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:

225: Freddy Kreuger Frog & Bone-Eating Snot Flower Jan 31, 2024

Show notes

Christian makes some noise for the Freddy Kreuger frog & Ellen picks a bouquet of bone-eating snot flowers. We discuss life as a mouth with legs, being born into literal Hunger Games, meme lore, whalefalls, and eating the bones.

Links:

It Is Wednesday My Dudes
Whale Fall (After Life of a Whale) by Sweet Fern Productions
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224: Ethereal Snailfish w/ Dr. Thom Linley! Jan 25, 2024

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest, deep sea biologist Dr. Thom Linley, for a literal deep dive into an animal that just might change the way you think about the creatures of the abyss: the ethereal snailfish. We discuss what it’s like to be among the first humans to ever see a species, life in the trenches - like, the actual Mariana trench, freedom from beauty norms and justice for the blobfish, slurping up meat-flavored jellybeans off the ocean floor, and the adorable side of the hadal zone.

Links:

Check out Thom's podcast, Deep Sea Podcast!
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223: Tiger Beetles & Giant Siphonophore Jan 17, 2024

Show notes

Ellen gets the zig-zagging zoomies with tiger beetles & Christian has an existential crisis over the giant siphonophore. We discuss the REAL fastest land animal on Earth, literally blinding speed, reverse Naruto running, world record technicalities, zooids (not Zoids), and what it means to be an organism.

Links:

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222: Bobcat w/ Jamison Cole! Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

Join Ellen & special guest, environmental educator Jamison Cole, for a review of our very own backyard apex predators: bobcats! We discuss topics including but not limited to tail nubs, ear tufts, coyote pee, the bobcat’s Final Smash, relationship tips from nature, tomcat jowls, and the interconnectedness of every member of the ecosystem from the tiniest rodent all the way up to the bald eagle.

Links:

Check out the Ocean Advocacy Workshop and Plastic Ocean Project
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221: Field Notes Jan 03, 2024

Show notes

Ellen & Christian share stories, observations and inspiration from special guest: you! We discuss what sounds fish make, memory transfer via cannibalism, and what to do when you're attacked by a zebra.

Links:

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220: Belted Kingfisher w/ Alex Troutman! Dec 28, 2023

Show notes

Join Ellen & returning special guest, wildlife biologist Alex Troutman, for a review of some of our favorite mohawked chatterboxes: belted kingfishers. We discuss topics including but not limited to the vicious mockery of birds who fish better than us, biomimicry in train engineering, the truth behind Hollywood bird calls and lion roars, and stories from the field including spooky sounds in the forests of Borneo.

Links:

Check out Alex's books, including Critters of Georgia: Pocket Guide to Animals in Your State!
Learn more about Alex and his work over at his website!
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Bugs Need Heroes: Bug-Type Pokemon & the Bugs that Inspired Them Dec 21, 2023

Show notes

We're out traveling this week! In the meantime, please enjoy this episode of Bugs Need Heroes, in which Ellen joined hosts Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman for a conversation about bug-type Pokemon, the real-world bugs that inspired them, and the ecology we can learn from the world of Pokemon. Originally aired on the Bugs Need Heroes podcast on November 5, 2023.

Links:

Get the original full version of the episode, including additional quiz segment, over at the Bugs Need Heroes podcast!
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219: Star-Nosed Mole & Devil's Hole Pupfish Dec 14, 2023

Show notes

Christian digs into the star-nosed mole & Ellen goes for a deep dive into the Devil's Hole pupfish. We discuss flowery tentacles, mole lore in Avatar: the Last Airbender, waves in the desert, a Supreme Court ruling, and the future ecological impacts of nuclear testing.

Links:

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218: Pacific Lamprey w/ Ralph Crewe! Dec 06, 2023

Show notes

Ellen is joined by a familiar voice, science communicator Ralph Crewe, back with us to review the wiggly little living fossils full of teeth and blood: Pacific lampreys. We discuss the intersection between the natural and manmade world, what lampreys can tell us about the history of vertebrate evolution, the unique adaptations that have let them thrive from riverbeds all the way to the open ocean and back for hundreds of millions of years, and why you should thank a lamprey today.

Links:

Check out Ralph's work on YouTube over at Practical Engineering!
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217: Loggerhead Shrike & Five-lined Skink Nov 30, 2023

Show notes

Ellen gets hooked on the loggerhead shrike & Christian makes a clean getaway with the five-lined skink. We discuss tomial teeth, impalement, dropping tails, and regeneration.

Links:

Check out Sparkbird and listen to their music on Spotify!
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

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