1 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: From Mediator's World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is 2 00:00:13,680 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: Kel's we can review with Ryan kel Kell in now 3 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: Here's Kel. Although the c d C may be advising 4 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 1: people to keep their travel to a minimum these days, 5 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,800 Speaker 1: a certain other travel corridor is getting a lot of 6 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: use and it's nothing but good news. In two thousand eighteen, 7 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:36,199 Speaker 1: a wildlife overpass was created across the I A. D 8 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: Highway near Parley's Canyon in Utah to allow animals to 9 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:44,240 Speaker 1: move more easily along their natural migration routes. Over thirty 10 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,920 Speaker 1: thousand animals were hit by vehicles in Utah between and 11 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: two thousand five, and it's impossible to say how many 12 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: animals were simply blocked from getting to their seasonal range 13 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: over that same period. This particular stretch of i AD 14 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:05,160 Speaker 1: earned the grisly nickname slaughter row. The habitat fragmentation caused 15 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:10,399 Speaker 1: by man made obstacles of all kinds highways, pipelines, power lines, railways, 16 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: housing developments, et cetera, causes all manner of chaos for 17 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 1: animal populations. It's not just roadkill we're talking about when 18 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: populations get split by these obstacles into genetically isolated groups. 19 00:01:24,160 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: Any threat that would usually affect only a small number 20 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:31,400 Speaker 1: of individuals can sweep through an entire group. Think about 21 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,039 Speaker 1: those genetically isolated mountain lions over in l A. By 22 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,959 Speaker 1: making these human obstacles easier for animals to cross, the 23 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,960 Speaker 1: benefits of their natural movement can be restored. After the 24 00:01:43,040 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: I eight overpass opened in two thousand eighteen, the Utah 25 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 1: Division of Wildlife Resources was going to give the bridge 26 00:01:50,360 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: three to five years and then assess whether animals were 27 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: actually using it. And I have to say, at first 28 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,720 Speaker 1: glance you could be forgiven for thinking the thing might 29 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: not really work. It supposes that wildlife migration will take 30 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: place through a bottleneck as white as a two lane street, 31 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: and the gravel track with rocks and logs on it 32 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: looks as much like a natural path through the woods 33 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: as the wall in a climbing gym looks like a 34 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 1: cliff face. Scientists did create a three mile wide cattle 35 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,560 Speaker 1: fence to funnel animals to this crossing, but no one 36 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: was sure whether the animals would trust this particular shoot. 37 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,600 Speaker 1: But any doubters were proven wrong this week. When you 38 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: tadd d w R, that's the Department of Wildlife Resources 39 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 1: released a video showing all kinds of animals crossing along 40 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 1: the bridge moose, deer, fons, bucks with their antlers in velvet, 41 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: jogging bears, porcupines, you name it. My favorites include a 42 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: bobcat padding across the bridge with what looks like ground 43 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: squirrel hanging from its mouth, and another bobcat using a 44 00:02:55,240 --> 00:02:58,440 Speaker 1: log as a scratching post. Very fun to watch and 45 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 1: very encouraging that these wildlife migrations are happening the way 46 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: we hope they would. Although i AD Bridge is the 47 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: only wildlife overpassing Utah, there are more than fifty wildlife 48 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: underpasses in the state, and this is just one of 49 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,520 Speaker 1: thousands of wildlife crossings that have been built across the 50 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: country in the past three decades. Adding one of these 51 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,680 Speaker 1: crossings to an existing infrastructure project increases the overall budget 52 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:27,440 Speaker 1: by as little as five percent, and that investment pays 53 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: off in spades by averting traffic accidents and the human 54 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: injuries and deaths that those accidents cause. Infrastructure bills may 55 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: not be sexy, but neither are the smells of bloated 56 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: critters on the side of the road. You parents should 57 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: really pay attention to this. The deer rep just ended 58 00:03:45,480 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: here in Montana, and it looked like Santa's whole reindeer 59 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: team took a wrong turn, is what I could say 60 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: if this weren't a family podcast. This week we've got 61 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: new critters, DOGO, DNA, and so much more. But first 62 00:04:03,760 --> 00:04:07,520 Speaker 1: I'm gonna tell you about my week and my week 63 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: as well as This podcast is sponsored by Steel Power 64 00:04:10,720 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: Equipment from the garage and backyard to the wood lot. 65 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: Steel has a lot of options that will make your 66 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:22,479 Speaker 1: work and even fun more efficient. Check them out. Thank 67 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,720 Speaker 1: you to everyone listening to the podcast. I read a 68 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: ton of listener emails. They are many, so I try 69 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: to group them into common themes and address them without 70 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:39,440 Speaker 1: calling out individuals, not because each of you are not unique, special, 71 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: thoughtful humans, but because this is only supposed to be 72 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: a twenty minute podcast. Uh. Here is a good discussion item. 73 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: I think it would be great to get some folks 74 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: writing in with how they have negotiated the social side 75 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 1: of hunting and spot finding. Listen to this one and 76 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: right in to ask how. At the meat eater dot Com, 77 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:07,160 Speaker 1: Molly writes in Just to be clear, I'm changing this 78 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:11,159 Speaker 1: a little bit for the sake of anonymity. Molly starts out, 79 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: I'm hoping for some advice. Started hunting two years ago, 80 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,279 Speaker 1: worked really hard to read maps, spots, sign and scout 81 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:22,440 Speaker 1: out areas to find the spots on public land. Found 82 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 1: a hard to reach spot on public land, and when 83 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: I got to the spot, I was crestfalling to see 84 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: a trail cam and an empty tree stand. I didn't 85 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,559 Speaker 1: see any other hunters, so continued to hunt the area 86 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:38,760 Speaker 1: for a week without seeing anyone. Later on, I went 87 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: to that spot again, only to have the hunt cut 88 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: short before dusk by the owner of the stand and camera. 89 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 1: The hunter took the camera off the tree and said 90 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,320 Speaker 1: he didn't want to get ripped off, insinuating camera theft 91 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,359 Speaker 1: was in the future. He then proceeded to say that 92 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: he's been hunting that land for eighteen years and suggested 93 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,039 Speaker 1: I find somewhere else to hunt. He also said that 94 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: he did me a favor by not interrupting the hunt 95 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: earlier in the day. The hunter also stated he has 96 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: other stands in the area. I am bothered greatly by 97 00:06:11,640 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: this because one, it's public land, we have equal rights 98 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,839 Speaker 1: to it. That's a question. Two, the hunter was not 99 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: present when hunting the area three, putting a stand up 100 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: doesn't mean you have claimed the area. That's also a question. 101 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,280 Speaker 1: Am I wrong? Is it bad taste to hunt near 102 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 1: an unused stand I am still trying to navigate the 103 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:39,719 Speaker 1: hunting etiquette, but this encounter just felt wrong. Thank you, Molly. Okay. 104 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: I think this situation is a situation many of us 105 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,560 Speaker 1: have found ourselves in, and it is a story that 106 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:49,599 Speaker 1: is intimidating enough as he is that people never go 107 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: looking for new spots, or even worse, cannot help but 108 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:57,400 Speaker 1: take advantage of their friends spots with that old tired 109 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 1: what was I supposed to do? Excuse use which is lame. 110 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,000 Speaker 1: That's a bad excuse. Do not do that. Do not 111 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 1: be that person. Here's my take. Yes, public land is 112 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: public land. If you're hunting public land, hunt it as 113 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: I do, with the assumption that you will run into 114 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: other people. Etiquette, as far as I'm concerned, goes like this. 115 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: The first person to a spot is the one who 116 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: says what direction you are going. The other group, the 117 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 1: people later to the spot, can then decide if they 118 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: will continue to hunt but out of the direction you 119 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: are going, or make the decision to go to a 120 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:39,000 Speaker 1: completely different spot. Either way, they have to adjust to 121 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: you because they didn't get there before you did. A 122 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 1: stand a trail camera falls in the category of the 123 00:07:45,720 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: same folks at park a bunch of old trucks at trailheads, 124 00:07:48,480 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: or leave piles of human feces and toilet paper to 125 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:55,120 Speaker 1: dissuade people from hiking in there. That is not claiming 126 00:07:55,160 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: the area. You cannot claim an area. They do not 127 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: have more right to it than anyone else. And if 128 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:04,960 Speaker 1: you're one of these surface pooping people, you should be 129 00:08:05,040 --> 00:08:07,280 Speaker 1: drugged through your own feces and full display of the 130 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 1: nearest township rubbish felf flying knock. That being said, if 131 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: you know the area and you are the second party 132 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 1: to the spot, you know how that area is best 133 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: hunted and hunted effectively, then you will know if it's 134 00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: a waste of your time to continue hunting while other 135 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: people are there, or if your time would be better 136 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: spent moving to another spot, or God forbid you go 137 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:37,400 Speaker 1: try a brand new spot yourself, which brings me to 138 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:41,440 Speaker 1: my next point. You need more than one spot. You 139 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: are setting yourself up for failure and frustration on the 140 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: people and animal front if you do not have more 141 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:52,720 Speaker 1: than one spot and My final point, do not tell 142 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: someone to go find another spot and this one is 143 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: yours when hunting public land. I'm gonna give you the 144 00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:04,560 Speaker 1: selfish reason why not. It tells them that this is 145 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 1: a good spot to be in. Oh and by the way, 146 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,320 Speaker 1: I've hunted it for eighteen years and all the stands 147 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:14,679 Speaker 1: in here are mine. That tells the newcomer that this 148 00:09:14,800 --> 00:09:17,920 Speaker 1: is a really, really good spot, so good that I 149 00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: am heavily invested in it. Wow. Thanks this story being 150 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,520 Speaker 1: a great example. I am not knocking you, Molly. This 151 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: situation is we have a new hunter, a hunter closer 152 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 1: to the start of their career than the end of 153 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,680 Speaker 1: their career. Odds are they missed a lot of sign 154 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,640 Speaker 1: They couldn't see the area that you have. Having so 155 00:09:39,760 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: much experience there, so much time in the woods there, 156 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:44,920 Speaker 1: there is a very good chance that this new hunter 157 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,520 Speaker 1: would have been like, huh, tree stands just ran into 158 00:09:49,559 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: a person. I just don't want to bother with it again. 159 00:09:53,320 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: But you told them to stay away because it's a 160 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,160 Speaker 1: really good spot. Without you telling them, they may never 161 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:02,959 Speaker 1: have come back. The right thing to do, aside from 162 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:07,760 Speaker 1: the selfish thing, is be friendly, be discreet. If you 163 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,720 Speaker 1: bump into them again and find that the newcomer is 164 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: going to stick around. Then exchange information and help each 165 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,160 Speaker 1: other out. You know this is a good spot. They 166 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,120 Speaker 1: now know this is a good spot. Figure out when 167 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: each other's days off are. All you gotta do is 168 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:28,720 Speaker 1: exchange of text, let each other know your intentions, split 169 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,960 Speaker 1: the property up, work together. I don't care how good 170 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:36,440 Speaker 1: the property is. If you are constantly frustrated, if you've 171 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 1: created a nemesis out of nothing, then it sucks. It 172 00:10:40,360 --> 00:10:43,199 Speaker 1: is not a fun place to hunt. The last thing 173 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 1: you want is somebody sitting in your stand before you 174 00:10:45,520 --> 00:10:49,320 Speaker 1: get to it, or worse, sitting in the wrong stand 175 00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:52,200 Speaker 1: for the wind and blowing all the mature deer into 176 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 1: the next county for the whole darn season. Let me 177 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 1: know your thoughts at a s K c A L. 178 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:01,360 Speaker 1: Let's ask how at the meat eater dot com. Thanks 179 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: for writting in, Molly. Moving on to the new critter desk. 180 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,439 Speaker 1: First up, we may have a new species of beaked whale, 181 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:13,960 Speaker 1: or it could just be that part of the beaked 182 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:17,680 Speaker 1: whale family that talks a little funny like that cousin 183 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:22,760 Speaker 1: at the reunion. Who you know is family? But where 184 00:11:22,760 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: the hell did they get that accent from. Well. Researchers 185 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: have noted that whales can be recognized by their song 186 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:38,880 Speaker 1: the different pitches patterns. These beaked whales have a different 187 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,040 Speaker 1: pattern of song that has not been documented as of yet, 188 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: and according to researchers, are visibly different as well. Beaked 189 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:51,720 Speaker 1: whales are very similar and notoriously hard to identify. The 190 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:54,920 Speaker 1: beaked whales are a deep diving group of whales that 191 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: little is known about. How deep you ask well. A 192 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,880 Speaker 1: study conducted off the coast of southern California in two 193 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 1: thousand fourteen and published in the journal plus one used 194 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:09,640 Speaker 1: satellite tags to track a Covier's beaked whale to a 195 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:14,800 Speaker 1: depth of two thousand, nine hundred and nine meters meters. 196 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 1: For those of you who don't obla the metric system, 197 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 1: that is deep. That's just two football fields short of 198 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: two miles below the surface. That makes them the deepest 199 00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:30,840 Speaker 1: diving known mammal on the planet. Beaked whales are described 200 00:12:30,880 --> 00:12:33,760 Speaker 1: as moderately sized, meaning they can range from one to 201 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:38,040 Speaker 1: about sixteen tons, which, boys and girls, if we humans 202 00:12:38,040 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: could describe moderate with a range from one to sixteen tons. 203 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:45,840 Speaker 1: This body shaming situation would be all over for the 204 00:12:45,920 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 1: most part, those poor folks on the small sides of 205 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:52,960 Speaker 1: the bell curve would be uh unique individuals and all 206 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:57,559 Speaker 1: the more beautiful for it. Anyway. Another interesting fact about 207 00:12:57,559 --> 00:13:00,679 Speaker 1: beaked whales is they have tusks, which, as far as 208 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,440 Speaker 1: we know, are more of a hindrance and feeding than 209 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,239 Speaker 1: a help. So what are they good for attracting females? 210 00:13:07,640 --> 00:13:09,959 Speaker 1: Similar to a bowl elk's antlers. They may get in 211 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: a fight every once in a while, but a yellow 212 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,559 Speaker 1: stone wolf is far more likely to get a hoofprint 213 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: tattoo on their jaw than a hole on their side 214 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 1: from an antler. Long winded way of saying, those boys 215 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:25,480 Speaker 1: are trying to impress those girls. These possibly new beaked 216 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: whales were discovered by the Sea Shepherd team near the 217 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: San Benito Islands of Baja Mexico. The San Benito Islands 218 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:37,320 Speaker 1: are oddly enough so remote that they developed a few 219 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:41,360 Speaker 1: specific species that could be found nowhere else on the planet, 220 00:13:41,760 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: one of which was the San Benito house finch, which 221 00:13:45,559 --> 00:13:49,959 Speaker 1: of course was overhunted by specimen collectors to extinction. Let's 222 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:53,080 Speaker 1: hope that little fact has nothing to do with this 223 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:57,559 Speaker 1: funny sounding possibly very rare to the whale being discovered 224 00:13:58,280 --> 00:14:01,559 Speaker 1: and for these possibly new whales if you are in 225 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:06,240 Speaker 1: fact not new and just another example of someone really 226 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:10,080 Speaker 1: wanting to separate you from your existing family and make 227 00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:15,439 Speaker 1: you unique. Remember I was also that weird sounding cousin 228 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 1: at the family reunion. Why do you have that accent? 229 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 1: I don't know, do I have an accent? My good buddy, 230 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:27,800 Speaker 1: an excellent human old dirt myth of dirt myth photography. 231 00:14:28,200 --> 00:14:31,840 Speaker 1: Was also that funny sounding kid. But guess what, not 232 00:14:31,960 --> 00:14:43,320 Speaker 1: adopted part of the family. You just next up at 233 00:14:43,320 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: the new creator desk. Snake. It's a snake, which is 234 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 1: unfortunately what I have observed most snakes hearing when quote 235 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 1: discovered by a human. This new snake, discovered by researchers 236 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 1: from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the 237 00:15:01,800 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: Institute for Ecology and Biological Resources at the Vietnam Academy 238 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: of Science and Technology, is an oddly scaled snake. To 239 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,360 Speaker 1: be more specific, this one is from northern Vietnam's had 240 00:15:14,560 --> 00:15:19,720 Speaker 1: Jang Province and it is iridescent, meaning that multiple colors 241 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:22,440 Speaker 1: are present when looking at this snake, and they seem 242 00:15:22,520 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: to change when the viewer changes their viewing angle to 243 00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 1: back up a bit. Odd scaled means that the snake 244 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: scales do not overlap like shingles on a roof do. Rather, 245 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: they're arranged like paving stones. Odd just means that they 246 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: are in the minority of snakes on the planet. Most 247 00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: snakes have overlapping scales. This snake is likely a burrowing 248 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: or semi subsurface snake, which obviously would make it harder 249 00:15:50,920 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 1: to find than let's say, a snake that loves sidewalk pavement, 250 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:58,200 Speaker 1: which is a confusing comparison because they did stumble up 251 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: on this specimen on a road. That's not what you think, okay. 252 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:06,320 Speaker 1: According to one researcher, his twenty two years surveying Vietnam 253 00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:11,800 Speaker 1: has only resulted in six oddly scaled snakes. These snakes, 254 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,440 Speaker 1: with the family name Akilinas, are non deadly and are 255 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: an outlier in the snake community, having split from the 256 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: rest of the family. Those not oddly scaled snakes, their 257 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: DNA could hold secrets to snake evolution. To put a rare, 258 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: heartwarming twist on this slithering tail, the research team decided 259 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: to honor a mentor, George Zug, who is the retired 260 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: curator of the Smithsonian Herpetology Museum, and his wife, Patricia 261 00:16:41,160 --> 00:16:45,040 Speaker 1: zug By naming the snake after them. Neither of the 262 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: Zugs were on the expedition, neither of them found the snake, 263 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: but both of the Zugs were credited with being excellent 264 00:16:53,400 --> 00:16:57,160 Speaker 1: mentors along the way for the team. Isn't that nice? 265 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:01,520 Speaker 1: So welcome Akilinus zagor and let that be a lesson 266 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,560 Speaker 1: to everyone. Be nice to those that want to learn 267 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,720 Speaker 1: in your life, and you may get iridescent snake species 268 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:12,440 Speaker 1: in Vietnam named after you. Moving on to the anthropology desk, 269 00:17:14,200 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 1: we often talk on this show about not feeding wildlife. 270 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:21,679 Speaker 1: Wild animals getting habituated to human beings is almost always 271 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: bad news, so much so that here at the weekend 272 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:29,000 Speaker 1: Review we are doomed to repeat the story over and 273 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:34,919 Speaker 1: over again, but with at least one species, it is way, way, 274 00:17:35,119 --> 00:17:39,080 Speaker 1: way too late. We recently learned more about the ancient 275 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:43,760 Speaker 1: origins of the most habituated animal of them all, Man's 276 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,359 Speaker 1: best friend, and a lot of what we're learning about 277 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: the first relationships between dogs and humans is just plain weird. 278 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,720 Speaker 1: Geneticists have been getting better and better at reconstructing ancient 279 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 1: DNA As with most things, DNA starts to decay as 280 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:03,359 Speaker 1: it ages, and after a few millennia, the long helical 281 00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,200 Speaker 1: strands that are intact in every one of your living 282 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,800 Speaker 1: cells get broken up into lots and lots of little fragments. 283 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,240 Speaker 1: But in recent years, scientists have learned how to take 284 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:17,600 Speaker 1: those little DNA fragments and piece them together, and they 285 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: have managed to recreate entire genomes of people who lived 286 00:18:21,560 --> 00:18:24,200 Speaker 1: at a time when the place I'm sitting right now 287 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: in Montana was under a sheet of ice almost a 288 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,480 Speaker 1: mile thick. When you can compare the genetic structure of 289 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: a person from so long ago to people living today, 290 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:37,679 Speaker 1: you can find out when and how certain changes and 291 00:18:37,800 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 1: human beings took place. And we could talk more about 292 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: ancient humans, I guess, but from how much all of 293 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:47,159 Speaker 1: you right in asking about what's happening with snort, I 294 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 1: know that what everyone really wants to know is were 295 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:54,320 Speaker 1: there any cute dogs running around those ancient humans lives? 296 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:59,640 Speaker 1: Any ancient very good boys and girls traversing the frozen continent. 297 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,880 Speaker 1: We've always guessed that dogs are descended from wolves who 298 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 1: began to follow human migrations, eating the food scraps and 299 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 1: carcasses that humans left behind. But this new study that 300 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,800 Speaker 1: sequenced twenty seven genomes of some very very old dogs 301 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: makes a convincing case that the kind of wolf that 302 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:23,080 Speaker 1: became our beloved fidos and Rex's and snorts did not 303 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: branch into any modern day wolf populations and instead became extinct. 304 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: I kind of want to say, bad dog, but that's 305 00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:35,720 Speaker 1: not fitting. In fact, it's a bad joke, bad joke. Bad. 306 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 1: The study also shows that once dogs and wolves separated genetically, 307 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 1: dog DNA found its way into modern wolves, but no 308 00:19:45,080 --> 00:19:48,920 Speaker 1: wolf DNA survives and modern dogs, which is very strange. 309 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:52,479 Speaker 1: We know that people bred the two populations together, and 310 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:55,439 Speaker 1: so it remains a mystery why all of that wolf 311 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:59,359 Speaker 1: dna died out of modern dogs. This could just be 312 00:19:59,760 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: that human beings didn't like the behavior that dogs with 313 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:06,960 Speaker 1: wolf DNA exhibited and so only continued to breed dogs 314 00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:10,359 Speaker 1: that didn't have those traits. And I guess I can 315 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,600 Speaker 1: understand that. I will admit to every so often curling 316 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:17,159 Speaker 1: up on the couch with good old Snort, her muzzle 317 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:21,800 Speaker 1: often mirror millimeters away from my undefended throat, gives me 318 00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 1: peace of mind to know that the animal who would, 319 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:28,479 Speaker 1: let's say, exploit that opportunity is nowhere to be found 320 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:32,120 Speaker 1: inside of her. Take that same scenario back a few 321 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,480 Speaker 1: thousand years. To win those incredibly costly expressions of ourselves, 322 00:20:36,800 --> 00:20:40,320 Speaker 1: children were really hard to keep alive. It would have 323 00:20:40,359 --> 00:20:44,399 Speaker 1: been very hard to justify the independent predator genes in 324 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:46,760 Speaker 1: the dogs that we decided to keep around that very 325 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:52,040 Speaker 1: valuable offspring. Realistically, you would want a pooch that fattened 326 00:20:52,119 --> 00:20:56,479 Speaker 1: like pork, yet ate very little and hunted very well, 327 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,159 Speaker 1: which is kind of something I always think about but 328 00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,120 Speaker 1: do not say. When I see people loading up strings 329 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:04,760 Speaker 1: of pack goats at the trailhead, I always kind of 330 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:10,640 Speaker 1: think to myself, well, at least those people won't starve anyway. 331 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:14,640 Speaker 1: Another answer could be that dogs before four thousand years 332 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: ago were more diverse than the breeds we have today, 333 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:21,080 Speaker 1: and maybe that wolf DNA had just happened to end 334 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:24,679 Speaker 1: up only in the lines that didn't make it. But wait, 335 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:28,480 Speaker 1: how could those ancient dogs be more diverse than the 336 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: crazy dogs that we have right now? The poodle pointers 337 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,879 Speaker 1: and the lab repoodles and the poopa doodles and the 338 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:39,199 Speaker 1: ship sues and the you know other things that aren't 339 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,080 Speaker 1: really made to function. How could this be, You'd say, 340 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,159 Speaker 1: I don't know. Well, let's go over it. Ancient dogs 341 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,600 Speaker 1: had more diverse DNA than modern dogs. Even though you 342 00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 1: can go out this very day and adopt both the 343 00:21:51,320 --> 00:21:53,480 Speaker 1: chhuahua and a great Day and and have them sleep 344 00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 1: side by side in your home, the differences between the 345 00:21:56,359 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 1: two are the result of breeders selecting for certain traits. 346 00:21:59,680 --> 00:22:03,240 Speaker 1: In had a very uniform genome before or four thousand 347 00:22:03,359 --> 00:22:07,920 Speaker 1: years ago. European dogs had many more different genetic compositions. 348 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 1: We don't know much about how those differences showed up 349 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:14,000 Speaker 1: in the form or behavior of those dogs. So, again, 350 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:17,280 Speaker 1: because no one can prove me wrong, at least for now, 351 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:20,480 Speaker 1: I'm going to hope that there were certain dogs who 352 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:24,399 Speaker 1: could make a reasonable guestimate of distance between you and 353 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,200 Speaker 1: the animal you wanted to stick with your addle addle, 354 00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: kind of like a hunting companion and a golf caddy mix. Or, 355 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: to be a bit more serious, we were dealing with 356 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:36,919 Speaker 1: a gene pool that hadn't been selected with. It was 357 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,520 Speaker 1: just nature running wild and selecting for what it thought 358 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 1: dogs needed to have to survive all across the planet. 359 00:22:44,200 --> 00:22:47,000 Speaker 1: So that's a heck of a mix, right, So maybe 360 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:50,680 Speaker 1: there were some dogs along the line that carried jeans 361 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,960 Speaker 1: that made them so smart. They just out hunted us 362 00:22:54,119 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 1: and wanted nothing to do with us, so we wrangled 363 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: them into submission. Who knows, may be a truly genetically rich, 364 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,200 Speaker 1: versatile hunting breed had a shiny coat capable of reflecting 365 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: the colors of the foliage around it ultra camouflage, which 366 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:12,800 Speaker 1: was great for hunting. But we kept losing the damn 367 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:15,040 Speaker 1: things or tripping over him at the camp site at night. 368 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 1: You could go on with the what ifs forever, but 369 00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 1: the reality is we simplified animals to fit our needs. 370 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:26,479 Speaker 1: One other thing I found fascinating from the study is 371 00:23:26,520 --> 00:23:29,560 Speaker 1: how long ago all this happened. The study shows that 372 00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:33,800 Speaker 1: all those separate genetic structures had established themselves and spread 373 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,720 Speaker 1: around the world as much as twenty thousand years ago. 374 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,399 Speaker 1: Up until now, we thought that humans migrated to the 375 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: various corners of the world later than that, and so 376 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:46,600 Speaker 1: it's hard to explain how domesticated dogs would have traveled 377 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,920 Speaker 1: to where they did without us, until maybe you watch 378 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: the honest Pitelis's hound dog mingus run away from you. 379 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:56,040 Speaker 1: Boy can cover some ground we are going to learn 380 00:23:56,080 --> 00:23:59,399 Speaker 1: a lot more as scientists continue to study these newly 381 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:03,840 Speaker 1: reconstruct genomes, and so maybe learning more about dogs will 382 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,840 Speaker 1: teach us some things we didn't know about ourselves, like 383 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:11,400 Speaker 1: did we find dogs too complicated and need to simplify them. 384 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:15,159 Speaker 1: One thing it will likely never shed light on is 385 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 1: a dog behavior I observe daily when Snort passes gas 386 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,639 Speaker 1: you know, farts, and then looks at her rear end 387 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,200 Speaker 1: in disbelief. Is that a character trait telling her to 388 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:30,680 Speaker 1: do that or twenty thousand years of leftover genetic material. 389 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:34,280 Speaker 1: That's all I've got for you this week. Thank you 390 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,720 Speaker 1: so much for listening. As per usual, please right into 391 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: a s k C A L. That's ask Cal at 392 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 1: the Meat Eater dot com and let me know what's 393 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: going on in your neck of the woods. And of course, 394 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: if you're loving what you're hearing on Cow's we can review, 395 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 1: tell a friend or two. Thanks again, and I'll talk 396 00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:52,880 Speaker 1: to you next week.