PODCAST

Strange Animals Podcast

Katherine Shaw

A podcast about living, extinct, and imaginary animals!

science natural sciences

All Episodes

9:43

Episode 439: The Missing Echidna

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/30

Thanks to Cara for suggesting we talk about the long-beaked echidna this week!Further reading: Found at last: bizarre, egg-laying mammal finally rediscovered after 60 years A short-beaked echidna: The rediscovered Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to learn about an animal suggested by Cara, the echidna, also called the spiny anteater. It’s a type of mammal, but it’s very different from

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7:15

Episode 438: The Dragon Man Skull

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/23

This week we're going to learn about a new finding about the skull referred to as the Dragon Man!Further reading: We’ve had a Denisovan skull since the 1930s—only nobody knew The proteome of the late Middle Pleistocene Harbin individual Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. It never fails that only a few days after our annual updates episode, a study is published that’s an important update to an older episode. This time it’s an update so important that

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15:49

Episode 437: Updates 8 and the Nutria

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/16

Thanks to Nicholas, Måns, Warblrwatchr, Llewelly, and Emerson this week, in our yearly updates episode!Further reading: An Early Cretaceous Tribosphenic Mammal and Metatherian Evolution Guam's invasive tree snakes loop themselves into lassos to reach their feathered prey Rhythmically trained sea lion returns for an encore -- and performs as well as humans Scientists Solve Mystery of Brown Giant Pandas Elephant turns a hose into a sophisticated showering tool New name for one of the world’s

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5:40

Episode 436: Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/09

Thanks to Trech for suggesting this week's topic, the red-eyed tree frog!Further reading: Tadpoles hatch in seconds to escape predator The colorful red-eyed tree frog [photo by Geoff Gallice]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to have a short little episode about a little frog, suggested by Trech. The frog in question is the red-eyed tree frog, which is native to Central America, including parts of Mexico, and northwestern

en-US

9:03

Episode 435: The Narwhal and the Unicorn

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/06/02

Thanks to Owen and Aksel, and Dylan and Emily for their suggestions this week!Further reading: Where did the unicorn myth come from? The narwhal is my favorite whale: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to look at an animal suggested by Owen and Aksel, and a related suggestion by Dylan and Emily. Owen and Aksel suggested we talk about the narwhal, which we haven’t really discussed since episode 5 even though it’s one of my

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6:08

Episode 434: The Real Life Dragon

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/05/26

Thanks to Jaxon for suggesting this week's topic, Coelurosauravus!Further reading: Coelurosauravus New Research Reveals Secrets of First-Ever Gliding Reptile The modern Draco lizard glides on "wings" made from extended rib bones: Coelurosauravus glided on wings that were completely different from any other wings known [art from the first link above]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to learn about an extinct animal

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10:08

Episode 433: Flamingos and Two Weird Friends

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/05/19

Thanks to Ryder, Alexandria, and Simon for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about three remarkable wading birds. Two of them are pink!Bird sounds taken from the excellent website xeno-canto. The goliath heron is as tall as people [picture by Steve Garvie from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland - Goliath Heron (Ardea goliath), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12223810]: The roseate spoonbill has a bill shaped like a spoon, you may notice [picture by Photo Dante -

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10:37

Episode 432: The Fossa and Other Animals of Madagascar

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/05/12

This week we learn about the fossa and a few other animals of Madagascar, a suggestion by Pranav!Further reading: The stories people tell, and how they can contribute to our understanding of megafaunal decline and extinction in Madagascar The fossa! The votsotsa is a rodent, not a rabbit! [photo by Andrey Giljov - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=113271739]: The golden mantella frog is sometimes golden, but sometimes red: The nano-chameleon may be

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10:25

Episode 431: The New Dire Wolf

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/05/05

Thanks to Jayson for suggesting this week's topic, the new "dire wolf"! Also, possibly the same but maybe a different Jayson is the youngest member of the Cedar Springs Homeschool Science Olympiad Team, who are on their way to the Science Olympiad Nationals! They're almost to their funding goal if you can help out.Further reading: Dire wolves and woolly mammoths: Why scientists are worried about de-extinction The story of dire wolves goes beyond de-extinction These fluffy white wolves explain

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11:02

Episode 430: The Fake and the Real Coelacanth

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/04/28

This week we examine two recent articles about coelacanth discoveries. Which one is real and which one is fake?!Further reading: Fake California Coelacanth First record of a living coelacanth from North Maluku, Indonesia A real coelacanth photo: A fake coelacanth photo (or at least the article is a fake) [photo taken from the first article linked above]: A real coelacanth photo [photo from the second article linked above]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your

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7:15

Episode 429: Foxes!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/04/21

Thanks to Katie, Torin, and Eilee for suggesting this week's topic, foxes! Further reading: Meet the Endangered Sierra Nevada Red Fox Long snouts protect foxes when diving headfirst in snow Black bears may play important role in protecting gray fox The red fox: A black and gold Sierra Nevada red fox [photo taken from the first link above]: The extremely fluffy Arctic fox: The gray fox [photo by VJAnderson - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

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5:52

Episode 428: The Most Venomous Snake!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/04/14

Thanks to Nora and BlueTheChicken for suggesting the inland taipan this week!The inland taipan in its summer colors [picture by AllenMcC. - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4442037]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we have a suggestion by Nora and BluetheChicken, who both wanted to learn about the inland taipan. Is it really the most venomous snake in the world? Let’s find out, from a safe

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10:19

Episode 427: The Other Cephalopods

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/04/07

Further reading:Reconstructing fossil cephalopods: Endoceras Retro vs Modern #17: Ammonites Hammering Away at Hamites An endocerid [picture by Entelognathus - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=111981757]: An ammonite fossil: A hamite ammonoid that looks a lot like a paperclip [picture by Hectonichus - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34882102]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your

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13:24

Episode 426 Lots of Little Birds

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/03/31

Thanks to Murilo, Alexandra, and Joel for their suggestions this week!The bird sounds in this episode come from xeno-canto, a great resource for lots of animal sounds! A cactus wren [picture by Mike & Chris - Cactus WrenUploaded by snowmanradio, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15876953]: The sultan tit [photo by By Dibyendu Ash - CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72070998]: A female scarlet tanager [photo by Félix Uribe, CC BY-SA

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8:29

Episode 425 Rabbits!

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/03/24

Thanks to Alyx and Richard from NC for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about rabbits!Further reading: Why your pet rabbit is more docile than its wild relative FOUND: Small enigmatic rabbit with black tail lost to science for more than 120 years rediscovered hopping around mountain range in Mexico The Omiltemi cottontail rabbit, as caught on a camera trap [photo taken from second article linked above]: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This

en-US

10:16

Episode 424 Old-Timey Giant Snakes

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/03/17

Show transcript:Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Recently I read about a giant snake supposedly seen in Tennessee in 1908. The story seemed a little suspicious so I dug into it, and it got a lot more complicated than I expected. On July 25, 1908, the St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat ran an article about a giant snake in Loudon, Tennessee. Loudon is a town half an hour’s drive away from Knoxville in East Tennessee, although it took longer to get there from

en-US

7:38

Episode 423: Pack Rats and Busy Mice

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/03/10

Further reading: Mouse filmed moving items in man’s shed in Bristol The pack rat: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week I’m sharing a Patreon episode from last year because I have surgery scheduled. Don’t worry, it’s minor thyroid surgery and I’ll be fine, but my doctor said that a side effect might be hoarseness while I recover. Rather than risk sounding like an old frog, and to allow myself lots of time to rest afterwards, I’ve scheduled

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9:18

Episode 422: Two Tiny, Tiny Animals

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/03/03

Thanks to Tim and Mia who suggested one of this week's animals!Further reading: Genomic insights into the evolutionary origin of Myxozoa within Cnidaria A tardigrade, photo taken with an electron microscope because these little guys are incredibly tiny: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to talk about two microscopic or almost microscopic animals, one suggested by Mia and Tim, the other one I just learned about myself. We’ll

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12:01

Episode 421: Australian Animals

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/02/24

Thanks to Nora, Holly, Stephen, and Aila for their suggestions this week!Further reading: How 'bin chickens' learnt to wash poisonous cane toads Monkeys in Australia? Revisiting a Forgotten Furry Mystery Down Under The Australian white ibis: The greater glider looks like a toy: The thorny devil is very pointy: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to talk about some animals native to Australia, which is Nora’s suggestion

en-US

7:14

Episode 420: The Sea Bunny

Strange Animals Podcast ·

2025/02/17

Thanks to Sam for suggesting this week's topic, the sea bunny! My plush sea bunny, with one of my cats, Dracula, who does not like it: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to revisit an animal we haven’t talked about in a few years! Thanks to Sam for suggesting it, and for sending a whole list of questions after listening to episode 215. Episode 215 was about the cutest invertebrates, and we talked about a lot of them. This

en-US

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