From Animal Size Discoveries to Colobus Monkey Egalitarianism with Kaia Tombak Artwork

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❗️🇪🇪 below❗️(ENG) Hello and welcome to EstoCast, a podcast presented by Estonian Museum Canada/VEMU, Estonian Music Week and Eesti Elu/Estonian Life newspaper. In each episode of Estocast, join us as we delve into another dimension of Estonian culture in Canada, Estonia, and elsewhere. Through discussions of books, music, art, history, science, and more, we discover what it is to be Estonian and what Estonian people have to offer the broader world. // (EST) Tere tulemast kuulama taskuhäälingut EstoCast, mida teevad ühisel jõul Väliseesti Muuseum/VEMU, Estonian Music Week ja ajaleht Eesti Elu/Estonian Life Torontos. Pakume eesti- ja ingliskeelset kuulamist kõigile, kel on tahtmist süveneda eesti kultuuri rikkusesse ja selle erinevatesse tahkudesse siin Kanadas, Eestis või mujal maailmas. Arutelud kirjanduse, muusika, kunsti, ajaloo, teaduse jm teemadel aitavad meil mõista, mida tähendab olla eestlane ja mida on eestlastel maailmale pakkuda.

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EstoCast

From Animal Size Discoveries to Colobus Monkey Egalitarianism with Kaia Tombak

January 28, 2026 • VEMU, EMW & Estonian Life • Season 4 • Episode 83

0:00 | 40:23

In her research, Dr. Kaia Tombak has challenged long-held assumptions in evolutionary biology, such as the idea that male mammals are always larger than females.

As she describes it, there is a significant proportion of animal species in which males and females are typically the same size, or where females are larger. And this is just one of the discoveries she has made as a biologist, through work in the field and at universities, across Africa and North America.

In this episode of EstoCast, hear about:

🦓the technology Kaia has used to photograph and analyze the movements of zebras

🐒the egalitarian societies of red colobus monkeys in Uganda

🌅humans as an integrated part of the animal kingdom

🦈and much more!

Things mentioned in this episode:

-Dr. Kaia Tombak’s website: https://www.kaiatombak.com/

-Kaia’s work in the Kenyan savannah: https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-reexamine-why-zebra-stripes-mysteriously-repel-flies

-a video about Kaia’s study of sharks in South Africa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjoP32oIUm0

-Eesti Elu’s interview with Kaia’s parents about their work around the world: https://eestielu.ca/nadala-portree-leena-tiismann-ja-mihkel-tombak-edukad-karjaarid-mitmes-riigis-pereelu-ning-uhendav-eestlus/

-zoonotic diseases: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/zoonotic-diseases

-how wildlife filmmakers use camera traps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etC6rD5Emkc

-zebra stripe recognition technology: https://www.audubon.org/news/new-technology-identifies-zebras-their-stripes

-sexual size dimorphism as investigated by Dr. Tombak: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45739-5

-Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda: https://www.rwenzorimountainsnationalpark.com/

-Rayleigh scattering, which affects the colour we perceive when looking at the sky: https://natural-resources.canada.ca/maps-tools-publications/satellite-elevation-air-photos/interactions-atmosphere

-loons in Ontario and the issues affecting them: https://www.thelandbetween.ca/2021/01/are-we-losing-the-loons/

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