We learn about calorie counting for polar bears and what the future could look like for the Hudson Bay polar bear population.We’re back in the helicopter with polar bear researchers Dr. Nick Lunn and Dave McGeachy, searching for mother bears with cubs. This is springtime over the huge, frigid landscape. Mother bears are waking up after eight months of fasting and heading out to the sea ice of Hudson Bay. Looking across this hostile environment - nothing but ice and biting cold wind - really makes you think about what it takes for these bears to survive. And how they’ve evolved for these conditions. And now, during the springtime, the name of the game is seals. Eat as much as you can before the ice goes away. Especially if you’re a mother with new cubs. They each dug a maternal den in the fall, gave birth in December, nursed their cubs, and are now coming out very hungry. In this last episode of Season 5, we’ll look at the challenges that polar bears mothers and cubs face in the spring. There is a whole list of dangers before we even get to climate change and loss of sea ice. And we’ll explore how the ever growing season of summer is a threat to the survival of this population around western Hudson Bay in the Canadian north.Check out part 2 of the behind the scenes footage of our Churchill journey.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

We learn about calorie counting for polar bears and what the future could look like for the Hudson Bay polar bear population.We’re back in the helicopter with polar bear researchers Dr. Nick Lunn and Dave McGeachy, searching for mother bears with cubs. This is springtime over the huge, frigid landscape. Mother bears are waking up after eight months of fasting and heading out to the sea ice of Hudson Bay. Looking across this hostile environment - nothing but ice and biting cold wind - really makes you think about what it takes for these bears to survive. And how they’ve evolved for these conditions. And now, during the springtime, the name of the game is seals. Eat as much as you can before the ice goes away. Especially if you’re a mother with new cubs. They each dug a maternal den in the fall, gave birth in December, nursed their cubs, and are now coming out very hungry. In this last episode of Season 5, we’ll look at the challenges that polar bears mothers and cubs face in the spring. There is a whole list of dangers before we even get to climate change and loss of sea ice. And we’ll explore how the ever growing season of summer is a threat to the survival of this population around western Hudson Bay in the Canadian north.Check out part 2 of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ERe873UfKM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4qGc2d-eIg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">behind the scenes footage</a> of our Churchill journey.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

The polar bears of Hudson Bay: cubs, climate, and calories, part 2

How the changing seasons of our planet are shifting the traditions of the place, the polar bears, and the people of the north.This sea ice of Hudson Bay is what makes life possible for polar bears. It’s as important to them as the air they breathe.Every year, hundreds of bears move through this area and they’re forced to come ashore in the summer when the ice melts — a grueling annual migration that pushes the bears from ice to land and back to ice again.But there’s one group of bears that’s not out on the ice: mother polar bears. Right now, they are still on the land, cozy in their dens, nursing their new tiny cubs. Those families are about to start an epic springtime journey from the land to the sea ice, emerging from their snow-covered birth dens into a bewildering new world to join the other bears out on the frozen bay.The life of any polar bear is astonishingly brutal, but the life of a new mother is an extraordinary tale of determination and grit against the forces of weather and time.Here, it’s possible to watch how the changing seasons of our planet are shifting the traditions of the place, the polar bears, and the people of the north. These bears are the litmus test for all of it.Check out the behind the scenes footage of our Churchill journey.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

How the changing seasons of our planet are shifting the traditions of the place, the polar bears, and the people of the north.This sea ice of Hudson Bay is what makes life possible for polar bears. It’s as important to them as the air they breathe.Every year, hundreds of bears move through this area and they’re forced to come ashore in the summer when the ice melts — a grueling annual migration that pushes the bears from ice to land and back to ice again.But there’s one group of bears that’s not out on the ice: mother polar bears. Right now, they are still on the land, cozy in their dens, nursing their new tiny cubs. Those families are about to start an epic springtime journey from the land to the sea ice, emerging from their snow-covered birth dens into a bewildering new world to join the other bears out on the frozen bay.The life of any polar bear is astonishingly brutal, but the life of a new mother is an extraordinary tale of determination and grit against the forces of weather and time.Here, it’s possible to watch how the changing seasons of our planet are shifting the traditions of the place, the polar bears, and the people of the north. These bears are the litmus test for all of it.Check out the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4qGc2d-eIg" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">behind the scenes footage</a> of our Churchill journey.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

The polar bears of Hudson Bay: cubs, climate, and calories, part 1

How these canids survive among city skyscrapers and sidewalks. And what that can teach us about saving the planet.In April of 2007, a coyote walked into a Quiznos in downtown Chicago. It walked inside the front door, right into a fast food restaurant full of people. And then, it sat in a soda cooler for an hour. It was an event so rare, it made the evening news. Why did the coyote walk into the Quiznos? How was it so tolerant of people? It's not normal for a wild animal to be less than six feet away from a human without a care. Sometimes you start to think about a story that you want to tell, but the story itself takes you to unexpected places … in this case to some of the biggest questions of our time about urban ecology, race, and our future relationship with nature. This is one of those stories.Today, we’ll look at how a coyote in a refrigerator can teach us to rethink our entire relationship with nature: from deep in the wilderness, to deep downtown in our cities.Clarification, 2:30 p.m., 6/6/2023: Sam Kreling is a PhD student working with Laura Prugh, Associate Professor of Quantitative Wildlife Sciences at the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington. Professor Prugh is the principal investigator of the Seattle Coyote Project.

How these canids survive among city skyscrapers and sidewalks. And what that can teach us about saving the planet.In April of 2007, <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2007-04-04-0704040747-story.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a coyote walked into a Quiznos in downtown Chicago</a>. It walked inside the front door, right into a fast food restaurant full of people. And then, it sat in a soda cooler for an hour. It was an event so rare, it made the evening news. Why did the coyote walk into the Quiznos? How was it so tolerant of people? It's not normal for a wild animal to be less than six feet away from a human without a care. Sometimes you start to think about a story that you want to tell, but the story itself takes you to unexpected places … in this case to some of the biggest questions of our time about urban ecology, race, and our future relationship with nature. This is one of those stories.Today, we’ll look at how a coyote in a refrigerator can teach us to rethink our entire relationship with nature: from deep in the wilderness, to deep downtown in our cities.Clarification, 2:30 p.m., 6/6/2023: Sam Kreling is a PhD student working with Laura Prugh, Associate Professor of Quantitative Wildlife Sciences at the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the University of Washington. Professor Prugh is the principal investigator of the Seattle Coyote Project.

Urban Coyote

Who let the 200-pound python out? Today, the origin of the Burmese python problem in the Everglades. And how science is being used to try to solve what seems like a losing battle. I'm back in South Florida, in the Everglades, on the side of a dirt road next to a canal. It looks pretty similar to where I met Anthony Flanagan and Kevin Pavlidis - the two python bounty hunters from the last episode.Out in front of me are miles and miles of marshland. Today, we're diving back into the Burmese python problem. But this time...we're doing something a little different. We're letting the pythons go.With the focus being the urgent removal of Burmese pythons from the Everglades, it might seem counterintuitive that we are now releasing one back into the ecosystem that it's destroying. But there's a good reason why. This snake will lead researchers towards all sorts of important information that might just save this ecosystem from an impending ecological collapse.Behind the scenes footage of releasing the 16-foot python and our run-in with the alligator.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Who let the 200-pound python out? Today, the origin of the Burmese python problem in the Everglades. And how science is being used to try to solve what seems like a losing battle. I'm back in South Florida, in the Everglades, on the side of a dirt road next to a canal. It looks pretty similar to where I met Anthony Flanagan and Kevin Pavlidis - the two python bounty hunters from the last episode.Out in front of me are miles and miles of marshland. Today, we're diving back into the Burmese python problem. But this time...we're doing something a little different. We're letting the pythons go.With the focus being the urgent removal of Burmese pythons from the Everglades, it might seem counterintuitive that we are now releasing one back into the ecosystem that it's destroying. But there's a good reason why. This snake will lead researchers towards all sorts of important information that might just save this ecosystem from an impending ecological collapse.<a href="https://youtu.be/GD8U4K0kCS0" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Behind the scenes footage</a> of releasing the 16-foot python and our run-in with the alligator.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Invasion of the Burmese pythons, part 2

In the Florida Everglades, the Burmese python is an invasive species that's close to triggering an ecological collapse. But not if these python hunters have anything to do with it.Burmese pythons are huge compared to the native snakes in Florida. They can measure up to 20 feet and weigh 200 pounds. The females lay up to 100 eggs. And they eat just about everything, from animals as small as a mouse to as big as a bobcat or an alligator.And they’re causing immense destruction throughout the Everglades ecosystem. So much so, that there is a team of bounty hunters out to catch and kill as many as they can. So I’ve traveled to South Florida to meet two of the best.Check out at my YouTube channel @ChrisMorganWildlife the behind the scenes footage of the 10-foot Burmese python capture.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

In the Florida Everglades, the Burmese python is an invasive species that's close to triggering an ecological collapse. But not if these python hunters have anything to do with it.Burmese pythons are huge compared to the native snakes in Florida. They can measure up to 20 feet and weigh 200 pounds. The females lay up to 100 eggs. And they eat just about everything, from animals as small as a mouse to as big as a bobcat or an alligator.And they’re causing immense destruction throughout the Everglades ecosystem. So much so, that there is a team of bounty hunters out to catch and kill as many as they can. So I’ve traveled to South Florida to meet two of the best.Check out at my YouTube channel @ChrisMorganWildlife the <a href="https://youtu.be/lnAIQ-N8SHs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">behind the scenes footage</a> of the 10-foot Burmese python capture.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Invasion of the Burmese pythons, part 1

On this episode, join me in Ireland for a very Irish tale! If you’re from where I live in the Pacific Northwest, squirrels might not seem very special. It seems like all I have to do is look out my window and I’ll see one, bounding across the grass. But in the British Isles, the red squirrel is a bit of a “British darling.” They’re a species on the brink of extinction. It seems like everyone wants to see this fluffy-eared, threatened species bounce back. (including me … I did my master's degree on them after all in the 90s). And the tale of this creature has become very curious here in Ireland.The red squirrel population is mysteriously recovering, thanks to another furry creature … who happens to be their own predator.The pine marten. Even though this player is a predator that eats squirrels, it’s turning things around for the resident reds. I’ve traveled to Ireland to unravel this riddle, and to tell a tale of one squirrel against another. How a wily carnivore called the pine marten is coming back, restoring balance and actually helping its prey return to the Emerald Isle.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

On this episode, join me in Ireland for a very Irish tale! If you’re from where I live in the Pacific Northwest, squirrels might not seem very special. It seems like all I have to do is look out my window and I’ll see one, bounding across the grass. But in the British Isles, the red squirrel is a bit of a “British darling.” They’re a species on the brink of extinction. It seems like everyone wants to see this fluffy-eared, threatened species bounce back. (including me … I did my master's degree on them after all in the 90s). And the tale of this creature has become very curious here in Ireland.The red squirrel population is mysteriously recovering, thanks to another furry creature … who happens to be their own predator.The pine marten. Even though this player is a predator that eats squirrels, it’s turning things around for the resident reds. I’ve traveled to Ireland to unravel this riddle, and to tell a tale of one squirrel against another. How a wily carnivore called the pine marten is coming back, restoring balance and actually helping its prey return to the Emerald Isle.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

The worst wedding gift in history: an Irish tale of predator helps prey

Whenever I'm out doing field work or on a hike, I’ve not only got my eyes wide open, but my ears too. There’s a lot going on in a forest or under the sea - the sounds of nature. So many of those sounds in nature are about communication.Personally, I love to chat with ravens. I like to think that we have lovely conversations. I know I’m fooling myself... but there’s something happening that might change that.  There’s a tech company out of Silicon Valley that is hoping to make that dream of communicating with animals a reality. Earth Species Project is a non-profit working to develop machine learning that can decode animal language. Basically, artificial intelligence that can speak whale or monkey...or perhaps even raven?So we are doing something a bit different on The Wild today - fun to mix things up now and then. For this episode I’m not outdoors among the wild creatures, but in my home studio, talking with two fascinating people about the latest developments in technology that are being created to talk to wild animals. We’ll also explore the ethics of this technology. What are the downsides to playing the role of Digital Dr. Dolittle? Guests: Aza Raskin, co-founder of Earth Species Project and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology.Karen Bakker, professor at the University of British Columbia where she researches digital innovation and environmental governance. She also leads the Smart Earth Project.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Whenever I'm out doing field work or on a hike, I’ve not only got my eyes wide open, but my ears too. There’s a lot going on in a forest or under the sea - the sounds of nature. So many of those sounds in nature are about communication.Personally, I love to chat with ravens. I like to think that we have lovely conversations. I know I’m fooling myself... but there’s something happening that might change that.  There’s a tech company out of Silicon Valley that is hoping to make that dream of communicating with animals a reality. Earth Species Project is a non-profit working to develop machine learning that can decode animal language. Basically, artificial intelligence that can speak whale or monkey...or perhaps even raven?So we are doing something a bit different on The Wild today - fun to mix things up now and then. For this episode I’m not outdoors among the wild creatures, but in my home studio, talking with two fascinating people about the latest developments in technology that are being created to talk to wild animals. We’ll also explore the ethics of this technology. What are the downsides to playing the role of Digital Dr. Dolittle? Guests: Aza Raskin, co-founder of Earth Species Project and co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology.Karen Bakker, professor at the University of British Columbia where she researches digital innovation and environmental governance. She also leads the Smart Earth Project.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Digital Dr. Dolittle: decoding animal conversations with artificial intelligence

This past summer, I was in Alaska in a little coastal town called Seward - a gorgeous spot on the Kenai Peninsula tucked between the ocean and some giant glacier-covered mountains. I met a guy named Dan Olsen, who records killer whale calls using an underwater hydrophone. Olsen gets all kinds of information from his recordings. The calls bring the underwater world of orcas alive. But there's a lot more going on in these clicks and whistles than you might think. Like, how their dialects, their languages, evolve, and even become part of orca family "culture.”Jay Julius, a member of the Lummi Nation, says there's something deeper going on in the conversations among orca pods in the Pacific Northwest.The orca story is one of human misunderstanding and generational trauma. But it's also a story of celebration, family, and a sense of place. Exploring their chatty underwater world might just help us understand how they are communicating… and what they are trying to say.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

This past summer, I was in Alaska in a little coastal town called Seward - a gorgeous spot on the Kenai Peninsula tucked between the ocean and some giant glacier-covered mountains. I met a guy named Dan Olsen, who records killer whale calls using an underwater hydrophone. Olsen gets all kinds of information from his recordings. The calls bring the underwater world of orcas alive. But there's a lot more going on in these clicks and whistles than you might think. Like, how their dialects, their languages, evolve, and even become part of orca family "culture.”Jay Julius, a member of the Lummi Nation, says there's something deeper going on in the conversations among orca pods in the Pacific Northwest.The orca story is one of human misunderstanding and generational trauma. But it's also a story of celebration, family, and a sense of place. Exploring their chatty underwater world might just help us understand how they are communicating… and what they are trying to say.Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Eavesdropping on orcas: love, grief, and family

Welcome (back) to The Wild. New episodes start on March 14!Host Chris Morgan is back with another season of The Wild. Join him on new adventures from around the Pacific Northwest and the world. He’ll take you through the Irish countryside to learn how one endangered species is helping another endangered species to thrive. We will follow the journey of two young bear cubs as they gain strength at a wildlife rehabilitation center after the tragic death of their mother. And we will learn about the healing powers of nature as we talk to one man who is using bees to recover from the loss of his brother. Season 5 of The Wild will be full of the great storytelling you’ve come to love, from the songs of Orcas, snake hunting in Florida, and how the coyote conquered North America.

Welcome (back) to The Wild. New episodes start on March 14!Host Chris Morgan is back with another season of The Wild. Join him on new adventures from around the Pacific Northwest and the world. He’ll take you through the Irish countryside to learn how one endangered species is helping another endangered species to thrive. We will follow the journey of two young bear cubs as they gain strength at a wildlife rehabilitation center after the tragic death of their mother. And we will learn about the healing powers of nature as we talk to one man who is using bees to recover from the loss of his brother. Season 5 of The Wild will be full of the great storytelling you’ve come to love, from the songs of Orcas, snake hunting in Florida, and how the coyote conquered North America.

Season 5 Trailer 

Hi all - Chris here - I’ve missed you! I hope you’re doing well and finding a way to get out and enjoy a bit of nature….maybe a hike in the mountains, or a walk around your city park? There really is wildlife all around us, no matter where you are. We're busy working on Season 5 (! wow can’t believe that!)....and we’ve got some enticing episodes shaping up from the PNW, Ireland, England, the Arctic, and the Everglades! All places we're traveling to to uncover some really fascinating people and species. Season 5 will launch in March, so hang tight.And it’s a really important time right now for the species we share this planet with. Because this week, world leaders are gathering at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal. You can learn more about the conference by following this link. Also, a great video link just out from the Guardian that is about everything I talk about and COP!Nature sounds in this episode provided by Gordon Hempton, the Sound Tracker.

Hi all - Chris here - I’ve missed you! I hope you’re doing well and finding a way to get out and enjoy a bit of nature….maybe a hike in the mountains, or a walk around your city park? There really is wildlife all around us, no matter where you are. We're busy working on Season 5 (! wow can’t believe that!)....and we’ve got some enticing episodes shaping up from the PNW, Ireland, England, the Arctic, and the Everglades! All places we're traveling to to uncover some really fascinating people and species. Season 5 will launch in March, so hang tight.And it’s a really important time right now for the species we share this planet with. Because this week, world leaders are gathering at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal. You can learn more about the conference by following <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/wildlife-plants-species/biodiversity/cop15.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this link</a>. Also, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHTkuU0LcsU" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a great video link just out from the Guardian</a> that is about everything I talk about and COP!Nature sounds in this episode provided by Gordon Hempton, <a href="https://www.soundtracker.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Sound Tracker</a>.

A short check-in from Chris

"THE WILD with Chris Morgan" explores how nature survives and thrives alongside (and often despite) humans. Taking listeners across the Pacific Northwest and around the world, host Chris Morgan explores wildlife and the complex web of ecosystems they inhabit. He also tells the stories of people working in and protecting the wild around us.

One recent September I stopped at the side of highway 20 that crosses Washington state’s North Cascade Mountains. At the side of the road was a sign that grabbed my attention. About a storied fire lookout cabin on top of Desolation Peak in the distance, where author Jack Kerouac spent some time in the 50s. The irony was that I couldn’t see the peak because of the forest fire smoke in the air that day. But it fired my imagination….the mountain was calling me. This episode of THE WILD is the result.The American west is a fire landscape. Since 1983, there’s been an average of 70,000 wildfires every year in the United States. And the wildfire season is getting longer. Warmer springs and long dry summers are the cause.Things are changing fast in this ancient landscape…So how have wildfires and our philosophy of fighting them changed over the decades?To answer that, I’ve climbed to the top of this mountain, to the famed fire lookout at Desolation Peak, to speak to Jim Henterly. He is the fire watchman who’s stationed at the lookout. Desolation Peak has long been a place to look for answers. I’m hoping to find a new perspective through him.The job of a fire lookout is to be a step ahead, ever watchful - observe all around you - and warn of danger. But maybe also to remind us of our role in the ever evolving ecology of fire.The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at Patreon. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife 

One recent September I stopped at the side of highway 20 that crosses Washington state’s North Cascade Mountains. At the side of the road was a sign that grabbed my attention. About a storied fire lookout cabin on top of Desolation Peak in the distance, where author Jack Kerouac spent some time in the 50s. The irony was that I couldn’t see the peak because of the forest fire smoke in the air that day. But it fired my imagination….the mountain was calling me. This episode of THE WILD is the result.The American west is a fire landscape. Since 1983, there’s been an average of 70,000 wildfires every year in the United States. And the wildfire season is getting longer. Warmer springs and long dry summers are the cause.Things are changing fast in this ancient landscape…So how have wildfires and our philosophy of fighting them changed over the decades?To answer that, I’ve climbed to the top of this mountain, to the famed fire lookout at Desolation Peak, to speak to Jim Henterly. He is the fire watchman who’s stationed at the lookout. Desolation Peak has long been a place to look for answers. I’m hoping to find a new perspective through him.The job of a fire lookout is to be a step ahead, ever watchful - observe all around you - and warn of danger. But maybe also to remind us of our role in the ever evolving ecology of fire.The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

The fiery spell of Desolation

Join me as I squeeze on a dry suit, don a snorkel, and jump into an icy mountain river.“That's what I'm amazed by, that a little tiny stream, not even knee deep, is a whole world if you get under there with it.,” that’s what CWU professor Paul James told me as we snorkeled our way through the fast moving current.Dr. James is surveying the number of fish in the river after a recent restoration project. Gold Creek is an important tributary to the Yakima River and serves as a breeding ground for many fish that are important to the Yakama Nation.Joe Blodgett learned how to fish from his father. He mastered the technique of dipnetting a fish out of the Yakima River, the traditional kind of fishing for the Yakama Nation.“We were directed by our leadership to make it like it was before we started destroying their habitat and before we started destroying the flows,” Joe told me. “Make it like it was as a directive from our tribal council years ago.”Easier said than done when you are facing a generation of infrastructure changes to the landscape and waterways. But this story is about just that, the mission to restore a watershed -  starting with a single river - to truly ‘make it like it was.’The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at Patreon. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife 

Join me as I squeeze on a dry suit, don a snorkel, and jump into an icy mountain river.“That's what I'm amazed by, that a little tiny stream, not even knee deep, is a whole world if you get under there with it.,” that’s what CWU professor Paul James told me as we snorkeled our way through the fast moving current.Dr. James is surveying the number of fish in the river after a recent restoration project. Gold Creek is an important tributary to the Yakima River and serves as a breeding ground for many fish that are important to the Yakama Nation.Joe Blodgett learned how to fish from his father. He mastered the technique of dipnetting a fish out of the Yakima River, the traditional kind of fishing for the Yakama Nation.“We were directed by our leadership to make it like it was before we started destroying their habitat and before we started destroying the flows,” Joe told me. “Make it like it was as a directive from our tribal council years ago.”Easier said than done when you are facing a generation of infrastructure changes to the landscape and waterways. But this story is about just that, the mission to restore a watershed -  starting with a single river - to truly ‘make it like it was.’The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Make it like it was: Clean, cold and flowing Gold Creek of Snoqualmie Pass

I was trained as a traditional scientist, to look at the world through that perspective. Analytical, and clinical. In this “western science” you have to toe the line and keep personal experience and emotions out of it. Science is run as a pretty tight ship. There's a good reason for that, of course.But for indigenous people, there’s something that comes with spending time in nature that helps to understand it in a different way. Often it’s knowledge from generation after generation of experience. Knowledge of creatures and habitats.There’s a way to understand nature through both these perspectives alongside each other….indigenous knowledge, and western science. It’s a concept known as two eyed seeing.The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at Patreon. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

I was trained as a traditional scientist, to look at the world through that perspective. Analytical, and clinical. In this “western science” you have to toe the line and keep personal experience and emotions out of it. Science is run as a pretty tight ship. There's a good reason for that, of course.But for indigenous people, there’s something that comes with spending time in nature that helps to understand it in a different way. Often it’s knowledge from generation after generation of experience. Knowledge of creatures and habitats.There’s a way to understand nature through both these perspectives alongside each other….indigenous knowledge, and western science. It’s a concept known as two eyed seeing.The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Etuaptmumk: Two Eyed Seeing

To most of us, coral reefs conjure up magical places full of colorful species and life. They are unknown and otherworldly. Their beauty is perhaps a reason why coral reefs have become one of the more famous victims of climate change, warming oceans. Most people have heard that the future for coral reefs is in total jeopardy. And this is a problem, because about 25% of the ocean’s fish depend on healthy coral reefs. Scientists are now warning that the Great Barrier Reef could be gone by the year 2050 if nothing is done to help it.And it turns out….. Reefs are noisy places. Fish, shrimp, all the little creatures that call a reef home add to the sonic palette of the place.But as reefs become more unhealthy…life on them is becoming harder for Tim to hear.The sounds of these watery ecosystems are becoming a very important tool for researchers like Tim. And he has an idea that might be key to helping these struggling coral reef ecosystems rebound. Armed with a microphone and an underwater speaker….can the power of audio help save coral reefs?Hiro’a is part of a multimedia art project called Small Island Big Song. It is a grassroots musical movement from 16 island nations across the Pacific and Indian Oceans focusing on environmental and climate awareness and cultural preservation. The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at Patreon. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

To most of us, coral reefs conjure up magical places full of colorful species and life. They are unknown and otherworldly. Their beauty is perhaps a reason why coral reefs have become one of the more famous victims of climate change, warming oceans. Most people have heard that the future for coral reefs is in total jeopardy. And this is a problem, because about 25% of the ocean’s fish depend on healthy coral reefs. Scientists are now warning that the Great Barrier Reef could be gone by the year 2050 if nothing is done to help it.And it turns out….. Reefs are noisy places. Fish, shrimp, all the little creatures that call a reef home add to the sonic palette of the place.But as reefs become more unhealthy…life on them is becoming harder for Tim to hear.The sounds of these watery ecosystems are becoming a very important tool for researchers like Tim. And he has an idea that might be key to helping these struggling coral reef ecosystems rebound. Armed with a microphone and an underwater speaker….can the power of audio help save coral reefs?Hiro’a is part of a multimedia art project called<a href="https://www.smallislandbigsong.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Small Island Big Song</a>. It is a grassroots musical movement from 16 island nations across the Pacific and Indian Oceans focusing on environmental and climate awareness and cultural preservation. The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Coral reefs: a biological symphony being silenced

I’ve thought about this stuff a lot as I listen to the northern flicker woodpecker tapping noisily away on the rain gutter outside my bedroom window. And not just rain gutters of course. Woodpeckers will peck at a tree up to 12,000 times a day and just one woodpecker peck produces about 15 times the force needed to give a human a concussion. So, how do woodpeckers bang their heads so much, and so hard and not come away with brain damage? The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at Patreon. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife 

I’ve thought about this stuff a lot as I listen to the northern flicker woodpecker tapping noisily away on the rain gutter outside my bedroom window. And not just rain gutters of course. Woodpeckers will peck at a tree up to 12,000 times a day and just one woodpecker peck produces about 15 times the force needed to give a human a concussion. So, how do woodpeckers bang their heads so much, and so hard and not come away with brain damage? The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Hard Knocks: Lessons from the woodpecker

Join me among the crashing waves of the Pacific Northwest coast in Washington State.This unique wildlife story starts, not there, but with a nuclear explosion, literally. During the late 60s and early 70s, three atomic weapons were tested on Amchitka Island in a remote part of Alaska. The blast registered a 7.0 on the Richter scale. over 10,000 fish were killed in the island’s lakes, streams and ponds.But thanks to a little imagination, right before the nuclear test, a last minute program was deployed to capture and save some of the sea otters. Several hundred of the sea otters were quickly relocated out of harm’s way to the north pacific coast of Washington State and Oregon.Now, over 50 years later, biologists are trying to figure out what is the fallout from this storied otter translocation . Has the nuclear otter evacuation from 50 years ago been a success? And what are the ecological ripple effects?This is a story of second chances for an impossibly adorable sea creature, and how their mere presence can support countless other species, and even help save us from climate change. Links to films I’ve hosted if you’d like to learn more:The Kelp HighwayThe Blue ForestThe WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at Patreon. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife 

Join me among the crashing waves of the Pacific Northwest coast in Washington State.This unique wildlife story starts, not there, but with a nuclear explosion, literally. During the late 60s and early 70s, three atomic weapons were tested on Amchitka Island in a remote part of Alaska. The blast registered a 7.0 on the Richter scale. over 10,000 fish were killed in the island’s lakes, streams and ponds.But thanks to a little imagination, right before the nuclear test, a last minute program was deployed to capture and save some of the sea otters. Several hundred of the sea otters were quickly relocated out of harm’s way to the north pacific coast of Washington State and Oregon.Now, over 50 years later, biologists are trying to figure out what is the fallout from this storied otter translocation . Has the nuclear otter evacuation from 50 years ago been a success? And what are the ecological ripple effects?This is a story of second chances for an impossibly adorable sea creature, and how their mere presence can support countless other species, and even help save us from climate change. Links to films I’ve hosted if you’d like to learn more:<a href="https://salishsea.seattleaquarium.org/kelp/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Kelp Highway</a><a href="https://www.oceansoulsfilms.com/blue-forest" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Blue Forest</a>The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Nuclear sea otters: A wildlife refugee story

Happy Earth Day to you all. For a while now I've wanted to share a short piece like this, and Earth Day seems like the right time! I hope you can kick back and listen to a relaxing 10 minute journey all about our precious home. If you enjoy it, please share it with others. After all, we're all in this together.Thank you for the inspiration to:Conservationists everywhere. Everyone working on ‘30x30’ - protecting 30% of the planet by the year 2030. The team at ‘Earth Emergency’ - check out their fascinating documentary.Greenpeace, for the poster I saw all those years ago.Thanks to the wild team Tatiana Latreille, Matt Martin, Jim gates, and Brendan Sweeney. And thank you Gordon Hempton and Quiet Parks International for the beautiful audio

Happy Earth Day to you all. For a while now I've wanted to share a short piece like this, and Earth Day seems like the right time! I hope you can kick back and listen to a relaxing 10 minute journey all about our precious home. If you enjoy it, please share it with others. After all, we're all in this together.Thank you for the inspiration to:Conservationists everywhere. Everyone working on ‘30x30’ - protecting 30% of the planet by the year 2030. The team at ‘Earth Emergency’ - check out their fascinating documentary.Greenpeace, for the poster I saw all those years ago.Thanks to the wild team Tatiana Latreille, Matt Martin, Jim gates, and Brendan Sweeney. And thank you Gordon Hempton and Quiet Parks International for the beautiful audio

Happy 46th Birthday! An Earth Day message from Chris

One thing that I love about my work is that I get the opportunity to talk to so many interesting people working with wildlife around the world. For today’s episode I wanted to share with you one of those conversations.Some of you might remember our episodes on “how to catch a cougar” back in season 2. If you do, the name Dr. Mark Elbroch will probably sound familiar. Mark is a good friend of mine and a cougar biologist with Panthera - he took us out into the forests of WA State to radio collar and track a cougar for those episodes. It was an incredible experience.Well, I also had the honor of interviewing him on stage at Town Hall in Seattle recently - about the fascinating lives of cougars - mountain lions - he’s on the cutting edge of some leading research about their behavior, their ecology, and how we can protect and appreciate these beautiful big cats. Mark’s just written a book called The Cougar Conundrum: Sharing the World with a Successful Predator and we’ll talk about that too.I hope you enjoy our conversation

One thing that I love about my work is that I get the opportunity to talk to so many interesting people working with wildlife around the world. For today’s episode I wanted to share with you one of those conversations.Some of you might remember our episodes on “how to catch a cougar” back in season 2. If you do, the name Dr. Mark Elbroch will probably sound familiar. Mark is a good friend of mine and a cougar biologist with <a href="https://panthera.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Panthera</a> - he took us out into the forests of WA State to radio collar and track a cougar for those episodes. It was an incredible experience.Well, I also had the honor of interviewing him on stage at Town Hall in Seattle recently - about the fascinating lives of cougars - mountain lions - he’s on the cutting edge of some leading research about their behavior, their ecology, and how we can protect and appreciate these beautiful big cats. Mark’s just written a book called <a href="https://islandpress.org/books/cougar-conundrum" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Cougar Conundrum: Sharing the World with a Successful Predator</a> and we’ll talk about that too.I hope you enjoy our conversation

The Cougar Conundrum

In this episode you may notice a lot of heavy breathing - because I’m on the trail of a wolverine high up in the mountains. Here’s the story….In the summer of 2020, there was some big news for wildlife in the pacific northwest. In the wild spaces of Mount Rainier National Park, a female wolverine was discovered along with two babies. The wolverines were back. It is believed that these tenacious predators haven't been in the park for over a century.Dr. Jocelyn Akins is a wolverine biologist and founder of the Cascade Carnivore Project. She has slogged and toiled through some of the most rugged terrain on earth, setting up wildlife cameras all over the high country in the hopes of proving that wolverines had returned. Eventually, after years of searching, Jocelyn was rewarded with the first images of a mother and her young inside the park.For 15 years now, Jocelyn has been on a quest to witness and document the return of wolverines to the mountains of the south cascades after a long absence. But the fact a female with youngsters is expanding into new territory could be a sign that the population is making a comeback. And it seems like there’s no creature more determined.This is a story about toughness, tenacity, and resilience, not just of the wolverines, but of the woman determined to study them.The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at Patreon. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlifeCorrection, 9:36 a.m., 3/31/2022:  An earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of Dr. Jocelyn Akins. 

In this episode you may notice a lot of heavy breathing - because I’m on the trail of a wolverine high up in the mountains. Here’s the story….In the summer of 2020, there was some big news for wildlife in the pacific northwest. In the wild spaces of Mount Rainier National Park, a female wolverine was discovered along with two babies. The wolverines were back. It is believed that these tenacious predators haven't been in the park for over a century.Dr. Jocelyn Akins is a wolverine biologist and founder of the <a href="https://www.cascadescarnivore.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cascade Carnivore Project.</a> She has slogged and toiled through some of the most rugged terrain on earth, setting up wildlife cameras all over the high country in the hopes of proving that wolverines had returned. Eventually, after years of searching, Jocelyn was rewarded with the first images of a mother and her young inside the park.For 15 years now, Jocelyn has been on a quest to witness and document the return of wolverines to the mountains of the south cascades after a long absence. But the fact a female with youngsters is expanding into new territory could be a sign that the population is making a comeback. And it seems like there’s no creature more determined.This is a story about toughness, tenacity, and resilience, not just of the wolverines, but of the woman determined to study them.The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon.</a> Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlifeCorrection, 9:36 a.m., 3/31/2022: An earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of Dr. Jocelyn Akins.

True grit: the wild wolverine

Like so many carnivores around the world, through history the Iberian lynx was persecuted as a menace or a threat to livestock and lifestyle: they were shot, poisoned, trapped, hunted. And misunderstood.The cats have those really characteristic long tufted ears, black spots dappled across their tawny coat and an old fashioned beard that can stretch down in two long triangles each side of their chin.But despite it’s regal flare, it’s still endangered, and a real focus of attention. But things are turning around, there used to be only around 100 lynx in Spain but now there are nearly 1000.That’s why I’ve come to Spain - to figure out what is behind that success story - just how did what used to be the rarest cat on earth leap a staggering 1000% in number in just 20 years?Learn more about efforts to save the Iberian Lynx with CBD Habitat.The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at Patreon. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

Like so many carnivores around the world, through history the Iberian lynx was persecuted as a menace or a threat to livestock and lifestyle: they were shot, poisoned, trapped, hunted. And misunderstood.The cats have those really characteristic long tufted ears, black spots dappled across their tawny coat and an old fashioned beard that can stretch down in two long triangles each side of their chin.But despite it’s regal flare, it’s still endangered, and a real focus of attention. But things are turning around, there used to be only around 100 lynx in Spain but now there are nearly 1000.That’s why I’ve come to Spain - to figure out what is behind that success story - just how did what used to be the rarest cat on earth leap a staggering 1000% in number in just 20 years?Learn more about efforts to save the Iberian Lynx with <a href="http://2020.cbd-habitat.com/en/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CBD Habitat</a>.The WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through small monthly contributions to my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/ChrisMorganWildlife" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Patreon</a>. Thank you!Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife

The Comeback Cat: Spain’s Iberian lynx

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