Wild About Utah - Utah Public Radio

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Sled dogs Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

The most famous sled dogs are the freight teams that carried anti-toxin from Anchorage to Nome during an outbreak of diphtheria in 1925. The dog teams ran a thousand miles and are credited with saving hundreds of lives.

Atmospheric rivers, the water cycle and Great Salt Lake Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

Atmospheric rivers, “giant conveyor belts of water in the sky,” cause the moisture-rich “Pineapple Express” storm systems that come from the Pacific Ocean, especially Hawaii, several times annually and are more common in the winter.

The bees and the birds Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

When I marveled at seeing students eagerly identify birds, Mr. J. smiled. “You know, Shannon, it isn’t about the birds. It’s about being aware.”

How can we keep wildlife safe as they migrate over highways? Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Deer and other wildlife have been migrating across our state much longer than humans. But the introduction of fenced highways and their increased speed and traffic can interfere with migration.

Welcoming rodent engineers Feb 07, 2023

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Finding a beaver dam gives me a sense of discovery and connects me to the past.

Christmas Bird Count Dec 05, 2022

Show notes

Bird identification is all about learning to notice the little differences in size, coloration patterns, shape of the beak, the crown of the head and the tip of the tail.

Dinosaurs in Utah's past Nov 28, 2022

Show notes

Not all bones become fossils. So you can imagine the excitement in the scientific community when a fossil bed containing more than 12,000 dinosaur bones were discovered 30 miles south of Price.

Wild About Utah: Giving thanks for a wild Utah Nov 21, 2022

Show notes

Jack Greene reflects on seeing peregrine falcons coupling, his grandkids' appreciation for box elder bugs, and turkeys causing mayhem in downtown Logan as he gives thanks for a wild Utah.

Wild About Utah: Mormon Crickets Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

The following is an un-edited transcipt. Children’s author George Selden described the impact of a cricket’s chirping in the bustle of a subway station in his book “The Cricket in Times Square” like this: “Like ripples around a stone dropped into still water, the circles of silence spread out. …Eyes that looked worried grew soft and peaceful; tongues left off chattering; and ears full of the city’s rustling were rested by the cricket’s melody.” Combine this musical talent with Jiminy Cricket’s gentle reminder to always listen to my conscience, and it is no wonder that I would drift to sleep on summer evenings enamored with cricket songs. How, I thought, could such a beautifully-sounding insect be the villain in Utah’s legend we know as the Miracle of the Gulls, memorialized in Minerva Teichert paintings and Temple Square monuments?

Wild About Utah: Intelligent Squirrels Aug 20, 2021

Show notes

The following is an unedited transcript. Primates of the northlands. I consider tree squirrels to be on par with many primates for intelligence and agility. Those who have bird feeders may agree with me as they vainly attempt to thwart squirrel’s from invading their feeders. We have red squirrels visiting our bird feeder regularly. I’ve outsmarted them for the moment, but they continue to work on the problem I’ve presented them and feel a failure coming my way! I’ve watched red squirrels manipulate fir cones with their front paws with amazing dexterity. Like myself eating a cob of corn, it spun the cone rapidly while shredding the cone scales to access the seed. Their tiny toes grip the cone identically to my fingers gripping the cob of corn. I’m amazed how they can unerringly navigate their way from tree to tree through our forest. There are many examples of squirrel intelligence witnessed by animal behaviorists. Arboreal squirrels often build dreys that look like bird nests. Dreys