Debra L. Forthman, PhD
Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist

In high school, the study of veterinary medicine seemed logical for an animal lover, so I volunteered at the local clinic. At that time I began to read about behavior and was inspired by Jane Goodall’s first book.

After my first year in college I had decided to pursue animal behavior. At the University of California at Riverside, I began to study monkeys and apes.

A childhood wish to live in Africa was fulfilled when I left for Tanzania to live for a year and study baboons in a national park. It was a wonderful and life-changing experience.

I conducted my PhD work at UCLA, mentored by psychologist John Garcia, renowned for his work on conditioned taste aversion (CTA). During that time, I heard that a group of long-studied baboons in Kenya was raiding farmers’ crops and being killed by the farmers. With my experience in applied CTA and baboons, I obtained a Fulbright fellowship and worked in Kenya for two years. I demonstrated that baboons could develop taste aversions for corn, but biochemical technology was not sufficiently advanced to make application feasible.

From UCLA, I went to the Los Angeles Zoo and learned about the behavior of species I had never worked with, such as ungulates, carnivores and birds. I worked for another two years on a second taste aversion project in the southwest.

I joined the staff at Zoo Atlanta in 1989 where I supervised scientific research on zoo grounds, most of which was conducted by graduate students of Dr. Terry Maple, Zoo Atlanta’s director and a professor at Georgia Tech. During my last five years at the zoo, I developed a new department of Field Conservation. A talented and motivated staff worked on educational, research and conservation programs at the zoo and around the world.

After my job at the zoo, I started a companion animal consulting business that taught me much about practicing the science of animal behavior as a clinician in private practice. Owners often say, “You are my last resort”, so it is rewarding to be able to restore a harmonious relationship between owner and pet.

Now I work as a part-time consultant for Faye Owen, the owner of this company, named, appropriately, “Animal Harmony”.

If you'd like to see my professional vita, describing in detail my education, work experience and publications, click here.