Patas Monkeys are weird little guys with fabulous mustaches and very intricate relationships with a special tree on the African savannah. We talk acacias, ants, and the Lorax as Allan tries to make Nicole love just a single primate. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Palmer, T., Stanton, M., Young T., Goheen, J., Pringle, R., and Karban, R. 2008. Breakdown of an ant-plant mutualism follows the loss of large herbivores from an African savanna.Isbell, L. and Young, T. 2007. Interspecific and temporal variation of ant species within Acacia drepanolobium ant domatia, a staple food of patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) in Laikipia, KenyaDr. Seuss and the real Lorax. Dominy, N., Winters, S., Pease, D., Higham, J. 2018. Dr Seuss and the real Lorax. Nature Ecology & Evolution. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

This is a special podcast swap episode where we host Kindred Podcast's Power of Fire episode. Learn about the history of fire, how it shapes the landscape and people that live there. Speakers: Tony Incashola Jr., forest manager for CSKT (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), and Stephanie Gillin, information and education program manager and former wildlife biologist for the CSKT at the Flathead Indian Reservation. Kindred Podcast hosts: Kate and Jen. Producer: Kat Gatti. Primary Sources: Kindred Podcast website Contact Grassland Groupies: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

The long-legged, sickle claw wielding seriema is a wonderful bird that provides insight into the extinct terror birds of old. Rachel explains the link between past and present and we ponder whether or not scientists ever bother actually looking at birds. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Oswald, T., Curtice, B., Bolander, M., Lopez, C. January 2023. Observation of Claw Use and Feeding Behavior of the Red-Legged Seriema and Its Implication for Claw Use in Deinonychosaurs. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

The conservation story of Canada's polar-vortex-loving Wood Bison is one of colossal mistakes, stacked odds, and (to our gleeful surprise) hope and optimism. These animals have survived drowning, disease, and hybridization, and have gone on to... success? Allan explores this topic in today's episode. Primary Sources: 2018 Wood Bison Recovery Strategy (SARA Series) https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/recovery-strategies/wood-bison-2018.html#toc11 Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

It's snowy and getting colder where we're at, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go outside. Rachel gives a compelling argument as to why winter is the best time of year for birding and gives insight into the Christmas Bird Count: a citizen science project dating back over a hundred years. Learn more about the Christmas Bird Count here. Primary Sources: Gill, F. B., Prum, R. O., & Robinson, S. K. (2019). Ornithology. W.H. Freeman, Macmillan Learning. Sibley, D. (2020). What it’s like to be a bird: From flying to nesting, eating to singing -- what birds are doing, and why. Alfred A. Knopf. Affiliate purchase link. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies

This episode is a little different. We celebrate spooky season with the haunting tales of feldgeist, Sinkhole Sam, and the Ohio Grassman. These stories haunt the minds of those who visit prairies and fields across the globe. Be weary, you never know what's lurking in the tall grass. Photos and more are at our site. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

Grasshopper mice are small but fierce. They howl like wolves, stalk their prey like cats, and finish up with a quick face clean. These solitary animals like to live life dangerously and enjoy even venomous meals. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Grasshopper Mouse Hunting and Howling [YouTube]Animal Diversity Web. Regents of the University of Michigan.USDA Bulletin: Life History and Habits of Grass-hopper mice, genus Onychomys. (1939). [PDF]Richardson, D., Karczmar, A. G., & Scudder, C. L. (1972). Intergeneric behavioral differences among methamphetamine treated mice. Psychopharmacologia, 25(4), 347–375.Tracey Switek. Onychomys: Tiny Terror of the Western Deserts. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

Nicole talks painted dogs: a surprisingly wholesome and fun-loving animal. They are excellent hunters, take care of not just their pups but their elderly, and rarely squabble amongst themselves. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Painted Dog Conservation website. Painted Dog Research Trust website.Robert L. Robbins. (2000). Vocal Communication in Free-Ranging African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus). Behaviour, 137(10), 1271–1298.COZZI, G., BEHR, D. M., WEBSTER, H. S., et al (2020). African Wild Dog Dispersal and Implications for Management. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 84(4), 614–621. Contact Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

Enjoy this episode of very good facts and very good nonsense. We revisit a nice game of stump the podcast host, this time with more bug viscera and talking ourselves out of an obvious answer. Our Info: Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

In the Páramo grasslands of South America is a cloud covered land where a unique ecosystem thrives. Allan tells us all about a plant that drinks clouds plus the miraculous little hummingbirds that call this place home. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Luteyn, J. 1999. Páramos: A Checklist of Plant Diversity, Geographical Distribution, and Botanical Literature. Taxon, Vol. 48, No. 3.Buytaert, W et al. 2005. Clay mineralogy of the soils in the south Ecuadorian paramo region. Geoderman Vol 127, Iss 1-2. Carrington, D. 2019. In the land of El Dorado, clean water has become ‘blue gold’. The Guardian. Contact Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org

Did you know meerkats are far more murderous than they seem or that their burrows can be as wide as a Purple Worm's? All this and more as we delve underground and find out why they can be so aggressive and who would win in a fight: 1000 meerkats or Nicole. Primary Sources: Gómez, J., Verdú, M., González-Megías, A., Méndez, M. 2016. The phylogenetic roots of human lethal violence. Nature 538, 233-237.Dyble, M., Houslay, T., Manser, M., Clutton-Brock, T. 2019. Intergroup aggression in meerkats. Proc. R. Soc. B. 286: 20161993.Young A., and Clutton-Brock, T. 2006. Infanticide by subordinates influences reproductive sharing in cooperatively breeding meerkats. Biol. Lett.2385–387. Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org Merch Store!

Conservation can be DEPRESSING, so for Mental Health Month we decided to share ONLY positive news and stories (after taking a little break for our brains). Rewire those neurons everybody, because it's not all bleak. Good news so far in May: Biden-Harris Administration announced $36 million for national forests and grasslandsDakota Prairie Grasslands received $464,000 of that to improve access.US Department of Agriculture and the Interior announced $2.8 billion in funding for 2024 authorized by the Great American Outdoors Act to improve access to management and recreation opportunities on national forests and grasslands.Proposed CRP Reform Act of 2023TNC funding 9 grasslands research projects thru 2023 JE Weaver Small Grands AwardsArizona is restoring migration routes for pronghorn and mule deerSouth Dakota spending $1 mil restoring grasslandsNo-Mow-Summer in Dengibghshire County, WalesEarless Dragon burrows (Video)Saving Phu My, one of the Mekong Delta’s last natural grasslandsUN International Year of Rangelands and PastoralistsWWF Policy Actions to Save GrasslandsThere's still time to save the Cerrado! (New Research)Cargill got sued over Cerrado deforestation again. Good news deep dives: Success in the Savanna: Blue-throated Macaw Update2022 State of the Birds ReportNorth American Grasslands Conservation ActGreat Plains Ecotourism CoalitionUtah Wildlife Board approves changes to Utah prairie dog rule Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

Wherein Rachel makes a definitive list of best bird nests in North American grasslands. Primary Sources: A Field Guide to Birds Nests by Hal HarrisonThe Birder's Handbook by Paul R. EhrlichMadison Audubon's Into the Nest Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

Ostriches are one of the strangest birds we've ever talked about. They are the world's biggest bird and toughest survivor. They nest together, have radiators for necks, and can drink saltwater. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: "Strangest Bird Alive". 2016. National Geographic. Documentary.Schou, M.F., Bonato, M., Engelbrecht, A. et al. Extreme temperatures compromise male and female fertility in a large desert bird. Nat Commun 12, 666 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-20937-7Knut Schmidt-Nielsen, John Kanwisher, Robert C. Lasiewski, Jerome E. Cohn, William L. Bretz, Temperature Regulation and Respiration in the Ostrich, The Condor, Volume 71, Issue 4, 1 October 1969, Pages 341–352, https://doi.org/10.2307/1365733 Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

Soils define habitats as much as the plantlife, so let's talk about that! How do you identify a soil species, and should grassland ecosystem restorations include soil microbe transplants? Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Prairie: A Natural History of the Heart of North America by Candace Savage [Affiliate Bookshop Link]Current and Future Perspectives on Microbially Focused Restoration Strategies in Tallgrass Prairies: [Link] Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

Basic midwest feeder bird or mysterious exotic tundra sparrow? Actually, both! Harris's Sparrows, one of the most enigmatic North American sparrows, are about to travel well out of reach into the remote frigid north, so let's gossip about them before they're gone. Only a handful of studies have been done with this species, and to this day we lack pretty basic Breeding Bird Survey information about their populations. Primary Sources: Norment, C. J., S. A. MacDougall-Shackleton, D. J. Watt, P. Pyle, and M. A. Patten (2020). Harris's Sparrow(Zonotrichia querula ), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.harspa.01 Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

If you haven't started thinking about your gardens yet, now is the perfect time to get started planning. Nicole walks us through gardening for native habitats, wildlife, and how to get your neighbors on board too. Photos and more are at our site. Further Reading: Find out more about Bee City Wichita at our websiteDyck Arboretum of the Plains "Prairie Notes" blogLady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, wildflower.org - database of US plantsGrowNative.org - database with lower Midwest focusFloraVeg.eu - Europe native plant/habitat database Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

A wholesome episode about secure love, forming bonds under stress, and human connection through the lens of a grasslands specialist: the prairie vole. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: NPR on the hot new vole research: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/01/27/1152009605/prairie-voles-oxytocin-love-hormone-bonding-studyWhy Prairie Voles are our animal model: The Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster): An Animal Model for Behavioral Neuroendocrine Research on Pair Bonding.Wild Prairie Vole Social Organization: Social Organization of the Prairie Vole (Microtus ochrogaster) Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

So many monkeys that are forest dwellers, but baboons as a group are ground-dwelling grasslanders whose habitat use and social structure might help us learn about our own hominid ancestors. In this episode, Allan combines ecology and anthropology to discuss some grasslands monkeys. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: King, G.E. 2022. Baboon perspectives on the ecology and behavior of early human ancestors. PNAS Vol. 119, No. 45Norton, G. W. et al., 1987. Baboon Diet: A Five-Year Study of Stability and Variability in the Plant Feeding and Habitat of the Yellow Baboons (Papio cynocephalus) of Mikumi National Park, Tanzania, Folia Primatologica, 48(1-2), 78-120.Fagot, J. et al. 2019. The baboon: A model for the study of language evolution. Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 126, Pages 39-50 Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

The chamois is a goat-antelope from the rolling alpine meadow scenery of European mountains, and today's episode is a straightforward peek into the idyllic life of this animal that's (for once) doing alright! Unless you count the mandatory 7 years of grizzled aging in the mountains and their shrinking body masses. (I don't!) Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Gunderson, D. 2003. "Rupicapra rupicapra" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed January 19, 2023 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Rupicapra_rupicapra/Haack, M. 2002. "Rupicapra pyrenaica" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed January 19, 2023 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Rupicapra_pyrenaica/Mason, T. H. E., Apollonio, M., Chirichella, R., Willis, S. G., & Stephens, P. A. (2014). Environmental change and long-term body mass declines in an alpine mammal. Frontiers in Zoology, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12983-014-0069-6 Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org