Mothering Wildlife

About Mothering Wildlife

Telling the stories of moms who work in zoo, wildlife, vet, and conservation organizations. Working with wildlife brings a unique set of challenges for working mothers. Join me every other week as I interview moms working primarily in the zoo field as we discuss their journey as moms, navigating the mental, emotional, and often physical challenges that come with caring for wildlife and caring for kids.

Publisher

Elizabeth Johnson

Category

kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

23 Jun 2023

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

79 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Zookeeper and Mother: Same, Same, But Different...But Are They Really That Different?! with Chandler Hammack from the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo

   Send me a message! My guest this week is Chandler Hammack, a carnivore keeper at the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. As a wife to an active duty Coast Guard husband, Chandler is no stranger to moving around the country and gaining experience at a variety of facilities, especially in recent years after becoming married. We talk about her work history and whether or not she feels that variety has been beneficial. She worries people look at her resume and wonder why she's moved so much (which she admit...

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Every Pregnancy is Different with Randi Toynton from Brookfield Zoo Chicago

   Send me a message! My guest this week is Randi Toynton, a Senior Animal Care Specialist at Brookfield Zoo Chicago. Randi is a mom of 4 at the time of this episode release, however at the time of recording Randi was pregnant with her 4th child! Randi is also a twin mom so she shares a bit about her twin pregnancy and how it was the hardest pregnant she had. However with her current pregnancy, things have been a bit different which just goes to show that even in the same woman, pregnancy can b...

3. 

   18 Sept 2026

   Birth of the Mothering Wildlife Podcast, a Blast From the Past

   Send me a message! This week I’m re-running the very first Mothering Wildlife Podcast episode which includes my conversation with Whitlee Turner. At the time, Whitlee was a new mom working at the Metro Richmond Zoo. Her motherhood journey made headlines when she shared a very intimate breastfeeding moment with another new mom, an orangutan where she worked. I heard Whitlee’s story and thought there was no better way to kick off a podcast about being a working zoo mom then to talk to ...

Who has been a guest on Mothering Wildlife

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Katie Hall
• Andrea Porch
• Caroline Dyer

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

16 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

14 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 36 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

41

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

77

Contact Mothering Wildlife

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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