Hosted by Savannah Gunter and Perry Becker, featuring a report by Sarah Choi.
Sarah Choi talks about the way experts in North Carolina care for exotic animals.
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Perry Becker:
Welcome to episode two of the UNC Media Hub podcast. My name is Perry Becker.
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Savannah Gunter:
And I’m Savannah Gunter. Up next, we’re taking a look at the exotic pets story. Reporter Sarah Choi produced the broadcast piece for this story. Sarah, thank you so much for coming on the show.
Sarah Choi:
Thanks for having me.
Savannah Gunter:
So your story is called North Carolina Exotic Animal Experts Emphasize need for proper care amidst lack of statewide legislation. And it takes a deep dive into the state laws surrounding exotic pets by focusing on the Dunrovin Exotic Animal Sanctuary.
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Savannah Gunter:
Now, you were able to take a visit to the Dunrovin, and get an inside perspective from two of the workers there. So what were some of your key takeaways from that visit?
00:00:45:02 – 00:01:09:10
Sarah Choi:
Well, I think the first thing I would say that I don’t think the video quite captured is that the whole place was very loud. There were tons of birds there. So the whole time it was like I couldn’t even hear myself. Most of the time it was parrots and parakeets and all kinds of birds. And I thought it was so fascinating that all of these animals were handled by just two people on a day to day basis.
00:01:09:18 – 00:01:29:11
Sarah Choi:
They were really, really hard. And they’re very, very passionate about the animals. I think the number one thing that I kind of took away from it is that they truly have a passion for it. They really love and care about and respect these animals. And I just think that the whole thing was super admirable. They were super cool people that I got to meet.
00:01:30:22 – 00:01:45:14
Perry Becker:
Yeah. And in your story, Amelia talks about Esmeralda. A monkey. I forget which kind of monkey it is, but she has this special bond with the monkey. So what was that like? Kind of seeing and watching them interact?
00:01:46:05 – 00:02:06:20
Sarah Choi:
Well, I thought it was super special. I had never seen a monkey that close up. So getting to see the monkey and getting to see them interact was just so cool. And I could really feel the love between the two of them. I could really tell that she cared about Esmeralda and that they were very close and that obviously.
00:02:07:01 – 00:02:17:07
Sarah Choi:
They had a relationship in the past and still continue to have one. So I just thought it was really cool to see that so close up because that’s just not something that you get to see every day.
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Perry Becker:
Oh, no, definitely not. Especially within I mean, we talk about we have, you know, good relationships with dogs and other pets that we own. But it’s really kind of interesting to see that relationship with a more exotic animal. So that’s definitely something that’s unique and different than anything I’ve ever seen. So and you said that these two were the only two in the sanctuary that were with the animals.
00:02:42:09 – 00:02:45:23
Perry Becker:
How are they able to take such good care of the animals if it’s just them.
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Sarah Choi:
While they work from sunup to sundown? Basically, it was actually kind of hard to talk to them initially to kind of schedule the interview because they’re so busy taking care of animals, and you never know what to expect day to day. And animals needs can be so different one day to the next. So I think that it’s just a lot of love and care is definitely not a 9 to 5 and, you know, I think they can do it because they’re so passionate about it.
00:03:11:05 – 00:03:32:17
Perry Becker:
Yeah, I mean, definitely that passion, you know, goes a long way. So you’re also able to eat, meet with Ethan Ramirez for covering the story. So he’s a Herper meaning that he searches for these exotic animals more typically reptiles, and he finds them in the wild. So he’s also been living out of his van for the last few years.
00:03:33:00 – 00:03:37:23
Perry Becker:
So what was kind of some of the most interesting things about getting to meet him and getting to talk with him?
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Sarah Choi:
Well, Ethan is actually a friend of one of my friends, and I initially talked to him on Instagram. And when you DM someone, you kind of don’t really get to see the whole picture of them. And he told me that he lived in the van initially and it didn’t really register to me until I met him in a Publix parking.
00:03:54:19 – 00:04:15:03
Sarah Choi:
Order and got to sit inside his van and talk to him. And I could really see like the kind of life that he was living and building in that van. And I just thought it was super interesting that he had such a passion for these animals. And then when he used to live in a house he had, he owned a lot of them, I think I mentioned in the story, But he had to give them all up because of living in the van.
00:04:15:13 – 00:04:31:09
Sarah Choi:
The whole van life thing wouldn’t really work for a ton of snakes and lizards and stuff like that. So I thought it was really cool that he was able to find a way to keep his interest alive and to kind of still show his love for those animals in his own way.
00:04:31:22 – 00:04:38:22
Savannah Gunter:
Yeah, Well, thank you so much for joining us, Sarah, and really appreciate you helping us kind of start off our podcast here.
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Sarah Choi:
Thank you.
00:04:40:04 – 00:04:50:15
Perry Becker:
If you want to hear more about this story, check out MediaHub.unc.edu. Also check us out on Facebook. Twitter, now known as X. Instagram and YouTube.
