Central and North America
Episodes 90-94
Ever wonder what the animals we talk about look like, or which episodes cover what animals? Find the answers you seek below! Our episode guides give a brief breakdown of each episode as well as links to the articles we discuss, our sources, and of course, pictures of the animals!
All pictures are either Public Domain or Stock photos unless otherwise noted.
Unfortunately we are not able to provide photos for every animal, especially the more obscure ones, due to not being able to obtain photos which don't violate copyright law. For any animals lacking a photo we remind you that Google is your friend.
Episode 90: Cave Birds!
Casey gets things started by sharing about his trip to SeaWorld San Diego with his family, and Ali shares her excitement seeing the elephants play in the water at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Casey then continues his discussion on how to choose a good pet food for your cat or dog, while Ali shares an incident that occurred at SeaWorld San Diego where an orca attacked another. The pair then go on to tell us about their Favorite North American Rodents, the American Beaver and the Yellow-Bellied Marmot, before Casey teaches us about our unusual Animal of the Week, the Oilbird. Casey wraps up the episode by challenging Ali to a quiz choosing who doesn’t belong in a category.
Pictured from top to bottom: Oilbird, American Beaver, and Yellow-Bellied Marmot.
Sources and Links
Homemade dog food recipes can be risky business, study finds | UC Davis
Veterinary Diets vs Store Bought Diets - Talbot Animal Clinic
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/freya-walrus-euthanized-norway-outrage-rcna43073
American Beaver | National Wildlife Federation (nwf.org)
Beaver | Smithsonian's National Zoo (si.edu)
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/beaver-butt-goo-vanilla-flavoring?loggedout=true
Nez Perce National Historic Trail - Nature & Science (usda.gov)
Castor canadensis (American Beaver) (iucnredlist.org)
ADW: Marmota flaviventris: INFORMATION (animaldiversity.org)
Marmota flaviventris (iucnredlist.org)
The yellow-bellied marmots – of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (ucla.edu)
Yellow-Bellied Marmot Sleeping Habits Offer Clues to Longevity | Discover Magazine
Steatornis caripensis (Oilbird) (iucnredlist.org)
Oilbird (Steatornis caripensis) - Peru Aves
Oilbird; Bird; South America (livejournal.com)
(1326) Meet the Oilbird: A Bird that Thinks it's a Bat - YouTube
Episode 91: Not a Cat
Episode 91 begins with Casey sharing about his most recent trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park and about pet sitting for his Aunt and Uncle, while Ali delivers her ratings on two new nature documentaries, America’s National Parks: Hawaii Volcanoes (2022) and America the Beautiful: Land of Heroes, earning a Safe, and Mostly Safe, respectively. Casey goes on to discuss what it took to classify the Migrating Monarch Butterfly as endangered, and Ali shares an article about a poacher who was sentenced to 5 years in prison for their crimes. They then share about their Favorite Animals Native to Baja, the Desert Horned Lizard (AKA the Horny Toad) and the Bighorn Sheep. Casey then teaches us about our adorable Animal of the Week, the Ringtail. They close out the episode with a challenge where they must name as many books with animals in the title in the allotted time.
Pictured from top to bottom: Ringtail, Desert Horned Lizard, and Bighorn Sheep.
Sources and Links
Desert Horned Lizard - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio
Phrynosoma platyrhinos | The Reptile Database (reptarium.cz)
Phrynosoma platyrhinos calidiarum - Southern Desert Horned Lizard (californiaherps.com)
Phrynosoma platyrhinos (Desert Horned Lizard) (iucnredlist.org)
Horned Lizards (Phrynosoma spp.) (desertmuseum.org)
About Bighorns and Other North American Wild Sheep
Bighorn Sheep | National Wildlife Federation (nwf.org)
Bighorn Sheep | National Geographic
Blue Planet Biomes - Desert Bighorn Sheep
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) (texas.gov)
Ringtail Fact Sheet (desertmuseum.org)
Ringtail | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants
ADW: Bassariscus astutus: INFORMATION (animaldiversity.org)
Episode 92: Back Standing
Casey kicks the episode off sharing his experience seeing Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, while Ali tells us about her most recent trip to the San Diego Zoo with her dad. Casey then tells us how you may not get what you’re expecting if you choose to clone your pet, and Ali highlights another dog breed, the Catahoula Leopard Dog. The pair go on to talk about their Favorite Animals at the Top of a List for North America, the Mojave Rattlesnake (most venomous rattlesnake) and the Moose (Largest Species of Deer), before Casey teaches us about our Animal of the Week, the Harris’s Hawk. They end the episode with a challenge where they must name as many animals as they can that are listed as Vulnerable or higher within the allotted time.
Pictured from top to bottom: Harris's Hawk, Mojave Rattlesnake, Moose, and Catahoula Leopard Dog.
Sources and Links
https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/catahoula-leopard-dog/
Mojave rattlesnakes' life-threatening venom is more widespread than expected -- ScienceDaily
Crotalus scutulatus (iucnredlist.org)
Northern Mohave Rattlesnake - Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus (californiaherps.com)
Easy Snake Identification | snakeDB.org
ADW: Alces alces: INFORMATION (animaldiversity.org)
Moose | National Wildlife Federation (nwf.org)
Alces alces (Moose) (iucnredlist.org)
Moose Species Profile, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
ADW: Parabuteo unicinctus: INFORMATION (animaldiversity.org)
Cooperative Hunting Harris' Hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) | Science
Parabuteo unicinctus (Harris's Hawk) (iucnredlist.org)
Episode 93: Bees Are Considered What Now?
This episode begins with Casey recounting his trip to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood, and Ali sharing Tiger-Lily’s first, and horrifying in its own right, time getting a bag stuck on her head. Casey goes on to share the crazy work around that the state of California is using to protect bees under the Endangered Species Act, specifically classifying them as fish, since insects aren’t included among the protected animals. Ali tells us about a crazy story from Ukraine where a zookeeper convinces an escaped Chimpanzee to return to the zoo with her, in which the chimp donned a raincoat and rode a bike back to the zoo. They continue telling us about their Favorite North American Invertebrate, the Anelosimus studiosus (or Social Cobweb Spider) and the Green Darner Dragonfly, and about our Animal of the Week, the Hellbender. The episode comes to a close with another round of ‘Cups’.
Pictured from top to bottom: Hellbender, Anelosimus studiosus, and Green Darner Dragonfly.
Sources and Links
https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/who-knew-bees-are-fish-2022-06-02/
Species Anelosimus studiosus - BugGuide.Net
Social Spider - Anelosimus studiosus (Hentz, 1850) (texasento.net)
Social Spiders Pick The Best Careers For Their Personalities (nationalgeographic.com)
Species Anax junius - Common Green Darner - BugGuide.Net
ADW: Anax junius: INFORMATION (animaldiversity.org)
This Camera Looks at the World Through an Insect’s Eyes | Smart News| Smithsonian Magazine
14 Fun Facts About Dragonflies | Science| Smithsonian Magazine
Common Green Darner | Department of Entomology (umn.edu)
Hellbender | National Wildlife Federation (nwf.org)
Hellbender | Smithsonian's National Zoo (si.edu)
Hellbender (biologicaldiversity.org)
Cryptobranchus alleganiensis (iucnredlist.org)
By Judy Gallagher - https://www.flickr.com/photos/52450054@N04/10492409073/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54361909
Episode 94: Beautiful Birds
Casey gets things started telling us about his most recent dog sitting gig, and Ali confirms that all the open air exhibit birds at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park have been moved off exhibit due to the avian flu, and that they now have fake flamingos in the flamingo exhibit at the San Diego Zoo. Casey then gives us some information about populations of big cats in the USA, while Ali teaches us about a new horse breed this time around, the Norwegian Fjord Horse. Next they tell us about their Favorite North American Songbirds, the Blue Jay and the Northern Cardinal, before continuing on to the adorable Animal of the Week, the Anna’s Hummingbird. The episode concludes with Casey’s challenge for Ali called ‘Figure It Out’, which Ali takes major issue with.
Pictured from top to bottom: Anna'a Hummingbird, Blue Jay, Northern Cardinal, and Norwegian Fjord Horse.
Sources and Links
https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/breeds-of-the-world/norwegian-fjord?_pos=1&_sid=e2fda9d81&_ss=r
https://www.nfhr.com/catalog/index.php?aboutthebreed=1
ADW: Cyanocitta cristata: INFORMATION (animaldiversity.org)
Blue Jay - Facts, Diet, Habitat & Pictures on Animalia.bio
Cyanocitta cristata (Blue Jay) (iucnredlist.org)
Blue Jay Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
ADW: Cardinalis cardinalis: INFORMATION (animaldiversity.org)
Cardinalis cardinalis (Northern Cardinal) (iucnredlist.org)
Northern Cardinal Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis - NatureWorks (nhpbs.org)
Calypte anna (Anna's Hummingbird) (iucnredlist.org)
Anna's Hummingbird — Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society (scvas.org)
Anna's Hummingbird Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
The Strange Anatomy of Hummingbirds - YouTube
