The Wild Episode

Solorzano's Peripatus (Peripatus solorzanoi) is the biggest velvet worm in the world. Which makes it the biggest example of a very, very unusual group of animals: cute, unique creatures that are highly secretive and mysterious. And are also dedicated hunters with an unusual secret weapon in their arsenal: glue.

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Intro and outro music by Audionautix. Other music in this episode by Chris Zabriskie. All licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.

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The Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis) is the most famous and spectacular member of the Blue Fleet. Questions to be asked and answered: What is the Blue Fleet? What obscure connection does it have to the Aquatic Ape theory of human evolution? Just how insanely weird is the Portuguese man o' war anyway, and what strange connection does it have to another member of the Blue Fleet – the improbably beautiful sea swallow, a ferociously predatory sea slug?

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Intro and outro music by Audionautix. Other music in this episode by Kai Engel , Jacopo Tore and Josh Woodward. All licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.

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Most spiders live solitary lives, but Anelosimus eximius is an example of a different lifestyle: colonial living. A very social spider, that maintains and defends a communal web and hunts in packs. And because it hunts in packs, it can target bigger prey than your average spider. But it is itself the target for some very unwelcome attention, from thieves and killers.

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Intro and outro music by Audionautix. Other music in this episode by Kai Engel. All licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.

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The Great Northern Tilefish (Lopholatilus chamaeleonticeps) is a big, beautiful fish from the western Atlantic. It's one of those rare animals that is capable of reshaping its physical environment over vast areas. But it's also interesting for a rather unique reason. It was discovered, entirely accidentally, in 1879 and within 3 years of that discovery, something entirely unexpected and dramatic happened that involved millions upon millions of dead fish.

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The Bone-House Wasp (Deuteragenia ossarium) is recently discovered species of spider wasp that has some remarkable habits. So, three questions. What is a spider wasp? What is an ossuary? And what connects the two to make for a suitable Wild Episode subject? Oh, and can I come with a tenuous excuse to talk about Beowulf and Old English? (Spoilers: yes, I can).

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Intro and outro music by Audionautix. Other music in this episode by Kevin MacLeod. All licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.

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Ruppell's Vulture (Gyps rueppelli) is one of the biggest vultures in the world, but it's real claim to fame is more spectacular. It is the highest flying bird on Earth. Certain risks come with being a master of the air, though, which leads us into a discussion that may make this episode unsuitable for some listeners: bird strikes, and their consequences for both aircraft and birds. And merely by virtue of being a vulture, Ruppell's Vulture has one another claim to fame: it is a member of a group of birds that exemplifies more than most the catastrophic impact humans can have on the natural world ...

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Intro and outro music by Audionautix. Other music in this episode by Kevin MacLeod. All licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.

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The world record for longest animal is held by the bootlace worm (Lineus longissimus), a Nemertean or ribbon worm from the North Sea. In fact, it's held by a Scottish bootlace worm that was washed ashore in 1864. But is that record reliable? How long do bootlace worms actually get? And what is a ribbon worm anyway?

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Intro and outro music by Audionautix. Other music in this episode by Kevin MacLeod. All licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.

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Colobopsis explodens is one of a group of ants known as exploding ants. Highly social insects that have developed an extraordinary approach to the defense of their colonies - a mass of workers, every one of which is prepared for the ultimate sacrifice. But how and why, you might wonder, does an ant make itself explode?

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Intro and outro music by Audionautix. Other music in this episode by Kevin MacLeod. All licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.

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Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) is a member of a rarely seen, little known and little studied group of whales – the beaked whales – that are in fact widespread, relatively common and completely remarkable. The particular claim to fame of Cuvier's beaked whale is its astonishing diving capabilities: it holds the record for the deepest dive by an air-breathing animal (without the aid of a submarine!). So we're heading out, into the open ocean, to visit with one of the most rarely seen large animals on Earth, and to follow it away from the air and the light into the midnight zone …

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Intro and outro music by Audionautix. Other music in this episode by Chris Zabriskie. All licensed under Creative Commons Attribution.

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The weirdest animals yet to appear on The Wild Episode: Osedax, a whole genus of bone-eating worms that for tens of millions of years have been colonising giant carcasses in the deep sea. They have no mouths, the males are miniature, they secrete acid and they grow roots like trees. Weird, like I say. But wonderful too.

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Intro and outro music by Audionautix.

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