Advertise on podcast: Nature Disturbed

In 1981, infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar imported 4 hippos to his private zoo as a gift for his daughter. After his death, they escaped - and now there are hundreds of feral hippos living in Colombia. Today's guest is Vanessa the Pink Hippo, the mascot of Escobar's former estate Hacienda Nápoles. Vanessa is severely inbred, but that doesn't stop her from living her truth.

Enormous predatory amphibians lurking in mountain streams and rivers - a thing of the past? Well, yes - the planet was once dominated by these early arrivals onto land. But here, today, now, in the present moment, as we hold space for time and we hold time for space, we must acknowledge the truth: giant amphibians still exist. They're out there. They're skilled nocturnal predators. They're slimy and huge. And they're out there!!! In this episode I head to western Japan to meet Professor Mizuki Takahashi, to learn more about these amazing creatures. We discuss their reproductive biology; their conservation; and how they appear in Japanese culture.

Two South African orcas, named Port and Starboard, have become infamous shark-hunters. It has been widely reported that the pair are responsible for the declining great white populations in the world's cage-diving capital. But is it true? Should the blame be placed on the killer whales, or is there a bigger picture? In this episode, I travel to the coastal waters of South Africa to speak with Lacey Williams, Head Field Specialist of Oceans Research South Africa. Lacey performed a necropsy (animal autopsy) on one of the fallen great whites - and she tells us what might really be going on.

Rumour has it, there is a giant prehistoric reptile inhabiting Britain's largest lake/loch by volume. Well, I'm not one for rumours, fairytales, gossips and besmirchments - unless I've made them up myself about my enemies. In this episode, I head to Scotland to confirm what I already know - that the Loch Ness Monster does exist, but only in our minds. This conspiracy is a surprising jumping-off point for the discussion of science, from techniques like environmental DNA, to the application of statistics, to the biomechanics of ancient plesiosaurs.

Lake Victoria, East Africa, was dry 14,000 years ago - and yet, it is home to about 500 species of cichlid fish. It's believed that this incredible diversity of species arose from a single ancestor, which completely flips the script given we often imagine evolution taking place over millions of years.   In this episode, I head to the calm shores of Lake Malawi to confront my former practical project supervisor, Dr Martin Genner of Bristol University. After I interrogate him about his unwarranted docking of marks against me in an assignment I wrote ten years ago, we go on to talk about the adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in the Great Lakes of East Africa, and how we can use cichlids to study evolution in action.

In this episode, I head to one of the most biodiverse places on the planet: the Great Barrier Reef. While this reef is almost completely unknown in comparison to  more famous reefs like the Houtman Abrolhos island reef and Capricorn and Bunker Group reefs - the Great Barrier Reef boasts a truly spectacular amount and variety of wildlife. At the GBR I meet Tanya Murphy, of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, 'Fight for Our Reef' advocate and host of the Word on the Reef podcast. We discuss some of the miraculous - and disturbing - characters found in this beautiful ecosystem.

Eels under Melbourne!! Yes, you heard that damn straight, missy. For thousands of years, the Traditional Custodians of the land have understood much about the lives of eels. In Western academia, these creatures long remained  elusive.  In this episode, I take a trip in a rubber ring down the Yarra River, known first as the Birr-arrung, which flows through the heart of Melbourne. Upon my arrival at Flinders Street Station, I meet urban geographer Dr Alex Faustino. He teaches me about the incredible life cycle of the eel, and invites us all to the free Melbourne-based cycle/walk event (on 4th October and 11th October, respectively) following the journey of the eels, as part of Melbourne Fringe. Details below!  https://www.aprcollective.com/ AN AMENDMENT: After forcing Alex, an urban geographer, to talk about eels - there was one mistake which made it to the Final Cut and for that I apologise. EELS DO NOT EXPLODE!! I repeat!!! The eels do not explode as part of their life cycle. When they reach the Coral Sea at the end of their long migration, the eels spawn, and then they die. They only make the journey to their spawning grounds once, and it is such an energetically costly trip, that their bodies fail them. So there you go - no exploding involved. 

In this episode, I depart from planet Earth alone in search of water and extraterrestrial life, donning a Goldilocks outfit and my astrobiology hat to help facilitate the discussion of biosignatures. On the way I encounter exoplanets, robots and Katy Perry. Two out of those three things I'm excited about.

Put on your electric shock collars and bark like a dog - it's electric fish week this week!  Join me as I head to the deepest recesses of the flooded Amazonian rainforest to meet electric fish expert Dr Kassandra Ford.

In this episode, I'm where I belong: crawling through the sewers like a rat.  Join me as I head to Florida to meet ecologist Alan Ivory, to discuss life underneath our cities; urbanisation; and whether or not there's any truth behind the legends of alligators living in the pipes. You can find Alan at http://alanivory.org/  And explore his research further -  Urban Naturalist (sewer wildlife diversity)- https://www.eaglehill.us/URNAonline2/access-pages/075-Ivory-accesspage.shtml Urban Ecosystems (Raccoon and bat occupancy)- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11252-025-01748-w

Welcome to the very first episode of the Nature Disturbed Podcast; a podcast where we look at the good, the offensive and the confusing parts of the animal kingdom and beyond. In this episode, I swim to the bottom of the Mariana Trench and have an awkward interaction with James Cameron, observing how the environment changes as I make the 11km journey down.  When I resurface I have the privilege of talking to marine biologist Lucy Harris, of Southampton University, about artificial reef formation in the deep sea.