Thanks to Kai and Emily for their suggestions this week! The greater siren [photo by Kevin Stohlgren, taken from this site]: The anhinga [photo by Tim from Ithaca – Anhinga, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15526948]: An anhinga swimming [photo by Wknight94, CC BY-SA 3.0 , vi…

Thanks to Cosmo and Zachary for suggesting this week’s monitor lizards! Further reading: No One Imagined Giant Lizard Nests Would Be This Weird The Mighty Modifications of the Yellow-Spotted Goanna The Asian water monitor: A yellow-spotted goanna standing up [picture by Geowombats – https://www.flickr.com/photos/geowombats/136601260/, CC BY 2.0, ht…

A “what if” story about one of Cinderella’s coachmen who stays a man rather than regaining his mouse form at the stroke of midnight. Dazed and confused, he finds himself at the gates of a castle and discovers that, upon being given lowly work in the King’s stables, he has a knack as a horse whisperer.…

This week we need to thanks a bunch of listeners for their suggestions: Bowie, Eilee, Pranav, and Yuzu! Further reading: Elaborate Komodo dragon armor defends against other dragons Giant killer lizard fossil shines new light on early Australians A New Origin for Dragon Folklore? The Wyvern of Wonderland The Komodo dragon: The beautiful tree goanna:…

Thanks to Catherine and arilloyd for suggesting the marsupial mole! Further reading: Northern marsupial mole: Rare blind creature photographed in Australian outback The marsupial mole, adorable little not-mole from Australia [photo from article above]: Grant’s golden mole, adorable little not-mole from Africa: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange An…

POPeracast host Jennifer Miller Hammel does a deep dive with co-librettiests Josh Shaw and Eiki Isomura before the revival of POP's hit Japanese/English production of Madama Butterfly. Get your tickets now! They are going fast because the Opera America annual conference is in Los Angeles during the run. JACCC's Aratani Theatre Saturday June 1, 2024…

Thanks to Luke for suggesting this week’s topic: Smilodon, the saber-toothed cat, AKA the sabertooth tiger! Further reading: Did sabertooth tigers purr or roar? The double-fanged adolescence of saber-toothed cats We don’t know for sure what Smilodon looked like, but it might have been something like this: An artist’s rendition of an adolescent Smil…

Thanks to Richard from NC, Pranav, and Alexandra for their suggestions this week! Further reading: ABA Rare Bird Alert One Reason Migrating Birds Get Lost Is Out of This World Inside the Amazing Cross-Continent Saga of the Steller’s Sea-Eagle A Vagrant European Robin Is Drawing Huge Crowds in China Bird migration: When vagrants become pioneers A re…

The trouble with Trouble was he talked too much, even old skunk told him so. But when Trouble tried to tell everyone old skunk spoke to him, no one ever believed him again.

Thanks to Joel and Mary for suggesting some really interesting woodpeckers this week! Further watching: Rare woodpecker thought extinct spotted in Ohio The green woodpecker really likes to eat ants [picture by Remyymer – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65008314]: The white-headed woodpecker looks like its fac…

Thanks to Pranav, Isaac, and an anonymous listener for their suggestions this week! Let’s learn about some animals that inspired three Pokemon. Sandshrew: Possible Sandshrew inspirations: Drowzee: Possible Drowzee inspiration: Fennekin: Undoubted Fennekin inspiration: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. Th…

Thanks to Nathan-Andrew for suggesting giant ichthyosaurs! Further reading: Paleontologists unearth what may be the largest known marine reptile Ruby and some other scientists with the ichthyotitan fossils [photos taken from this page]: How the pieces fit together: Show transcript: Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw. This …

When death comes for Old Hark, the old man tells him to come again in the spring so he can feed his birds for one more winter. After some argument, Death offers to give him one more winter if he can answer three questions.By Richard Kennedy

Thanks to Max for suggesting Titanoboa! Further reading: Largest known madtsoiid snake from warm Eocene period of India suggests intercontinental Gondwana dispersal This Nearly 50-Foot Snake Was One of the Largest to Slither on Earth Meet Vasuki indicus, the ‘crocodile’ that was a 50ft snake Titanoboa had really big bones compared to its modern rel…

POPeracast host Jennifer Miller Hammel sits down with Josh Shaw to discuss POP's upcoming 2024/25 season. Full season ticket packages on sale now! Don't miss the revival of the bilingual Japanese/English Madama Butterfly at the Aratani Theater in Little Tokyo. Two Weekends ONLY June 1,2,7,9 2024By Pacific Opera Project

Thanks to Khalil for suggesting the horny toad, also called the horned lizard or horned toad!Further reading:The Case of the Lost LizardThe Texas horned lizard:Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum)The rock horned lizard [photo taken from article linked above]:Show transcript:Welcome to Strange Animals Podcast. I’m your host, Kate Shaw.This week…

Thanks to Elijah and an anonymous listener for suggesting that we talk about some more species of praying mantis!Further reading:The luring mantid: Protrusible pheromone glands in Stenophylla lobivertex (Mantodea: Acanthopidae)Dragons and unicorns (mantises) spotted in Atlantic forestCitizen scientists help discover new mantis speciesThe dragon man…

Thanks to River for suggesting this week's topic, the pufferfish!Further reading:Grass puffer fish communicate with each other using a non-toxic version of their deadly toxinMystery pufferfish create elaborate circular nests at mesophotic depths in AustraliaPufferfish, puffed:A starry puffer, un-puffed [picture by Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, https:/…

A story from Ms Banks' delightful anthology “The Magic Hare” in which the magic hare is snared by an orphan for dinner. The hare continues to suggest ingredients that would make him taste better but the final one is through the dark forest where the orphan has never gone. The hare leads the way, the orphan overcomes her fear and both live happily, …

Thanks to Carson, Mia, Eli, and Pranav for their suggestions this week!Further reading:RNA for the first time recovered from an extinct speciesStudy finds ongoing evolution in Tasmanian Devils' response to transmissible cancerTasmanian devil research offers new insights for tackling cancer in humansThe Tasmanian devil looks really cute but fights a…

Thanks to Will and Måns for their suggestions this week! Let's learn about some mystery bovids, or cows and cow relations!Further reading:A Book of Creatures: SongòmbyKouprey: The Ultimate Mystery MammalA musk ox (top) and a wild yak (bottom): A young kouprey bull from the 1930s:Sculpture of two grown kouprey bulls [photo by Christian Pirkl - Own w…

Thanks to Ari for suggesting this week's episode, about the peacock!Further reading:Peacock tail feathers shake at resonance and hold eye-spots still during courtship displaysIndian peafowls' crests are tuned to frequencies also used in social displaysAn ocellated turkey (not a peacock but related):An Indian peacock male:An Indian peahen with chick…

Let's look at some of the most interesting animals discovered last year!Further reading:Newly-discovered ‘margarita snails’ from the Florida Keys are bright lemon-yellowTiny spirits roam the corals of Japan—two new pygmy squids discoveredStrange New Species of Aquifer-Dwelling Catfish Discovered in IndiaBizarre New Species of Catfish Discovered in …

When Conal builds his castle on a hilltop he is not aware that he is intruding in the domain of the powerful fairy, Duine Sidhe. Cursed by the fairy, Conal and his family find no happiness until Conal’s son is befriended by a weaver who weaves a magic tapestry that can lift the curse.By Melissa Shaw-Smith

Sorry to my Patreon subscribers, since this is mostly a rerun episode from April 2019. It's a fun one, though!The teensy pumpkin toadlet [photo by Diogo B. Provete - http://calphotos.berkeley.edu, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6271494]:The electromagnetic spectrum. Look how tiny the visible light spectrum is on this …

Thanks to Jason for suggesting this week's topic, the bison!Further reading:New research documents domestic cattle genetics in modern bison herdsHiggs Bison: Mysterious Hybrid of Bison and Cattle Hidden in Ice Age Cave ArtA cave painting of steppe bison and other animals:An American bison [photo by Kim Acker, taken from this site]:Some European bis…

Thanks to Pranav for suggesting this mystery big cat this week, the marozi!Further reading:From Black Lions to Living Sabre-Tooths: My Top Ten Mystery CatsSpotted LionsA young lioness who still has some of her cub spots:Subadult lions who still have a lot of cub spots:The skin of an animal supposedly killed in 1931 and said to be a marozi:Two photo…

Avery Boettcher, Schyler Vargas, and Chloe Sundet had some more funny stories to share! One Weekend ONLY February 17-18, 2024 Thorne Hall, Occidental CollegeBy Pacific Opera Project

Thanks to Chuck for suggesting this week's topic, a weird little deer called the muntjac!Further reading:Dam Project Reveals Secret Sanctuary of Vanishing DeerWildlife camera trap surveys provide new insights into the occurrence of two threatened Annamite endemics in Viet Nam and LaosGetting ahead (or two?) with Vietnam's Viking Deer - the Long-Run…