1 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: From Mediators 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 News from the idiocy in our National Parks 4 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: desk has been an absolute fire hose in as people 5 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: cooped up from quarantine stream into the outdoors and make mayhem. 6 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,239 Speaker 1: According to Yellowstone Park officials, there have been three times 7 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:39,159 Speaker 1: the usual number of violations involving the park's hot springs 8 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,000 Speaker 1: this year, with no sign that the bad behavior is slowing, 9 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:48,040 Speaker 1: but justice is not far behind. This week, three men 10 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:52,040 Speaker 1: were fined, sentenced to probation, and banned from Yellowstone for 11 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:55,960 Speaker 1: two years for bringing raw chickens to the parks Shoshone 12 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: geyser basin and submerging the chicken and boiling hot spring 13 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: using a burlap sack to prepare dinner al fresco alfresco 14 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 1: when referring to food means relaxed open air dining. But 15 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:12,399 Speaker 1: if you're in Italy, which is where the phrase comes from, 16 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: alfresco can reference time spent in jail. That, my friends, 17 00:01:17,080 --> 00:01:20,400 Speaker 1: is the type of language nuance that can make conversation 18 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: riveting anyway, Dunking food and boiling liquid is a time 19 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: honored cooking technique around the world, including in Japan, where 20 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,560 Speaker 1: it's known as shabu shabu. Paper thin cuts a beef 21 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 1: for chicken or dropped into scalding broth, then eaten quickly 22 00:01:37,160 --> 00:01:41,960 Speaker 1: along with noodles, tofu and vegetables. Delicious, but cooking in 23 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 1: bur lap. Who smells burlap and thinks to themselves, that's 24 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: just the magic ingredient I've been looking for. I want 25 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: that smell on my food. And the bone headedness of 26 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:59,320 Speaker 1: introducing raw poultry into yellow stones geysers just gets worse 27 00:01:59,360 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: from there. Yellow Stones water, superheated by the area's volcanic activity, 28 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 1: is home to very specialized microbes named thermophiles, which are 29 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:13,160 Speaker 1: adapted to thrive in extreme high temperatures. These thermo files 30 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 1: create the bright yellow, pink, and red crusts that are 31 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: so distinctive to yellow stones springs, and mud pots. Some 32 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: of these micro organisms, called cyanobacteria, were among the first 33 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: life forms on Earth to develop photosynthesis, using sunlight and 34 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: carbon dioxide to grow. The oxygen that they produced as 35 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: a byproduct helped create the Earth's atmosphere, so we and 36 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: every other air breathing creature on Earth literally owe ourselves 37 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:44,799 Speaker 1: to these little guys. It's not hard to see how 38 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:49,840 Speaker 1: bacteria from chickens could cause havoc with these native micro organisms. 39 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: The three men who are convicted of the culinary caper 40 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: also had to walk over these crusts of bacteria to 41 00:02:57,080 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: get to the spot where they dunk the chicken, which 42 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: is a violation of park rules and also extremely dangerous. 43 00:03:04,280 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: Visitors to the park are scalded every year breaking through 44 00:03:07,480 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: these crusts, and some have died from their burns. In court, 45 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: the men used the tried and true defense of saying 46 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: they didn't know what they were doing was against the law. 47 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,360 Speaker 1: They apparently thought the rule against introducing objects into the 48 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,639 Speaker 1: hot springs only applied to stuff you couldn't get out, 49 00:03:23,800 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: like rocks or trash. Apparently they didn't know that this 50 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: particular spring was closed to human traffic despite the signs 51 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: and guidelines posted on the internet. Maybe that's true. Maybe 52 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: they were acting in a good faith with absolutely no 53 00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:45,920 Speaker 1: common sense. But still cooking and bur lap. Chicken skin 54 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: is delicious. You want it rubbed up against bur lap. 55 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: When asked by The New York Times how the chicken 56 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: turned out, one of the men, Eric Romrell, responded, it 57 00:03:55,640 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: was fantastic. Even if I might understand their other violations, 58 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: and I'm not saying I can, this violation of the 59 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:07,480 Speaker 1: culinary arts is where I have to draw the line. Unfortunately, 60 00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:11,000 Speaker 1: people putting foreign objects into the thermal features of Yellowstone 61 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: Park has a long and not so glorious history. In fact, 62 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 1: an eruption of ear spring in the southwest corner of 63 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,240 Speaker 1: the park in two thousand eighteen shot out trash and 64 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:29,320 Speaker 1: coins dating to the nineteen thirties. We people of might 65 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,520 Speaker 1: be stupid, but I guess it's reassuring to know that 66 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:36,800 Speaker 1: stupidity and hot springs, while not a right, is a legacy. 67 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: This week we've got Hunter history, bad actors, and tech talk. 68 00:04:42,640 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 1: But first I'm gonna tell you about my week. And 69 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: my week, as you know, is sponsored by Steel Power Equipment, 70 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: Steel the world's number one chainsaw. Remember, if you don't 71 00:04:55,839 --> 00:05:00,200 Speaker 1: think a chainsaw is up your alley, even a clean, quiet, 72 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,839 Speaker 1: a powerful, battery powered steel, then you can always support 73 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: the brand as well as this podcast, by picking up 74 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,400 Speaker 1: an incredibly versatile pair of pruning shears or lopping shears 75 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: equally as good for breaking down small the big game 76 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: as they are backyard branches and brambles. Anyway, I'm fresh 77 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 1: back from vacation. I'm back, baby, and only short one 78 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: toenail and a little skin off my cheek bone from 79 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,480 Speaker 1: frost bite, as well as some extra body fat. I've 80 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:32,279 Speaker 1: been packing around just for the occasion. You know. We 81 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: flew into the frank Church Wilderness area met a couple 82 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: of friends, one of whom was Brad Brooks of our Golly. 83 00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:42,119 Speaker 1: If you're looking for game bags, give our Goaly a look. 84 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: Wilderness hunts are special. To be clear, the frank is 85 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:50,600 Speaker 1: an odd wilderness as it is actually fairly roaded as 86 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,520 Speaker 1: well as air stripped to where the likelihood of bumping 87 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,719 Speaker 1: into people is quite high. But at the same time 88 00:05:57,080 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: it is big, big country. It is tough off That 89 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:04,719 Speaker 1: line about throwing yourself against the wilderness always comes to 90 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: mind when I'm in the frank. We had a great trip. 91 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,080 Speaker 1: We got good bucks, we hiked our butts off, we 92 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: beat ourselves up, we pushed our limits. But if I'm 93 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: being honest, those bucks could have been found a hell 94 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: of a lot closer to town, closer to a hot 95 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: shower and a truck. So why go through the literal 96 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: ups and downs? Of frozen scree and avalanche shoots. Because 97 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: it's hard. Life isn't always about easy. If the wilderness 98 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: were easy, I wouldn't go back. Think about that kid's 99 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:44,359 Speaker 1: fishing pond, you know, darned good and well you'll catch 100 00:06:44,360 --> 00:06:48,480 Speaker 1: a trout or catfish or whatever they stock. So eventually 101 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,800 Speaker 1: you don't fish there. You look for the places that 102 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:57,040 Speaker 1: offer a chance maybe of catching a fish. As I've said, 103 00:06:57,120 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: there are a lot of people in the Frank Church Wilderness. 104 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: As we've discussed many times on this podcast, the topic 105 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: of changing the Wilderness Act to include other forms of travel, 106 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: which would include wheeled vehicles, possibly even electric motorcycles people 107 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: like to call e bikes. I think about this a 108 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: lot because it would just change the nature of how 109 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:20,840 Speaker 1: I grew up. It would change the meaning of wilderness. 110 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: And I always wonder who these people are and how 111 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: easy they want life, and why why isn't it that 112 00:07:29,440 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 1: they're happy with what they have? And how far will 113 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 1: they take this argument? Well, while I was gone, the 114 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,640 Speaker 1: Hungry Horse News out of Hungry Horse, Montana, one of 115 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:45,960 Speaker 1: Montana's only Pulitzer Prize winning papers, published an article about 116 00:07:45,960 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: a guy who drove his vehicle through the front doors, 117 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: smashing them and down the aisle of the Super one 118 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:56,520 Speaker 1: Foods in Columbia Falls, Montana. He then turned around somehow 119 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 1: at the meat counter and drove down another aisle to 120 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: exit the store. This just happens to be one of 121 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 1: the arguments I think of when defending the Wilderness Act. 122 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: Why the hell can I drive my vehicle into the supermarket? 123 00:08:11,200 --> 00:08:13,760 Speaker 1: Why is it only reserved for people who walk in 124 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:18,200 Speaker 1: those little electric carts. The driver was later found running 125 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:21,880 Speaker 1: naked through the halls of a nearby retirement home. And 126 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: I know what you're thinking, Why the hell run? Why 127 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: shouldn't he be able to drive? We're going straight the 128 00:08:29,160 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: quad and into the gymnasium every day, moving on and 129 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: sticking with the crime desk. We have to pause and 130 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: take a little bit of pleasure. In a new development, 131 00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 1: in the case of David Lesh, the thirty five year 132 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: old Colorado man who has become known as quote the 133 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: worst tourist in the world. You may have heard of Lesh, 134 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,559 Speaker 1: the person caught and fine for jumping a snowmobile over 135 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: a ramp in Colorado's closed Keystone ski area, and for 136 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:02,680 Speaker 1: riding a motorcycle and protected ass lands, and for trespassing 137 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: in the state's highly sensitive and protected hanging lake. In 138 00:09:06,600 --> 00:09:09,359 Speaker 1: front of a judge who was sentencing him for these violations, 139 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,560 Speaker 1: Lesh pledged that he would from then on follow all 140 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: the rules that all the rest of us have to 141 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,840 Speaker 1: observe on our public lands, or should anyway. But then 142 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: just nineteen days after the hearing, a photo surfaced showing 143 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:29,920 Speaker 1: Lesh relieving himself pooping in Maroon Bells Lake, which is 144 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,640 Speaker 1: part of the Aspen Area Watershed, a true beautiful gem 145 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 1: and off limits. No one will be surprised when I 146 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: say that Lesh posted photos of all these escapades to Instagram. 147 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:46,640 Speaker 1: What that says of him, I'll let you decide. I 148 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: wouldn't touch you whither. But according to the Colorado Sun newspaper, 149 00:09:55,600 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: his attorney requested to withdraw from representing him. If that 150 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:02,720 Speaker 1: tells you any thing, we can all be glad them 151 00:10:02,760 --> 00:10:06,520 Speaker 1: that US Magistrate Gordon Gallagher through the book at Lesh, 152 00:10:06,760 --> 00:10:09,840 Speaker 1: banning him from setting foot onto any of the one 153 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:14,480 Speaker 1: million acres of US Forest Service land for the foreseeable 154 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: future and possibly forever. Several other cases are also proceeding 155 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:23,080 Speaker 1: against Lesh, so the legal system is likely not done 156 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,560 Speaker 1: with him, not that he has proven to have any 157 00:10:25,600 --> 00:10:28,880 Speaker 1: respect for public land or the rules that go with them. 158 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: A quick scroll of Mr Lesha's Instagram account will show 159 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,400 Speaker 1: that his defense is one of photoshop hype in regards 160 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: to the swimming and crapping and closed watersheds. His attorney 161 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:44,480 Speaker 1: could have quit not for lack of moral character of 162 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:48,520 Speaker 1: Lesha's part, but for lack of Lesha's care to help himself. 163 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,719 Speaker 1: Doesn't want to go down with the ship if this 164 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:57,040 Speaker 1: is the situation, Yeah, David, you are an idiot, But 165 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: even idiots can play on our public lands, so banishment 166 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: from them would be a bit harsh. I do find 167 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 1: it an interesting bit of context, though, that this guy 168 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:11,880 Speaker 1: made a living as a pro skier and now apparently 169 00:11:11,960 --> 00:11:15,719 Speaker 1: fronts for outdoor clothing companies. Most ski areas in the 170 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: West are not on private lands but on public land 171 00:11:20,320 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: U S, forest service land. Typically, outdoor clothing needs to 172 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: be used or at least marketed out of doors, which, again, 173 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: if you are in that outdoor clothing buying demographic, you 174 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 1: are typically a public land recreator. So what do you 175 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 1: stand to gain by risking the respect of these places? 176 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,199 Speaker 1: It may seem like an overcooked yellow Stone hotpot chicken 177 00:11:43,440 --> 00:11:47,080 Speaker 1: is worth a little broken thermo file bacterial crust, But 178 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: what are the ramifications of the message it sends? Joke 179 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 1: or not? Moving on to the anthropology desk. A few 180 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: weeks ago, you may remember me talking about ancient cave 181 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:03,839 Speaker 1: pay innings, specifically about fingerprint analysis showing that both men 182 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:09,079 Speaker 1: and women participated in creating those spectacular pieces of art. Recently, 183 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:11,720 Speaker 1: a team of scientists published a study in the journal 184 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: Science Advances that shows us more about collaboration between the 185 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: sexes in prehistoric cultures, and this time on a topic 186 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:23,440 Speaker 1: very close to our hearts, big game hunting. In two 187 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:26,719 Speaker 1: thousand thirteen, a member of the Mullah Fasari community in 188 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,439 Speaker 1: the Peruvian Andes discovered a nine thousand year old burial 189 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: site in excellent condition. One of the graves contained what 190 00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:39,960 Speaker 1: archaeologists call a complete kit of hunting implements spear points, skinning, 191 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:44,960 Speaker 1: scraping and chopping tools. Scientists concluded that whoever was buried 192 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:48,520 Speaker 1: with such a complete arsenal, a person who the scientists 193 00:12:48,520 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: gave the catchy name w MP six, must have been 194 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:56,760 Speaker 1: a capable and experienced hunter. Determining the sex of ancient 195 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:01,040 Speaker 1: skeletons has historically been difficult and imprecise, relying on bone 196 00:13:01,040 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 1: measurements and context to categorize which bones belong to a 197 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:08,320 Speaker 1: male in which to a female, but recent advancements in 198 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:13,320 Speaker 1: tooth enamel analysis allow for much more precise categorization. Certain 199 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: dental proteins revealed the x X or x Y chromosomes 200 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 1: of the tooths owner, even if that owner has been 201 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:25,760 Speaker 1: dead for almost ten millennia. Women have x X chromosomes, 202 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,840 Speaker 1: men have X Y, and so this method is almost 203 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:33,319 Speaker 1: one accurate. This analysis revealed that the hunter in the 204 00:13:33,400 --> 00:13:37,319 Speaker 1: Andean grave was a woman of about eighteen years old, 205 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,560 Speaker 1: giving further support to the idea that roles in the 206 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:44,840 Speaker 1: ancient world weren't as segregated as we may have previously thought. 207 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:49,560 Speaker 1: The studies authors went on to analyze twenty seven skeletons 208 00:13:49,559 --> 00:13:53,240 Speaker 1: found across the Americas that were found with hunting implements 209 00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,440 Speaker 1: and discovered that eleven of those skeletons were likely female 210 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: and sixteen were likely male, suggesting that way back then 211 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:06,360 Speaker 1: there might have been much closer quality of the sexes 212 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 1: when it came to bringing home the dinner. Although the 213 00:14:09,400 --> 00:14:12,600 Speaker 1: data from this analysis isn't perfect and can't let us 214 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: conclude with certainty that of ancient hunters were women. It 215 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,400 Speaker 1: does lead us to question our assumptions about who did 216 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 1: the hunting before agriculture came along and changed everything. Many 217 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 1: ancient skeletons have been categorized by archaeologists as male simply 218 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 1: because they had hunting equipment buried with them. That's presumptuous 219 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: of you. Yeah, totally. The female hunters, for instance, may 220 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 1: have just been more frugal or less greedy in death. 221 00:14:44,120 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: They chose to pass down their hunting equipment just like 222 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,680 Speaker 1: Grandpa and Dad did for me, instead of sticking it 223 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: in the dirt. Heck, you could even guess, as there 224 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,760 Speaker 1: is no evidence to say otherwise, that the men buried 225 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: with their hunting equipment couldn't fact to be like a 226 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,240 Speaker 1: good riddance to bad gear situation as opposed to that 227 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: old anthropological catch all of ritual and religion could have 228 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:12,600 Speaker 1: been a good old fashioned timely What do we do 229 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: with this dull knife and bent at laddle that always 230 00:15:16,400 --> 00:15:19,520 Speaker 1: hooks our spears to the left? Yeah, just throw it 231 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: in the hole? Go ahead, anthropologists prove me wrong. Getting 232 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 1: to the base of this is going to be hard. Unfortunately, 233 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,160 Speaker 1: well preserved skeletons from the place to scene epic are 234 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:34,400 Speaker 1: extremely rare, and with such small sample size, it's hard 235 00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: to make well informed generalizations about much of anything when 236 00:15:38,040 --> 00:15:41,840 Speaker 1: it comes to hypothesizing how an entire ancient culture may 237 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: have functioned. But now that we can rely on better 238 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:48,080 Speaker 1: methods for finding out which hunters were female in which 239 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:52,120 Speaker 1: were male, I'm hoping for more digs, more ancient hunting kits, 240 00:15:52,320 --> 00:15:56,040 Speaker 1: and the possibility that will uncover a much more narrow 241 00:15:56,200 --> 00:16:00,520 Speaker 1: gender gap in our common ancestry. After all, if your 242 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:04,720 Speaker 1: ma is handy with a shotgun or bow or cast net, 243 00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: it's a little too convenient to chock it up to luck, 244 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 1: isn't it. Moving on to the predator panopticon desk, take 245 00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,600 Speaker 1: it for me. Trapping and coloring grizzly bears to track 246 00:16:20,680 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 1: their migration and behavior is no easy or simple feat. 247 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:27,600 Speaker 1: You have to know the bears, know the country, acquire 248 00:16:27,680 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: bait most often road kill, plan months in advance, and 249 00:16:32,560 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: if you do catch one, then you get the magnificent 250 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: reverent treat of covering yourself an old bait and feces 251 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: as you work the bear up. You can see this 252 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: firsthand almost on a future episode of Cow's We can 253 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:52,080 Speaker 1: review the YouTube series coming up this winner now. Although 254 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,120 Speaker 1: there are no long term negative health effects that have 255 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: been observed for collared bears, in the short term it 256 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:03,240 Speaker 1: is a stressful sitch suation, despite biologist taking every effort 257 00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,680 Speaker 1: to make it not stressful. Think about it. How would 258 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,639 Speaker 1: you like it if you walked into a restaurant and 259 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:13,000 Speaker 1: some biologists sticks you with the needle, which renders you 260 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,320 Speaker 1: in a coma like state of not quite knocked out. 261 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:20,080 Speaker 1: The biologist puts a necklace around your neck, tattoos the 262 00:17:20,119 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: inside of your lip, puts an ear tag through your ear, 263 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,320 Speaker 1: a pit tag underneath your skin, draw some blood, cut 264 00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,080 Speaker 1: some hair, takes a bunch of measurements. You know, I'm 265 00:17:30,080 --> 00:17:32,919 Speaker 1: sure in what would feel like a very invasive and 266 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:37,440 Speaker 1: inappropriate way. Sure you got a meal out of the deal, 267 00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: but your day went a little fuzzy after that, and 268 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:44,200 Speaker 1: you end up with fashion choices you didn't make and 269 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,160 Speaker 1: can't be unpleasant to remove. For those of you thinking 270 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:51,720 Speaker 1: that's not my worst Tuesday, you are full of it. 271 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:55,120 Speaker 1: Even for the hardest of partiers, that's a rough night. 272 00:17:55,640 --> 00:17:58,639 Speaker 1: I've been in some states where my awareness was not 273 00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 1: so aware, maybe even supported a bumper bruise upon finding clarity, 274 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:08,240 Speaker 1: but tattooed, pierced, and collared. That'll make your heart race 275 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:11,439 Speaker 1: no matter what species you are. And I'm missing tooth, 276 00:18:12,280 --> 00:18:16,400 Speaker 1: so maybe there's a better way. This week to software 277 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:19,560 Speaker 1: developers and too, wildlife biologists published a study in the 278 00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:24,439 Speaker 1: journal Ecology and Evolution showing the successful early use of 279 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:28,400 Speaker 1: bear i D. This isn't a dating app. Pay attention, 280 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:32,920 Speaker 1: it's a facial recognition technology that can identify individual bears. 281 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:37,880 Speaker 1: Over the past three years, the biologist Melanie Clapham captured 282 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 1: over three thousand images of bears from camera traps she 283 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,280 Speaker 1: placed along night Inlet on the coast of British Columbia. 284 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 1: Them she and her team showed those photos to artificial 285 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: intelligence software so that the program could learn how to 286 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 1: interpret the facial features of each bear, how far apart 287 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,840 Speaker 1: the eyes are, how long the muzzle is, and so on. 288 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,639 Speaker 1: The more photos the AI sees, the better it gets 289 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: at distinguishing between each bear. The technology is similar to 290 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:12,040 Speaker 1: the facial recognition technology for human faces that airports or 291 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: iPhones use, but the developers actually started with open source 292 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: code from a program called dog Hipsterizer, which analyzes pictures 293 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:26,119 Speaker 1: of dogs in places buddy holly glasses and mustaches on 294 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 1: the dog's faces, because well, why work on COVID nineteen 295 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:33,920 Speaker 1: vaccines when you can hipsterize dogs for a fraction of 296 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,639 Speaker 1: the startup cost. So you know they did. That is 297 00:19:37,680 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: exactly what the Internet is for people. Although the technology 298 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: isn't perfect yet, it's wrong about fifteen percent of the time. 299 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,480 Speaker 1: It will get better and better the more photos it sees, 300 00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:52,439 Speaker 1: and could eventually track the movements and behavior of entire 301 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: populations of bears, giving agencies and conservationists up to the 302 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:01,160 Speaker 1: minute information to guide land management to decisions. The nan 303 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,920 Speaker 1: Wacola's Council, a conservation group of the first Nations people 304 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,960 Speaker 1: in BC, is already starting to use bear i D. 305 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:12,320 Speaker 1: Dallas Smith, president of the Council, told CBC News the 306 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 1: software is really helping us gain a foothold in taking 307 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: over the management of grizzly bear interactions in our territories. 308 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: Do yourself a favor. Navigate over to bear research dot org. 309 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:28,639 Speaker 1: That's b e A R Research All one word dot 310 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: org to check out the results of the bear i 311 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:36,399 Speaker 1: D project as well as their progress. It's awesome. Although 312 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 1: I'm on record opposing the naming of charismatic megafauna. People 313 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:44,200 Speaker 1: start making bad decisions about animals once they know them 314 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:48,000 Speaker 1: as Bond, Bond or c Solar whatever. Seeing how this 315 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 1: team is combining tech and biology to tell Bella apart 316 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 1: from Blonde Teddy and somehow resisting the urge to hipsterize 317 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: them is stunning. This is low coal cost, low personnel, 318 00:21:01,760 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 1: safe way to track, identify, and trace large, dangerous, amazing critters. 319 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 1: I will officially check out of this one if they 320 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: start popping up with buddy holly glasses and mustaches. However, 321 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:20,520 Speaker 1: what are you listening to? Missions? You know you got 322 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:24,439 Speaker 1: this once an' no change your life? I swear. The 323 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:29,639 Speaker 1: year has been a doozy in many many ways, but 324 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 1: the out of control wildfires in California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado 325 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:38,040 Speaker 1: and elsewhere have made life miserable for millions of US 326 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,480 Speaker 1: and for the wildlife of those states. And while people 327 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 1: are to blame for starting several of these fires, including, 328 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,920 Speaker 1: as we've discussed before, exploding targets for baby gender reveal parties, 329 00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: lightning strikes play a huge role in starting outdoor conflagrations. 330 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:58,760 Speaker 1: If only the X Men character Storm really existed. You 331 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:02,600 Speaker 1: remember Storm, the super hero whose eyes turned milky white 332 00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:06,679 Speaker 1: as she like levitated into the air, gathered electrical energy, 333 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: not to mention other energy from the teens and the audience, 334 00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: and hurling it at the enemy's The character was played 335 00:22:14,920 --> 00:22:19,159 Speaker 1: by halle Berry. If that existed in real life, she 336 00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:21,760 Speaker 1: could swoop above the rockies as the clouds rolled in, 337 00:22:22,119 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: catch the lightning and guide it to uh. I don't 338 00:22:25,760 --> 00:22:29,880 Speaker 1: know David Lesh's cell phone. Something a little more productive 339 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:37,919 Speaker 1: than destructive. As fantastical as that seems, scientists working in 340 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:42,280 Speaker 1: Australia have developed the next best thing, a laser that 341 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:46,919 Speaker 1: can direct lightning strikes to specific targets. Americans aren't the 342 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: only ones suffering from wildfires these days. Remember back to 343 00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:55,359 Speaker 1: late two thousand nineteen and early Australia went through such 344 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 1: bad wildfires that became known as the Black Summer, with 345 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 1: over twenty million acres of the country burned and as 346 00:23:03,560 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: many as three billion animals killed or displaced. Several of 347 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:11,240 Speaker 1: these Australian brush fires were started by lightning strikes. So 348 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:13,800 Speaker 1: if anyone has the motivation to make a lightning a 349 00:23:13,840 --> 00:23:18,600 Speaker 1: little less destructive, the assees certainly do. These scientists were 350 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:20,879 Speaker 1: able to create the conditions of a lightning storm in 351 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:25,040 Speaker 1: their lab by placing two flat electrodes parallel to each other. 352 00:23:25,440 --> 00:23:29,840 Speaker 1: In normal conditions, air particles between the electrodes will discharge 353 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:34,400 Speaker 1: electricity along random paths, typically toward the edges of the electrodes. 354 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,159 Speaker 1: But by heating channels in the air with an ultra 355 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,960 Speaker 1: precise laser, the scientists were able to create a kind 356 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:46,640 Speaker 1: of path of least resistance for the electricity, and thereby 357 00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:50,560 Speaker 1: we're able to direct the discharges to tiny holes at 358 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:55,120 Speaker 1: the center of the electrode plates. Imagine if the electricity 359 00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 1: were a zamboni instead of an entire skating rink to 360 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: wander around own down, the laser would create a hyper 361 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: specific lose path for the zamboni to travel down. Okay, 362 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:10,480 Speaker 1: I admit this metaphor leaves something to be a desired, 363 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:12,720 Speaker 1: but I would also pay to see a zamboni sliding 364 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:15,639 Speaker 1: down a loose track. Is it an Olympic here yet? 365 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:20,400 Speaker 1: Love that stuff? But I digress. Although scientists have known 366 00:24:20,480 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 1: about the ability of lasers to direct electrical discharge for years, 367 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: this new technology uses much much less energy than in 368 00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:31,520 Speaker 1: the past. Instead of needing laser equipment on the scale 369 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,439 Speaker 1: of a city block. This mechanism could redirect lightning with 370 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,320 Speaker 1: a tool no bigger than a regular old laser pointer 371 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,680 Speaker 1: that you might use for your power point presentation. Needless 372 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: to say, you should definitely not shine this pointer in 373 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,159 Speaker 1: anyone's eyes, and it is likely to be overkill for 374 00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 1: creating a moving dot for your cat to chase around 375 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:57,600 Speaker 1: the main barrier. Now to successfully deploying this technology in 376 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:03,320 Speaker 1: actual storms is finding targets can safely absorb all that electricity. 377 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:06,600 Speaker 1: But this Australian team believes they could be only five 378 00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,880 Speaker 1: to ten years away from guiding lightning to harmless fireproof 379 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 1: patches instead of tinder dry forests, thereby stopping wildfires before 380 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,560 Speaker 1: they start. Now that we're on the way to crack 381 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 1: in that code, maybe we can work on finding a 382 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:25,439 Speaker 1: different way for your negligent friends to tell everybody if 383 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: they're having a boy or a girl. Then shooting exploding 384 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,200 Speaker 1: barrels filled the pink dye and lighting for ESTs on fire. 385 00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,440 Speaker 1: How do we redirect those people? Why don't you make 386 00:25:34,480 --> 00:25:39,160 Speaker 1: like a tree and get out of here? In all seriousness, 387 00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 1: as we combat increasingly large fires, it is easy to 388 00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:46,959 Speaker 1: get in the mindset of us versus it when in fact, 389 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:51,439 Speaker 1: frequent naturally occurring fires are incredible for our land and 390 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:56,399 Speaker 1: our wildlife. Therefore, for us, they are healthy. Last year's 391 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:00,560 Speaker 1: burns a heck of a place for elk, mushrooms, mule deer, 392 00:26:00,840 --> 00:26:04,479 Speaker 1: and there for me. Anyway, it is my hope that 393 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: good solid land management will get us back in shape, 394 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:13,040 Speaker 1: hopefully before we're using fancy laser pointers to redirect lightning, 395 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:17,280 Speaker 1: and that management will include man and fire as it 396 00:26:17,359 --> 00:26:21,479 Speaker 1: has for thousands of years. That's all I've got for 397 00:26:21,480 --> 00:26:24,120 Speaker 1: you this week. Thanks so much for listening. It's good 398 00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:26,680 Speaker 1: to be back as pre usual. Let me know what's 399 00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:28,600 Speaker 1: going on in your neck of the woods by writing 400 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:33,040 Speaker 1: in to s k C. L that's a s k C. A. 401 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:37,520 Speaker 1: L ask Cal at the Meat Eater dot com. We'll 402 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:45,600 Speaker 1: talk to you next week.