Leroy was one of the first fishers to ever get a GPS tracking collar, providing immediate, new discoveries about how this “wilderness species” colonized suburbia. Dodging police and sneaking through culverts, Scott eventually found Leroy dead in a swamp - a murder mystery tied to the unusual mating behavior of fishers.

Wild Animals

Leroy the fisher who learned no means no the hard way

Josephine was a sea turtle who found an easy meal by raiding a fisherman’s nets.  Kate was happy to help the fisherman by moving the turtle and putting a tracking device on it. Undeterred, Josephine returned to her favorite fishing spot, providing interesting data and creating a new dependable and friendly link between fisherman and turtle biologist.

Josphine, the most reliable sea turtle

Lucy met Diane the basking shark when she gave the fish a small tracking tag off the coast of Scotland. While Diane typically loafed around eating plankton, this high-tech tag showed that Diane would occasionally sprint to the surface and jump into the air over and over again.

Diane, the Shark That Jumped Out of the Water Four Times in 47 Seconds

Etumbe was rescued from captivity and became part of the first group of Bonobos to be released back into the wild. Her seniority and calm demeanor helped her become one of the leaders of this new group and also led to an incredible interaction between man and their closest wild cousin.

Etumbe, the Bonobo who led her group back to the wild.

There are a surprising number of mountain lions in the hills just above Silicon Valley. Chris Wilmers is studying how these big cats make a living in the midst of so much Bay Area development. 36M unwittingly joined the study when he got trapped and equipped with a tracking collar with technology fancier than any other study, as you would expect from Silicon Valley.

M36 - the mountain lion by which all others will be compared

Bobby was a big bruiser of an ocelot. When Ricardo first trapped and collared him, Bobby was feisty and scarred after prowling his tropical island home like a king, sending smaller males fleeing with flurries of claws and teeth. Eventually, however, those teeth gave-way, and the next generation of ocelots had the last laugh.

Bobby, the world’s largest ocelot

Jorge spent over two years living in a remote Amazonian jungle where he developed a special relationship with a monkey that looked like his mom.

Agui the Oedipus Monkey

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.

255 - The deer who just kept going

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.

Pacman the Jaguar with two girlfriends in two countries

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!].

Jon Snow the Marmot who died and came back to life again.

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

Introduction to Season 2

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.

Hansi - the stork who 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. 

B5- The Flamulated Owl who got away, over, and over, and over again

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. 

Marijo, the forest elephant who liked to run the tracks.

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. 

Joy, the show-off humpback whale.

Crazy stories about animals, told by the people who study them.

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Wild Animals

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