Have You Herd About Animals?

Hey there, Herders! We are back with a special episode on Wildlife Ecology! Can you believe it's been three years since our first episode? It has been a wild ride and we are so thankful for everyone who has been with us since the start!

This episode is about Wildlife Ecology and our special guest, Christy!

The last episode of Season 8 everyone and it's about the famous Lochness Monster! The Loch Ness Monster (Scottish Gaelic: Uilebheist Loch Nis), also known as Nessie, is a mythical creature in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. It is often described as large, long-necked, and with one or more humps protruding from the water. Popular interest and belief in the creature has varied since it was brought to worldwide attention in 1933. Evidence of its existence is anecdotal, with a number of disputed photographs and sonar readings.  The scientific community explains alleged sightings of the Loch Ness Monster as hoaxes, wishful thinking, and the misidentification of mundane objects. The pseudoscience and subculture of cryptozoology has placed particular emphasis on the creature. 

Sorry for the late post, Herders! The holidays have been a real long one! Today's episode is about the Aardvarks! Aardvarks (/ˈɑːrdvɑːrk/ ARD-vark; Orycteropus afer) are medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammals native to Africa. They have a long snout, similar to that of a pig, which is used to sniff out food. Aardvarks are the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. They are afrotheres, a clade that also includes elephants, manatees, and hyraxes. They are found over much of the southern two-thirds of the African continent, avoiding areas that are mainly rocky. Nocturnal feeders, aardvarks subsist on ants and termites by using their sharp claws and powerful legs to dig the insects out of their hills. Aardvarks also dig to create burrows in which to live and rear their young.  Aardvarks are listed as "least concern" by the IUCN, although their numbers are decreasing. 

Welcome back, Herders! We have a wonderful episode on the critically endangered Pangolins and we want you to hear all about them! Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (/fɒlɪˈdoʊtə/). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: Manis, Phataginus, and Smutsia. Manis comprises four species found in Asia, while Phataginus and Smutsia include two species each, all found in sub-Saharan Africa. These species range in size from 30 to 100 cm (12 to 39 in). Several extinct pangolin species are also known. In September 2023, nine species were reported.

Pangolins have large, protective keratin scales, similar in material to fingernails and toenails, covering their skin; they are the only known mammals with this feature. Depending on the species, they live in hollow trees or burrows. Pangolins are nocturnal, and their diet consists of mainly ants and termites, which they capture using their long tongues. They tend to be solitary animals, meeting only to mate and produce a litter of one to three offspring, which they raise for about two years. Pangolins superficially resemble armadillos, though the two are not closely related; they have merely undergone convergent evolution. 

Welcome back to the Kangaroo episode! Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo, and western grey kangaroo.Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia and New Guinea. The Australian government estimates that 42.8 million kangaroos lived within the commercial harvest areas of Australia in 2019, down from 53.2 million in 2013.

Welcome back Herders! The next episode on Opossums (/əˈpɒsəmz/) are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 126 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North America in the Great American Interchange following the connection of North and South America. 

The Virginia opossum is the only species found in the United States and Canada. It is often simply referred to as an opossum, and in North America it is commonly referred to as a possum[3] (/ˈpɒsəm/; sometimes rendered as 'possum in written form to indicate the dropped "o"). The Australasian arboreal marsupials of suborder Phalangeriformes are also called possums because of their resemblance to opossums, but they belong to a different order. The opossum is typically a nonaggressive animal and almost never carries the virus that causes rabies.[4]

SPOOKY TIME HERDERS. Welcome back to the episode that will give you the willies! Deinopis, also known as net-casting spiders, gladiator spiders and ogre-faced spiders,[2] is a genus of net-casting spiders that was first described by W. S. MacLeay in 1839.[3] Its distribution is widely tropical and subtropical. They catch their prey using a specially spun "net". The name is derived from the Greek δεινός (deinos), meaning "fearful", and opis, meaning "appearance", referring to their ogre-like faces. The spelling "Dinopis" is also found, but is regarded as an "unjustified emendation".[1]

Welcome back Herders to Sam and Tyler talking about Squirrels! Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae (/sɪˈjuːrɪdeɪ, -diː/), a family that includes small or medium-sized rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa, and were introduced by humans to Australia. The earliest known fossilized squirrels date from the Eocene epoch, and among other living rodent families, the squirrels are most closely related to the mountain beaver and dormice.

Welcome back to the 73rd episode of "Have You Herd About Animals?" and the episode is on RHINOOOOOOOOOOO'S. Rhinos are one of the Big Five animals popular in African safaris, but they also live in Asia and even lived in Europe in the past. There are currently five different species of rhino—two in Africa and three in Asia. All rhinos are famed for their horns. Some species have one horn, while others have two.

Rhinoceros horn is made of keratin, the same material as human fingernails, and they grow continuously throughout a rhino’s life. Like fingernails, rhinoceros horns can be trimmed without discomfort or pain.

Despite two rhino species mentioning colours (black rhino and white rhino), all rhinos are grey. They range in size from 600-kilogram Sumatran rhinos to 3,500-kilogram white rhinos.

Despite their large size, rhinos are herbivores—they only eat plant matter. They make up five of only nine remaining megaherbivore species left on Earth. Their exact diet depends on their habitat. For example, white rhinos have evolved square lips to graze on abundant grass, while black rhinos have developed pointed lips to pick leaves and plants.

Ahwooooooooo there Herders, and welcome back the wolves episode! We have been holding off on all the good episodes for when the deployment ended!

Wolf, any of two species of wild doglike carnivores. The gray, or timber, wolf (Canis lupus) is the better known. It is the largest nondomestic member of the dog family (Canidae) and inhabits vast areas of the Northern Hemisphere. The Ethiopian, or Abyssinian, wolf (C. simensis) inhabits the highlands of Ethiopia; until recently it was considered a jackal. Pervasive in mythology, folklore, and language, the gray wolf has had an impact on the human imagination and has been the victim of levels of misunderstanding that few animals have shared. With the exception of humans and the lion, the gray wolf