The Wild Episode

The Reticulated Python : not only the longest snake in the world, but also the only one you could reasonably call a man-eater. A snake that kills by constriction - but how does constriction actually work? You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus e...

The Barrel Amphipod is a tiny terror for certain animals that share its open ocean habitat ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Even a free sign-up there will get you regular content celebrating the wonders and curiosities of the...

Salps are the strangest, most extraordinary of your reasonably close relatives in the Animal Kingdom ... some of the most extraordinary animals on Earth, in fact ... fellow chordates, yet so very, very different ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasion...

The Grey Seal is a very big predator - but also the victim of a strange killer that was, for a long time, a bit of a mystery ...  You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Even a free sign-up there will get you regular content celebrating...

Moniliformis moniliformis is an example of one of the strangest groups of animals in the world: the parasitic Acanthocephalans, or the Thorny-Headed Worms ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Even a free sign-up there will get y...

The Kākāpō is the world's most extraordinary parrot - remarkable in even more ways than most people realise ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Even a free sign-up there will get you regular content celebrating the wonders and c...

The Paradise Flying Snake is one of the most surprising 'fliers' in the Animal Kingdom. How does it do it? And why is the answer to that question different than for all other gliding animals?  You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Ev...

The Glanville Fritillary is an elegant European butterfly, the stufy of which reveals some of the hidden forces shaping animal populations. And it was discovered by a woman - Eleanor Glanville - whose own life is  strange story all of its own ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subsc...

The four species of Tree Hyrax are the survivors of an ancient and diverse group of animals that once dominated Africa. They now live secretive - but very noisy - lives high in the trees. You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Even a f...

The Longnose Lancetfish is a big, strange, predatory fish of the open ocean, whose unusual feeding habits and physiology make it of particular interest to scientists ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Even a free sign-up there...

The Bigfin Squid (species of the genus Magnapinna ) is one of the most iconic deep sea animals these days. But we know precious little about it - we can't even be 100% sure exactly what we're looking at when we capture footage of one of these amazing animals ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Bec...

The Adélie penguin is the ultimate Antarctic penguin, partly because there's so many of them, partly because of its special and profound connection to Antarctic sea ice ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . You don't have to pay a...

The Shovel-Headed Garden Worm , also known as the Hammerhead Worm, is a voracious, terrestrial predatory flatworm. A world-traveller with amazing anatomy, predatory abilities and - especially - reproductive capacity. But why is it named after Kew Gardens in London? You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . B...

Lumholtz's Tree Kangaroo is one of only two species of tree kangaroo in Australia. Animals change, the world changes, the natural world is - almost - never standing still. You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . You don't have to pay a...

Every year, the Bogong Moth undertakes one of the most extraordinary insect migrations on Earth in south-eastern Australia. The question for this episode is: how? You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . You don't have to pay anything, t...

There are several types of Supergiant Isopod in the deep sea - some of the most successful and effective scavengers on the planet. But why are they so very big? You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . You don't have to pay anything, th...

The Giant Clam has a secret trick that enables it to grow faster and bigger than any other bivalve mollusc in the world ...  You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . You don't have to pay anything, though - a free sign-up there will stil...

The Giant Armadillo is easily the biggest living armadillo, equipped with the biggest claw on Earth. And the fact of its size means it is significant - valuable - to a surprisingly wide variety of other animals ...  You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasion...

The Harlequin Beetle-Riding Pseudoscorpion : a tiny predator with an extraordinary way of moving from one hunting ground to the next ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . You don't have to pay anything, though - a free sign-up the...

The Golden Rocket Frog - an amazing little frog that lives only in one small corner of South America and whose life revolves around the very specific architecture of one - also amazing - plant. You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Y...

The Ochre Sea Star . A remarkable predator that can turn its stomach inside out through its mouth. And is also central to the story of a highly influential concept in ecology: it is the original Keystone Species ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasiona...

The Pygmy Hippo . An animal - one of them in particular - that's been all over social media recently. But what do we actually know about this species, how do we know it and why is there something unusual about the baby pygmy hippos born in zoos around the world? You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Bec...

The Texas Horned Lizard has solved a tricky problem: how to eat insects that not only have a powerful bite but also some of the most painful and lethal stings in the world ... You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Show notes, with ph...

You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - and get additional content by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to get access to occasional  bonus episodes . Show notes, with photos, video and links to lots more information, are available at thewildepisode.com Subscribe to the show to make sure you don't miss any future Wild Episodes, and e-mail your...

The infamous and fearsome (or not?) Bullet Ant . The first of three loosely connected episodes about ... pain. You can support the show - keep it going, keep it growing - by subscribing at  The Wild Episode Substack . Become a paid subscriber to (if there's enough interest/support!) get access to occasional bonus episodes . Show notes, with photos, video and links to lots more information, are ava...