This Animal Life thisanimallife

This final episode of This Animal Life is devoted to my fellow wolf-lovers. Sit down for a gripping conversation with Rick McIntyre, author of The Redemption of Wolf 302 in the Yellowstone Wolf series. Do wolves really have a moral code? Are some wolves more ethical than others, or are we humans just projecting?
Through Rick's compelling stories, you’ll find out why humans are more similar to wolves than to any other creature. You’ll also learn why anthropomorphism can be accurate and necessary, what our astonishing similarities to wolves teach us about our better nature, and why we’re wise to show mercy in this animal life.
Show Notes:
“Animals Are Moral Creatures, Argues Scientist,” by Tia Ghose, Live Science, November 2012.
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? By De Waal, Frans. WW Norton, 2016.
Dog Behaviour, Evolution, and Cognition, by Miklosi, Adam, Dr.  Oxford University Press 2016.
A Dog’s World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World Without Humans, by Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff. Princeton University Press, October 2021.
The Moral Lives of Animals, by Dale Peterson, Bloomsbury Press, 2011.
The Redemption of Wolf 302: From Renegade to Yellowstone Alpha Male, by Rick McIntyre. Greystone Books, October 2021.
Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals, by Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff. University of Chicago Press, 2009.
 

Merry Christmas! Meet Debbie Garcia-Bengochea, the bestselling author of Mini Horses, Mighty Hope and cofounder of Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses. The charity's miniature horses interact with an estimated 25,000 people all over the country each year, including survivors, first responders, hospital patients, and more. One of their horses, Magic, was named one of history's ten most heroic animals by Time magazine and declared the Most Heroic Pet in America by AARP. The question I pose to Debbie is this: do therapy horses really care about the strangers they comfort?
Our gift to you is the greatest insight into the nature of unconditional love from animals. Is it real or are we imagining it? When a therapy animal comforts a stranger in distress, does the animal understand or even care what it's doing? Join Debbie Garcia-Bengochea and me as we get to the bottom of animal hearts. I promise, you will be comforted and amazed.
Mini Horses, Mighty Hope: How a Herd of Miniature Horses Provides Comfort and Healing is an exquisitely poignant book that quickly brings readers to tears of empathy and joy with stories of how the Gentle Carousel Therapy Horses bring comfort, hope, and healing to children, the elderly, first responders, survivors, their families, and others experiencing life’s most difficult challenges. While the book brings you along on their many interactions with people, this episode focuses on what life is like for these tiny equines with such heavy jobs to do. 

In the home stretch of this holiday season, wildlife veterinarian Jerry Haigh, author of Reindeer Reflections: Lessons from an Ancient Culture, sits down with you for a one-of-a-kind romp through the reindeer lore and science. Reindeer are sure to put you in the mood for peace on Earth.
Get to know these stunningly gorgeous and supremely gentle creatures, find out when and why to call them "caribou," and learn how spellbinding their lives are under the northern lights. Included in the Show Notes, below and on the This Animal Life website, you'll find many links to videos that will further immerse you in their beauty and wonder. 
Jerry Haigh is a cross between James Herriot and Farley Mowat, a wry and compassionate veterinarian who’s ventured far from his native Scotland to travel four continents, all to bring health and healing to animals, both wild and domestic. He's written books about everything from porcupines to rhinos, but his latest book finds him tending to the reindeer of Finland and Mongolia. 
So strap on your snowshoes and tromp along as Jerry regales you with mind-blowing facts about reindeer. For example what, if anything, is so special about Rudolph's nose? Discover the stunning truth about this supremely peaceful animal.
 
SHOW NOTES:
Adopt a Reindeer Foundation
Cairngorm Reindeer Herd on Facebook
Cairngorm Reindeer Herd: Home  The Cairngorm Reindeer Herd is Britain’s only free-ranging herd of reindeer found in the Cairngorm mountains in Scotland. These tame and friendly animals are a joy to all who come and see them. Reindeer are not just for Christmas!
“Caribou (Reindeer),” National Geographic.
“Follow Thousands of Reindeer on an Epic Journey,” Nature on PBS, YouTube, November 2020.
Haigh, Jerry, Reindeer Reflections: Lessons from an Ancient Culture, Rocky Mountain Books, October 2021.
–Website https://www.jerryhaigh.com/
–Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jerry.haigh 
–Twitter @glasgowwildvet
–LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-haigh-9b63735/
 
“Highly competitive reindeer males control female behavior during the rut,” by G. Body et. al, PLoS One, National Library of Medicine, April 2014.
Intelligence of reindeer. “On Reindeer and Men,” by Tim Ingold, Man, New Series, Vol. 9, No. 4, Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, December 1974, pp. 523-538. 
“Living With Reindeer,” Nat Geo WILD, Youtube, December 2016. Winter is coming and indigenous Sami reindeer herders make preparations for their domesticated reindeer. 
“Norway, the Twilight of Reindeer,” Show Me The World, YouTube, November 218. Sami herders struggle with the threat of global warming. 
Red noses on reindeer.
– “Reindeer Noses Really Do Glow Red!” Nature on PBS, YouTube, December 2016. 
– “The Scientific Reason Why Reindeer Have Red Noses,” by Joseph Stromburg, Smithsonian Magazine, December 2012.
– “Why Rudolph’s Nose is Red,” Can Ince et. al., The British Medical Journal, December 2012. 
“Reindeer” by Travis Kemp, podcast, Calming Facts, December 2020. A hilarious (and relaxing) list of cool reindeer facts.
Reindeer Cyclone Videos
--from drone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOr8I0rh0hE  (In an article about this video we find out a veterinarian caused it) 
--about reindeer cyclones on PBS https://youtu.be/xv8UtXWk8UI 
--Reindeer cyclone on BBC YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv8UtXWk8UI
--cyclones as predator evasion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffkKy3brFzk 
“Reindeer Were Domesticated Much Earlier Than Previously Thought,” by Geoff McMaster, PhysOrg, June 2020.
“Top 5 Reindeer Moments,” on BBC Earth -- 20 amazing minutes just chilling with reindeer and their peaceful personalities. All about riding in a sleigh and witnessing the northern lights. Chockfull of beauty and fascinating facts. Super charming!

Join me and my guest, cartoonist Rosemary Mosco, author of The Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching, for a look at one of Earth's greatest love affairs--human and pigeon.
Not too long ago, pigeons were our darlings, and we were theirs, but now pigeons are just somebody that we used to know. What did we see in each other, what went wrong, and can we fall in love again? Rosemary Mosco brings back the magic.
Her conversation, like her book, is freewheeling, informative, and super-cute. Reawaken your appreciation for this clever, loyal, and lovable friend. Learn everything you never knew you dearly wanted to know about the lowly pigeon, your true love bird, who's been right there at your feet all along. 
Want to follow up on our sources or watch any of the videos we mention? Go to ThisAnimalLife.com and click on Show Notes or see below.
SHOW NOTES:
“Boomerang the racing pigeon returns to the owner who gave her away TEN years ago,” by David Wilkes, Daily Mail, June 2008.
Bouget and Blanchon in “Pigeon is 80-year-old French pensioner’s best friend,” Gulf News, June 14, 2021. 
Carlen, Dr. Elizabeth, pigeon expert, her website.
Cher Ami, the WWI hero, Wikipedia.
Cher Ami and Major Whittlesy by Kathleen Rooney, Penguin/Random House, August 2020.
“Homing Pigeons--Teach Your Birds to Come Home!” Standing Stone Kennels, YouTube, October 2019. 
Mosco, Rosemary, The Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird: , Workman Publishing Company, October 2021.
Palomacy Pigeon and Dove Adoptions
Pigeons
--and crop milk, Wikipedia.
--and math, “Turns Out, Pigeons Are Just As Good As Monkeys When It Comes to Math,” NPR, December 2011.
-- intelligence, “The Surprising Neuroscience of Pigeon Intelligence,” by Dr. Sebastian Ocklenburg, Psychology Today, July 2019.
--in the movies, Pigeon Movie Database.
--and pants, Pigeon pants on Etsy.
--and reading ability, “Orthographic processing in pigeons” by Damian Scarf et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, September 2016.
-- as term of endearment on Disney’s 1955 Lady and the Tramp, YouTube clip.
--and tail whistles, “Pigeon Whistles in Beijing,” 11 minutes of eerie sound, Mark Zuiderveld, YouTube, December 2017.
--and tricks, Pigeon Trix YouTube Channel.
--and wing clap, “Slow Motion Pigeon Clap,” BBC Earth Unplugged, YouTube, 2013
--and whistle wing alarm, “Pigeons sound a warning call--with their feathers,” Science Magazine, YouTube, November 2017.
Pollan, Michael, The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World. Random House, 2001.
Renton, Alice, Biography of a Pigeon, Ivy Books 1988.
“Trick/Task Fun Training a Pigeon,” starring Freckles, Pigeon Trix, YouTube April 8, 2021.
Vaugh, Don, “Nikola Tesla’s Weird Obsession with Pigeons,” Britannica.
 

Join Lisa for a rollicking conversation with Jonathan Meiburg, musician and author of A Most Remarkable Creature: the Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World’s Smartest Bird of Prey. Called "Johnny rooks," "false eagles," "flying monkeys," "shiftless wanderers of rubbish pits," and so much more, the caracara is a cheeky Muppet of a bird. Each of the ten species is notorious for curiosity, charm, and chicanery. You might not want to share an apartment with one, but you will never regret getting to know them. 
Want to follow up on our sources or watch any of the videos we mention? Go to ThisAnimalLife.com and click on Show Notes or see below.
 
SHOW NOTES:
“An Evening with Jonathan Meiburg and Jeff VanderMeer” Books & Books, YouTube, April 2021. 
De Waal, Frans. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? WW Norton, 2016.
“Fallowfields Falconry - Meet Boo the Intelligent Caracara” YouTube, December 2011.
“Geoff & Tina,” Caught by The River, March 2021. 
Geoff Pearson and Tina video, “Clever Bird,” YouTube, August 2008.
Genius Dog Challenge about word-learning in dogs, “Squall the Genius Dog,” This Animal Life, podcast, August 2021. 
Gibson, Graham, The Bedside Book of Birds, Nan A. Talese, 2005.
“The Great Ape Escape” the story of the orangutan Fu Manchu who fashioned a key and hid it in his lip, This Animal Life, podcast, August 2021.  
Harrington, Katie, & Jonathan Meiburg “Use of appeasement display and recruitment by an adult Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) to overcome territorial defense,” Wilson Journal of Ornithology, August 2021.
“Larue the Crested Caracara and fearful behavior,” with Hillary Hankey, Avian Behavior Institute, June 2003.  
Sean McCann, “Red-Throated Caracara’s are Way Cool Because . . .” YouTube, February 2014. Keep up with caracara expert Sean McCann on Twitter. 
“Meet Kevin the Caracara” Falconry and Me, YouTube, April 2020.
Jonathan Meiburg interviewed on “The Bedside Book of Birds with Margaret Atwood, David Sibley, Jonathan Meiburg, and Jessica Leber” Doubleday Publishing, YouTube, March 2021.
Jonathan Meiburg’s most remarkable book is A Most Remarkable Creature: 
The Hidden Life and Epic Journey of the World's Smartest Birds of Prey
Jonathan Meiburg interviewed on “Science and Nature: From the Page to Wilder Places,” Los Angeles Times Events, April 23, 2021. 
Jonathan Meiburg interviewed for Paris Review Interview, by John Jeremiah Sullivan, April 2021.
 Morrison, Joan, lecture on “Crested Caracaras,” Orange Audubon Society, YouTube, December 2020. 
Pepperberg, Irene M., Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence—and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process, Collins, 2008.
Pilley, John W. Dr., Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2013.
“Project Aims to Save Rare Bird,” Tampa Bay Times, 2005.
The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which sent Jonathan to the Falkland Islands in 1997.
 Vanderbilt University, “Study Gives New Meaning to the Term ‘Bird Brain.’” Neuroscience News, June 2016.
 Wallace, Amy, “Meet the Birds: Zorro the Striated Caracara,” Falconry and Me, YouTube, April2020.
 
 

Today let's consider one thrifty, scheming, and supernaturally resilient animal--kind of like the character of Wile E. Coyote himself.
Sit down and face coyote's music with today's guest, Sam Wilber, Naturalist. “So much of ecology and biology is such a bummer in this day and age," says Wilber. "There are so many things that are on the endangered list . . . it’s important to remember the species who are doing awesome. . . . Coyotes are winning against us, and I love that.” Stop fearing and start marveling about the brilliant resilience of this little (and we do mean LITTLE) meso- (not "apex-") predator who is, for all intents and purposes, just another super-smart pup. 
Sam Wilber is a naturalist, zoologist, photographer, and artist based in Tucson, Arizona. She works for Reid Park Zoo and volunteers for the Arizona Master Naturalists and Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection. She also runs her own art business at Sam Wilder Art LLC. Sam has experiences ranging from zoo-keeping to wildlife fieldwork to environmental education and endless stories about her favorite wild animals and wild places.
Want to follow up on our sources or watch any of the videos we mention? Go to ThisAnimalLife.com and click on Show Notes or see below.
 
SHOW NOTES
Sam’s Resources
Population/General Info:
Nat Geo
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/coyotes-expansion-north-america-wildlife-nation
HSUS
https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/why-killing-coyotes-doesnt-work
Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
https://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/oz/long-fact-sheets/coyote.php
LiveScience
https://www.livescience.com/27976-coyotes.html
Farm and Dairy:
https://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/coyotes-are-here-to-stay-and-thats-ok/615795.html
Feral/Outdoor Cats:
HSUS - problematic stance on protecting cats from coyotes
https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/coyotes-pets-and-community-cats
Ecological impacts of cats
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10073
Wildlife Society Fact Sheet on outdoor cats
https://wildlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Feral-Cats.pdf
Science News: Feral cats avoid coyotes and are therefore less ecologically harmful
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131113143600.htm
Tohono O'odham:
Creation story:
https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/10/04/67/100467102868469620681332441170203032624/ood_LegendsLore.pdf
Coyote tales
https://www.indigenouspeople.net/coyotal.htm
Map of ancestral homelands to reference indigenous peoples of your area
https://native-land.ca/
Coyotes and Badgers:
My favorite video!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bICTWNRrGE
New video just shared recently:
https://news.yahoo.com/badger-coyote-seen-strolling-together-151138501.html
Article on the mutualism:
https://mymodernmet.com/badger-coyote-mutualism/
Rabies:
https://atlantacoyoteproject.org/2016/07/coyotes-and-rabies/
 
Lisa’s Resources
Attacks by Coyotes on Humans, Wikipedia. Only two attacks are known to have been fatal ever, whereas domestic dogs kill 30 - 50 people per year in the US alone. 
“Caught on Camera: Cat Fights Off 3 Coyotes,” CBS Los Angeles, January 11, 2020.
Colangelo, Lisa L., “Coyotes deserve a warmer welcome from New Yorkers, says wildlife biologist,” New York Daily News, April 2015.
“Coyotes Are the New Top Dogs,” Scientific American
Coyote Attacks Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote_attack 
Flores, Dan, Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History, Basic Books, June 2016.
Gehrt, Stanley D. “Urban Coyote Research Project,” 
Gehrt, Stanley, D. et al. “Is the Coyote a Misanthropic Synanthrope?” Cities and the Environment, Vol. 4 Issue 1, July 2011.
“How to Haze a Coyote,” YouTube
Humane Society, “Coyotes and people: what to know if you encounter a coyote,” HumaneSociety.org 2021.
iNaturalist interactive website https://www.inaturalist.org/ 
Interactive Map of Coyote Sightings in Florida
Lovejoy’s Islands, Wikipedia redirects to Bio