logo
episode-header-image
May 28
1h 13m

Urocyonology (LITTLE GRAY FOXES) with Bi...

ALIE WARD
About this episode

Bushy tails! Stinky butts! Faces so cute you weep! Let’s talk foxes – specifically the little gray ones you never knew you loved. Fox behavioral expert, researcher, conservationist, author of “The Road to Fox Hollow” and Urocyonologist Bill Leikam chats about fuzzy foxes, baby names, parental strategies, where they live, what they eat, advice for potential pet owners, how to observe foxes, how tiny foxes wound up on islands, which foxes need conservation, Silicon Valley foxes, and why a fox on the couch is worth 1000 in the bush. Also: what do they smell like? And what do they say? 

Buy Bill’s book: The Road to Fox Hollow

A donation went to the Urban Wildlife Research Project

Watch the documentary: The Foxes, my Professors: Bill Leikam and the Gray Foxes of Silicon Valley

More episode sources and links

Smologies (short, classroom-safe) episodes

Other episodes you may enjoy: Ethnocynology (HUMANS & DOGS THROUGH TIME), Lupinology (WOLVES), Felinology (CATS), Procyonology (RACCOONS), Lutrinology (OTTERS), Sciuridology (SQUIRRELS), Castorology (BEAVERS), Chickenology (HENS & ROOSTERS), Indigenous Fire Ecology (GOOD FIRE), Nassology (TAXIDERMY), Cynology (DOGS)

Sponsors of Ologies

Transcripts and bleeped episodes

Become a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a month

OlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!

Follow Ologies on Instagram and Bluesky

Follow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTok

Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

Up next
Aug 6
Tempestology (HURRICANES) Part 1 with Matt Lanza & Dr. Kim Wood
Hurricanes. Typhoons. Cyclones. Tropical storms. Tropical depressions. What does it all MEAAAN? Let’s dive in. Career meteorologists Dr. Kim Wood of the University of Arizona and Space City Weather’s Matt Lanza join for a two-guest two-parter to address the “deadlier” female-name ... Show More
1h 10m
Aug 1
Bonus Episode: Optical Technology (HISTORY OF EYEGLASSES + MODERN DAY VISION)
When were glasses invented? What happened back then if your horse stepped on them? How is the digital age changing adults’ and kids’ vision? The first half of this special bonus episode about Optical Technology features the charmingly hilarious director of the Museum of the Eye i ... Show More
51m 7s
Jul 30
Literary Olfactology (THE POLITICS OF SMELL) with Ally Louks
Smell and culture. Scent descriptions in novels. Fragrances and class. Stink and stigmas. We cover it all. Scholar, author, and Literary Olfactologist Dr. Ally Louks burst into the zeitgeist in 2024 with her PhD thesis “Olfactory Ethics: The Politics Of Smell In Modern And Contem ... Show More
1h 19m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2024
Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Climate Action
TV Weather Gets Heated. In a world where weather is getting more extreme, the role of meteorologists is becoming more important—and controversial—than ever. Meteorologists have been fired over reporting on climate change, and others have left stations because of death threats. Bu ... Show More
34m 59s
Oct 2024
What Milton and Helene reveal about the future of hurricanes
Ian Sample speaks to Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist at nonprofit Climate Central, about the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season so far, and what it tells us about how hurricanes will behave in future. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod 
15m 22s
Jun 6
Is the National Weather Service Ready for an Extreme Summer?
The dedicated staff of the National Weather Service are responsible for the data that underpin your weather forecast and emergency alerts. DOGE Service cuts to the NWS are putting the collection and communication of those data at risk right as we enter a dangerous season of hurri ... Show More
14m 21s
Jun 6
Is the National Weather Service Ready for an Extreme Summer?
The dedicated staff of the National Weather Service are responsible for the data that underpin your weather forecast and emergency alerts. DOGE Service cuts to the NWS are putting the collection and communication of those data at risk right as we enter a dangerous season of hurri ... Show More
14m 21s
Nov 2024
Solar Storms & Super Hurricanes with Richard Spinrad
How do we predict our planet's most powerful forces? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice learn about extreme weather, hurricanes, coronal mass ejections, and preparing for space storms hurtling our way with NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad.NOTE: StarTalk+ Patrons can li ... Show More
50m 51s
Sep 2023
Inside the eye of a hurricane
What's it like to fly into the eye of a hurricane? Niala joins a team of NOAA Hurricane hunters tracking Hurricane Lee to understand the science gathered on these missions, and how it helps create the forecasts that millions depend upon. Plus, monitoring AI for hate speech. And, ... Show More
12m 8s
Oct 2024
A hurricane of misinformation
Lies about disaster relief are spreading like never before this hurricane season, and it’s making FEMA’s job harder. Juliette Kayyem, author of The Devil Never Sleeps: Learning to Live in an Age of Disasters, explains.This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, Victoria Chamberlin ... Show More
27m 22s
Oct 2024
Hurricane Helene’s 600 Miles of Destruction
Warning: This episode contains strong language and descriptions of death.Over the past few days, Hurricane Helene has left a trail of devastation, killing more than 100 people, driving thousands from their homes and leaving millions without power.Judson Jones, a meteorologist and ... Show More
27m 51s
Jul 30
Your Guide to Summer’s Extreme Weather, from Corn Sweat to Flash Floods
The summer of 2025 has been a doozy in the U.S., with extreme weather across the country. Flash flooding caused destruction and death in Texas. Corn sweat made a heat wave in the eastern half of the U.S. worse in the Midwest. Senior editor for sustainability Andrea Thompson takes ... Show More
9m 4s
Aug 2024
The Costs of More Extreme Weather: Your Questions Answered
More extreme weather events are affecting everything from power grids to insurance. But how are individuals and companies reacting to these changes? WSJ science reporter Eric Niiler explains why we are seeing increasingly intense weather events and Journal climate finance reporte ... Show More
15m 5s