The Wild Life

When you get hot, you sweat. When Elephants get hot, well, they don’t sweat. So what’s a 13 foot tall and 13,000-pound animal to do? I mean, not only do they produce tons of body heat for their literal tons, but Elephants in general—African and Asian—tend to live in some pretty warm places. That’s where their big ole ears come in. Episode Transcript Support the Show

What do Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Gilmore Girls, and Giraffes have in common? The women are the stars of the show.  Despite being one of the most popular animals on Earth, giraffes are not studied as much as you might expect. You might think that is totally fine. After all, giraffes are not known for being super complicated creatures. Aside from being adorable, their unique geometric pattern...

An effort to end protections for gray wolves that began with the Florida Man administration has come to fruition under the Biden administration. The species, native to much of the US and Canada, was only recently dropped from the endangered species list. In response, a team of scientists is calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to instead continue safeguarding the species. The primary sign...

Happy Halloween! In this super special, unexpected, and therefore super last minute holiday treat (and trick), Devon reads a retelling of Edgar Allen Poe's famous short story, A Tell Tale Heart , that you undoubtedly were coerced into reading in high school. In our somewhat modernized version, we get a different, more wildlife oriented ending that turns out to be the most opposite from horror as y...

In this episode, we sit down with the one and only Dr Kassandra Ford, aka @kassthefish, to dive into the shocking world of electric fishes. We cover the origins of electric fish, how a living creature generates electricity, the shocking (or not so shocking) truth about touching electric fish, the legendary electric eels, communication and interference, and stunning secrets!

Now DR Kassandra Ford, aka @kassthefish on social media, is front and center on this weeks Behind the SCiENcES! Kassandra did her undergraduate research focused on neurobiology and development in zebrafishes under Dr. Mary Halloran. She then worked for a year at TAMU-Corpus Christi under Dr. Frank Pezold. He showed her lab management skills, curatorial skills, and the nuts and bolts of taxono...

Memory, complex social lives, communication, expression, grief, and revenge. In this episode, we pull from our interview with Lynn Von Hagen to explore the inner machinations of the elephant mind in all of its brilliance. Support The Wild Life at www.patreon.com/thewildlife

In this episode, we talk about everything elephants with expert, Lynn Von Hagen! Intelligence, communication, trophy hunting, general biology, staggering stats, sonic superpowers, and so much more! Lynn is a Conservation Biologist and Presidential Research Fellow at Auburn University conducting collaborative research in the Tsavo Ecosystem of Kenya. She studies African elephant behavior, movement,...

Get to know Lynn before our full episode on elephants later this week She is a Conservation Biologist and Presidential Research Fellow at Auburn University conducting collaborative research in the Tsavo Ecosystem of Kenya. She studies African elephant behavior, movement, and the development of community-based coexistence strategies reducing elephant and human conflicts among MANY other varied rese...

A year or so ago, we did an episode with Dr Diva Amon about the deep sea. One of the topics we covered were Whale Falls--what happens when a whale dies and the ecosystem that follows. A recent listen back on this episode got us thinking. Whales are the largest animals in the ocean, does anything comparable happen when the largest animals on land die? Today on The Wild Life, we ask the question, "w...

In this episode, we sit down to talk with Dr Gilad Bino all about platypuses! We talk about their name (and some alternates), conservation efforts, absurd adaptations, forgeries and fakeries, what it's like to be stung by one, and so much more. Support our show at patreon.com/TheWildLife

Before you sit down with us to learn all about platypuses, join us for a glimpse Behind the SCiENcES with Dr Gilad Bino. Dr Bino is passionate about conservation and science. He seeks to address the ongoing biodiversity crisis by understanding the underlying processes that shape biodiversity at multiple spatial and temporal scales to inform and prioritize conservation management. Research Activiti...

This is one of my favorite shots I’ve ever managed to capture. I snapped this in 2015 at one of my all-time favorite parks,  @brazosbendstatepark  near Houston, TX. It sorta looks like she’s lunging forward, but in reality, she was sitting in a quickly flowing stream with her mouth open against the flow, presumably to catch fish or other critters that flowed by. It’s estimated about 250...

Read the post and see the picture here: https://thewildlife.blog/2021/08/04/dispatches-from-somewhere-4-antheraea-polyphemus/ Support The Wild Life at www.patreon.com/thewildlife

In this episode, Devon and Richard sit down with Brogan Holcombe to talk all about bears! Outline: Bear encounter stories Are all black bears black? Black bear range in North America How many species of bear How large black bears get Diet (through life and year) Behavior Hibernation  Cubs (how many? How long do they stay with mom? Etc) Interactions with people (becoming comfortable around peo...

Brogan is a Master’s Student working in the Wildlife Habitat & Population Analysis Lab at Virginia Tech She’s also the one behind #SundayScientistShoutout on Twitter which she does every week for scientists or STEM activists from underrepresented groups. Follow Brogan @Brogan_Holcombe or look up her #bearseyeview for awesome bear videos! Make a donation to our 501(c)3 organization Become a Mem...

In this episode, Devon sits down with Carnivore Ecologist Dr Mariela Gantchoff to talk about What defines carnivores How their population sizes compare with those of their prey How carnivores impact their ecosystem and what would their ecosystems look like without their presence, specifically bears and cougars Basic biology, diet, and behavior  Impacts on populations How there behavior in bio...

Meet this week’s guest before the episode airs! She is an ecologist at the intersection of theoretical and applied ecology, currently working on landscape and quantitative ecology in relation to the conservation and management of terrestrial wildlife. A lot of her current research involves working to understand wildlife use of natural and developed landscapes, range expansion of recolonizing speci...

Make a donation to our 501(c)3 organization Sign up for our Newsletter! Become a Member-Supporter Follow us on all of our platforms If you've ever seen a documentary series narrated by David Attenborough, you've almost surely seen the Birds of Paradise. They are a favorite of his, and many others around the world for their otherworldly, almost ethereal appearance, sounds, and behaviors. In this ep...

Meet this week’s guest before the episode airs! Dr Bruce M. Beehler (born October 11, 1951 in Baltimore) is an ornithologist and research associate of the Bird Division of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History. Prior to this appointment, Beehler worked for Conservation International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Counterpart International, and the National Fish and...

Dragonflies and Damselflies have been on our planet for millions of years. They're embedded in our art, culture, stories, and even our skin as a popular tattoo subject. They also live amazing lives. Join us for a deep dive on dragonfly lives with Dr Jessica L Ware Blog Post on Dragonhunters Make a donation to our 501(c)3 organization Sign up for our Newsletter! Become a Member-Supporter Follow us...

Meet this week's guest before the episode airs, Dr Jessica L Ware, assistant curator in invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Ware’s research focuses on the evolution of behavioral and physiological adaptations in insects, with an emphasis on how these occur in Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) and Dictyoptera (termites, cockroaches and mantises). Her research gro...

Before you read what this episode is about, we have an ask. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whichever platform you are using to listen, please consider leaving us a rating and review. Aside from the feedback being helpful to shape our work, it also increases our visibility and helps to grow our community and organization. Plus you'll forever be our favorite listener! Professor Marcus Byrne teac...

Get to know this week's guest before the episode drops! Donate to the Binoculars for Young Birders Program here Support The Wild Life at https://www.patreon.com/thewildlife

Welcome to part two in an ongoing series examining our connections and impact on the environment, sustainability, and our changing climate. Part 1 through roughly 9 will focus on laying the groundwork for understanding these complicated issues from a variety of perspectives, while parts 10 through 20 or so will place the first half into real-world context, examining issues and controversies surrou...