The Wild Life

Who doesn’t love goats? Especially baby ones. Their gait, their bleat, their tiny horns. But there comes a time in any goat interaction I’ve had where we lock eyes and I’m struck with a mixture of curiosity and unease. 

On today's episode, why goats have rectangular pupils, their auto-leveling eyes, and a surprising connection to cuttlefish!

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Check out Avast! and Planthropology

Most would agree that Polar Bears are white, but there's more to the story than things may appear.

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and check out Avast!, a pirate pod from my friend Paul Csomo

According to a paper published on August 24th, 2022 in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the Dugong is now “functionally extinct” in China. These gentle marine mammals, sometimes referred to as sea cows, are one of four species of the order Sirenia. They are the cousins of the Amazonian manatee, West Indian manatee, West African manatee, and the now extinct Steller’s sea cow. These peaceful creatures invoked myths of mermaids and fantasy, existing in Chinese waters for thousands of years. Now, because of habitat loss, food loss, hunting, and collisions with watercraft, the Dugong is now one step closer to meeting the fate of their Steller cousin, and only other member of the Dugongidae family.

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Ask yourself, when was the last time you saw a roseate rhinoceros, a bronzed bunting, or a peeling porcupine? Can other animals get sunburns?

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Crocodiles are known to be notoriously cantankerous creatures, but what’s less known is this crazy fact about Crocodile teeth–they can go through up to 4,000 teeth in their lifetime!

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Hedgehogs are easily one of the most unmistakable little critters out there, but how much do you know about them? Sonic is (somehow) a hedgehog, but they’re not really known for being quick on their feet. They’re irrefutably adorable, sometimes pets, and prickly little fellas that roll themselves up like a pill bug, but what else? Where are they native to? What do they eat? Why do hedgehogs have spikes?

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Yes, you read that right. Move over marsupials, you’re not the only mammals with skin pockets.​

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The basic idea behind the theory of evolution behind natural selection is this: if you get eaten or otherwise die before you’ve had the chance to reproduce then your genes, or traits, don’t get passed on. It’s a dead end. But if you survive… some of your traits get passed down to a new generation. Maybe you were just a bit faster than the other wildebeest. Maybe your coloration gave you better camouflage than some of the rest. Who knows? It could be a ton of things. The point is, over time, these little changes in the proportion of traits will add up to big changes, maybe even entirely new species!

There’s a misconception out there though related to this idea called Survival of the Fittest. That evolution works through the survival of the strongest, fastest, toughest, meanest of the bunch and that things get stronger, faster, tougher, and meaner over time. Thing is, that’s just not true. Problematic associations aside, that idea doesn’t explain the persistence of seemingly useless traits, or the loss of seemingly useful traits, or traits that simply don’t change for millions of years at a time. Sometimes, things persist simply because there’s no pressure for them not to. Sometimes, things just work.

In the case of sponges, there’s the Demo Model

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In October 2020, Ocean Exploration Trust’s E/V Nautilus crew discovered something extraordinary—vast clusters of glass sponges

Glass sponges in general are a rare sight, but what made this discovery even more surprising is where they were found.

Beginning just 25 miles off the coast of California, The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is a 1,470 square mile refuge for wildlife as well as a human heritage site. 

Regions where the ocean floor can be found just 1,000 feet or so below, like Footprint Ridge and the Piggy Bank, have been pretty thoroughly explored.

But between those two sites lies a valley, plunging another thousand feet below. This time, in late 2020, the scientific team famous for their live-streaming of footage captured by ROV’s, decided to give that valley a closer look.

That’s when the NOAA experts, on Nautilus Live, stumbled upon a vast underwater field of glass.

Finds like these are becoming increasingly important as potential habitats for diverse life and as indicators of ocean health in a changing world.

But, aside from the obviously fascinating fact that these creatures have skeletons made of glass, what exactly are these so-called glass sponges?

That’s what this episode of Class is all about, the art of glass.

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This season on Class, a deep dive into the amazing life history of sponges. starting with getting to the bottom of what exactly a sponge is!

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