Strange by Nature Podcast

Toad Licking

Kirk is up first this week and he brings us the wild truth behind Toad Licking.

Rachel brings us a weird story of two unlikely buddies. Frogs and Tarantulas. Their relationship turns out to be beneficial to both.

Victoria rounds out the show with a story of caterpillars that mimic snakes! The illusion is pretty amazing and even fools Rachel.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.

Exceptions to the Rules

Welcome to another week of strange nature!

Victoria goes first and brings us a story of an absolutely bizarre insect that seems to defy our rules of what an insect is. It has no common name so we give it one. We call this alien-like chest burster the Peek-a-boo Twisted-wing.

Kirk takes the middle spot this week and he tells us about the only nocturnal monkeys in the world. Night Monkeys are special exceptions to what we normally think of as monkeys. One interesting example, Dad is the primary caregiver for children.

Rachel rounds out the show by telling us a bizarre story about the critically endangered and fascinating Maleo bird. This relative of the Turkey incubates its eggs using geothermal heat by burying them in warm sand and then abandoning them.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.

Happy Mother's Day. Let's Eat Mom!

Rachel starts us off this week with the totally awesome Honey Badger. They have abig reputation and they completely live up to it. From fighting lions to killing some of the most venomous snakes in the world, Honey Badgers are simply amazing.

Victoria wasn't thinking this episode would come out Mother's Day week. However, coincidentally, she brings us a story about baby spiders that liquify the insides of their mothers and then suck her dry so they can survive. It is a gross but moving story about moms giving the ultimate sacrifice to their children. Awww.

Kirk closes out the show this week with The Great Raft, a wild 1000-year-old log jam that once dominated the ecosystem of the American South but today has completely vanished.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.

Lizards of the Arctic Circle

Kirk revisits the Loneliest Tree in the World to tell us all about the (former) Loneliest Tree in the World. This week he tells us about the Tree of Ténéré.

Rachel then brings us a completely nonsense endoparasitic crustacean that lives INSIDE of sea stars. Turns out Dendrogasters are truly bizarre.

Victoria wraps things up with weird lizards that live above the arctic circle and some of the adaptations that have allowed them to live in such cold climates. She brings us the viviparous lizard.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.

A Herd of Jackhammers

Victoria is up first this week and she talks about the incredibly loud Pistol Shrimp. These little creatures make a sound as loud as a jackhammer with their claw. She shares more incredible facts about these wild critters as well. We're all impressed.

Kirk is up second and also heads to the ocean and brings us the Headless Chicken Monster. What an amazing name. This sea cucumber is a fascinating deep sea creature that glows in the dark and has a wild trick to avoid being eaten.

Rachel also ends up in the ocean this week with Nitrogen Narcosis also known as the Martini effect. For some people, going more than 100 feet underwater makes them profoundly drunk.

Thank you patrons for making this episode possible!

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.

The Loneliest Tree in the World

Hello Everyone and a big THANK YOU to our patrons for making this episode possible.

Rachel starts off the show this week with another installment on her series about bears. This week, the Sun Bear. They are cool and all but they have a secret that is...just...it's so much.

Victoria gets us into a sticky situation with chameleons. We know birds build nests to keep their eggs from falling to the ground but what about chameleons? The have come up with a completely different solution to a common arboreal problem.

Sure, Sun Bears and Chameleons live in trees but surely Kirk can't have brought a tree-related topic can he? He can! This week Kirk wraps up the show by telling us about the loneliest tree in the world. This Sitka Spruce lives over 200km from any other tree on Earth.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.

She had WORMS in her nose?

This one is wild. Kirk brings us the disturbing tale of a woman in Greece who ended up with botfly maggots living up her nose. Rachel has a hard time making it though this story but we believe in you dear listeners.

Rachel predictably goes back to the ocean and brings us a creature feature on the Blanket Octopus. These creatures have incredible differences in size between males and females.

Victoria rounds out this week's show with incredible bird nests. She talks about weaver birds but also Tailor Birds that actually sew leaves together to shelter their nests. It is unbelievable and you need to subscribe to our free newsletter to see the photos!

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.

The Deepest Spot on Earth

This week Victoria takes us to the depths of the Mariana Trench. After taking us to the deepest cave in the world she felt it was only fair to visit the deepest spot on Earth!

Kirk then brings us new research about how bumblebees survive having their homes flooded by spring snow melt. It turns out, they can survive for 8 days underwater!

Rachel rounds out this week's show with the mystery of The Appendix. It totally isn't because she went to the doctor with abdominal pain this week.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.

How to Remove Your Own Appendix

What a wild ride this week. We've all heard stories of someone needing their appendix removed but what if the only surgeon available is you? Rachel brings us a horrifying tale of a doctor in Antarctica who had to remove their own appendix.

Victoria tells us the tale of African sleeping sickness. This nasty disease is spread by the tse-tse fly and humans are making strides in fighting both the disease and the flies.

Finally, Kirk brings us a lighter story this week. Mysterious crop circles in Tasmania ended up being from Bennet's wallabies chowing down on opium poppies and jumping in drug-induced circles.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.

The Everest of Caves

Kirk starts the show this week with an odd story about Perceptual Narrowing. The long and short of it is that babies are better at remembering monkeys than you are.

Rachel takes the second slot this week and bring us a story of one of the cutest little bats in the world. These odd creatures are one of the only mammals to get colors from the plants they eat. Let us introduce you to the Honduran White Bat.

Victoria gets deep at the end of the show by taking us to the bottom of the deepest cave in the world. Is it really the bottom though? It turns out the deepest depths of the world's deepest cave is yet to be fully explored.

Join us weekly for more strange nature. Our supporters on Patreon get every episode ad-free! 

Support us: patreon.com/strangebynature

Email us: contact@strangebynaturepodcast.com

Visit us at: strangebynaturepodcast.com  where you can sign up for our episode emails.