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Jason Bittel

@bittelmethis.bsky.social

5.3K followers 460 following 1.2K posts

Wild animal & author of GRIZZLED ('26). Latest science-y kids' book: MOUNTAIN ('24). Science Writer @ Nat Geo, NYT, WashPo, etc. Prev: KSJ @ MIT, Nat Geo Explorers. He/him. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804002/grizzled-by-jason-bittel/

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · Dec 10

Like learning about animals? Then I'm your huckleberry.

Sign up for my 100% FREE NEWSLETTER:

jasonbittel.substack.com

Sort Of Funny Field Guides | Jason Bittel | Substack

I'm writing a book for National Geographic about North American critters, from lightning bugs to buffalo, and I want you to join the party! Sign up for cool animal facts, stories, discoveries, book up...

jasonbittel.substack.com

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 9h

OH COME ON

Schmidt Ocean Institute @schmidtocean.bsky.social · 10h

In celebration of World Octopus Day, we wanted to revisit one of our favorite cephalopod sightings, the glass octopus — Vitreledonella richardi filmed during a month-long #PhoenixIslandsCoral expedition in 2021.

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Reposted by Jason Bittel

Dr Alex Bond @thelabandfield.bsky.social · 2d

This is how I want to be awarded the Nobel Prize.

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Reposted by Jason Bittel

le rhiz @rhiz.bsky.social · 2d

Palmetto weevil for #invertober ! Already behind on this challenge yaaay #sciart #art

A red weevil with black spots on a mossy log

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 2d

Man, I love weevils.

Frogge257 @frogge257.bsky.social · 3d

#invertober2025
WEEVILS!!

A repeating weevil pattern on a green background. The weevils are orange and red and are alternated facing up and down.

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 2d

"Every social media bargain is a Faustian one."

Another great read by @beebrookshire.bsky.social on what a lot of us are feeling.

brookshire-team-trash.beehiiv.com/p/backed-int...

Backed into a corner

Where do I share, when every "where" is terrible?

brookshire-team-trash.beehiiv.com

Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 2d

My first thought is YUM but that is quickly followed by YELLOWJACKETS.

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 2d

Your daily moment of zen:

Rescued bear cubs at the Kilham Bear Center in New Hampshire are given a donated pile of apples & acorns every year to fatten up before their first hibernation.

Kilham is focused on rehab & release, run by competent rehab experts.

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Reposted by Jason Bittel

Ben R Lee, PhD @benrlee.com · 5d

🚨 Please repost widely!🚨

I am recruiting a PhD student to join my lab next fall to work on forest and climate change ecology projects in southern Appalachia! Come join me in one of the most beautiful, biodiverse, and understudied parts of North America. Details below and happy to answer questions

An ad for a PhD position to start fall 2026 working with me at ETSU. For more info, please email at LeeBR1@etsu.edu.

A close-up picture of dimpled trout lilies active in early spring, still largely surrounded by the previous year's senesced tree leaves.

A beautiful vista of the Blue Ridge Mountains from on top of Carver's Gap on the border between North Carolina and Tennessee.

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Reposted by Jason Bittel

Microplastics Spookmelier @leastactionhero.bsky.social · 6d

Fox with its head straight in a snowbank with it's hind legs sticking out. 2016 Comedy Wildlife Photography awards

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 6d

😆

Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 6d

🚨🧪

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 6d

You love to see it!

Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 6d

This new @inkfish.bsky.social story is WILD. 🧪

www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

Found: 650-year-old shoe, in vulture nest

Many unexpected human artifacts have been preserved, for centuries, in vulture nests.

www.nationalgeographic.com

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 6d

I've got a whole chapter on the mercurial, undefeatable coyote in GRIZZLED, with insights from @scrappynaturalist.bsky.social!

www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804002...

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 6d

"I used to drive so fucking fast to this song" might be the most perfect sentence I've read this year.

Colin Schultz @colinschultz.bsky.social · 6d

I used to drive so fucking fast to this song.

Today's moon:

Nine Inch Nails - We're in This Together www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9Bf...

Nine Inch Nails - We're In This Together

YouTube video by NineInchNailsVEVO

www.youtube.com

Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 6d

😆

Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 6d

Note: I nearly registered for the National Association of Social Workers conference by mistake. In my defense, that also happened in Chicago this year.

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 6d

Hey! I'm going to my first-ever #NASW meeting in a few weeks. Who else will be in Chicago?! 🧪

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 7d

Holy amazing story about Jane Goodall and The Far Side. 🧪

Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 7d

One of my favorite anecdotes from THE PREHISTORY OF THE FAR SIDE: "That doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know."

A few days after this cartoon was published, my syndicate received a very indignant letter from someone representing the Jane Goodall Institute.
Not only did my syndicate and I both get read the Riot Act, there was a vague implication that litigation over this cartoon might be around the corner.
I was horrified. Not so much from a fear of being sued (I just couldn't see how this cartoon could be construed as anything but silly, but because of my deep respect for Jane Goodall and her well-known contributions to pri-matology. The last thing in the world I would have intentionally done was offend Dr. Goodall in any way.
Before I had a chance to write my apology, another complication arose.
The National Geographic Society contacted my syndicate and expressed a

desire to reprint the cartoon in a special centennial issue of their magazine. My editor, aware of what had just occurred, declined, explaining why.
Apparently, whoever it was that sent the inquiry from National Geographic was shocked. They told my editor that "that doesn't sound like the Jane Goodall we know." They did some checking themselves, and an interesting fact was eventually discovered: Jane Goodall loved the cartoon. Furthermore, she was totally unaware that any of this "stuff" was going on. Some phone calls were made, and the cartoon was not only reprinted in the centennial issue of National Geographic, but was also used by her Institute on a T-shirt for fund-raising purposes.
I've since had an opportunity to visit Dr. Goodall at her research facility in Gombe. It's a wonderful place (sort of like right out of National Geographic).
"To refer to Dr. Goodall as a tramp is inexcusable even by a self-described 'loony' as Larson. The cartoon was incredibly offensive and in such poor taste that readers might well question the editorial judgment of running such an atrocity in a newspaper that reputes to be supplying news to persons with a better than average intelligence. The cartoon and its message were absolutely stupid." —Excerpt from the above-mentioned letter that started the ruckus

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 7d

Devil's Hole pupfish vibes. Which I am totally here for.

Marshal Hedin @mhedin.bsky.social · 7d

an amazing Habronattus jumping spider known only from a single spring in the bottom of an impossibly isolated and lonely desert valley

jumping spider with large central eyes, a white diamond sitting directly between the central eyes, all surrounded by a striking red mask which flows to the sides of the face, itself expanded laterally

Reposted by Jason Bittel

Virginia Gewin @virginiagewin.bsky.social · 8d

Can confirm: steer clear. Saw this just before my call with them….call lasted 2 minutes.

Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 13d

Science journos 🧪:

Earth dot com asked me about writing for them. They offer $50-60 PER STORY. And expect 15 to 25 stories EACH MONTH.

For reference, that rate is worse than what I got for a blogging role in 2012.

Steer clear af.

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 8d

Hope it saved you some time at least! I’ve not heard back since my email…

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 9d

If you or someone you know "might have lice" (😂), please reach out to @wordygirl.bsky.social!!! 🧪

Kayce Bell @kaycebell.bsky.social · 15d

Hi! We need lice for our diversity and adaptation project. Specifically, we need lice from zebras, camelids (camels, llamas, alpacas, vicuñas, guanacos) & aardvarks. If you or someone you know might have lice, I'm happy to discuss our inclusive collaboration plans!
sites.google.com/nhm.org/anop...

Mammals & Lice

We are interested in understanding what drives host-parasite relationships. We are using the Anoplura (sucking lice) parasite and mammalian host system to generate a comprehensive sucking louse phylog...

sites.google.com

Reposted by Jason Bittel

Dr. Solomon David @solomonrdavid.bsky.social · 9d

Releasing a massive Alligator Gar during @garlab.bsky.social research on a Mississippi River floodplain with collaborators from USFWS!

Learn more Nov 3-7 2025 for #GarWeek!

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Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 11d

Haha

Jason Bittel @bittelmethis.bsky.social · 11d

😆