join Ellen & special guest, naturalist and author of Secrets of the Octopus Sy Montgomery, for a look into the life and mind of some of the ocean’s most mystifying aliens: the giant Pacific octopus. We discuss an octopus’s least favorite texture, what happens when an arm goes rogue, the underwater city of Octopolis, how to make interspecies friendships, and so much more.Links:<ul><li>Find <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739429/secrets-of-the-octopus-by-sy-montgomery/">Secrets of the Octopus</a> wherever you get books!</li><li>Find more of Sy's work at her website: <a href="https://symontgomery.com/">symontgomery.com</a></li><li>For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our <a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/">website</a>!</li><li>Follow Just the Zoo of Us on <a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod">Threads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/">Instagram</a> & <a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e">Discord!</a></li><li>Follow Ellen on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford">TikTok!</a></li></ul>

<description>&lt;p&gt;join Ellen &amp; special guest, naturalist and author of &lt;i&gt;Secrets of the Octopus&lt;/i&gt; Sy Montgomery, for a look into the life and mind of some of the ocean’s most mystifying aliens: the giant Pacific octopus. We discuss an octopus’s least favorite texture, what happens when an arm goes rogue, the underwater city of Octopolis, how to make interspecies friendships, and so much more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Links:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Find &lt;a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739429/secrets-of-the-octopus-by-sy-montgomery/"&gt;Secrets of the Octopus&lt;/a&gt; wherever you get books!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Find more of Sy's work at her website: &lt;a href="https://symontgomery.com/"&gt;symontgomery.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;For more information about us &amp; our podcast, head over to our &lt;a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Just the Zoo of Us on &lt;a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod"&gt;Threads&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; &amp; &lt;a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e"&gt;Discord!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Ellen on &lt;a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford"&gt;TikTok!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
</description>

join Ellen & special guest, naturalist and author of Secrets of the Octopus Sy Montgomery, for a look into the life and mind of some of the ocean’s most mystifying aliens: the giant Pacific octopus.

246: Giant Pacific Octopus w/ Sy Montgomery!

Ellen comes out of her shell with hermit crabs & Christian is tickled pink by flamingos. In this week's beach episode, we discuss vacancy chains, shell economies, crustacean diss tracks, Florida postcards, and making new enemies in a flamboyance.Links:<ul><li>For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our <a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/">website</a>!</li><li>Follow Just the Zoo of Us on <a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod">Threads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/">Instagram</a> & <a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e">Discord!</a></li><li>Follow Ellen on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford">TikTok!</a></li></ul>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Ellen comes out of her shell with hermit crabs &amp; Christian is tickled pink by flamingos. In this week's beach episode, we discuss vacancy chains, shell economies, crustacean diss tracks, Florida postcards, and making new enemies in a flamboyance.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Links:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;For more information about us &amp; our podcast, head over to our &lt;a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Just the Zoo of Us on &lt;a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod"&gt;Threads&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; &amp; &lt;a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e"&gt;Discord!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Ellen on &lt;a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford"&gt;TikTok!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
</description>

Ellen comes out of her shell with hermit crabs & Christian is tickled pink by flamingos.

245: Hermit Crab & Flamingo

Join Ellen & special guests Owen Ever and Laine Kaplan-Levenson for a revue of gay animals! We discuss manatee wuzzles, elephant matriarchy, giraffes necking in more ways than one, eagle throuples, the impact of prejudice on science, and so much more. This episode is a celebration of love, family, and community in - as our guest puts it - the animal queendom. NOTE: Since a lot of this episode is about the diversity of sexual behavior in animals, naturally it does contain more discussion of sex than most of our episodes, including behaviors that aren’t just motivated by reproduction. These discussions are not graphic or explicit, but it is a focal point of the conversation so I do encourage any young listeners to please check in with your grown-ups before listening.Links:<ul><li>Check out <a href="https://www.canadaland.com/shows/a-field-guide-to-gay-animals/">A Field Guide to Gay Animals!</a></li><li>Follow the podcast on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/afieldguidetogayanimals">Instagram</a>!</li><li>Follow Owen on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/oh_whenever/">Instagram</a> and learn more about their work on their <a href="https://owenever.com/">website</a>!</li><li>For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our <a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/">website</a>!</li><li>Follow Just the Zoo of Us on <a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod">Threads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/">Instagram</a> & <a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e">Discord!</a></li><li>Follow Ellen on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford">TikTok!</a></li></ul>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Join Ellen &amp; special guests Owen Ever and Laine Kaplan-Levenson for a revue of gay animals! We discuss manatee wuzzles, elephant matriarchy, giraffes necking in more ways than one, eagle throuples, the impact of prejudice on science, and so much more. This episode is a celebration of love, family, and community in - as our guest puts it - the animal queendom. &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;NOTE&lt;/strong&gt;: Since a lot of this episode is about the diversity of sexual behavior in animals, naturally it does contain more discussion of sex than most of our episodes, including behaviors that aren’t just motivated by reproduction. These discussions are &lt;strong&gt;not&lt;/strong&gt; graphic or explicit, but it is a focal point of the conversation so I do encourage any young listeners to please check in with your grown-ups before listening.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Links:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Check out &lt;a href="https://www.canadaland.com/shows/a-field-guide-to-gay-animals/"&gt;A Field Guide to Gay Animals!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow the podcast on &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/afieldguidetogayanimals"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Owen on &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/oh_whenever/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; and learn more about their work on their &lt;a href="https://owenever.com/"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;For more information about us &amp; our podcast, head over to our &lt;a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Just the Zoo of Us on &lt;a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod"&gt;Threads&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; &amp; &lt;a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e"&gt;Discord!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Ellen on &lt;a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford"&gt;TikTok!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
</description>

Join Ellen & special guests Owen Ever and Laine Kaplan-Levenson for a revue of gay animals!

244: A Gay Animal Revue w/ Owen Ever and Laine Kaplan-Levenson!

Christian bubbles over with hype for the diving bell spider & Ellen tells some fish tales about the legendary oarfish. We discuss Hotwheels sisyphus, Doordash for spiders, diving technology, Pokemon, sea serpent mythology,  bioluminescence and so much more.Links:<ul><li>For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our <a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/">website</a>!</li><li>Follow Just the Zoo of Us on <a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod">Threads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/">Instagram</a> & <a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e">Discord!</a></li><li>Follow Ellen on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford">TikTok!</a></li></ul>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Christian bubbles over with hype for the diving bell spider &amp; Ellen tells some fish tales about the legendary oarfish. We discuss Hotwheels sisyphus, Doordash for spiders, diving technology, Pokemon, sea serpent mythology,  bioluminescence and so much more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Links:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;For more information about us &amp; our podcast, head over to our &lt;a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Just the Zoo of Us on &lt;a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod"&gt;Threads&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; &amp; &lt;a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e"&gt;Discord!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Ellen on &lt;a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford"&gt;TikTok!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
</description>

Christian bubbles over with hype for the diving bell spider & Ellen tells some fish tales about the legendary oarfish.

243: Diving Bell Spider & Oarfish

Join Ellen & special guest, naturalist and birder Dara Miles Wilson, about some of the brightest and boldest members of the corvid family: the tenacious and charming blue jays. We discuss the audacity of jays and their amazing hawk impressions, what to put in your birdfeeder and why you might want to add a little spice, why blue jays aren’t actually blue, and so much more.Links:<ul><li>Follow <a href="https://www.blackafinstem.com/">Black AF in Stem</a> on social media <a href="https://linktr.ee/blackafinstem">(linktree here)</a> and check out the <a href="https://www.blackafinstem.com/2024-events">virtual and in-person events</a> for this year's Black Birders Week!</li><li>Follow Dara on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/grandmasterdara/">Instagram</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/grandmasterdara">Twitter</a>!</li><li>For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our <a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/">website</a>!</li><li>Follow Just the Zoo of Us on <a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod">Threads</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/">Instagram</a> & <a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e">Discord!</a></li><li>Follow Ellen on <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford">TikTok!</a></li></ul>

<description>&lt;p&gt;Join Ellen &amp; special guest, naturalist and birder Dara Miles Wilson, about some of the brightest and boldest members of the corvid family: the tenacious and charming blue jays. We discuss the audacity of jays and their amazing hawk impressions, what to put in your birdfeeder and why you might want to add a little spice, why blue jays aren’t actually blue, and so much more.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Links:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow &lt;a href="https://www.blackafinstem.com/"&gt;Black AF in Stem&lt;/a&gt; on social media &lt;a href="https://linktr.ee/blackafinstem"&gt;(linktree here)&lt;/a&gt; and check out the &lt;a href="https://www.blackafinstem.com/2024-events"&gt;virtual and in-person events&lt;/a&gt; for this year's Black Birders Week!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Dara on &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/grandmasterdara/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/grandmasterdara"&gt;Twitter&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;For more information about us &amp; our podcast, head over to our &lt;a href="https://www.justthezooofus.com/"&gt;website&lt;/a&gt;!&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Just the Zoo of Us on &lt;a href="https://threads.net/@justthezooofuspod"&gt;Threads&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/871849596532633"&gt;Facebook&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href="https://www.instagram.com/thezooofus/"&gt;Instagram&lt;/a&gt; &amp; &lt;a href="https://discord.gg/d5bkeNXx4e"&gt;Discord!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;Follow Ellen on &lt;a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@ellen.weatherford"&gt;TikTok!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;
</description>

Join Ellen & special guest, naturalist and birder Dara Miles Wilson, about some of the brightest and boldest members of the corvid family: the tenacious and charming blue jays.

242: Blue Jay w/ Dara Miles Wilson!

Join us, Ellen and Christian Weatherford, while we review your favorite species of animals and rate them out of ten in the categories of effectiveness, ingenuity and aesthetics.
More information can be found at justthezooofus.com 😊
Got a species you want us to review? Submit your animal friend to us at ellen@justthezooofus.com and when we review your animal we'll give you a shoutout! 😊
Cover art by Mrs. Brainbow (Taylor Gordon-Wood). Theme music by Louie Zong.

Just the Zoo of Us

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