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KUOW News and Information

THE WILD with Chris Morgan brings stories from the natural world right to your ears in a beautifully immersive way. You’ll feel like you are right there with Chris in wild places all over the world, alongside wildlife ecologists, researchers and colorful characters on the front line.

The Wild with Chris Morgan

Once a year they come out, by the thousands. Fireflies. But these aren’t just any fireflies. These are Photinus Carolinas, also known as synchronous fireflies They blink on and off together. It’s an amazing site. On this episode, I head to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to experience the synchronous fireflies and learn how light from human development is threatening the future of these delicate, glowing insects and what the park is doing to try to protect them.
 
This show would not be possible without listener support. You can help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by donating at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you.
 
For some great photographs and clips from our journey through the national parks, check out our Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife.
 
THE WILD is a production of KUOW, Chris Morgan Wildlife, and the NPR Network. This episode was produced by Matt Martin and edited by Jim Gates. THE WILD is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.
 
 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Fireflies in synchrony

We are taking a break over the holidays in order to finish up our series about national parks. We’ll be back in your feed on January 7 with a visit to Glacier Bay National Park in southeast Alaska. We’ll learn how the trickles of chilly glacial meltwater are creating a flourishing ecosystem. 
 
But in the meantime, I wanted to share an episode from a podcast I think you’ll really like called How Wild. It’s from our friends at KALW Public Media and the NPR Network. The podcast looks at the meaning of wilderness, sixty years since the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964. 
 
The law set aside areas within national parks and forests and other federal public lands for an extra level of protection. These wilderness areas have to be “undeveloped” and “natural” and they have to have opportunities for “primitive, unconfined recreation” and “solitude.” 
 
But so much has changed since the passage of the Wilderness Act. In this episode, host Marissa Ortega-Welch looks at solitude and what that means these days with so many people hitting the trails. 

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The Wild presents How Wild: Solitude

Melting ice is usually bad news, but this place in Alaska has turned from frozen to flourishing in just 200 years. 
 
Nestled in southeast Alaska, the stunning and famous Glacier Bay National Park is often called a “living laboratory.” Scientists from all over the world come here to study ecological succession: the step-by-step return of plants, insects, forests and animals. It’s a unique place to do that because just a couple hundred years ago, this whole landscape was covered in ice. But then, the ice started melting, uncovering a clean slate for nature to show us how she creates a flourishing ecosystem. 
 
On this episode of THE WILD, Chris time travels through Glacier Bay National Park to discover how fast biodiversity can build when nature is left alone, in the surprising spectacle of life after ice.
 
This show would not be possible without listener support. You can help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by donating at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you.
 
For some great photographs and clips from our journey through the national parks, check out our Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife.
 
THE WILD is a production of KUOW, Chris Morgan Wildlife, and the NPR Network. This episode was produced by Lucy Soucek, written by Christopher Preston and edited by Jim Gates. THE WILD is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Glacier Bay National Park: Life after ice - the birth of a river

Maybe you’re eating an apple, or a piece of lettuce right now. Could be a broccoli stem or perhaps a lovely juicy tomato. If you are, are you wondering how intelligent that plant is? I’d guess not. But here’s a conversation that might make you think twice. 
 
Zoë Schlanger, a science writer for the Atlantic, has written an eye-opening book on the topic. It’s called The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth. 
 
On today’s episode, Chris sits down with Zoë to talk about what it means for a plant to be intelligent, even without a brain, and how this revolutionary field of research might help us look at plant life a little differently. 
 
We’d love to hear what you think of THE WILD. Which shows did you like the best? What would you like to hear more of? If you have a moment please fill out this quick survey. Your feedback will help us plan for future episodes. Thanks!
 
This show would not be possible without listener support. You can help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by donating at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you.
 
For some great photographs and clips from our journey through the national parks, check out our Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife.
 
THE WILD is a production of KUOW, Chris Morgan Wildlife, and the NPR Network. This episode was produced by Lucy Soucek and edited by Jim Gates. THE WILD is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zoë Schlanger: Do plants think? Why eating a salad may never feel the same again

Behind most wildlife documentaries is someone who has spent countless hours, often in challenging conditions, waiting for that perfect shot. Chris talks to filmmakers Jeff Wilson and Mark Smith about their experience filming Adelie penguins for four months in Antarctica. With wind gusts up to 150 miles per hour it is one of the coldest and harshest continents on earth. 
 
We’d love to hear what you think of THE WILD. Which shows did you like the best? What would you like to hear more of? If you have a moment please fill out this quick survey. Your feedback will help us plan for future episodes. Thanks!
 
This show would not be possible without listener support. You can help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by donating at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you.
 
THE WILD is a production of KUOW, Chris Morgan Wildlife, and the NPR Network. This episode was produced by Matt Martin and edited by Jim Gates. THE WILD is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A harsh life among ‘super over-caffeinated’ penguins (reprise)

You can’t come to Yellowstone without thinking about the grizzly bear. This thriving ancient ecosystem is like a sacred space for them. And a critical source for food which they are constantly in search of in order to get the needed calories that will sustain them through their long winter sleep.
 
But what many grizzly bear lovers might not think about are the fish at the heart of the bear feeding frenzy. Yellowstone has the largest high elevation lake in North America, and under the surface, a fight is going on between the native cutthroat trout and the invasive lake trout. And for a long time the invasive lake trout have been winning the battle, throwing the whole lake’s food chain into disarray.
 
On today’s episode, Chris visits Yellowstone to see how scientists are turning an ecological disaster into a rare invasive species success story, and how the beloved Yellowstone grizzlies are faring amongst this drama.
 
We’d love to hear what you think of THE WILD. Which shows did you like the best? What would you like to hear more of? If you have a moment please fill out this quick survey. Your feedback will help us plan for future episodes. Thanks!
 
This show would not be possible without listener support. You can help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by donating at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you.
 
For some great photographs and clips from our journey through the national parks, check out our Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife.
 
THE WILD is a production of KUOW, Chris Morgan Wildlife, and the NPR Network. This episode was produced by Lucy Soucek, written by Christopher Preston and edited by Jim Gates. THE WILD is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yellowstone National Park: Celebrity bears, and a tale of two trout

Tom Mangelsen is one of the most gifted and prolific wildlife photographers of our time. He may be best known for documenting the life of Grizzly Bear 399 in and around Teton National Park in Wyoming. I’ve spent thousands of hours alongside, and guiding some of the best wildlife photographers in the world, but I’ve never been lucky enough to spend time in the wild with Tom. And he has always seemed to possess a connection with animals that is rare. Whether it be gorillas, penguins, tigers, or our beloved grizzlies, Tom’s work over the last 50 years captures moments of true nature that inspire people all over the world. I went into our conversation wanting to talk about the most famous bear on earth, but also wanting to understand how he sees the world through his camera lens. What I got was a lesson in being still.
 
We’d love to hear what you think of THE WILD. Which shows did you like the best? What would you like to hear more of? If you have a moment please fill out this quick survey. Your feedback will help us plan for future episodes. Thanks!
 
This show would not be possible without listener support. You can help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by donating at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you.
 
For some great photographs and clips from our journey through the national parks, check out our Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife.
 
THE WILD is a production of KUOW, Chris Morgan Wildlife, and the NPR Network. This episode was produced by Matt Martin and edited by Jim Gates. THE WILD is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Mangelsen: Grizzy 399 and confessions of a wildlife photographer

Happy Earth Day!
 
There is a lot of uncertainty in the world right now when it comes to the environmental health of our planet. Political leaders seem unable or unwilling to take action on climate change. And we continue our rapid loss of biodiversity. But I wanted to give you a little hope on this special day by sharing a little different perspective on this tiny blue marble we call home.
 
If you enjoy this episode, please share it with others. After all, we're all in this together.
 
And thanks to the wild team Matt Martin, Lucy Soucek, Jim Gates, and Brendan Sweeney. And thank you Gordon Hempton and Quiet Parks International for the beautiful audio.
 
 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy Earth Day 2025!

Ecologist and award-winning filmmaker Chris Morgan kicks off season 2 with more adventures in the wild.
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KUOW's THE WILD with Chris Morgan returns in February

It's a beautiful, still arctic morning about 600 miles from the North Pole. And there is a polar bear right over my shoulder.
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Return to Svalbard: Earth's icy food chain is about more than polar bears

For an ecologist like me, Santa Cruz island is a bit of a dream. It is home to a quite famous fox. It is like no “apex predator” I’ve ever seen before. These aren’t the type of foxes you might see on the mainland. These island foxes are small, very small. 

These foxes are endemic to the Channel Islands, meaning they are found here and nowhere else in the world. But about 20 years ago, people on these islands started noticing fewer and fewer foxes on the landscape. Their numbers were crashing dramatically….on Santa Cruz island they dropped to around one hundred animals. But nobody was sure why.

It was an ecological whodunnit that needed to be solved before the foxes disappeared forever. The clock was ticking. What scientists discovered was a cascade of curiously connected events involving toxic waste, feral pigs, and a couple of New Zealanders jumping out of a helicopter.

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THE WILD is a joint production of myself and KUOW Public Radio. One way to support this vital work and become part of THE WILD community is through my wildlife organization, Chris Morgan Wildlife. You can find more information at Patreon.

Follow us on Instagram @thewildpod and @chrismorganwildlife.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rise and fall…and rise...of the island fox

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