Wildly Curious
Wildly Curious is a comedy podcast where science, nature, and curiosity collide. Hosted by Katy Reiss and Laura Fawks Lapole, two wildlife experts with a combined 25+ years of conservation education experience, the show dives into wild animal behaviors, unexpected scientific discoveries, and bizarre natural phenomena. With a knack for breaking down complex topics into fun and digestible insights, Katy and Laura make science accessible for all—while still offering fresh perspectives for seasoned science enthusiasts. Each episode blends humor with real-world science, taking listeners on an engaging journey filled with quirky facts and surprising revelations. Whether you're a curious beginner or a lifelong science lover, this podcast offers a perfect mix of laughs, learning, and the unexpected wonders of the natural world.
Wildly Curious
Beastly Ballers Week…Idk
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Join Laura and Katy for....we don't know what week it is.....but this week on Beastly Ballers we're going to face off University of Georgia vs. University of Kentucky for college football. For the NFL this week, the Philadelphia Eagles take on the LA Rams......or is it the other way around? Find out who Laura and Katy pick and why they suddenly have become mini Tennessee Titans fans.
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Go ahead.
LauraWe haven't been doing the
KatyOh, that's right.
Laurajust started.
KatyThat's right. I totally forgot. Well,
LauraHey everybody!
Katyballers. We took a couple weeks break because life. And just trying to match up three people's schedule is just insane. So just Laura and I today, we're going to be picking a one NFL game and then one college game and pinning the mascots against each other. If you guys haven't listened to the other episodes, please do.
LauraWe are doing good.
Katyyeah, we're doing good with our predictions.
Laurawell, sorry. We're doing well. doing good.
Katygood. We done good, Laura. We done good. I mean,
LauraThat's how I feel about football.
KatyRight. I mean, the one that we, that we did lose in the last episode we did, which was the Longhorns, which I said I was okay losing, that I would prefer if we lost, and, or I'd prefer if you and I lost, meaning the Longhorns would win. And sure enough, they did. Which, now Texas Longhorns are a... Third, so, of course being in Texas down here, that's uh, that's big news, so,
Laurapretty big deal.
Katyyeah. Alrighty.
Laurawho do we have this week?
Katylet's do, we'll start with college. So, this is a huge, okay, I, I, I don't know, I don't know the football side of this stuff, but, You have number one ranked, Georgia, which their mascot's a bulldog, Versus,
LauraOkay.
KatyComing in at 20, so I mean at least it's a ranked team. University of Kentucky, and they're a, like a cat, small cat, I'm assuming a bobcat.
LauraYeah, that's because it said Wildcats and the only thing in Kentucky. Is the bobcat. They don't have lynxes there.
KatyI don't know, my brain immediately goes back to that guy who yeeted that bobcat when it attacked his wife.
Laurayeah, I
KatyDo you remember
Lauraabout that. Yeah, but I always think about that being coyotes. I don't even think about it being a bobcat. The average weight of an English bulldog... A big male, 55 pounds. Which, they seem way heavier than that.
KatyWell, cause they're just mass. They're just solid, low to the ground mass. Yeah.
Laurajust and then the average weight of a bobcat is certainly less than that. Bobcat big males, 40 pounds. Okay, so to talk this out, bobcats are ambush predators
KatyUh huh.
Laurathat can take down a full grown deer. They're lean. They're strong, they can jump, they're agile. The bulldogs aren't as big, but they are solid. They could definitely stand their ground and they got a lot of like skin around that neck
KatyYeah, and that's what I was gonna say. That goes back to the same thing, like, What was it? The, the horse, the colt versus the, uh, buffalo or, yeah, the,
Lauracould get the first hit.
Katyit. Well, not only that, but like, could, can it just, can it just outlast, can a bulldog just outlast an attack to scare enough that the bobcat would be scared away? So you know cats better than I do. What would, what would keep a cat there fighting a bulldog whenever it could just run
LauraIf it has baby in its mouth,
KatyIf the bulldog is just like,
Lauralike if the bulldog was going to eat a
Katylooking for a new friend, innocent bulldog just wanders in, grabs a little bobcat and is like, hello friend, mom, and just comes flying in.
LauraBecause a bobcat has longer reach and I, so I took care of a bobcat before and she was crazy. She was literally ricocheting off the walls. We called her Murder Paws for short. Little Miss Murder Paws.
Katylittle miss murder paws,
LauraShe was crazy. Just like jumping off of the walls, jumping vertical like intense height.
Katyjeez.
LauraAnd so strong, and like I know they could take a deer down, but a deer isn't like a solid
KatyNo, a deer, I feel like I could take one down. Well, I feel like I could take a deer down
LauraLike, I, I,
Katyquick swift kick of the legs and the deer done.
LauraWell, and I have relatives that have a bulldog, and they've had two bulldogs now. And the male was huge, his name was Tank.
KatyYeah, cause they are a tank. Yeah.
Laurahe would just bowl into things and he would push you over, like, there was, you had no chance of... So I think the bob, but if the bobcat could like get on its back,
KatyNo. Done.
Laurais just like spinning in circles.
KatyBut, but I feel like the cat,
Laurait could last a lot of attacks. I think it could last a lot of attacks from a bobcat, as long as the bobcat didn't finally get into its throat. Cause it's not like a bobcat scratch is really gonna do much
KatyNo, no. And, and, and that's the thing is like, what would provoke a bobcat? Just to,
LauraTo like go full
Katyyeah, to go full on like that. Because you think about all the, uh, all the other cats we've talked about, Nittany Lions, any, any other big cats. They're going to kill because they're huge. They know that they're huge. Where bobcats, they don't, like, they kill, but they don't have that
Laurapredator and prey.
Katythey're predator and prey, so they don't have that same, I'm just gonna kill it. Instinct. So even if you did put them in a cage match and just let them duke it out, like it get to a point where the bobcat would actually kill it, or the bobcat just finally get to a point where it's like, I'm gonna go up here, and the bulldog is
Laurawe said like, Cause what did we say? Oh, a cow versus a horse. We were like, they would never keep
KatyYeah, they wouldn't keep going.
LauraThey would have to be made to keep going. So like, if they were made to keep going. My money's still on the bobcat, but I think if the dog got a hold of the bobcat. If it could, if it could get a hold of the
KatyYeah. I don't know if it could.
Laurathen I think it would destroy it.
KatyYeah, I don't know if it could though, cause also, a bulldog, like, even though they're trained for fighting, it's not like a, like a pit bull's jaw, or a rottweiler, yeah. It's not like it doesn't have like, like pitties, I mean, they're adorable, but they also have those huge jaws for a reason, and bulldogs
LauraWell, and like, bulldogs have pretty giant heads, but they're really short.
KatyYeah, they have no neck.
Lauralow to the ground.
Katyreally
LauraI just don't think they could actually catch a bobcat. Yeah, like I don't...
KatyI don't think so.
LauraSo my money's on the bobcats. Or wildcats. Wildcats. 1 vs
KatyFootball, reality is, if, if University of Kentucky did beat Georgia, that would be a huge upset. Because it's rank number one Georgia, the Bulldogs. Uh huh. So it would be a huge upset if University of Kentucky did
LauraLet's do it!
KatyYeah. Bobcats! Rawr! Yeah.
LauraHa ha ha ha ha ha ha. Yeah, we just But like little rars, not like a roar but just raaaaaar!
KatyWe're,
LauraHa ha ha ha ha ha
KatyBe aggressive.
LauraWe would just look at the people across the house Tch
KatyJust start chuffing at him. Like, what is going on? Could you imagine though, if like, the whole student section just started like, chuffing? At like...
Lauratch tch tch Like, meow! But like, you guys can't see me right now, but I'm gesturing as if I had a, as if I was batting at something.
Katygoodness.
LauraAnd that would be a really fun team to support, in my opinion. Cause I think it'd be, like, you'd come up with some ridiculous stuff. And the fact that you're just supporting, wildcats. Wildcats! That's how I would literally say it every time. And you're from Kentucky! I mean, come on!
KatyYeah.
LauraYou have to just say it like a crazy person.
KatyYeah, well, because we were, we, so we picked, Laura and I picked this game because as we were going through everything, we were looking at all the other matchups. So you have Maryland versus Ohio State, which is like a tortoise versus a buckeye. So it's like, like, that's about, that's about it. Yeah.
LauraEaten.
KatyYeah, uh, you have some other ones, man versus, uh, let's see here, of all kinds of, all sorts of men, um, the leprecha, the leprechaun from Notre Dame versus a cardinal, like,
LauraIt totally depends on what leprechaun we're talking about because there's a lot of variety of leprechauns. There's size difference. There is personality difference.
Katyluck difference, rainbows,
Laurasubspecies of leprechaun are we talking about?
KatyHow big is, is their pot? Oh, gold Like
LauraCause their leprechaun seems like an asshole.
Katyit is it, it seems like a, like a
Lauraleprechaun, he's not like a happy rainbow leprechaun.
KatyYes. He's not like the Lucky Charms. L Andron.
LauraYeah, oh my gosh. I can totally picture that as an internet, like animated video of like the Lucky Charms. Leprechaun meeting the Notre Dame Leprechaun, and the, like, the Lucky Charms one is like, Oh, would you like some of me Lucky Charms? And the Notre Dame one just is like BAH! Right in his, that's it. And he just sees little Lucky Charms spinning around his head.
KatyOh, goodness. So University of Kentucky versus Georgia, just because all the other ones are just insane. The other one we talked about too, is we have Arkansas versus Ole, uh, versus Ole Miss, but it's like now their mascot is a land shark,
Laurawhich, what even is that? it would take too much time and effort for me to try and wrap my brain
Katya land shark and an Ole
Laurahow, like, can a shark versus a r I
Katya
Lauraeither win if you're in the water, or you win if you're on land. Like, it would depend on
KatyBut now if we went over their old.
Laurain the other's element.
KatyYeah, and if we went over their old mascot, which was a bear, that would have been a little bit more interesting.
LauraOh, that would
Katyversus a Razorback. Yeah.
LauraMaybe I think they're actually pretty similar animals.
Katyare. No, they are. That would have been a good one. But not Tony the Land Shark. Also, Tony? Anyway. Alright, so, let's go on to the NFL now. And we're going to talk about the Philadelphia Eagles versus the LA Rams. Which is still so weird to say the LA Rams because it was St. Louis for so long.
LauraBut honestly guys, this was, I, in my opinion, this was a crap mascot week.
KatyIt was. No, it really was, because it was, uh, Jags vs. Bills, which
LauraToo many humans.
Katytoo many humans. Which, still could have been, still could have been good. But, and then Cat vs. Cat, Panthers vs. Lions, but Eagles vs. Rams. For, okay, wait, pause. Time out. We first need to talk about, I, okay, I grew up in Pittsburgh. Football is everywhere. So you know every, like, all kinds of random things about the NFL. All sorts of things. Never once did
Lauralike, you hear about the Titans, a lot, I mean the Titans is one of the most famous teams.
KatyIt's popular. It's popular. So, the Titans, their freaking mascot is a raccoon.
LauraT Rack.
KatyI, I, there's no way that I'm the only person that didn't know that. Hang on. Let me, let me, let me
LauraWell, especially because their logo doesn't give you any,
KatyAny indication that it's a raccoon.
Lauraany indication that they would be a raccoon.
KatyOkay, I'm gonna text, I'm texting four different people. All men. All white. From rain, from the ages of... 33 to 47.
LauraAnd you're just asking
KatyI asked him. Yeah. Did you know that the Tennessee Titans mascot is a raccoon and we'll see we'll see their results here so it says he, he, He debuted during the team's inaugural preseason home game in August 1999 against the Atlanta Falcons as the Titans, who were previously known as the Houston Oilers, which I knew that from 60 to 96 and the Tennessee Oilers from 97 to 98. He was first played by,
Laurahard to say for you. You Pittsburgh, your Pittsburgh accent. Can't oiler.
KatyIt's the vowels with the R's and the L's. I still can't. That's exactly why I called my ex husband, whose name is Carl, Doug, for years because I couldn't, I literally could
Lauralike, I can't even say it.
Katyyeah, I couldn't say his
Laurathe, they were the Tennessee Oilers.
Katyfor, for two years. Before that, they were the Houston Oilers,
LauraYeah.
Katybecause they, they moved. A freaking raccoon. I, I had no idea. So we'll wait for the rest of those guys. We have one that did not know. I don't think anybody else is gonna know, so we'll see. But let's talk about the, the eagles versus the rams then.
LauraI, okay. So I already think that I think
Katyit doesn't say, it doesn't say what kind of ram it is. All it says is it
LauraBut it doesn't look like a goat. Like it looks like a goat Ram. Well, no. No. It looks like a bighorn sheep. It's got that kind of look. A bighorn, ironically, a bighorn sheep versus a golden eagle is actually a fairly even fight, but a bald eagle, which is what the Philadelphia Eagles are, I don't think, I think the ram would win. Unless the eagle, gouged its eyeballs out. Because a, a golden eagle, for anybody that doesn't know, golden eagles do eat
KatyYeah. Like, cheap.
LauraOr like, ramp, like from, like mountain goats. They just knock them off the cliff and then eat them!
Katyeat them. Which is so...
Lauraeagles are used to like hunt big, big animals.
KatyBut also, okay, let's just, you're a goat. Other than eating a lot of grass, they really don't harm anyone. Minding it's business, up on a rock cliff, just staying away from everything. And all of a sudden you're just pelted off a mountainside.
Lauraby an eagle.
KatyYeah, that's, that just seems un, that seems uncalled
LauraWell, the videos of it are even worse, because it's usually... Young ones. So it's just these cute little babies bounding around on the cliffs, having fun, playing tag. And along comes a golden eagle and murders a baby. Yeah.
KatyBut if it's a, but if it's a bald eagle, and again, this goes back to the whole, The bald eagles, most people think of it as like a fierce predator. No, they're scavengers. They, they're like a vulture. They're not
LauraThe only thing that an eagle's gonna fight for is I've seen, they fight off each other fiercely. And they will fight off a wolf or a bear if they're on a kill, but they might not stick around if it's persistent. An eagle's big, but it's not much more than like 11 pounds,
Katylet's say if we put it in an oct Let's do the whole octagon thing again. If we put it in an octagon, cage it in. Is an eagle just gonna, grip onto the side of the cage, or is it gonna fight?
LauraWell, no. I think it would... I mean, I think we'd have to assume it was... It's still a fight cage, but like, one with a r like a fl flyable flight
KatyYeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, like, a roof, but, like, enough that it could fly around.
Laurayeah, yeah,
KatyNone of the other guys are texting me back, and so I have a feeling they're all, Googling.
Laurayeah.
KatyWould we ever have a situation... Where then a bald eagle and a ram? No.
LauraA bald eagle is so much smaller, weight wise, than a ram. And especially if we're talking about a ram, which is a male with giant horns. It would biff that eagle right out of the air and break every single one of its brittle bird bones. Like, biffed out of the air. But, an eagle has the talons. If it could get its talons into the throat of that ram... Then maybe, but like, it's not gonna like, peck it to death, it's not gonna, you know what I mean,
KatyPack it to
Lauralike what's it gonna do?
KatyYeah, no,
LauraIt's not even like, or like, when birds fight each other, you'll see that they both are using their talents, so like, their bellies are exposed. But like, how's an eagle, an eagle can only attack the top of, it would never, unless the ram was like, on its hind legs trying to box it. Like, just. There's no, I, the Rams, the LA, LA Rams. I
KatyYeah. Now the LA Rams. I wish. Right now. Because I think the Eagles have a winning record. There are 4 0. And what are the LA Rams this year?
Lauramean, how much, you can't be any better than 4 0, right? You can only be the same. Either be winners or not.
KatyThe third in the NFC, let's see here, I just want a standings guys, here we go standings. They're 2 2. So yeah, the Eagles are drastically favored to
Laurado I think the Eagles in football will win? Yes. But, but based on mascots, the Rams.
KatyRams. Alright, so eagles versus rams. Rams if
LauraRams.
Katymascots here.
LauraYeah.
KatyI just can't get over this raccoon thing.
LauraI want to become a Titans fan. out of nowhere. Like, people who are just like, Lara, what? Why have all of a
KatyThey're car raccoons.
LauraI just wanna know, like, what's their chant, what's their Does it have to do with the word titan, or does it have to do with what raccoons? Like, ha! Alright.
KatyAlrighty, so we had the Bulldog, Georgia vs. Kentucky. We said Kentucky. For mascots. And then nFL we have Eagles vs. Rams. And then that one for mascots. The Rams would win.
LauraYes.
KatyOkay.
LauraMhmm.
KatyLaura, insert Laura football sounds. Beastly Ballers. Well, we are starting to gear up for season nine, right? Season nine. Yeah.
LauraYeah. In a couple
KatyYeah. Yeah. And so make sure you guys, tune in and go over to our Patreon and support us so we can keep talking about why on earth the Titans chose a raccoon other than as a state animal. Yeah. I was waiting for more sounds from you.
LauraOh, sorry. I gotta, oh, like that's what we want to end on. Brr brr brr brr! No! Ha ha ha!
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