Nature

Just the Zoo of Us

Join us, Ellen and Christian Weatherford, while we review your favorite species of animals and rate them out of ten in the categories of effectiveness, ingenuity and aesthetics.
More information can be found at justthezooofus.com 😊
Got a species you want us to review? Submit your animal friend to us at ellen@justthezooofus.com and when we review your animal we’ll give you a shoutout! 😊
Cover art by Mrs. Brainbow (Taylor Gordon-Wood). Theme music by Louie Zong.

Latest Episodes:

352: Spotted Garden Eel Sep 24, 2026

Show notes

Ellen and Christian get a feel for the garden eel. We discuss fortified butts, science's greatest unsolved mysteries, flirting techniques for the ultimate homebodies, video chatting with eels, and so much more.

Works Cited:

“Morphological specializations in heterocongrinae (Anguilliformes: Congridae) related to burrowing and feeding” - N. De Schepper et al., Journal of Morphology, March 2007
“Spotted Garden Eel” - California Academy of Sciences
“Peek-A-Boo with Hawaiian Garden Eels” - Nature on PBS, YouTube
“Life in the flow: unique adaptations for feeding on drifting zooplankton in garden eels” - Alexandra Khrizman et al., Journal of Experimental Biology, August 2018
“Spawning behavior of garden eels, Gorgasia preclara and Heteroconger hassi (Heterocongrinae), observed in captivity” - Tomohiro Kakizaki et al., Marine and Freshwater Behavior and Physiology, August 2015
“This Japanese aquarium wants you to FaceTime its shy eels” - Emiko Jozuka, CNN Travel, May 2020
"First direct evidence of adult European eels migrating to their breeding place in the Sargasso Sea" - Rosalind M. Wright et al., Scientific Reports, October 2022

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
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351: False Water Cobra w/ Harpreet Singh Sethi! Sep 17, 2026

Show notes

Joined Ellen & special guest, conservationist and herpetologist Harpreet Singh Sethi, for a look at the snake appropriately named the Giant Lord of the Water. While the false water cobra is the main topic of the episode - and is even a silent but very much present guest for recording - we discuss a lot, like multifaceted approaches to conservation, taking a snake in a box on the bus, convergent evolution of hooded snakes all over the world, the care and keeping of reptiles, stories from the field, and so much more.

Links:

Follow Harpreet's Wildlife on YouTube and Instagram!
Check out Harpreet's documentary: What NO ONE Tells You About Snakes in India | Beyond the Fear | Snakebite | Documentary
Audio source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYFD4BsEruI
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

190: Pom-Pom Crab & Mourning Dove (REPLAY) Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

In this week's re-broadcast of an episode from April of 2023, Christian cheers for pom-pom crabs & Ellen explains what makes mourning doves so coo-l. We discuss how crabs clone their own pets, what type of milk pigeons order in their lattes, and a suspicious pattern of criminal activity.

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
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Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

350: Monarch Butterfly Sep 03, 2026

Show notes

It's fall yall - time for Ellen and Christian to embark on a multi-generational odyssey with monarch butterflies. We discuss why butterflies are total heartstoppers and their style twins, real-life shinies, what's going on inside a chrysalis, an annual journey that takes multiple generations to finish, how to best support wild monarch butterflies, and so much more.

Works Cited:

"Danaus plexippus" - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
“Predator induced colour polymorphism in Danaus plexippus L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Hawaii” - John Stimson and Mark Berman, Heredity, March 1990
“Comparative unpalatability of mimetic Viceroy butterflies (Limenitis archippus) from 4 South-Eastern United-States populations” - David B. Ritland, Oecologia, Jan 1995
“What was learned?” - Monarch Watch, University of Kansas
"The phenomenal monarch migration" - Mara Koenig, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
“An experimental displacement and over 50 years of tag-recoveries show that monarch butterflies are not true navigators” - Henrik Mouritsen et al., PNAS, April 2013
"Joint Statement Regarding Captive Breeding and Releasing of Monarchs"
“Is Captive Rearing Hurting Monarchs?” - Elizabeth Anne brown, National Wildlife Federation, March 2026

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

349: Clouded Leopard w/ Alice Vassallo! Aug 27, 2026

Show notes

Join Ellen & very special guest zookeeper and conservationist Alice Vassallo for the inside scoop on one of the world’s most mysterious not-so-big cats. We discuss differences between zookeeping practices in Europe and the US, swiping right if you have rotatable ankles, marshmallows as a last resort, have an eclipse interlude, and so much more.

Links:

Check out Alice's podcast (profanity warning)!
Follow Alice on Instagram!
Check out the Clouded Leopard Working Group!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

348: Sociable Weaver Aug 20, 2026

Show notes

Ellen weaves her magic on sociable weavers. We discuss the three pillars of science communication, trick entrances, plane cabin pressurization, bullying for the greater good, lizard gossip, and more.

Works Cited:

"The Sociable Weavers of the Kalahari" - Ultimate Safari, YouTube
"Kapokvoel, Cape Penduline-Tit.(Anthoscopus-minutus)" - Coerie Ferreira, YouTube
“Largest bird’s nest” - Guinness Book of World Records
“Sociable Weavers Increase Cooperative Nest Construction after Suffering Aggression” - Gavin M. Leighton, Laura Vander Meiden, PLOS One, March 2016
“At home with the birds: Kalahari tree skinks associate with sociable weaver nests despite African pygmy falcon presence” - Tasmin L. Rymer et al., Austral Ecology, May 2014
“Kalahari skinks eavesdrop on sociable weavers to manage predation by pygmy falcons and expand their realized niche” - Anthony M. Lowney et al., Behavioral Ecology, June 2020
“Pygmy Falcon predation of nestlings of their obligate host, the Sociable Weaver” - Rita Covas et al., Ostrich - Journal of African Ornithology, Nov 2009

Links:

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

347: Sea Otters w/ Kristyn Plancarte! Aug 14, 2026

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest marine biologist Kristyn Plancarte for a review of the world’s wettest weasels. We discuss beluga whales’ fake six packs, the unique challenges of caring for animals who so desperately crave chaos and destruction, dolphin MLMs, how adorable animals could save the world, and so much more.

Links:

Follow Kristyn on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch!
Learn more about Kristyn on her website!
Check out the Elakha Alliance to learn more about sea otter conservation!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

346: Pufferfish Aug 06, 2026

Show notes

Ellen is blowing up about pufferfish. We discuss what pufferfish have in common with chameleons, seafloor crop circles, culinary applications of deadly neurotoxin, and so much more.

Works Cited:

“All puffed out: Do pufferfish hold their breath while inflated?” - Georgia Evelyn McGee & Timothy Darren Clark, Biology Letters, Dec 2014
“Treatment of Tetrodotoxin Poisoning” - Sophie Yushuo Li, Theoretical and Natural Science, April 2023
Dolphins purposely 'getting high' on pufferfish - Dolphins - Spy in the Pod: Episode 2 - BBC
"Pufferfish Builds Sand Sculpture for Mating" - Nature on PBS
“Seeking a Deadly Delicacy: Pufferfish, Regional Gastronomy, and Pharmacology in Middle Period China” - Zihan Guo, Journal of Chinese History, July 2026
“Chefs Train for Years to Serve This Rare Poisonous Fish” - Bon Appetit, June 2024
“Pufferfish in China: diners lured by delicacy now country has bred them poison-free” - Elaine Yau, South China Morning Post, February 2019

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

345: Conservation Stories w/ Sharon Guynup! Jul 31, 2026

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest, journalist and writer Sharon Guynup, for stories from the world of conservation. Our guest’s career has taken her all over the world, from the forests of India to the highways of rural America, where she has experienced both ends of the spectrum of human relationships to nature. She’s been part of busting wildlife trafficking rings and abuse and she’s seen communities join forces to protect and preserve their native species. Her stories include a population of lions brought back from near extinction, a crime campus, a tiger attack, e-mails from Joe Exotic, gas station pizza, influencing entire new laws, a Hollywood celebrity cougar, and so much more.

Links:

Pre-order Sharon and Steve's book Big Cats, available October 6!
Read more from Mongabay at mongabay.org!
For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

344: Kid Questions with Isaac! Jul 23, 2026

Show notes

Ellen & special guest Isaac answer questions from young listeners! We discuss bug guts, milking squids, the blobfish's secret Final Form, getting upped, ancient sharks with table saws for faces, and so much more.

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!
Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!
Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

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