Category: The Wild Life Blog

To Keep Living a Wild Life

Hey readers! Lots of exciting things are happening, some I am able to discuss and others not so much…yet. In fact, I’ve redesigned the website to better feature new content, and just put out another new episode with another coming this week. I am finishing production on a Horseshoe Crab Episode, Deer, and Whale Evolution…… Continue reading To Keep Living a Wild Life

Behind the SCiENcES with Dr Gilad Bino

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…… Continue reading Behind the SCiENcES with Dr Gilad Bino

Series Preview: Why Us?

First, an ask: please excuse the audio quality, and focus on the content 🙂 Devon Bowker here, I wasn’t originally going to post this. This was a recorded conversation that we had when talking about the reasons behind our upcoming series ‘Us’, an ongoing series examining our connections and impact on the environment, sustainability, and…… Continue reading Series Preview: Why Us?

To Keep Things Going

Hey readers, If you’re a regular follower you may know that I have just been admitted into a biology graduate program beginning this August. I am incredibly excited about this opportunity, admittedly nervous at how my work-life balance will look as I continue to teach full-time, but excited. Here’s the honest truth, though. It’s going…… Continue reading To Keep Things Going

Dispatches from Somewhere #5| American Alligator

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…… Continue reading Dispatches from Somewhere #5| American Alligator

Dispatches from Somewhere #4| Antheraea polyphemus

Admittedly, this photo isn’t from any time recently. I took this during the summer of 2014 at Springbrook Nature Center in Fridley, MN. It was while I was working for a nonprofit organization called Tree Trust building a 180-foot swamp foot boardwalk with local high school students. It was also my first time seeing one…… Continue reading Dispatches from Somewhere #4| Antheraea polyphemus

TWL NEWS| Wildlife Weekend Update: August 3, 2021

Vermont’s 25th annual rabies bait drop to begin Thursday On a similar note, Michael Scott’s Dunder Mifflin Scranton Meredith Palmer Memorial Celebrity Rabies Awareness Fun Run Pro Am Race for the Cure will be taking place this Friday Beginning on Thursday, technicians will begin distributing 450,000 quarter-sized blister packs containing a rabies vaccine that will…… Continue reading TWL NEWS| Wildlife Weekend Update: August 3, 2021

Bears! with Brogan Holcombe

Get to know Brogan 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! GET…… Continue reading Bears! with Brogan Holcombe

A Significant Announcement

4 years ago, I started a blog and eventual podcast called The Wild Life. Last June, I started a nonprofit organization with the hope and intent of using the existing platform of The Wild Life to accelerate the work towards fulfilling the mission of inspiring hope of a green and just future for all through…… Continue reading A Significant Announcement

Carnivore Ecology with Dr Mariela Gantchoff

In this episode, Devon sits down with Carnivore Ecologist Dr Mariela Gantchoff to talk about What defines carnivoresHow their population sizes compare with those of their preyHow carnivores impact their ecosystem and what would their ecosystems look like without their presence, specifically bears and cougarsBasic biology, diet, and behavior Impacts on populationsHow there behavior in biology…… Continue reading Carnivore Ecology with Dr Mariela Gantchoff

Behind the 𝗦𝗖i𝗘𝗡c𝗘𝗦 with Dr Mariela Gantchoff

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…… Continue reading Behind the 𝗦𝗖i𝗘𝗡c𝗘𝗦 with Dr Mariela Gantchoff

Help us make a difference

We’ve just made some significant updates to our Patreon!The Wild Life & the work we do is entirely member & donor-supported.Please consider joining us in our mission to inspire hope of a green & just future through open access to the natural worldhttps://www.patreon.com/TheWildLife Preview the tiers and their rewards/benefits here: $1Exclusive access to our Patreon…… Continue reading Help us make a difference

NEW EPISODE| The Birds of Paradise with Dr Bruce Beehler

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…… Continue reading NEW EPISODE| The Birds of Paradise with Dr Bruce Beehler

Book Club| Dr Jessica L Ware’s Picks!

Each episode, we ask our guests for their personal book recommendations. Our latest guest was Dr Jessica L Ware! She is the 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…… Continue reading Book Club| Dr Jessica L Ware’s Picks!

Nature’s Pooper Scooper (Dung Beetles!) with Professor Marcus Byrne

Professor Marcus Byrne teaches us about the fantastical and unexpected world of dung beetles, their ecological importance, their connections to human culture and history, and how this lowly creature finds its way home by looking to the stars.

Book Club| Professor Marcus Byrne’s Picks!

Each episode, we ask our guests for their personal book recommendations. Our latest guest was not only able to suggest one of his own (which you should totally read), but also two other absolute must-reads. Want to join our book club to find other nature-nerds who may be interested in reading the same things as…… Continue reading Book Club| Professor Marcus Byrne’s Picks!

Can the Market Save the World?

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…… Continue reading Can the Market Save the World?

The Wild Life’s Binoculars for Young Birders (and naturalist kits) Fundraiser

With this program, we hope to provide every attendee to our events that’s under the age of 18 with a free pair of binoculars, and a birding/naturalist kit. We also will have a web form available for individuals to apply for a pair! We have an event coming up on May 8th, a Big Day birding event, which would be perfect for our first distribution!

Dispatches from Somewhere #1: What a Wasp

I’ve had this picture on my camera roll for almost a year now and I figured I should finally get to posting it. If you’re wondering what this scorpion looking flying insect is, it’s the Pelecinus polyturator, a type of wasp. The adults drink nectar and are pretty harmless, unless you’re a June Bug. That’s…… Continue reading Dispatches from Somewhere #1: What a Wasp

Share the Love this Valentine’s Day| Snakes and Spiders!

Last year, we decided to celebrate Valentine’s by sharing the love with some of nature’s most unloved: snakes and spiders! We had some of our all-time favorite guests and amazing sci-commers on as a part of the series, and it’d be an absolute shame if their charm was lost to years past, so we’re sharing…… Continue reading Share the Love this Valentine’s Day| Snakes and Spiders!

The Danger Zone

This was originally written as an essay in 2015 based on a New Yorker article by Elizabeth Kolbert entitled “A New Climate-Change Danger Zone?” and reflects my opinions at the time. Much has changed in the world and the climate crisis has only gotten worse and my understanding of that crisis as well as the…… Continue reading The Danger Zone

The Nutrient Hunter

This was originally written in 2015 and is based on an interview originally published in Nature Investigative food journalist, Jo Robinson, is a “Nutrient Hunter” and her demonstration garden  in Washington as well as her new book, ‘Eating on the Wild Side’, is showcasing what she’s found. Her  thesis is simple, “All plants make phytochemicals,…… Continue reading The Nutrient Hunter

Joe the Pigeon on Death Row

A fascinating journey that sounds the stuff of an animated movie or a children’s book is about to come to a rather different sort of end. On December 26th, a man by the name of Kevin Celli-Bird discovered an understandably exhausted pigeon resting in the backyard of his home in Melbourne, Australia. The bird was…… Continue reading Joe the Pigeon on Death Row