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July 28, 2025 • 17 mins

In this episode, we put on our furriest blanket to learn about the musk ox, Maggie sees if we've been paying attention this season in Guess That Critter, and Spencer leads another round of MeatEater Kids Trivia!

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:23):
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Speaker 2 (00:42):
It's time for why It's the Way it is.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Hey, kids, this is Clay Nukeom and today I want
to tell you about one of my favorite animals in
the whole world.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
This animal can weigh six hundred.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
Pounds and be fifty five inches tall at the shoulder,
which is about as tall as a small horse. This
animal has split hoofs like a goat, and it can
have hair over twenty four inches long. It has horns
that cover the top of its head like a football helmet,

(01:21):
and then they drop down past the side of his
face and then hook upward like a fish hook. You
have any idea what this animal is, let me give
you a couple more clues. This animal lives in the
North American Arctic, and the Arctic is the northern regions
of our continent. The animal that I'm talking about is

(01:43):
the musk ox. Have you ever heard of a muskox?
A muskox kind of looks like a cow with a
tablecloth draped over its back, and the tablecloth hangs down
to the ground. The indigenous people of the Arctic call
it the umin mok, which means in the Inuit language skin.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Like a beard.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
The animal looks like it has a beard growing all
over its body. Muskoks live in Canada, Greenland, and Alaska.
They're believed to be eighty to one hundred and twenty
five thousand muskoks in the world. They're one of the
few hooved animals that survived the last Ice Age. Only

(02:24):
the muskoks and the caribou survived the last Ice Age
up in the Arctic, but they're still there. The closest
relatives that they have are goat and sheep. They kind
of look like a cow if you saw them, but
they're much more related to goat and sheep. Muskoks live
off grass, willows, lichen, and moss. They're herbivores. They only

(02:47):
eat plants. Their colors are black, gray, and brown, and
sometimes from a distance that looks like the tips of
their hair can be blonde, and that brings up one
of the most interesting things about muskoks is their hair.
The guard hairs on a muskox can be twenty four
inches long. Guard hairs are the hair that are on

(03:09):
the outside of the animal that give it the protection
from the wind, the snow, the ice, and the rain,
and it's really wild and beautiful looking. But there's another
shorter hair that they call quivot that is underneath the
guard hairs, and the quivot when made into wool, is
eight times warmer than sheep wool. Yep, kids, you heard

(03:32):
that right. Sheep wool is extremely warm. We wear wool
clothing all the time to stay warm. Man, if you
could ever get your hands on some muskoks wool, that
would be eight times warmer than sheep will. But they
need that because they live in some of the harshest
conditions on planet Earth, where temperatures can drop to.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Below negative fifty.

Speaker 3 (03:53):
They've got to be able to stand in the cold
and survive. One of the most unique social carecharacteristics of
muskoks is how they travel in herds. Winter herds of
muskogs can be between twelve and twenty four animals. In
the summer, they'll be about half that. But probably what

(04:13):
you've noticed if you've ever seen muskogs on TV or
seeing them in pictures, or maybe you've seen a real muskox,
I don't know, but you probably noticed when they are threatened,
they will gather up in a circle and form a
circle with their horns out, and they'll put their young
in the middle of the circle. So if they're being
chased by a wolf or a grizzly bear or perhaps

(04:34):
a polar bear, they will, rather than try to outrun
that animal, they will circle up in a defensive posture
so that a wolf just can't get to the young.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
It's one of the most incredible things that they do.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
Male muskoks during the breeding season they fight to establish dominance,
and what they do is they run towards each other
and crash their horns to get And remember I said
that they have what's called a boss, which is like
the top of their whole skull is covered with this horn,
almost like a man wearing a football helmet, and then

(05:11):
the horn swooped down in a hooked jayshape. Well, they
clack together six hundred pounds on six hundred pounds smash,
and it's so hard that it seems like it might
hurt the muskogs, But they actually have a layer of
air between their brain and the top of their skull
that acts as paddings, so their brains aren't jarred by

(05:33):
the impact. I find that very interesting kids. How about you, guys,
you think that's cool. Muskogs are undoubtedly one of the
most mysterious animals in the world. They live in some
of the harshest terrain in the world. They survived the
last Ice Age, and they are one of my favorite

(05:54):
animals in the whole world. Thank you, guys so much
for listening, and I hope that you have a great
and wild day.

Speaker 4 (06:09):
What kind of flowers glow on your face?

Speaker 5 (06:13):
Two lips?

Speaker 2 (06:17):
It's time for Guess that critter where we play animal
sounds and critter calls, and you've got to guess what
creatures making those sounds.

Speaker 5 (06:25):
Don't worry, it ain't too hard.

Speaker 2 (06:27):
We're gonna throw in some clues. No, open up your ears.

Speaker 6 (06:43):
That sound you just heard is a mew. Female's mew
to communicate with males and juveniles. This is the sound
you're most likely to hear from these critters. If you're
out walking in the mountains, especially around dawn and dusk.
Because they are crepuscular, the young will also make a
squealing call that sounds a little whinier than the short,

(07:04):
crisp mew made by the females. Have you ever lost
track of your mom and said, mom, where are you?
That's kind of what that sound is. These critters are herbivores,

(07:26):
meaning they only eat things like grasses, forbs, and shrubs.
They are also herd animals, so they tend to stay
in groups, and they use these vocalizations to stay in
contact with each other while moving through the woodlands and
grasslands they call home. Listen closely. This next sound can
be a little tricky to hear. What you just heard

(07:55):
is called glunking. The males make this basy thunking sound
most often during breeding times around females. These are big critters.
The males typically weigh between seven hundred and twelve hundred pounds,
while the females typically weigh between five hundred and eight hundred.
They stand about five feet tall at the shoulder, have

(08:17):
a light brown body, with a dark brown neck and head,
and a light rump. Now, this is the sound that
These critters are known for the bugle. If you remember,

(08:38):
back in episode twelve, you heard my friend Clay talk
all about bugles. The loud, multi tone call usually begins
with a low frequency growl and progresses to a high
pitch scream and often ends with a chuckle. Bulls may
bugle to announce their location and locate other bulls or

(08:58):
warn them to stay away. It can also be used
to attract a cow. While they can bugle any time,
you're most likely to hear it when they are running
from early September into October. Now try to guess that critter. Okay,
it's time for the reveal. It's an elk. Elk are

(09:26):
known for being excellent table fare and are one of
the most sought after big game species in North America.
Elk are commonly found all over the Rocky Mountain region,
but at one time, an estimated ten million lived all
across North America. However, by the late eighteen hundreds, elk
were nearly wiped out by over hunting and habitat destruction

(09:49):
from settlers. They have since been reintroduced in places like Kentucky,
West Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and a few other states.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
As well.

Speaker 6 (10:00):
Did you know that elk have two canine teeth called ivories.
They are made of the same material as elephant or
walrus tusks. Because of that connection, scientists believe that a
very long time ago, elk might have had large tusks too.
Ivories were and are prized by many, including Native Americans,

(10:21):
who used them as adornment for clothing and jewelry like
necklaces and earrings, often passing them down generations as family heirlooms.
What would you make with elk ivory?

Speaker 4 (10:39):
What do you call a lazy baby kangaroo a pouch potato?

Speaker 2 (10:49):
It's time for everyone's favorite game show, Trivia. Let's all
join you.

Speaker 5 (10:56):
I'm joined by Matthew, Mabel Sage, Amelia Edison, and Marshall.
Each player will learn ten dollars for conservation with every
question they get right today. There's a potential for this
room to earn up to one hundred and eighty dollars
this week. That donation is going to the Nature Conservancy,
who brings conservation into the classroom through their Nature Lab program.

(11:17):
Let's see how much money our players can raise. Question one,
which of these is not a real animal? Is it
a bullfrog? A bull shark or a bullworm. This is
oh okay.

Speaker 4 (11:35):
It's real because I have one of those in my Marshall,
don't tell.

Speaker 5 (11:38):
Them the answer, dude, which of these is not a
real animal? Is it a bullfrog, a bull shark or
a bullworm? Two of those animals are real, one of
them is not. Is everybody ready? Go ahead and reveal
your answers. Mabel bullworm, Amelia Marshall, stage Addison, Matthew. That

(12:07):
was too easy. Everybody got it. The correct answer is bullworm.
Bullfrogs are big amphibians that are named after their croak
that sounds like a bellowing bull. Bull sharks or sharks
that got their name because they have a tendency to
head butt their prey. And the bullworm is a fictional
animal from SpongeBob.

Speaker 7 (12:26):
Actually Spencer, that's not technically correct. The animal from SpongeBob
is called Alaskan bullworm.

Speaker 5 (12:33):
Oh wow, did you guys know we had SpongeBob in
the room with us today? Now what do you guys
think would be a cooler animal? A bullworm or a
worm bowl SpongeBob SpongeBob, a worm that's as big as
a bull or a bowl that's as small as a worm.
A bull. You guys are in big agreement. You want

(12:56):
a little tiny bull.

Speaker 7 (12:57):
I hate worms.

Speaker 6 (12:58):
Okay.

Speaker 5 (12:59):
Also it's an easy one.

Speaker 4 (13:00):
I was also hold a bullsk is the most like
like it's killed the most people's in any they're dead.

Speaker 5 (13:06):
You're right. Here's question two? Which of these is not
a real animal? Is it a horse fly, a turtle, turkey,
or a lion fish. Which of these is not a
real animal? A horse fly, turtle, a turtle, turkey, or
a lion fish. The room is very confident, yes, except

(13:31):
horse fly, turtle, turkey, or lionfish. Two of those are
real animals, is not? There are a lot of teas it.

Speaker 8 (13:41):
Has like the answer struges a letter.

Speaker 5 (13:46):
Sure, yeah, you got me there. Which of these is
not a real animal? Horse fly, turtle, turkey, or lionfish?
Is everybody ready? Go ahead and reveal your answers.

Speaker 8 (13:56):
Mabel turtle, turkey, Amelia lionfish, Marshall turtle.

Speaker 5 (14:01):
Turkey, Sage Addison turtle, Matthew. The correct answer is a
turtle turkey. Horse Flies are flies that got their name
because they are always bothering horses, lion fish or fish
that got their name because they have spikes that resemble
a lion's mane. And the turtle turkey is an animal

(14:22):
I made of. Now, what do you guys think would
be a cooler animal? A turtle turkey or a turkey turtle?

Speaker 2 (14:27):
What's the difference.

Speaker 5 (14:29):
Well, you've got a turtle who looks like a turkey
or a turkey who looks like a turtle. Turkey looks
like a turtle. You that like has a shell on
it in in a.

Speaker 8 (14:41):
Twin Lake, Michigan. Huh you get stung by the worst
horse fly?

Speaker 5 (14:46):
Oh yeah, they're big.

Speaker 8 (14:48):
A turtle that can fly would be pretty cool.

Speaker 5 (14:50):
That's what you that's your vote? That sounds like a Mario.

Speaker 6 (14:56):
Nteh?

Speaker 8 (14:56):
What am I saying?

Speaker 5 (14:57):
A turtle who can fly, they have to roost.

Speaker 4 (15:02):
And also, like the lion, the lion fish has like
stwipes on it that kind of looks like a lion.

Speaker 5 (15:09):
Oh yeah, they'll tear you up, buddy. Here's question three.
Which of these is not a real animal? Is it
a tiger salamander, a wolf spider, or a whale shrimp?
Which of these is not a real animal? A tiger salamander,
a wolf spider, or a whale shrimp two of those

(15:31):
animals are real.

Speaker 2 (15:32):
One is not.

Speaker 8 (15:34):
I'm like walked in on an answer, but I think
like I have a slight chance that I because one
of them sounds like legit. But then one is like
kind of.

Speaker 5 (15:48):
Okay, Addison, do you have this one right? You think?

Speaker 8 (15:51):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (15:52):
The answers again, it's either a tiger salamander, a wolf spider,
or a whale shrimp. Is everybody ready? Yeah, go ahead
and reveal your answers. Mabel whale shrimp, Amelia Marshall definitely, Sage, Addison,
Matthew wal srimp. You guys got it. The correct answer

(16:14):
is a whale shrimp. Tiger salamanders are salamanders that got
their name because they have a tiger like stripes. Wolf
spiders or spiders that got their name because they hunt
like wolves. And the whale shrimp is an animal I
made of. Now, what do you guys think would be
a cooler animal? A whale shrimp or a shrimp whale?
So you want a whale that's really teeny tiny?

Speaker 4 (16:41):
Fail I want them to be.

Speaker 5 (16:42):
So you want a shrimp that's the size of a whale?
Marshal eat, it would be.

Speaker 8 (16:49):
But then but then you if you had a shrimp
that's as small as a whale. He could go down
and spy on SpongeBob and then tell you what.

Speaker 5 (17:00):
To reveal. A guide, a whale you could have in
your aquarium, or a shrimp that could solve world hunger.
It's a tough choice, isn't it.

Speaker 6 (17:06):
Kids?

Speaker 5 (17:07):
All right, fill the engineer. That's it for today's round
of trivia. How much money did we raise?

Speaker 1 (17:11):
We raised one hundred and seventy dollars.

Speaker 5 (17:13):
One hundred and seventy dollars going to the Nature Conservancy.
Well done, kids, Join us next time for more meat.
Eater Kids Trivia, the only game show with turtle, turkeys
and whale shrimp.

Speaker 7 (17:24):
Thank you so much for listening to meet Eater Kids.
We hope you enjoyed listening to the show as much
as we enjoyed making it. If you'd like to hear more,
have your parents leave the show a review, write us
an email, and tell your friends about it. Until then,
get outside and don't stop being mere days
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