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Tara Chestnut, PhD

@tcastanea.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.3K following 960 posts

Wildlife Ecology | Natural History | Disease | Invasive Species | Contaminants | Aquatic Science | Reintroductions | Science Communication | March Mammal Madness narrator | she/her

PostsRepliesMedia
Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
THIS IS WHAT A DEAD BEAR LOOKS LIKE ☠️🐻 I had to remove a bear from the same location when I was the park wildlife program mgr. It’s become so comfortable around humans the ONLY management option is lethal removal. It will no longer respond to hazing or relocation 😡😭 www.facebook.com/share/r/18uy...
facebook.com
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Google and Apple Maps if you act on this so help me…
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
New paper alert and it’s a gut punch… Northern spotted owl populations in large portions of the range are at or near functional extinction thresholds. This study suggests the potential for population collapse if proactive strategies are not adopted in the near term. 🦉🪶 💔 doi.org/10.1002/eap....
doi.org
Listening for extinction: Range‐wide occupancy highlights critical risks and priorities for northern spotted owls
The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) continues to decline across its range, threatened by habitat disturbances and invasive barred owls (Strix varia). We conducted a range-wide spott...
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Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
K. W. Knight @kwknight.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
This is remarkable. Gift link. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/h...
nytimes.com
Most ‘Ovarian Cancer’ Isn’t. And That Fact Can Save Lives. (Gift Article)
The vast majority of cases begin in the fallopian tubes — and removing them can reduce the risk by nearly 80 percent.
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The only upside to recovering from Cyclospora exposure is the diarrhea stories people have shared with me. I haven’t snort laughed like that in a very long time! I (obviously) can’t say for sure what the vector was but I’m side-eying strawberries pretty hard rn
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Elmer ‘Rainbow’ Kazoo
static.klipy.com
Kazookid Jammin
Alt: Kazookid - a white adolescent boy with a blonde bowl haircut and royal blue t-shirt is jamming with a red kazoo. The background is inexplicably spilt between a white wall with black to grid lines on the top half and a bale of hay on the bottom half
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Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
ProPublica @propublica.org · 12/07/2026
Read our full investigation:
propub.li
He Profits Off Raw Milk That’s Making People Sick. The Government Isn’t Stopping Him.
With Raw Farm, the largest raw-milk dairy in the country, Mark McAfee has capitalized on a once-fringe product that’s been thrust into the mainstream in recent years and backed by Health Secretary…
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
#2026MMM CAN WE ADD THIS SONG TO THE OFFICIAL MMM PLAYLIST?!?!
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
#2026MMM #ThatsSoMetal #TeamBoneworm
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
#2026MMM #ThatsSoMetal
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Such cool work! @whyy.org don’t forget to include the wildlife experts who collected the venom! Dan Beck from Central Washington University is one of these folks!
static.klipy.com
Close-up of a Gila Monster
Alt: Close-up of a Gila Monster, a bearded lizard, looking to the left. It has bumpy skin that is black with orange on the top of its head.
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Y’all!! This cam is giving me life right now!! I’ve seen them nursing, playing & mostly sleeping. The squeaks when mama returns are heart melting 🥰 www.youtube.com/live/hy765ud...
youtube.com
Cowlitz Beaver Kit Cam Live
YouTube video by Cowlitz Indian Tribe
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
The MOVE fire is a core childhood memory for me, the first time I recall feeling horror. We could see the blaze from our rooftop. My mom, a homecare nurse, had patients in this neighborhood. Great articles 👇
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Your Local Epidemiologist @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
1/ Hantavirus update as of May 12, 11am PDT: Currently, ~40 people are being monitored and quarantined in the United States for hantavirus exposure. This includes the 18 Americans who landed safely in Nebraska yesterday by private transport after disembarking from the cruise ship.
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Aja Woodrow @gulogogo.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
A path forward? I hope so. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Fostering landscape resilience and species conservation in frequent fire landscapes
Restoration of dry forest landscapes of the Pacific Northwest often involves the removal of some closed-canopy forest that has expanded due to fire ex…
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
You know what to do! youtu.be/jPCJIB1f7jk?...
youtu.be
Lip Sync Battle - Tom Holland
YouTube video by Comedy Central Latinoamérica
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
Vaccines are humanity’s greatest scientific achievement.
bbc.co.uk
Pregnancy vaccine reduces baby hospital admissions for RSV by 80%
A study confirms the vaccine gives excellent protection for babies against life-threatening chest infections.
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Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
Ignacio Gallup-Diaz @igallupd.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
"Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial: Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later."
nbcnews.com
Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows lasting results in an early trial
Scientists caution that more research is needed, but nearly all of the patients who responded to the personalized vaccine are still alive six years later.
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Reposted by Tara Chestnut, PhD
NPR @npr.org · 18/04/2026
There's a good chance your zone shifted when the USDA updated its plant hardiness map in 2023. Zoom in on what that means for your garden. From the NPR archives.
n.pr
The USDA’s gardening zones shifted. This map shows you what’s changed in vivid detail
There's a good chance your zone shifted when the USDA updated its plant hardiness map in 2023. Zoom in on what that means for your garden.
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
media.tenor.com
a woman says when one of us shines while wearing a black top
Alt: Moira from the tv show Schitt’s Creek is wearing a black shirt. She endearingly says “when one of us shines”
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
This reminds me of the first black bear I saw in the wild… it scampered across a road and ‘hid’ behind a tree that was max 6 inches in diameter to check me out. THERE IS NO BEAR TO SEE HERE. They are very good hiders!
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Marc Kissel @marckissel.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Awhile back I meet the brilliant Jenni French & and now been lucky to collab on a project w/ her for the last ~3 yrs. Along with Somaye Khaksar & @anthrofuentes.bsky.social our 1st project paper is out, on origins & development of mobile containers (1/n) 🧪 🧺 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
The origins and development of mobile containers: Biocultural perspectives on Pleistocene containment
Containers are ubiquitous and universal across all present-day societies. The substantial increase in the quantity and diversity of containers in the …
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Although @smithsonianmag.bsky.social hasn’t made any posts yet, I’m delighted to share this article featuring the experiences of a photographer on our Cascade Red Fox team! She made some of the first and most detailed recorded observations at 🦊 den sites www.smithsonianmag.com/science-natu...
smithsonianmag.com
Cascade Red Foxes Are Notoriously Reclusive. So How Did This Photographer Capture These Stunning Images of the Endangered Species?
Even the scientists who study the animals rarely see them except on camera. But Gretchen Kay Stuart spent a season documenting them up close
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Joe Yracheta (A ∩ & ∪ Ω) @joseph-yracheta.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
For those who are science minded. Phaseolus vulgaris had two distinct Vavilovian origins (Andes and Mesoamerica) and Phaseolus acutifolia's origin (Tepary) was in Northwest Mexico more or less between 5000-7000 years ago. All can hybridize with the others. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
The evolutionary history of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) revealed by chloroplast and nuclear genomes analysis - Theoretical and Applied Genetics
Key message The origin of common bean was investigated throughout chloroplast and nuclear WGS data considering recombination events. Our results support the Mesoamerican origin of common bean. Abstrac...
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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Lastly, the HEART & SOUL of MARCH MAMMAL MADNESS is this amazing emergent coMMMunity of fans & contributors to this PERFORMANCE SCIENCE #2026MMM
media.tenor.com
a gnome with a red hat is knitting a red ball of yarn
Alt: a gnome with a red hat is knitting a red heart of yarn
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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Weaving SCIENCE into STORY- THE NARRATION TEAM!!! @alybatgirl.bsky.social @marckissel.bsky.social‬ @chumblebiome.bsky.social @ldurgavich.bsky.social @tcastanea.bsky.social @tanisbp.bsky.social @chloejosefson.bsky.social #2026MMM
media.tenor.com
a cartoon of a man holding a guitar with the words i 'm a story-teller & my stories must be told below
Alt: a cartoon of a man holding a lute with the words i 'm a story-teller & my stories must be told below
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Orion🌈&sm9eb @sm9eb.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Man, time to re-check the Erminea site, there are so many great #2026MMM illustrations!!! (And I got paid! 🚊🏤➗️🟧🔛) #MMMArt ermineainc.org
ermineainc.org
Erminea Inc.
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Last Up: #1-seed Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) from the Money Mammals Division vs. #3-seed Aurochs (Bos primigenius) from the Extinction is Forever Division #2026MMM
close up a blue hued photo of a humpback whale underwater.ancient art of an auroch on a red wall
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Co-sign 👇💉🦠
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
UP NEXT: 1-seed HONEY BADGER (Mellivora capensis) vs. 4-seed PACIFIC LAMPREY (Entosphenus tridentatus) #2026MMM
Close up photo of a pacific lamprey. It has smooth olive green skin with six gill holes running down the top third of its side. It's eye is blueish black and its sucker mouth is pointed down.A honey badger slinking
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
NEXT UP: #4-seed PACIFIC LAMPREY (Entosphenus tridentatus) vs. #5-seed COMMON CHUCKWALLA (Sauromalus ater) #2026MMM
Front view photo of a dark grey lizard with an and adorable orange potbelly, posing on a rock of the same grey color, posed like a senior portrait. It's head is turned to the right and it's gorgeous reddish-brown eye has a glimmer of light. A Pacific Lamprey showing off it's mouth of horrors. It's yellow teeth are in the middle surrounded by white tissue and a reddish disk. It's body is blue-grey with orange around it's sweet eye with a look of: why am I so misunderstood? I mean, everyone's gotta eat!
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
NEXT UP: #2-seed OSSIFRAGE (Gypaetus barbatus) vs #10-seed GREAT GREY SHRIKE (Lanius excubitor) #2026MMM
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
GIVE ME MY LYME VAX NOW PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!!
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
#2026mmm #2026MMM #ThatsSoMetal
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
NEXT UP: 7-seed BLOODWORM (Glycera dibranchiata) vs. 10-seed GREAT GREY SHRIKE (Lanius excubitor) #2026MMM #2026mmm
A round puffy light grey songbird with black wings, tail, beak and eyemask perched on a stick. The bright blue sky is clear behind the birdA sandy beach teeming with bright red worms on the surface of the grey sand
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
NEXT UP: #4-seed Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus - previously Lampetra tridentata) vs. #13-seed Boneworm (Osedax sp.)!!! #2026MMM
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
FIRST UP: #2-seed OSSIFRAGE (Gypaetus barbatus) vs #15-seed CICADA KILLER WASP (Sphecius speciosus) #2026MMM #2026mmm
An enormous black and yellow banded wasp with golden-brown eyes, legs and wings. It is hugging a cicada belly to belly in a patch of bright green grass. By hugging, I mean the wasp has captured the cicada and stung it to paralyze it and take it back to it's lair to feed it's larvae alive. The cicada is larger than the wasp, has a white belly and a green back An enormous white and brown vulture flying with a dark grey cliff in the background. Sun is shining through it's flight feathers. It's tail is diamond shaped and has tail feathers in different stages of growth. The leading edge of the wing is is dark brown. It's white belly and neck have tinges of orange.
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
I will never have a better out of context social media post. Also evergreen! 🌲
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Gather round to hear the backstory about the day I got called to remove this adorable creature from a building… #2026MMM 🧵
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
It’s not the largest, but here’s an animal I HAVE successfully expelled from a building, and to my surprise without incident! #2026MMM 🦨❤️ Sometimes, when I need a moment of joy I watch this video 10 times in a row. You should too
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
My 72 year old dad still remembers his draft number. He can cited it without pause. If you ask him, after he tells you be prepared to belt out Country Joe’s Viet Nam song with him in its entirety. He will call you out if you’re not loud enough youtu.be/ft0vkKCadgk?...
youtu.be
Country Joe & the Fish - VietNam Song - Live Woodstock 1969 - Full HD Video
YouTube video by Dima T
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Tara Chestnut, PhD @tcastanea.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Relevant safety message for the #2026MMM universe!
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Dr. Tamara L. Johnstone-Yellin @drtljy.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Anyone else thinking what I’m running? Next year’s Met Gala theme! No? Just me? #bcvammm #2026MMM
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March Mammal Madness @mmmletsgo.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
#2026MMM WILDCARD WINNER: Assassin Bug! Join us Wednesday, March 11th at 8PM EST for ROUND ONE of MONEY MAMMALS!
Image shows the MMM bracket with Assassin Bug winning the Wildcard over the Bone Collector Caterpillar and a checkmark indicating the Wildcard category has been completed.
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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Join us Wednesday for Round 1 of the Money Mammals Division! Until then be safe, be well, be active! #2026MMM
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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
ASSASSIN BUG DEFEATS BONE COLLECTOR CATERPILLAR and becomes the #16 seed of the THAT'S SO METAL DIVISION OF MARCH MAMMAL MADNESS!!! #2026MMM
media.tenor.com
a group of people are standing in a line with their hands on their head .
Alt: A crowd celebrate an awesome outcome.
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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
FIRST & ONLY UP TONIGHT: Bone Collector Caterpillar (Hyposmocoma) vs. Assassin Bug (Acanthaspis petax) #2026MMM
Stylized "wild card" cards of both insects wearing their corpse suits (described in coming battle).
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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
And WITHOUT FURTHER #2026MMM ADO... www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6eQ...
youtube.com
Michael Buffer - Let's Get Ready To Rumble!!!
YouTube video by Jamil Hajiyev
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Katie Hinde @mammalssuck.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Even USAID that HAD BEEN the leading purchaser of food grown by American Farmers, helped support wildlife protection by investing in people, parks, & communities in the ecotourism sector. THESE ESSENTIAL USES OF THE PUBLIC ENDOWMENT HAVE BEEN AND ARE BEING DISMANTLED #2026MMM
media.tenor.com
Farm GIF
Alt: Farm GIF
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