Just the Zoo of Us

It's fall yall - time for Ellen and Christian to embark on a multi-generational odyssey with monarch butterflies. We discuss why butterflies are total heartstoppers and their style twins, real-life shinies, what's going on inside a chrysalis, an annual journey that takes multiple generations to finish, how to best support wild monarch butterflies, and so much more.

Works Cited:

"Danaus plexippus" - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

“Predator induced colour polymorphism in Danaus plexippus L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Hawaii” - John Stimson and Mark Berman, Heredity, March 1990

“Comparative unpalatability of mimetic Viceroy butterflies (Limenitis archippus) from 4 South-Eastern United-States populations” - David B. Ritland, Oecologia, Jan 1995

“What was learned?” - Monarch Watch, University of Kansas

"The phenomenal monarch migration" - Mara Koenig, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

“An experimental displacement and over 50 years of tag-recoveries show that monarch butterflies are not true navigators” - Henrik Mouritsen et al., PNAS, April 2013

"Joint Statement Regarding Captive Breeding and Releasing of Monarchs"

“Is Captive Rearing Hurting Monarchs?” - Elizabeth Anne brown, National Wildlife Federation, March 2026

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!

Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

Join Ellen & very special guest zookeeper and conservationist Alice Vassallo for the inside scoop on one of the world’s most mysterious not-so-big cats. We discuss differences between zookeeping practices in Europe and the US, swiping right if you have rotatable ankles, marshmallows as a last resort, have an eclipse interlude, and so much more.

Links:

Check out Alice's podcast (profanity warning)!

Follow Alice on Instagram!

Check out the Clouded Leopard Working Group!

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!

Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

Ellen weaves her magic on sociable weavers. We discuss the three pillars of science communication, trick entrances, plane cabin pressurization, bullying for the greater good, lizard gossip, and more.

Works Cited:

"The Sociable Weavers of the Kalahari" - Ultimate Safari, YouTube

"Kapokvoel, Cape Penduline-Tit.(Anthoscopus-minutus)" - Coerie Ferreira, YouTube

“Largest bird’s nest” - Guinness Book of World Records

“Sociable Weavers Increase Cooperative Nest Construction after Suffering Aggression” - Gavin M. Leighton, Laura Vander Meiden, PLOS One, March 2016

“At home with the birds: Kalahari tree skinks associate with sociable weaver nests despite African pygmy falcon presence” - Tasmin L. Rymer et al., Austral Ecology, May 2014

“Kalahari skinks eavesdrop on sociable weavers to manage predation by pygmy falcons and expand their realized niche” - Anthony M. Lowney et al., Behavioral Ecology, June 2020

“Pygmy Falcon predation of nestlings of their obligate host, the Sociable Weaver” - Rita Covas et al., Ostrich - Journal of African Ornithology, Nov 2009

Links:

 

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

Join Ellen & special guest marine biologist Kristyn Plancarte for a review of the world’s wettest weasels. We discuss beluga whales’ fake six packs, the unique challenges of caring for animals who so desperately crave chaos and destruction, dolphin MLMs, how adorable animals could save the world, and so much more.

Links:

Follow Kristyn on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch!

Learn more about Kristyn on her website!

Check out the Elakha Alliance to learn more about sea otter conservation!

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!

Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo

Ellen is blowing up about pufferfish. We discuss what pufferfish have in common with chameleons, seafloor crop circles, culinary applications of deadly neurotoxin, and so much more.

Works Cited:

“All puffed out: Do pufferfish hold their breath while inflated?” - Georgia Evelyn McGee & Timothy Darren Clark, Biology Letters, Dec 2014

“Treatment of Tetrodotoxin Poisoning” - Sophie Yushuo Li, Theoretical and Natural Science, April 2023

Dolphins purposely 'getting high' on pufferfish - Dolphins - Spy in the Pod: Episode 2 - BBC

"Pufferfish Builds Sand Sculpture for Mating" - Nature on PBS

“Seeking a Deadly Delicacy: Pufferfish, Regional Gastronomy, and Pharmacology in Middle Period China” - Zihan Guo, Journal of Chinese History, July 2026

“Chefs Train for Years to Serve This Rare Poisonous Fish” - Bon Appetit, June 2024

“Pufferfish in China: diners lured by delicacy now country has bred them poison-free” - Elaine Yau, South China Morning Post, February 2019

Links:

For more information about us & our podcast, head over to our website!

Follow Just the Zoo of Us on BlueSky, Facebook, Instagram & Discord!

Follow Ellen on Instagram or BlueSky!

Help support this show and unlock bonus content! Become a member at https://maximumfun.org/joinjustthezoo