The relationships animals have with humans are rarely more complicated and intense than they are at the zoo. We try to rescue animals, raise them, watch them, learn about them. This podcast is a beautifully-crafted depiction of those relationships.

A podcast made by Zoos Victoria could have chosen to showcase different animals, use whacky sounds and quirky stories to entertain listeners by scratching the surface – but what fauna does is much braver, more interesting. There are real stakes here, and both positives and consequences to keeping animals captive. Stories focus on the humans and the animals that give the zoos’ work urgency and purpose.

Episodes run between 15–30 minutes and use the layered sounds of life with animals (inside and outside the zoo) to tell compelling stories about human and animal vulnerabilities.