The first installment of our first ever miniseries is here--Phylum: Porifera! Sponges are often overlooked aside from Spongebob Squarepants and cleaning. It's time that changed. Dive into the amazing life history of sponges! What is the phylum? You might remember that from school: Kingdom phylum, class, order, family, genus, species? There's a lot of ways … Continue reading Phylum: Porifera
Tag: the wild life
The Wild Life of the Black-and-Yellow Lichen Moth
Order| Lepidoptera Species| Lycomorpha pholus Uh-ah, you know what it is—the Black-and-Yellow Lichen Moth! “Wait, black and yellow? They’re clearly orange-er, right?” Who knows what they were thinking. One thing’s for sure though, mimicry is their flex. As caterpillars, when they spend most of their time munching on a symbiotic snack of lichen, they texturally … Continue reading The Wild Life of the Black-and-Yellow Lichen Moth
The Wild Life of the Nicobar Pigeon
Order| Columbiformes While it may come as a shock, the Nicobar Pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) is indeed a Pigeon. It’s also the closest living relative of the now extinct Dodo bird! These birds are named for an island chain of the coast of India where many of them live, though they can be found all the … Continue reading The Wild Life of the Nicobar Pigeon
The Journey So Far
The other day, I was going through a pile of junk (which I have a lot of) and came across this. This intentionally blurred piece of paper was the very beginning of #TheWildLife. It’s just a bunch of notes and ideas that I was jotting down while I tried to decide what I wanted to … Continue reading The Journey So Far
The Wild Life of Red Pandas
Red Panda Order| Carnivora Family| Ailuridae Red Panda's, like the Giant Panda, eat mostly bamboo (and are impossibly adoreable). But here's the thing, they aren't pandas. They're actually more closely related to skunks and raccoons, and make up their own subfamily alongside skunks, raccoons, and weasels. Much like the Eau de Popcorn smelling Binturong, the … Continue reading The Wild Life of Red Pandas
88.1 KVSC Interview: The Untold Story of Distance Learning During COVID-19 with ISD 742’s Devon Bowker, Science Teacher, Naturalist, and Blogger
KVSC, the radio station of my Alma Mater, St Cloud State University, recently interviewed new for there segment ‘Untold Stories of Central MN’. It aired on Earth Day 2020 and was an incredible honor and opportunity to speak about my passions. For those of you more familiar with The Wild Life side of my life, … Continue reading 88.1 KVSC Interview: The Untold Story of Distance Learning During COVID-19 with ISD 742’s Devon Bowker, Science Teacher, Naturalist, and Blogger
The Wild Life’s 50th Episode Celebration: Live Trivia Show!
Well, we’ve come a long way. We’re at our 50th episode! We will be hosting a live show on Zoom!and YOU are invited. On May 1st at 7pm CT, we’ll be playing trivia (of course, based on topics from our first 49 episodes [and no, you don’t have to have listened to all of them … Continue reading The Wild Life’s 50th Episode Celebration: Live Trivia Show!
Become a Wildlife Ambassador
So, here’s the thing: we, at this moment, are rolling out a new newy thing. It’s super cool—the Wildlife Ambassador program! Basically, when you become a member at Patreon.com/TheWildLife, you can pick a species of some kind of personal importance to you and we will donate 10% of your contributions each month to either a … Continue reading Become a Wildlife Ambassador
Is it a Worm? Is it a Wasp? No! It’s the Elm Sawfly!
This past weekend as I sat below an old oak tree while drinking my morning cup of coffee and looking out on a glassy Lake Darling in Alexandria, Minnesota, something fell from the sky and landed at my feet. Small and curled up like a slightly puff green and yellow sour gummy worm. It's face … Continue reading Is it a Worm? Is it a Wasp? No! It’s the Elm Sawfly!
Sunday Fish Sketch| The Cookiecutter Shark
Prepare to learn about a whole new kind of Cookie Monster on this #SharkWeek themed #SundayFishSketch...and this one glows!
The Dragonhunter
In the skies across Minnesota (and much of the eastern US and southeastern Canada, for that matter), roams a fierce and agile predator, capable of taking down prey you would never imagine---and some many wouldn't dare to try at themselves. Hagenius brevistylus, is a clubtail dragonfly known as the Dragonhunter, and is one of nearly … Continue reading The Dragonhunter
When a Spider isn’t a Spider
If you're reading this right now, you might be realizing that we're about to be playing a game of semantics (systematics, rather). For many, if it looks like a Spider, that's all they need to know to shiver in disgust and engage in fight, freeze, or flight. It may be pretentious to dwell on the … Continue reading When a Spider isn’t a Spider
A Sneak Peak at Some Upcoming Episodes
As September 1st approaches and the metamorphosis of The Wild Life continues, we wanted to give you a sneak peak at some of our upcoming episodes.
New Horizons: The Future of The Wild Life
#TheWildLife is setting out on new horizons. Now not only is our show available wherever you get your podcast, but starting September 1st, we will be releasing new episodes every single Friday! Plus, we're starting a new weekly blog schedule!
Get your head out of the sand! Ostriches are actually pretty amazing.
It's #ThursdayBirdsday! This week, it's time to bust some myths, bow down in awe, and learn something new about the big birds that look like emus. (Rhyming was the only reason for that last bit and I don't regret it.) You’re probably wondering why the ostrich in the main image seems so shocked. Well, then … Continue reading Get your head out of the sand! Ostriches are actually pretty amazing.
TWL Hiking Club| Hike @ Night with HIKEhoppers and The Wild Life + a Big Announcement!
The Wild Life is joining forces with HIKEhoppers, a central MN non-profit organization, whose vision we share to connect people to nature through hiking events and educational learning experiences.
At 8:30 pm this Saturday, 6/15, join us for a night hike at Warner Lake Park in Clearwater, MN!
The Trouble with Trilobites
It's #FossilFriday, and you know what that means---fossils. Big surprise, right? This week, with an unoriginal but begging to be used titular parody on the classic Star Trek episode 'The Trouble with Tribbles"---we're talking trilobites. Here is my trilobite. It was a gift from my brother (podcast co-host) he picked up at a rock convention. … Continue reading The Trouble with Trilobites
Hoary Puccoon
This #WildflowerWednesday, we take a look at one of my personal favorites—the Hoary Puccoon.
Sunday Fish Sketch| The Common Sea Dragon
This #SundayFishSketch comes from Ichthyologist, Rene Martin. Visit her shop on InPrint to see more of her artwork or to order prints! Meet the Common Sea Dragon Phyllopteryx taeniolatus While it may be a dragon by name, the Common Sea Dragon is no more a dragon than a sea horse is a horse. One, it would be … Continue reading Sunday Fish Sketch| The Common Sea Dragon
Fossil Friday| Introducing Evolution with the Archaeopteryx
In celebration of #FossilFriday, I wanted to share an educational resource: a lesson I used during student teaching to introduce a unit on evolution. This lesson can be modified for middle school level and was written in accordance to MN state standards which very closely mirror NGSS, however, I structured this lesson for the high … Continue reading Fossil Friday| Introducing Evolution with the Archaeopteryx
Mid-Season Finale| S2E5: No Brainer
In the mid-season finale, Devon and Richard talk to Lucas Brotz, research associate at the Marine Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia and a Cnidaria Scientist for Quantitative Aquatics, to discuss how a creature without a brain dominates the worlds oceans, and the many ways they impact our lives.
TWL Hiking Club| Ravens and Crows
This is merely a sample of the wonders of Ravens and Crows.
#SundayFishSketch| Larval Fish and a Podcast
The theme for this week's #SundayFishSketch was fish that don't look like fish, which is most definitely the case with almost all larval marine fish.
S2E3| Animal Magnetism
In this episode, Devon and Richard explore the animal magnetism. No, not the kind you might be thinking. Instead, we're talking about the surprisingly common animal superpower which allows creatures all around the world, from the skies to the oceans, to sense the magnetic field of our planet.
Best of The Wild Life 2018
As 2018 comes to a close, here are some of the most read, most popular, and other top moments from The Wild Life throughout the year. #TheWildLife
Podcast SHORT: Plant or Fungi?
A random find while hiking that lead to a life history story that was unexpectedly fascinating.
Video: The Wild Life
Ahead of our Season 2 releases, we wanted to put together a video to tell you who we are, what we do, where we are going, and to say #ThankYouPatrons to our supporters on Patreon.com. The Wild Life is viewer, reader, and listener supported. If you believe in what we are doing, you can become … Continue reading Video: The Wild Life
19 Creepy Critters and Monster Themed Animals That Will Get You In The Halloween Spirit
Halloween may already be near its end, but if you're having trouble getting in the ghoulish spirit ahead of trick or treating or the witching hour, check out these 19 creepy critters and monster themed animals to help you be more David S Pumpkins and less David S No-Fun-kins. Instead of the normal explanatory captions, I'm opting for as little detail as possible. After all, the unknown is most terrifying of all!
Where We’ve Been
This isn't my typical blog post. No wildlife, fish sketches, or hiking anecdotes. This is an explanation for my recent sparsity in writing.
Birding by Smartphone
In 1917, the American poet Wallace Stevens published a poem called 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. In truth, 13 is a major understatement, with just as much variation in "why" as their is in "how". Whether you're a life "lister", a casual admirer, or anywhere in between, at some point each and every one of has had a moment where we saw a bird and thought to ourselves, "what is that?"