Cool Facts About Animals

This episode was originally part of the Kids Listen sampler, which you can also find on our feed. But to celebrate the 4th, we are bringing you 5 minutes packed with facts about the United States' national bird. Enjoy! 

Happy Summer! On this episode, we are talking about a sunny-colored frog, which happens to be one of the most toxic animals in the world – the golden poison dart frog.  We discuss the difference between venomous and toxic, how many humans one of these tiny frogs can kill with one touch, and their surprisingly social nature.  Plus: can you guess which sound comes from a poison dart frog? (Jaguar does a pretty good imitation!) If you’re interested in getting a pound of trash out of the ocean, and getting your own recycled bracelet, here’s the link to 4ocean: http://4ocean.com Also please consider supporting us on our Patreon page! Any money received will go toward funding a trip to Eastern or Southern Oregon to meet in person with a scientist and learn more about a different animal habitat. https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals If you think you know the answer to our creature quiz or riddle, or want to tell us about your Kid Power success, send us an email at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com, or tweet us

It’s our first ever listener episode! We learn from you listeners lots of cool facts about animals, including king cobras, goats, sand cats, and more—plus answer some questions about frogs and how we decide which animal we choose to talk about. Thanks to our listeners who submitted their audio clips: Nadia, Demaris, Quinn, Grace, Lexi, Ginny, Oliver, Cece, Trace, Aryn, Lilli and Xia. We loved getting to hear and share your voices! We hope we didn’t miss anyone who submitted their fact/question. Please let us know if we did at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweet us at @coolanimalspod and we'll get your clip on our next episode.  To find the full episode-length fact-filled audio about guinea pigs from Lexi, check out our website: https://coolfactsaboutanimalspodcast.wordpress.com We’ll be back soon with a new animal! Thanks as always to Andrew from Ear Snacks for our theme music.        

Cool Facts About Animals has teamed up with a bunch of other kids’ podcasts to bring you an hour of high-quality kids audio programming – just in time for the long weekend, or to listen to throughout the summer. All of the shows involved are part of the grassroots kids’ audio advocacy group Kids Listen, and all the shows are available on the Kids Listen App.  You’ll hear 5 minutes from 10 different podcasts, including ours, but also some of our personal other go-to listens like Circle Round, Noodle Loaf, Story Spectacular, What if World, and others all listed below. We hope you enjoy discovering a new podcast, or hearing something new from an old favorite.  We are discussing the bald eagle in our segment. Many thanks to AJ and to Quinn, who both suggested that we do a podcast on the eagle. What If World: http://www.whatifworldpodcast.com/ Story Spectacular: http://storyspectacular.com/ Noodle Loaf: http://www.noodleloafshow.com/ Book Power for Kids: http://bookpowerforkids.com/ Little Stories for Tiny People:

The bomber worm was only discovered about 10 years ago, but it’s not rare. This deep, deep underwater creature has one of the coolest defense mechanisms we've seen yet: releasing bioluminescent bombs to deter predators. We also talk about two other newly-discovered underwater creature: the ruby sea dragon and hoodwinker sunfish. If you’re interested in becoming a Patreon sponsor, and help to fund us to meet with scientists in person to bring you even more cool facts, head on over to our Patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals And here’s a link to the video of the green bomber worm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4nLstCR0AI We love to hear from you! If you want to be included in our next episode, send us an audio clip of your favorite animal fact, or ask us a question, at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com You can also tweet us at @coolanimalspod Thanks for listening!

  Happy Earth Day, listeners! On this special episode we talk about four cool animals that have been impacted by humans and climate change: the dodo bird, Tasmanian tiger, white lemuroid possum, and Fernandina giant tortoise.  Through hunting, climate change, introduction of non-native species, and more, these animals have been brought to the brink of extinction, and sometimes even have gone extinct. We end this episode with practical ways that you can make a difference for animals and for our environment. By the way, the 200 million number on straws is probably very low--but we can't find an accurate number for how many straws are used every year.  What are your ideas for what you can do to protect the environment?  Let us know at coolfacsaboutanimals@gmail.com We also want to hear your audio clips of animal facts or questions. Send them to us at coolfactsaboutanimls@gmail.com. If we get enough, we will make your clips into an episode!  Thanks as always to Ear Snacks for our theme music. And thanks to all of

It’s Teddy’s favorite animal, the Thorny Devil! Join us as we learn all about this six-inch mountain dragon. It’s got more defense mechanisms than any other animal we’ve studied (including a fake head – cool!) and has a very interesting way of drinking (foot water anyone?). You can also check out our first ever Cool Facts About Animals video, explaining how capillary action works.  And yes it has to do with Thorny Devils. It's on our newly-minted YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/VcmaiQt6zC4  Thanks so much to our Patreon sponsor Cormac for being our Patreon sponsor! You can join Cormac and our other Patreon sponsors, and get a shout out on our show, by visiting: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals We have two kid power challenges this week – and great job to Nadia and Reagan for participating in our last challenge! You can pick up a bag of trash, or take steps to reduce your water consumption. Did you do the challenge? Or the creature quiz? Let us know at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or on Twitt

We looked high and low for the information we needed to research our episode on unicorns. But try as we might, we could not find even basic facts like what unicorns eat, what the horn is for, and what their favorite jokes are.  Luckily, Professor Abacus P. Grumbler, resident What If World unicorn expert, was able to answer all our questions.  Special thanks to Prof. Abacus and Mr. Eric for this episode! And special thanks to Xia for the request. And of course, as always, thanks to Andrew of Ear Snacks for the theme music.  We love to hear from you! Contact us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweets us at @coolanimalspod.  

Clara’s class has spoken! This week’s episode is all about the Little Blue Penguin (aka Fairy Penguin). This adorable little dude weighs in at just about two pounds, and stands only about a foot, but it packs a lot of cool stuff into that small size. In this episode, we talk about molting, fledging, diving, vocalization, and lots more. To hear the backstory on how we chose this episode, check out the prior episode: “And the Winner Is,” available here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/and-the-winner-is/id1334467437?i=1000431839783&mt=2  Here’s a link to the video we mentioned in the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQMOTDZ9jqY Special thanks to our Patreon sponsors Finn and Osa! If you’d like to financially support us and get a shout-out on our show, check out our Patreon page here: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals And as always, many thanks to Andrew of Ear Snacks for the theme music! Have the answer to the riddle or creature quiz? Want to try out the kid power challenge? Send us

Last week, CFAA went on the road to Clara's 1st grade classroom. Her class has been studying penguins for the past month -- and wow, did they know a lot about them! We asked the students to break into groups for each of the five penguins they studied: rockhopper, little blue, king, chinstrap, and gentoo, and tell us the coolest things about each kind of penguin they could find. Then we all voted on the penguin they most wanted to learn about. Here are the results, which will be featured as our next animal on CFAA. Thanks to Clara's class for working so hard on this, and teaching us all such cool facts about penguins! 

Ever wonder what makes Jaguar... well Jaguar? We dive deep into the mind behind the feline in this interview. We cover favorite foods, vacation spots, Thanksgiving carols (what?) and more in this bonus episode.  This is a bonus episode put out for our Patreon subscribers. We are sharing it on our regular feed with all our listeners so you can get a taste of some of the bonus footage you can get at the $5 level of support. Thanks to our existing Patreon supporters, and thanks to those considering financially supporting us! Your contributions will help us get out in the field to interview animal experts and see animals in person. You can find out more about how to financially support us, and the cool extras you can get here: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals  Not everyone is able to financially support us, and that's okay! We thank all of our listeners for tuning in, writing reviews, drawing us pictures, writing in with suggestions, riddle and creature quiz answers, and more. You guys are all awesom

In this episode, we speak to squirrel expert Amanda Robin, a PhD student at UCLA. She taught us about the fascinating world of squirrels, including how they decide to store or eat their nuts, what chunking is, and other cool facts about squirrels. THEN we have a "who would win" battle: squirrel v. rattlesnake. Think it's hands-down rattlesnake? Think again.   Thanks as always to Ear Snacks for our theme music.  Send your creature quiz answers to us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweet us at @coolanimalspod. Also we have a Patreon page. If you would like to financially support our podcast, please do so here: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals 

It's our most requested episode ever AND our most-answered riddle ever!  You guessed it - it's the platypus.  This is one seriously cool animals you guys. I mean, how many venomous, egg-laying mammals do you know? Not many, right?  We dive into what makes platypuses so usual, discuss their super strange chromosomes, and talk about a recent discovery of a stegosaurs-platypus. Yup, no typos. Special thanks to Samson and Dorothy, long-time listeners with an impressive amount of platypus knowledge! Also special thanks to E.J. and all the other listeners who requested this episode, and who answered the riddle.  If you're interested in the sex chromosomes of platypuses (and let's be honest, who isn't), check out this video. The visuals are really helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nyAl7TipkI Thanks as always to Andrew of the awesome podcast Ear Snacks for the theme music.  And please keep in touch - coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or Tweet us at @coolanimalspod And support us on Patreon at https://www.patreo

On this episode we are exploring the deadly but adorable blue-ringed octopus. This little guy is only the size of a golf ball, but has enough venom to kill 26 grown men in its saliva. We talk about symbiotic relationships, what its venom does, and, oh, zombie powder.  So many thanks to David, our newest Patreon sponsor! He’s using his own pocket money to help support our show. You can support our show too! For more details, visit https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals We love to hear from you – send us your creature quiz or riddle answer, or just send us a note. You can reach us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or on twitter at @coolanimalspod. Thanks as always to Andrew of the awesome podcast Ear Snacks for our theme music!

It's our one-year anniversary! We are celebrating with an episode about... porcupines! Okay, it has nothing to do with our anniversary, but still... porcupines!  For this episode, we had a chance to go to the Oregon Zoo and meet with Bree Winchell, program animal staff and overall porcupine expert.  Check out our pics of the animal encounter on our Twitter page (www.twitter.com/coolanimalspod) If you'd like to hear more interviews with experts, please consider supporting us on our Patreon page (www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals). We will use funds from the page to help us travel to meet with other animal experts so that we can bring you more cool facts.  We have lots of cool perks for your financial support, including magnets, notes, and shout-outs from your favorite CFAA host (human or otherwise).  We are also still doing our Kid Challenge. Send a picture of your kids with a bag of trash that he or she picked up from outside, and we will send a magnet and do a shout-out on the air for their help cleaning

Ahoy, CFA listeners! We took a road trip to the Oregon Coast to meet with Luke Parsons, an interpretive ranger with Oregon State Parks and see the great gray whale migration.  Over 20,000 of these school-bus sized whales pass by the Oregon coast around this time of year. We even got to see one! And we learned lots of cool stuff about them. Want to hear more cool interviews? Support us on Patreon! We have lots of cool perks for supporting us, including shout-outs, outtakes access, and more.  Not able to financially support us? Take part in our Kid Challenge and pick up a bag of trash from the environment around you.  Let us know, and we'll thank you on air. Email us at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweet us at @coolanimalspod Happy New Year! 

How cool would it be to get a chance to bring a species back from the brink of extinction? Travis Koons of the Oregon Zoo tells us all about it in this bonus interview episode.  We were honored to have been asked to join the crew of the upcoming Oregon Wild podcast for this episode. We will let you know when their first episode launches. We cannot wait.  Thanks again to Oregon Wild, the Oregon Zoo, and Andrew of Ear Snacks for our theme music! 

This bird isn't cool just because its wingspan rivals the length of a grizzly bar on its hind paws. Nope, this bird battled its way back from the brink of extinction - just 22 in the wild to now close to 500 in the wild and in captivity. We talk about what makes this bird so awesome, and the rescue efforts behind it, in this episode. Be sure to also check out our episode right next to this in your feed where we interview Travis Koons of the Oregon Zoo.  THANK YOU to Oregon Wild for bringing us along to the  zoo with them. And thank you as always to Andrew of Ear Snacks for our theme music! Also guys - be sure to check out the podcast Species if you have serious animal lovers. The show is super awesome.  Want to answer our creature quiz! Awesome! Send us your answers at coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or on twitter at @coolanimalspod   

We were so honored to get a chance to Skype with Dr. Bruce Mate of Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute. He is the expert on marine mammals, including blue whales. We learned so much from him, and had such a good time talking about all things whales - from his ground-breaking research to touching whale poop. (Yes, we go there.) Be sure to listen to this episode along with our stand-alone episode on blue whales.  Thanks to Andrew or Ear Snacks for our theme music! 

This episode is part of a double episode. Be sure to check out our interview with Dr. Bruce Mate of Oregon State University's Marine Mammal Institute too!  In this episode, we dive into the big world of blue whales. Not only are they the biggest animal to have ever lived - like EVER - there are so many other cool things about them. We discuss their migration, sounds, diet, and even ear wax. We also add some of our conversation with Dr. Mate into this episode. It's one of our favorites so far - give it a listen!  Our riddle might have been a little hard to understand this week, so here it is:    Don’t let the name fool you – you don’t want this animal around your finger If you see one, you definitely don’t want to linger! If you see its colors show You won’t want to know The rest Run the best You can Away!   Send your answers to coolfactsaboutanimals@gmail.com or tweet us at @coolanimalspod.   Thank you again to Dr. Bruce Mate, and thank you as always to Andrew of the podcast Ear Snacks for our theme music!