Hello, my friends, and welcome to episode 130 of Just the Zoo of Us. On this week's episode, I talk with

a passionate and experienced animal trainer about the relentlessly charming Tarakos. They are here to tell us

all about what it's like to work with these spectacular little goofballs, how to win their hearts

over with the power of berries, baby bird glow-ups,

and the science behind their rainbow of brilliantly pigmented colors that really do make them

actual living paintings.

Just the Zoo of Us presents to Rockos with Aurelin Rudnick.

Music Ellen Rednick. Hey there, friends. This is Ellen Weatherford. I'm here as usual with just the zoo of us. This is your favorite animal review podcast. Today I am so excited to bring y'all a new friend. This is Aurelyn Rudnick. Say hi, Aerolyn. Hi, Ellen. Thank you so much for having me.

Thank you for being here. I'm so excited. You reached out to me recently to let me know that you

work with a really, really cool animal that I've kind of like come across

in my research for the show, but never had an excuse to really do a deeper dive into. So I'm so

excited to talk about this animal with you today. Before we talk about our animal, let's talk about

you a little bit. Errolin, can you let our friends listening know, like, what kind of work you do with

your animals and how you got into it? Yeah, okay. So I am an animal trainer and the owner of a

dog training and pet care business called Paradise Paws, located in Chicago. And I do realize that

has nothing to do with birds, and I swear I can explain.

I started my pet care business after I graduated from an amazing program called the Exotic Animal Training and Management Program at Moore Park College, or as we called it, affectionately,

the Eitom program.

It's a really unique two-year undergraduate program that gives students the opportunity

to learn hands-on zookeeping and animal training techniques in a real-life zoo setting. So in

addition to studying the theories and science behind all of the animals in their care, the students

are also responsible in some capacity or another for daily zoo operations.

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