Wild Inside

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Ben Garrod and Jess French glimpse inside animals from the big wild world

Prof Ben Garrod and Dr Jess French take up the rare opportunity to delve deep inside some of nature's wondrous wild animals offering new insights into their success as a species

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Wild Inside: The Red Kangaroo

The Red Kangaroo

BBC Radio 4 - Wild Inside, The Red Kangaroo

Ben Garrod and Jess French hop into the anatomy of the largest marsupial, the red kangaroo

Ben Garrod and Jess French hop into the anatomy of the world’s largest marsupial, the red kangaroo, to understand its unique strategies of survival, reproduction, and movement.

Wild Inside returns for a new series to take a look at some of our planet’s most exceptional and unusual creatures from an entirely new perspective: the inside. Whilst we can learn a lot from observing the outside, the secrets to the success of any animal – whether they swim, fly, or hop – lies in their complex internal anatomy. How do these wild animals survive and thrive in harsh and changing environments? To truly understand we need to delve inside.  

Professor Ben Garrod, evolutionary biologist from the University of East Anglia, and expert veterinary surgeon Dr Jess French, open up and investigate what makes each of these animals unique, in terms of their extraordinary anatomy, behaviour and their evolutionary history. Along the way, they reveal some unique adaptations which give each species a leg (or claw) up in surviving in the big, wild world. 

The series begins with an icon of the outback – known best for its hopping, boxing, and cosy pouch – the red kangaroo. Despite the immense heat and lack of water, these marsupials dominate Australia, with their evolutionary history driving them to success. From the powerful legs which allow them to hop up to 40km an hour, to an unexpected reproductive system that keeps their populations plentiful, Ben, Jess and marsupial expert Dr Jack Ashby reveal a mammalian anatomy which holds many surprises.  

Further episodes : 

2: Sometimes ominously called the lamb vulture – the Bearded Vulture is a bird of legend but survives on an astounding diet of up to 90% bone. And its anatomy reflects its unusual dinner.  

3: The formidable sap sucking aphid which at less than 3mm long is the scourge of many crop growers worldwide, outwitting the plants it feeds on, whilst cloning itself to produce identical offspring every 20 minutes.  

4: Found lounging in their thousands on coastlines along the western coats of North and Central America – the California Sea Lion is a master of land and sea. 

Co-Presenters: Ben Garrod and Jess French  
Executive Producer: Adrian Washbourne  
Producer: Ella Hubber  
Editor: Martin Smith 
Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth

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Wild Inside

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