Wild Animals

Deer 255 is part of a herd that winters in the Red Desert of Wyoming. In the spring, some animals stay locally, some migrate up into the nearby foothills, and some, like 255, keep going on a serious long-distance migration. This incredible annual movement was only discovered a decade ago, and 255 now holds the record for the longest deer migration. She was first tagged by Anna and her helicopter cowboy colleagues six years ago, and has managed the 484-mile round-trip every year. She annually dodges wolves, crosses roads, and sneaks through oil fields in her search for greener pastures and a safe place to have her fawns.

Pacman was a jaguar in the Mayan rainforests of Southern Mexico. He was easily recognized by a bite mark on his flank shaped like his namesake video game character. International collaboration between scientists led to the surprise finding that Pacman would cross a major river to patrol parts of a territory in Honduras as well. This double life seemed to work for Pacman, until a tragic and surprise ending that served as a warning to Mexican conservationists of a new threat in their country.

Biologists often use themes to name their study animals, making it easier to keep track of which group an individual was from. John Snow was a male marmot in the Game of Thrones marmot colony, obviously. As biologists tracked this marmot they were amazed at how much the animal’s story paralleled the character from the TV show [Spoiler Alert!].

This is a short introduction to season two of the Wild Animals Podcast

Dr. Martin Wikelski shares the story of Hansai, a young stork that lost his flock while migrating south for the winter. Instead of ending up in Africa, he was stranded in Germany as winter quickly approached. Listen in to hear just how Hansai survived and brought a baby to a farm.

Studying Flammulated Owls is tough work, flailing around with tall catch-poles, at night, on mountain slopes, while avoiding the occasional bear or mountain lion.  The owls don’t make it any easier, and B5 was a bit of a nemesis for Scott as he conducted his research into the movement and ecology of these tiny owls. 

Marijo is a forest elephant living in Gabon where she walks a fine line between remote forests, local farmers, and ivory poachers. Amelia Meier learned the story of Marjio as she followed her GPS tracks and footprints, literally, through the forests of Gabon.  By following close behind, Amelia could find fecal samples and document elephant diet and seed dispersal.  But you never want to get too close to an elephant, as Amelia learned the hard way. 

Lisa Kettemer met Joy the humpback whale when it enthusiastically swam up to the boat and allowed biologists to tag it.  Joy’s story includes intrepid work in frigid oceans and a mysterious but real-life white whale. 

You can find out more about this project including tracks from Joy and other whales here. 

Vanilla Ice is a male coati who would rather hang with the ladies and their kids than do the normal solitary-male coati thing.  Dr. Ben Hirsch uses video and DNA tests to document the coati soap opera and find out why.

You can learn more about Ben’s research at this page.

P22 is a mountain lion that lives under the Hollywood sign in Griffith Park.  He is one of the most urban large cats in the world with one of the smallest home ranges (8 mi2).  As part of his research with Los Angeles carnivores, Dr. Seth Riley has been following P22 since 2012 and joins us to tell his remarkable story.  The survival of P22 for over 10 years shows how large predators and people can survive together, but also highlights the challenges the Los Angeles lion population faces for the future as the remaining natural areas get more and more isolated. The story of P22 shows that there is hope for these big cats, and Seth ends with a bold proposal that could not only ensure the future of Hollywood lions, but help other species as well.