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Almost everybody has seen the Grand Canyon, whether it’s on a road trip to northern Arizona or on a postcard. It’s one of the seven natural wonders of the world.  It’s one thing to see the canyon from a distance, even if that is standing on one of its storied rims. But it’s a whole other experience when you step down into it... to hike deep inside and walk along its ancient ridges. Best-selling author Kevin Fedarko did just that. In fact, he walked the entire 750-mile length of it. Over the course of his ambitious trek, Kevin faced serious heat exhaustion, dehydration, and had multiple near-death experiences, including almost running out of food during a snowstorm. But he lived to tell the tale. On today's episode, I sit down with Kevin Fedarko in the woods of Bellingham, WA to hear the remarkable story of his relationship with the Grand Canyon, his journey to uncover the human-made threats it faces, and what he learned along the way - through pain, misery, humiliation and laughter. GUEST:Kevin Fedarko, NYT best-selling author of A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon We’ve been nominated for a Signal award! A real honor. This award would mean the world to us and help us reach even more listeners. If you’d like to vote for us, click here. Voting closes October 15, 2026. Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and edited by Jim Gates. Writing for this episode by Christopher Preston. It is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! We’re also on TikTok! Check us out @chris.morgan.wildlife. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bears in swimming pools… in Los Angeles? Of course I had to find out more. I've been studying bears and working with them in the wild for over 30 years, and I thought I'd seen it all. Polar bears in Canada, grizzlies in Alaska, Andean bears in South America. But I never thought I’d be racing to see a family of black bears lounging in a pool in a swanky LA  neighborhood.  A lot of my work is about keeping bears and people away from each other. Avoiding bear-human conflict. Bears belong in the wild, doing wild things surrounded by roots, berries, and forests… not hanging out with inflatable unicorns in swimming pools. But these LA bears are doing just that. And as you’ll hear, opinions about it run the gamut.  On today’s episode, I travel to LA to get to know these famous pool-loving bears, and see if it is possible for bears and humans to live side by side. What happens when bears make our home their home? We’ve been nominated for a Signal award! A real honor. This award would mean the world to us and help us reach even more listeners. If you’d like to vote for us, click here. Voting closes October 15, 2026. Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and edited by Jim Gates. Writing for this episode by Christopher Preston. It is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! We’re also on Tiktok! Check us out @chris.morgan.wildlife. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to THE WILD!   All around the world, humans are getting up close and personal with wildlife. In Los Angeles, black bears are playing with floaties in swanky backyard swimming pools. Mountain lions are dodging cars trying to get across 10-lane highways. In subarctic Norway, generations of Eider keepers are bonding with vulnerable ducks. But when is getting too close to wildlife too far?  Join host Chris Morgan for Season 8 of THE WILD, where he'll travel the world to meet the people defending space for wildlife, from deep in the wilderness to their own backyards. How can wildlife, wild places, and humans share our beautiful planet?  New episodes of THE WILD come out starting on October 6, 2026. Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and 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. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We lost a good friend a few days ago. A friend of the owls, and a man who made a real difference for them. I was very lucky to spend time with David Johnson for an episode we did about his delightful burrowing owls a few years ago - an experience that’ll always stay with me. David was a kind and inspiring man. He looked like an owl - inquisitive, wide-eyed, and full of magic, and possibilities. David Johnson passed away on June 15th from cancer. So in his honor, we’d like to share the episode we did that featured his work with burrowing owls. David’s owl work continues through the Global Owl Project and the people all over the planet that he brought into the world of these magical creatures that he loved with all his heart. Including the hundreds of young people he inspired to DO something for owls - so many of them are professional experts in the field now.  Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You look amazing, you look beautiful. Those are the words of Victor Glover, pilot of NASA’s Artemis 2 mission. He spoke those words less than a month ago on his trip to the moon. His way of describing our planet as he peered out the window of his space capsule and took in the view. I couldn't think of a better message than that as we reshare our special episode to celebrate our planet. So I hope you enjoy and happy Earth Day!  Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and 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. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When I was eight, growing up in England, I was already really into birds. I was in the Young Ornithologists Club for goodness sake! I didn't have one friend who was into birds. But these days, things are different. Here in the USA, almost 100 million people birdwatch. And that number's growing. There's a lot going on between the birds, as they flit around chirping and singing  To us, it might just sound like beautiful little tunes. But to birds, and even other species in the forest,  there’s a whole hidden world of conversation out there— love songs, alarm calls, turf wars, parenting struggles — entire dramas unfolding above our heads. So what are they saying? And why are they saying it? Naturalist Libby Mills has spent almost her entire life learning how to make sense of what the birds are saying. Today, I take a walk with Libby in her backyard where she helps us slow down, listen deeply, and try to better understand what’s going on in a bird’s world. GUEST:Libby Mills, naturalist at the North Cascades Institute Check out our Great British Birding Show episode to meet a wildly enthusiastic birder on the other side of the pond. Bird book Libby recommends: The Sibley Guide to Birds - Second Edition Birding app: Merlin Bird ID This is our last official episode of the season. It’s been so much fun - thank you for coming along with us to some truly wild places. We will be back in the fall with more episodes. But in the meantime, we want to hear from you! What kinds of stories do you want to hear? What should we do differently? Please consider taking THE WILD survey. It will only take a few moments of your time. Thanks! Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and 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. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, a fun trip down memory lane!  Lots of things have shaped my life and work as an ecologist, and this experience when I was 25 was one of them. As I wrapped up my master's degree at the University of Durham in England, I was hired onto a grey seal project on some tiny, uninhabited islands off the coast of Scotland.  While I was there, I recorded the seals and the six weeks of fieldwork on my Walkman cassette recorder. I had no idea I’d be digging into those archives 32 years later!  Hear the tape, learn about the seals, and listen to our conversation when I track down Dr Sean Twiss who hired me all those years ago. This was a fun one! GUEST:Dr. Sean Twiss, associate professor of animal behavior and behavior ecology at Durham University in England We want to hear from you! What kinds of stories do you want to hear? What should we do differently? Please consider taking THE WILD survey. It will only take a few moments of your time. Thanks! Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and 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. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anton Mzimba was the head ranger at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve in South Africa. Anton and hundreds of wildlife rangers like him risk their lives every day to protect endangered species, mainly the rhino, from poachers and organized crime.  Anton is the focus of a documentary film called Rhino Man. It tells the extraordinary story of the rhinos, and the brave rangers that are out to protect them. In this episode, filmmaker John Jurko ll tells us about his relationship with Anton, the threats to rhinos and how he finds hope in the face of so much evil.  You can support this work by contributing to a fund for Anton Mzimba’s family and the Future Rangers fund Audio in this episode and photo courtesy of Rhino Man, © Global Conservation Corps. Music courtesy of composer Simon Wilson.  We want to hear from you! What kinds of stories do you want to hear? What should we do differently? Please consider taking THE WILD survey. It will only take a few moments of your time. Thanks! Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and 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. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

De-extinction! You probably saw the headlines - big, splashy statements about bringing the dire wolf - the ancient wolf species - back from the dead. But are they really back? Dr. Helen Pilcher says no. She’s an author, science communicator and an expert on genetically modified wildlife. And she joins me to make sense of this controversial idea of “editing” the genes of animals. It’s a heated conversation in the scientific community. Because it's not just about bringing back animals from the dead, it's about changing the genetic makeup of animals that still exist.  Today, we’ll dive into the pros and cons of modifying wildlife and the ethics behind changing the very DNA of a wild animal. Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and edited by Jim Gates. Writing by Christopher Preston. It is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I drive across the mountains and forests to a small corner of Washington state, where there's a group of ranchers from the Kalispel Tribe of Indians. They’re known as ‘The Buffalo Boys.’ Generations ago, members of the tribe would migrate hundreds of miles to the great plains to hunt buffalo. There were millions of buffalo until white settlers hunted them to near extinction, and the Kalispel were pushed from their land. But now, they have a herd of their own. On today’s episode, I visit the Buffalo Boys and their herd of buffalo to tell the story of how they got these buffalo, and what they’re doing to make sure that this magnificent creature will forever be a part of their lives. My huge thanks to the Kalispel for their warm hospitality.  Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and edited by Jim Gates. Writing by Christopher Preston. It is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Animals and music? What a tantalizing mix! In a fascinating conversation with scientist and musician Dr. Diego Ellis Soto we learn about the way animals move - through music. When animals swarm, mill, or migrate, patterns are revealed. Soto explains that animals all prefer to move together with proper space, time, and direction....just like harmony in music. Soto’s work combines his academic work and his passion for music to create a fresh look at how we should think about nature in motion. It is a way to express complex data about animal movement in a way that is easy for people to understand. And that can be a powerful tool to inspire conservation. This episode might just make you think very differently about how you look at, or maybe hear, nature and its creatures. If you’d like to learn more about Diego’s work, I recommend you watch this lecture he gave as part of Yale University’s Franke Program for Science and Humanity.  Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife  and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and 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. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a time when the existence of the giant panda was nothing more than legend. A fairytale to those in the western world. Whispers of a black and white beast echoed around the early 1900s. In this episode, my conversation mixes three of my favorite things - bears, mystery, and adventure as I hear an incredible story that Dr Nathalia Holt tells in her book The Beast in the Clouds: The Roosevelt Brothers’ Deadly Quest to Find the Mythical Giant Panda. But this story is about way more than just two brothers’ dangerous search for a mystery species in a strange part of the world. It’s also about the moment in history when humans began to understand their real impact on the natural world. A realization that led to the birth of the modern conservation movement. Oh, and there might be some Himalayan bandits and bone-chilling blizzards along the way! Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and 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. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humpback whales in the Salish Sea have a complicated history. They were hunted to near extinction a century ago, with whalers turning some of the largest creatures on Earth into buckets of oil, slabs of meat, tubs of cheap margarine and fertilizer. These coastal waters were emptied of these magnificent creatures who once called them home.  But now, in an amazing turn of events, Humpback whales have started to come back. And what they’ve found is a whole new world of dangers. On today’s episode, I’m out at sea off the coast of Vancouver with scientists on a high speed chase for answers. Why are they coming back? And are they here to stay? Some groundbreaking research techniques might tell us. Check out our eDNA episode about the groundbreaking things scientists are using it for Whale Report app for reporting Humpback whales in the Salish Sea Marine Education and Research Society's Whale-Safe Boating course Listen to more whales around the Salish Sea Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek and edited by Jim Gates. Writing by Christopher Preston. It is hosted, produced and written by Chris Morgan. Fact checking by Apryle Craig. Our theme music is by Michael Parker. Photo Credit: Ocean Wise. Photo Taken Under DFO Permit MML-18, BCZ0180 "Monarch" Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Happy holidays! Thanks for tuning into THE WILD. I’m so glad you’re here.  THE WILD team is hard at work on some more brand-new episodes that will come out in the new year. But for now, I want to revisit a very popular episode from last season that I think is perfect for this busy time of holiday travel.  It’s a conversation I had with author Ben Goldfarb about roads and their impact on pretty much everything in the natural world.  So, if you’re piling into the car to get to the airport, or taking a road trip to visit your friends and family, give a listen to this episode. I bet it’ll get you thinking differently about America’s roads. We'll be back in your feed in a few weeks. Have a happy and safe holiday season! GUEST:Ben Goldfarb, is an award-winning environmental journalist and author of Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and 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. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bear attacks in Japan have been in the news a lot recently. There have been over 220 attacks so far this year, and a record 13 people dead.  Why is this happening? And what can be done about it? There’s a lot of information out there, and it’s hard to separate fact from fiction when it comes to conflicts with wildlife. So I made two quick phone calls: one to a reporter from The New York Times and another to a Japanese bear biologist to figure out what’s really going on. Guests:Javier C. Hernández, Tokyo Bureau Chief for the New York TimesMasahiro (Masa) Ohnishi, Principle Research Scientist at the Wildlife Management Office in Japan Enjoy BONUS CONTENT and help us continue to create this special immersive storytelling by joining THE WILD Patreon community at www.patreon.com/chrismorganwildlife  and you can donate to KUOW at kuow.org/donate/thewild. Thank you. Follow us on Instagram @chrismorganwildlife and @thewildpod for more adventures and behind the scenes action! THE WILD is a production of KUOW in Seattle in partnership with Chris Morgan Wildlife and Wildlife Media. It is produced by Matt Martin and Lucy Soucek, and 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. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChrisMorganWildlife See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.