Techniques to Evaluate and Improve the Welfare of Raptors

By Kristin Dean, CPBT-KA, The Flyer, Summer 2021 

Learn how the staff at CRC access welfare and share their techniques in the Zoological community. It is undeniable that the human-raptor relationship has a rich and complex history. Habitat loss, hunting, pesticide use, and heavy metal poisoning threaten these keystone species, making them popular ambassadors at zoos and facilities all over the world. Special considerations must be made to evaluate and improve the welfare of raptors through husbandry and training. READ MORE

Making Connections Using the Power of Interpretive Signage  

By Kristin Dean CPBT-KA and McKenna Shaffer, IAATE Conference, 2020 

Learn what goes into the development of interpretive signage and how we have achieved our goals to connect our audience to raptor ambassadors.  We will discuss the art of interpretation, and the fundamentals of creating interpretive signage.  READ MORE

Whether to Tether: Promoting Empowerment by Free-lofting Raptors  

By Kristin Dean, CPBT-KA and Colleen Hartman, CPBT-KA, IAATE Conference 2019 

Tethering has been used as a training tool for centuries to allow safe and quick handling of raptors. As the industry pushes towards providing ambassador animals with more empowerment, we take a closer look at why this practice is still in use, and if there are less intrusive methods available to yield the same result.   READ MORE

The Key to Conservation

By Elif M. Gokcigdem, Jim Wharton, Michele Miller Houck, Kristin Dean and Laurie Stuart, Museum Magazine, July-August 2021 

Learn how three zoos and aquariums are designing environmental empathy in their work. In a time when the biological diversity of our planet is at risk, zoos and aquariums (including The Raptor Center) are pioneering work to mitigate the loss of nature by addressing an important agent of behavior change, empathy.  READ MORE