HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!What does it mean to be a good mother? An a, self proclaimed "Mother of Animals", I know that motherhood it hard, no matter who or what your children are. In today's weird animal podcast we look at two weird animal mammas; the koala and the common cuckoo. One is said to be a very good mother, who carries her young in her pocket until old enough to go out there an make babies of their own, while the other (when compared to human mothers) is seen as a vial, forsaken, careles...

Today may very well be May the Forth, but in this episode we are celebrating Cinco de Mayo by learning about two animals that call Mexico home; White Nosed Coati and Beaded Lizard.We start with the very raccoon like coati and learn how it got its weird look through another segment of 'Animal Renovations' and why its the ladies who are the smartest, most amazing and most wonderful (yes I am a woman, but that does not change the fact that female coatis are the shit). Then we turn to the reptile...

BONUS!!! For the last 5 weeks we have taken a look at the five senses through animals who have the best of those senses. But did you know that there are some other senses out there that we don't have? Birds can see the magnetic field of the earth so to aid with their migration and sharks don't just have five senses, they don't have six senses they have seven!With birds we first learn about migration: what is migration and how do birds know when and where to go? With sharks we understand why t...

Do you hear what I hear? Well that depends; are a human, a bat or a moth. In comparison, humans really suck as hearing.In our 30th episode, we finish up our five week journey into the five senses with hearing! And the two animals with the best hearing have been in competition with each other over who has the best hearing for the last 50 million years. The bats and moths! Bats need to eat and the most want to live another day! Who will win this great battle? Will we be around to watch it's end...

What's that smell? Whether its a taco truck or a fart you have your nose to thank for that; as well as your olfactory bulb, cilia, and even your mucus. In the fourth week of our five week journey into the five senses we take a weird look at two of the weirdest noses in the animal world. And both have long snoots! Elephants and Kiwis!Elephants from both Africa and Asia; learn how their nose does and can help humans, and what you can do to save them! And how do you tell the difference bet...

Taste! Stick out your tongue and read this out loud as you do so! Welcome to week 3 of our 5 week series on the five senses where we tongue the sense of taste like French kissing your high school boyfriend by looking closely at the tongues and tastes of snakes and catfish.Snakes, or nope-ropes, are known for that long forked tongue. But what's the point? The taste....or smell? Its kind of both, but since this episode is about taste, we talk about that (tune in next week for smell!). Working p...

VISION!! No, not WandaVision; but vision as in the thing that helps us and animals see! This is week 2 in our 5 week journey into the five senses. For vision we look at two animals that are known to have some of the best vision out there: Hawks and Cats. Join me, zookeeper Deidre, as we take a deep dive into the eye and find out how it functions. We learn somewhat fancy words like rods, cones, retina, and re-learn the word fovea from last episode. With the use of rods and cones we find ...

Touch! Today starts week 1 of our 5 week journey into the 5 senses. The Black Fire Beetle and Star-nosed Mole are the perfect amount of weird for us to focus on the sensation of touch. With the ability to feel and sense heat, the fire beetle (a member of the Jewel beetle family) is able to fly miles in search of a forest fires. Why? Is it to put it out, to mate, lay eggs, worship its savory the Fire God? I guess you'll have to listen to find out. As for the star nosed mole; their nose i...

Before you just slide on past this episode because the word tapeworm makes you cringe, I'd like to also let you know that once you listen to the tapeworm segment and its entirely you will be rewarded with cuteness! FENNEC FOX! Also these are two separate segments. I'm not talking about tapeworms foxes get, nor do all foxes have tapeworms, we're just learning about both independently of the other. With over 5,000 tapeworm species in the world (and multiple intestines) its no wonder they can gr...

Two words you might not have ever heard of frigatebird and gharial. I assure you that these are real words and most importantly, real animals. Both leave near the water. One shouldn't touch it as their feathers aren't waterproof... weird adaptation but okay. And the other can't get its stomach off the ground while on land. Frigate bird is a bird best known for that red drum that they use to seduce the ladies. However, they spend most of their time in the air... like they spend ALOT of time in...