Ologies with Alie Ward

Zoohoplology (ANIMAL DEFENSES) with Ted Stankowich

February 19, 2026

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  • Mammals with more elaborate morphological defenses, such as armor or spines, tend to have relatively smaller brain sizes due to energetic trade-offs. 
  • Animal defense mechanisms evolve from existing biological building blocks, such as anal glands evolving into stinky sprays or modified hairs becoming quills or keratin scales. 
  • Predators often learn to avoid boldly colored, defended prey (like black and white striped skunks or porcupines), but this learning can be innate, learned through experience, or vary based on the predator's inherent drives, as seen in domestic dogs. 
  • Altruistic defense, such as a parent bird faking an injury to distract a predator from offspring, is favored by natural selection because it aids in the propagation of the actor's genes. 
  • The effectiveness of an animal defense mechanism, rather than whether it is deployed consciously or automatically, is what natural selection favors. 
  • The most effective remedy for skunk spray involves a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid dish soap to oxidize the sulfurous thiols, as water alone can make the odor worse. 

Segments

Guest Introduction and Lab Tour
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(00:00:12)
  • Key Takeaway: Dr. Ted Stankowich studies animal defenses, including armadillos, skunks, and pangolins, at California State Long Beach.
  • Summary: The episode features Dr. Ted Stankowich, a professor at Cal State Long Beach specializing in animal defenses. The introduction highlights the variety of defense mechanisms to be discussed, such as spikes, stinks, and armor. The lab tour included viewing a 3D-printed humpback whale skeleton and a remote-controlled coyote robot used for skunk harassment studies.
Guest Background and Zoohoplology
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(00:02:38)
  • Key Takeaway: The term ‘Zoohoplology’ combines ‘zoo’ (animal) and ‘hoplon’ (arms/armor) to define the study of animal armor and defense.
  • Summary: Dr. Stankowich has an extensive academic background, including studies at Cornell and UC Davis, and teaching stints at Harvard. He coined the term Zoohoplology to specifically categorize the study of animal defenses and armor. His early fieldwork involved observing common urban mammals like squirrels and opossums in Whittier, California.
Body Size and Predator Risk
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(00:08:22)
  • Key Takeaway: Mammals between one and ten kilograms in exposed habitats face the greatest risk from predators.
  • Summary: Defense strategies are more prevalent in warmer, biodiverse, and open climates where visual exposure to predators is high. Animals under one kilogram can usually hide effectively, while those over ten kilograms are too large for most predators. The intermediate size range (1-10 kg) represents a ‘danger zone’ where defense mechanisms are most critical.
Antlers vs. Horns and Defense
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(00:10:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Bovid horns are used for both mating competition and direct defense against predators, unlike deer antlers which are primarily for mating.
  • Summary: Deer possess antlers (bony, shed annually), while bovids (antelope, cows) have horns (permanent, keratin sheath). Female bovids often possess smaller, dagger-like horns that are useful defensive weapons when they are cornered by predators.
Defense Mechanism Menu
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(00:11:33)
  • Key Takeaway: The primary defense for most animals is crypsis (camouflage) and rapid speed, with morphological defenses like spines or armor being secondary options.
  • Summary: Mammalian defense options include spines, stinky sprays, armored plates, claws, teeth, and toxins, but the first line of defense is usually avoiding detection through coloration or high-speed escape. Animals in the high-risk body size zone often evolve armor or rely on fast escapes like hopping.
PhD Research on Deer Escape
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(00:12:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Black-tailed deer showed the strongest anti-predator response to life-size mountain lion models compared to tiger or mule deer models.
  • Summary: Dr. Stankowich’s PhD involved studying deer escape decisions by approaching them while deploying life-size cutouts of predators like mountain lions and tigers. Deer reacted strongly to the familiar mountain lion, treating the tiger similarly, but ignored the mule deer control model.
Armadillo Armor and Brain Size
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(00:15:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Only the three-banded armadillo can fully conglobate (curl into a tight ball) for defense.
  • Summary: The study of armadillos led to research showing that mammals with more elaborate morphological defenses tend to have smaller relative brain sizes, suggesting an energetic trade-off between defense investment and cognitive development. Armadillo carapace plates (osteoderms) share an evolutionary origin with bony plates found in giant ground sloths.
Skunk Defense and Predator Learning
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(00:16:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Coyotes exhibit hesitation toward boldly striped skunk models, and this aversion can be learned quickly after a single exposure to skunk oil spray.
  • Summary: Dr. Stankowich focuses on skunk behavior, specifically how coyotes learn to avoid them based on their black and white warning coloration. Captive coyote experiments showed that while some animals are inherently wary of bold patterns, a single negative experience with skunk oil spray often results in permanent avoidance.
Chemical Alarm Cues in Fish
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(00:39:03)
  • Key Takeaway: Injured fish release chemical alarm cues into the water that reliably signal danger to nearby conspecifics and other aquatic taxa.
  • Summary: Fish use chemical signals released from injured tissue as an alarm cue to avoid predators, a phenomenon studied in conservation for guiding invasive species. However, prolonged exposure to these cues can lead to desensitization, similar to the human concept of ‘flooding the zone’ with misinformation.
Nervous Poops and Defense
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(00:50:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Nervous defecation in animals may serve as a mechanism to lighten the body load in preparation for a fast escape, though it is not typically a chemical defense.
  • Summary: While some snakes use cloacal popping (farting) as a defense, nervous pooping in mammals is likely related to preparing the body for rapid flight. There is no known defensive compound released in mammalian feces to hinder an attack.
Horned Lizard Blood Squirting
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(00:51:36)
  • Key Takeaway: Horned lizards shoot blood up to four feet from their eyes by constricting muscles around sinuses, a trait reinforced by the presence of ant toxins in their blood.
  • Summary: This bizarre defense is achieved by building up blood pressure in sinuses under the eye and then rapidly releasing it when squeezed by a predator. The blood contains chemical deterrents derived from the harvester ants that form the lizard’s diet, making the squirt both a physical and chemical defense against predators like kit foxes.
Venomous Mammals Beyond Lorises
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(00:56:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Slow lorises are not the only venomous mammals; shrews use venom to subdue prey, and male platypuses possess venomous spurs used in combat.
  • Summary: Slow lorises use elbow gland secretions on their fur for defense, but shrews possess venom injected via grooved teeth to immobilize prey for later consumption. The venom in platypus spurs is extremely painful and is primarily used during male-male competition.
Altruistic Defense in Birds
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(00:58:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Birds like the killdeer engaging in broken-wing displays to lure predators away from nests is a form of defense mechanism, often categorized as altruistic behavior.
  • Summary: The killdeer, a shorebird, performs an Oscar-worthy display of faking an injured wing to distract threats from its ground nest. This behavior is considered a defense mechanism aimed at protecting offspring, fitting the definition of altruistic defense where one individual risks danger for the group.
Killdeer Broken Wing Display
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(00:58:28)
  • Key Takeaway: The killdeer, a shorebird and type of plover, performs a convincing broken-wing distraction display to lure predators away from its ground nest.
  • Summary: Killdeer, named for their shrieking call, are shorebirds resembling a small mix of hawk and quail. They simulate an injured wing with intense, panicked tapping to draw attention away from their nest. This behavior is described as Oscar-worthy acting used to protect their young.
Altruism in Defense Mechanisms
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(00:59:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Parental defense behaviors that increase personal danger, like faking injury, qualify as altruism if they ensure the survival of offspring, which carry the parent’s genes.
  • Summary: Defense behaviors that place the actor in danger to help offspring are considered altruistic because offspring represent the actor’s genes. Natural selection favors behaviors that spread genes and ensure offspring survival. The reproductive value of the offspring relative to the parent’s future opportunities influences the favorability of such sacrifice.
Armored Butts and Armadillos
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(01:00:56)
  • Key Takeaway: Wombats utilize thick skin on their rear ends as armor to plug burrow entrances against predators, a function mirrored by the pink fairy armadillo’s specialized rear plate.
  • Summary: The wombat’s thick skin serves as armor, particularly useful for plugging burrows. The pink fairy armadillo, one of the smallest armadillo species, has a distinct, thicker armor plate specifically over its rear end used for plugging burrows against predators. This rear armor is harder than the leathery dorsal armor on the rest of its body.
Consciousness in Defense Actions
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(01:04:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Animal defenses can be automatic and subconscious (like curling into a ball) or intentional and mindful (like aiming a noxious spray), but effectiveness is the ultimate measure for selection.
  • Summary: Some defenses, such as deploying quills or aiming sprays, require intentional action and mindfulness. Conversely, reflexive actions like curling up are automatic. Selection pressure only cares about the effectiveness of the defense, not the animal’s internal deliberation process.
Human Ancestral Defense Artifacts
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(01:05:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Modern human physiological responses like piloerection (hair standing up), increased heart rate, and sweating are remnants of defense mechanisms used by ape ancestors.
  • Summary: Humans still exhibit defense responses like piloerection to appear larger, mirroring ancestral behavior. Increased heart rate and sweating are part of the stress response, potentially aiding in climbing ability. The amygdala, or the ‘screaming almond of terror,’ drives these fear and stress responses.
Skunk Spray Encounter and Remedy
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(01:06:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Skunks rarely spray unless severely provoked, and the effective chemical remedy for the odor is a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap, not tomato juice or water.
  • Summary: Dr. Stankowich was sprayed by a skunk once while attempting to open a trap, noting that skunks give ample warning before spraying. The myth that tomato juice works is false; the effective solution oxidizes the sulfurous thiols using hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid dish soap. This mixture must be made fresh and applied thoroughly, avoiding eyes and mouth, though it may slightly lighten fur.
Joy and Challenges in Zoohoplology
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(01:11:15)
  • Key Takeaway: The greatest reward in studying animal defenses is the sense of play, exploration, and mentoring young scientists, while the professional downside involves limited funding and collaboration opportunities in this niche field.
  • Summary: Dr. Stankowich views doing science as ‘going out to play,’ finding deep fulfillment in exploring evolutionary defenses and mentoring students. The professional challenges stem from the niche nature of the work, leading to fewer collaboration avenues and limited funding specifically for animal defense evolution research.