This, like many things lately, is a different type of content from The Wild Life. Who knew you could learn so much about authentic expression and finding yourself from producing a podcast? In this episode, I go out for a birding excursion with a major time constraint and ponder on my relationship with time itself. … Continue reading On Birding and Time
“Sharks, Lies, and Videotape: A content analysis of 32 years of Shark Week documentaries” is a stunningly comprehensive report on the ways in which Shark Week, arguably the largest source of shark information consumed by the masses, mixes real science with spectacle and salacious stories.
Life is full of branching points on the tree of animal life. The coelom is the next stop on our journey of how to build an animal..
There really is no shortage of ways to build an animal, but there are rules to be followed. What better place to start than the beginning?
There really is no shortage of ways to build an animal, but there are rules to be followed---rules with deep roots.
There are 1 to 2 M species of animals described today in every form imaginable. Here are some key traits they all share.
The Mola mola is one bizarre looking fish, but they are more than meets the eye. Learn more in this short episode from The Wild Life!
In 2021, we produced 41 episodes (42 if we get this next one out in the next 3 days) with 12,635+ downloads across 78 countries!
How fast can fish really be? Faster than you'd probably expect.
Not every reindeer has a red nose. After all, that's part of what makes Rudolph so special—and he's not alone.
"Do fish blink?" is a reasonable question to ask, but it raises another— “do fish have eyelids?”
When you get hot, you sweat. When Elephants get hot, well, they don't sweat. So what's a 13 foot tall and 13,000-pound animal to do?
Dragonflies and Damselflies are both super similar to each other, but there are some key differences! (most of the time)
These two little woodpecker species are notorious for their visual similarity, but there are some key differences that can tip you off!
This here is a froghopper. They can jump distances over 100 times their body length, accelerate at 4000 m/s^2 (nearly 9,000 mph), and experience 400 Gs while doing it. For context, a typical human could withstand no more than 9 Gs of force, and the average bullet travels at nearly 2000 mph. Where are the … Continue reading The Froghopper | DFS #11
Have a nature question you want to be answered? Come on the show to have it answered by Devon (and maybe even a special guest) Comment below or email your questions to hello@thewildlife.blog
Trichonephela clavipes, or The Golden Silk Orb-weaver, may be huge but they look a lot tougher than they act. They’re not aggressive and only bite if handled roughly, and they're super clumsy outside of their web!If you listen to the podcast, you might remember us discussing these with @shakiguani on Tainted Love Part 2! A single thread … Continue reading Dispatches From Somewhere #10: The Golden Silk
This is not a Turkey-tail. It’s a false one! Stereum ostrea, or False Turkey-tail, is a plant pathogen and wood decay fungus. The species name, ostrea, comes from Oyster in reference to its shape. It really is a pretty little fungi 🍄
Fairly certain this is an American Nursery Web Spider (Pisaurina mira). This was one that caught me super off guard while rummaging through a portion of priory while leading a Tiny Nature hike with @hikehoppers. P. mira is most well known for its sexually cannibalistic behavior and extensive use of the silk web in mating. Before … Continue reading Dispatches From Somewhere 8: American Nursery Web Spider
Weird plants are the best finds. On a camping trip this August with my brother, we came across a bunch of Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) in a bog! Similar to the Venus Fly Trap, it too is a carnivorous plant, trapping insects inside its pitcher. One of my favorite things about them actually is, … Continue reading Dispatches From Somewhere #7: Pitcher Plants
One of my favorite finds from our trip to #Oahu, an Indo-Pacific Rock-Boring Urchin (Echinometra mathaei).
Giraffe Social Circles and What They Mean for Conservation November 14th, 2021 Photo Credit: Steven Gerner CC BY-SA 2.0 What do Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Gilmore Girls, and Giraffes have in common? The women are the stars of the show. Despite being one of the most popular animals on Earth, giraffes are not studied as … Continue reading Giraffes Need Friends, Too
After nearly 5 years of podcasting and blogging, I'm forging a new path. I don't know how it will look. I don't know what to tell you to expect. What I do know is I've thrown out a lot of the fluff that was eating up my bandwidth and adding to my stress. What remains? … Continue reading Making some changes
The Crown-Of-Thorns Starfish may not look like much, but their impact is inarguable.
Today on The Wild Life, why protections were ended, what’s happened since, why hunting wolves is viewed by many as unjustifiable, their social nature and disruptions, the why behind anti-wolf rhetoric, and how protections can be put in place once again.
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
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
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
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
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
