THE ANIMALS
Welcome to The Animals, your audio passport to the most fascinating inhabitants of our planet.From the deepest oceans to your own backyard, we explore the intricate, surprising, and absolutely vital world of the animal kingdom.Why Listen?Join us as we go beyond the cute viral videos to understand the true nature of the creatures we share Earth with. We believe that understanding animals is key to understanding ourselves. The Animals provides a modern bestiary, blending rigorous science with compelling storytelling to create an attractive and accessible portrait of life.What We Cover:Our episodes dive deep into four...
The Flying Mammal That's Been Above Your Head Your Whole Life
πΎ The Animals
You'll never look at them the same way again.
The Flying Mammal That's Been Above Your Head Your Whole Life
You know that feeling when a friend leans across the table, lowers their voice, and says β
"Okay but wait. Did you know that bats are actually more closely related to you than they are to mice? Like genetically. For real."
And suddenly you're an hour deep into a conversation you never planned to have. You're looking things up. You're texting someone. You genuinely cannot stop.
You l...
This Tiny Shrimp Sees Colors You Don't Even Have a Word For
ποΈ The Animals
Mantis Shrimp Can See Colors We Don't Have Names For
ποΈ Category: Wild Fact
There is a creature living in the ocean right now.
The size of your hand. Tucked into a little sand burrow at the bottom of the sea, not thinking, not stressed, looking β honestly β kind of adorable in photos. Big cartoon eyes. Colorful little body. Very peaceful energy.
π« It punches with the force of a bullet.
That's the mantis shrimp. And before you write this off as just another "cool animal" episode β sit with this one thing...
How Squirrels Rescue Orphaned Babies β Nature's Most Surprising Parenting Story
πΏοΈ The Animals
She Heard Something Crying. And She Went.
Episode Β· Squirrels Adopt Orphaned Baby Squirrels
A mother squirrel dies. π
Her babies are alone in the nest β tiny, blind, completely helpless, waiting for a warmth that will never, not once, ever come back. They start crying.
And then something happens that nobody expected.
A completely different female β one with zero connection to these babies, one who never once met their mother β hears that cry. And she doesn't keep walking. She stops. She turns. And she goes toward it.
πΏ What Thi...
What Happens to Your Body When a Cat Purrs on Your Chest
πΎ The Animals
The podcast that turns the animal kingdom into the most entertaining thing you've heard all week.
You already know animals exist.
You learned about them in school. You've seen the documentaries. You know the basics.
But do you know your cat's purr vibrates at the exact same frequency doctors use to heal broken bones? π¦΄
That crows remember individual human faces β and hold personal grudges against specific people for years? π€
That the pistol shrimp punches so fast it creates a flash of light hotter than the surface of...
Giraffes Hum at Night β and We Just Discovered It
π¦ THE ANIMAL
The podcast that proves you don't know the planet you live on quite as well as you think.
You thought giraffes were silent.
So did we. So did every scientist. Every textbook. Every wildlife documentary that has ever aired.
For hundreds of years, we watched these six-metre-tall giants wander the earth and confidently decided β yep. Silent. Nothing to say. Moving on.
They were humming. π
Every. Single. Night.
In our zoos. On our cameras. Right in front of our microphones. In a voice so low and...
The Immortal Jellyfish That Cheats Death
ποΈ The Animal
Episode: The Immortal Jellyfish That Cheats Death
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> *"Somewhere in the ocean right now, a creature the size of your fingernail is doing something that has defeated every living thing since the beginning of time."*
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What if death wasn't actually mandatory? π€
What if somewhere out there β not in a lab, not in a sci-fi movie, not in some ancient myth β a real, living creature had already cracked the code? Already figured it out. Already been doing it, quietly, in the ocean, while we were busy getting...
Raccoons Wash Their Food Because They're Half-Blind
π¦ THE ANIMALS
*"Raccoons Wash Their Food Because They're Half-Blind"*
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You've seen it a hundred times.
A raccoon at the edge of a stream. Something wriggling between its little hands. Dunking it. Rubbing it. Swishing it around in the water like it's rinsing vegetables before dinner.
And you thought β *aw, what a clean little guy.*
**You were wrong.**
Not a little wrong. Not "technically incorrect" wrong.
COMPLETELY. WILDLY. GLORIOUSLY. Wrong.
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Here's what's actually happening at that strea...
Shrews Must Eat Every 4 Hours or They Die
THE ANIMALS*
One creature. One wild fact. Nothing will ever feel ordinary again.*
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You already share your planet with things that should not exist.
A creature that shrinks its own brain every winter just to survive. A bird that hasn't slept in eleven days β and is still flying. A fish that can pause its own heart and restart it like nothing happened. A spider that dissolves its own body into soup, waits, and rebuilds itself into something completely different.
These ar...
Dolphins Have Names and They Gossip
ποΈ THE ANIMAL
Episode: "Dolphins Have Names and They Gossip"
Somewhere in the ocean right now, a dolphin is saying someone's name.
Not a sound we taught it. Not a trick we trained it to do. A name it invented for itself β as a baby β and has never changed.
And somewhere nearby, another dolphin just heard that name. And answered.
We thought names were ours. We thought talking about people behind their back was ours. We thought remembering a friend after twenty years of silence was ours.
Turns out β dol...
Penguins Propose With Pebbles
π§ THE ANIMALS
Episode 9 β *Penguins Propose With Pebbles*
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He didn't bring flowers.
No dinner reservation. No nervous speech. No getting down on one knee in a crowded restaurant while everyone stares and someone nearby films it for Instagram.
He just walked over.
Put a pebble at her feet.
And waited.
That's it. That's the whole proposal. One small, smooth, carefully chosen stone β placed in silence β in front of the only one he picked.
And if she picks it up?
They're t...
Cats Don't Meow at Each Other β Only at Humans
πΎ THE ANIMALS
*"Cats Don't Meow at Each Other β Only at Humans"*
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Your cat has been lying to you.
Not in a bad way. In the most impressive, calculated, quietly genius way any creature has ever pulled off in the history of animals living with humans.
Here's the thing nobody tells you: **cats don't meow at each other.** Not once. Not ever. Two cats in a room together? Complete silence. They have a whole other language β body, tail, scent β that works perfectly fine without their voice.
The meo...
Elephants Are Scared of Bees More Than Lions
π THE ANIMALS
*Episode 07 "β
"Elephants Have a Specific Alarm Call for Bees"*
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There is an animal on this planet that has survived everything.
Lions. Droughts. Thousands of years of a world that wanted it dead.
And it is β genuinely, deeply β terrified of bees.
Not just a little nervous. Not mildly bothered. We're talking full-scale panic. The entire herd β babies, elders, all fourteen thousand pounds of them β drops everything and RUNS.
And here's the part that stopped us cold when we first hear...
Octopuses Punch Fish When They're Annoyed
π The Animal
"Octopuses Punch Fish When They're Annoyed"
Some creatures hunt. Some hide. Some build. And one β one decided that when a teammate gets on its nerves, the right move is to justβ¦ swing.
There is actual footage of an octopus punching a fish.
Not eating it. Not chasing it away. Not protecting itself.
Just β punching it. Mid-hunt. In front of everyone.
Because it was annoyed.
And the fish it punched? The octopus remembered it. Kept punching it. The same fish. Again and again throughout the hunt...
The "Dead" Possum Isn't Acting β It's Having a Panic Attack
ποΈ THE ANIMALS
> **"The dead possum isn't acting. It's having a panic attack."**
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What Is This?
This is **The Animals.**
It's not a nature documentary.
It's not a textbook with a microphone.
It's your most curious friend β the one who goes down a three-hour rabbit hole at midnight and *cannot wait* to tell you what they found β sitting across from you, leaning in, and saying:
*"Okay. You're not going to believe this."*
Every episode, we take one animal. One thing you think you...
Sharks Are Getting Older and We Don't Know Why
*Sharks Are Getting Older and We Don't Know Why*
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There is a shark in the Arctic Ocean right now that was alive before your country existed.
Before your language sounded the way it sounds. Before the oldest building in your city was built. Before anyone you've ever read about in a history book was even born.
It was there. Swimming. Slowly. Unbothered.
And it's still there now.
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Meet the...
Crows Hold Grudges
"Crows Hold Grudges. And They Tell Their Kids."
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You walked past a crow once.
Maybe you shooed it away. Maybe you were just in a rush and got too close. Maybe you didn't even notice it.
The crow noticed you.
And five years later β that same crow still knows your face. Still watches for you. Still reacts the moment you come around the corner.
That alone would be wild enough to make an episode ab...
The Living Grenade- Malaysian Ants
What does it mean to be part of a team? For most of us, it means helping outβbut for the exploding ant, it means being the "colonyβs fist". These ants don't see themselves as individuals; they see themselves as part of one big, living machine where their only job is to protect the whole, even if it costs them everything. But the story doesn't end with the explosion. Weβre diving into the moments after the fight, where surviving ants have been seen "attending" to their wounded teammates who tried to explode but couldn't quite finish the job. T...
Your Dog Knows You're Sad Before You Do
Have you ever walked through your front door after a grueling day, having said nothing to anyone and keeping your "Iβm fine" face firmly in place, only to have your dog immediately lean against your legs or rest their head on your lap? You might think theyβre just being sweet, but the truth is much more profound: Your dog knew you were struggling before you even realized it yourself.
In this episode of The Animal, we peel back the curtain on the invisible, chemical world that exists between you and your canine companion. We often thin...