Cool Facts About Animals

Latest Episodes:

Tardigrades/Water Bears Apr 15, 2020

Show notes

On this episode, we learn about a truly resilient animal, the tardigrade (aka the cutely-named moss piglet or water bear).

This animal can survive anywhere from the moon to a volcano to your own backyard. In its tun state, it can lie dormant for decades in a sort of zombie state. Very cool.

Thank you to Abby for supporting us on Patreon! If you would like to financially support us, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals

Find Skype a Scientist Live here: https://www.skypeascientist.com/skype-a-scientist-live.html

If you know the answer to the creature quiz or take part in the kid challenge, let us know and we will send you a bookmark! Email us at coolanimalspod@gmail.com or tweet us at @coolanimalspod.

Rebroadcast: Unicorns (April Fools!) Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

In honor of one of our favorite holidays, we are rebroadcasting our April Fools Day episode from last year, starring Mr. Eric of What if World. It's our most popular episode of all time and we hope you enjoy it!

Giant Clams with Dr. Dan Killam Mar 28, 2020

Show notes

On this episode, we take advantage of the amazing Skype a Scientist program and speak with Dr. Dan Killam, an expert on giant clams.

We learned so much about giant clams - including how their eyes work (and that they even had eyes), how big they can get, how they are similar to trees, and lots more.

We had more than we could fit in this episode. If you want to hear more about giant clams and other odds and ends (like what Dr. Killam named his Venus fly trap) head over to our Patreon page. You do not need to financially support us to hear these bonus materials. https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals

We always love to hear from you! Send us an email at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweet us at @coolanimalspod

Learn more about the Skype a Scientist program here: https://www.skypeascientist.com

Introducing the Kids Listen Activity Podcast! Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

Starting this week, Kids Listen member podcasts – like What If World, The Past and the Curious, The Good Words Podcast, Book Club for Kids, Little Bedtime Stories, Tumble Podcast, Timestorm, Be Calm on Ahway Island, Aaron's World, Best Day Yet, The Alien Adventures of Finn Caspian, Story Spectacular, Unspookable, Curious Kid Podcast and Buttons & Figs – and of course Cool Facts About Animals – will bring you a podcast and an activity based on the episode.

Cool Facts About Animals' episode is up today! For our episode, we chose our second most popular episode of all time – tarantula hawk wasps. This episode features an interview with Dr. Justin Schmidt, who invented the Schmidt Sting Pain Index. Do you kow how he invented that index? He got stung. A lot. And then told people about how much each one hurt on a scale from 1 to 4. It's a really fun episode, filled with lots of animal facts from a super cool scientist.

After you listen, you can find a number of activities relating to the episode, including inventing your own index, drawing your defensive superpowers, doing in-depth bug observation, and lots more.

Here are all the links you need:

Kids Listen Activity Podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kids-listen-activity-podcast/id1502915722

Raw feed if you're not an iTunes person: https://kidslistenactivitypodcast.libsyn.com/rss

Kids Listen Activity website: https://www.kidslisten.org/activity-podcast

Link to our most popular episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unicorns/id1334467437?i=1000433820094

Here's another resource of podcasts to listen to and other resources: https://medium.com/kidslisten/schools-out-kids-podcasts-are-in-82634e23d4c4

And our contact info – we'd love to hear from you! Email us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweet @coolanimalspod.

If you're into hashtags, use the tag #kidslistenactivitypod

Stay well, listeners.

How Kids Can Help Animals – Interview with Allyson Shaw of Nat Geo Kids Mar 11, 2020

Show notes

On this bonus episode of CFAA, we speak with Allyson Shaw, an editor and writer at National Geographic Kids. In this interview we learn about "comeback critters," animals that were struggling but are now doing a lot better because of human intervention, as well as animals that still really need our help. We also talk about the dangers and benefits of plastic, and practical tips to reduce plastic consumption.

This episode is FULL of tips on how kids can help protect animals. We'd love to hear some of the tips you found most inspiring, and which going to try to do yourselves! You can tweet us at @coolanimalspod or email us at cfaa@gmail.com, and we will send you a bookmark!

Thanks as always for listening, and we will back soon with our regular format.

Koalas Feb 28, 2020

Show notes

Hello listeners! On this episode we are learning all about Koalas (not bears). We learn a number of really gross things that these animals do, despite being so cute, and some other cool facts - like how small the babies are, what their name means and all sorts of interesting things about their hands and feet. We also talk about how you can help koalas suffering from the effects of the bush fires, including by "adopting" a koala through the Australia Koala Foundation: https://www.savethekoala.com

Thanks to Sam the Bug Hunter for being our Patreon sponsor! If you'd like to help support our podcast, please head over to our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals

If you know the answer to the riddle, creature or quiz, or you do the Kid Challenge, let us know! Email us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweet us at @coolanimalspod

Thanks as always to Andrew of Ear Snacks for our theme music!

Bonus! Interview with Dr. Jim Sanderson: Andean Cat Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

We have another bonus episode in store for you today! We speak with Dr. Jim Sanderson, a conservationist and Program Manager of Wild Cat Conservation at the Global Wildlife Conservation. We wanted to speak with him about the Andean Cat, because he is one of the very few people to ever see one in nature. While we did learn some cool things about the cat, we also learned a lot about a new field - conservationism.

It was such an honor to get the chance to speak with Dr. Sanderson. This episode is a bit longer than usual, but we thought the whole interview was so interesting, we didn't know what to cut.

We hope you enjoy it, and are as inspired by Dr. Sanderson's work as we are! We should be back to our normal format after this. We look forward to thanking our newest Patreon sponsor on that episode.

Bonus! Strange Animals Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

We were excited to receive a copy of "A Book of Rather Strange Animals" by Caleb Compton. Just like it sounds, the book is a collection of unusual, weird, wacky, and just plain cool animals. In this episode we talk about a few of the animals in the book: the purple frog; sea bunny; hammerhead worm; and vampire squid.

Want to answer the creature quiz, riddle, or tell us about how you did on the kid challenge? You can reach us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweet us at @coolanimalspod.

And if you'd like to financially support us, you can do so at https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals

Colossal Squid Jan 02, 2020

Show notes

On this episode, we learn all about the colossal squid – an animal that no one has actually seen move around in the ocean. In this episode you'll learn about their predators, how they attack prey, how colossal they really are, and the surprising amount they need to eat to stay alive.

Thanks to Fox and Frye for the suggestion!

If you know the answer to the creature quiz, or did the kid challenge, let us know! You can reach us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweet us at @coolanimalspod

If you'd like to support us financially, please visit our Patreon page! https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals

Finally, here's a link to the video of the colossal squid autopsy: https://www.pri.org/stories/2014-09-17/rare-colossal-squid-was-dissected-new-zealand-and-you-can-watch-it-youtube

Bonus: Jaguar and Corduroy Holiday Traditions Dec 05, 2019

Show notes

Learn more about Spider Monkey Burrito Creator Day and Green Overall Day(s) with Jaguar and Corduroy. Things get a little heated, but it ends up with everyone coming together with some holiday songs. (No animal facts in this one, it's just for fun.)

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