Cool Facts About Animals

This is a podcast by and for kids giving you the coolest facts about the coolest animals. We research our episodes carefully, distilling the information into manageable segments, focusing on the things that really make these animals unusual. Thanks for listening!

Portuguese Man of War 01/16/2024

Portuguese Man of War We're back with a new episode on the Portuguese Man of War. Wow, this is one cool animal/colony of organisms, with super long tentacles, a deadly sting, and an interesting backstory. Thanks to our Patreon sponsors! If you'd like to be a Patreon sponsor, head . And if you think you know the answer to the creature quiz or the riddle, send us an email at . /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/29511243

Animal Defenses with OMSI 11/19/2023

Animal Defenses with OMSI Here in Portland, Oregon, we're lucky to live so close to a world-class science museum, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, which we all affectionately call OMSI. A few weeks ago, we got the chance to take a tour of their latest exhibit, , with Sarah, the exhibit's curator. We learned about all sorts of animal defenses, including speed, size, camoflauge, and lots of others. We hope you enjoy this virtual tour - and if you're in Portland, definitely check out this exhibit! It's up through April 2024. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/28706203

Cheetahs Reboot 11/09/2023

Cheetahs Reboot Way back in our first episode - over 5 years ago now! - Grady chose cheetah for our first episode. We've learned a lot more about cheetahs since then, and introduced two new podcasters - Jaguar and Corduroy! So, we decided to bring you this reboot of our original episode. We hope you enjoy it. Here's the video we mentioned about cheetahs running in slow motion: If you think you know the answer to our creature quiz or riddle, send us an email at and we will send you a bookmark. Thank you to our Patreon sponsors! If you would like to support us financially, you can do so here: /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/28567168

Scorpions 09/14/2023

Scorpions These little arachnids pack a mean sting. But how dangerous are they? What does a scorpion sting feel like? And how many times can Jaguar evolve in one episode? Learn all about scorpions in our latest episode. Thank you to our Patreon sponsors! If you'd like to support us financially, please head to our Patreon page here. We love to hear from you! Send us an email at [email protected] /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/28028769

World of Jaguar Premiere! 08/28/2023

World of Jaguar Premiere! Jaguar is starting his own podcast! Listen to the promo on this episode, and then listen to universe premiere of World of Jaguar wherever you find your podcasts. Apple link . MAKE ME RICHER AND FAMOUSER MINIONS! p.s. Scorpion episode coming soon! /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/27873276

Sea Otters 07/09/2023

Sea Otters You’re in for an adorable treat on this sea otter episode of Cool Facts About Animals! Learn about their special fur, tool use, and an ancient lion-sized otter. We’d love to hear from you! Send us your creature quiz answers, let us know you did the kid power challenge, or take a guess on our next episode. Send us an email at Thank you to our Patreon sponsors Cardiff, Grace, and Evie! If you’d like to be a Patreon sponsor, head here. And if you want to buy your own Cool Facts About Animals gear, check out . /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/27412866

Sheep, Cloning, and an Interview with Dr. Bill Ritchie 06/12/2023

Sheep, Cloning, and an Interview with Dr. Bill Ritchie On this special episode of Cool Facts About Animals, we got to interview one of the scientists who changed the world! Dr. Bill Ritchie was one of the scientists behind the cloning of Dolly the Sheep. We talk about why this was so important, and how it has helped to change medicine today. We also have lots of cool facts about sheep, courtesy of Clara. We hope you enjoy the episode! /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/27114807

Rebroadcast: Dracomax on Dragons 05/31/2023

Rebroadcast: Dracomax on Dragons We're almost done with our episode on sheeps, featuring a very special interview with a scientist who was involved with perhaps the most famous sheep of all. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this rebroadcast of a very silly episode with our friend Mr. Eric of the excellent podcast What If World. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/27001068

Four Truths and a Lie – Bug Edition 04/23/2023

Four Truths and a Lie – Bug Edition We had so much fun with our last four truths and a lie (ocean animals) that we decided to do it again! This episode features five unbelievable bugs. Four are real, one is fake. Can you spot the fake? Let us know what you guessed by emailing us at ! Thanks to our Patreon sponsors Loretta and Bennett! If you’d like to be a Patreon sponsor and help financially support our podcast, head over to Thanks for your support! /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/26624436

All About Cooking: Dinosaurs 03/21/2023

All About Cooking: Dinosaurs Every once in a while, Jaguar prevails and we take a break from our regularly scheduled programming for an All About Cooking episode. This is one of those times. In this episode, Jaguar prepares Dinosaur with the essence of Turkish bay leaf. He also teaches us some pretty incredible science. Kids, DO NOT try this at home!! We’ll be back soon with a four truths and a lie about bugs! Thanks for listening! *The full episode didn't upload the first time. If you're having trouble, please redownload the episode. Want to support Jaguar’s All About Cooking? Order your very own All About Cooking apron here: /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/26298021

Rebroadcast: The Schmidt Sting Pain Index with Dr. Justin Schmidt 02/28/2023

Rebroadcast: The Schmidt Sting Pain Index with Dr. Justin Schmidt We've had some sickness in our house that has interfered with our podcast schedule. (Don't worry, we're all ok!) So this month we're reaching into our archives to replay an episode you may have missed the first time. This is one of our favorite episodes, and one of our most popular. It's an interview with Dr. Justin Schmidt who has been stung by over 100 different insects and created a scale of how much each one hurts. He tells us about what it feels like to get stung by a bullet ant (OUCH!) versus a bee, why insects sting, why some insects die after they sting you, and lots more. We will be back soon with bug edition of four truths and a lie and, by Jaguar's demand, an episode of All About Cooking. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/26077065

Axolotls - plus interview with Dr. S. Randal Voss 01/31/2023

Axolotls - plus interview with Dr. S. Randal Voss Axolotls are territorial, regenerative, and maybe hold the secret to eternal youth. Oh, and they're suuuuper cute. In this episode, we share 10 cool facts about axolotls, then we share our interview with Dr. S. Randal Voss. Dr. Voss is one of the leading experts on axolotls, and he shares all sorts of facts about what makes them unique, why they are critically endangered in the wild, and how kids can help protect them. Find out more about Dr. Voss's lab here: If you want to financially support our podcast, you can do so here: Want some CFAA merch? Get it here: /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/25786044

T-Rex v. Ankylosaurus 12/28/2022

T-Rex v. Ankylosaurus In this episode, one of the most fearsome predators of all time and a living tank go head-to-head. Yes, the T-Rex and the Ankylosaur battle! Before these two face off, we learn key facts to better predict who will take the crown. Which was faster? Which was smarter? Which was best equipped to survive? We gave a few different battle scenarios. What do you think would have happened? Send us an email at with your answers, and we will send you a bookmark. We also want to hear from you if you solved our riddle or if you did the kid power challenge. Thank you to Murphy and Eli for being our Patreon sponsors! If you’d like to be a Patreon sponsor, you can check out our page here. The holidays may be over, but you can still show your CFAA pride. Check out our gear store here. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/25450665

Domestic Cats 11/28/2022

Domestic Cats If you are a regular listener of our show, you know that we LOVE cats – we even have three! In this episode, we learn all about domestic cats – how smart they are, how much they sleep, how well they communicate, some strange jobs they’ve had, and of course, how cute they are! Thanks to our Patreon sponsors, Maelynn, Coralynn and Atesh! If you’d like to help financially support us – and get a shout out on our show – head . Also, with the holidays coming up, now is a good time to show your CFAA pride! Get your merch . Finally, if you want to answer our creature quiz, guess our riddle, or do the Kid Power, let us know and we will send you a bookmark! Email us at . /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/25143495

Jaguar's ABCs 11/28/2022

Jaguar's ABCs In this bonus mini episode, Corduroy tries to teach Jaguar the ABCs... but it doesn't go quite according to plan. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/25143489

Rats! With Special Guest Professor Monica Green 10/25/2022

Rats! With Special Guest Professor Monica Green In this episode, we dive into the world of rats. Sure, they can crawl up sewer pipes into your toilet and may have been at least partly responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of Europeans. But - they're also really smart, feel regret, and can show emotion with their ears. This is a special episode. In our first half, we share cool rat facts. And in the second half, we interview Professor Monica Green, who studies plague. We learned so much from her about plague, how it was spread, and even that it is still around today. We couldn't fit our whole interview with Professor Green into this episode, so we're including a longer interview on our feed. You should see it right behind this one. Thanks to our Patreon sponsor Henry for getting us excited about rats! If you'd like to be a Patreon sponsor, please click here: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/24789189

Rats and Plague with Prof. Monica Green (extended cut) 10/24/2022

Rats and Plague with Prof. Monica Green (extended cut) In this episode, we include many of the facts from our interview with Professor Green that we couldn't fit in our Rat episode. We do go into some detail about the plague and its continued existence, so please use discretion in whether you feel comfortable listening to this episode. Don't miss our rat episode that accompanies this episode, which includes additional facts about rats and also includes lots of interesting information from Professor Green. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/24789393

Interview with National Geographic Author Julie Beer 10/16/2022

Interview with National Geographic Author Julie Beer In this episode, we speak with National Geographic author about all sorts of cool animals facts. We talk about why pandas are black and white, why t-rexes have short arms, and some of her favorite animal myths to debunk. Julie is the author of almost 50 books, including a number of Weird But True books, and her new book - Why? Animals. Thank you to Paul and Evelyn for being our Patreon sponsors. If you'd like to support us financially, you can do so here: Did you know we have a gear store? Get your animal lover a Cool Facts About Animals shirt, sweatshirt, or All About Cooking apron here: /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/24702135

Rebroadcast - Mega Plastic Episode with Dr. Jenna Jambeck 10/13/2022

Rebroadcast - Mega Plastic Episode with Dr. Jenna Jambeck Today we are rebroadcasting our mega plastic episode. We’re replaying this episode now because we just found out that one of the people we interviewed for this episode, Dr. Jenna Jambeck, was named as one of the 25 MacArthur Genius Grant recipients for 2022. This is a really big honor! We have a lot planned in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for an episode with Weird But True author Julie Beer about all sorts of animal trivia. And then – our episode about rats. As part of that episode, we’ll speak with historian Monica Green about the black death. But for now, we hope you learn a lot and gets lots of great ideas after hearing from Dr. Jambeck and our other guests about plastic pollution. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/24675105

Jaguar and Corduroy and Jaguar Present: Laughtown Game Olympics 09/24/2022

Jaguar and Corduroy and Jaguar Present: Laughtown Game Olympics In this special episode, Jaguar and Teddy play some games. You'll never guess who wins! Thanks to our Patreon sponsors, Magdalena, Kellan, and George! If you'd like to be our Patreon sponsor, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/24476673

Cool Facts About Animals Visits the Redwoods! 08/31/2022

Cool Facts About Animals Visits the Redwoods! It was a long time coming, but we finally made it to the Redwoods! We got to learn all about this amazing habitat and see the forest in person, as well as meet with two California State Park rangers, Marnin Robbins and Kyle Buchanan. In our discussions with them, we learn about the unusual way Redwood trees reproduce, the animals that live there, solve a Redwoods mystery, discover how to keep the habitat safe, and lots more. Thanks to our Patreon sponsors for making this episode possible! If you would like to support us financially, head here: . Patreon sponsors also get access to our newsletter about the Redwoods and our back issues about honeybees and anaconda v. crocodile! We will have videos up on our YouTube page soon. Check back here: In the meantime, you can find some Redwoods videos and pictures on our Twitter page: /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/24231240

Bonus: Interview with National Geographic Author and Wildlife Vet Dr. Gabby Wild 08/20/2022

Bonus: Interview with National Geographic Author and Wildlife Vet Dr. Gabby Wild In this bonus episode, the Cool Facts About Animals Crew gets the chance to speak with National Geographic author and wildlife vet Dr. Gabby Wild. We speak about her new book, How to Speak Animal, and learn a lot about the different ways animals communicate. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell us how to tell our cat Fuzzy to stop bullying our other cats. Alphas gonna alpha. We think you’ll enjoy learning all sorts of fun animal communication facts, including how crickets can tell us the temperature, how sharks communicate through magnetic forces, whether ducks speak in a French accent, and lots more. You can find more about Dr. Wild here: /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/24117456

Episode Swap! Newsy Pooloozi's Plastic Trees and Animal Poo 08/03/2022

Episode Swap! Newsy Pooloozi's Plastic Trees and Animal Poo It’s an episode swap! Today we’re sharing an animal-themed newsy podcast from our Kids Listen pals Newsy Pooloozi! You’ll hear stories about animals, plastic trees, and, well, poo. We think you’ll enjoy it. If you do, be sure to check out their podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget about our Patreon sponsor meetup on Saturday, August 13 at 10 am pacific! We hope you can join us. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/23937069

Sled Dogs: Cool Facts About Animals and The Past and the Curious Mashup 07/31/2022

Sled Dogs: Cool Facts About Animals and The Past and the Curious Mashup In this special episode, Cool Facts About Animals and the Past and the Curious team up to learn all about sled dogs! We learn ten cool facts about sled dogs while also learning the history of two very special sled dogs who saved the town of Nome, Alaska. Don't forget out meetup on August 13 at 10 am Pacific for Patreon sponsors! Become a sponsor here: https://www.patreon.com/coolfactsaboutanimals Also, we have merch! Want a tshirt? An All About Cooking Apron? Find it here: https://www.zazzle.com/store/coolanimalspod /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/23913765

Honeybees 06/30/2022

Honeybees In this episode, we learn all about honeybees! Learn about the waggle dance, how furry bees are, and other fun facts about these amazing and important pollinators. We are having another Patreon meetup! Patreon sponsors at any level (beginning at $1) are invited to join us for a Zoom on August 13 at 10 am pacific/1 pm eastern. Zoom details will be available on our Patreon page. Our kid challenge this episode is to build a home for mason bees. Here’s a link to how to do that: If you do the kid challenge, know the answer to the creature quiz or want to take a guess at the riddle, send your answer to and we will send you a bookmark. Thanks for listening! And thanks to RACC for the podcasting equipment! /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/23596625

Happy World Jaguar Day! 06/11/2022

Happy World Jaguar Day! Not to be confused with International Jaguar Day, we celebrate World Jaguar Day with Jaguar, his best friend Lunch the spider monkey burrito, and the rest of the crew. Not a lot of learning in this one, but lots of giggles. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/23397953

VERSUS! Anaconda v. Salt Water Crocodile 05/16/2022

VERSUS! Anaconda v. Salt Water Crocodile Two kings of reptiles meet in our mock meetup ... anaconda versus crocodile (versus Jaguar). First, learn cool facts about the anaconda and salt water crocodile, and then let us know if you agree with our crowned winner(s). Thanks to our Patreon sponsors James and Millie! If you would like to be a Patreon sponsor (and start getting our newsletter!) head over here: To answer our creature quiz, riddle or to let us know about your kid power challenge, send us an email at or Tweet us at @coolanimalspod Thanks as always to Andrew of Ear Snacks for the theme music! /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/23119979

Arctic Animals with Dr. Maarten Loonen 04/10/2022

Arctic Animals with Dr. Maarten Loonen During our research of the arctic fox, we discovered Dr. Maarten Loonen, a biologist who studies in the Arctic Circle. We learned so many cool things that we hadn't known about before, not just about the arctic fox but about other animals, too. Like the amazing journey of the arctic tern, and how to tell whether Rudolph is a boy or a girl reindeer. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed speaking to Dr. Loonen. /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/22745543

Arctic Fox 03/28/2022

Arctic Fox Ready to learn about the pint-sized, fluffy-tailed arctic fox? Yes, the arctic fox is adorable. But it’s also tough. It's highly evolved to withstand the -50 degree temps of the arctic circle. We’ll learn about these traits and more facts that make these animals so cool in this episode. Thanks to our $10 Patreon sponsor Tessa for the suggestion! If you’d like to support us financially, check out our Patreon page here: You can show your Cool Facts About Animals podcast pride with some merchandise! We’ve got tshirts, sweatshirts, and some other fun stuff at our Zazzle store here: Want to get a glimpse of how cute they are for yourselves? Check out this video of a young arctic fox learning how to pounce: Finally, we hope you check out our buddy Dan Saks and his musical, silly, genius podcast Noodle Loaf. We love this show, and we think you will too! Here’s a link to the podcast: /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/22589186

Introducing Mashups by Kids Listen 03/20/2022

Introducing Mashups by Kids Listen Hello listeners! We know you've heard us talk about Kids Listen before. Well, we're excited to announce that they're putting out a new podcast series called Mashups. And we're in the first episode! The podcast "mashes up" two different podcasts. We were mashed with Ms. Lynn of the Good Words podcast. We talk about our podcasts, play a game together, and share some bloopers at the end. Here's the first episode: And here's a link to Ms. Lynn's excellenet podcast: Hope you enjoy it! We'll be back very soon with our next episode! /episode/index/show/coolfactsaboutanimals/id/22505915

Cool Facts About Animals

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