YOU’RE NOT READY. But it’s time. Otters. Sea otters. River otters. Big beefy otters. Tiny otters. Giant river otters. Otters chasing you down the street. Dr. Chris J. Law, a professional Lutrinologist, shares tales about coastal vs. inland otters, otter terrorism, magical teeth, lustrous fur, rock pockets, kelp naps, otter terrorism, cautionary motherhood, toxic relationships, hand holding and why otters make you trust them, despite the fact that you should perhaps not trust an otter. Visit Dr. Law's website and follow him on Bluesky and InstagramA donation was made to SeaOtterSavvy.orgMore episode sources and linksYou may also enjoy our episodes on: Echinology (SEA URCHINS & SAND DOLLARS), Osteology (SKELETONS/BODY FARMS), Ichthyology (FISHES), Oceanology (OCEANS), Macrophycology (SEAWEED), Mammalogy (MAMMALS), Selachimorphology (SHARKS), Malacology (SNAILS & SLUGS), Carcinology (CRABS), Scatology (POOP)400+ Ologies episodes sorted by topicSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesSponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by by Jarrett Sleeper of MindJam Media, Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions, and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn
Full Episode
All right, just a little up top hello. This is an encore of a very special episode to me, and I am under the summer weather with some sort of tiny little plague, but this is a great episode. Wow. Also, stick around to the very, very end of the episode for a new, fresh secret about why this one means so much to me. Also, I slept 13 hours last night and then took a nap tonight, so the hell?
I don't know. Okay, onward. Oh, hey. It's a lone AirPod under the bench at a bus stop. Allie Ward, back with fresh horrors for you. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. But straight up, if kids are listening with you, think about hightailing it right now to a Smologies episode instead. They're in the main podcast feed.
They're up at AllieWard.com slash Smologies, which is linked in the show notes. Smologies are short and classroom safe. This one is not. It is not. Are we good? Good. Okay. Let's get to otters. First off, thank you, listener Isaiah Newbins, who suggested this guest in particular after hearing a review I read from AWICS from the urology episode. And AWICS dreamed that lutrology was an episode.
And your dreams are coming true right now. All of our dreams. Also, thank you just to everyone for leaving and writing reviews. They matter so much. I read every single one. And this week we hit a really big lifelong goal of mine because of your reviews and subscribing. And Ologies was the number one science podcast on Apple. It's been five years. We hit number one, people.
Let's do some air horns and a tiny imperceptible butt dance. Good job. Huge, giant goal. I can't believe it. Thank you so much. Thanks also to everyone on patreon.com slash ologies for supporting the show. Each week, though, for reviews, I pick a fresh one to prove that I see them all. And this week, thank you to Sherm Worm, who wrote, come for the science facts, stay for the feels.
And also thank you, futurologist Mackenzie King, who described the show as a massage to my brain while drinking espresso. Okay, get into it. Lutrology. It's a word. It's been cited in the literature one time, but that counts. J.C.
von Wappelklein, a prominent scholar of crustaceans, coined it while describing a study about sea otters that was so well-written it was an interesting read, quote, even for the non-lutronologist. So Lutra, side note, comes from a mix of old, old words for water, hence otter, water, water. And then the L they think was maybe picked up from lupus, like a water wolf, or ludo, meaning to play.
It's anyone's guess. But otters are in the same mustelid family as weasels. and wolverines and minks and also badgers. And they are full of must and musk and mischief. And you're about to get absolutely destroyed by otter facts. Your small talk will never recover. Otters will be all you think about for the remainder of your life. Also, with that, I have to issue a trigger and a content warning.
Without spoiling too much, otters are not, not violent. And many of their behaviors would result in criminal charges if water weasels had a justice system. But in other ways, they're better at relationships than we are. Now, this otter expert studied environmental systems for undergrad and got his PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz.
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