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Venomous: Bullet Ant Rituals, Box Jellyfish, and Wandering Spiders
What is venom? How does it work? And how do different species use it?
Wildlife legends Steve Backshall, Lizzie Daly and Sarah Roberts are back with a bite this week, in a truly venomous episode of That's Just Wild. As well as some awe inspiring stories of poisonous creatures we get geeky with the science, and dive into the development of a universal *anti-venom.
*Trigger Warning - this episode contains content that some listeners may find distressing. Animal testing is referred to as part of a discussion of the process of anti-venom development.
Plus: Steve relives getting stung thousands of times by bullet ants... on purpose. (There's a theme developing here.) Lizzie shares her own narrow escape. (There could have been a serious sting in this tale). And Sarah questions what you should really do if a jellyfish stings you. (Spoiler alert: don't pee on your friends!)
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88. Q&A: Evolution Oddities, Pet Reptiles and Saving Rainforests
28:33||Ep. 88This week on That’s Just Wild, Steve and Lizzie tackle more of your wildest questions!🐍 Ever thought about owning a corn snake… and then realised how big the commitment actually is? We get into exotic pets and what it really means to care for them. 🤔🦘 What’s the point of marsupials — and is there such a thing as a “useless” animal? From pouches to egg-layers, we explore the strange paths of evolution. 🌍✨💰 Pangolin scales, rhino horn, and even fish bladders worth more than gold… why are these wildlife products so valuable, and what’s the real cost behind them? 🐅🌴 And finally — can one person actually make a difference in saving a rainforest? From palm oil to conservation in Borneo, we explore what protecting land really looks like 🌱📝 Leave us a review to let us know what you think — every comment means a lot to the whole team 💚🔔 Make sure you follow That’s Just Wild wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode 🎧
87. Builders: Beaver Cities, Swiftlet Phlegm Hammocks, and Antlion Larvae Death Traps
49:42||Ep. 87This week on That’s Just Wild, Steve and Lizzie roll up their sleeves to share some of nature’s most ingenious architects 🏗️🐝🦫 Could the world’s biggest beaver dam really dwarf the Hoover Dam? From booming “beaver cities” to their surprising comeback (and even “beaver bombing”), these furry engineers are reshaping landscapes. 🌿🌾 Social weaver birds build giant tree-top apartment blocks packed with life — while swiftlets craft bizarre saliva “hammocks”… and antlion larvae set deadly sand traps like tiny snipers. 🎯🐝 Giant Asian honey bees defend their homes with shimmering waves, and underwater, a pufferfish creates intricate sand masterpieces to build the perfect nest. 🌊✨📝 Leave us a review to let us know what you think — every comment means a lot to the whole team 💚🔔 Make sure you follow That’s Just Wild wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode 🎧
86. Q&A: Flaunting Peacocks, Sweet Rhino Farts, and Dolphins’ Dark Side
22:07||Ep. 86This week on That’s Just Wild, Steve and Sarah tackle more of your wildest questions!🦚 What is the real purpose of sexual dimorphism? From strutting, show-off peacocks to enormous male seals and tiny females, plus the bizarre love life of the anglerfish. 🤯🌊🐬 Dolphins aren’t always the friendly faces we think they are… what really goes on during mating season, and just how dark can their behaviour get?🐾 And is there actually an evolutionary advantage to being cute — or are humans just projecting our own ideas onto the animal kingdom? ✨📝 Leave us a review to let us know what you think — every comment means a lot to the whole team 💚🔔 Make sure you follow That’s Just Wild wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode 🎧
85. Chatty: Tamarin’s Scent Secrets, Curious Whales and Nature’s Loudest Love Song
34:52||Ep. 85This week on That’s Just Wild, Steve and Sarah are seriously chatty as they discuss some of nature’s most outrageous communicators📞📢🔊…🦜 From the red-eyed vireo, the tiny “preacher bird” that somehow belts out a staggering 22,197 songs in just 10 hours (yes, really!), to the white bellbird, whose call is so loud it’s basically like standing next to the speakers at a rock concert… except it’s screaming directly into a female’s face. 🔊🎚️🤘🐋 Humpback whales might be trying to chat with us — not out of fear, but pure curiosity — by blowing perfect bubble rings underwater. 💬🐒👃🏽 Meet the Brazilian bare-faced tamarin, which communicates through scent marking… and Steve’s face-off with a satin bowerbird. 💙📝 Leave us a review to let us know what you think — every comment means a lot to the whole team 💚🔔 Make sure you follow That’s Just Wild wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode 🎧
84. Q&A: Snow Leopard Close Calls, Desert Masters and Spiders Cleaning Up
27:57||Ep. 84On this week’s That’s Just Wild Q+A, Steve and Sarah tackle more of your wildest questions! 🐆 How close should you really get to a snow leopard? Steve shares a heart-stopping near miss with one of the most elusive predators on Earth. 😳🏔️🌵 How do animals survive in the harshest places on the planet — and what happens when apex predators like dingoes and Tasmanian devils are brought back to restore balance?🕷️ And do spiders actually eat their own webs? Plus, a simple challenge: what might you discover if you wake up early enough to watch one being built…📝 Leave us a review to let us know what you think — every comment means a lot to the whole team 💚🔔 Make sure you follow That’s Just Wild wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode 🎧
83. Memory: Squirrels’ Mind Palace, Snail Memory Transplants and the Grandmother Effect
36:34||Ep. 83This week on That’s Just Wild, Steve and Sarah are exploring into the surprising world of animal memory. 🧠🐿️ 🌰From squirrels with a near-perfect mental map of their buried snacks to goldfish that can remember far more than you’d think… 🧠🐠🐘 Meet the matriarchs of the animal kingdom — elephants whose incredible memories may hold the secret to longer lives, thanks to the rare and remarkable “grandmother effect.” 👵🌍🪶 And it’s not just remembering — some of the smartest birds on Earth, like crows, can make tools, solve problems, and even pass knowledge on… proving memory in the wild is anything but simple. 🐦⬛⚒️📝 Leave us a review to let us know what you think — every comment means a lot to the whole team 💚🔔 Make sure you follow That’s Just Wild wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode 🎧
82. Q&A Shark Special: The Shark Matriarch, Overexcited Sharks and Baby Sharks Fending for Themselves
20:48||Ep. 82On this week’s That’s Just Wild Q+A, Sarah is joined by special guest Shark Man Dan for a Shark Q+A special🦈💙🌊🦈 Ever wondered if sharks are good mums? Turns out life as a baby shark is brutal. The moment they’re born, they’re on their own — just survival in the big blue. 😬🌊👀 Do sharks ever hunt together? We dive into the surprising social side of these ocean predators… like how many sharks show respect to the biggest females. 👑🏝️ And if you actually want to see sharks in the wild, where should you go? Plus the incredible sharks that can swim from the ocean hundreds of kilometres up rivers. 🚤🦈📝 Leave us a review to let us know what you think — every comment means a lot to the whole team 💚🔔 Make sure you follow That’s Just Wild wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode 🎧
81. Shark Man Dan: Walking Sharks, Strange Species and Wild Ocean Stories
48:29||Ep. 81This week on That’s Just Wild, Sarah is joined by special guest Shark Man Dan for a deep dive into the world of sharks… and the wild path that led Dan to dedicate his career to them. 🦈🌊🎥🦈💙 Dan shares how he turned his love for sharks into a career — taking a very unconventional route to become one of the ocean’s biggest shark champions. 🏆Meet Dan’s favourite shark, the epaulette shark — famous for its incredible ability to “walk” across reefs and out of rock pools to escape predators. 🪨🐚🌊 Things get seriously intense as Dan and Sarah share one of their closest calls — caught in a powerful vortex current and later stranded out at sea in Japan without a boat. 🇯🇵🗾📝 Leave us a review to let us know what you think — every comment means a lot to the whole team 💚🔔 Make sure you follow That’s Just Wild wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode 🎧
80. Q&A: Cheeky Octopuses, Chompy Geese and Spiders with Pet Frogs
32:02||Ep. 80On this week’s That’s Just Wild Q+A, Steve and Sarah tackle more of your wildest questions! 💪🏽 Ever wondered what the bite force of a goose is? Steve reckons he might’ve bite-tested more animals than anyone else on Earth… and honestly, we believe him. 🌏😅🕷️🕸️ Do wild animals ever keep other animals as pets? Meet the spiders that open their homes to frogs. 🐸🏠🐜🐄 And we ask the big questions… what’s the most successful species in Earth’s history — and can animals actually hold a grudge? 😤📝 Leave us a review to let us know what you think — every comment means a lot to the whole team 💚🔔 Make sure you follow That’s Just Wild wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode