The Natural History Cupboard Podcast

This week we celebrate World Stick Insect Day by giving you a trio of three living wonders with our special guest, Portia, from Exmoor Zoo’s education team. Come and learn about the rarest stick insect, the stick insect that annoys Aaron the most, and the three species of stick insect that are now calling Britain home! The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week we get spooky with Phil Barber, from Incredible Inverts & Other Animals, and we bring you a trio of spooky species to enjoy while the nights draw in. So join us if you dare. The cupboard is open, come on in! Links to Phil's social media: https://incredible-inverts-and-other-animals.square.site/ https://youtube.com/@incredibleinvertsotheranimals?si=TCZDpCeYT-FFou67

This week we meet the dinosaur that has undergone multiple changes over its hundred year history, the Spinosaurus! Take a trip through time to see how this animal has changed in appearance, behaviour, and even popularity. In the news, the results of an extensive camera trap survey of the Congo rainforest are in, and they give a whole new perspective on an already important ecosystem. All this and...

This week we pay tribute to the legendary Dr. Jane Goodall. Join us to take a look back at her groundbreaking discoveries and work that positively changed the world. In the news, Aaron tells us about the incredible work that Chester Zoo has undertaken to help elephants. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week we share the sad tale of the western black rhino. Find out what led to the demise of this sub-species, and the lessons it can teach us to conserve our remaining rhinos. In the news, we look at the winning species of New Zealand’s Forest and Bird competition for 2025! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week we see what the buzz is about with honey bees, and why they are not just important economically, but also vital ecologically. In the news, we look to the stars at the possibility of life on Mars! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week we move stealthily through the forests of south east Asia to meet the cat of the clouds, the clouded leopard! In the news, we show you how you can exercise your democratic rights to help decide two important decisions that involve Lego and New Zealand’s birds. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

We are back! Well, sort of. Aaron is in the cupboard studio, and Gareth is out and about. But fear not, our regular format is back - as Gareth takes us on a journey to the Mesozoic to meet the spiral shelled superstars that are the Ammonites. Meanwhile, back in the Cupboard, Aaron answers the mailbag which has built up a bit over the summer. The cupboard is back open, so come on in!

Join us this week as we delve into the prehistoric pet shop and look at what dinosaur would make the best pet. Gareth takes us through a possible shopping list of species, which includes some well-known names, and also some you might not of heard of. We give them each a rating based on weather they will be a prehistoric pal or a homewreckasaurus!

Come with us this week on a historical journey through the use of insects in warfare, and learn about the many ways humans have relied on invertebrates as essential allies in combat.

This week we take a dive in the ocean to come face-to-face with one of the most recognisable cetaceans in the world, the humpback whale! In the news, there's a new discovery that shows how Ichthyosaurs moved silently through the water. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in! LINK TO FLY EPISODE

This week we check out for the vividly vibrant, and sometimes violent, lilac-breasted roller. It is the unofficial National Bird of Kenya, and is often referred to as the "most photographed bird in Africa" with its jaw-dropping multi-coloured plumage. Drew even embarrasses us all by doing a rap about it. In the news, we "roll" through some articles about bearded vultures; Galáp...

This week is National Moth Week, and - like our other specials - we have three moths for you: the vivacious hummingbird hawk-moth; the massive tropical swallowtail moth; and the even larger, yet short-lived, atlas moth. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in! National Moth Week is held in the last week of July. It's a citizen science project to study and record populations of moth...

This week Aaron closes out the Panthera genus with the leopard. It's the last of the "big cat" features (unless we delve into subspecies), but the adaptable, intelligent, and stealth-based leopard is by no means least. In the news, there's a big butterfly boom in the rewilded landscape at Knepp! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week we finally get around to tackling another Shark Week - the last time was 2021 (it took us a few years to get the timing right again... whoops). For 2025, we delve into the deep blue to meet the great white and the scalloped hammerhead, and Gareth returns temporarily to showcase the blue shark! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week we take a balanced look at the yellow-flowered common ragwort. Is it responsible for thousand of horse deaths a year, or are those numbers fabricated? Is it simply just misunderstood, to the detriment of the hundreds of species of invertebrates that rely on it? In the news, we discover the potential for a new plastic that dissolves! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week, to celebrate Rainforest Day of 2025, we explore three different rainforest regions of the world - the Amazon of South America, Taman Negara of Malaysia and the Celtic Rainforests of our UK home. Come and discover what makes these biomes so unique - even from one another - and why protecting them is so vital. The cupboard is open, come on in! Correction: In this episode, the Tropical roy...

This week we delve into the ocean, with the giant nomadic leatherback sea turtle, and ask how does such a large reptile live on jellyfish alone? In the news, it's all about the upcoming dino-park building sim, Jurassic World: Evolution 3, and whether it holds up to other prehistoric park builders. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week we traverse a changed forest that should be home to one of the world's largest woodpeckers, the ivory-billed woodpecker, but only the echoes of its song and tapping remain. In the news, we celebrate the life of another recently passed bird, the UK's oldest wild white-tailed eagle, who produced a record number of chicks. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week we meet the second dinosaur ever discovered, Iguanodon! Find out how its image has changed over the past 200 years to the dinosaur we know today. In the news, Aaron discusses the newest standards for UK zoos. All this and more. The cupboard is open come on in!

This week we look at one of the most effective predators in Eurasia and North America, the grey wolf! This species attracts lovers and haters, and both are often misguided. In the news, we hark back to our previous episode as choughs have returned to Kent! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week we head to the west coast of the UK to discover how our very own Celtic corvid, the red-billed chough, is woven into the culture and myths of these lands. In the news, we celebrate the amazing life and career of Sir David Attenborough as he enters his 99th year! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week due to some rather unforeseen circumstances we have not been able to put out our normal episode. But to tide you over until our next episode, here is a look into the history of migration!

This week we travel back to prehistoric Mongolia to meet the many-named, but hornless, rhino, the massive Paraceratherium. In the news, Aaron tells us how much of the UK population is concerned with the loss of wildlife - we look at what is being done, and what you can do too. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!

This week it’s all gone to the dogs. Not just the creature feature, the dire wolf, but with our hosts. We explore what a dire wolf is and how it's similar or different from Colossal's wolf? In the news, we look at the Earth Day movement and the unity it can inspire. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!