This is But Why?

This is But Why, a podcast for curious kids Kids from Vermont Public. I'm Jane Lindholm. On this show, we take questions from curious kids all over the world just like you, and we find answers. Close your eyes and picture yourself at the start of a mountain trail on a late November day in Vermont.

The path is covered with fallen leaves, the trees are bare, and big flakes of snow are starting

to fall, making the world around you look just like a snow globe.

That's what it was like the day we started making this episode.

You know what? I brought plenty of water, though, and plenty of snacks and, you know, some

emergency equipment like a lighter just in case. How far are you taking us?

We've got a mile, a mile and a half. It's not too far. That's Emily Corollo. She's a wildlife biologist, and she works at Panthera, a conservation and research organization

dedicated to helping all the species of wild cats in the world.

So that includes our small cat species, some of which we find in North America, like our

lynx and our bobcat, and some of our larger

cat species, again, North American example, would be our mountain lions. And where are we? Where are you

taking us? So right now, we are in the state of Vermont. We are in a wilderness area called

Breadloaf Wilderness Area. It is part of the Green Mountain National Forest. And so right now we are

heading up part of the Long Trail to go. And so right now we are heading up part of the long trail

to go check out some animal sign that I found a couple days ago

with a colleague of mine and talk about it.

Let's go. All right.

Melody and I met up to hike into this forested area

with Emily to learn about wild cats.

When you think of wild cats, you might be picturing the really big ones like lions, tigers,

and jaguars that captivate a lot of our imagination.

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