The Critter Shed

...or, as we really wanted to call this episode: LOCK UP YOUR PUSSIES! We've been wanting to have a conversation about domestic cats, the amount of wildlife they kill every year, and why they really REALLY should be kept indoors. And here it is. It's a gentle conversation, though, led by the gorgeous Ted, Colette's charismatic feline companion. AND, we have a very special after-hours tour of Colet...

Part 2 of our chat with herpetologist Rob Gandola. This time we're tackling the thorny issue of the rights and wrongs of keeping exotic pets and the unregulated pet trade. With cameos by tubular and amazing slow worms (who have been unfairly associated with hippies in the west of Ireland) and a couple of media-friendly frogs from Collie's shed. Here's a bit of reading from National Geographic on t...

This week we're getting nerdy about amphibians with stories of exploding toads (yup, for real), pirate frogs (aaaarrr... yup, for real), as well as why there's an amphibian die-off right now and what small things you can do to help frogs recover. Our victim... er, guest this week is amphibian-nerd extraordinaire Rob Gandola of the Herpetological Society of Ireland. Part 1 of a two-part chat. Furth...

This week we chat to Collie's cousin Dr. Stephanie Maher about the lonely, busy and fascinating lives of solitary bees. We also hear about the wondrous bee orchids, who imitate the seductive end of a female bee to encourage pollination. Also, if you want to find out how you can help bees to thrive, we have some very helpful hints. Here's a quick one: embrace your weeds! They're just badly labelled...

Weird, tubular animals or geniuses of evolution? While Collie feeds his various constrictors, we hear how snakes are THE ultimate survivors. The can unhinge their jaws to swallow enormous prey items. They also have wily ways with their windpipes that stops them suffocating when ingesting a huge meal. And, when it comes to defending themselves, they have some stinky weapons up their, er, sleeves. O...

Booty calls, bed-hopping and badger housekeeping tips! Join Collie and Colette as badger expert Dr. Aoibheann Gaughran reveals the saucy sex lives of a group of wild badgers in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. Aoibheann has been studying a family of badgers in Co. Wicklow for a number of years, and in this episode we visit an enchanted glade (seriously, it felt like that at the time) where she tells us about...

Collie delves into his new collection of epic, carnivorous horned frog tadpoles, what we lovingly call GIANT PIRANHA SPERM!!! Find out about one of the world's most amazingly adapted amphibians that can go from barely fertilized egg to fully functioning, HUGE froglets in just over two weeks - the Ferraris of the frog world! Presented by The Critter Shed crew, Collie Ennis and Colette Kinsella, and...

Why are Collie and Colette lurking in a suburban park under cover of darkness wearing head torches and carrying a boom pole? The Critter Shed goes WILD in search of.... newts! Presented by Collie Ennis and Colette Kinsella. Produced by Colette Kinsella for Red Hare Media Share your wildlife stories with us, ask us questions about wildlife or tell us what you'd like us to chat about on the podcast:...

Today, Colette and Collie delve into the world of these fascinating arachnids where we hear about their history on Earth, their hunting methods and very odd love lives. AND, Colette has a very unusual, VERY close encounter with a male Asian forest scorpion. Further reading: Read more about scorpions in this National Geographic article. More information on the Egyptian scorpion goddess Serket here...

This episode features The Great Cockroach Challenge where Collie & Colette search for the beauty and majesty in cockroaches. Collie shows Colette his cockchafer (beetle), and we find out why insect numbers are dropping like flies and how we can all help them recover. It's a cock-a-doodle of a show. Presented by Collie Ennis and Colette Kinsella. Produced by Colette Kinsella for Red Hare Media....

Ever wanted to visit a frog orgy? Or take a trip to Mexico to meet the local salamanders and the nuns who are helping save them from extinction? (Get this: it involves holy salamander juice!) If so, this is the episode for you. And if not, tag along regardless because it's a cracker of a journey. Join Collie Ennis & Colette Kinsella in the critter shed as they delve into the world of thes...

So, you think you have free will, right? Well, have we got news for you! As it turns out, many of our actions - from what we wear, to how we drive, or even to our business skills - may be controlled by microscopic parasites. Today in the shed Collie Ennis and Colette Kinsella chat with passionate parasitologist Maureen Williams of Trinity College Dublin about fungi that control their hosts like pu...

A milky session in the critter shed where Colette and Collie find out how some animals nourish their young without nipples - from lactating spiders and frogs who feed their tadpoles in the treetops, to sharks whose young fight to the death in utero. You’d be a right tit to miss this one. The Critter Shed. A podcast with legs… and without nipples. Produced by Red Hare Media. Music: Podington Bear -...

"Ridin'" is an Irish colloquial term for "sex". Science research associate Collie Ennis and audio producer Colette Kinsella meet in the critter shed to talk about the saucy (and sad) world of spider sex, where your first act of procreation might be your last. We also find out what it feels like to fall victim to a venom-packing tarantula, and why spiders are your friends (no, really, they are). A...

If you like learning about the weird and wonderful side of nature - about things like spider sex, venom-toting frogs, mind-controlling parasites, and more - then this is the podcast for you! Coming at you fortnightly from 15th January 2019. Oh, and it's in a shed. With Collie Ennis and Colette Kinsella. Produced by Red Hare Media. http://podcast.thecrittershed.net/ Subscribe where you get your pod...