Nationality United States Education Ohio State University | Name Jordan Schaul | |
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Occupation Zoologist, journalist, animal trainer Website | ||
Jordan Carlton Schaul is an American zoologist, conservationist, journalist and animal trainer from Shaker Heights, Ohio.
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Education
Schaul graduated from University School in Hunting Valley, Ohio. He holds a PhD in conservation medicine/wildlife disease ecology from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio and holds an MS in zoology from John Carroll University and a BA in biology-psychology from Skidmore College. He attended veterinary school for two years before leaving to pursue curatorial work in zoos.
Career
Schaul worked as the Conservation Biologist and Curator at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center near Anchorage.
In 2012, he became curator of zoological operations at the Orange County Zoo in Orange, California. He was in residence as a consultant for Wildlife SOS in both Agra and New Delhi, India. Schaul was also a consultant to the Wildlife WayStation in California. Between 2010 and 2013 he held adjunct faculty and research associate appointments at the University of Alaska.
Schaul was a member and outreach coordinator for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission's Bear Specialist Group and an ex officio council member for the International Association for Bear Research and Management.
He has served on the board of directors of The Biodiversity Group. and the boards of Grizzly People and the Nsefu Wildlife Conservation Foundation, which supports conservation initiatives of Zikomo Safari's bush camp in Zambia, Africa. In 2015, Schaul joined the board of Zoo Nation as its Chief Science Officer.
Schaul has worked as a captive wildlife trainer with large mammals and birds, including marine mammals, bears, and wild cats in both protected/restricted contact settings and free-contact settings.
Journalist/nature writer
Schaul contributed to the National Geographic Society's Voices / NewsWatch Blog between 2010 and 2014 as a contracted regular contributor. His contributions to National Geographic have been cross-posted in a number of online publications, including Scientific American Magazine. Schaul has also been a frequent contributor to other publications, including The Dodo, an animal conservation and animal welfare site, and Awesome Ocean, a marine park and marine ecosystem-health publication. He has contributed to miscellaneous wildlife conservation publications, such as Mongabay. He has also contributed to companion pet publications, such as Modern Cat and more mainstream publications like Huffington Post.
TV/film/radio
Schaul appeared in the BBC documentary TV series World's Most Dangerous Roads. In 1998, he hosted episodes of Kazoo (Kids at the Zoo) with the weather team from the local ABC news affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio. Schaul worked on the 2013 film Frozen Ground as an animal trainer.
He created, produced, and hosted web-based Zoo Talkin' Radio, which ran from 2009 to 2012, with co-hosts that included Conrad Schmitt of Utah's Hogle Zoo; actress and media trainer Sandra Dee Robinson; and animal trainer and author Dr. Grey Stafford of the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium in Phoenix, Arizona.
Animal training
In 2014, Schaul launched The Dog Trainer Dude, a business offering dog-training services.
Criticism
In 2013, Ed Stewart, co-founder of the California animal sanctuary Performing Animal Welfare Society, countered Schaul's claim that elephants can be adequately managed in zoological parks using traditional and alternative training practices. In 2014, Captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, criticized Schaul for his support of SeaWorld.
Personal Life
At age 41, Schaul was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder and serves on the board of the Northwest Autism Foundation in hopes of raising awareness for the developmental disorder.