Ten Things I Like About... Podcast

Nepenthes: Species

Summary: How many species of Nepenthes are there and where are they found? Join Kiersten as she takes you on a trip to discover the Nepenthes species.
 
For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean
 
Show Notes: 
Nepenthes. Wikipedia (This page is well referenced).
“Caught in a Trap,” The Biologist 62(2) p12-14.
Tropical Pitcher Plant-Nepenthes. Carnivorous Plant Resource. https://www.carnivorousplantresourcs.com
Nepenthes Phylogeny, International Carnivorous Plant Society. https://www.carnivorousplants.org
Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript
(Piano music plays)
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
The second episode of Nepenthes is all about species and where they are found. They do prefer areas similar to Rafflesia but they are more widespread. 
Let’s start from the beginning with the classification of Nepenthes. We have talked about scientific classification before but as a quick refresher this classification method is used to help determine the number of species within a group of living things. It helps scientists and researchers  determine who is related to whom. It is constantly evolving as classification methods are continually changing. It began with visual similarities between living creatures, then behaviors were incorporated, and with the advent of DNA testing classification has jumped forward and some things have been turned on its ear.
Classification for Nepenthes is a follows:
Kingdom - Planta (Plants)
Subkingdom - Tracheobionta (Vascular Plants)
Superdivision - Spematophyta (Seed Plants)
Division - Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)
Class - Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledons)
Subclass - Dilleniidae
Order - Nepenthales
Family - Nepenthaceae
Genus - Nepenthes
Species names will follow genus.
So how many species of Nepenthes are there? To tell you the truth, I’m not totally sure. My research for this episode lead me to sources that said 30 to 35, 140, and as many as 170. The International Carnivore Plant Society says Nepenthes species numbers are in excess of 100. I think we’ll go with that number because it gives a bit of wiggle room. I’m inclined to believe this site because they get crazy scientific when discussing the origins of modern day Nepenthes.
One of the most interesting things I could decipher from this blog is that the modern day Nepenthes genus has no close relatives. So when digging into the evolutionary history of this genus, there are no transitional species that can lead us back to an ancestral beginning. Maybe these wicked cool pitcher plants are so perfect they’ve never evolved from their original template. 
Let’s take a closer look at a few Nepenthes species. One of the largest species of Nepenthes is Nepenthes rajah that grows pitchers large enough to hold 3.5 liters or 1 US gallon of liquid. That’s a pretty big pitcher plant. Nepenthes rajah traps are large enough to drown rats. They are known as the “king of the pitcher plants”. As an aside Nepenthes rajah is also the largest carnivorous plant in the world. 
Nepenthes argentii is considered to be the smallest species of pitcher plants with a pitcher opening of 2-4 millimeters and a pitcher size of 30 cm. That’s a pretty tiny pitcher plant. 
The rarest species of known Nepenthes is Nepenthes clipeata. Only 15 individual plants were known to exist in the wild in 1997. It’s found only on the granite cliff faces of Mount Kelam in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It may very well be extinct today. 
Nepenthes mirabilis is the most widely distributed species of Nepenthes. It is found in Indochina throughout the Malay Archipelago, it is found in China and also Australia. This species varies greatly in color throughout its vast range.
So where are these plants found in the wild? They are mainly found in the Old World Tropics, ranging from South China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. There are two species found in Madagascar and one species found in the Seychelles. Nepenthes are also found in Australia and New Caledonia. India and Sri Lanka also host a few Nepenthes species. The greatest diversity of Nepenthes are found in Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines.
What kind of habitats do Nepenthes favor? Like Rafflesia, many pitcher plants of this species are found in hot, humid lowland rainforests but some are found in other habitats. Many are tropical montane plants found on the side of mountains where they experience warm days and cool to cold, humid nights. Some are tropical alpine species that grow in areas that have cool days and near freezing nights. 
The majority of species are restricted to small ranges within these different habitats. Some of them may only be found on one mountain and no where else, like Nepenthes clipeata. 
Nepenthes species are often classified as lowland species or highland species based on the altitudes at which they grow. Those that grow below 1200 meters or 3900 feet above sea level are considered lowland and thrive with warmer climates that vary little temperature-wise from day to night. Highland species that grow above 1200 meters prefer warm days that bleed into much cooler nights. Nepenthes lamii grows at the highest altitude of any other Nepenthes species, 3520 meters or 11,500 feet above sea level.
Most Nepenthes species tend to be found in environments with high humidity, a lot of precipitation, and moderate to high light levels. Some species have evolved to thrive in dense, shaded forests. Many species do well on the margins of tree and shrub communities or clearings. Some species such as Nepenthes mirabilis have been seen growing in clear-cut forest areas, roadsides, and disturbed fields. There are even species that have adapted to grow in savanna-like grass habitats.
These amazing plants tend to grow in acidic soils that boast little nutrients and often contain peat, white sand, sandstone, or volcanic soils. Some species can grow in soils with high heavy metal content, such as Nepenthes rajah, some can grow on sandy beaches in the sea spray zone such as Nepenthes albomarginata. Soil isn’t always necessary for pitcher plants to grow as some have evolved into lithophytes that can grow in or on rocks while others are epiphytes that grow on other plants, like trees.
We’ve taken quite a ride in the second epidote of Nepenthes and my second favorite thing about them, is where they are found.
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform you’re listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
Join me next week for another episode about Nepenthes.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Unbelievable Unknown Plants: Nepenthes

Summary: Our next unbelievable unknown plant eats something quite unusual. Join Kiersten as she unravels the amazing life of Nepenthes.
 
For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean
 
Show Notes:
Nepenthes, Britannica Online: https://www.britannica.com
Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript
(Piano music plays)
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
In episode six of Unbelievable Unknown Plants were are introducing the first episode of or second plant. Like Rafflesia, we will be talking about several species of plants collectively called Nepenthes. The first thing I like about Nepenthes is the amazing plant itself.
Let’s talk about the family in general before we pinpoint a few very interesting species that we will highlight in following episodes.
If you have gone into the garden department of a home improvement store or a Wal-Mart at anytime in your life you may be familiar with Nepenthes. It is also known as monkey cup and tropical pitcher plant. Sound familiar? Unlike Rafflesia, humans have figured out how to cultivate some species of Nepenthes and with the correct set up, it can be pretty easy. So they have been mass produced for sale. I have to admit I have had a few in my lifetime. We will go more in-depth with this topic in a future episode. I suspect this will be a rabbit hole of addictive behavior. As I did my research on this plan t I came across several websites dedicated to the sale and care of Nepenthes. Some of these plants sell for over $1000 US dollars. Who-boy! I cant’s wait for that episode!
There are 140 known species of Nepenthes and, in the wild, they are mainly found in Madagascar, Southeast Asia, and Australia. What is it that makes these pitcher plants so unbelievable? They eat meat! Yes, that’s right, these are carnivorous plants. Every species of Nepenthes that we currently know of is classified as a carnivorous plant that captures insects or other prey by luring the targeted prey to them through scent. The shape of the pitcher makes it difficult if not impossible for the prey to escape once it has ventured inside where the sweet scent they want has led them.
I’ve always found it interesting that a plant eats meat. I mean everything has to survive and Nature is amazing, but it does seem a bit oxymoronic that a plant eats meat. On the other hand maybe it’s karmic. Insects and mammals eat plants so why not evolve a plant that eats insects and mammals.
Some have taken it a step farther int their pursuit of nutrient and have evolved to utilize a very special diet. They are still dependent on mammals for this nutrient but they aren’t eating the animal itself. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but I will say they give the term “potty mouth” a whole new twist.
Pitcher plants are perennial, which means the same plant regrows every year. Many grow in very acidic soil and some are epiphytes. An epiphyte is a plan  t that grows on another plant for support purposes only. Epiphytes have no attachment to the ground or obvious nutrient source. They are not parasitic to the host plant causing no harm to the structure upon which they are growing.
It’s no wonder that Nepenthes has evolved to utilize an alternative source of nutrients if they grow in an acidic soil, which typically offers little in the way of usable nutrients, or no soil at all. 
Nepenthes vary in size. Some are the perfect fit to attract a tiny fruit fly while others are so large they can attract and digest rats. You heard that correctly, I said rats. That is one big pitcher plant!
Like Rafflesia, some species of Nepenthes are engendered in their native habitats, but unlike Rafflesia more than one of these species is listed as endangered by the IUCN which makes conservation of these species so much easier. We will take more about this is future episodes.
The first episode of Nepenthes is a bit shorter than my usual episodes but don’t worry the next four will be packed full of amazing facts about Nepenthes. Think of this one as an introduction to this amazing plant, a bit of a teaser, if you will. Thanks for listening to the sixth episode of Unbelievable Unknown Plants and I’m glad you joined me because my first favorite thing about Nepenthes is Nepenthes.
 
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
Join me next week for another episode about Nepenthes.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Rafflesia: Conservation

Summary: Is the stinkiest flower in the world in danger of disappearing forever? Join Kiersten as she discusses the conservation status of Rafflesia.
 
For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean
 
Show Notes: 
“Most of the world’s largest flowers (genus Rafflesia) are now on the brink of extinction,” by Pastor Malabrigo Jr, Adriane B. Tobias, Joko Witono, Sofi Mursidawati, Agus Susatya, Mat Eunuch Siti-Munirah, Adhityo Wicaksono, Reza Raihandhany, Sarah Edwards, and Chris J. Thorogood. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10431
“Colossal Blossom: Pursuing the peculiar genetics of a parasitic plant,” by Jonathan Shaw. Harvard Magazine. https://www.harvardmagazine.com
Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript
(Piano music plays)
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
This is episode five of Unbelievable Unknown Plants and the final episode of rafflesia. The fifth thing I like about rafflesia is awareness that conservation discussions are bringing to this unknown plant.
Awareness is always important for any conservation efforts. That is one of the main reasons I decided to do this podcast. Getting the word out is the best weapon in a conservationist’s tool belt for saving an imperiled species.
When it comes to rafflesia the conservation efforts is what really brought this flower into the public eye. The first paper I found when diving into the research on this lifeform was titled “Most of the world’s largest flowers (genus Rafflesia) are now on the brink of extinction.” 
Despite the recent increased interest in Rafflesia, the flower as a species is in danger of extinction. When we say that we mean all species of Rafflesia not just one species. What makes Rafflesia so vulnerable to disappearing? If you’ve listened to the last four episode you might be able to piece it together yourself.
In the second episode in this series, I talked about where Rafflesia can be found. All species of Rafflesia are restricted to one area of the world. They are found on several islands within the southeast Asian region but they are only found in the Philippines, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and Peninsular Malaysia. They rely on the tropical rainforest areas of these islands, which restricts them to only a portion of the terrain. 
The number one reason Rafflesia are endangered is habitat loss. The above mentioned paper predicts that 67% of known habitats for Rafflesia are not in a protected area. This means that these habitats are at risk from human encroachment for lumber, clear cutting for farming, and greed, in general.
Rafflesia are found only on Tetrastigma vines, as far as we currently know, and these are only found in rainforests of southeast Asia. If these vines are removed, we lose all species of Rafflesia. 
Those of you that are loyal listeners may be saying, what about protections that come with IUCN listings of endangered species? That is a good point, but the International Union for Conservation of Nature only lists one Rafflesia species as Critically Endangered. In 2008 Rafflesia magnifica was listed as Critically Endangered with a population trend of decreasing.  
Rafflesia magnifica is found only on Mindanao Island, Philippines. The habitat in which this particular flower is found is being destroyed for road construction and conversion of the rainforest into banana plantations. 
Why are more species not listed by the IUCN? Even though researchers that published this paper urge the world to take action to list all Rafflesia as endangered, there are steps that must be taken to warrant this listing. The biggest obstacle is the lack of data determining the population numbers of Rafflesia. These flowers are hard to find as they bloom at random times and have no indication that they are about to bloom. It’s hard for scientists to find them, much less make an accurate count of them. Without this hard evidence, a listing by IUCN is impossible.
So scientists are doing the next best thing. They are bringing awareness of this plant to the world. Many international news companies have picked up this story and run with it. Smaller news outlets are highlighting this flower, and people like me are getting the name out there as well. The best way to save any species is to get the public interested. The more that they know the better.
What can we do? The scientists involved in the research of Rafflesia populations have proposed a four-point action plan. 
1. We need greater protection of Rafflesia habitats which targets the populations at most risk. Southeast Asia has the fastest disappearing forests on the planet, and as we know this is the only place where Rafflesia are found.
2. We need a better understanding of the full diversity of Rafflesia that exists which will better inform decision-making. A big problem with current protections is that the species diversity of Rafflesia are still under debate. How many species actually are there of Rafflesia? Sampling expeditions and genetic testing must be a priority.
3. We need to develop methods to successfully propagate Rafflesia in captivity.
4. If we introduce new ecotourism initiatives to engage local communities in Rafflesia conservation, it can go a long way. When given alternatives to destructive farming to feed your family, locals get on board with protecting local wildlife.
Several of the countries that host Rafflesia are doing their best to protect these flowers through ecotourism initiatives, local laws, and research in National Parks. For example, local villagers in West Sumatra are benefiting from Rafflesia ecotourism by building social media platforms that announce blooming events to attract paying tourists, bring awareness to the Rafflesia, and carefully manage the risks of trampling the flowers due to unsupervised visitors. 
Indonesia celebrates Rafflesia as one of its national flowers. 
In Sarawak, Malaysia all Rafflesia are listed by the local government as “Total Protected Plants” under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance of 1998.
Let’s go bak to number three of the four-point action plan. Many species of wildlife, flora or fauna, have benefitted from our efforts to breed or propagate individuals in captivity, so why not do this with Rafflesia? I love your thought process, listeners! The problem with this is that Rafflesia is a parasitic plant that relies on a host plant for survival, it’s not like other flowers where we just collect some seeds and put them in the ground. Rafflesia seeds have to get into the Tertrastigma vine to germinate and we still don’t know how that happens.
No having said this, Bogor Botanic Garden in West Java, Indonesia has had some success in propagating Rafflesia. They have successfully bloomed Rafflesia patma 16 times. There are several botanical gardens around the world that are in line to learn the secrets discovered at Bogor Botanic Garden, so they too can help conserve this amazing plant.
Even with these efforts, most Rafflesia species are still at great risk of disappearing forever, but hopefully with more exposure we can help Rafflesia have a bright future.
This is the final episode of Raflessia but only the fifth in the Unbelievable Unknown Plants series and my fifth favorite thing about Rafflesia is the conservation effort being made to secure their future.
 
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
 
So join me next week for another episode about Unbelievable Unknown Plants.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Rafflesia: What with that smell?

Summary: Boy that sticks! Rafflesia are beautiful but stinky flowers. Join Kiersten as she explains why they smell so foul.
 
For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean
 
Show Notes:
“Colossal Blossom: Pursuing the peculiar genetics of a parasitic plant,” by Jonathan Shaw. Harvard Magazine. https://www.harvardmagazine.com
“What’s that smell? The putrid scent of Rafflesia consueloae, its origin and developmental regulation,” by Erika Marie A. Bascos, Edwina S. Fernando, Melizar V. Duya. Lilian Jennifer V. Rodriguez. Flora, Volume 318, September 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flora.2024.152571
Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript
(Piano music plays)
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
The fourth episode of rafflesia is titled ‘What’s With That Smell?’, because the fourth thing I like about this amazing plant is the smell. Rafflesia arnoldii is known as the corpse lily. It’s not just a terrible nickname it earned on the school playground because of some strange mishap that it had no control over, no it actually smells like rotting meat. And it is absolutely on purpose.
Why would a flower want to smell like rotting meat? Well, smell emitted by any flower is typically aimed at a pollinator. The flower wants to attract an animal that is mobile that can help with reproduction. Mingling your pollen with another flower’s pollen is the way fertilization happens which results in fruit production that contains seeds which will produce new plants.  
There are a lot of plants out there and many of them use flowers to reproduce, so competition to attract a pollinator is fierce. Rafflesia have adapted to attract an unlikely pollinator, the carrion fly. Carrion flies are not your typical pollinator they do not fly around looking for flowers with nectar and pollen to eat. They do fly around looking for dead animals upon which to lay their eggs. The females lay eggs on rotting meat so when the eggs hatch the larvae have something to eat. Yum! 
Rafflesia are attracting these flies because no other flowers are doing so. It works well, for the flower, the flies, on the other hand, are wasting genetic material by laying eggs on something that smells like what they want but is not really meat.
The flies wander around the flower looking for the best place to lay their eggs, most likely the smelliest part of the flower, which appears to be inside the bowl shape in the middle of the flower. As the fly determines the best place to lay eggs it gets covered in pollen. Now rafflesia pollen is different from other flower’s pollen. It is a snotty, viscous liquid as opposed to powered pollen that is typical of most other flowers. The liquid pollen remains on the fly from days to weeks allowing the female fly to retain the pollen until it is, hopefully, attracted to another rafflesia.
What is it in the scent of rafflesia that makes it smell like rotting meat? Researchers asked this question too and they decided to create a scent composition of Rafflesia consueloae. They identified 13 volatile compounds in the scent of this rafflesia species. Now there were two other scent compound studies done before this on Rafflesia cantleyi and Rafflesia kerri. They found dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide and these floral volatile were also found in the study of Rafflesia consueloae. These are both sulfur containing volatiles and are the same ones produced by decomposing meat. So that’s where the smell comes from. This parasitic plant has figured out how to produce the exact same scent as actual rotting meat.
In studies investigating what female carrion flies were most attracted to, these two compounds were also profiled. The female carrion flies love these smells. These scents attract the females specifically because they are looking for rotting meat on which to lay their eggs. The females flies take their time looking for just the right spot in the flower to lay their eggs and as they do they come in contact with rafflesia’s pollen.  
But where is the best place to lay their eggs? Turns out these sulfide based scents are more heavily released from specific places in the flower that draw the fly deep into the interior so it becomes covered in the liquid pollen. 
Another Interesting tidbit to come out of these studies is that the rafflesia flower emits different scents at various stages of development. Remember I said  they found 13 different floral volatiles in the study of Rafflesia consueloae. Not all thirteen of them were released through the entire lifecycle of the flower. The dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide where only released when the flower was in full bloom. This flower just keeps getting more and more fascinating as we go along. 
The immense size of rafflesias may also be related to their chosen pollinator. Rotting meat is often large in size since we’re talking about decomposing animals, to be frank. Carrion flies are attracted to larger carcasses because they give off more scent and will probably still be decomposing when their eggs hatch. Scientists believe this may be a possible explanation for the large size of rafflesias. They are offering carrion flies the entire package. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that other plants pollinated by carrion flies such as the skunk cabbage in New England and the Stapelias of South Africa, are also large flower plants. 
One last attribute of rafflesia may also be related to the carrion fly. Rafflesia blooms emanate heat as they grow. The skunk cabbage also does this and is able to raise its temperature nearly 30 degrees. Originally scientists thought this thermogenesis was an adaptation that allowed flowers to bloom earlier at the end of winter by melting snow, but this doesn’t apply to rafflesia because they are all found in tropical habitats. 
Another explanation is that the heat allows rafflesia to more easily volatilize the odors they produce. The better to attract the carrion fly. The heat also allows the carrion fly to function at a lower energy cost while looking for a cozy place to lay her eggs, so she spends more time inside the flower.
Every time I write a new episode about this flower I cannot believe what amazing adaptations it has. The smell that rafflesia produces is my fourth favorite thing about them. 
 
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
 
So join me next week for another episode about Rafflesia.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Rafflesia: Lifecycle

Summary: Does a unique flower like rafflesia how a unique life cycle? Join Kiersten to find out!
 
For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean
 
Show Notes: 
“Most of the world’s largest flowers (genus Rafflesia) are now on the brink of extinction,” by Pastor Malabrigo Jr, Adriane B. Tobias, Joko Witono, Sofi Mursidawati, Agus Susatya, Mat Eunuch Siti-Munirah, Adhityo Wicaksono, Reza Raihandhany, Sarah Edwards, and Chris J. Thorogood. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10431
Start the Week Podcast: Mysterious Plants. 04 March 2024. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds
“Colossal Blossom: Pursuing the peculiar genetics of a parasitic plant,” by Jonathan Shaw. Harvard Magazine. https://www.harvardmagazine.com
Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript
(Piano music plays)
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
The third thing I like about rafflesia is its life cycle. In the first episode I hinted it at it a bit. Most of its life it is invisible and is a parasitic plant with a specific host plant. Let’s get into the fine details of rafflesia’s life cycle, and strap in listeners because this one is a doozy. When I chose rafflesia as my next unknown creature, I had no idea how how crazy the life cycle was, but my research has blown my mind. Enough anticipation, here we go.
Rafflesia have no roots, no shoots, no stems, and no leaves. Off to a good start when talking about a plant, right? The only thing left is petals and reproductive parts. Well, that’s essentially what rafflesia are made up of.
They spend most of their life hidden within the vines of their host plant. Vines in the genus Tetrastigma are the current host plants to rafflesia. They may be the chosen host due to the fact that they hold a lot of water, as do many vines.
Rafflesia buds pop out of the vines with no warning, or a least with no prior indication that we have seen. The buds pop out from a vine and will grow for months until they are the size of a cabbage, a large cabbage, like a basketball size cabbage. They look like the cabbage, as well. As the bud grows the petals remain wrapped tight like a cabbage. 
Most of the buds will be an orange color, since a good majority of rafflesia are a brick red color. When the bud is ready to bloom, five petals will unfold. In the middle of the flower is the floral chamber. Quoting from the Harvard Magazine article by Jonathan Shaw, the central floral chamber is (quote) “orb-shaped, with a circular opening at the top, [it} resembles a planetarium or astronomical observatory with a mottled roof partially opened to the sky.” (End quote). In the largest rafflesia flower, Rafflesia arnoldii, the chamber is big enough that an infant could comfortably take a nap inside. 
This is such a poetic and accurate description of the middle of rafflesia. Inside the opening is a disk covered with spikes. It looks like one of those rubber spiky balls that you can get your for dog. They give the inside of the planetarium structure a bit of a medieval torture chamber feel. Scientists have not determined what these structures do for the flower.  
The bloom will last about a week. During that week it is trying to attract pollinators to help is reproduce, just like all flowering plants. Those of you that are gardeners about there, you know exactly what I’m talking about. When the plants that you’ve loving planted and taken care of bloom, then you see the real reward. Pollinators such as honeybees, native bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and bats are attracted to the blooms and help the plant swap pollen which leads to reproduction. That is the same goal for rafflesia, as well.
They use scent, jut like other flowers, to attract pollinators, but the scent they produce is a bit different than your typical flower. Rafflesia arnoldii, is also know are the ‘corpse lily’ or the ‘carrion flower’. That probably tells you what you need to now about the scent of this enormous flower. It smells like rotting meat. We are going to delve deeper into the details of this odoriferous scent in a future episode, but rafflesia is targeting a specific pollinator, carrion flies.
Carrion flies are attracted to rotting meat where they their eggs so the larvae can consume the decaying flesh and transform into adult flies. Rafflesia employ a trick that many plants use to get what they need from mobile animals, pollen from another flower that they themselves cannot reach. The pollinator will visit the flower that is advertising what it is interested in, take a little reward, unknowingly get itself covered in pollen, then they visit another flower where the pollen from the first flower mixes with the second flower, and so on. 
The carrion fly is attracted to rafflesia where they will lay their eggs. They don’t known that this will not help them spread their genetics because when their eggs hatch the maggots will have nothing to consume, but the flower is getting what it wants out of this relationship. When the fly crawls around inside the central floral chamber looking for the best place to lay eggs, they get covered in pollen. 
Once again rafflesia is different from other flowers. Most plant pollen is powdery, dusting anything that touches it with a layer of pollen that clings long enough to travel to another flower nearby. Rafflesia pollen is a viscous liquid. The fly’s back gets coated with this thick, yellow liquid where it can remain for several days to weeks. Scientists are not completely sure why rafflesia use a gooey liquid pollen as opposed to a powdery pollen, but it may help keep the pollen in place longer than the powder based pollen.
Rafflesia blooms unpredictably and generally not in clusters. So a pollinator has to travel a lot further to find another rafflesia flower that is in bloom. If the pollen falls off before it finds a second flower, it’s not helpful. 
If a rafflesia is successfully pollinated, the female flowers produce fruit that looks like a pile of cow manure. Yum! These piles are filled with hundreds of thousands of seeds. Each of these one millimeter seeds come equipped with an oil body that may have something to do with seed dispersal. Here is where we lose the path of rafflesia life cycle. Researchers have not yet determined how rafflesia seeds get where they need to go to begin life.
We’ve come almost full circle, so let’s go back to the beginning for a moment. Remember when I said that rafflesia is invisible for most of its life until it begins to bud? This is because rafflesias are parasitic plants that rely on a physical connection the a vine in genus Tetrastigma. These vines hold a lot of moisture which may be why rafflesia have chosen these particular vines as a host. To create new flowers the seeds of rafflesia must come in contact with a Tertasigma vine. We don’t know how that happens. Some say that tree shrews may eat them and them poop them out, elephants step on the fruit and track them through the forest to the correct vine, but the oily bodies on the seeds indicate that ants may be the transporters of the seeds. Other species of flowers use oil bodies to attract ants to do their seed dispersal, so this may be what’s happening with rafflesia, as well. 
We have successfully come full circle with the life cycle of rafflesia, and I told you it was a doozy. I hope you enjoyed the ride because my third favorite thing about rafflesia is their life cycle. 
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
 
So join me next week for another episode about Rafflesia.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Rafflesia: Where are they found?

Summary: Where are rafflesia found? Join Kiersten as she visits Southeast Asia (not literally) to find out. 
 
For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean
 
“Most of the world’s largest flowers (genus Rafflesia) are now on the brink of extinction,” by Pastor Malabrigo Jr, Adriane B. Tobias, Joko Witono, Sofi Mursidawati, Agus Susatya, Mat Eunuch Siti-Munirah, Adhityo Wicaksono, Reza Raihandhany, Sarah Edwards, and Chris J. Thorogood. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10431
Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript
(Piano music plays)
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
The second thing I like about rafflesia is where it is found. This genus of plant has a very small distribution. Let’s talk about where you can find these amazing flowers.
You probably remember from last week’s introductory episode  that rafflesia our found in southeast Asia. None have been found outside this region at the recording of this podcast in 2024, although researchers believe that there are more within this region that have yet to be seen and described by science. The majority of rafflesia are found in the Philippines, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and Peninsular Malaysia. For your reference, Peninsular Malaysia refers to the western portion of Malaysia, or the island portion, and consists of 11 states and two federal territories.
Let’s take a look and where specific species of rafflesia are found. Before I get started, please excuse any mispronunciation of country names. I mean     no offense. 
Rafflesia arnoldii, the largest species of rafflesia with a spread of three feet in diameter, is found in Malaysia in Borneo and Sarawak. This rafflesia has two varieties, the second variety is Rafflesia arnoldii atjehensis which is found in Indonesia on West Kalimantan and Sumatra. Rafflesia aurantia is fund in the Philippines in Luzon and the Quirino Province. Rafflesia azlanii is found on Peninsular Malaysia in Perak and Pahang. Rafflesia baletei is fund in the Phillipones on Southern Luzon and the Camarines Sur Province. Rafflesia bengkuluensis is found in Indonesia in Souther Sumatra. Rafflesia cantleyi is found in Peninsular Malaysia and on Tioman Island. Rafflesia consueloae, the smallest rafflesia at only 9.7cm in width, is found in the Philippines in Luzon, Nueva Ecija Province.  
Rafflesia gadutensis is found in Indonesia on the Western coast of Sumatra and Benkulu. Rafflesia hasseltii is found in Indonesia’s central Sumatra. Rafflesia keithii can be found in Malaysia’s Borneo and Sabah and Indonesia’s East Kalimantan. Rafflesia kerrii is found in Peninsular Thailand as well as Peninsular Malaysia. Rafflesia lagascae is found in Luzon in the Philippines. Rafflesia lawangensis can be found in North Sumatra and the Gunung Leuser National Park of Indonesia. Rafflesia leonardii is found in Luzon, Phillipines. Rafflesia lobata can be seen in Panay, Philippines. Rafflesia manillana lives in Samar Philippines. Rafflesia meijeri blooms in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Rafflesia micropylora is also found in North Sumatra, Indonesia.
Rafflesia mira and Rafflesia mixta are both found in Mindanao, Philippines. Rafflesia patna is found in Java, Indonesia. Rafflesia philippensis is, you guessed it, found in the Philippines, Luzon Island, Quezon Province, Mt. Banahaw. This flower also goes by R. Banahaw or R. banahawensis in an homage to where it grows. Rafflesia pricei is found in Borneo, Sabah, possibly N. Sarawak, Brunei, and Kalimantan. Rafflesia rochussenii lives in Western Java and Sumatra, Indonesia. 
Rafflesia schadenbergiana and Rafflesia speciosa are both found in the Philippines in Mindanao and Panay respectively. Rafflesia tengku-adlinii is found in Borneo and Sabah Malaysia. Rafflesia tuan-mudae is also found in Malaysia but in West Sarawak. Rafflesia verrucosa resides in Mindanao, Philippines. Rafflesia zollingeriana is found in eastern Java, Indonesia. The remaining species of rafflesia that we currently know of have incomplete taxonomic identification, so we are not sure if they are all seperate species from the one described above, but they are all found in Indonesia or Peninsular Malaysia.
Thanks for hanging in there listeners, I didn’t list these all out just so I could say rafflesia a lot, although I have to admit it is fun to say, I want to highlight how many places each specie is found. If you didn’t tune it out, you may have noticed that most species are only found in one place. Only five species are found on more than one island. Since most of these flowers are found on islands, the theory of island biogeography applies. This theory, in a nutshell, says that larger islands should host a larger amount of species than smaller islands because larger islands are, well, larger. This holds true for the majority of islands that host rafflesia, but when dealing with nature, there is always an exception to the rule. 
This is true of rafflesia. The island of Luzon is seven times smaller than Borneo yet both of them host the same amount of rafflesia. Scientists are not sure why yet, but research into this is ongoing. When discussing distribution of this plant, we do have to keep in mind that scientists are still discovering new species or discovering known species in new locations, so our knowledge is continually evolving. 
Most rafflesias are found in a rainforest habitat on the island where they bloom and that is due to the nature of the host plant upon which they rely. The vines in the genus Tetrastigma seem to be the only vines that host these amazing flowers and they are mostly found in rainforests. Now that we know what rafflesia is and where to find it, next week we will delve into its unusual life cycle. 
Thank you for listening to episode two of rafflesia. The locations where this incredible flower is found is my second favorite thing about them. 
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
 
So join me next week for another episode about Rafflesia.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Unbelievable Unknown Plants: Rafflesia

Summary: Rafflesia is a flower but not just any ole flower. Join Kiersten as she discusses this highly unusual plant.
 
For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean
 
Show Notes: 
“Most of the world’s largest flowers (genus Rafflesia) are now on the brink of extinction,” by Pastor Malabrigo Jr, Adriane B. Tobias, Joko Witono, Sofi Mursidawati, Agus Susatya, Mat Eunuch Siti-Munirah, Adhityo Wicaksono, Reza Raihandhany, Sarah Edwards, and Chris J. Thorogood. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10431
“Rafflesia arnoldii,” Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, https://www.kew.org
Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript
(Piano music plays)
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
 
Kiersten - Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… This is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
My name is Kiersten and I have a Master’s Degree in Animal Behavior and did my thesis on the breeding behavior of the Tri-colored bat. I was a zookeeper for many years and have worked with all sorts of animals from Aba Aba fish to tigers to ravens to domesticated dogs and so many more in between. Many of those years were spent in education programs and the most important lesson I learned was that the more information someone has about a particular animal the less they fear them. The less they fear them the more they crave information about them and before you know it you’ve become an advocate for that misunderstood animal.
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
This series will be a bit different from previous ones because we’re going to talk about two unknown species. We’ll delve into two amazing plants that have quite unusual life cycles.  This is the first episode of a series focused on unbelievable, unknown plants.
The first plant I’m going to talk about is Rafflesia and the first thing I like about this plant is rafflesia itself. Rafflesia is actually the genus of 42 different species of plants. This genus includes the largest solitary flower in the world. Rafflesia arnoldii grows up to three feet in diameter and can weigh up to 15 lbs. That’s one heck of a big flower! 
This is also an amazingly beautiful flower. It has five large, rounded petals. The middle of the flower looks like a bit like a giant salad bowl, but that is just part of the outer petals. If you look at a side view of this flower the outer petals look like the letter Y. Beneath the inner lip of the flower sits the central column where the stamens are located. Almost every species of Rafflesia follows this basic anatomical pattern. Each one has it own distinct details but generally follows this pattern.
All Rafflesia are a red color with white or yellow spots all over. They look like a cartoon version of a flower. Maybe something you see in a Super Mario Brothers video game. The red hue varies by species and one is such a pale pink it almost looks white. The spots also vary is shape from round dots like a polka-dot pattern to round edged rectangles to blotches that have no discernible shape.
All Rafflesia that we currently know of are found in Southeast Asia. This is one of the most plant-rich areas on the planet and Rafflesia are found only here. As I stated before there are 42 species of this amazing plant and since the beginning of the 21 century the species count has doubled from the number described between 1821 and 1984. Thirteen species were described in 1997. 
Now I’m not done with the amazing facts about Rafflesia. These flowers are invisible for most of its life cycle, because the main part of the plant lives hidden within another plant. Rafflesia are considered parasitic.
The Oxford Languages Dictionary defines parasite as an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other’s expense. Rafflesia are some of the most amazing parasites on Earth, as far as I’m concerned. We’ll delve more into this topic in a future episode, but the Rafflesia chose vines in the genus Tetrastigma as their host plants.
Island living is the life for Rafflesia. Most of them are found on small island throughout Southeast Asia. Some of them are found on only one island and no where else. 
Taxonomy is still disputed about these flowers so classifying them can be a challenge. Beyond classification, we know little about these plants. Why they chose the hosts that they choose, which species are found where, when they will bloom, and some much more. Scientists are still studying these amazing flowers, but time is running out. Many of these flowers habitats are disappearing at a terrifying rate. There may be rafflesia disappearing before scientists even discover them.
We will talk about all these topics in the first half of this series of Unbelievable unknown plants. I’m excited about this one listeners! I picked a great plant to start off with because my first favorite thing about rafflesia is rafflesia. 
 
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
 
So join me next week for another episode about Rafflesia.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Tanuki: Conservation

Summary: Are tanuki in danger of extinction? Join Kiersten to find out all about the conservation status of the tanuki.
 
For my hearing impaired listeners a full transcript is available in the show notes on Podbean
 
Show Notes: 
Nyctereutes procyonoides, Raccoon Dog. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org
“A path to human-raccoon dog harmony: identifying factors influencing the tolerance of urban residents in Shanghai towards a neglected species,” by  Qianqian Zhao, Yihan Wang, Lejie Wu, Yidi Feng, Yuhan Li, Zhuojin Zhang, Qing Zhao, and Fang Wang. People and Nature, Vol 6, Issue 3. Https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002//pan3.10636.
 Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript 
(Piano music plays) 
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
This is the final episode of Tanuki. A little bitter sweet for me because I’ve had a great time researching and talking about this truly unique canine, but here we are and the tenth thing I like about the raccoon dog is their conservation status.
Those of you who are consistent listeners know that I typically finish a series with a conservation episode and tanuki is no exception. This is a conservation episode with good news, overall, though. The raccoon dog is not in need of extreme conservation efforts as of this recording due to their adaptability. 
The IUCN Red List has the raccoon dog listed as Least Concern. IUCN stands for International Union for Conservation of Nature which was established in 1948 bringing conservation to an international stage. This organization brings the world together with a shared goal of protecting nature. The IUCN Red List categorizes animals and plants by their population levels in endemic habitats and regions. Ratings range from Unknown to Extinct. 
The raccoon dog is categorized as Least Concern which means their population levels are good and remain stable. This is mainly due to the raccoon dog’s adaptability, as I said before. They are excellent at using what their environment has to offer. This is good news. We don’t have tp worry about tanuki disappearing from the planet, but they are experiencing pressure from the same things that all animals and plants are suffering from.
Habitat loss is causing more and more individuals to move closer to human neighborhoods, loss of insects and amphibians is causing some populations to alter their diets, and changing temperatures are causing raccoon dogs to change behaviors to accommodate shorter hibernation times. 
Hunting is a concern. Raccoon dogs are hunted in every region they are found whether an endemic area or introduced. There is only one managed program involving hunting and that is within an introduced area. This is understandable. An adaptable animal in an introduced habitat can become destructive fairly quickly. The issue with hunting tanuki in their native habitat is that population numbers should be monitored so that they do not drop below genetically diverse numbers leaving no hope for recovery.  
Just because the raccoon dog’s population is doing well and we do not need to currently worry, it’s never too early to look at what conservation efforts need to include for the future.
A study recently released in March of 2024, is testing the waters. The research was done in Shanghai, China and the title of the paper is “A path to human-raccoon dog harmony: identifying factors influencing the tolerance of urban residents in Shanghai towards a neglected species.”  
One of the best places to start when considering how to sculpt a conservation plan is gathering information about how the people near the area feel about the flora and fauna of the area. How does this wild place impact their lives. Is it important to them? Would they miss if it disappeared? Do they know what that habitat supports? 
I believe that all habitats and animals should be conserved in their natural, true state just because they exist. We should conserve and preserve because they exist and for no other reason. Everything deserves a place to live and thrive and we, humans, are some of the most adaptable creatures on the planet, so we can change our behaviors to fit in with nature. Instead we alter everything to meet our needs. 
One of the best ways to get people onboard about conservation is to show them how these animals and wild places benefit us. It is a great tool to have in the conservationists backpack. The researchers in Shanghai wanted to know how residents felt about raccoon dogs. They devised a poll and collected 281 completed surveys from residents of Shanghai which is a rapidly developing city. Scientist wanted to investigate people’s knowledge, attitude, and tolerance towards raccoon dogs. They considered a few demographic variables such as gender, age, and education because they hypothesized that these might influence a person’s familiarity with raccoon dogs. They also included four variables of human dimensions such as familiarity with raccoon dogs, trust in wildlife management authorities, perceived benefits of raccoon dogs, and perceived risks of raccoon dogs. Using these four dimensions they designed multiple questions to quantify participant’s responses.
The surveys were conducted in 10 residential areas that have high human-raccoon dog conflict. The data revealed something I have known for a long time which is that when people are educated about an animal, they understand it more and then they care about it more. The recommendation from these scientists is: “To promote harmony between urban residents and nature and foster their affection for urban species, educational campaigns and citizen science, which refers to the participation of non-professional citizens in scientific research, can be used to address conflicts both between humans and wild animals and between people with different opinions.” I could not have said it better myself!
On that note, I’ll close the final episode of Tanuki with my tenth favorite thing being that the future of tanuki conservation looks bright.
 
 
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
 
I’ll be taking a break for summer but I’ll be back in September. So join me in a month for a brand new series about another misunderstood or unknown creature.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Tanuki: Human Use

Summary: Raccoon Dogs have a complicated relationship with humans. Join Kiersten as she talks about how humans use raccoon dogs.
 
For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean
 
Show Notes: 
Nyctereutes procyonoides, Raccoon Dog. Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org
The Origins of “Murmansk” Fur and Its Role in the Fashion Industry,” by Madison Dapcevich, https://www.snopes.com
Keeping Raccoon Dogs as Pets, https://www.rspca.org
Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript
(Piano music plays) 
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
The ninth episode of Tanuki isn’t exactly something I like about this animal but it is a reality for this animal. This episode we will discuss how humans use the raccoon dog.
The human relationship with nature, which we think we are removed from but in reality are impacted by and greatly impact, is often complicated. We love it, we hate it, we want to conserve it, we want to exploit it. Humans have struggled long and hard to figure out how we fit into the world in which we live.
Raccoon dogs are on a long list of living creatures that have a complicated relationship with humans. We love them, we hate them, we want to conserve them, we want to exploit them. And boy have we figured out how to exploit them.
As many invasive species around the world, raccoon dogs were introduce to other portion of the planet by humans, for use by humans. This is what happened to the raccoon dogs on Finland and Europe. They were brought there by humans for food and fur. Today raccoon dogs are still used for food and fur. 
In North America and portions of Europe we have made great strides to reduce the fur trade and it has been successful, but it still hangs on. I cannot fault humans from the past that used animal fur to survive in frigid weather, but back then the entire animal was often used for survival. One animal was hunted and everything was utilized. Today, for the most part, fur is fashion and I have never understood why humans think that fur looks better on them than on the animal that grew it. 
in Japan, China, and Russia, raccoon dogs are raised to supply the fur trade. The fur is often marketed as murmanski, tanuki, Asiatic raccoon or Finn raccoon fur. Murmanski or tanuki is often seen in European countries, where as North American markets see Asiatic raccoon or Finn raccoon fur most often. 
I am not entirely opposed to raising animals commercially for human use, but we must remember to give them the respect as living animals that they deserve. I am opposed to raising animals for use in fashion which is not necessary for our survival. 
Conditions within these fur farms are deplorable. Raccoon dogs are kept in overpopulated cages, fed only enough food to keep them alive long enough to grow to the desired size before being slaughtered and skinned. Raccoon dog fur is used mostly to trim the hoods of jackets or to make stoles or adorn other items of clothing. Raccoon dog fur is not useful for making coats to withstand freezing temperatures. Humans use this strictly as a fashion statement. Snopes also recently confirmed a research report that some labels claiming the fur trim on their clothing is faux fur is actually tanuki fur, so be aware when buying faux fur.
I found some reference to raccoon dog yarn, but could not get any substantial descriptions of what it is or how it is made. Some rumors say it is shaved from raccoon dogs once a year like sheep and processed into yarn, but I cannot confirm these reports. Regardless, I can’t imagine how many raccoon dogs you’d have to raise to make any profit off of this endeavor. Having large quantities of animals for profit usually leads to lax care. This is often marketed as tanuki yarn.
In Japan and China, tanuki may be on the menu. Several exotic meat markets in these Asian countries sell raccoon dog meat. Selling non-domesticated animals to eat is never a good thing. Most often these animals are hunted to near extinction in their native habitats which can throw the entire ecosystem off, creating even bigger problems not to mention killing a species that has every right to live merely because it exists. The other major problem with this practice is that it spreads disease. Wild animals are susceptible to disease. It is a natural part of life. Disease is one way that nature keeps populations of all living things in balance. When you kill wild animals and bring them into a market place to sell, you can also be sending home whatever diseases that animal is carrying with them. If the animal is not handled and prepared properly it could have disastrous results.
In several countries, there is a raccoon dog hunting season. Now, I have no problems with hunting these animals in countries that they have been introduced to, such as Finland, as long as they are hunted humanely without tortuous methods such as bear traps. Hunting them in their natural ranges is also acceptable as long as populations are managed so that their numbers never plummet to dangerous levels. 
Of course, why you are hunting these animals is important to me. In areas where they are injurious, such as an introduced habitat, I completely understand hunting them to remove them from a non-native area. Hunting them for the sheer joy of hunting to kill a living animal and trying to kill as many as possible, that I have issues with and have never understood.
Humans use raccoon dogs for one other thing, pets. Raccoon dogs are apparently popular pets in England, one of their non-native ranges. It is illegal in England to have them as a pet. Raccoon dogs do not make good pets. They are not a domesticated breed of dog so it does not matter how you raise them, they will always be wild animals. They need large areas to roam, a varied diet of items that most humans do not want to provide, in other words not dog food, and we do not know enough about their social structure to know if they can live without the company another raccoon dog. Keeping a wild animal in a human household is not a good idea for the human or the animal in question. Please do not buy a raccoon dog for a pet, no matter what anyone tells you. Keep in mind that most countries outside of their natural range, including the countries they were introduced to years ago, have outlawed buying, selling, or owning raccoon dogs as pets or commercial animals. This is to prevent them from escaping and setting up residence in that country, because these animals are extremely adaptable as we have learned from the rest of this series.
This has been a tough episode for me. It is hard for me to talk about the exploration of any wild animal, but I thought it was important information. This is the end of the ninth episode of the tanuki.  
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
 
Join me next week for the penultimate episode about Tanuki.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Tanuki: Mythology Part 2

Summary: We’re not yet done with the mythology of tanuki. Join Kiersten for another episode about the supernatural aspects of the raccoon dog.
 
For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean
 
Show Notes:
https://mythick.com/tanuki
https://wildinjapan.wordpress.com
https://livejapan.com
https://www.curiuosordinary.com
https://sakura.co
Music written and performed by Katherine Camp
 
Transcript 
(Piano music plays)
Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife.
(Piano music stops)
Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I’m Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we’ll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating. 
This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won’t regret it.
The mythology of the Tanuki is vast and a little confusing, but it’s the eighth thing I like about this incredible animal.
In the seventh episode we also talked about mythology of the tanuki. We learned that the mythological raccoon dog has the ability to change shape. They can imitate people and inanimate objects, such as tea kettles. They are known to shape shift into people. Typically they pick people who enjoy gambling, cheating, drinking, stealing and lying. They will imitate government personnel and go to citizen’s houses to play tricks on them. They have even impersonated monks, learned Buddhism, then taught it to humans. I’m wondering how close their teachings were to true Buddhist teachings.
They are so good at imitating people that they can live several years, possibly an entire lifetime, as humans before changing back into tanuki. There are ways to tell if you have run into a tanuki in disguise. According to legend tanuki wear a certain kimono that gives them away, but I have’t found any description of what this kimono looks like or how it differs from a human kimono.  So I don’t know how helpful that tip is…
If you see someone walking in the rain and they are not getting wet, without using an umbrella presumably, they could be a tanuki. Also, if the tanuki becomes sufficiently distracted they may forget to keep their tail hidden which gives them away as not being human. 
Tanuki can also change inanimate objects into other objects. For example, they can change leaves into money which they will probably use to gamble or trick humans into selling them something for a pile full of leaves.
  Tanuki are portrayed as mischievous trouble makers, helpful tricksters, and devious murderer s. Whatever they are, they are found throughout Japanese cultural history. If you visit Japan, you will see statues in front of many stores and for sale to customers. The statues emphasize the helpful persona of the tanuki.
These statues all look the same because each item on the raccoon dog has meaning. These items represent the eight signs of good luck.
Item One: A straw hat: The straw hat is used to protect yourself from trouble and unexpected accidents.
Item Two: Big eyes: Big eyes help you observe and pay attention to everything around you so you can make correct decisions.
Item Three: A smiling face: A smile reminds you to be friendly and kind to others.
Item Four: Wine Bottle: The bottle contains Japanese sake, or rice wine, and represents learning the qualities and character of a person that does not have to worry about eating. This one is a bit confusing, but what I believe is that this encourages a person to take notice of those that work hard to keep their family fed.
Item Five: A book: The book is a place to record cash transactions. It is  important in creating trust when borrowing money to help build trusting relationships between people.
Item Six: Th belly drum: One of the stories from the last episode talks about the tanuki using their bellies as a drum. Th belly drum represents a steady, calm, and daring attitude in life.
Item Seven: The “golden-bags”, that is written in parentheses, represent luck that will get better and better and create more and more money or fortune.
Item Eight: The Tail They have a big fluffy tail, on the status and in reality. The tail on the statue helps to support the balance of the body implying stability. It also represents the end. This one makes perfect sense to me. It also means wishing for a firm ending to life or a certain event in life.
These statues are quite cute and certainly imply a sense of impish good luck.  
Let’s take a closer look at the “golden bags” that is the seventh item on our lucky statue. The “golden bags” come with parentheses because it refers to the tanuki’s scrotum.  A bit of a warning here, we will be taking about male genitals for the rest of this podcast, if that is offensive to you, please be aware. Also, gentleman, this conversation may become a bit traumatizing for you, so take care.
One of the strangest abilities mythological tanukis have is the ability to stretch their scrotum to incredible sizes!. Yes, I am talking about the skin that surrounds the testes, the reproductive organs, of most male mammals. 
Tanuki can enlarge and shape change their scrotum into unbelievable sizes and shapes. It’s actually such an intregal part of the tanuki legend that during the Edo period a Japanese artist created a series of prints depicting the many ways that tanuki use their scrotum. 
They can use them for fishing and hunting. One print shows four tanuki standing in knee high water, these tanuki look like humans with dog-like faces and tails, stretching their scrotum out like a fishing net. They use the skin to corral fish and scoop them up. 
Another print show a single tanuki throwing his scrotum, which is still attached to him, into the air from a cliff edge to catch flying cranes. Another hunting related print shows tanuki using the scrotum to carry their bounty by pulling it behind them or over their shoulders.
It doesn’t stop there. Tanuki can use their scrotum to workout. One print shows several tanuki using their expandable skin as weights. One is doing leg lifts while another dead lifts his scrotum. Two others are watching presumably cheering them on. Apparently this skin doesn’t just expand in size but can increase in density as well.
  Tanuki can also use their scrotums as weapons. One print shows a tanuki beating an extremely large catfish to death with his expandable pouch. It can also help them stay warm on a cold day. There is a print that shows five tanuki using their elastic skin as a tent, sleeping bag, and cloak. Convenient. If you forget your camping gear just find a kind tanuki that will share theirs.
One print shows tanuki using their scrotum as a boat carrying themselves and several other tanuki across the water. There are so many other things that they can use their scrotums for that I could go on for awhile, but I won’t because I think you get the picture. Also, I just can’t say the word scrotum one more time!
So to sum up, tanukis are a bit of a catch all for unexplainable supernatural activities. If you don’t know what it is, it’s probably a tanuki in disguise. 
This concludes the mythology episodes of tanuki. It was a bit of a crazy ride but it is my eighth favorite thing about raccoon dogs. 
 
If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change. 
 
Join me next week for the penultimate episode about Tanuki.    
 
(Piano Music plays) 
This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.