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If you see oiled wildlife, call the OWCN 24-hour hotline: 1-877-UCD-OWCN (1-877-823-6926)

Frankie Lill coordinates wildlife oil spill response for the entire state of California. She also used to work with us, and is making this podcast cooler by the second. In this episode, she breaks down how the Oiled Wildlife Care Network mobilizes within hours of a spill, what it really takes to rehabilitate an oiled bird, why blue dish soap is still the MVP after decades of research, and reminisces on her past work (of being a social media SUPERSTAR) at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

In this episode:

• Frankie's aviculturist background at the Aquarium of the Pacific and her role as Wildlife Planning Specialist on the OWCN team
• How OWCN was created in response to catastrophic spills in the late 1980s and early 1990s
• The four R's of OWCN's work: readiness, response, reaching out, and research
• What happens when a spill is activated, from the planning meeting to boots on the ground within two hours
• The full care journey of an oiled bird: field capture, stabilization, intake and processing, pre-wash care, washing, conditioning, waterproofing, and release
• Why inland oil spills are more common than most people realize
• How the network prepares responders for every species

Get involved:

• Learn about OWCN and find member organizations
• If you see oiled wildlife, call the OWCN 24-hour hotline: 1-877-UCD-OWCN (1-877-823-6926)

Episode resources:

• Aquarium Staff Lend a Helping Hand to Oiled Seabirds in Ventura County
• Aquarium Staff Members Helped Rescue Animals Affected by the Oil Spill
• Aquarium Aids in Rescue Effort to Save Baby Seabirds
• Beautiful turban snail video

Episode photo cover courtesy of OWCN/UC Davis

Stay connected:

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you are subscribed to Aquarium of the Podcific wherever you are listening, and leave us a five-star review! It goes a long way in helping new listeners find the show. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Email us at podcific@lbaop.org! Follow the Aquarium of the Pacific across social media (@aquariumpacific) for fun animal videos, conservation updates, and more. Follow the podcast's own Instagram (@podcific) for episode updates and behind-the-scenes content.

Thanks for listening!

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In this episode, Madeline and Erin sit down with Jeff Flocken, President and CEO of the Aquarium of the Pacific, for his first podcast appearance since joining the institution. Jeff shares the winding path that brought him here, from studying giraffes in Africa, to law school, to nearly two decades of global wildlife policy work, and what it felt like to trade policy campaigns for waders in the San Gabriel River.

We also hear the full story of Porkchop, the Aquarium's three-flippered green sea turtle, from her rescue and rehabilitation to her release back into the river she calls home.

In this episode:

• Jeff's path from field research and law school to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Humane Society International, and the Aquarium of the Pacific
• The campaign to list African lions as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
• The Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders program (EWCL), what it is, how it works, and why Jeff co-founded it 20 years ago
• Erin's connection to the program as a member of the 11th class
• Jeff's first impressions of the Aquarium and the conservation work already underway
• Porkchop's rescue from the San Gabriel River, her year of rehabilitation at the Aquarium, and her release
• What it felt like for Jeff, a career policy advocate, to release an animal into the wild for the first time
• The Aquarium's current conservation programs: white abalone, sunflower sea stars, sea otter surrogacy, coral restoration, bull kelp, zebra sharks, monarch butterflies, mountain yellow-legged frogs, and more
• Jeff's conservation dream: sea otters reclaiming their historic range from Alaska to Mexico
• The animated short film Save Ralph, and how it helped pass cosmetic animal testing bans in four countries within a year
• Jeff's wildlife hero: Dr. Jane Goodall
• Chewbacca, Jeff's golden retriever, a rescue from a dog meat farm in South Korea

Get involved:

• Southern California Sea Turtle Monitoring Program: first Saturday of each month, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.
• Los Cerritos Wetlands monthly cleanup
• Donate to the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center
• NOAA's Sea Turtle Stranding Hotline: 562-506-4315
• Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (aka EWCL)
• Watch "Save Ralph", Humane Society International’s global campaign to ban animal testing for cosmetics

Stay connected:

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure you are subscribed to Aquarium of the Podcific wherever you are listening, and leave us a five-star review! It goes a long way in helping new listeners find the show. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Follow the Aquarium of the Pacific across social media (@aquariumpacific) for fun animal videos, conservation updates, and more. Follow the podcast's own Instagram (@podcific) for episode updates and behind-the-scenes content.

Thanks for listening!

Send us Fan Mail

Get ready to feel some eelings. In this episode of Aquarium of the Podcific, Aquarist Heidi takes listeners on a deep dive into the wonderfully weird world of eels, from “true” eels and their tube-sock vibes to the grandpa-faced wolf eels that only look like the real deal.

Episode resources:

• ⁠⁠⁠Transcript⁠⁠⁠
• Follow ⁠⁠⁠@podcific⁠⁠⁠ on Instagram!
• Email us at podcific@lbaop.org
• ⁠⁠⁠⁠Brooke’s Rockfish Survey Trip + Vlog
• Dragon Eel