Varmints!

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**Varmints!**

The Varmints! podcast is an education/comedy podcast that’s all about animals! Every week a bunch of nerds a do a whole bunch of reading to bring you a mix of science, education, pop culture and comedy about all things that creep, crawl, slither, fly, jump, hop and swim on this planet one animal at a time.

Latest Episodes:

Dingoes Dec 16, 2020

Show notes

Join Paul on a solo episode this week to talk dingoes!

Sources: https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/10/wacky-tube-men-could-keep-dingoes-away-livestock-australia

https://www.dingoden.net/facts.html

https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/dingo/

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/03/190305100635.htm#:~:text=Since%20the%20arrival%20of%20British,species%20in%20its%20own%20right

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/dingo-fence

https://daily.jstor.org/the-unexpected-result-of-australias-dingo-fence/

Featured image, "Dingo - Moonlit Sanctuary Park 3-20-2019 (2)" by Larry Koester is licensed under (CC BY 2.0) Public Domain

Any other images on the page are featured on the linked websites. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. "Fair use" is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

About our voice actors:

With technical support by Matthew Csomo, bed music by Kevin MacLeod, our logo was created by Imran Javed. Our vocal talent was done by the wonderful and supportive Stacey and Frosty, Justine and Santiago, and Chris “The Toph” Green.

Viruses Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

Today's show is not about an animal, but we've had a number of requests over the years to talk about it, so we're going to give it a go!

Donna had a chat with two scientists about this topic and gave them a few of the questions from our discussion group, and it ended up being a great conversation.

Joining Donna were Dr. Seth Magle, is the Director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, and Dr. Tobin Magle, who is the Research Data Lifecycle Manager in the Division of Information Technology at UW-Madison.

The image attached to this episode is available in the Public Domain, can be found at the CDC's website, and was generated by Hannah A Bullock; Azaibi Tamin.

We hope you enjoy the episode.

This episode was brought to you with technical support by Matthew Csomo. Our bed music is by Kevin MacLeod, our logo was created by Imran Javed and our vocal talent was Justine and Santiago and Curtis Craddock.

Peacocks Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

Join Paul and Donna to flounce around and learn about peacocks!

https://www.livescience.com/tasmanian-devils-return-australia.html

https://sciencing.com/peacocks-mate-4565678.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/12/peacock-crests-are-vibration-sensors/578656/

https://animals.mom.com/colors-male-peacock-reproduce-11329.html

https://www.peacocksuk.com/peacock-information/are-peacocks-endangered-2/

https://www.advertisingweek360.com/the-history-of-the-nbc-peacock/

https://lazyevaluationranch.tumblr.com/post/101718684710/11-2-today-goofus-the-peacock-killed-a-mouse-and

https://www.tampabay.com/life-culture/history/2020/09/23/why-do-peacocks-roam-tampa-bay/

https://www.9news.com/article/life/animals/denver-zoo-removes-free-roaming-peacocks/73-ffd31d78-59f4-4b7e-bb81-95d1ef1c7713

Featured image, "Peacock" by Mathias Appel is licensed under CC0 1.0 Public Domain

About our voice actors:

With technical support by Matthew Csomo, bed music by Kevin MacLeod, our logo was created by Imran Javed. Our vocal talent was done by the wonderful and supportive Kari McGinnis, Stacey and Frosty, Justine and Santiago, and Chris “The Toph” Green.

Lemmings Oct 28, 2020

Show notes

This week Paul takes a solo look at a very misunderstood little Arctic varmint - the lemming!

Sources:

https://siberiantimes.com/science/casestudy/news/schoolgirl-finds-the-worlds-oldest-lemming-preserved-in-permafrost-and-dating-back-41000-years/

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/education/wns/lemmings.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv06KicxKdc

https://readonlymemory.vg/the-making-of-lemmings/

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/lemmings/9wzdncrfjcdm?activetab=pivot:overviewtab

https://www.britannica.com/story/do-lemmings-really-commit-mass-suicide#:~:text=But%20there%20is%20one%20myth,Lemmings%20do%20not%20commit%20suicide

https://hyperallergic.com/545742/white-wilderness-disney-nature-documentary/

This is the footage from the 1958 Disney film "White Wilderness" that I discussed. Before you click on this link please be warned that this is a very upsetting video to watch: https://youtu.be/xMZlr5Gf9yY

Featured image, "Lemming" by Sander van der Wel is licensed under CC BY 2.0

About our voice actors:

With technical support by Matthew Csomo, bed music by Kevin MacLeod, our logo was created by Imran Javed. Our vocal talent was done by the wonderful and supportive Josh Hallmark, Chris “The Toph” Green, Stacey and Frosty, Justine and Santiago.

Ticks Oct 14, 2020

Show notes

This week Kate Shaw from the Strange Animals Podcast joins Paul to get really squicked out about ticks. Bleh.

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/10/health/tick-mosquito-repellant-nootkatone.html

https://entomologytoday.org/2018/01/16/up-close-look-tiny-sensory-pits-ticks-use-smell/

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/03/20/594922001/watch-how-a-tick-digs-its-hooks-into-you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_lz8hvkYVA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSbk9Vn5eCU

https://youtu.be/mTgcKPspE9s

https://www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2020/08/what-part-of-your-body-is-a-tick-mostly-likely-to-bite-upstate-study-has-the-answer.html

https://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/tick5.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170316112208.htm

Featured image, "Soft tick" by dr relling is licensed under CC BY 2.0

About our voice actors:

Quokkas Sep 29, 2020

Show notes

They're the happiest animal in the world! Paul is talking about quokkas this week!

Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLJ7NnpmGus

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8669563/New-special-edition-Quokka-coin-released-Perth-mint-month-30-000-sale.html

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57159/6-things-know-about-super-cute-quokka

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quokka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTlgCk_IJDs

https://youtu.be/59hHHvF9BNE

https://youtu.be/aUaZtLdNT0E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eK0RR2ns58

https://nedhardy.com/2020/01/28/do-quokkas-throw-their-babies/#:~:text=No%2C%20quokkas%20do%20not%20physically,their%20young%20to%20escape%20danger.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/05/bad-moms-nature-animals-mothers-day/

Featured image, "The Happiest Animal on the Planet" by UI International Programs is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0

About our voice actors: The wonderful and supportive Kari McGinnis. Chris “Toph” Green is the host of the GravityBeard podcast. Curtis Craddock is the author of the novel An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (The Risen Kingdoms, #1) Josh Hallmark runs the Our Americana network and hosts the podcasts Our Americana, The Karen and Ellen Letters, Playlist and True Crime Bullshit. Justine and Santiago are the hosts of the very funny Weird With You podcast. Frosty is the co-host of The Show with The Preshaah and Frosty, and last but never least, Stacey from Rough Giraffe, and Run With Me On This.

Baboons Sep 16, 2020

Show notes

Let's monkey around with Paul and Donna and learn about baboons!

Sources: https://mashable.com/article/baboons-on-the-loose-sydney/

https://science.jrank.org/pages/704/Baboons-Communication.html

https://www.animalfactsencyclopedia.com/Baboon-facts.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk_Fu!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myyQ_CTVE_4&feature=youtu.be

http://www.tv.com/shows/the-amazing-world-of-gumball/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLr6QOgqevc

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC387823/

Featured image, "Baboon" by Shelley Prevost is licensed under CC BY 2.0

About our voice actors:

Falcons Sep 03, 2020

Show notes

Take a blindingly fast dive into the topic of falcons today with Paul and Donna on the Varmints! Podcast.

http://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20200611-south-african-kalahari-lizards-eavesdrop-on-weaver-bird-neighbours-to-avoid-becoming-lunch-pygmy-falcon

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/id

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/

https://youtu.be/wBzdzg_ffzw

https://hanna-barbera.fandom.com/wiki/Blue_Falcon

https://www.youtube.com/c/FalconryAndMe/about

https://everwideningcircles.com/2020/06/11/falcons-airport-flight-safety/

https://www.usafa.edu/cadet-life/clubs/falconry/

Featured image, "American Kestrel (Male)" by Andy Morffew is licensed under CC BY 2.0

About our voice actors:

Sugar Gliders Aug 19, 2020

Show notes

This week Paul glides solo and talks about sugar gliders!

Sources: https://newc astleweekly.com.au/sugar-gliders-call-lake-macquarie-home/

http://bmxglider.tripod.com/ogueyes.html

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-squirrels-fly-37372905/

https://www.facebook.com/SugarGliderComic/

https://www.reddit.com/r/sugargliders/

About our voice actors: The wonderful and supportive Kari McGinnis. Chris “Toph” Green is the host of the GravityBeard podcast. Curtis Craddock is the author of the novel An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors (The Risen Kingdoms, #1) Frosty is the co-host of The Show with The Preshaah and Frosty, and last but never least, Stacey from Rough Giraffe, and Run With Me On This.

Bats Revisited! Aug 05, 2020

Show notes

This week Paul is joined by special guest host Kate Shaw from the Strange Animals podcast to revisit an episode we did four years ago! Bats! Please go listen to the Strange Animals Podcast wherever fine podcasts are sold. You can also go to her website:

https://strangeanimalspodcast.blubrry.net/ Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/science/vampire-bats-viruses.html

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180207151818.htm

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/sound-absorbent-wings-and-fur-help-some-moths-evade-bats

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/how-bats-have-outsmarted-viruses-including-coronaviruses-65-million-years

https://healthcare.utah.edu/healthfeed/postings/2020/03/covid19-faqs.php#:~:text=COVID%2D19%20is%20the,%E2%80%9Cnovel%20coronavirus%E2%80%9D.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-49496760

https://weeklyworldnews.com/

Under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. "Fair use" is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

The feature image used is "bat" by Noel Reynolds and is shared under a Creative Commons license (Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0). You can view more of Mr. Reynolds' photographs on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/29237715@N05/

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