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.

Mothering Wildlife is a kids podcast hosted by Elizabeth Johnson, with 76 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Elizabeth Johnson hosts Mothering Wildlife, a kids show with 76 episodes published.

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  Episode #76

  Raising Kids Without a Village, A Dedicated Episode with Briana Schmidt from Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium and Jessi Gorman from the Fort Worth Zoo

  Sep 3, 202644 min

  Send me a message! This week we have another dedicated episode on one topic of motherhood, not having a "village" to help you raise your children. My guests are Briana Schmidt from Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium and Jessi Gorman from the Fort Worth Zoo. Both have been on the podcast before and I'm happy to welcome them back to talk about his important topic! Briana and Jessi talk about what their biggest challenges are in raising kids without a community. Most of those challenges center around schedules and finding and having people available that you trust to watch your children. Both talk about having to find weekend care for their children and how they went about finding caregivers that they trusted. It's hard to ask for help when you don't feel like you have a "go-to" family member or friend to help, especially with last minute needs or those times when you just need someone to watch your child for a couple of hours so you can get something done. Not wanting people to feel obligated to watch your child is an emotion that comes up time and time again, especially when children are younger and more is involved in their care. There's also the things that you don't think of would be a challenge when you don't have a village, including who you put down as emergency contacts if you and your partner can't be reached, who can help watch your child if you are sick, and how do you spend quality time with your partner when it's not easy to find someone to watch your child for a night out. The question becomes, "Is the thing I need/want to do worth it right now to go through having to find someone to watch my child or should I just bring them along?" Ultimately, both Briana and Jessi have slowly but surely built villages and friend groups that allow them to have support but it's not easy and like Briana says, you have to put into it what you want to get out! Mothering Wildlife links: Facebook MotheringWildlifePodcast Instagram @motheringwildlife Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

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  Episode #75

  Postpartum Depression and Anxiety; A Dedicated Episode with Tegan Noel and Sarah Ross

  Aug 20, 20261h 11m

  Send me a message! This week we have another dedicated episode on one topic a lot of listeners will be familiar with; postpartum depression and anxiety. I'm joined by Tegan Noel, a Wildlife Care Specialist from the San Diego Zoo and Sarah Ross, a former night keeper at Disney's Animal Kingdom as well as vet tech. Tegan and Sarah share their birth stories, which for both of them included some scary and uncertain circumstances. They also share how this played into their postpartum experiences and we talk about whether postpartum was as they expected or whether it was surprising in any way. Both talk about having children in the NICU and the anxiety around bringing home a NICU baby. At the time of this recording, Sarah was 3 months postpartum and shares how she is still coping with the anxiety around bringing home her second child from the NICU. We also talk about how social media influences our views about the postpartum period and the shame a mother can feel if her experience doesn't seem like other's picture perfect postpartum period. This is an important conversation and both Tegan and Sarah share their own stories on this topic. Both were able to receive help from providers and want others to know that there is no shame in asking for help. Mothering Wildlife links: Facebook MotheringWildlifePodcast Instagram @motheringwildlife Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

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  Episode #74

  Pregnancy and Childbirth Complications; a Dedicated Episode with Carolyn Kelly from the St. Louis Zoo and Caroline Adams formerly of the Zoo in Forest Park

  Aug 6, 202652 min

  Send me a message! This week's episode is another dedicated episode on one topic - pregnancy and childbirth complications. I bring together two guests; Carolyn Kelley, the Assistant Manager of Tours at the St. Louis Zoo and Caroline Adams, the former Director of Education at the Zoo in Forest Park, who left the zoo field a couple of years ago and is now working for the state of Connecticut in childcare licensing. Both share their stories with pregnancy complications while trying to work routines at the zoo. Their stories include journeys with hyperemesis gravidarum, inguinal hernias, Type 1 diabetes, pubic symphysis diastasis, and post partum pre-eclampsia. We talk about how it felt to care for a newborn while also trying to care for your health and some of the differences between the postpartum periods of their first children vs. their second. One topic we dive into is the feeling of jealousy watching other mom's "normal" postpartum experiences because that wasn't their reality. We spend some time talking about the grief associated with deciding you are done having children because of complications that arose in your previous pregnancies. Finally, we talk about the guilt felt from having to modify routines at work and being put on light duty and how that impacted their teams. Caroline's advice is to not only advocate for yourself at work, but advocate for yourself in a medical setting. Carolyn has made it her mission to try to supprt other moms as much as she can, hoping that by sharing her story that someone else navigating complications will feel less alone. Mothering Wildlife links: Facebook MotheringWildlifePodcast Instagram @motheringwildlife Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

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  Episode #73

  From Orcas to Orangutans with Carley Gonzalez from the Topeka Zoo

  Jul 23, 20261h 3m

  Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms! My guest this week is Carley Gonzalez, an Animal Curator, from the Topeka Zoo. While Carley currently spends all of her time working with and managing terrestrial animals, she started in the field as a marine mammal trainer working with orcas! Carley and I touch on her professional journey, which includes some time spent out of the zoo and aquarium field, and then a journey back into the field. Through the power of networking and an open willingness to put her family first and learn something new, Carley went from working with marine mammals, her passion since she was a little girl, to learning about and working with terrestrial animals in a traditional zoo setting. We talk a lot on this podcast about pivoting into new roles as well as leaving the field and what it takes to get back into the field and Carley's story is a great example of the success that can be had when you are open minded. Carley's motherhood journey also includes some time spent as a single mom, working with marine mammals, and trying to navigate late nights and crazy schedules. We talk about this time period in her life and how she made it work. Moms are so good at just doing what needs to be done and as Carleys says, this was just her life and she didn't know any different so of course she made it work! Carley's advice to other moms is to put your family first and try to remember that work things can wait until tomorrow. She really urges moms to enjoy their kids when they are little and to try to be present while not beating yourself up about things out of your control. Mothering Wildlife links: Facebook MotheringWildlifePodcast Instagram @motheringwildlife Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

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  Episode #72

  Two IVF Journeys; a Dedicated Episode on the Topic with Kaitlyn Fulmer from the Memphis Zoo and LeShea Cochu from the Chattanooga Zoo

  Jul 9, 20261h 18m

  Click here to send me a text! Have a story to share or just want to chat? Let's connect - because moms need moms! This week's episode is a little different. I wanted to bring together two moms within the zoo field who have IVF as part of their motherhood journey and let them have the opportunity to share their stories and talk to each other about their journeys. Kaitlyn Fulmer and LeShea Cochu joined me for this dedicated episode on going through IVF as a zookeeper, and I'm so grateful to them for being willing to share such intimate details about their experiences. Kaitlyn and LeShea both share their journeys to becoming pregnant through IVF. They talk about the timelines and the emotions involved with going through the process as well as how they cope with working while going through such a physical and emotional time. Both have had support at work and share that that can be critical in helping to feel like one can navigate going through IVF while working. Kaitlyn even shares some of the accommodations her team made for her in regard to working with sea lions who were on birth control. We also talk about how they both decided how much to share about what they were going through with their coworkers and facilities, as well as how they handle unintended questions and comments from family and friends. We talk about the financial side of IVF as well, which on a zookeeper budget can be tough. Both LeShea and Kaitlyn share about how they were able to finance IVF, including how much it costs for medication and how frustrating it can be to have to pay for unused medication. Finally, we talk about the schedule associated with IVF and how both of them were able to work their appointments around lunch schedules and changing work shifts. Kaitlyn and LeShea give some great advice about how they made the rigid schedules of IVF work with their roles at the zoo. Mothering Wildlife links: Facebook MotheringWildlifePodcast Instagram @motheringwildlife Email: motheringwildlife@gmail.com

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