for her and for the future of the

22:33

species.

22:33

Absolutely, yeah, thanks for having me on.

22:35

Oh this is a great story, perfect

22:37

way to start season three. I think appreciate

22:39

it well.

22:40

And this in the springtime release, so we're talking about

22:42

love for hers.

22:43

Yeah it, thank

22:46

you, Kim.

22:49

What an amazing story that Cobra has and

22:51

I think she'll be playing a pivotal role in the future

22:54

of her species by helping create a safe

22:56

population.

22:57

Oh yeah, one hundred percent. And it's

22:59

worth her minding everyone one that although this King

23:01

Kobra's story has a good ending and

23:03

an encouraging future, her story

23:05

started out with unimaginable conditions.

23:08

Unfortunately, when it comes to wildlife

23:10

trafficking, her story is a rare gem

23:13

compared to what happens to others.

23:15

And that's what makes her story even more important.

23:17

Oh oh yeah, how so?

23:19

Well, because she beat the odds and she has a promising

23:21

future, we can share her story to give hope

23:23

and inspire others. I mean, yes,

23:26

wildlife in our natural world faces a lot

23:28

of challenges, but when we learn more about those

23:30

challenges, we can work together to make changes

23:32

that help all wildlife.

23:34

That's a really good point, friend. I mean, big

23:36

changes happen when we learn more and

23:39

we work together exactly. This

23:41

was such a great way to start seeing three. Rick

23:44

and I have a feeling our next episode

23:46

is going to be just as good, if not

23:49

even better. I mean there's so much unexpected.

23:51

Wait, wait, we don't give it away

23:53

just yet. We want our listeners to have a little bit of a surprise

23:56

when they hear the next episode.

23:57

Ah, yes, that's right, Okay, all.

23:59

Right, so be to subscribe and tune into our

24:01

next episode, in which we learn more about

24:03

the unexpected and maybe unknown facts

24:05

about wildlife.

24:10

I'm Marco Went and I'm Rick Schwartz.

24:12

Thanks for listening. We're

24:15

more information about the San Diego Zoo and San

24:17

Diego Zoo Safari Park. Go to SDZWA

24:21

dot org. Amazing Wildlife is a

24:23

production of iHeartRadio. Our supervising

24:25

producers are Nikkia Swinton and Dylan

24:27

Fagan, and our sound designers are Sierra

24:30

Spreen and Matt Russell. For more

24:32

shows from iHeartRadio, check out the iHeartRadio

24:34

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

24:37

listen to your favorite shows.