Jim Wharton, PhD
@jimwharton.bsky.social
CEO, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. Forever advocate for sharks, empathy, and conservation optimism.
https://linktr.ee/jimwharton
https://linktr.ee/jimwharton
Pinned
While not officially endorsing a candidate in the Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo Mayoral election...I encourage you to give Chunk, the tiger salamander a 2nd look. Who would you trust more to encourage bipartisan cooperation than the amphibian candidate?
fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/2026ZooMa...
fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/2026ZooMa...
While not officially endorsing a candidate in the Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo Mayoral election...I encourage you to give Chunk, the tiger salamander a 2nd look. Who would you trust more to encourage bipartisan cooperation than the amphibian candidate?
fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/2026ZooMa...
fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/2026ZooMa...
November 3, 2025 at 2:33 PM
While not officially endorsing a candidate in the Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo Mayoral election...I encourage you to give Chunk, the tiger salamander a 2nd look. Who would you trust more to encourage bipartisan cooperation than the amphibian candidate?
fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/2026ZooMa...
fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/2026ZooMa...
As a person who walks around a zoo every day with a trash picker, what would you guess is the most common article of garbage I find on the ground? 🗑️
August 7, 2025 at 2:55 PM
As a person who walks around a zoo every day with a trash picker, what would you guess is the most common article of garbage I find on the ground? 🗑️
Please support On the Shoulders of Giants. Scott DeGraw (producer of the Alien & Ninja Sharks series) has demonstrated his commitment to producing inclusive, conservation-forward shark programming. Basking sharks are long overdue for their turn in the spotlight.
seedandspark.com/fund/on-the-... 🦈🦑🧪
seedandspark.com/fund/on-the-... 🦈🦑🧪
On The Shoulders Of Giants - Film and Storytelling | Seed&Spark
GIANTS is the journey of two young biologists trying to save one of the planet's largest sharks. It’s a story of exploration in the face of the great unknown. It’s a meditation on empowerment, Irish history, and why scientific investigation is so vital to our planet in these challenging times.
seedandspark.com
August 1, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Please support On the Shoulders of Giants. Scott DeGraw (producer of the Alien & Ninja Sharks series) has demonstrated his commitment to producing inclusive, conservation-forward shark programming. Basking sharks are long overdue for their turn in the spotlight.
seedandspark.com/fund/on-the-... 🦈🦑🧪
seedandspark.com/fund/on-the-... 🦈🦑🧪
Did anyone actually watch Dancing with Sharks? I couldn't bring myself to do it, even out of morbid curiosity.
July 22, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Did anyone actually watch Dancing with Sharks? I couldn't bring myself to do it, even out of morbid curiosity.
Sad that this is as relevant today as in 2019. If anything, SharkWeek is becoming even less science-grounded and less relevant as a cultural event. The fact that they don't even release descriptions of the programs anymore seems telling. 🦈🦑🧪
Some experts worry Shark Week focuses too much on the sensational, not enough on science
Some experts worry Shark Week focuses too much on the sensational, not enough on science
As the 31st installment is set to debut, Discovery finds not all biologists and conservationists are on board with its programming strategy.
www.nbcnews.com
July 22, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Sad that this is as relevant today as in 2019. If anything, SharkWeek is becoming even less science-grounded and less relevant as a cultural event. The fact that they don't even release descriptions of the programs anymore seems telling. 🦈🦑🧪
🦈🦑🧪
Happy Shark & Ray Awareness Day. Since it's hard to find good new shark media may I recommend finding: 700 Sharks, Alien Sharks (before F. Gallant), Ninja Sharks, the original Air Jaws, Shark (BBC One), GW Shark Babies, any of the SharkCam shows. What science/wonder-forward shark shows are you favs?
July 14, 2025 at 1:22 PM
🦈🦑🧪
Happy Shark & Ray Awareness Day. Since it's hard to find good new shark media may I recommend finding: 700 Sharks, Alien Sharks (before F. Gallant), Ninja Sharks, the original Air Jaws, Shark (BBC One), GW Shark Babies, any of the SharkCam shows. What science/wonder-forward shark shows are you favs?
July 14, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Happy Shark & Ray Awareness Day. Since it's hard to find good new shark media may I recommend finding: 700 Sharks, Alien Sharks (before F. Gallant), Ninja Sharks, the original Air Jaws, Shark (BBC One), GW Shark Babies, any of the SharkCam shows. What science/wonder-forward shark shows are you favs?
@seattleaquarium.bsky.social Lightning Talks looks great next week. The Seahorses topic has been in the queue for a while. www.seattleaquarium.org/events/light...
Lightning Talks: Seahorses and Seadragons - Seattle Aquarium
Join us on Thursday, July 17 at 6:30pm PST to learn about seahorses and their elusive relatives, seadragons!
www.seattleaquarium.org
July 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
@seattleaquarium.bsky.social Lightning Talks looks great next week. The Seahorses topic has been in the queue for a while. www.seattleaquarium.org/events/light...
I'm really impressed...and a little depressed...by this intensely data viz-driven look at global inequality. Worth your time: globalinequality.org
globalinequality.org
July 8, 2025 at 9:19 PM
I'm really impressed...and a little depressed...by this intensely data viz-driven look at global inequality. Worth your time: globalinequality.org
Succinct and to the point, as always, from @whysharksmatter.bsky.social
www.southernfriedscience.com/what-ocean-r...
www.southernfriedscience.com/what-ocean-r...
What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on “the Shark Whisperer” documentary
Netflix has a new (sarcastic air quotes) “documentary” out about Ocean Ramsey, who longtime readers and followers know is a serial wildlife harasser who also coordinates massive online …
www.southernfriedscience.com
July 7, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Succinct and to the point, as always, from @whysharksmatter.bsky.social
www.southernfriedscience.com/what-ocean-r...
www.southernfriedscience.com/what-ocean-r...
I mean, kudos to the headline (and the zoo, I guess): www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/d...
Duluth zoo celebrates crowning achievement in bear dentistry
An ursine tooth procedure at the Lake Superior Zoo proves to be one for the record books.
www.duluthnewstribune.com
June 24, 2025 at 2:59 PM
I mean, kudos to the headline (and the zoo, I guess): www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/local/d...
Reposted by Jim Wharton, PhD
New paper!
Social media for fisheries science and management professionals: How to use Bluesky and Instagram, and why you should.
This is the *first* paper in the peer reviewed scientific literature to explain how Bluesky works and how to use it for #SciComm 🧪🦑🐠
academic.oup.com/fisheries/ad...
Social media for fisheries science and management professionals: How to use Bluesky and Instagram, and why you should.
This is the *first* paper in the peer reviewed scientific literature to explain how Bluesky works and how to use it for #SciComm 🧪🦑🐠
academic.oup.com/fisheries/ad...
Social media for fisheries science and management professionals: How to use Bluesky and Instagram, and why you should
ABSTRACT. Social media tools have revolutionized how people communicate with one another. A 2018 paper in Fisheries summarized the use of Twitter, Facebook
academic.oup.com
April 11, 2025 at 12:09 PM
New paper!
Social media for fisheries science and management professionals: How to use Bluesky and Instagram, and why you should.
This is the *first* paper in the peer reviewed scientific literature to explain how Bluesky works and how to use it for #SciComm 🧪🦑🐠
academic.oup.com/fisheries/ad...
Social media for fisheries science and management professionals: How to use Bluesky and Instagram, and why you should.
This is the *first* paper in the peer reviewed scientific literature to explain how Bluesky works and how to use it for #SciComm 🧪🦑🐠
academic.oup.com/fisheries/ad...
Ranger, one of our red wolves, enjoys a beautiful early spring day at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo. Red wolves are critically endangered in the US and require strengthened, not relaxed protections to ensure their survival. As has been shown in other regions, wolves are good for habitats.
March 11, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Ranger, one of our red wolves, enjoys a beautiful early spring day at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo. Red wolves are critically endangered in the US and require strengthened, not relaxed protections to ensure their survival. As has been shown in other regions, wolves are good for habitats.
Reposted by Jim Wharton, PhD
Today, a broad coalition of scientific professional societies who represent over 92,000 scientists are speaking out against the politicization and demonization of Federally funded science and government scientist jobs.
It was an honor to help the Union of Concerned Scientists with this! 🧪🌎
It was an honor to help the Union of Concerned Scientists with this! 🧪🌎
48 Scientific Societies Representing Almost 100,000 Scientists Ask Congress to Protect the Future of Science
48 scientific societies representing almost 100,000 scientists signed on to a letter asking Congress to protect the future of science
www.ucsusa.org
March 3, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Today, a broad coalition of scientific professional societies who represent over 92,000 scientists are speaking out against the politicization and demonization of Federally funded science and government scientist jobs.
It was an honor to help the Union of Concerned Scientists with this! 🧪🌎
It was an honor to help the Union of Concerned Scientists with this! 🧪🌎
Extinct relatives of #RedPandas followed temperate forests as their distributions shifted w/ changing climate…but that was then. Now wild spaces & extant pops are fragmented by human development and local extinctions which will make it harder to respond to current (and more rapid) climate changes.
January 14, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Extinct relatives of #RedPandas followed temperate forests as their distributions shifted w/ changing climate…but that was then. Now wild spaces & extant pops are fragmented by human development and local extinctions which will make it harder to respond to current (and more rapid) climate changes.
There was an extinct species closely related to #redpandas in Washington state?! Known from a single tooth, tho.
January 14, 2025 at 5:36 PM
There was an extinct species closely related to #redpandas in Washington state?! Known from a single tooth, tho.
The little false thumb in red and giant pandas evolved independently. In first pandas, as a climbing adaptation, probably to escape predators and to feed on arboreal lizard, fruits, and eggs. #RedPanda
January 14, 2025 at 5:27 PM
The little false thumb in red and giant pandas evolved independently. In first pandas, as a climbing adaptation, probably to escape predators and to feed on arboreal lizard, fruits, and eggs. #RedPanda
Surprised to learn that #RedPandas have not been a big part of the culture and lore of range states. Happy that the pelt and pet trades are also limited. All probably related to view of bright pandas as good luck…rare to begin with, becoming more rare with habitat losses.
January 13, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Surprised to learn that #RedPandas have not been a big part of the culture and lore of range states. Happy that the pelt and pet trades are also limited. All probably related to view of bright pandas as good luck…rare to begin with, becoming more rare with habitat losses.
Lovely picture of a stump in our leopard habitat at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. Couldn’t find the cat.
January 9, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Lovely picture of a stump in our leopard habitat at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. Couldn’t find the cat.
We just got a dusting. The Zoo is lovely in the snow.
January 7, 2025 at 2:41 PM
We just got a dusting. The Zoo is lovely in the snow.
Learning lots even in the introduction of my new red panda text…pandas are called Wha or Chitwa in their home range due to their vocalizations. Also, super tired of reading about Europeans “discovering” animals. Aren’t we done with that old chestnut? #RedPanda
January 2, 2025 at 5:59 PM
Learning lots even in the introduction of my new red panda text…pandas are called Wha or Chitwa in their home range due to their vocalizations. Also, super tired of reading about Europeans “discovering” animals. Aren’t we done with that old chestnut? #RedPanda
I may do this just to stretch a bit. My art may be story or something other than drawing/painting/etc…IDK. We’ll see. And I work at a zoo so lots of interesting animals live “near” me. #SciArt #NearbyNature2025
I'm proposing a #SciArt Challenge for 2025!
Every month, make art of one of the animals that lives in your area. Post your work with the hashtag #NearbyNature2025 along with something you find interesting about them.
Bonus points for organisms that most of your neighbors won't know live close by!
Every month, make art of one of the animals that lives in your area. Post your work with the hashtag #NearbyNature2025 along with something you find interesting about them.
Bonus points for organisms that most of your neighbors won't know live close by!
January 1, 2025 at 5:36 AM
I may do this just to stretch a bit. My art may be story or something other than drawing/painting/etc…IDK. We’ll see. And I work at a zoo so lots of interesting animals live “near” me. #SciArt #NearbyNature2025
Reposted by Jim Wharton, PhD
I'm proposing a #SciArt Challenge for 2025!
Every month, make art of one of the animals that lives in your area. Post your work with the hashtag #NearbyNature2025 along with something you find interesting about them.
Bonus points for organisms that most of your neighbors won't know live close by!
Every month, make art of one of the animals that lives in your area. Post your work with the hashtag #NearbyNature2025 along with something you find interesting about them.
Bonus points for organisms that most of your neighbors won't know live close by!
December 31, 2024 at 6:17 PM
I'm proposing a #SciArt Challenge for 2025!
Every month, make art of one of the animals that lives in your area. Post your work with the hashtag #NearbyNature2025 along with something you find interesting about them.
Bonus points for organisms that most of your neighbors won't know live close by!
Every month, make art of one of the animals that lives in your area. Post your work with the hashtag #NearbyNature2025 along with something you find interesting about them.
Bonus points for organisms that most of your neighbors won't know live close by!
Thank goodness I don’t believe in bad omens and the like. Not the first bit of news you’d like to see to start the year: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
#Tahlequah #orcas #SouthernResidents
#Tahlequah #orcas #SouthernResidents
Orca Tahlequah’s new baby dies
J61’s birth was of symbolic importance to the region. Her mother was Tahlequah, who 2018 carried her dead calf 1,000 miles over 17 days.
www.seattletimes.com
January 1, 2025 at 5:31 AM
Thank goodness I don’t believe in bad omens and the like. Not the first bit of news you’d like to see to start the year: www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
#Tahlequah #orcas #SouthernResidents
#Tahlequah #orcas #SouthernResidents
2024 featured two pretty significant events/transitions for me. We opened the Ocean Pavilion: an exhibit and conservation program a decade in the making *and* I left the aquarium to run a Zoo? Can’t make this stuff up.
January 1, 2025 at 3:17 AM
2024 featured two pretty significant events/transitions for me. We opened the Ocean Pavilion: an exhibit and conservation program a decade in the making *and* I left the aquarium to run a Zoo? Can’t make this stuff up.