1 00:00:02,840 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: From Mediator's World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 1: Cal's weekend review, presented by Steel Steel products are available 3 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: only at authorized dealers. For more, go to Steel Dealers 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: dot com. Now here's your host, Ryan cal callahan. An 5 00:00:22,239 --> 00:00:26,320 Speaker 1: attempt to save the Tasmanian devil by shipping a quote 6 00:00:26,640 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: insurance population to a tiny Australian island has come at 7 00:00:31,480 --> 00:00:36,159 Speaker 1: a catastrophic cost to the penguin population there, including the 8 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: complete elimination of three thousand pair of little penguins. That's 9 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:45,280 Speaker 1: like six thousand total birds. If you aren't into the 10 00:00:45,320 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: whole brevity thing. Little penguin is not an off the 11 00:00:49,360 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: cuff name for just any small penguin, or in this case, 12 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: the smallest penguin. That is the actual common name for 13 00:00:56,840 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 1: you dip to a minor or if you prefer the 14 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: hip Latin version e minor. The little penguin, which is 15 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,880 Speaker 1: again the smallest penguin species, is thirteen inches tall, but 16 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,480 Speaker 1: has an overall length of about seventeen inches, which means 17 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: that aside from being the easy meal of choice for 18 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: hungry Tasmanian devils, they also have a slouching problem. Maria 19 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 1: Island is a secluded island National Park off of the 20 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 1: east coast of Tasmania. A former convict station, the island 21 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,960 Speaker 1: is accessible by ferry and, according to the National Park website, 22 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,319 Speaker 1: is a hot spot for bird watchers. For likely the 23 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: same reason Maria was selected as a convict station, twenty 24 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: eight devils were released there in two thousand twelve. That 25 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: population grew to over one hundred individuals by two thousand sixteen. 26 00:01:46,760 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: Island life was good on mainland Australia, devil's face disease 27 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: such as facial tumor disease, as well as many man 28 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: made threats ranging from habitat loss to prolific run ins 29 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 1: with domestic dogs. I'm gonna give you a few fun 30 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: devil facts. Devils are marsupials and the largest carnivorous marsupial 31 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:11,120 Speaker 1: their relative in size to a small dog and weighing 32 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: about eighteen pounds, but this small dog's got bite, with 33 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:18,360 Speaker 1: one of the strongest bites per unit body mass of 34 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:22,240 Speaker 1: any predatory land mammal. They have a jaw structure similar 35 00:02:22,240 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: to that of the hyena, another notable biter. They give 36 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,680 Speaker 1: birth to roughly thirty young, but female devils only have 37 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:33,359 Speaker 1: four nipples, so the young fight to the death inside 38 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: her pouch for milk. Devils are known for their ferocity 39 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,120 Speaker 1: around food, which if you consider the fact that they 40 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: literally had to kill the majority of their brothers and 41 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: sisters just to get to the stage in life where 42 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:48,959 Speaker 1: they could be defensive around solid food, it all makes 43 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,720 Speaker 1: a lot of sense. Their Latin name is sarkoph Phyllis Harressy, 44 00:02:54,320 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: a k a. Harris's flesh lover. Don't go putting that 45 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 1: in the Google urg bar okay kids. At the time 46 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: of the transfer of the original twenty eight devils, the 47 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: facial tumor disease was thought to be threatening enough to 48 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,079 Speaker 1: put the entire Tasmanian devil population at risk, which is 49 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,839 Speaker 1: why geographically isolated locations such as Maria Island were sought out. 50 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: If your Jurassic parkometer is going off, yes, Michael Crichton 51 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: continues to teach us that history is doomed to repeat 52 00:03:26,520 --> 00:03:30,079 Speaker 1: itself when it comes to transplanting animals to tiny islands, 53 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: even when the best of intentions are at work. Despite 54 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 1: having several possible alternative prey species on the island, including 55 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: Tasmanian padamilon, which is not a melon it's visually at 56 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,840 Speaker 1: least a fourteen pound marsupial that resembles a cross between 57 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,600 Speaker 1: a kangaroo and a woodchuck with pretty darned cute cotton 58 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:54,240 Speaker 1: tail rabbit ears. Forester kangaroos are also on the island, 59 00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: which is the second largest marsupial in Australia, with a 60 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: possible overall height of over six and a half feet 61 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: and weighing in at over a hundred and fifty pounds. 62 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: In addition to that, there's Bennetts wallabies which come in 63 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: and about the forty pound range, the populations of which 64 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,960 Speaker 1: were previously so prolific they had been managed by annual cults, 65 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: which all sounds like you put a predator in an 66 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,920 Speaker 1: area where they have a lot of variety to pick on. 67 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,720 Speaker 1: It's good on paper, they can go from similar sized 68 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:29,360 Speaker 1: animals to smaller sized animals to take on a hundred 69 00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: and fifty pound animal. But if you are an eighteen 70 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: pound meat eater, even a spunky one like the devil, 71 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:40,719 Speaker 1: chances are the low hanging fruit the little penguins are 72 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,480 Speaker 1: what is going to attract your eye over the daunting 73 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: task of waiting for some hundred and forty pound butt 74 00:04:47,520 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: kicking kangaroo to maybe tip over dead somewhere so you 75 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: can go non You can feel bad for the little 76 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:57,039 Speaker 1: penguins only because the arrival of devils was due to 77 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: man putting them there. There are many he fee populations 78 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,560 Speaker 1: of little penguins, some as far away as South America, 79 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 1: which here is a fun fact for you. If you 80 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: are a member of a population that pops up outside 81 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: of the known range of your population, you are called 82 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:18,840 Speaker 1: a vagrant, meaning that little penguins can be found and 83 00:05:18,880 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 1: are assumed to be from this general area of Australia, 84 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:27,240 Speaker 1: New Zealand Tasmania, where they are common. The uncommon populations 85 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:32,400 Speaker 1: like those in Chile or South Africa would be vagrant populations. 86 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: By the way, what do you call a little penguin 87 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:41,600 Speaker 1: and Chile penguino? Pecano? Take that one home now. In contrast, 88 00:05:41,680 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: the distribution of Tasmanian devils is very small and teetering 89 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:50,160 Speaker 1: on getting smaller, hence the attempts to find new homes 90 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,919 Speaker 1: void of disease and dogs like Maria Island. The International 91 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: Union for the Conservation of Nature classified the Tasmanian devil 92 00:05:58,520 --> 00:06:01,440 Speaker 1: as endangered in two Thou and Night I kind of 93 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: want to say like that's off. This week. We've got 94 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: bear attacks, wolf robots, human fishing lures, and so much more. 95 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:18,000 Speaker 1: But first I'm gonna tell you about my week. And 96 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 1: my week was wild, to say the least. Met some 97 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: new friends in southern California. We loaded a mountain of 98 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 1: gear onto two small boats and shoved off for Catalina 99 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:33,480 Speaker 1: and San Clemente Islands. Our primary goal was white sea bass, 100 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: an interesting species that migrates from Baja California in the 101 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: south up to as far as southern Oregon in the north. 102 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,000 Speaker 1: WSB white sea bass is a highly sought food fish. 103 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:48,960 Speaker 1: It's a bright white flesh and these bass are meat sticks, 104 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: lots of yield, big muscles on a sturdy spine with 105 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: not all that much bone structure, and eighty eight pound 106 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: fish is the world record that one was hot off 107 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:05,359 Speaker 1: Baja California, Mexico. Currently the state of California is funding, 108 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: in part with the Hubs Institute, a captive rearing program 109 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: to try and revive wild WSB stocks. Decades of gill 110 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 1: netting and liberal harvest quotas supported by market demand had 111 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: the all too oft an outcome that we know the 112 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: realization that holy crap, this fish isn't an endless resource. 113 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: We can make an impact to make matters more interesting. 114 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:33,240 Speaker 1: There are plenty of questions left to answer as far 115 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:37,600 Speaker 1: as best practices for estimating the overall population, what's happening 116 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: on the Mexico side of the border, what ideal spawning 117 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: conditions and habitats really are, and how exactly that goes down, 118 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:49,680 Speaker 1: And most importantly to us anglers, how exactly can we 119 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: keep fishing them both recreationally and for the market without 120 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: hurting the overall population, making this sustainable in the right way. 121 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,240 Speaker 1: All good questions. A couple of things I found super 122 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 1: interesting about our trip, which was a spear fishing trip, 123 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: was no matter where you go or what type of 124 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:10,720 Speaker 1: electronics you have on the boat, you still have to 125 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: put your face on the water to understand what's going on. 126 00:08:14,160 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: The kelp for us are absolutely incredible, and for us, 127 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: they are fifties sixty seventy eight foot tall, constantly moving 128 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:28,000 Speaker 1: for us, complete with dark forbidding zones akin to old 129 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 1: girl timber, and small openings bathed in warm glowing sunlight 130 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 1: similar to an underwater meadow. Gorgeous, and you have to 131 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:40,360 Speaker 1: swim and dive over and over and over in order 132 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: to pick them apart. The fancy sonar cannot tell you 133 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:46,520 Speaker 1: what is in the kelp forest. You have to see 134 00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:50,840 Speaker 1: for yourself, and it is addicting. I got a fancy 135 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:54,840 Speaker 1: new garment dive watch and one day I recorded over 136 00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: eighty six dives. That's a lot of swimming for a 137 00:08:57,480 --> 00:09:00,680 Speaker 1: landlocked guy like myself. The crew who I was with, 138 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: Joel Ostein and Ryan Moore, who represent rife spear fishing, 139 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:07,319 Speaker 1: I'm sure they put up some much more serious numbers 140 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:11,280 Speaker 1: than I did. I came away with nothing, no shots fired. 141 00:09:11,440 --> 00:09:14,800 Speaker 1: Over the course of three full days false sand. There 142 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: were opportunities at other species like calico bass and sheep head, 143 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,800 Speaker 1: but it began to feel like those species were I 144 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:24,679 Speaker 1: don't know, let's say grouse on a late season rifle 145 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: elk hunt, where every ridge you sneak up to has 146 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:29,880 Speaker 1: a few grouse on it. But if you shift your 147 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: focus and go to hunting grouse, you're not gonna be 148 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 1: ready for the six point bull that maybe on the 149 00:09:34,880 --> 00:09:36,840 Speaker 1: other side of the ridge just in front of you. 150 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:40,559 Speaker 1: Ryan Moore did smack a sheep head, which is a 151 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:43,959 Speaker 1: really gorgeous fish. A rass They can be found from 152 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: the Gulf of Mexico up north to Monterey Bay. Slow 153 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,360 Speaker 1: growing reef fish, they also have had some serious ups 154 00:09:50,360 --> 00:09:53,880 Speaker 1: and downs as a species. They all start as female. 155 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:56,800 Speaker 1: Then the dominant fish, possibly the fish that just gets 156 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,800 Speaker 1: more food the fastest, will turn into a male as 157 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: it grows gonads. The male has a territory which includes 158 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:06,840 Speaker 1: a den to hold up in at night and hunting grounds. 159 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: It will defend its territory and will breed with multiple 160 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: females whom he also tries to defend. On top of that, 161 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,960 Speaker 1: the male grows a much more pronounced forehead and white chin, 162 00:10:18,320 --> 00:10:23,120 Speaker 1: complete with some really beautiful pearly white canine looking teeth 163 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:26,720 Speaker 1: reminiscent of old snort as we all know at this point, 164 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:29,320 Speaker 1: and slow growing fish fish that take a while to 165 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: hit sexual maturity, especially ones that have to selectively grow 166 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: their own males, are also susceptible to overharvest, so please 167 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 1: keep that in mind and take responsibly a special occasion fish, 168 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:48,360 Speaker 1: not in every occasion fish. Lastly, it dawned on me 169 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 1: how strange spear fishing is on this trip, how in 170 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: many circumstances it is actually an appropriate way to fish 171 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:58,679 Speaker 1: hard to cast a line net or again use some 172 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: fish finding sonar in some of this kelp forest. Despite that, 173 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: my brain still doesn't recognize the sport as all that practical, 174 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: especially when I realized that the act of repeatedly diving, 175 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: and in the case of like yellowtail or even the 176 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,559 Speaker 1: sheep head, I was just using myself as a piece 177 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:20,480 Speaker 1: of fishing tackle. Fall to the bottom. See what comes in. 178 00:11:21,240 --> 00:11:24,920 Speaker 1: Swim slowly to the top, swim or drift a few yards, 179 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:28,720 Speaker 1: fall all the way to the bottom like an awkward 180 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: speed jig. Hopefully you will get to see all of 181 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,640 Speaker 1: this last adventure California White Sea Bass in a future 182 00:11:35,679 --> 00:11:39,200 Speaker 1: episode of the YouTube show cal in the Field. Big 183 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,960 Speaker 1: thanks to the folks at Rife International for that arsenal 184 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: of incredible spear weaponry. If only I had a bigger garage, 185 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:52,959 Speaker 1: i'd have a few marauders added to the list. Our 186 00:11:53,040 --> 00:11:56,320 Speaker 1: bear attack coverage shows no signs of slowing down, but 187 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: this week we're taking a trip outside the US. In 188 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 1: the Japanese city of Sapporo. Last week, a young brown 189 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:07,559 Speaker 1: bear roamed the streets for over eight hours, attacking four 190 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 1: people along the way. Video footage shows the boar knocking 191 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:15,319 Speaker 1: down a soldier from behind and briefly mauling him, charging 192 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,040 Speaker 1: into an army barracks and scaling the fence of a 193 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 1: local airport. The Japanese military must not have been trained 194 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: up on bear defense SUPPORTO authorities warned the populace to 195 00:12:26,240 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 1: stay inside. Local schools were closed and flights were grounded 196 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:33,920 Speaker 1: for almost an hour. And because it is the bear 197 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: was on camera almost the entire time, and the live 198 00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:40,800 Speaker 1: footage of the bears rampage went viral around Japan and 199 00:12:40,920 --> 00:12:43,320 Speaker 1: much of the rest of the world. You might be 200 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: surprised to hear that there are brown bears in Japan. 201 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:50,200 Speaker 1: You Surrey bears, as the subspecies is known, are some 202 00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:52,720 Speaker 1: of the largest in the world, almost as big as 203 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: the Kodiak. The range extends from Hokkaido, the northern Japanese 204 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:00,760 Speaker 1: island where Sapporo is located, across to the Russian held 205 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:04,840 Speaker 1: islands in the same archipelago. That means they're closely related 206 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 1: to Russian mainland bears. The Latin name of these Russian 207 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 1: bears is Ursos arc Dos Barringianus, which gives you an 208 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: idea of how this population spread across the land bridge 209 00:13:16,040 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: into Alaska and then down to the lower forty eight, 210 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 1: becoming Ursus arc dos horribilis are grizzly bear along the way, 211 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:27,680 Speaker 1: but back to Sapporo toward evening, members of a local 212 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:32,280 Speaker 1: hunting association tracked down and shot the bear. Unclear whether 213 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: the meat and hide were put to good use, but 214 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:37,720 Speaker 1: I very much hope so. There's been a spike in 215 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,040 Speaker 1: similar attacks in Hokkaido over the past several years, as 216 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:45,079 Speaker 1: well as significant bear impacts on livestock and agriculture. This 217 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,880 Speaker 1: increase in aggressive bear behavior has led to what has 218 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,480 Speaker 1: to be the most Japanese aspect of this story. In 219 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: the countryside around Sapporo, over seventy robot wolves have been 220 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: installed in farmers fields to scare bears a way. That's right, 221 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:11,360 Speaker 1: there are shaggy lupine auto matons in the fields of Japan, 222 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,880 Speaker 1: powered by a nearby solar panel. These robo wolves come 223 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:20,080 Speaker 1: complete with glowing red eyes and emit howls and machinery 224 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:23,640 Speaker 1: sounds up to ninety decibels, which is as loud as 225 00:14:23,640 --> 00:14:26,920 Speaker 1: a steel m s eight eighty magnum chainsaw. If you 226 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,160 Speaker 1: need a visual reference and you're a fan of the 227 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 1: Joe Rogan experience, that were wolf Joe keeps in a 228 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: studio is a solid reference to what the Japanese are 229 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:41,280 Speaker 1: using as bear deterrence. Not surprisingly, the suspected primary reason 230 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 1: for the uptick and bear aggression is not so techy. 231 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:49,520 Speaker 1: Acorns are on boom and bust cycles. Currently it's bust 232 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:52,800 Speaker 1: in Japan. This acorn bust is thought to be the 233 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:56,720 Speaker 1: one factor driving these bears into populated areas. Local groups 234 00:14:56,720 --> 00:15:00,040 Speaker 1: have sprung up to carry store bought acorns into the 235 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:03,600 Speaker 1: woods for bears to eat, and my experience feeding bears 236 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:06,400 Speaker 1: tends to not keep them away from people. But I 237 00:15:06,480 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 1: haven't been on any of these acorn spreading excursions around Sapporo. 238 00:15:10,440 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 1: Saw mine my own bees wax on this one. I 239 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:16,760 Speaker 1: was interested to read about the hunting group that eventually 240 00:15:16,800 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 1: took down the bear because Japan is one of the 241 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,160 Speaker 1: most difficult places in the world. To get the legal 242 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 1: clearance to hunt, you have to pass vision, hearing, and 243 00:15:25,640 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: general fitness tests, as well as a criminal background check 244 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: and a mental competence exam from a doctor. After you 245 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 1: pass a hunting specific written test, you get a hunting 246 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,680 Speaker 1: license that's good for three years, but then you have 247 00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 1: to start an entirely separate application to possess a gun 248 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:47,320 Speaker 1: to hunt, with more background checks written and in person tests, 249 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:52,760 Speaker 1: then police interviews with your employer, family and friends and neighbors. 250 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:56,080 Speaker 1: Once you pass all this, you can own a shotgun. 251 00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: But then you have to wait ten more years. That's right, 252 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,720 Speaker 1: an entire decade before you can own a rifle. All 253 00:16:03,760 --> 00:16:05,880 Speaker 1: of this to say, I would love to meet these 254 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 1: support o hunters who shot and let's hope ate this bear. 255 00:16:09,760 --> 00:16:12,880 Speaker 1: I'll bet that these folks are people with the serious 256 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 1: passion you know, to at least hunt their way through 257 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: all that paperwork. But if you want to hunt Japan, 258 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:23,400 Speaker 1: don't count it out yet. Hunting red tape might be changing. 259 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:27,360 Speaker 1: As deer and bore populations have exploded over the last decade, 260 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:31,160 Speaker 1: with fewer and fewer people going after them, local governments 261 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: have been running the same kind of recruit, retain, reactivate 262 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: campaigns that we have started here in the US, and 263 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,120 Speaker 1: so in the other most Japanese part of this story, 264 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: more women and young people are starting to hunt Japan, 265 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: in part due to the popularity of a manga series 266 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: called Sansoku Diary, an autobiographical story of a young urban 267 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:56,600 Speaker 1: guy who learns to hunt small game with an air 268 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: rifle and cook it for himself and his friends. Manga, 269 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: for those of you who don't know, is a graphic 270 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 1: novel comic books for the neophytes. Interesting to know that 271 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:13,760 Speaker 1: there's a manga version of Meat Eater out there. Moving on, 272 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,880 Speaker 1: and animal shelter in Chicago has released over a thousand 273 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 1: feral cats into the city streets in an effort to 274 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:25,679 Speaker 1: control the skyrocketing rat problem there. The so called Cats 275 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:28,359 Speaker 1: at Work program got a lot of news coverage, so 276 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:31,040 Speaker 1: I won't dwell too long on the story itself. I 277 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,399 Speaker 1: will say that a lot of outlets made it seem 278 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:36,439 Speaker 1: like the government of Chicago dropped a thousand cats all 279 00:17:36,480 --> 00:17:38,639 Speaker 1: at once on the city like a plague of locusts. 280 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: In fact, since about two thousand eleven, a private shelter 281 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:45,480 Speaker 1: that runs a trap newter release program has been placing 282 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,679 Speaker 1: about a dozen cats per month with homes or businesses 283 00:17:48,720 --> 00:17:52,200 Speaker 1: to try to control the rat populations. But even without 284 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:56,800 Speaker 1: a sudden cat blizzard, this is still plenty bad. Trapped 285 00:17:56,920 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 1: newter release programs have been shown to be useless and 286 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,320 Speaker 1: reduce using feral cat populations, and cats are actually much 287 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,320 Speaker 1: better at spreading rabies than rats are, as well as 288 00:18:06,400 --> 00:18:11,200 Speaker 1: the very unpleasant parasite toxoplasmosis. Defenders of the scheme say 289 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,959 Speaker 1: that the program provides food and water for the feral 290 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,800 Speaker 1: cats so that they won't hunt birds for food, but 291 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,679 Speaker 1: it's well established that the drive to kill birds is 292 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: completely independent of hunger, and a well fed and healthy 293 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:27,560 Speaker 1: cat is just a more powerful and efficient hunter. As 294 00:18:27,600 --> 00:18:30,879 Speaker 1: we've covered many times, outdoor pet cats and feral cats 295 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,719 Speaker 1: are one of the most dangerous invasive species in the world, 296 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: killing as many as two point four billion birds that's 297 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: billion with the bee every year here in the continental US. 298 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,959 Speaker 1: They have contributed to the extinction of an eye watering 299 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: sixty three different bird species, and several others are right 300 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: on the brink due to cat predation, including the piping 301 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:57,000 Speaker 1: plover and the uah or Hawaiian petrol. What I truly 302 00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: do not understand is how people who own cats can 303 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,359 Speaker 1: so stubbornly ignore the problem. Cat people are some of 304 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: the most ardent defenders of animal welfare around. Propose a 305 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 1: bear hunting season in a new state and see who 306 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:14,760 Speaker 1: comes after you. Methods for preventing cap gradation are well 307 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:18,480 Speaker 1: known and easy. Keep them inside, and if they can 308 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,200 Speaker 1: get outside, put them in a colorful wide band collar 309 00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 1: at a minimum with a bell on it so that 310 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,199 Speaker 1: birds can have a chance. In one study confirming the 311 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:32,280 Speaker 1: impressive effectiveness of the brightly colored callers, only half of 312 00:19:32,280 --> 00:19:35,240 Speaker 1: the cat owners who participated in the first half of 313 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,120 Speaker 1: the study returned for the second half of the study. 314 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:42,960 Speaker 1: After the trial ended, of the participants said they wouldn't 315 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,359 Speaker 1: use the colors again because the cats seemed not to 316 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:50,760 Speaker 1: like them, which is the whole point. The cats love 317 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:54,200 Speaker 1: killing birds, small mammals, and reptiles, and are in fact 318 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:56,920 Speaker 1: waiting until their owners die a feast on their corpse. 319 00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:00,119 Speaker 1: What the colors are designed to do is mitigate at 320 00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:03,440 Speaker 1: least three of the four of those things. Okay, which, yeah, 321 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:05,920 Speaker 1: the cats aren't gonna like not being able to do that. 322 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:09,040 Speaker 1: So here's my appeal to you. If you own a cat, 323 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 1: go to birds be Safe dot com and buy one 324 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,720 Speaker 1: of their cheerful colored callers. Of course, all the cat 325 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: owners who listen to this show strictly keep their cats inside. 326 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:20,760 Speaker 1: But what I'm telling you to do is talk to 327 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,119 Speaker 1: your cat owning friends who don't listen to the show 328 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:25,840 Speaker 1: and tell them to get a caller. Every time you 329 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: go to your local shelter, bring a few of these things. 330 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: And remember old Bob Barker from the Prices. Right at 331 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:34,480 Speaker 1: the end of every show, he'd say, always spaying new 332 00:20:34,520 --> 00:20:36,920 Speaker 1: to your pets. Seemed like a weird thing to do 333 00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:39,639 Speaker 1: after bidding on a bunch of junk, but it was 334 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:43,320 Speaker 1: very effective. So maybe in these contemporary times we can 335 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:46,359 Speaker 1: get my buddy old Joe Rogan to add a good 336 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,639 Speaker 1: cat conduct to his discussions in between the jiu jitsu 337 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: and psychedelics. We gotta try something new here, people. The 338 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 1: Tasmanian devil killing six thousand little penguins on one island 339 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,520 Speaker 1: is a catchy headline, but let's be real, outdoor house 340 00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:07,240 Speaker 1: cats laugh at those numbers. Moving on, you have to 341 00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: celebrate your conservation wins when you get them. So I 342 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,200 Speaker 1: wanted to circle back to a recent call to action 343 00:21:12,280 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: we had on Wildlife Special Action Request twenty one dash 344 00:21:15,720 --> 00:21:19,639 Speaker 1: OW one, the motion to lock non subsistence hunters out 345 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: of the two huge units three and twenty six A 346 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:26,639 Speaker 1: and Northern Alaska. After nearly three hours of debate, the 347 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,480 Speaker 1: Federal Subsistence Board voted on June sixteen to table the 348 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:34,199 Speaker 1: decision and defer action to next year. That means this 349 00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:38,159 Speaker 1: year's hunt will proceed unaffected, which is great news, But 350 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: it's that three hours of debate I want to focus on. 351 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: We mentioned in our earlier coverage that a similar proposal 352 00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:48,440 Speaker 1: on a much smaller part of Alaska Units thirteen and 353 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:52,159 Speaker 1: thirteen B went through without the public taking notice. That 354 00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:55,400 Speaker 1: easily could have happened with this larger piece of land too, 355 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,840 Speaker 1: But because people like you stood up and made noise, 356 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 1: calling into a tiny regional administrative hearing that would usually 357 00:22:02,520 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: have taken twenty minutes, we were able to get a 358 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 1: big wrench in the works of this decision. The board 359 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 1: had to stop and take into consideration all the people 360 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,200 Speaker 1: who have a stake in this. Now, this wasn't an 361 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:17,679 Speaker 1: outright victory. The Federal Subsistence Board didn't say once and 362 00:22:17,720 --> 00:22:20,640 Speaker 1: for all that this kind of closure wouldn't happen here 363 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:25,000 Speaker 1: or anywhere else. And a cynical observer might wonder whether 364 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: the delay is employed to wait until the attention shifts 365 00:22:27,960 --> 00:22:30,560 Speaker 1: away from this issue and then pass it later when 366 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: no one's looking. But we're not gonna let that happen. 367 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:36,919 Speaker 1: That's all I've got for you. This week. Thank you 368 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:40,720 Speaker 1: so much for listening. Remember to check out steal Dealers 369 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:44,520 Speaker 1: dot com to find a knowledgeable saw shop near you. 370 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:49,359 Speaker 1: Time to start thinking fall, and most importantly, let me 371 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: know how I'm doing and what's going on in your 372 00:22:51,520 --> 00:22:54,000 Speaker 1: neck of the woods by writing in to a s 373 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: k c. A l. That's asked Cal at the meat 374 00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: Eater dot com. Thanks again, I'll talk to you next week.