This week we've got three more mystery animals, but they're small instead of gigantic! Also, I didn't say anything about it in the episode, but Black lives matter. Stay safe and fight for justice, everyone. The water chevrotain: The real-life face-scratcher monster, Schizodactylus monstrosus, more properly known as a dune cricket: Flying ants: It's flying ants, that's what it is: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we’re going to learn about t...
Jun 08, 2020•12 min
It's a bonus monster month in June, because everything is awful and learning about monsters will take our minds off the awfulness. This week let's learn about some mysterious stories from around the world that feature huge octopus or squid! Further watching: River Monsters episode about the Lusca A colossal squid, up close to that gigantic eyeball: Blue holes in the ocean and on land: A giant Pacific octopus swimming: The popular image of the kraken since the 1750s: Show transcript: Welcome to S...
Jun 01, 2020•15 min
We have a fun mystery bird this week, the forest raven! Was it a real bird??? (hint: yes, but not a raven) The "forest raven" illustration from Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner's Historiae Animalium, published in 1555: Scans of the original pages about the forest raven. It's written in Latin: The Northern bald ibis. Wacky hair! Flying bald ibises: Further viewing: This Weird Bird May Have Been the First Protected Species Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Sha...
May 25, 2020•11 min
This week let's go back back back in time to more than 300 million years ago, when amphibian-like animals lived in enormous swamps. Don't be fooled by the word amphibian: many Temnospondyls were really big! Further reading: Palaeos Temnospondyli Dvinosaurus, three feet long and full of teeth: And Sclerocephalus, five feet long and full of teeth. This one has a couple of larvae nearby: Fayella (art by Nix) Nigerpeton's astonishing NOSE TEETH: Mastodonsaurus had nose teeth too and it was way bigge...
May 18, 2020•14 min
Thanks to Emma for the suggestion! Let's learn about some animals that live on the St. Kilda islands off the coast of Scotland! St. Kilda: Soay rams (kept on farms, not the feral sheep): A small flock of Soay sheep (these are from a farm too): A Boreray ram (on a farm): A Boreray ewe with her babies (also on a farm, or at least I think so): The St. Kilda wren (not a sheep): The St. Kilda field mouse (also not a sheep) is the size of a hamster: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast....
May 11, 2020•11 min
This week let's find out what has paleontologists so excited about this dinosaur! Further reading: The Nature article that kicked this all off (you can only read the abstract for free but it's full of good information) Paleontologist Who Uncovered Prehistoric River Monster's Tail Explains Why It's Such a Game Changer (Newsweek) Further watching: A good video about the new findings Spinosaurus's updated look: This trackway from a swimming animal may have been made by a Spinosaurus (photo by Loic ...
May 04, 2020•10 min
This week let's learn about my nemesis (in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, at least), the tarantula! Further reading: Tarantulas inspire new structural color with the greatest viewing angle My character in Animal Crossing (and the shirt I made her--yes, I know tarantulas are arachnids, not insects, but I think the shirt is funny): Boy who is not afraid of a tarantula: The Goliath birdeater and a hand. Not photoshopped: The cobalt blue tarantula: The Gooty sapphire ornamental: The Singapore blue t...
Apr 27, 2020•15 min
This week let's take a look at some animals (and other living organisms) that live the longest! This isn't Methuselah itself (scientists aren't saying which tree it is, to keep it safe), but it's a bristlecone pine: The Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, a sacred fig tree in Sri Lanka, planted in 288 BCE by a king: Some trees of the quaking aspen colony called Pando: Glass sponges (this one's called the Venus Flower Basket): Further reading: Glass sponge as a living climate archive Show transcript: Welcome to...
Apr 20, 2020•14 min
Thanks to Sam for this week's topic suggestion and animal suggestions! This week we're looking at some animals that just look...weird? And wrong? And not what you expect? Like the gerenuk: And the Tibetan fox: And the maned wolf: And the proboscis monkey: And the bald uakari: Further watching: Shani the baby gerenuk (so cute!) Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week the theme and many of the animals we’ll cover are a suggestion by Sam. We were cha...
Apr 13, 2020•13 min
I just adopted two black cats, named Dracula and Poe, so let's learn about domestic cats! Thanks to RosyWindFox, Nicholas, Richard E., Kim, and an anonymous listener who all made suggestions and contributed to this episode in one way or another! Further listening: Weird Dog Breeds - an unlocked Patreon episode Two beautiful examples of domestic cats (Dracula on left, Poe on right, and it is really hard to photograph a black cat): The African wildcat, ancestor of the domestic cat: The blotched ta...
Apr 06, 2020•28 min
I hope you're all well and not too bored if you're one of the millions who are having to stay inside right now! This week let's learn about a fishy mystery, fish with fur! Further reading: Mirapinna esau - a Furry Fish from the Azores The so-called fur-bearing trout: A hairy frogfish: The hairyfish (I couldn't find any actual photos of one): This man is serious about moldy fish. He wants the mold to think about what it's done while it's in time out: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Po...
Mar 30, 2020•8 min
This week let's learn about the pronghorn! Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week let’s finally look at an animal I’ve wanted to cover for at least a couple of years now, the pronghorn! We’ve talked about the pronghorn before a few times, but it definitely deserves its own episode. The pronghorn is a cloven-hoofed mammal that lives in western North America, especially in open terrain where it can see any predators that might try to sneak up on it...
Mar 23, 2020•8 min
Thanks to Nathan for his suggestions! This week we're going to learn about three strange and interesting fish! A northern snakehead: A giant snakehead: A Greenland shark, fish of mystery: The upside-down catfish is indeed upside down a lot of the time (this is actually a picture of Synodontis nigriventris, closely related to the upside-down catfish we talk about in the episode): An ancient Egyptian upside-down catfish pendant that ladies wore in their hair: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange An...
Mar 16, 2020•12 min
It's a bonus episode because some people are too disturbed by the thought of diseases to listen to this week's regular episode. I'm really sorry about that! To make it up to you, here are two adorable fluffy animals that live in Mongolia and other parts of Asia. Super floof! Pallas's cat, AKA the manol or manul (photo by Julie Larsen Maher, looks like): I would deny you nothing, round boi: we all died of cute right here: The handsome corsac fox would break your heart in an instant if it felt lik...
Mar 11, 2020•5 min
Thanks to Kim and Pranav for their unsettling suggestions for this episode! I swear the reason I decided to do this episode this week was to celebrate getting over my cold, but then I realized I needed to address the virus everyone is talking about right now. I hope you all stay well and safe out there! The Hawaiian monk seal OMG LOOK YOU CAN SEE ITS BELLY BUTTON, SO CUTE: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. I’m finally over my cold, so to celebrate let...
Mar 09, 2020•20 min
I still have a cold, so let's let some birds do part of the talking in this episode about more weird bird calls! Further reading: Listen to the Loudest Bird Ever Recorded Further listening/watching: A video of the screaming piha. You need to see this. The yellow-bellied sapsucker is a real bird, and an adorable one too: The mute swan is not actually mute: The white bellbird is the loudest bird ever recorded (photo by Anselmo d’Affonseca): The screaming piha is hilariously loud. Left, sitting lik...
Mar 02, 2020•9 min
I feel like I'm coming down with a cold, so here's a short episode that I can get finished before I start to croak like a bullfrog or a raven. It's time for some astonishing bees! Thanks to Richard J. for the suggestion! Wallace's giant bee compared to an ordinary honeybee: Osima avosetta makes her nest out of flower petals: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. I think I’m coming down with a cold, so to avoid another potential bullfrog and raven episode ...
Feb 24, 2020•6 min
To celebrate my new book, Skyway, this week let's learn about sky animals! They're fictitious, but could they really exist? And what animals are really found in the high atmosphere? You can order a copy of Skyway today on Kindle or other ebook formats! It's a collection of short stories published by Mannison Press, with the same characters and setting from my novel Skytown (also available)! Further reading: "The Horror of the Heights" by Arthur Conan Doyle (and you can even listen to a nice audi...
Feb 17, 2020•21 min
What's the difference between a snake and a legless lizard? Find out this week and learn about all kinds of interesting reptiles without legs that aren't actually snakes! The slow-worm. Not a snake: Burton's legless lizard. Not a snake: The excitable delma. Not a snake: The Mexican mole lizard. Not a snake or a worm: The red worm lizard (Amphisbaena alba). Also not a snake or a worm, but honestly, it looks a lot like I imagine the Mongolian death worm to look: The giant legless skink. Not a snak...
Feb 10, 2020•13 min
Uh, yeah, not the legless lizard episode. But just as interesting! This week let's learn about the largest rodents in the world! Hint: way bigger than a rat. Further reading: Rodents of Uncertain Systematics The mellow and photogenic capybara: Oh to be a capybara in an open bath with an orange on its head: Hey, pacarana: Oh to be a paca with half an orange: Oh to be a chevrotain with a piece of orange. (The chevrotain is not a rodent. It has hooves. Episode 116 explains this creature): Show tran...
Feb 03, 2020•11 min
In honor of my new favorite band, The Hu, let's learn about some animals from their country, Mongolia! (You can also watch the "Wolf Totem" video with English lyrics.) The Hu. Oh my heart: If you need the podcast's feed URL, it's https://strangeanimalspodcast.blubrry.net/feed/podcast/ A handsome prize-winning domesticated yak and rider (photo taken from this site): The saiga, an antelope with a serious snoot: A Bactrian camel (photo by *squints* Brent Huffman, looks like): The taimen, a fish tha...
Jan 27, 2020•21 min
Many animals have differences between males and females, but some species have EXTREME differences! The elephant seal male and female are very different sizes: The huia female (bottom) had a beak very different from the male (top): The eclectus parrot male (left) looks totally different from the female (right): The triplewart seadevil, an anglerfish. On the drawing, you can see the male labeled in very small letters: The female argonaut, also called the paper nautilus, makes a delicate see-throu...
Jan 20, 2020•17 min
This week let's learn about some lesser-known Australian animals. A heat wave and dry conditions have led to many terrible bush fires in Australia, with many animals and people left hurt, killed, and homeless. Fortunately, there are ways you can help! Check out the Animal Rescue Craft Guild for patterns and other information about crafting pouches, beds, and other items needed for injured and orphaned animals, and where to send the items you make. Animals to the Max has a great episode about the...
Jan 13, 2020•15 min
Let's start out the new year with a bona fide mystery animal, the White River Monster from Arkansas! Is it a real animal? If so, is it a known animal or something new to science? If it's a known animal, what could it be? Lots of questions, maybe a few answers! Happy new year! Further listening: MonsterTalk The not exactly useful picture supposedly of the White River Monster, taken in 1971: A northern elephant seal, AKA Mr. Blobby: A Florida manatee: A bull shark: Two bottlenose dolphins: An alli...
Jan 06, 2020•18 min
This week let's look at some (mostly) smaller mystery animals associated with water! Thanks to Richard J., Janice, and Simon for the suggestions! Further reading: What Was the Montauk Monster? The black-striped pipefish. Also, that guy has REALLY BIG FINGERTIPS: The Pondicherry shark, not looking very happy: A ratfish. What BIG EYES you have! The hoodwinker sunfish, weird and serene: The Montauk monster, looking very sad and dead: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your hos...
Dec 30, 2019•16 min
Thanks to Pranav who suggested this week's amazing topic, animals that fossilized with the remains of their last meal inside! Indrasaurus with a lizard inside. Yum! Baryonyx: Rhamphorhynchus (left, with long wing bones) and its Fish of Doom (right): The fish within a fish fossil is a reminder to chew your food instead of swallowing it alive where it can kill you: The turducken of fossils! A snake with a lizard inside with a bug inside! Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m you...
Dec 23, 2019•16 min
This week we venture into the land of CUTE to learn about hamsters, ferrets, and some other small domesticated animals. Thanks to Kim and the Angel City Ferret Club for the suggestions! Hamsters are SO CUTE: Hamsters have giant cheek pouches to carry food in: Gerbils are also SO CUTE: Ferrets are SO CUTE in a totally different way: The black-footed ferret does not want anything to do with the domestic ferret, thank you: An extremely complicated but neat way to use your pet's exercise wheel to ge...
Dec 16, 2019•16 min
SOMEONE forgot their flash drive at work, so here's a short but hopefully interesting episode about a mystery animal, a zebra with spots instead of stripes! Ordinary zebras: A SPOTTED ZEBRA?!?? A BABY SPOTTED ZEBRA?!? Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This episode was going to be another listener suggestion, but I left my flash drive at work that has all my research and the half-written script on it. So that episode will be next week, and instead this...
Dec 09, 2019•8 min
Thanks for Merike for suggesting the gastric brooding frog and to Hally for suggesting newly-discovered frogs!! The Gastric brooding frog: Darwin's frog, round boi: The Surinam toad carries her eggs and tadpoles in the skin of her back: Kermit the frog and a newly discovered glass frog: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This week we have another fantastic listener suggestion, about frogs! Merike is a herpetologist from Estonia, who suggested the gastr...
Dec 02, 2019•13 min
Thanks to Kim and Richard E. this week for two awesome suggestions! We're going to learn about land snails and about the gooseneck barnacle! Some baby snails and a mama snail, or at least an adult snail that is probably ignoring all those babies: A giant African snail: Unlocked Patreon episode about giant African snails (and other stuff) A rare Polynesian tree snail, white-shelled variety: A grove snail: Gooseneck barnacles: A barnacle goose. Not actually related to the gooseneck barnacle: Show ...
Nov 25, 2019•15 min
