A mountain of conch shells in the Bahamas behind restaurants that sell conch meat. Someone I interviewed for my book (who sells shells) said that in the Philippines, people eat nautilus and then throw away the shells because it’s illegal to sell them in the US. I learned that it’s not actually true that it’s illegal to sell them, but some places might not want to deal with regulations since they’re CITES II listed and might have more regulations on them in the future? Anyway…I’m struggling to confirm this “piles of nautilus shells” thing. I’ve emailed the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Reso ..read more

ODDMAG I see there is an oddities magazine for sale! It’s already sold-out but you can pre-order the second printing online. It includes a bone-cleaning guide by @bone-lust ..read more

Freak bucks at ElkFest 2024 ..read more

Things I wish people knew about carcasses 1. Just because you found a carcass in a weird position doesn’t mean it died that way. Lots of stuff happens after death. Not every mummified animal “died in agony” and I don’t think there’s a particular pose that necessarily and exclusively appears during agony and then is maintained through decay without fail? 2. Just because there are a lot of dead animals in one place doesn’t mean “this is poaching.” Poaching is a real word with a real meaning which is “killing wildlife illegally” not “I haven’t seen this before and it makes me uncomfortable” 3. Ju ..read more

Oh, milestones! I’m done writing the book about dead animals, but *the chapters are in various stages of fact-checking. I think I’m 75% done with that. It’s about 75,000 words ..read more

whydoihavetoart: so no head ..read more

Should Science Journalists be on TikTok? I’ve given four talks now on TikTok/vertical video for science communicators. Here are some of the reasons I recommend the platform–and some reasons I don’t ..read more

Apply To Be A Fellow - We Animals Media I was looking for photojournalism fellowships, funding etc, and I found this one related to animals. I thought I’d share it in case someone wants it, although I won’t apply: You: -Have a photo research/photojournalism project in mind involving animals/animal welfare -Can commit to “two to three hours per month during the planning and promotional stages, as well as time in the field” over the course of 6 months -Want free training and “funding to cover project costs and a stipend for the duration of the Fellowship, totaling $6,500 CAD.” -“Embrace vegan va ..read more

Carcass: Afterlives of Animal Bodies on Instagram: “What interests you about dead animals? Comment anything and everything you want about w I’m asking over on Instagram and Facebook why people follow my accounts tied to Carcass: The Afterlives of Animal Bodies. Feel free to go over to one of those platforms and comment, or just read what other people are saying! TW, those accounts get more graphic than this one. I’m asking for similar reasons that I made this post, to get some feedback regarding maybe making a photo book of dead animals. I plan to categorize and chart the responses ..read more

Antler Farm: strangebiology: “It’s not healthy for some of these deer to be carrying rocking chairs on top of their head,” says Balfourd. No one knows exactly what producing these huge antlers is doing the bucks’ overall health, but experienced hunters say it’s easy to see that some of these deer have trouble keeping their heads up, with all the weight they’re carrying. And the concerns endemic to any farming operation where large numbers of animals are congregated in relatively small places — prevalence of disease (in this case, chronic wasting disease) and increased use of antibiotics and ..read more