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Okay you animals, line up: stoned sloths, playful pandas, baleful bovines, and vile vultures. We\u2019ve got you guys pegged, thanks to central casting.\xa0\nOr do we? Our often simplistic view of animals ignores their remarkable adaptive abilities.\xa0Stumbly sloths are in fact remarkably agile and a vulture\u2019s tricks for thermoregulation can\u2019t be found in an outdoors store.\xa0\nOur ignorance about some animals can even lead to their suffering and to seemingly intractable problems.\xa0The South American nutria was brought to Louisiana to supply the fur market.\xa0But the species got loose and tens of millions of these rodents are destroying the environment.\xa0It literally has a bounty on its tail.\nHear about research that corrects a menagerie of misunderstandings about our fellow furry, feathered, and scaly animals, and how getting over ourselves to know them better can have practical benefits. Will you still recoil from termites if you learn that they are relevant to the future of robots, global warming, and smart design?\nGuests:\n\n\nLucy Cooke\xa0\u2013\xa0Zoologist, broadcaster and author of \u201cThe Truth About Animals: Stoned Sloths, Lovelorn Hippos, and Other Tales from the Wild Side of Wildlife\u201d\n\n\nChris Metzler\xa0\u2013\xa0Co-director and producer of the film\xa0Rodents of Unusual Size\n\n\n\nLisa Margonelli\xa0\u2013 Journalist and author of "Underbug: An Obsessive Tale of Termites and Technology"\n\n\xa0\nOriginally aired October 8, 2018\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices