Zoology Ramblings

Welcome to the seventeenth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In our species of the week section, the gang chat about the weird and wonderful biofluorescent springhares of Southern Africa, and the obscure African finfoot! For our local conservation section the dynamic duo delve into the reintroduction of the European bison to the UK and uplifting nature legislation in the EU. For our global...

Welcome to the sixteenth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In this episode Robi and Emma give an update as to their own research (otter and mink spatial modelling for Robi, Galapagos tortoise parasite research for Emma), as well as discussing their recent expedition in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. Continuing on this theme, the dynamic duo discuss wildlife management and reserve co...

Welcome to the fifteenth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! For the news section the dynamic duo talk about COP26, and whether it is going far enough to tackle the climate crisis and highlight a new species of shark. For the animals of the week, Emma discusses the bizarre and wonderful hog badger and Robi talks about the terrifying (and epic) potoo bird. For the conservation section, your h...

Welcome to the fourteenth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In this episode, Emma talks about the recent decision by the British Government to possibly give beavers native species status and legal protection, and Robi chats about some hope for tuna species despite dwindling populations of other marine species. For the animals of the week, the dynamic duo talk about the fearsome Nile crocod...

Welcome to the thirteenth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In this episode, our animals of the weeks include the shadowy short-eared dog and the cryptic little black tapir, which may or may not be a new species. The dynamic duo then delve deeper into some wider conservation stories, including a sad update about the status of vaquitas in Baha California and the newly discovered, yet alread...

Welcome to the twelfth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In episode 12, Robi and Emma reveal very exciting news - The Zoology Ramblings Podcast has been selected as one of Spotify’s 8 winners of the Next Wave Initiative! We are so thrilled to have been selected alongside 7 other amazing podcasts which cover some very important and pressing topics in our society today. For the species of th...

Welcome to the eleventh episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In episode 11, Robi and Emma ramble first about their species of the week: the enigmatic tayra of Central and South America, and the tiny monito del monte, a South American marsupial lost on a sea of time! Then for our global conservation section, the dynamic duo focus on zoonotic diseases and the lessons we can learn from the Covid...

Welcome to the tenth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! For the species of the week, Robi talks about the Sunda Islands tigers (with a rambling tangent into tiger taxonomy and palaeontology!), and Emma discusses the Laysan albatross (and in particular one individual, named Wisdom) and their extraordinary long lives! For the local conservation section, the dynamic duo discuss the majestic ea...

Welcome to the ninth episode (part 2) of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In this episode the hosts talk about the Ebo forest in Cameroon and the incredible biodiversity of life it contains, as well as it’s threats and the pioneering individuals trying to conserve it. For the local conservation section, the dynamic duo chat about the invasive American mink which has exploded in numbers across Europe...

Welcome to the ninth episode (part 1) of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! This episode has been split into two parts because of it’s length. In part 1, we touch on the species of the week, including neon-pink slugs which live atop a mountain in Australia, as well as the hirola, an alien-looking antelope on the brink of extinction. The team also talk about the first of their global conservation topic...

Welcome to the eighth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In this special Episode Short, the dynamic duo go into a deep dissection of the illegal pangolin trade, and discuss the threats which both the Asian and African pangolins are facing. The team highlight amazing conservationists and organisations which are doing tireless work to try and conserve these incredible animals. Emma and Robi a...

Welcome to the seventh episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! In this special Episode Short, the dynamic duo go into a deep dive into the remarkable Orcinus orca, the Blackfish, the Killer Whale. They chat about their distribution, their complex social structures, and the global threats they face - as well as the plight they face in the UK.  Robi Watkinson is a Conservation Biologist and wildli...

Welcome to the sixth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! Robi and Emma have been busy with the launch of The Biome Project, an exciting new wildlife filmmaking adventure! So this episode is a Special Episode, where the gang do a deep focus on just two species: the enormous and sadly extinct cave bear, Ursus spelaeus of Pleistocene Eurasia, and the gelada monkeys of the Ethiopian highlands, p...

Welcome to the fifth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! This time, the dynamic duo are setting up a new podcast structure! Part one will be the species of the week, part 2 will be global conservation topics, and part 3 will be the local (UK) conservation section. For the species of the week, the team chat about the epic Mexican hairy dwarf porcupine and a new species of enigmatic beaked wha...

Welcome to the fourth episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! For the species of the week, Emma and Robi chat about the aurochs, Bos primigenius, the primal cow, the ancestor of the cattle we know today, and also the tardigrade (AKA the waterbear), a virtually indestructible tiny critter which could (theoretically) survive a nuclear holocaust! For the conservation section, the dynamic duo discus...

Welcome to the third episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! For the species of the week, Emma and Robi chat about the cryptic Washington’s eagle, a bird that may never have existed, and then the white-tailed sea eagle, a bird which definitely DOES exist, because Robi and Emma have tracked them down to film them! For the conservation section, the pair jump in with the conservation of the wonderf...

Welcome to the inaugural episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! For the species of the week, Emma and Robi delve into the fascinating world of the sloths, those strange Xenarthrans of the Americans, as well as the cryptic and carnivorous ghost bat of Australia! The dynamic duo also touch on a (new?!) species of wolf in Africa! Then for the conservation section of the episode, Robi and Emma take...

Welcome to the second episode of The Zoology Ramblings Podcast! For the species of the week, Emma and Robi discuss the incredible leaping mobula rays and the lost camels of the American High Arctic! For the conservation section, the dynamic duo take a deep dive into the thriving illegal trade in pangolins, the threats faced by the endangered silver-backed chevrotains, and the crisis faced by the U...