PODCAST

Wild Animals

Roland Kays

Crazy stories about animals, told by the people who study them.

science natural sciences

All Episodes

00:35:24

WDF128: The African Wild Dog Who Was a Phoenix

Wild Animals ·

2023/05/08

Ngatia joined a research project studying African wild dogs in Laikipia Kenya when they were some of the best news in conservation – an endangered species that reclaimed lost territory and found new ways to coexist with people. Then a canine pandemic hit that wiped out the entire population … except one animal: WDF128. Ngatia tells the story of how a new population sprung from the ashes of a pandemic through the perseverance of one female African wild dog.

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00:30:24

Mamma Jane the Ocelot reality star

Wild Animals ·

2023/05/03

Ocelots in Texas are closely monitored, so Mamma Jane grew up around remote cameras since 2011, and wasn’t afraid of the lenses. When Fin and Fur Films called about doing a documentary, Dr. Lombardi was skeptical if they could get a shot of Mamma Jane and her kittens, but thought they might be able to get some footage with remote cameras. He was right— and guided by Jason’s earlier camera-trapping experience and GPS telemetry data, the crew turned Mamma Jane into a reality star in the PBS Nature

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00:37:24

F202: The Yellowstone Cougar Who Showed the Value of...

Wild Animals ·

2023/04/25

F202 lived right in the heart of Yellowstone National Park where Anton used groundbreaking technology to study not only where she moved, but also how she hunted. F202 was a fantastic hunter and mom, rearing a number of litters in the park. However, some of her offspring wandered out of the park where they can be legally hunted, showing the challenges of large predators living with the risk of this harvest, and the value of protected areas as a way to help species survival.

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00:32:14

Lobstah: The Fisher Who Lived the Salt Life

Wild Animals ·

2023/04/17

Fishers are woodland creatures who traditionally avoid people and prefer dense forests. Lobstah was a (very large) fisher who bucked this trend by surviving in small suburban forests, hunted in coastal shrub habitat, and even ran along the rocky coast of Rhode Island. By tracking his movements, Ganoe was able to learn more about how fishers have adapted to the modern word.

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00:32:35

007: The Warbler Whose Secret Missions Underpin a...

Wild Animals ·

2023/04/10

In 2019 a small yellow bird in The Bahamas was given a radio transmitter and a mission – show us what Kirtland’s warblers do. Nicknamed 007, this bird not only migrated all the way to Michigan, but also displayed a new behavior that scientists had never tracked at this spatial scale before. This discovery shows how the species was able to recover its lost range over the past three decades and offers hope for their adaptation to climate change.

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00:34:38

Kilkenny: The Red Wolf Who Hatched a Hypothesis

Wild Animals ·

2023/04/03

While Dr. Hinton progressed along his career as a wolf biologist – from intern to master’s student to PhD student – the Kilkenny female (11170F) matured from a young teenage wolf into an Alpha female. While Hinton spent time tracking and watching the Kilkenny female, a new idea started crystallizing in his mind about what factors made the difference between a wolf deciding to breed with another wolf, versus hybridizing with a coyote.

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00:35:10

Cheetah 784: The Orphan Who Overcame.

Wild Animals ·

2023/03/27

When poachers killed the mom of young cheetah 784 there was only a slim chance the cub would survive on her own. With no one to teach her how to hunt or navigate the dangers of the open plains, Anna feared the worst. But 784 persevered and started to figure out how to use her speed to her advantage. Anna and her team watched from nearby, like guardian angels, and taught the cat how to avoid villages. At the same time, 784 was keeping an eye on Anna, and saved her from having the most embarrassing

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00:27:49

003: The White-tailed Deer Who Was a Gold Medal...

Wild Animals ·

2023/03/20

Deer 003 was the most unusual animal in a large study of deer in Missouri. While most animals disperse a few miles to set up their home range, this deer set out on a marathon trek, breaking records as he went. Moving at night to avoid archery hunters, 003 was on a mysterious mission, and showed scientists just how far a deer can move.

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00:43:05

Turkey 473: The Southern Chick Who Sported a Beard...

Wild Animals ·

2023/03/13

Even before he launched a rocket-net over her head, Dr.Chamberlain knew Turkey 473 was a special bird because she sported a big beard (which is very unusual for hens). After outfitting her with a radio transmitter, Chamberlain tracked 473 for more than two years, monitoring her nesting behavior, and learning how turkeys avoid, or fail to avoid, their many predators. One year her nest seemed positioned at the ideal place to watch for Chamberlain’s approaching field truck, which seems like it would

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00:35:53

Samuel: The Little Giant Tortoise Who Lived

Wild Animals ·

2023/03/06

Dr. Blake first met Samuel as the hatchling tortoise left its nest on the Galapagos Islands. A tiny tracking tag helped Stephen and his team track the little guy as he legged it away from his nest site, navigating the harsh volcanic landscape in search of safety and some edible foliage. Eight years later Samuel has grown to over 15 pounds and survived the most dangerous period of his life, which now could stretch on over the next century and beyond.

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00:34:51

5715: The Woodpecker Who’s Seen It All

Wild Animals ·

2023/02/27

Bird 5715 was the, you guessed it, 5715th bird captured as part of a long-term study of acorn woodpeckers since 1974 at Hastings Natural History Reservation in Carmel Valley California. She had the fortune of being born into the richest territory around, with tens of thousands of acorns stashed into woodpecker-created holes in trees (aka granaries). However, this privileged upbringing also presented challenges to her finding a mate under the watchful eye of her record-setting father, forcing 5715

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00:30:29

Waffles - the hyena who climbed the social ladder

Wild Animals ·

2023/02/20

Spotted hyenas live in large clans ruled by a queen who typically passes her high rank onto her daughters. Waffles was born from a low ranking (peasant) family, but was able to assemble a gang that helped her claim the throne. This risky venture paid off for Waffles, who had numerous offspring (named after syrup brands), but ended tragically for some of her gang members.

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00:04:28

Wild Animals Season 3 Preview

Wild Animals ·

2023/02/20

A preview to the episodes coming up in season 3.

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00:40:56

Leroy the fisher who learned no means no the hard way

Wild Animals ·

2020/05/25

Leroy was one of the first fishers to ever get a GPS tracking collar, providing immediate, new discoveries about how this “wilderness species” colonized suburbia. Dodging police and sneaking through culverts, Scott eventually found Leroy dead in a swamp - a murder mystery tied to the unusual mating behavior of fishers.

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00:24:18

Josphine, the most reliable sea turtle

Wild Animals ·

2020/05/18

Josephine was a sea turtle who found an easy meal by raiding a fisherman’s nets. Kate was happy to help the fisherman by moving the turtle and putting a tracking device on it. Undeterred, Josephine returned to her favorite fishing spot, providing interesting data and creating a new dependable and friendly link between fisherman and turtle biologist.

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00:23:00

Diane, the Shark That Jumped Out of the Water Four...

Wild Animals ·

2020/05/11

Lucy met Diane the basking shark when she gave the fish a small tracking tag off the coast of Scotland. While Diane typically loafed around eating plankton, this high-tech tag showed that Diane would occasionally sprint to the surface and jump into the air over and over again.

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00:31:01

Etumbe, the Bonobo who led her group back to the wild.

Wild Animals ·

2020/05/04

Etumbe was rescued from captivity and became part of the first group of Bonobos to be released back into the wild. Her seniority and calm demeanor helped her become one of the leaders of this new group and also led to an incredible interaction between man and their closest wild cousin.

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00:30:08

M36 - the mountain lion by which all others will be...

Wild Animals ·

2020/04/27

There are a surprising number of mountain lions in the hills just above Silicon Valley. Chris Wilmers is studying how these big cats make a living in the midst of so much Bay Area development. 36M unwittingly joined the study when he got trapped and equipped with a tracking collar with technology fancier than any other study, as you would expect from Silicon Valley.

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00:35:10

Bobby, the world’s largest ocelot

Wild Animals ·

2020/04/20

Bobby was a big bruiser of an ocelot. When Ricardo first trapped and collared him, Bobby was feisty and scarred after prowling his tropical island home like a king, sending smaller males fleeing with flurries of claws and teeth. Eventually, however, those teeth gave-way, and the next generation of ocelots had the last laugh.

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00:19:28

Agui the Oedipus Monkey

Wild Animals ·

2020/04/13

Jorge spent over two years living in a remote Amazonian jungle where he developed a special relationship with a monkey that looked like his mom.

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