The Wild with Chris Morgan
Welcome to Season 7!
The Wild with Chris Morgan is a celebration of the natural world and the people devoted to wild places and incredible species. This season, host and ecologist Chris Morgan will bring us face to face with some of the most extraordinary creatures finding unique and inspiring ways to adapt and thrive in environments under increasing stress. From America’s biggest cat, the jaguar, trying to navigate the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico to humpback whales coming back to the shores of British Columbia to hummingbirds surviving in the brutal Arizona desert. We’ll explore the species through the elements of land, water, and air to discover the miracles and oddities that make mother nature so endlessly fascinating.
The Wild with Chris Morgan is a production of KUOW and Chris Morgan Wildlife, with support from Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek. It is edited by Jim Gates. It is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.
Attention teachers! If you'd like to discuss the topics covered in the podcast you can find a curriculum at The Wild in Your Classroom.
Follow @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife on Instagram.
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Episodes
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The rise and fall…and rise...of the island fox
20 years ago, foxes on Santa Cruz started dying at an alarming rate. Their numbers dropped to around one hundred animals. But nobody knew why. It was an ecological whodunnit that needed to be solved before the foxes disappeared forever.
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California’s condor: the dinosaur bird
We’ll meet a man who turned from crime to condors and a life mission to remove lead from this incredible bird’s ecosystem.
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Bears and diversity: a conversation with Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant
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Orangutans: people of the forest
Northern Sumatra is a magical tropical home to the endangered orangutan. But their rainforest home is being cut down, and many are orphaned as their habitat is lost. Researchers are working hard to understand how orangutans process and learn, while others rehabilitate young individuals for a life back in the wild.
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Billions of bugs: life of a cicada underground
The shrill calls of billions of Brood X cicadas emerging from the earth have captured the nation’s ears and attention this spring. But what do these noisy insects DO for the 17 years they live underground? In this episode we dig deep into that question.
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A message from Chris
I hope you're enjoying spring wherever you are. I just wanted to let you know that we're taking a short break to work on some new episodes. We just got back from an incredible trip in California for two stories. One is about California condors, North America's biggest bird that almost became extinct and island foxes on the Channel Islands. We'll be back in June, which means that now is the perfect time to listen to past episodes if you missed them. Keep well everybody and stay in touch.
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Salmon and the city
How a destructive earthquake opened up a surprising opportunity to do something good for one of the pacific northwest’s most important creatures, juvenile salmon.
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The brain of the raven
Being a “bird brain” is a complement if you’re talking about ravens. Their intelligence and ability to empathize and read emotions helps them survive but it’s their ability to manipulate others, and even plan for the future that allows them to really thrive in the wild.
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Why it’s so hard to swat a fly
It’s springtime which means sunshine, picnics and flies. But you might think twice about reaching for that fly swatter. Flies are amazing creatures that possess the fastest visual systems in the world, use gyroscopes for precision flying, and can see almost 360 degrees.
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Saving the mountain caribou
This is a tough story to tell. In 2019 the last of the mountain caribou in the lower 48 states disappeared. Extinct. Deforestation threatens those that are left. Professional Wildlife tracker and photographer David Moskowitz takes us to the frigid mountains of British Columbia to learn about the ancient but fragile ecosystem these majestic reindeer call home.
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The Path of the Jaguar
Over 60% of Belize is in a natural, wild state, but development is threatening the movements of the jaguars. In this episode, I'll meet the people who are trying to help protect these jungle cats.
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The Flight of the Scarlet Macaw
There are only 350 scarlet macaws left in the wild in Belize. They face the threats of poaching and habitat lose. But let us introduce you to the passionate people determined to save these colorful birds.