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Description

A black bear walks into an Alaska shopping mall, steals a peach, poops in the hallway, and leaves. Beavers in Poland destroy a sign warning people about… beavers. And a frightened monkey turns a Spirit Halloween store into its own personal jungle gym.

You seriously cannot make this shit up.

Because on Round Robin, sometimes we start with a bear taking a shit in a shopping mall...and somehow end up learning something.

#JoanBeauchampProcter #WomanOfTheWeek #WomenInScience #AnimalLovers #RoundRobinPodcast

Written, recorded, edited & produced by Tracy Preston

Original music created exclusively for Round Robin by Tracy Preston

Original artwork by Todd Preston 

Sources:

DeLatte, Tracy. “Spooked Monkey at Spirit Halloween Swings from Rafters.” FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth, 29 Oct. 2025. https://www.fox4news.com/news/monkey-spirit-halloween.

Lee, Hannah, and Lauren Maxwell. “VIDEO: Black Bear Goes into JBER Shopping Mall, Steals Some Fruit, Leaves Some Scat.” Alaska’s News Source, 7 July 2026. https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2026/07/07/video-black-bear-goes-into-jber-shopping-mall-steals-some-fruit-leaves-some-scat/.

Ledford, Heidi. “Big Dogs Age Faster than Little Ones—Rogue ‘Jumping Genes’ Might Be to Blame.” Nature, 8 Oct. 2026. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-03199-5.

Mariner, Blaise L., et al. “Epigenetic Aging and Transposon Dysregulation Reflect Size-Related Lifespan Compression in Dogs.” Science, 8 Oct. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aeb2986.

National Park Service. “Acadia’s North American Beaver: The Ultimate Keystone Species.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. https://www.nps.gov/articles/north-american-beaver-acadia.htm. 

National Park Service. “Bear Safety: Storing Food.” National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. https://www.nps.gov/articles/bearsafetyfood.htm. 

Schneider, Lauren. “Jonathan the Tortoise Has Lived to 194 Years Old—Now Scientists Think They Know Why.” Live Science, 7 Oct. 2026. https://www.livescience.com/animals/turtles-tortoises/scientists-discover-the-genetic-secrets-that-may-have-helped-jonathan-the-tortoise-live-to-194-years-old.

Shaw, Madeline. “Do Animals Experience Schadenfreude?” Live Science, 4 Oct. 2026. https://www.livescience.com/animals/do-animals-experience-schadenfreude.

Snyder, Bill. “An Extremely Old Giant Tortoise Named Jonathan May Hold the Secret to a Long, Healthy Life: Study.” Vanderbilt Health News, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 7 Oct. 2026. https://news.vumc.org/2026/10/07/an-extremely-old-giant-tortoise-named-jonathan-may-hold-the-secret-to-a-long-healthy-life-study/.

Tilles, Daniel. “Beavers Destroy Sign Warning about Beavers.” Notes from Poland, 8 Oct. 2026. https://notesfrompoland.com/2026/10/08/beavers-destroy-sign-warning-about-beavers/.

Zoological Society of London. “53ft Snake Arrives at London Zoo to Celebrate Forgotten Pioneer.” ZSL, 2 July 2026. https://www.zsl.org/news-and-events/news/53ft-snake-arrives-london-zoo-celebrate-forgotten-pioneer.

Zoological Society of London. “Happy Birthday, Joan Procter!” ZSL, 4 Aug. 2017. https://www.zsl.org/news-and-events/news/happy-birthday-joan-procter.

Zoological Society of London. “Joan Beauchamp Procter.” ZSL Archives. https://zsl.maxarchiveservices.co.uk/sub_people/joan-beauchamp-procter/. 

Zoological Society of London. “Reptile Houses New and Old: Commemorating Joan Procter.” ZSL. https://www.zsl.org/news-and-events/feature/reptile-houses-new-and-old-commemorating-joan-procter. 

Zoological Society of London. “Reptile House History.” London Zoo. https://www.londonzoo.org/zoo-stories/history-of-london-zoo/reptile-house-history.