This week we meet the pint-sized predatory dinosaur, Compsognathus, and Aaron compares the real animal and its movie counterpart. Meanwhile, in the news, Gareth reviews the new series of Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we meet one of the oddest creatures to have ever graced the world, the Permian era, Cotylorhynchus. With its strange proportions, just how did it come to look this way? In the news, we go over COP 30 and see if it’s not more of a cop-out this time around. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we meet the aerial insect predator, the European bee-eater, and Aaron tells us all about his experience with this beautiful bird. In the news, we hear about the "menace" that is Sir David Attenborough, and how he is threatening grouse shooters. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we head Down Under to meet one of the most venomous and infamous species of spider, the Sydney funnel-web. Find out what makes a male spider looking for love potentially dangerous, and just how likely you are to be finished off by a funnel-web. In the news, Aaron looks at what steps need to be taken to help Scottish wildcats bounce back, not just in the wild, but in captivity too. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we head to the ancient Amazon to meet the largest snake to have ever lived, the Titanaboa! In the news, somehow Nanotyrannus returned... what does this mean for the tyrant lizard king? All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we celebrate World Stick Insect Day by giving you a trio of three living wonders with our special guest, Portia, from Exmoor Zoo’s education team. Come and learn about the rarest stick insect, the stick insect that annoys Aaron the most, and the three species of stick insect that are now calling Britain home! The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we get spooky with Phil Barber, from Incredible Inverts & Other Animals, and we bring you a trio of spooky species to enjoy while the nights draw in. So join us if you dare. The cupboard is open, come on in!
Links to Phil's social media:
https://incredible-inverts-and-other-animals.square.site/
https://youtube.com/@incredibleinvertsotheranimals?si=TCZDpCeYT-FFou67
This week we meet the dinosaur that has undergone multiple changes over its hundred year history, the Spinosaurus! Take a trip through time to see how this animal has changed in appearance, behaviour, and even popularity. In the news, the results of an extensive camera trap survey of the Congo rainforest are in, and they give a whole new perspective on an already important ecosystem. All this and more. The cupboard is open come on in!
This week we pay tribute to the legendary Dr. Jane Goodall. Join us to take a look back at her groundbreaking discoveries and work that positively changed the world. In the news, Aaron tells us about the incredible work that Chester Zoo has undertaken to help elephants. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we share the sad tale of the western black rhino. Find out what led to the demise of this sub-species, and the lessons it can teach us to conserve our remaining rhinos. In the news, we look at the winning species of New Zealand’s Forest and Bird competition for 2025! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we see what the buzz is about with honey bees, and why they are not just important economically, but also vital ecologically. In the news, we look to the stars at the possibility of life on Mars! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week in the Natural history cupboard we move stealthily through the forests of south east Asia to meet the cat of the clouds, the clouded leopard. Find out why this cat is neither a leopard nor a cloud, but something far more interesting. In the news we show you how you can exercise your democratic rights to help decide two important decisions that involve Lego and New Zealand’s birds. All this and more this week the cupboard is open come on in!
We are back! Well, sort of. Aaron is in the cupboard studio, and Gareth is out and about. But fear not, our regular format is back - as Gareth takes us on a journey to the Mesozoic to meet the spiral shelled superstars that are the Ammonites. Meanwhile, back in the Cupboard, Aaron answers the mailbag which has built up a bit over the summer. The cupboard is back open, so come on in!
Join us this week as we delve into the prehistoric pet shop and look at what dinosaur would make the best pet. Gareth takes us through a possible shopping list of species, which includes some well-known names, and also some you might not of heard of. We give them each a rating based on weather they will be a prehistoric pal or a homewreckasaurus!
Come with us this week on a historical journey through the use of insects in warfare, and learn about the many ways humans have relied on invertebrates as essential allies in combat.
This week we take a dive in the ocean to come face-to-face with one of the most recognisable cetaceans in the world, the humpback whale! In the news, there's a new discovery that shows how Ichthyosaurs moved silently through the water. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we check out for the vividly vibrant, and sometimes violent, lilac-breasted roller. It is the unofficial National Bird of Kenya, and is often referred to as the "most photographed bird in Africa" with its jaw-dropping multi-coloured plumage. Drew even embarrasses us all by doing a rap about it. In the news, we "roll" through some articles about bearded vultures; Galápagos iguanas; Aaron offends Manchester and Liverpool (again); and we discover that some fungi are able to digest plastic! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week is National Moth Week, and - like our other specials - we have three moths for you: the vivacious hummingbird hawk-moth; the massive tropical swallowtail moth; and the even larger, yet short-lived, atlas moth. All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
National Moth Week is held in the last week of July. It's a citizen science project to study and record populations of moths! Find out more and join in here: https://nationalmothweek.org/
Check out our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheNaturalHistoryCupboardPodcast343And our Teemill store here: thenaturalhistorycupboard.teemill.com
This week Aaron closes out the Panthera genus with the leopard. It's the last of the "big cat" features (unless we delve into subspecies), but the adaptable, intelligent, and stealth-based leopard is by no means least. In the news, there's a big butterfly boom in the rewilded landscape at Knepp! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!
This week we finally get around to tackling another Shark Week - the last time was 2021 (it took us a few years to get the timing right again... whoops). For 2025, we delve into the deep blue to meet the great white and the scalloped hammerhead, and Gareth returns temporarily to showcase the blue shark! All this and more. The cupboard is open, come on in!