Creature Feature

Note from Katie: As I question nature's wisdom with regards to the third trimester of pregnancy, I thought I'd offer you one of my favorite past episodes about how doofy and convoluted evolution can get. Today on the show: They're not dinosaurs, they're from BEFORE the dinosaurs, and they're very, very, very strange. Giant apex predator shrimp thingies, centipedes you could ride on, the tully monster, evolution's most amazing mistakes! I'm joined by paleontologist and science educator Dane Pavitt. Check him out at www.theaveragescientist.co.uk and www.youtube.com/danepavitt Footnotes: Last week's mystery animal sound sourceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy Creaturekringletimes everyone! Today on the show I'm joined by Just the Zoo of Us host Ellen Weatherford, and we talk about animals who manage to keep their babies cold despite freezing temperature! Bears, walruses, snowy owls, and penguins, all who make great sacrifices to ensure their babies survive cold weather and don't become pup-sicles. And a personal announcement from me! Festive intro/outro music by Aaron Kenny. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this listener questions episode, I talk about how fish smell smells, whether hyenas grow winter coats, and animals who don't mind spending a lot of time to get the job done, even thousands of years. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is a buggy listener questions episode as I answer your queries about insect vision, ants outsmarting our poisons, and the impacts of insect farming! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm having some minor medical shenanigans, I should return shortly! In the meantime, to stick with the theme of medicine, here's one of my favorite episodes on how animals deal with illness. I'm joined by naturalist, educator and author Heather Montgomery as we talk about her book "Sick" and the fascinating world of animal immune systems (and poop). Guest: Heather MontgomerySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.