1 00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:04,000 Speaker 1: Oh hey, welcome to the Hunting Collective. To me Ben 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:08,680 Speaker 1: O'Brien here with Phil the Engineer. Hello, and it's another week, 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:11,960 Speaker 1: episode eighty six, and this one is a great one. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: It's about the coyote, or the coyote or the coyote, 5 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,120 Speaker 1: however you choose to say it. And this came up. 6 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:22,840 Speaker 1: This topic came up recently. I mean, the coyote is 7 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: obviously something we're all interested in, but the topic came 8 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 1: up recently around hunters and how they feel about predators. 9 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,200 Speaker 1: Do we feel like they're competing with us for our 10 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,520 Speaker 1: beautiful and delicious deer and elk and moose and things 11 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:41,200 Speaker 1: like that. So this is perfect have Dan Flores in here. 12 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:46,319 Speaker 1: We also had Sam Longdern, Anthony Lakata and Spencer new 13 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 1: Art who came from different parts of the world completely 14 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:52,199 Speaker 1: messed up where they're actually from, but they came from 15 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: different parts of our country and so I want to 16 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:56,920 Speaker 1: have their perspective on what they thought about coyotes, their 17 00:00:56,960 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 1: experiences and all that stuff. And and before we get gone, 18 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,760 Speaker 1: speaking of what's been happening in my life, I shot 19 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: a mule deer last week. It's my first ever resident 20 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: mule deer in Montana. It was a little bit of 21 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:11,759 Speaker 1: interesting story. So next episode, I'm gonna tell you that story. 22 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: Some people have been asking for me to tell the story. 23 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: It's a story where I I did simultaneously great at 24 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 1: hunting and also terrible, And so stick around for that. 25 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,080 Speaker 1: Maybe next episode or sometime when I get around to 26 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: uh swallow my pride and telling you all about it. 27 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: But for now, it's coo and it's episode eighty six. 28 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: Let's go. I guess I grew up on an older road, 29 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:45,560 Speaker 1: a paredal to the meadows. I always did what I've 30 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: told until I found out that my brand new clothes 31 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: a game second hand from the rich kids next door. 32 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: And I grew up fast. I guess I grew up. 33 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,640 Speaker 1: I mean, they have a thousand things inside of my 34 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: head I wish I ain't seen. And now I just 35 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: wounded to a real bad dream of being a lack 36 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: of coming in a part of the steams. But thank 37 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: you Jack Daniel. Hey everybody, episode eighty six, with the 38 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:16,519 Speaker 1: Hunting Collective coming at you from freezing cold bos in Montana, 39 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: it's like negative degrees out of everybody, very cold October 40 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: nine below in Belgrade. When I got up this o, 41 00:02:24,320 --> 00:02:28,840 Speaker 1: my Lord and Heaven fills upper lip is warmer than 42 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: most preparing preparing. It's filling in nicely. It's filling it nicely. 43 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: Anthony Cotta, could you please describe fills mustache as it 44 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 1: currently sits um. It's it's really gathered steam over the 45 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: last couple of days and coming to its home. Are 46 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: you fertilizing it with something? No, it just knew it 47 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: was being underestimated and it came out fighting. Gary. Gary's 48 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,639 Speaker 1: good to me. It looks like mini magnum this morning. Yeah, 49 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,760 Speaker 1: it's you can see it for more than five ft away. 50 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: Now that's true. I don't want to. I don't want 51 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: to like try to wipe it off like I did, 52 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,040 Speaker 1: or like it's something on your lip, man, let's scrub 53 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:07,799 Speaker 1: it real harder'll fall off. Well, it's not about the 54 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: density either. It's very skin toned. It's like, yeah, that's 55 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,360 Speaker 1: the main problem. Yeah, we've been talking about that super 56 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: That's that's where it derives its creepiness from it from 57 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:20,919 Speaker 1: its from its color. It's like somebody cloned your eyebrow 58 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:23,959 Speaker 1: and then put it on top of your lips like that. Yeah, 59 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,360 Speaker 1: nic third eyebrow. I'll take it mouth brow. Well. I 60 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 1: we're joined by Sam Longer. Hey Sam, Hey Ben. How's 61 00:03:30,960 --> 00:03:33,919 Speaker 1: it going? Oh it's going pretty pretty good? Pretty good? 62 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:36,080 Speaker 1: Looking forward to Halloween. Yeah, what are you gonna be? 63 00:03:36,840 --> 00:03:39,840 Speaker 1: I could well, I guess this will air later. I'm 64 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: gonna be Yosemite. Sam, that's gonna be. You're gonna shave 65 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:49,000 Speaker 1: down those stash bet your ass. You're an innovator. Oh boy, 66 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: Spencer new Heart, what are you going to be? I 67 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:55,000 Speaker 1: don't know if this is going to resonate with everyone, 68 00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: but I'm gonna be a hooter. Right, he's got he's 69 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,560 Speaker 1: got the beard. I've got the beard. I've got the suspenders, 70 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: that got the black pants, have got the hat. You're 71 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:09,840 Speaker 1: gonna get a lot of questions. I need to explain. 72 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,080 Speaker 1: I grew up in a small town in southeastern South 73 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: Dakota where we had one of the biggest hood right 74 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:18,080 Speaker 1: populations like in the nation. There we had five colonies 75 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:23,280 Speaker 1: within like ten miles of my hometown, and so when 76 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: I would dress up like a hood right and go 77 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: out for Halloween, people just thought I was a hood 78 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:31,240 Speaker 1: or right. It wasn't like costume people would be like 79 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:35,120 Speaker 1: from Jamesville, Maxwell, which one yeah, so we'll see how 80 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: that goes over. And yeah, if you go up to 81 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,040 Speaker 1: as lowest town, people will think the exact same thing 82 00:04:40,040 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: because they're everywhere up there. But you got to learn 83 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: how how a lot of Montana's pronounce it, Who do right? 84 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:51,120 Speaker 1: Who the right? Who do right? Where I'm from in Maryland, similar, 85 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: there's a fair modelm here, though in Montana. There's a 86 00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: lot of them here in Montana. It might hit. Don't 87 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:59,839 Speaker 1: accidentally stumble into a colony and just stay. I already 88 00:04:59,839 --> 00:05:04,680 Speaker 1: have close. I was gonna hang out. This is this 89 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,400 Speaker 1: will you're not breaking any news or after well, I'm 90 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: breaking the news to to the staff here, I guess please. Yeah, okay, 91 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,880 Speaker 1: well we've gone over how Seth and I were gonna 92 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: be Doc Holiday and wider, like a realistic take. It's 93 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: gonna be fun. That's gone. He's gonna be gone tomorrow. 94 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 1: He's not dead times West. Um, he had a beautiful mustache. 95 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: I'll take your Instagram follows. He was he was following 96 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:36,159 Speaker 1: the weather. He's chasing tornadoes and um. But no, so 97 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: I'm still going to do a cowboy thing, but I'm 98 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: going to be Doc Calaladay. It's a white cloth themed cowboy. Yes, 99 00:05:48,640 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: that takes it. I've got some construction to do tonight. Um, 100 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: without giving anything away, it's gonna be it's gonna be fun. Yeah, Okay, 101 00:05:57,880 --> 00:06:02,159 Speaker 1: I'm speechless. Yeah, I'm speech Thank you, thank you for 102 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: your service film. I'm your Huckleberry flavor. I'm your black chair. 103 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,600 Speaker 1: I thought of this. I'm your mango. I'm your natural line, which, 104 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: of course you don't want to do that. That's a 105 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:19,080 Speaker 1: terrible disagree, disagree. I'm a natural line man. Oh yeah, sure, 106 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: are I'm already Are you gonna be um, you're you're 107 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:27,280 Speaker 1: we're the only two Well I was gonna say we're 108 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,600 Speaker 1: only two fathers fills a father. But yeah, I gotta 109 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:32,560 Speaker 1: rethink mine. I gotta think that's something I can wear. 110 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,200 Speaker 1: Um that will still come through with a lot of 111 00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:38,800 Speaker 1: outer layers. If it's gonna be this cold, that'll work. Um. 112 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: Were you planning something that was like pretty skimpy. Yes, 113 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:44,840 Speaker 1: I usually do the sexy whatever thing. That's kind of 114 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 1: my my thing, Like uh, um no my plan. Um. 115 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: I have to rethinking, honestly, because I was going to 116 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:54,760 Speaker 1: be an angry clown, which is kind of a go 117 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: to for me. It's kind of my thing, Yes, right 118 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:02,600 Speaker 1: in my wheelhouse. Angry, so glad you're rethinking that. But 119 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: I have to film something tomorrow in the makeup just 120 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: takes like days, so I got to rethink that. Well. 121 00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: I just I just started laughing when I saw that 122 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: email from Annie that we're all filming and supposed to 123 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,760 Speaker 1: supposed to look serious for once in a filming thing. 124 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: I'm like that, that's immediately before the hell the costume party. 125 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: I'm gonna have a big ridiculous mustache. I'm gonna have 126 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:27,640 Speaker 1: to find a way to put white claws into my costume. Yeah, 127 00:07:27,680 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: if you want to. You didn't tell ye? What about you? 128 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:31,600 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna be a t Rex. You know, there's 129 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: a big blow up. T Rex is the fans. It's simple, 130 00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:39,679 Speaker 1: but I find hilarious because I'm definitely funny. I'm definitely 131 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:44,559 Speaker 1: gonna be chasing Dot Claude day around whacky with my tail. 132 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,840 Speaker 1: We needed you, like those time lapses where people chase 133 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:55,960 Speaker 1: each other. Yeah, yeah, has anybody been watching the World Series? Spencer? 134 00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:59,200 Speaker 1: You probably have like baseball? Sports ball fan your sport? 135 00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: You like sports ball? It was a great game last night. 136 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 1: I keep getting emails. I got at least one email 137 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: that says I look like Adam Eaton m burn. What 138 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 1: a loser. It's a burn for him. I don't know 139 00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:17,680 Speaker 1: who that is. Jacob Holtzford and said, how has been 140 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: able to both be in Montana bagging Muley Bucks and 141 00:08:20,560 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: in Houston banging Dingers. That's not It could be worse. 142 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: I would love to be on and playing in the 143 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,320 Speaker 1: World Series right now, playing in the World Series. Um, 144 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: we're not supposed to talk about sports, right yeahs not here. 145 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:41,240 Speaker 1: We're supposed to be Steves listening to this probably got 146 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: Mike Son at the table. He might he might. Anyway, 147 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 1: it is a good World Series. Last night, game tonight, 148 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: Game seven. Stoked for to Game Seven's always good, It's 149 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: always good. I'm looking for the Gnats to win. Tell 150 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: me what happens. Yeah, you're not gonna be into it, 151 00:08:55,960 --> 00:08:59,560 Speaker 1: all right. We need to record to scenarios one where 152 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,840 Speaker 1: we predict the Nationals win. Don't predict the Astra tonight. 153 00:09:03,920 --> 00:09:06,840 Speaker 1: Phil can cut it up, Okay, Phil, Astros are definitely 154 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: gonna win. I'm thinking probably four to two. Take a 155 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: quick break here, Nationals definitely gonna win, thinking probably three 156 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 1: to one or something like that. So either you like, 157 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:22,400 Speaker 1: I'm a big, big Nationals fan. Okay, I'll make that 158 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: flawless cut that up for me. Thanks man. It's really 159 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: this is the podcasts become more magical since Phil has joined. 160 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:32,280 Speaker 1: There's a lot of things that we can Can you 161 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:35,880 Speaker 1: just put any sound effect right here? Boom, yep, I'm 162 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:40,839 Speaker 1: huckle better. That was fun, right, that was fun? Yeah, 163 00:09:40,920 --> 00:09:46,880 Speaker 1: that sounded great, unbelievable. Um. Last week we had Clay 164 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,080 Speaker 1: Nucome on. You guys all know Clay yep, and Clay 165 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:53,959 Speaker 1: uh said a lot of things, but Clay was he 166 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:57,520 Speaker 1: came from the camp of we should support all legal hunting. 167 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:00,720 Speaker 1: That was that was what Clay was a dream for, right, 168 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:03,560 Speaker 1: any legal method of hunting. We should We shouldn't give 169 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,280 Speaker 1: up anymore the shifting baseline theory, like we shouldn't give 170 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:08,520 Speaker 1: up any more of our culture because people don't agree 171 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:10,439 Speaker 1: with it. Guard the gate, Guard the gates, what he 172 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: kept saying. Adam Smith wrote in and just said, um, 173 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: a lot of things what he said. As for the 174 00:10:16,160 --> 00:10:18,400 Speaker 1: most recent THHD with Clay nucom, I want to say 175 00:10:18,720 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 1: I agree with the sentiment of everything you guys said, 176 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: but the one thing I didn't agree with was clay 177 00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 1: statement about supporting every legal method of hunting, although I 178 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:28,839 Speaker 1: can't think of a legal method of take that I 179 00:10:28,880 --> 00:10:30,959 Speaker 1: have a problem with. I would never ask someone to 180 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:34,400 Speaker 1: compromise their moral compass to support something I believe in. 181 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: So that was most of that conversation. That he goes 182 00:10:37,160 --> 00:10:40,560 Speaker 1: on to talk about trapping coyotes, which we're gonna talk about. Um, 183 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:43,200 Speaker 1: and so I think all all of today's topics are 184 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,839 Speaker 1: kind of woven into this topic. So, um, Sam, you 185 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: want to give us your thoughts on compromise and hunting 186 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:53,719 Speaker 1: and legality and all that good stuff. Oh man, you 187 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:55,880 Speaker 1: told me to just think about coyotes. Yeah, but this 188 00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:58,599 Speaker 1: is it's all a part of it. Yeah, yeah, I 189 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 1: I uh, you know, I like Clay a lot, and 190 00:11:01,080 --> 00:11:03,679 Speaker 1: I think he gives one of the most impassioned defenses 191 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: of bear hunting out there and has at least altered 192 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:13,480 Speaker 1: my perspective UM and hesitance about hunting bears over bait 193 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: and with hounds. Um that said, I I don't I 194 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,160 Speaker 1: don't think you should believe in something or support something 195 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:29,240 Speaker 1: simply because it's legal, because uh, laws change, governments change. 196 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:35,000 Speaker 1: Like that's as much in Flux as any other you know, 197 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:37,679 Speaker 1: any other thing in the world. But like, I think 198 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:43,160 Speaker 1: ethics are a little bit more steady. Um and I 199 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 1: and so I don't. I don't think that's a good justification. 200 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: I think things should be should be justified on their 201 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:56,319 Speaker 1: own merits, not simply leaning on the grounds of the 202 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:01,880 Speaker 1: current laws surrounding them. Yeah, he brings up Adam brings 203 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 1: up kyote contests. Has been he has zero problem with 204 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: prayer control, but he has problem with kyote contests, right, 205 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,400 Speaker 1: the optics of it, but also the practice of it. 206 00:12:10,559 --> 00:12:13,640 Speaker 1: Right well, yeah, and and and for by by Clay's 207 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:16,839 Speaker 1: own standard there, I mean you could perhaps say that, like, 208 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: you know, there are states that are trying to currently 209 00:12:19,679 --> 00:12:22,480 Speaker 1: trying to ban coyote contests. I think New York and 210 00:12:22,559 --> 00:12:26,679 Speaker 1: New Mexico could be wrong about that. But so if 211 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,800 Speaker 1: they go ahead and ban those, then they're illegal. Thus 212 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:35,520 Speaker 1: should you not support them? So like where where where 213 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:37,240 Speaker 1: are we drawing the where are we drawing the line 214 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: with legal win and legal how? Um? And I think 215 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 1: it's incumbent upon hunters too. Like laws, you know, we 216 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 1: need to adjust to the changing times in the connected 217 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,599 Speaker 1: world we now live in and be cognizant of the 218 00:12:55,679 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: optics of what we're doing. And um, I think I 219 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:02,079 Speaker 1: think everything we do as hunters needs to be defensible 220 00:13:02,320 --> 00:13:08,080 Speaker 1: in a in a conservation um, in a conservationist light, 221 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 1: and and some some things, uh, you know, veer a 222 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:16,680 Speaker 1: little bit more towards just kind of blood thirstiness and killing, 223 00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: and it's just it's it's less Uh, it's it's not 224 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:23,719 Speaker 1: something that it stands on shaky ground, I think. And 225 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:25,200 Speaker 1: so we need to be we need to be highly 226 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:27,480 Speaker 1: aware of that if we are to grow our ranks 227 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:30,160 Speaker 1: in persist as a culture. Yeah, there's a lot of it. 228 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,079 Speaker 1: My my feeling is we're always kind of moving and 229 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:35,800 Speaker 1: shifting what we do based on like cultural norms. And 230 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: the thing accept that ideology is we're just it's uncomfortable 231 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 1: to admit that. Right, there's things that we don't do 232 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,000 Speaker 1: that we're being done fifty years ago. I mean, we're 233 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:46,280 Speaker 1: not going to like gaff a shark and have like 234 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:48,680 Speaker 1: two gaffed sharks on the dock. We're just not gonna 235 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:50,599 Speaker 1: do that, Like we're not doing We're not doing that 236 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,319 Speaker 1: because we were We're snowflakes and we want to change 237 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,320 Speaker 1: how we think and feel. We're doing that because things 238 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:59,319 Speaker 1: are our world has shifted. We have perspectives have changed, 239 00:13:59,480 --> 00:14:02,559 Speaker 1: experience has changed, like the natural world has changed. So 240 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:06,120 Speaker 1: we're not going to just kind of follow along with 241 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:08,280 Speaker 1: the same kind of like everything is legal, this is 242 00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:10,439 Speaker 1: all good. We we've always done it, we should always 243 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: do it. Yeah, And animal populations are fluctuated as well 244 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,959 Speaker 1: alongside those laws and and our ethics. And you know, 245 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:22,880 Speaker 1: take sharks for example, worldwide, their populations are greatly diminished, 246 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: and so you know, while shark finning might have been 247 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:30,920 Speaker 1: you know, acceptable at one point, maybe it isn't anymore 248 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,040 Speaker 1: because it's pretty wasteful and there aren't as many of 249 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: those animals as there once were. And as you'll hear 250 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 1: from Dan Flores here in a little bit, he's talking 251 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: about trying to understand the history of an animal. Right. 252 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:43,360 Speaker 1: For us to think that we could remove the coy 253 00:14:43,400 --> 00:14:46,920 Speaker 1: out from any ecosystem, he feels, and I agree, it's 254 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: pretty foolish. I mean, it's to remove any to remove 255 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 1: predatory you know, canids from any ecosystem was was our 256 00:14:56,080 --> 00:14:57,760 Speaker 1: was our idea. We came up with it. We said, 257 00:14:57,920 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 1: let's get rid of all these things. We don't want 258 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:01,440 Speaker 1: the competition. And so then when they started to move 259 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: back into places like the East Coast. Then we're throwing 260 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:05,840 Speaker 1: our hands up, like what what do we do? We 261 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,400 Speaker 1: kill them all? What do we do now? His argument, 262 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: which is pretty is a pretty good one, is like 263 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: the history the national world was never going to tolerate 264 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: no predators, and so tis were just a vehicle for 265 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 1: the regeneration of something that us humans decided that we 266 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: didn't want their um for many reasons. And so that's 267 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:25,600 Speaker 1: a good start to that conversation. But I wanted to 268 00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 1: have us all here today because we all come from 269 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:32,240 Speaker 1: different places. Sam's from Montana. I'm from from Washington, Washington. 270 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: Do you live in Montana? Now? Correct? When you grew 271 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 1: up in the East coast, Anthony, you get to the 272 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,640 Speaker 1: west is all one? You don't know what states? We 273 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:46,640 Speaker 1: um trying to save myself there, New Jersey. I'm from Pennsylvania. 274 00:15:46,720 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: Let me correct, let's let's actually correct that I'm just 275 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: gonna stay from Montana, Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Dakota. I get 276 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 1: one right, I got my own, like the damn it, das. 277 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:11,000 Speaker 1: I don't know where anybody's from Washington State, alright, jesus man, 278 00:16:11,840 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know where any I was 279 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: close at least in each of my guesses, you got 280 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,240 Speaker 1: yourself right, got myself right? I think I have to 281 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: think about it now. Anyway, we're all we're all from 282 00:16:22,760 --> 00:16:26,360 Speaker 1: different parts of the country, UM, And growing up, we 283 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:30,640 Speaker 1: all hunted. We all, I'm sure have experiences of coyotes 284 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: either having been on the landscape or moving back into 285 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:36,760 Speaker 1: um where we lived and where we hunted growing up. 286 00:16:37,720 --> 00:16:39,800 Speaker 1: And so it's it's interesting kind of different experiences. And 287 00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: we talked with Dan a little bit about that being 288 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: a unique experience. Kyotes are now in all the forty 289 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 1: eight states. They'll eventually find their way to Hawaii, I'm sure, um. 290 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: And and so we're not gonna reverse that. We're not 291 00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 1: gonna go back in time. I don't believe in reverse 292 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 1: that things. But we've all lived in a generation where 293 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: we saw, you know, at some level of matriculation of 294 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 1: the kirot aross the country. So I think it's a 295 00:17:02,080 --> 00:17:04,159 Speaker 1: it's a it's interesting to at least talk about that. 296 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:06,920 Speaker 1: So um I we did talk Dan and I talked 297 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:08,920 Speaker 1: about my first experience of seeing kayites for the first 298 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:11,920 Speaker 1: time when I was a kid, um and my Dad's saying, 299 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: I haven't seen those around for a while. UM, that'd 300 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:17,400 Speaker 1: been interesting to me. So, Anthony, do you have first 301 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:22,159 Speaker 1: memories of when kaya started to Yeah? Absolutely, Uh. I 302 00:17:22,280 --> 00:17:24,920 Speaker 1: grew up in a real world part of Pennsylvania and 303 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:27,960 Speaker 1: um always hunted. And when I was growing up in 304 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:32,280 Speaker 1: hunting in the late eighties and early nineties, UM, especially 305 00:17:32,359 --> 00:17:35,159 Speaker 1: the beginning part of that, it was very rare to 306 00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: see a kyote or to hear one. Like if you 307 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: saw one while you're hunting, you told everybody, you know, hey, 308 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: guess what I saw kyo? Um, you know, And in 309 00:17:43,560 --> 00:17:47,000 Speaker 1: the course of ten fifteen years, now I see kyos 310 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: probably about half the time I'm out hunting. UM. So definitely, 311 00:17:51,040 --> 00:17:54,239 Speaker 1: they've they've they've come into the landscape, and UM, there 312 00:17:54,320 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: was a lot of concern about what they're doing to 313 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,680 Speaker 1: deer populations, and Pennsylvania has done a really great job 314 00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:03,560 Speaker 1: doing h fond mortality studies. And you know, what's what's 315 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:05,560 Speaker 1: really interesting is what they found they've done these studies 316 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,639 Speaker 1: a couple of times, is that half of all fonds 317 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:13,880 Speaker 1: die from predators. From predator and mortality. And the big 318 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 1: three in Pennsylvania are uh, bobcats, coyotes and black bears 319 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:24,880 Speaker 1: and black bears kill more fawns than coyotes do. Um. 320 00:18:25,600 --> 00:18:27,800 Speaker 1: And it's funny because when people talk about the deer 321 00:18:27,840 --> 00:18:31,920 Speaker 1: population and to cut to the takeaway, it's, um, it's 322 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,359 Speaker 1: not having a it's not decreasing deer numbers. Um. They 323 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:38,440 Speaker 1: feel that, you know, if deer numbers were down, that 324 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:40,119 Speaker 1: is not the way to manage it. It's just not 325 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:43,600 Speaker 1: very effective. It would be through hunter harvest. But it's funny. Um, 326 00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:46,119 Speaker 1: you know, people worry about having too many kyotes, what 327 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,680 Speaker 1: they're doing a deer. Nobody says that about black bears. 328 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:51,840 Speaker 1: Everybody wants more bears, and the bears are eating more 329 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: deer than the coyotes do. Yeah, it's all about what 330 00:18:54,400 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: we think about the animal right. And Dan goes into 331 00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: kind of like some of the propaganda at the turn 332 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:01,399 Speaker 1: of the century later about you know, what do we 333 00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 1: do with kyats are to scourge to the west. You know, 334 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 1: kayots are vermin, and that like some of that is 335 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: baked into our psyche, right, so we think about them 336 00:19:08,600 --> 00:19:10,840 Speaker 1: in certain ways. And it's it was interesting to me 337 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:15,080 Speaker 1: similar like we we have we tend to I think 338 00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:17,520 Speaker 1: in hunting, and I made this mistake before of saying 339 00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:21,640 Speaker 1: like all hunters are worried about balance. That's probably not true, 340 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,240 Speaker 1: definitely not true. I'm not a monolith. But when you 341 00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:28,399 Speaker 1: see there was there's a public piece of ground and 342 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:31,040 Speaker 1: I hunted growing up, Well, there was less turkeys one 343 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:33,359 Speaker 1: year and more coyotes. We went turkey hut there and 344 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:35,920 Speaker 1: called in three kyots with a box. Call right, And 345 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 1: so my my first inclinations we like coyotes man eating 346 00:19:39,359 --> 00:19:41,360 Speaker 1: all the turkeys, killing all the turkeys, killing all the deer. 347 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:43,760 Speaker 1: We gotta shoot all the kyots, he used. We talked 348 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:45,880 Speaker 1: to a state game manager and he said the winner 349 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:49,040 Speaker 1: was terrible, was the worst winner in fifty years in 350 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 1: that area. So winter kill was unbelievable for pretty much 351 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,840 Speaker 1: everything that that that walks up there. And so I 352 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,440 Speaker 1: was immediately, well, I saw kyots and no turkeys. Here's 353 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:00,840 Speaker 1: what's going on. And so I think we just maybe 354 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 1: tend to apply that stuff to those situations because it 355 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:06,440 Speaker 1: just makes it makes sense. It may not always be true, 356 00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:08,639 Speaker 1: and certainly in this case it doesn't seem to be. 357 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 1: Um Spencer Mark Kenyon wrote an article for our website 358 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:15,240 Speaker 1: that got people a little fired up, and it was 359 00:20:15,359 --> 00:20:21,120 Speaker 1: called should you kill coyotes while deer hunting. Um, there's 360 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 1: a lot of reaction to that. Was there not? There was? 361 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:26,560 Speaker 1: And when we posted this on social we kind of 362 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: pose the question that Mark opens the article with, and 363 00:20:31,280 --> 00:20:35,160 Speaker 1: it's like it's opening morning, You're sitting in the deer 364 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:39,800 Speaker 1: blind and a coyote is at fifty yards? Are you 365 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:43,560 Speaker 1: going to shoot it? And that got a lot of 366 00:20:43,600 --> 00:20:49,200 Speaker 1: reaction both ways saying absolutely and absolutely not. And I 367 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:52,280 Speaker 1: think that is like a strange question that is like 368 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: a weird one where you will get passion response from both. Say, 369 00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:58,119 Speaker 1: you were out deer hunting in the fall, and you 370 00:20:58,160 --> 00:20:59,919 Speaker 1: also have a turkey tag and a turkey walks by, 371 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 1: You're gonna shoot that turkey. But everybody says, yeah, you 372 00:21:03,320 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 1: have a bear tag in. A bear walks about, You're 373 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:08,000 Speaker 1: gonna shoot that bear probably, But a kyo walks by. Um, 374 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,440 Speaker 1: it's like a lot of people on the fence. So 375 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: that the pro being that or excuse me, the campus 376 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: says absolutely for them, it's like the deer hunt now 377 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: becomes a kyote hunt because you kill that coyote. Um, 378 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: your goal is to have more deer and so you 379 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 1: just got rid of something that is going to boost 380 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:31,200 Speaker 1: deer populations. It's like that's why people were doing people 381 00:21:31,240 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 1: who didn't want to do it. Uh, the reward just 382 00:21:34,640 --> 00:21:36,960 Speaker 1: isn't worth the risk that you've buggered up the rest 383 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:38,880 Speaker 1: of the morning. Um. You know a lot of people 384 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:40,680 Speaker 1: say the only thing worse than the smell of a 385 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:43,760 Speaker 1: coyote is the smell of a dead coyote. Um, So 386 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:48,400 Speaker 1: why would you do that on opening morning and potentially 387 00:21:48,520 --> 00:21:51,000 Speaker 1: risk you know, the deer in the air of spooky Yeah, 388 00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: it's um you know. To me, I I've I've I've 389 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: come across that scenario many many times, and I almost 390 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:01,879 Speaker 1: not almost, I don't think I've ever shot the kyote. Well, 391 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: deer hunting because I'm deer hunting. I have shot coyotes. 392 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: I have Kyle hunter, I've killed kyots. To me, that's 393 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,440 Speaker 1: a different kind of hunt. When I'm Kyle hunting, I'm 394 00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,720 Speaker 1: calling him in. I'm It's a different thing that I'm doing, 395 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:15,720 Speaker 1: and I'm doing it for different reasons. Um. You know, 396 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 1: it's it's a it's a different activity. And so that's 397 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:20,359 Speaker 1: why if I shoot one just while I'm deer hunting, 398 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:22,320 Speaker 1: I am afraid of messing up my my dear hunt. 399 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:23,600 Speaker 1: I don't know if it will or not. But it's 400 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:25,680 Speaker 1: also that's not why I'm there. If I want to go, 401 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 1: uh hunt kyotes, I'm gonnahunt kyotes, not just you know, 402 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: take one from a deer stand. Yeah, I mean there's 403 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,359 Speaker 1: some level of like are you are you opportunistic? But 404 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:36,600 Speaker 1: to me, it comes down to what when I read 405 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: all the comments on social and we talked about this 406 00:22:39,240 --> 00:22:42,680 Speaker 1: briefly with uh fucking Barry Gilbert keeps coming back, but 407 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 1: Barry Gilbert and I just I just said, look, I 408 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:47,800 Speaker 1: don't think. I don't think in general, none of the 409 00:22:47,880 --> 00:22:50,560 Speaker 1: hunters that I know have a hatred for predators, right, 410 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:55,080 Speaker 1: whether we're talking grizzlies or um coyotes or wolves or whatever. 411 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 1: And his the connotation that he was laying out there 412 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,440 Speaker 1: was basically that we don't want the competition for the deer. 413 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: We want to deal to ourselves. We want to kill 414 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: all the deer. We don't want anything out there that's 415 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:08,440 Speaker 1: gonna mess with that balance. Um My, my general point was, 416 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:10,439 Speaker 1: I think we're all out there for balance. We went 417 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: to the right number of cryouts, the right number of 418 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:13,920 Speaker 1: dear the right number you know, so we're not But 419 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 1: I got hammered by a lot of listeners saying like, 420 00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:19,879 Speaker 1: you're not right. Just go to the Arizona Face Hunting 421 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:22,160 Speaker 1: Facebook page and you're gonna see that there's a bunch 422 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: of people are like, kill all the cyouds, more coyote contests, 423 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: more hounds with for kiods, more whatever, whatever to rid 424 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: this country of the scourage of kyods um. And you'll 425 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:32,000 Speaker 1: hear from Dan Floors what he thinks about that. But 426 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:33,760 Speaker 1: I'm interested in what everybody else that what you guys 427 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,960 Speaker 1: think about KOs? Why why is this happening? Well, I 428 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 1: think I think something we should address, which I think 429 00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:42,359 Speaker 1: is the elephant in the room in this discussion, is 430 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: that the science is relatively clear that hunting for coyotes 431 00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:52,639 Speaker 1: does absolutely nothing to lower their population, and in certain 432 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: instance instances, there's there are there are like pure viewed 433 00:23:56,320 --> 00:24:01,119 Speaker 1: studies that suggest that coyote hunting for for sport, not 434 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: like for lethal removal, can actually boost pop populations because 435 00:24:05,480 --> 00:24:08,920 Speaker 1: a lot of times you're gonna be killing the like 436 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:14,280 Speaker 1: the the matriarch of the patriarch of the area, which 437 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:20,200 Speaker 1: throws the rest of the population into turmoil, and and 438 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:25,280 Speaker 1: and we'll actually can actually boost um pop rates um, 439 00:24:25,840 --> 00:24:27,600 Speaker 1: and and there's all sorts of there's all sorts of 440 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 1: studies about that. I've had this conversation a million times 441 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 1: with people, and and some hunters you just see their 442 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,199 Speaker 1: like eyes roll back in their head when you when 443 00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,040 Speaker 1: you say that. And I'm sure that's happening to a 444 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: lot of people right now, but I encourage you. I 445 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 1: wish I looked up the studies beforehand, but I'd be happy, 446 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:46,040 Speaker 1: happy to dig that up again. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm 447 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,920 Speaker 1: sure he does. But you know, and some people see 448 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:51,560 Speaker 1: it as you know, it's you know, kind of one 449 00:24:51,600 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 1: to one, like you kill a coyote, there's one less coyote, 450 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:57,960 Speaker 1: Like how the math couldn't be more simple, idiot. But 451 00:24:58,280 --> 00:25:00,440 Speaker 1: I've talked to a number of biologists about this and 452 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:02,720 Speaker 1: they're like, yeah, guys, it's it's the same with with 453 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 1: wild boars, you know, where like a lot of states 454 00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: are banning board hunting because because hunters are bringing them 455 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,720 Speaker 1: in and hunters have zero effect on populations, because you 456 00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:16,119 Speaker 1: go out and shoot three coyotes in a day, like 457 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:19,800 Speaker 1: there's you know that area hunting probably has fifty. Yeah. Yeah, 458 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,440 Speaker 1: there's a couple of things to that. We talked about 459 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,200 Speaker 1: then a little bit about mixed messages that state game 460 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:28,119 Speaker 1: agencies are sending, you know, and so you go to 461 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 1: say Wyoming, where they'll pay a bounty for you to 462 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:32,960 Speaker 1: kill one, right, and there's other states where you still 463 00:25:32,960 --> 00:25:34,760 Speaker 1: have to have a trapper's license to even hunt them, 464 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 1: you know, which were classes going to the library and 465 00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:39,920 Speaker 1: paying money to take the class. And so we you know, 466 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,119 Speaker 1: as a country, we kind of have a prescription for 467 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:45,520 Speaker 1: unglits and deer. We know kind of what we're gonna do. 468 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 1: We're gonna survey a carry capacity, and we're gonna sign 469 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,680 Speaker 1: tags based based on a number of structures with coyotes. 470 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 1: It's like it's a little bit all over the board 471 00:25:54,720 --> 00:25:56,960 Speaker 1: we have. There is I'm sure within not only the 472 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,960 Speaker 1: biologist community, but within game manager communities and state game 473 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,680 Speaker 1: agencies different opinions about this. And it's clear based on 474 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:08,199 Speaker 1: what's out there as far as UM regulations, I mean, 475 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:10,560 Speaker 1: they're all over the place, and there was there was 476 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:12,200 Speaker 1: a time when I think I wanted to get it 477 00:26:12,240 --> 00:26:15,040 Speaker 1: wrong in North Carolina had a bounty UM not too 478 00:26:15,119 --> 00:26:18,120 Speaker 1: long ago. So I mean that's to me, as somebody 479 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:20,360 Speaker 1: who always has talked about our model conservation this one's 480 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:22,320 Speaker 1: kind it's thrown off a little bit because there isn't 481 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:25,320 Speaker 1: one way that this is handled. Yeah, absolutely, And and 482 00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:28,119 Speaker 1: a lot of people in the in the especially in 483 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,119 Speaker 1: the context of what Mark wrote about, a lot of 484 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 1: people want to give themselves a big old pat on 485 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:35,080 Speaker 1: the back for killing that coyote. And I know, I 486 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:37,399 Speaker 1: know guys who who, like you know, go out in 487 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:41,720 Speaker 1: a weekend in February and kill twenty of them and 488 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,720 Speaker 1: they are just high on life and they're like the 489 00:26:44,840 --> 00:26:49,080 Speaker 1: saviors of hunt deer hunting in Montana. And and I 490 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:55,399 Speaker 1: think that that perspective is you know, is questionable at best, 491 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: but many game departments are encouraging they are that and 492 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:01,879 Speaker 1: you know, and I think I think there are you know, 493 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: there's also folds to this because some people are are 494 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,120 Speaker 1: doing it around calving time for ranchers, and ranchers will 495 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:10,680 Speaker 1: give you a pad on the back for for going 496 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,040 Speaker 1: out and hunting coyotes around their their birthing cows. And 497 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:15,840 Speaker 1: so there, I mean, there's there's a lot of different 498 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,320 Speaker 1: contexts we can talk about here. And and problem coyotes, 499 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,360 Speaker 1: Like if it's an individual you're targeting that's causing problems, 500 00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:25,119 Speaker 1: then sure, maybe that that is beneficial to you or 501 00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: an agriculture. But you'll hear that later from from Dan Flores. 502 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 1: He he feels like there are just like individual humans 503 00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:34,879 Speaker 1: that are issues that cause issues that are individual or 504 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 1: groups of coyotes that become problematic and to target those. 505 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,359 Speaker 1: He feels is um is proper based on balance and 506 00:27:41,480 --> 00:27:45,200 Speaker 1: coaptation things like that. But for me, there's two two 507 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:47,840 Speaker 1: other points that we should talk about. One, we love 508 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:50,359 Speaker 1: it when the gloves come off, like we love it. 509 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:54,359 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but people, humans, we have all these like 510 00:27:54,680 --> 00:27:57,600 Speaker 1: value systems and structures build around killing stuff. Boy do 511 00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:00,480 Speaker 1: we love it when somebody says kill them all? Like 512 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:03,920 Speaker 1: it is clear? And so I think that is that 513 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,000 Speaker 1: feeling is disc It is connected to like I'm a 514 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:09,160 Speaker 1: hero for killing a kid, right, So there's a connection 515 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 1: there that you have to tell yourself you're doing it 516 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: for this reason, regardless of what information surrounds what you're doing. 517 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 1: It's like a mob mentality. Man. It's like when when 518 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,320 Speaker 1: people say there's no rules, they go smashing grocery store wind. 519 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:23,119 Speaker 1: It's the same thing. And then there's the other, like 520 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:27,600 Speaker 1: nature is metal idea that like we gotta let people 521 00:28:27,680 --> 00:28:29,880 Speaker 1: know how terrible it is for a fallon to get 522 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,120 Speaker 1: ripped out and eating up by a pack of coyotes 523 00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,800 Speaker 1: or whatever. So there's we we also want to like 524 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:40,240 Speaker 1: acknowledge predatory instincts and predators, the predators in the wild, 525 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:43,200 Speaker 1: and and how harsh that is and not not water 526 00:28:43,320 --> 00:28:46,560 Speaker 1: that down. So when that engenders the feeling of oh, 527 00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 1: I shot a shot a coyote. I saved a fawn 528 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: from this terrible death. Um, I'm there's mercy in that. 529 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 1: So all that ship is wrapped up, I'm sure. And 530 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 1: the more modern the issue we have with kayads, Yeah, 531 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 1: it's like you're old. Okay, your season is only two 532 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:03,680 Speaker 1: weeks long, you have to get a tag. You can 533 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 1: only do this, You can only do that for most 534 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:10,520 Speaker 1: of hunting coyotes all year long, no close seasons, it 535 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:12,600 Speaker 1: all night. It makes you think like, oh, yeah, you 536 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:14,520 Speaker 1: could do it at night. You could use electronic college, 537 00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: you could do all these things you can't do otherwise. 538 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: So it just makes you think, um, well, jeez man, 539 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,040 Speaker 1: you know it must be okay, or you know there 540 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: must be way way too many of them or something. 541 00:29:25,160 --> 00:29:27,760 Speaker 1: If that's how the professionals are setting it up. And 542 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:30,880 Speaker 1: that's this how it goes back to I saw another 543 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 1: hunting celebrities say the same thing the other day, like, 544 00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: if it's legal, we should support it rally around your 545 00:29:36,240 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: hunting Brotherren. I'm cool. That's a real simple, real simplistic 546 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:43,400 Speaker 1: way to express hunting. Like it's easy to go. Yeah, 547 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: who yeah, everybody's awesome solidarity And I get it, man, 548 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: I get that feeling. I have that feeling too, But 549 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:53,640 Speaker 1: like you can't escape these issues. You're not gonna walk 550 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: away from this stuff. But you know, to go back 551 00:29:55,320 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 1: to where we started. It's like, you know, all based 552 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:00,280 Speaker 1: on the science and whatnot, there's lots of kai outs. 553 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 1: Um they're not going away. They're part of the ecosystem. 554 00:30:03,360 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 1: I don't think they should go away, but um, people 555 00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,440 Speaker 1: want to hunt them. Great, you know that. I and 556 00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:11,400 Speaker 1: as I said, I do a little bit of kyote hunting. Um, 557 00:30:12,040 --> 00:30:14,640 Speaker 1: it's not going to have that impact positive and or 558 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 1: negative either way. You know, we've done the right way. 559 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:18,960 Speaker 1: And I said, and I said this and just being 560 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 1: flat honest to Dan, and you'll hear it. I just said, 561 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:25,840 Speaker 1: I'm at a point right now with coyotes in my 562 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,120 Speaker 1: own hunting where I have a question rather than an 563 00:30:28,160 --> 00:30:30,920 Speaker 1: answer like my question is, yeah, I could shoot him. 564 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:32,760 Speaker 1: I've always shot him. I've shot plenty of them. I 565 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,480 Speaker 1: hunted for him specifically, I've called him in, I've done 566 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:39,360 Speaker 1: all these things. Um, I'm just at a point right 567 00:30:39,360 --> 00:30:40,840 Speaker 1: now where i have a question like, what the hell 568 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,120 Speaker 1: if all these things that I'm hearing and reading about 569 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:46,040 Speaker 1: these period of studies and what Dan has to say 570 00:30:46,360 --> 00:30:50,040 Speaker 1: are true. I'm just kind of question should I shoot him? 571 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 1: And if I do, why, and when it's just more 572 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:56,280 Speaker 1: of a question than it is what what I used 573 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:58,200 Speaker 1: to think of not too long ago was like if 574 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:00,520 Speaker 1: I see one, I'll shoot it. I I'd like to 575 00:31:00,640 --> 00:31:03,440 Speaker 1: I'd like to introduce a different kind of philosophical track 576 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 1: with this. And maybe you covered this with Dan, but 577 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 1: you know, in the context of hunting, Um, I'm not 578 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:14,160 Speaker 1: I'm not certain that that, you know, saving dear Fonds 579 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 1: is like the only possible rationale out there, Like the 580 00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,520 Speaker 1: way I've I've actually never shot a coyote. I've taken 581 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:24,960 Speaker 1: shots at them. I've also passed a lot of shots 582 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:27,560 Speaker 1: at them. I passed one with my bow that I 583 00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:29,520 Speaker 1: had dead to rights a couple of weeks ago because 584 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,880 Speaker 1: I saw that it was nuzzling puppies. Um, so i'd like, 585 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 1: you know, stopped, stopped me. But I've shot I've shot foxes, 586 00:31:37,120 --> 00:31:42,320 Speaker 1: um and bears, and I think, um, I think for 587 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:50,040 Speaker 1: is has an inherent value approaching that of meat if 588 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:53,000 Speaker 1: you're going to do something useful with it. And I 589 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:56,320 Speaker 1: think that has a has a rich history in this country. 590 00:31:56,400 --> 00:32:00,480 Speaker 1: It was for trappers that first, uh Cal and I 591 00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,960 Speaker 1: the you know the West, and um, I've seen a 592 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:08,000 Speaker 1: lot of people do a lot of really cool stuff 593 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: with coyote for and I think that is some justification. 594 00:32:13,920 --> 00:32:16,720 Speaker 1: I don't know if it completely or not, um, but 595 00:32:16,840 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: I think that is a valid is a valid used 596 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:21,680 Speaker 1: for it because because you know, another another thing people 597 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:23,480 Speaker 1: will say is like, well you do you eat it? 598 00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,720 Speaker 1: Like okay, so then you know you you lose all 599 00:32:27,720 --> 00:32:29,600 Speaker 1: rationale if you don't eat it. But I think if 600 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 1: you're if you're using using a pelt, then that's that's 601 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:33,920 Speaker 1: still a valid use of that animal. And then you 602 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,080 Speaker 1: can divorce it from like this bullshit of like I'm 603 00:32:37,160 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: saving the the the ecosystem by killing this kyo. No, 604 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:42,280 Speaker 1: it's like I wanted to kill it and I wanted 605 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:44,520 Speaker 1: to do something with it cool with it. Yeah, and 606 00:32:44,680 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 1: it's kind of unique to kyotes. Like somebody doesn't trap 607 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:50,280 Speaker 1: beavers and then be like got one and just let 608 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:53,040 Speaker 1: it lay there. Walk away from a beaver. You always 609 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:55,080 Speaker 1: see dead Kyle's hung up on like a fence post 610 00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:58,160 Speaker 1: or something. It's like it's like bow fishing, you know, 611 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:00,960 Speaker 1: it's kind of the same thing that. Uh, it's more 612 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:04,480 Speaker 1: about like the the activity and and the shooting and 613 00:33:04,560 --> 00:33:07,160 Speaker 1: stuff than it is about the product that you have 614 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:09,960 Speaker 1: when you're done. It's kind of unique to like those 615 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,600 Speaker 1: two things. Yeah, that that, and I think there's you know, 616 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: if you want to address the polls here, you got 617 00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:17,440 Speaker 1: the kill them all kind of thing, and then you've 618 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:19,160 Speaker 1: got the hunters like I'm not gonna kill one because 619 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,080 Speaker 1: there's no purpose. I'm not gonna eat it. There isn't 620 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 1: you know, there isn't this urge from the ecosystem to 621 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,400 Speaker 1: have me eliminate them. It's not really doing. And so 622 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:31,280 Speaker 1: there's there's those two poles. I'm somewhere in the middle personally, 623 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:34,360 Speaker 1: you know, like that's where I just just to be honest, 624 00:33:34,400 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 1: I could raw Ross say. You know, hunting is killings 625 00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: is a tool for for game managers and tool for 626 00:33:40,880 --> 00:33:42,600 Speaker 1: state agencies and we should continue to do it. I 627 00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:47,600 Speaker 1: do believe that philosophically, but personally it's hard for me 628 00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:49,880 Speaker 1: to just to look at a kid and think I 629 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 1: better shoot that if I don't have in any tent. 630 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:54,680 Speaker 1: I think Sam's you know, point is important one man. 631 00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:56,560 Speaker 1: I mean, I I hunt coyotes in the winter for 632 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:01,400 Speaker 1: um callment in calling calling them in, and man, I've 633 00:34:01,800 --> 00:34:05,920 Speaker 1: my brother made a terrific quiver for his cedar arrows 634 00:34:06,000 --> 00:34:07,800 Speaker 1: for his long bow out of one of the hides. 635 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:10,680 Speaker 1: Um others we skin out and will sell hide do 636 00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:12,879 Speaker 1: not make it a lot of money, but like it's used. 637 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:16,040 Speaker 1: I mean the expensive Parker that I have that I 638 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:19,680 Speaker 1: almost want to put on now in October kyat rough 639 00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:23,120 Speaker 1: around the Hood, you know, like, um, you know the 640 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:28,080 Speaker 1: first pretty magnificent Absolutely, yeah, it could be so beautiful. Yeah, 641 00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:31,120 Speaker 1: And I think this. You know, these kind of conversations, 642 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:34,040 Speaker 1: especially when they're just boiled down and honest, can be 643 00:34:34,200 --> 00:34:36,759 Speaker 1: kind of used from either camp. Either can't can pull 644 00:34:36,800 --> 00:34:39,920 Speaker 1: it and say oh you you know you believe what 645 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:41,719 Speaker 1: I believe or you don't believe what I believe. But 646 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:44,480 Speaker 1: in this case, um, if I went out there and 647 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:47,279 Speaker 1: I'm like I want to make X out of fur, 648 00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:50,200 Speaker 1: and I need to get three coyotes. Man, that's do 649 00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:53,200 Speaker 1: that all day. UM, And I think trapping is absolutely 650 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:57,439 Speaker 1: necessary um and a good thing. And they're extremely hard 651 00:34:57,480 --> 00:34:59,520 Speaker 1: to trap. Yeah too, I've got I've got a good 652 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:02,360 Speaker 1: buddy and uh down by Shardan Wyoming who does a 653 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:05,160 Speaker 1: lot of trapping. He gets several foxes a year and 654 00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:07,359 Speaker 1: he's starting to get all sorts of stuff, getting good 655 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:10,439 Speaker 1: at it, and he still can't crack the code on coyotes. Yeah. Yeah, 656 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:13,000 Speaker 1: I think there's there's that element, right, there's the that's 657 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:16,360 Speaker 1: the value we have for for that, for that UM pursuit. 658 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,000 Speaker 1: And then the version of you guys, what do you 659 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:22,040 Speaker 1: guys think about uh? Dan Floors' version of it, where 660 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:24,680 Speaker 1: he feels like there's no reason to kill a coyote 661 00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:28,480 Speaker 1: unless there's a problem with with it on a predation level, 662 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:31,200 Speaker 1: like it's whacking your calves or it's going into town. 663 00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:34,920 Speaker 1: That's kind of what he I believe the number he uses, 664 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:40,200 Speaker 1: but he talking about, UM, what he feels like the 665 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:43,200 Speaker 1: proper prescription is for how we interact, you know, with 666 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:45,359 Speaker 1: coyotes on a level of when do we kill him 667 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,719 Speaker 1: in why so he he's saying, when they're a problem, 668 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,839 Speaker 1: shoot him if they're not leaving b I mean, I think, 669 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,080 Speaker 1: you know, if if you're gonna shoot kyotes, is how 670 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,520 Speaker 1: a reason to do it? I just I disagree with him. 671 00:35:55,960 --> 00:36:00,520 Speaker 1: I hunt other predators, predators, I hunt bears. Um. I 672 00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:03,520 Speaker 1: enjoy kyle hunting because it is challenging. Uh. I do 673 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:05,320 Speaker 1: skin them out and sell a fur. But I'm not 674 00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,839 Speaker 1: gonna just shoot one and let it away while I'm 675 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:11,680 Speaker 1: in a deer stand thinking I'm doing some good. That why. 676 00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:14,200 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, I just don't. I don't want 677 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:16,600 Speaker 1: to do that. I'd rather I've let kyotes go. I 678 00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:20,120 Speaker 1: enjoy watching them, That's that's fine. Um, but I don't 679 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:22,520 Speaker 1: agree with that that, you know, there's no reason to 680 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:27,399 Speaker 1: hunt them. Spencer talk about you like you're a deer hunter. 681 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,960 Speaker 1: You're a Midwestern guy, right, you are every man? Yeah, 682 00:36:32,200 --> 00:36:38,080 Speaker 1: you're from where you from, North Dakota, right, Yeah, Kyle 683 00:36:38,200 --> 00:36:40,280 Speaker 1: hunting is like very much a part of the culture 684 00:36:40,440 --> 00:36:43,760 Speaker 1: where I came from, because two big things in rural 685 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:48,120 Speaker 1: South Dakota are pheasant hunting and cattle farming. And so 686 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:51,600 Speaker 1: like my in laws are cattle farmers. And when it's 687 00:36:51,640 --> 00:36:54,480 Speaker 1: having season and they hear a pack of coyotes and 688 00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:56,400 Speaker 1: the shelter bell behind the farm. It's like a bit 689 00:36:56,480 --> 00:37:00,640 Speaker 1: of dread there. And so to those guys, um, and 690 00:37:00,719 --> 00:37:03,880 Speaker 1: to the people who enjoy pheasant hunting, whether or not, 691 00:37:04,640 --> 00:37:06,719 Speaker 1: it's probably the same thing as the deer numbers that 692 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:10,360 Speaker 1: you kill a coyote, you're not saving a whole covey 693 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:12,920 Speaker 1: of pheasants or whatever. It's probably the same thing, um. 694 00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 1: But but in their head it's the math, like Sam 695 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 1: said that you get rid of a coyote, you are 696 00:37:17,520 --> 00:37:20,480 Speaker 1: saving a calf, you're saving a fawn, You're saving a 697 00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:24,440 Speaker 1: brute of pheasants. Um. So it would be hypocritical for 698 00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:27,799 Speaker 1: me to say that you should in kyot hunt because 699 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,160 Speaker 1: I've done it a bunch. I enjoy the hell out 700 00:37:30,200 --> 00:37:33,200 Speaker 1: of it. It's like some of the most exciting van 701 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:35,359 Speaker 1: to trick a kayah and like see that then come 702 00:37:35,440 --> 00:37:40,120 Speaker 1: running in and shoot it. It's uh so damn faun. 703 00:37:41,040 --> 00:37:44,080 Speaker 1: So I'll do it. But I've like also in the 704 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:48,359 Speaker 1: last few years, been like this kind of feels wasteful, um. 705 00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:51,879 Speaker 1: And it's kind of came to that with some bow 706 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,239 Speaker 1: fishing as well. I really like bow fishing. I don't 707 00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:56,000 Speaker 1: feel that bad if I like shoot a carp or 708 00:37:56,080 --> 00:37:58,400 Speaker 1: something like that. But if I'm just like killing a 709 00:37:58,440 --> 00:38:00,759 Speaker 1: bunch of guar buffalo to litle bit different because like 710 00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,960 Speaker 1: their native species, they're there, I'm not eating them. Um, 711 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:06,800 Speaker 1: So I'm like, man, I'm just like a wasteful person 712 00:38:07,080 --> 00:38:11,400 Speaker 1: when I'm doing this. And so with coyotes, uh, I'm 713 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:14,440 Speaker 1: certainly more selective. I currently have four coyote hams and 714 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:17,799 Speaker 1: four kyle backstraps in my freezer. We're going to cook 715 00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:19,880 Speaker 1: those at some point, and I feel like that's going 716 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:22,160 Speaker 1: to kind of turn me somewhere or the other like, oh, 717 00:38:22,239 --> 00:38:24,080 Speaker 1: you can eat this, This is fine. So then it 718 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:26,560 Speaker 1: doesn't feel so bad when I go out and and 719 00:38:26,719 --> 00:38:30,720 Speaker 1: kill a kyote knowing that I am not like helping 720 00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:34,680 Speaker 1: mother nature or something. Yeah, I think that's that's a 721 00:38:34,760 --> 00:38:40,280 Speaker 1: pretty good that's a pretty good analogy for or example 722 00:38:40,280 --> 00:38:41,920 Speaker 1: of how kind of all we all feel. I mean, 723 00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:44,680 Speaker 1: I grew up, Yeah, if you saw a kier, you 724 00:38:44,719 --> 00:38:47,680 Speaker 1: shot one. And then when I got into the hunting industry, 725 00:38:47,719 --> 00:38:49,239 Speaker 1: I got invited on a lot of kirot hunts, and 726 00:38:49,239 --> 00:38:50,719 Speaker 1: I went on a lot of cloud hunts and had 727 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:53,640 Speaker 1: a great time calling them in, learning, learning their habits, 728 00:38:53,719 --> 00:38:56,839 Speaker 1: understanding what they do. I mean, that's a pretty damn 729 00:38:56,880 --> 00:38:59,000 Speaker 1: cool thing in and of itself, Understanding what the coyote 730 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,560 Speaker 1: is and what they do and why they do what 731 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,680 Speaker 1: they do. So, um, I think that's a pretty common 732 00:39:05,960 --> 00:39:07,839 Speaker 1: I would say that's just kind of right where I'm at. 733 00:39:08,280 --> 00:39:10,200 Speaker 1: I think that has a lot of validity. Yeah, and 734 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:13,080 Speaker 1: and and I think part of you know, what doesn't 735 00:39:13,120 --> 00:39:16,799 Speaker 1: get mentioned in the context of predator control a good 736 00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:21,160 Speaker 1: deal is that you know, you're you're kind of putting 737 00:39:21,200 --> 00:39:24,160 Speaker 1: the fear of man in the in the population. And 738 00:39:24,640 --> 00:39:27,320 Speaker 1: in my mind, that's part of the value of the 739 00:39:27,440 --> 00:39:32,000 Speaker 1: proposed grizzly hunt, not to veer into even more uh, 740 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:36,279 Speaker 1: conflict written territory. That's what that that's actually the name 741 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:40,359 Speaker 1: of this podcast could be conflict ridden territory. But just fine. 742 00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:43,360 Speaker 1: But but you know, like where where I grew up 743 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:48,120 Speaker 1: in in western Washington, we we thought that coyote hunting 744 00:39:48,239 --> 00:39:51,719 Speaker 1: and and hazing was good to perpect people's dogs and 745 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:56,360 Speaker 1: cats and in you know, cattle ranching communities, like just 746 00:39:56,719 --> 00:40:01,000 Speaker 1: ripping shots at them at seven yards I think probably 747 00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,000 Speaker 1: helps those ranchers in some small way if they're doing 748 00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:07,560 Speaker 1: it consistently to make those coyotes think twice about coming 749 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:12,600 Speaker 1: into the paddock to to mess with newly dropped calves. 750 00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:15,400 Speaker 1: And I mean, I'm sure it doesn't do anything for pheasants, 751 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:19,840 Speaker 1: but um, you know they are they are very sneaky 752 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:23,759 Speaker 1: and they can be extremely bold. Um And I think 753 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:26,040 Speaker 1: in a lot of the you know, the suburban community 754 00:40:26,239 --> 00:40:30,040 Speaker 1: communities on the West and East coast, um, more hunting 755 00:40:30,920 --> 00:40:34,120 Speaker 1: and more pressure on them certainly could have a positive 756 00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:38,920 Speaker 1: and impact for reducing um, you know, conflicts with pets 757 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,200 Speaker 1: and with people for sure. Yeah, yeah, there's a there's 758 00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:44,120 Speaker 1: a lot of angles. We're gonna get to Dan Flores. 759 00:40:44,160 --> 00:40:47,080 Speaker 1: He he brings a lot to the table in regards 760 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:49,439 Speaker 1: to this specifically, in my mind, kind of the history 761 00:40:49,440 --> 00:40:52,480 Speaker 1: of the animal, some of our cultural ideas around the 762 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:55,279 Speaker 1: animal um and can give us a little bit better 763 00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:57,560 Speaker 1: perspective in which to make these decisions. And that's the 764 00:40:57,600 --> 00:40:59,279 Speaker 1: reason I wanted to have them in here because my 765 00:40:59,440 --> 00:41:02,480 Speaker 1: personal feeling, much like Spencer saying it, because it's just 766 00:41:02,600 --> 00:41:04,799 Speaker 1: shifted a bit over the years. It went from one 767 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:07,480 Speaker 1: one idea to another idea to now kind of a 768 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:11,719 Speaker 1: you know, a more nebulous feeling about the animal, and 769 00:41:11,840 --> 00:41:14,440 Speaker 1: so it's good to have perspectives from folks like Dan. 770 00:41:15,760 --> 00:41:19,200 Speaker 1: But first, Phil, first play the work sharp. Not a 771 00:41:19,239 --> 00:41:23,480 Speaker 1: sharp moment, jingle, please work sharp. Not a sharp moment 772 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:29,239 Speaker 1: sharp so you don't have to all right. Number four 773 00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:33,319 Speaker 1: not a sharp moment. We came last week. We had 774 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:36,840 Speaker 1: a breast injury, We had a skunk running, and we 775 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:41,319 Speaker 1: had truck stuck. Stuck truck stuck truck. Number four comes 776 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:45,279 Speaker 1: from Chad Holder. Chad, there is a lot of things, 777 00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:47,319 Speaker 1: but I'm gonna kick it right off. He was born 778 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:51,200 Speaker 1: in Utah. Of course, he loved hunting and loved the outdoors. 779 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:55,680 Speaker 1: His one older brother, one younger brother. He's a middle child. 780 00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:57,320 Speaker 1: There plenty of times he got picked on by his 781 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:01,080 Speaker 1: older brother, and he passes things down. Needs to say, 782 00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:04,080 Speaker 1: there wasn't too many serious moments. There's plenty of laughs. 783 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:11,840 Speaker 1: The story begins in November. This is recent recent, not 784 00:42:12,040 --> 00:42:16,239 Speaker 1: so sharp. Recently. My older brother had an antler list 785 00:42:16,320 --> 00:42:18,880 Speaker 1: tag and a unit that I was somewhat familiar with, 786 00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:21,319 Speaker 1: so I was asked to join on a three day hunt. 787 00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:24,320 Speaker 1: First evening we saw a few elk, but it was 788 00:42:24,400 --> 00:42:27,480 Speaker 1: too dark to go after them the next morning, not 789 00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:30,839 Speaker 1: an elk to be found. That evening, we were driving 790 00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:32,440 Speaker 1: to go check a new area and came across a 791 00:42:32,560 --> 00:42:35,400 Speaker 1: herd of elk grazing in a clearing just off a 792 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:38,200 Speaker 1: dirt road. My brother jumped out of the truck and 793 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:40,200 Speaker 1: made his way to the small group of trees, too 794 00:42:40,239 --> 00:42:44,120 Speaker 1: close to close the distance and take the shot. He 795 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:47,600 Speaker 1: picked out a cow, pull the trigger and missed. Second 796 00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:49,879 Speaker 1: shot at three or fifty yards, he hit the cow. 797 00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:52,719 Speaker 1: The herd took off and we made our way up 798 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:56,320 Speaker 1: to where she was standing. We found blood. We followed 799 00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:58,480 Speaker 1: blood for five yards and could hear the elk in 800 00:42:58,520 --> 00:43:01,560 Speaker 1: the trees. Decided to act out and come back in 801 00:43:01,640 --> 00:43:05,960 Speaker 1: the morning because we weren't sure where the bullet struck. Devastated, 802 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:09,400 Speaker 1: We made our way back to camp and decided to 803 00:43:09,760 --> 00:43:12,799 Speaker 1: heat up my sister in law's homemade mule deer chile 804 00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:16,359 Speaker 1: with lapenos. That's where this gets interesting, Phil, I think 805 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,440 Speaker 1: it just sounds delicious gelapanos. Looking back, this may not 806 00:43:21,239 --> 00:43:23,719 Speaker 1: have been the best meal choice to consume, knowing we 807 00:43:23,800 --> 00:43:26,680 Speaker 1: needed to trail and elk the next morning, but as 808 00:43:26,719 --> 00:43:29,080 Speaker 1: you know, a warm, hearty meal on the cold night 809 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:32,399 Speaker 1: seemed great. It still seems great. I don't see any 810 00:43:32,440 --> 00:43:35,120 Speaker 1: problems with this meal. So far in the so far okay. 811 00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:37,640 Speaker 1: The next morning we decided to pick up the blood trail, 812 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:40,959 Speaker 1: and I noticed the cow left the herd shortly after. 813 00:43:41,080 --> 00:43:43,799 Speaker 1: We called it a night. Following behind my brother who 814 00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:46,480 Speaker 1: had a rifle. We were about a half mile on 815 00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:49,160 Speaker 1: her trail, with the wind blowing or right at us. 816 00:43:50,239 --> 00:43:53,440 Speaker 1: Just then I got a whiff of something that smelled 817 00:43:53,520 --> 00:43:56,680 Speaker 1: like something had died, But then it quickly went away. 818 00:43:58,840 --> 00:44:01,880 Speaker 1: Not much after that, I kept getting a terrible smell. 819 00:44:02,800 --> 00:44:06,200 Speaker 1: I whispered to my brother to stop. He looked at 820 00:44:06,239 --> 00:44:09,799 Speaker 1: me as the wafting smell hit my nostrils, and I said, 821 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:14,359 Speaker 1: I smell something dead. My brother started to laugh harder 822 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:17,319 Speaker 1: than I had ever seen him laugh. I couldn't figure 823 00:44:17,360 --> 00:44:21,480 Speaker 1: out why it was so funny. Apparently the chili had 824 00:44:21,600 --> 00:44:23,879 Speaker 1: some kind of reaction in his gut that caused him 825 00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:27,359 Speaker 1: to have the worst smelling gas known to the human man. 826 00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:30,680 Speaker 1: What I was what was wafting in my nose was 827 00:44:30,760 --> 00:44:32,800 Speaker 1: not the smell of a dead elk, but the smell 828 00:44:32,920 --> 00:44:36,320 Speaker 1: of his rotting insides. It's one thing to have a 829 00:44:36,400 --> 00:44:39,640 Speaker 1: sibling fart and you smell it. It's another thing when 830 00:44:39,719 --> 00:44:41,960 Speaker 1: you have when you think you're being an amazing tracker, 831 00:44:42,400 --> 00:44:45,240 Speaker 1: but all the while smelling something that came from another 832 00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:52,520 Speaker 1: person's butt hole. Some detail there. Unfortunately, we never found 833 00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:54,919 Speaker 1: the cow. She picked back up with a small herd 834 00:44:54,920 --> 00:44:57,080 Speaker 1: of elk, and after trailing her another mile of no 835 00:44:57,239 --> 00:44:59,440 Speaker 1: blood and just tracks, we decided to call it quits, 836 00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:02,720 Speaker 1: even with what time left in the season. He punched 837 00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:06,120 Speaker 1: his tag as to not be tempted to hunt again later. 838 00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:09,440 Speaker 1: That's pretty cool, needless to say. When in the mountains, 839 00:45:09,520 --> 00:45:11,439 Speaker 1: my brother likes to ask if I smell something dead. 840 00:45:12,239 --> 00:45:15,080 Speaker 1: I now know that when I hear that question to 841 00:45:15,239 --> 00:45:20,920 Speaker 1: not waft the air into my face. It's a good one. 842 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:25,400 Speaker 1: Play the jingle sh not so sharp moment so you 843 00:45:25,640 --> 00:45:30,480 Speaker 1: don't have that was a good one. So chat holder, 844 00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:34,200 Speaker 1: We're going to send you of work, sharp field sharpener 845 00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:37,600 Speaker 1: for all your troubles. Send send me some of that chili. Yeah, 846 00:45:38,120 --> 00:45:39,320 Speaker 1: Phil and I would like to get some of that 847 00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:42,279 Speaker 1: hallapeno chili. Yes, please have that right here in the 848 00:45:42,320 --> 00:45:45,120 Speaker 1: podcast studio. We'll eat it on Mike, Eat it on 849 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:49,879 Speaker 1: Mike and podcast where We're just wafting aired towards each 850 00:45:49,920 --> 00:45:53,360 Speaker 1: other's faces. All right, we're gonna get to a great, 851 00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:56,000 Speaker 1: great interview with a great great man. His name is 852 00:45:56,080 --> 00:45:59,680 Speaker 1: Dan Flores. He wrote a book called American Coot Coyote 853 00:45:59,760 --> 00:46:03,200 Speaker 1: on how you say it? Uh and in the West Coast. 854 00:46:03,320 --> 00:46:07,520 Speaker 1: Kid here it's coyote coyote. Yes, it's not wildly coyotepe. 855 00:46:08,160 --> 00:46:12,320 Speaker 1: All right, we're gonna go to Dan Flores a great interview. 856 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:22,400 Speaker 1: Listen up. I guess I grew up on an alder row. Dan. Welcome, 857 00:46:22,520 --> 00:46:25,080 Speaker 1: Welcome to meet Eater. Thank you bad. It's a pleasure 858 00:46:25,080 --> 00:46:27,000 Speaker 1: to be here. Since the first time you've been to 859 00:46:27,280 --> 00:46:29,320 Speaker 1: I guess not welcome to meet Eater. That would be 860 00:46:29,400 --> 00:46:32,239 Speaker 1: a improper way to introduce you, because you've been You've 861 00:46:32,280 --> 00:46:33,960 Speaker 1: known Steven Ronella for quite a while, and you've been 862 00:46:33,960 --> 00:46:36,239 Speaker 1: a part of the Mediator brand for for years. I 863 00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:38,279 Speaker 1: mean I first listened to your podcast with Steve couple 864 00:46:38,280 --> 00:46:42,000 Speaker 1: of years ago, back in you got to know a 865 00:46:42,040 --> 00:46:44,800 Speaker 1: little bit about your work. But you have an interesting 866 00:46:44,880 --> 00:46:47,319 Speaker 1: history all around. But I think we should briefly get 867 00:46:47,400 --> 00:46:49,440 Speaker 1: to your history with Steve so you can come for 868 00:46:49,560 --> 00:46:52,680 Speaker 1: off on that. Then you have some some story stories 869 00:46:52,719 --> 00:46:55,719 Speaker 1: of post graduate Steve kind of what it was like 870 00:46:55,800 --> 00:46:58,600 Speaker 1: to know the man back then. Our listeners will be interested. 871 00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:00,520 Speaker 1: I'm sure to hear some of those stories. Well, I'm 872 00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:04,799 Speaker 1: one of the rare people who has known Steve since 873 00:47:04,920 --> 00:47:08,640 Speaker 1: the day when he was actually a graduate student. Um. 874 00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:11,840 Speaker 1: I was at the University of Montana, uh, professor in 875 00:47:11,880 --> 00:47:15,600 Speaker 1: the history department. Steve was graduate student in creative writing. 876 00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:20,480 Speaker 1: And because I taught environmental history and especially the environmental 877 00:47:20,560 --> 00:47:22,640 Speaker 1: history of the West, and he was interested in the 878 00:47:23,120 --> 00:47:25,959 Speaker 1: things that I was doing, he uh took a couple 879 00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:28,600 Speaker 1: of classes with me. I ended up serving actually on 880 00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:33,319 Speaker 1: his thesis committee. Uh and uh it's kind of helped 881 00:47:33,360 --> 00:47:36,880 Speaker 1: him get through graduation. But as I was telling you 882 00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:39,719 Speaker 1: a little earlier, I mean, I, you know, Steve and 883 00:47:39,760 --> 00:47:42,120 Speaker 1: I became friends back in those days. So I got 884 00:47:42,200 --> 00:47:45,440 Speaker 1: to have a few uh sort of small adventures with him, 885 00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:49,040 Speaker 1: meeting him at various bars in town and and uh 886 00:47:49,719 --> 00:47:52,440 Speaker 1: listening to tall tales. I mean, we some of our 887 00:47:52,480 --> 00:47:55,200 Speaker 1: early conversations. I had published a kind of a major 888 00:47:55,360 --> 00:47:58,800 Speaker 1: article in a academic journal about bison, and he was 889 00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:01,600 Speaker 1: already interested in a bison story, and so we would 890 00:48:01,680 --> 00:48:04,640 Speaker 1: sit in bars and uh and drink beer and talk 891 00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:08,760 Speaker 1: about Buffalo and where I think he was probably brainstorming 892 00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:12,560 Speaker 1: his Buffalo book of that. But uh, yeah, he was 893 00:48:12,920 --> 00:48:18,640 Speaker 1: an interesting, uh an unusual, almost eccentric graduate student who 894 00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:23,000 Speaker 1: would invite you over for dinners to eat squirrel that 895 00:48:23,120 --> 00:48:25,799 Speaker 1: he had peppered with a pellet gun in his backyard. 896 00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:28,160 Speaker 1: And uh, you know, there were a lot of interesting 897 00:48:28,239 --> 00:48:30,160 Speaker 1: people at the University of Mountain in those days, but 898 00:48:30,480 --> 00:48:33,719 Speaker 1: I don't think anybody quite rose to that level. And 899 00:48:33,760 --> 00:48:36,600 Speaker 1: I would, like I said, I've I've chosen to join 900 00:48:36,960 --> 00:48:38,560 Speaker 1: that man in this venture. So it's good to have 901 00:48:38,600 --> 00:48:40,800 Speaker 1: a little insight to what what he was before I 902 00:48:40,880 --> 00:48:44,080 Speaker 1: knew him. But there's a lot of your history that 903 00:48:44,120 --> 00:48:46,560 Speaker 1: we gotta get to. And like I was saying before, 904 00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:49,759 Speaker 1: we hopefully folks that have either listened to the Joe 905 00:48:49,880 --> 00:48:52,719 Speaker 1: Rogan podcast that you were on or listen to the 906 00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:55,880 Speaker 1: Mediator podcasts that you're on, are generally familiar with your 907 00:48:55,920 --> 00:48:59,320 Speaker 1: book Coyote America kind of your work in that realm. 908 00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:01,440 Speaker 1: But what I wanted to do, maybe differently in this 909 00:49:01,520 --> 00:49:03,680 Speaker 1: is just find a little bit about you and how 910 00:49:03,760 --> 00:49:07,160 Speaker 1: you got to that point one when you met Steve, 911 00:49:07,200 --> 00:49:10,600 Speaker 1: when you're deeply you know, immersed in the history of 912 00:49:10,680 --> 00:49:14,480 Speaker 1: this country and like the wild places Florida and fauna, 913 00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:17,400 Speaker 1: and how you got interested in that and why it became, 914 00:49:18,000 --> 00:49:20,400 Speaker 1: you know, something that mattered in your life. And so 915 00:49:20,560 --> 00:49:23,080 Speaker 1: it's all starts. You're telling me some stories about Louisiana. 916 00:49:23,719 --> 00:49:26,839 Speaker 1: It all starts. And as a boy in Louisiana, where 917 00:49:26,920 --> 00:49:29,640 Speaker 1: where were you born? Exactly? Well, I was born in 918 00:49:29,719 --> 00:49:32,799 Speaker 1: a place that most of your listeners will have never 919 00:49:32,920 --> 00:49:37,480 Speaker 1: heard of, a town called vivian Uh in northwestern Louisiana, 920 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:41,359 Speaker 1: which is just up north of Streeports. My family had 921 00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:46,360 Speaker 1: been in Louisiana really since the founding of Louisiana. My 922 00:49:46,719 --> 00:49:49,839 Speaker 1: first ancestors had gotten there in seventeen sixteen, so we've 923 00:49:49,880 --> 00:49:52,960 Speaker 1: actually been there for more than three hundred years um. 924 00:49:53,680 --> 00:49:56,960 Speaker 1: But we had moved. We had been in the Nakadash area, 925 00:49:57,000 --> 00:49:59,959 Speaker 1: which is the original European town in Louisiana, so before 926 00:50:00,080 --> 00:50:02,560 Speaker 1: years older than New Orleans. It's a beautiful area too. Yeah, 927 00:50:02,600 --> 00:50:05,279 Speaker 1: it's really a pretty area. And so that's where my 928 00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:09,959 Speaker 1: family was from, from Nackos. But we had moved during 929 00:50:10,040 --> 00:50:13,440 Speaker 1: the thirties up to the Shreveport area because my granddad 930 00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:15,839 Speaker 1: had gotten a job of standard oil when the East 931 00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:19,120 Speaker 1: Texas oil field came in, And so that's where I 932 00:50:19,480 --> 00:50:24,760 Speaker 1: ended up growing up in northwestern Louisiana, with East Texas 933 00:50:24,800 --> 00:50:28,320 Speaker 1: about four or five miles away and Arkansas about about 934 00:50:28,360 --> 00:50:31,720 Speaker 1: the same distance way, and it was kind of as 935 00:50:31,760 --> 00:50:34,800 Speaker 1: a kid, I was always somewhat proud to be in 936 00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:39,160 Speaker 1: Louisiana with its interesting colonial history rather than those other 937 00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:41,400 Speaker 1: two places. Yeah, and it's got a rich is not 938 00:50:41,520 --> 00:50:45,399 Speaker 1: only rich history, but a rich culture, you know that. Yeah, 939 00:50:45,480 --> 00:50:48,000 Speaker 1: that we all understand kind of in the lexicon of 940 00:50:48,320 --> 00:50:51,719 Speaker 1: of American culture as a whole. We understand like these 941 00:50:51,880 --> 00:50:54,840 Speaker 1: these micro points that are very interesting. Texas has a 942 00:50:54,960 --> 00:50:57,400 Speaker 1: very interesting culture, but I think Louisiana maybe at the 943 00:50:57,440 --> 00:50:59,640 Speaker 1: top of the list. There's a reason that every reality 944 00:50:59,680 --> 00:51:02,959 Speaker 1: show the Discovery Channel is dudes in Louisiana doing something. 945 00:51:03,120 --> 00:51:08,120 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, those dudes are pretty far out for one thing. Yeah, 946 00:51:08,400 --> 00:51:10,920 Speaker 1: it's got an interesting history. I mean it starts as 947 00:51:10,960 --> 00:51:14,480 Speaker 1: a French colony. Uh, It's Louisiana is owned by Spain 948 00:51:14,680 --> 00:51:16,919 Speaker 1: for about forty years. I mean a lot of people 949 00:51:17,000 --> 00:51:21,160 Speaker 1: don't know that, but um, I mean when the United 950 00:51:21,160 --> 00:51:27,359 Speaker 1: States requires Louisiana from France from Napoleon in eighteen oh three. Um, 951 00:51:27,640 --> 00:51:31,080 Speaker 1: in order for Napoleon to sell Louisiana to the United States, 952 00:51:31,360 --> 00:51:35,080 Speaker 1: he had to get it back from Spain two years earlier, 953 00:51:35,440 --> 00:51:38,279 Speaker 1: because Spain had had it up until eighteen hundred. So 954 00:51:38,960 --> 00:51:41,880 Speaker 1: it's got a very interesting mix. New Orleans was a 955 00:51:41,960 --> 00:51:44,200 Speaker 1: kind of a cause of fault in place that attracted 956 00:51:44,239 --> 00:51:47,880 Speaker 1: folks like San Francisco from all over the world. I 957 00:51:47,960 --> 00:51:50,919 Speaker 1: mean there's an Irish quarter in New Orleans, and there's 958 00:51:50,920 --> 00:51:54,799 Speaker 1: an Italian quarter, and so it's a it's always been 959 00:51:54,880 --> 00:51:59,600 Speaker 1: a kind of an interesting mix of people and uh, 960 00:51:59,680 --> 00:52:03,279 Speaker 1: with a lot of different languages spoken. I mean, Um, 961 00:52:04,239 --> 00:52:07,719 Speaker 1: I didn't grow up speaking French, but two or three 962 00:52:07,760 --> 00:52:11,000 Speaker 1: generations back in my family they still spoke French. They 963 00:52:11,040 --> 00:52:13,719 Speaker 1: were Catholics. I mean it was the you know, the 964 00:52:13,880 --> 00:52:19,239 Speaker 1: classic kind of Louisiana colonial world that my family came through. Yeah, 965 00:52:19,360 --> 00:52:22,640 Speaker 1: and your your first kind of introduction to the outside 966 00:52:22,680 --> 00:52:24,600 Speaker 1: world in Louisiana. I'm sure there's a lot of past 967 00:52:24,719 --> 00:52:27,000 Speaker 1: you could take, But what do you remember your first 968 00:52:27,080 --> 00:52:30,640 Speaker 1: kind of as a child, you know, insights into going 969 00:52:30,680 --> 00:52:36,480 Speaker 1: outside doing things in Louisiana. Well, I remember, um, I 970 00:52:36,560 --> 00:52:40,759 Speaker 1: remember having to in order to see out of the 971 00:52:41,160 --> 00:52:45,160 Speaker 1: thickness of the forest. Uh. Finding a hill which I 972 00:52:45,280 --> 00:52:47,480 Speaker 1: located when I was probably about seven eight years old 973 00:52:47,560 --> 00:52:50,920 Speaker 1: riding my bicycle, I found one of the highest hills 974 00:52:51,400 --> 00:52:54,080 Speaker 1: in the Red River Valley, on the edge of the 975 00:52:54,120 --> 00:52:57,480 Speaker 1: Red River Valley, and I would go ride my bicycle 976 00:52:57,560 --> 00:52:59,239 Speaker 1: to this hill, climb up to the top of it, 977 00:52:59,600 --> 00:53:02,320 Speaker 1: and then climbed to the top of the highest tree 978 00:53:02,719 --> 00:53:05,680 Speaker 1: on that hill so I could get above the vegetation 979 00:53:06,280 --> 00:53:09,920 Speaker 1: and see out across the landscape, I mean, And that 980 00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:13,960 Speaker 1: became kind of a uh, kind of a touchstone for 981 00:53:14,160 --> 00:53:16,360 Speaker 1: me for many, many years, even when I was in 982 00:53:16,880 --> 00:53:19,400 Speaker 1: college and graduate school. Almost every time I would go 983 00:53:19,480 --> 00:53:22,160 Speaker 1: back to Louisiana to see my folks, I would go 984 00:53:22,400 --> 00:53:25,080 Speaker 1: to that particular hill and climb up in that tree 985 00:53:25,719 --> 00:53:28,640 Speaker 1: just so I could get a view of the country. 986 00:53:28,719 --> 00:53:32,200 Speaker 1: Because I think what I was hungry for was what 987 00:53:32,400 --> 00:53:35,520 Speaker 1: I ultimately found by moving to the west, which was 988 00:53:35,719 --> 00:53:40,080 Speaker 1: a way to get to see the countryside spread out 989 00:53:40,280 --> 00:53:44,439 Speaker 1: for miles and miles distant. And uh, I mean, there's 990 00:53:44,920 --> 00:53:48,080 Speaker 1: there's kind of an explanation really in my own experiences 991 00:53:48,120 --> 00:53:50,000 Speaker 1: as a kid for why that happened. When I was 992 00:53:50,120 --> 00:53:52,239 Speaker 1: four years old, and I didn't find this out until 993 00:53:52,239 --> 00:53:54,920 Speaker 1: I was about thirty eight. Going back to Louisiana to 994 00:53:55,040 --> 00:53:58,400 Speaker 1: a family reunion, I mentioned to an aunt of mine that, 995 00:53:58,800 --> 00:54:00,799 Speaker 1: you know, I'd just been fast and with the West 996 00:54:00,840 --> 00:54:03,600 Speaker 1: and it dreamed about the West since I was four 997 00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:06,080 Speaker 1: or five or six years old. And she said, well, 998 00:54:06,120 --> 00:54:07,680 Speaker 1: I wonder if that had anything to do with the 999 00:54:07,760 --> 00:54:10,759 Speaker 1: fact that we took you out to West Texas in 1000 00:54:10,840 --> 00:54:15,759 Speaker 1: New Mexico when you were four I and all of 1001 00:54:15,800 --> 00:54:17,920 Speaker 1: a sudden it began to come back to me. They 1002 00:54:17,960 --> 00:54:21,640 Speaker 1: were my earliest memories as a kid of being at 1003 00:54:21,719 --> 00:54:26,440 Speaker 1: the foot of big, towering red cliffs with a cobalt 1004 00:54:26,600 --> 00:54:30,759 Speaker 1: blue sky and these white cotton ball clouds in the sky, 1005 00:54:31,520 --> 00:54:34,360 Speaker 1: and I had I knew that landscape wasn't in Louisiana, 1006 00:54:35,200 --> 00:54:37,920 Speaker 1: and suddenly I realized it was because when I was 1007 00:54:38,040 --> 00:54:40,520 Speaker 1: four years old, my family had taken me to the 1008 00:54:40,600 --> 00:54:43,799 Speaker 1: West and that had given me a fascination I never 1009 00:54:43,920 --> 00:54:47,000 Speaker 1: really let go of. Yeah, that's interesting when you think 1010 00:54:47,040 --> 00:54:49,000 Speaker 1: of why, you know, why is you do these things? 1011 00:54:49,040 --> 00:54:52,000 Speaker 1: And what what about a singular visit when you were 1012 00:54:52,000 --> 00:54:53,560 Speaker 1: four years old? Of all the things in the four 1013 00:54:53,640 --> 00:54:57,560 Speaker 1: year old psyche that could attach itself to like your 1014 00:54:57,640 --> 00:55:00,800 Speaker 1: future motivations. Why is it that that that picture you 1015 00:55:00,880 --> 00:55:03,880 Speaker 1: just so well painted is exactly, you know, kind of 1016 00:55:03,960 --> 00:55:06,680 Speaker 1: what led you later in life, much later in life, 1017 00:55:06,719 --> 00:55:08,880 Speaker 1: becomes kind of a motive to go west. And I 1018 00:55:09,000 --> 00:55:11,239 Speaker 1: think probably, you know, as I've looked back on it 1019 00:55:11,360 --> 00:55:15,360 Speaker 1: and thought about it and tried to pull those memories 1020 00:55:15,520 --> 00:55:18,880 Speaker 1: up from my deep subconscious I think it probably had 1021 00:55:18,920 --> 00:55:21,160 Speaker 1: to do with the fact that that landscape was so 1022 00:55:21,400 --> 00:55:27,000 Speaker 1: dramatically different in the West than this green, verdant, densely 1023 00:55:27,160 --> 00:55:31,560 Speaker 1: vegetated world that I had grown up. Uh and in Louisiana. Yeah, 1024 00:55:32,160 --> 00:55:35,120 Speaker 1: And that's one thing that's it's interesting. I mean, you 1025 00:55:35,239 --> 00:55:38,200 Speaker 1: end up as a history of America, of the American West, 1026 00:55:38,280 --> 00:55:42,560 Speaker 1: professor of all these things coming from that talk about 1027 00:55:43,040 --> 00:55:47,120 Speaker 1: in Louisiana, your experiences outside, Like who drove those things 1028 00:55:47,200 --> 00:55:50,200 Speaker 1: for you? Was it? Was it your parents? Was it friends? Like? 1029 00:55:50,440 --> 00:55:53,040 Speaker 1: What what was the core of your of your going 1030 00:55:53,080 --> 00:55:56,279 Speaker 1: outside and being interested in the outside world when you're 1031 00:55:56,520 --> 00:55:59,719 Speaker 1: coming up. Well, part of it was growing up in 1032 00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:05,879 Speaker 1: a small town where the margins of the forest were 1033 00:56:06,360 --> 00:56:10,719 Speaker 1: within a couple of hundred yards of my parents home, 1034 00:56:11,239 --> 00:56:15,560 Speaker 1: and so as soon as they began as my parents 1035 00:56:15,640 --> 00:56:18,359 Speaker 1: began to let me, you know, venture out a little 1036 00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:22,919 Speaker 1: bit on a bicycle are walking. I mean, I immediately 1037 00:56:23,120 --> 00:56:26,600 Speaker 1: was drawn to the streams and the woods and the 1038 00:56:26,719 --> 00:56:31,520 Speaker 1: bayous that were just very easily accessible to a kid 1039 00:56:32,120 --> 00:56:36,200 Speaker 1: just walking fifteen or twenty minutes away from home. Um. 1040 00:56:36,480 --> 00:56:43,680 Speaker 1: It wasn't that my parents are grandparents were particularly outdoorsy. 1041 00:56:44,200 --> 00:56:47,480 Speaker 1: I mean my dad was. He was way into sports 1042 00:56:47,760 --> 00:56:51,480 Speaker 1: and uh and I mean and I played uh football, 1043 00:56:51,560 --> 00:56:54,040 Speaker 1: basketball and baseball in high school. And so I did 1044 00:56:54,120 --> 00:56:56,960 Speaker 1: all the things you know, that he was interested in, 1045 00:56:57,080 --> 00:56:59,920 Speaker 1: and that I was certainly interested in too. I had 1046 00:57:00,239 --> 00:57:06,920 Speaker 1: an older brother who was also, um, probably more interested 1047 00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:10,719 Speaker 1: in nature and the wilds than mom and dad were, 1048 00:57:11,120 --> 00:57:13,600 Speaker 1: and he provided a little bit of a kind of 1049 00:57:13,719 --> 00:57:17,200 Speaker 1: a an incentive to follow in his footsteps. But I 1050 00:57:17,280 --> 00:57:20,640 Speaker 1: mean he for example, when he was fourteen fifteen years old, 1051 00:57:20,720 --> 00:57:23,200 Speaker 1: he and his friends built a cabin out in the 1052 00:57:23,280 --> 00:57:26,440 Speaker 1: woods on my granddad's land a couple of miles away. 1053 00:57:26,880 --> 00:57:29,360 Speaker 1: And I mean I did the same thing when I 1054 00:57:29,560 --> 00:57:32,720 Speaker 1: was about that age. Buddies of mine and I were 1055 00:57:32,800 --> 00:57:35,040 Speaker 1: always roaming through the woods looking for a place to 1056 00:57:35,080 --> 00:57:37,920 Speaker 1: build a cabin. Uh. And we did that uh and 1057 00:57:38,000 --> 00:57:39,920 Speaker 1: we burned it up the very first night we stayed 1058 00:57:39,960 --> 00:57:43,800 Speaker 1: in it. But uh so, I think in a way, 1059 00:57:43,840 --> 00:57:47,840 Speaker 1: my brother probably played some role in in uh luring 1060 00:57:47,920 --> 00:57:49,680 Speaker 1: me out, But a lot of it was just the 1061 00:57:49,800 --> 00:57:52,880 Speaker 1: accessibility of it, you know. And I was in a 1062 00:57:53,000 --> 00:57:55,000 Speaker 1: town that was small enough that we couldn't even feel 1063 00:57:55,040 --> 00:57:57,080 Speaker 1: one baseball team in the summer a little too to 1064 00:57:57,160 --> 00:58:00,320 Speaker 1: play one another, And so you had to enter attain 1065 00:58:00,440 --> 00:58:04,800 Speaker 1: yourself pretty much. And I basically entertained myself by going 1066 00:58:04,840 --> 00:58:08,080 Speaker 1: out in nature and reading. I mean, I read a 1067 00:58:08,160 --> 00:58:11,920 Speaker 1: lot of books as a kid. I sort of I 1068 00:58:12,120 --> 00:58:16,200 Speaker 1: roamed the larger world through the pages of literature. I mean, 1069 00:58:16,280 --> 00:58:20,040 Speaker 1: we had a local library. Uh my dad became the 1070 00:58:20,120 --> 00:58:24,320 Speaker 1: librarian after he retired, and uh so I would read 1071 00:58:24,520 --> 00:58:27,120 Speaker 1: twenty or thirty or forty books every summer and and 1072 00:58:27,400 --> 00:58:30,000 Speaker 1: uh and mornings and evenings, and when it was a 1073 00:58:30,040 --> 00:58:33,160 Speaker 1: little easier to be outside and a humid, hot place 1074 00:58:33,280 --> 00:58:37,040 Speaker 1: like Louisiana, I would go out into the woods Louisia. 1075 00:58:37,080 --> 00:58:39,480 Speaker 1: I spent a lot of time in Louisiana. You setting 1076 00:58:39,480 --> 00:58:42,040 Speaker 1: my ass off. Do you you feel like we had 1077 00:58:42,080 --> 00:58:47,040 Speaker 1: a herpetologist last episode, Harry Green, we're talking about him 1078 00:58:47,040 --> 00:58:50,440 Speaker 1: a little bit at launch today. He talked about when 1079 00:58:50,440 --> 00:58:52,560 Speaker 1: I was asking him these same types of questions a 1080 00:58:52,640 --> 00:58:56,480 Speaker 1: little bit, exploring the genesis of his like wondering about nature, 1081 00:58:57,480 --> 00:58:59,760 Speaker 1: and he talked about picking up a box turtle and saying, mom, 1082 00:58:59,800 --> 00:59:02,720 Speaker 1: why doesn't have ears? And like that. It seemed to 1083 00:59:02,760 --> 00:59:04,720 Speaker 1: me that he was interested in the micro, the micro 1084 00:59:04,880 --> 00:59:08,560 Speaker 1: details of being outside. And maybe correct me if I'm wrong, 1085 00:59:08,600 --> 00:59:10,840 Speaker 1: but it seems like you were more interested in the vastness, 1086 00:59:10,960 --> 00:59:13,800 Speaker 1: like the perspective that it gave, rather than maybe the 1087 00:59:13,880 --> 00:59:19,520 Speaker 1: intricate details. Is that true? I think that's probably true. Um, 1088 00:59:20,280 --> 00:59:23,520 Speaker 1: I mean I was. I was interested in the in 1089 00:59:23,600 --> 00:59:27,320 Speaker 1: the small details for sure. I mean because I I 1090 00:59:27,440 --> 00:59:33,880 Speaker 1: paid attention to two birds I found uh and very 1091 00:59:33,960 --> 00:59:39,920 Speaker 1: closely looked at the feather patterns and arrangements on flickers 1092 00:59:40,040 --> 00:59:44,200 Speaker 1: and meadow larks, and so I I was. I was 1093 00:59:44,280 --> 00:59:49,080 Speaker 1: certainly focused on my new details. But I think in 1094 00:59:49,320 --> 00:59:53,240 Speaker 1: terms of landscape, what I was endlessly trying to do 1095 00:59:53,880 --> 00:59:58,000 Speaker 1: in a place that was so enclosed was get a 1096 00:59:58,600 --> 01:00:03,640 Speaker 1: larger look at some of the patterns of the topography. 1097 01:00:03,880 --> 01:00:08,000 Speaker 1: And Louisiana was so dense with vegetation that it was 1098 01:00:08,240 --> 01:00:11,040 Speaker 1: hard to get that. I mean, you sometimes couldn't see 1099 01:00:11,080 --> 01:00:13,520 Speaker 1: more than a hundred feet through the woods, and it 1100 01:00:13,680 --> 01:00:16,640 Speaker 1: was you You didn't know you were climbing on a hill, 1101 01:00:16,840 --> 01:00:19,120 Speaker 1: for example, until you were halfway up it, and then 1102 01:00:19,200 --> 01:00:22,000 Speaker 1: you you began to realize, just as a result of 1103 01:00:22,080 --> 01:00:25,840 Speaker 1: the ascent, that the topography had changed. So for some reason, 1104 01:00:25,920 --> 01:00:29,800 Speaker 1: and I'm not quite sure exactly why I was intrigued 1105 01:00:29,880 --> 01:00:34,640 Speaker 1: by topography and views big views. I mean, I've sort 1106 01:00:34,680 --> 01:00:37,360 Speaker 1: of speculated in a couple of my books that it 1107 01:00:37,440 --> 01:00:39,920 Speaker 1: has something to do with, you know, genetic memories. I mean, 1108 01:00:39,960 --> 01:00:42,400 Speaker 1: I think people all over the world, because we evolved 1109 01:00:42,480 --> 01:00:47,680 Speaker 1: in on the African savannah, what we find really compelling 1110 01:00:47,880 --> 01:00:51,320 Speaker 1: everywhere in the world are open landscapes where you have 1111 01:00:51,960 --> 01:00:55,560 Speaker 1: herds of animals and predators and that sort of thing. 1112 01:00:55,640 --> 01:00:58,800 Speaker 1: And I think, without understanding why I wanted to do that, 1113 01:00:59,400 --> 01:01:02,960 Speaker 1: I always had this need to be able to see. Yeah, 1114 01:01:03,240 --> 01:01:05,680 Speaker 1: and when you do you know, a weekly podcast like 1115 01:01:05,760 --> 01:01:07,520 Speaker 1: I do you all we often repeat things, so I 1116 01:01:07,600 --> 01:01:10,400 Speaker 1: apologize the listeners, but it's the same as we We've taught. 1117 01:01:10,480 --> 01:01:14,280 Speaker 1: Had some conversations around human evolutionary biology, where like, why 1118 01:01:14,360 --> 01:01:16,480 Speaker 1: does a little kid pick up a rock? And why 1119 01:01:16,520 --> 01:01:19,520 Speaker 1: does it? Why is his first thought before he even 1120 01:01:19,560 --> 01:01:21,320 Speaker 1: thought about what he's gonna do with that rocky, it's 1121 01:01:21,440 --> 01:01:24,880 Speaker 1: hurling it through the air. Why is he doing that? Well? 1122 01:01:24,880 --> 01:01:27,160 Speaker 1: Because that's what on the African Savannah, that's how we 1123 01:01:27,240 --> 01:01:30,480 Speaker 1: first understood that we could affect things that weren't directly 1124 01:01:30,560 --> 01:01:33,360 Speaker 1: in front of us much the same way. So I 1125 01:01:33,400 --> 01:01:36,000 Speaker 1: think it's important to explore those thoughts that we've had 1126 01:01:36,080 --> 01:01:38,280 Speaker 1: when we were you know, you've you've written so much 1127 01:01:38,320 --> 01:01:41,040 Speaker 1: an impact that so many people, so many people this 1128 01:01:41,120 --> 01:01:45,400 Speaker 1: audience and others, about American history and about some some species, 1129 01:01:45,480 --> 01:01:48,320 Speaker 1: like the Code and in their history. It's important to 1130 01:01:48,360 --> 01:01:51,160 Speaker 1: understanding those things like why why you bent that way 1131 01:01:51,480 --> 01:01:53,960 Speaker 1: when you did? And I always managed somewhere in my 1132 01:01:54,120 --> 01:01:58,600 Speaker 1: books to get some paragraphs or pages have that ilk 1133 01:01:58,760 --> 01:02:03,240 Speaker 1: in because I think it's important to understand who we 1134 01:02:03,400 --> 01:02:07,520 Speaker 1: are as a species, because it helps us get a 1135 01:02:07,600 --> 01:02:09,760 Speaker 1: handle on our motives on why we do some of 1136 01:02:09,800 --> 01:02:12,640 Speaker 1: the things we do. One of your favorite from Coyote 1137 01:02:12,720 --> 01:02:19,120 Speaker 1: America your books was published one of the favorite passages, 1138 01:02:19,160 --> 01:02:21,520 Speaker 1: and you're talking about being in as a boy, being 1139 01:02:21,520 --> 01:02:25,000 Speaker 1: in suburban Louisiana reading the newspaper and you had you 1140 01:02:25,080 --> 01:02:27,640 Speaker 1: had an encounter with a couple of coyotes. Tell people 1141 01:02:27,680 --> 01:02:32,120 Speaker 1: about that one. Well, I was, I was, I think 1142 01:02:32,160 --> 01:02:37,160 Speaker 1: about thirteen years old. UM and so uh and this 1143 01:02:37,360 --> 01:02:42,160 Speaker 1: is probably this is this probably planted the seed of 1144 01:02:42,720 --> 01:02:46,560 Speaker 1: ultimately writing a book about these animals. UM. I had 1145 01:02:46,680 --> 01:02:51,560 Speaker 1: seen the year before Walt Disney. Um. It was called 1146 01:02:51,600 --> 01:02:54,880 Speaker 1: Walt Disney Presents. At the time, it hadn't quite yet 1147 01:02:54,960 --> 01:02:58,880 Speaker 1: become the Wonderful World of Color. But Walt Disney did 1148 01:02:59,480 --> 01:03:03,960 Speaker 1: the first to what became six of his coyote films 1149 01:03:04,040 --> 01:03:06,000 Speaker 1: in the sixties and seventies, and it was called The 1150 01:03:06,120 --> 01:03:09,800 Speaker 1: Coyotes Lament. And I had sat and watched it. It's 1151 01:03:09,880 --> 01:03:14,440 Speaker 1: this kind of hour long animated cartoon where Walt Disney's 1152 01:03:14,680 --> 01:03:17,960 Speaker 1: the size it. He's going to tell the coyote side 1153 01:03:18,040 --> 01:03:21,040 Speaker 1: of the story of American settlement. And so it's kind 1154 01:03:21,040 --> 01:03:24,000 Speaker 1: of a remarkable film. You can, by the way, Google 1155 01:03:24,040 --> 01:03:27,840 Speaker 1: it's on YouTube. You can watch it. Um. And so 1156 01:03:28,680 --> 01:03:32,000 Speaker 1: I had watched that. I was fascinated by what I 1157 01:03:32,120 --> 01:03:34,320 Speaker 1: had seen. I was fascinated with the animals. But of 1158 01:03:34,400 --> 01:03:37,320 Speaker 1: course the film portrays these animals as animals of the West. 1159 01:03:37,960 --> 01:03:39,920 Speaker 1: And you know, since I had been four or five 1160 01:03:40,000 --> 01:03:42,840 Speaker 1: years old. I've been intrigued by the West, and I 1161 01:03:42,960 --> 01:03:46,880 Speaker 1: had had the experience UH some time along then of 1162 01:03:47,560 --> 01:03:52,080 Speaker 1: UH driving with my folks down Highway one and UH 1163 01:03:52,200 --> 01:03:55,160 Speaker 1: south of Shreveport or north of Shreveport, I think, and 1164 01:03:55,280 --> 01:03:58,520 Speaker 1: we had seen a cane had run over on the road, 1165 01:03:58,600 --> 01:04:00,520 Speaker 1: and I could tell as we went by it wasn't 1166 01:04:00,800 --> 01:04:02,960 Speaker 1: a dog, And so I made my folks stopped car, 1167 01:04:03,040 --> 01:04:04,440 Speaker 1: I got out and went out and looked, and it 1168 01:04:04,560 --> 01:04:07,320 Speaker 1: was a gray fox. And I've been really intrigued by 1169 01:04:08,560 --> 01:04:10,919 Speaker 1: looking at this animal. In fact, I think I made 1170 01:04:11,080 --> 01:04:12,840 Speaker 1: Mom and Dad open the trunk and let me take 1171 01:04:12,880 --> 01:04:14,640 Speaker 1: it home, and I scanned it and made a rug 1172 01:04:14,720 --> 01:04:17,240 Speaker 1: out of it, and I was really intrigued by it. 1173 01:04:17,840 --> 01:04:20,560 Speaker 1: And so I mentioned to a local hardware store owner 1174 01:04:20,600 --> 01:04:24,040 Speaker 1: a few days later that you know, I'd love to 1175 01:04:24,160 --> 01:04:27,160 Speaker 1: see a fox out in the woods, and he said, well, 1176 01:04:27,400 --> 01:04:31,320 Speaker 1: you know, we just got this thing in It's only 1177 01:04:31,400 --> 01:04:34,280 Speaker 1: a couple of bucks. Why don't you buy it. It's 1178 01:04:34,400 --> 01:04:37,640 Speaker 1: a it's a call that sounds like a dying rabbit, 1179 01:04:38,280 --> 01:04:40,120 Speaker 1: and you could take it out in the woods and 1180 01:04:40,160 --> 01:04:41,800 Speaker 1: you might be able to call up a fox and 1181 01:04:41,880 --> 01:04:44,880 Speaker 1: see one. So I paid two dollars for this thing, 1182 01:04:45,120 --> 01:04:48,200 Speaker 1: and a few days later rode my bicycle out climbed 1183 01:04:48,280 --> 01:04:50,640 Speaker 1: up in this OTLD deer stand that I knew about, 1184 01:04:52,000 --> 01:04:54,680 Speaker 1: blew about three or four times on this call, not 1185 01:04:54,840 --> 01:04:57,360 Speaker 1: of course knowing exactly what a dying rabbit sounded like. 1186 01:04:57,560 --> 01:05:00,040 Speaker 1: But you didn't have to be too accurate with it 1187 01:05:00,240 --> 01:05:04,959 Speaker 1: turned out, because within about thirty seconds this animal comes 1188 01:05:05,120 --> 01:05:09,240 Speaker 1: trotting out of the woods about seventy five yards from me, 1189 01:05:09,600 --> 01:05:12,720 Speaker 1: headed straight for the tree I was sitting in, and 1190 01:05:12,760 --> 01:05:15,360 Speaker 1: I mean it was coming with a purpose. Its ears 1191 01:05:15,440 --> 01:05:19,160 Speaker 1: were up. I still remember these vivid sort of orange 1192 01:05:19,280 --> 01:05:23,520 Speaker 1: yellow eyes. Uh. It crossed through a clearing where the 1193 01:05:23,640 --> 01:05:25,760 Speaker 1: sun was shining, and I could see this kind of 1194 01:05:25,880 --> 01:05:30,040 Speaker 1: chestnut fur rippling on it, and I was absolutely thunderstruck 1195 01:05:30,120 --> 01:05:32,280 Speaker 1: by the side of it. And it got within about 1196 01:05:32,400 --> 01:05:35,120 Speaker 1: probably twenty ft of the tree, and I think some 1197 01:05:35,280 --> 01:05:37,560 Speaker 1: sort of down draft maybe took my scent to it, 1198 01:05:37,840 --> 01:05:40,280 Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, just as purposefully as it 1199 01:05:40,360 --> 01:05:44,000 Speaker 1: was coming towards me, it whirled and took off, loping 1200 01:05:44,120 --> 01:05:47,560 Speaker 1: back the direction it had come, and was in characteristic 1201 01:05:47,640 --> 01:05:51,360 Speaker 1: while cane and fashion, looking back over its shoulder, trying 1202 01:05:51,440 --> 01:05:54,560 Speaker 1: to discern where the danger was coming from that it 1203 01:05:54,640 --> 01:05:57,560 Speaker 1: had smelled, And so I watched this thing lope out 1204 01:05:57,600 --> 01:06:00,840 Speaker 1: of sight and sat there shake like a leaf for 1205 01:06:00,920 --> 01:06:03,600 Speaker 1: about three or four minutes, and then I climbed down 1206 01:06:03,640 --> 01:06:05,120 Speaker 1: from the tree and went home and wrote a letter 1207 01:06:05,160 --> 01:06:08,520 Speaker 1: to louising In Parks and Wildlife and said, I think 1208 01:06:08,560 --> 01:06:12,120 Speaker 1: I saw a wolf in Cattle Parish today. And I 1209 01:06:12,240 --> 01:06:15,560 Speaker 1: got a letter back about about two weeks later where 1210 01:06:15,920 --> 01:06:18,960 Speaker 1: someone in that department said, well, you might have seen 1211 01:06:19,040 --> 01:06:21,320 Speaker 1: a wolf. I mean, we think there might still be 1212 01:06:21,640 --> 01:06:24,360 Speaker 1: some red wolves up in that part of the state, 1213 01:06:24,960 --> 01:06:27,680 Speaker 1: but it's much more likely that what you saw was 1214 01:06:28,040 --> 01:06:33,320 Speaker 1: a coyote, because those animals are now colonizing Louisianna. And 1215 01:06:33,560 --> 01:06:36,080 Speaker 1: I thought, I mean, so I'm thirteen years old. I 1216 01:06:36,240 --> 01:06:39,200 Speaker 1: thought that was the most remarkable thing I've ever heard. 1217 01:06:39,320 --> 01:06:42,280 Speaker 1: These are animals from the desert. I already knew what 1218 01:06:42,440 --> 01:06:46,200 Speaker 1: are they doing in my home state and in the 1219 01:06:46,320 --> 01:06:51,600 Speaker 1: bayous and swamps around me. And so what that became was, 1220 01:06:52,480 --> 01:06:56,360 Speaker 1: as I began to understand the coyote story, what I 1221 01:06:56,440 --> 01:07:00,480 Speaker 1: realized was I had been I was lucky enough to 1222 01:07:00,680 --> 01:07:04,080 Speaker 1: be in the right place at the right time to 1223 01:07:04,320 --> 01:07:09,920 Speaker 1: witness this expansion of coyotes out of the West across 1224 01:07:10,480 --> 01:07:14,200 Speaker 1: the eastern United States, so that over the next you know, 1225 01:07:14,360 --> 01:07:18,160 Speaker 1: as I ride in Coyote America, they colonized their forty 1226 01:07:18,240 --> 01:07:21,440 Speaker 1: nine state and that leaves Hawaii out. They'll make it. 1227 01:07:21,480 --> 01:07:26,000 Speaker 1: They're they're figuring it out right now, I promise you know. 1228 01:07:26,280 --> 01:07:29,440 Speaker 1: They're probably stowing away on a ship and if they do, 1229 01:07:29,640 --> 01:07:33,280 Speaker 1: those those nine ays or not ever going to survive. 1230 01:07:33,480 --> 01:07:38,280 Speaker 1: But uh, they colonize their forty nine state in twenty 1231 01:07:38,440 --> 01:07:41,760 Speaker 1: which was Delaware in it's and that's what interests me 1232 01:07:41,840 --> 01:07:45,080 Speaker 1: so much about this. There's like an intersection in your life, 1233 01:07:46,120 --> 01:07:50,120 Speaker 1: my life, my father's life. It's just like this generate, 1234 01:07:50,200 --> 01:07:54,919 Speaker 1: this very unique generational story, and that I'm thirty three, 1235 01:07:56,000 --> 01:07:59,200 Speaker 1: you know, my generation is kind of coming up in 1236 01:07:59,320 --> 01:08:02,800 Speaker 1: the air where those states have been colonized. Your generation 1237 01:08:02,880 --> 01:08:05,240 Speaker 1: prior has kind of seen the colonization. But there's this 1238 01:08:05,440 --> 01:08:09,920 Speaker 1: interesting intersection between I would say our two generations where 1239 01:08:10,000 --> 01:08:12,680 Speaker 1: we've been able to witness the change in this landscape, 1240 01:08:12,880 --> 01:08:15,720 Speaker 1: the immense change of this landscape that's come from the 1241 01:08:15,800 --> 01:08:18,760 Speaker 1: introduction of the coyote in many places east of the Mississippi, 1242 01:08:19,479 --> 01:08:22,720 Speaker 1: you know, and I remember I have a story of 1243 01:08:22,760 --> 01:08:24,760 Speaker 1: a very small piece of steak ground in Maryland that 1244 01:08:24,840 --> 01:08:28,200 Speaker 1: we watched it be takeover by taken over by coyotes. 1245 01:08:28,360 --> 01:08:31,320 Speaker 1: We watched it over years, over decades, not realizing what 1246 01:08:31,520 --> 01:08:36,439 Speaker 1: was happening, but coming to later understand the impact that 1247 01:08:36,600 --> 01:08:39,519 Speaker 1: it had had, not really knowing it. And so that's 1248 01:08:39,520 --> 01:08:41,920 Speaker 1: why I think coyotes they are part of our psyche 1249 01:08:42,000 --> 01:08:44,400 Speaker 1: for a lot of reasons. But there. But I think 1250 01:08:44,880 --> 01:08:47,200 Speaker 1: those of us that are hunters or even just outdoorsmen 1251 01:08:47,240 --> 01:08:50,519 Speaker 1: that have seen this matriculation over these decades, or the 1252 01:08:50,800 --> 01:08:54,360 Speaker 1: less than less than that in some cases. Ah, it's 1253 01:08:54,360 --> 01:08:57,120 Speaker 1: an amazing story of the natural world and in our 1254 01:08:57,200 --> 01:09:03,080 Speaker 1: generational theme. Yeah, well, it's um their version of manifest destiny, 1255 01:09:03,439 --> 01:09:07,120 Speaker 1: except they went from west to east, and you know, 1256 01:09:07,360 --> 01:09:11,400 Speaker 1: and the reasons they did it are are numerous. But 1257 01:09:11,920 --> 01:09:13,880 Speaker 1: I mean, one of the fascinating parts of the story 1258 01:09:13,960 --> 01:09:18,680 Speaker 1: is that their range now not only encompasses all the 1259 01:09:18,800 --> 01:09:23,519 Speaker 1: provinces of Canada, Alaska, all the states of the Lower 1260 01:09:23,600 --> 01:09:27,080 Speaker 1: forty eight all forty nine UM or forty eight in 1261 01:09:27,120 --> 01:09:30,880 Speaker 1: the Lord Lord forty eight, but they have become the 1262 01:09:31,000 --> 01:09:37,280 Speaker 1: first mammal we think since the Pleistocene to cross the 1263 01:09:37,479 --> 01:09:42,120 Speaker 1: Isthmus of Panama and began to colonize South America. So 1264 01:09:42,280 --> 01:09:46,200 Speaker 1: their range now is more than seven thousand miles north 1265 01:09:46,320 --> 01:09:50,360 Speaker 1: and south. And when Europeans got here five hundred years ago, 1266 01:09:50,520 --> 01:09:54,920 Speaker 1: this was an animal that was confined to basically about 1267 01:09:55,240 --> 01:10:02,520 Speaker 1: from Mexico City northward into the prairie of Alberta and Saskatchewan, 1268 01:10:03,080 --> 01:10:07,640 Speaker 1: but probably not as far north as Calgary is. And 1269 01:10:07,840 --> 01:10:11,519 Speaker 1: so that that expansion has all happened since we've been here. Yeah, 1270 01:10:11,560 --> 01:10:14,759 Speaker 1: and you called the cody how like the original anthem 1271 01:10:15,200 --> 01:10:19,160 Speaker 1: of North America. Well, one million years that's exactly right. Yeah, 1272 01:10:19,760 --> 01:10:22,760 Speaker 1: and it and again it always just strikes me as 1273 01:10:22,800 --> 01:10:25,599 Speaker 1: excited to me about this conversation and about thinking about coyotes, 1274 01:10:25,760 --> 01:10:30,800 Speaker 1: how much has changed over the last decades. Well, it's uh, 1275 01:10:30,960 --> 01:10:33,080 Speaker 1: you know, what I tried to do with Coyote America 1276 01:10:33,240 --> 01:10:37,280 Speaker 1: was basically to tell the biography of this animal because 1277 01:10:38,040 --> 01:10:41,000 Speaker 1: I came to know over the years as I you know, 1278 01:10:41,200 --> 01:10:43,720 Speaker 1: my fascination obviously went back to the time I was 1279 01:10:43,840 --> 01:10:47,639 Speaker 1: thirteen years old and began to see them and understand 1280 01:10:47,720 --> 01:10:51,320 Speaker 1: that they were expanding their range. But over time, as 1281 01:10:51,400 --> 01:10:56,280 Speaker 1: I and I became educated, began to read intensively about 1282 01:10:57,000 --> 01:11:02,080 Speaker 1: the animals of North America, especially animals in the West Um. 1283 01:11:02,280 --> 01:11:06,280 Speaker 1: I began to realize that of all the creatures in 1284 01:11:07,560 --> 01:11:13,479 Speaker 1: North America, there's really not another one aside from us, 1285 01:11:13,880 --> 01:11:17,960 Speaker 1: aside from we human beings, that has a biography that 1286 01:11:18,120 --> 01:11:22,559 Speaker 1: can match this animals. And I mean it's more than 1287 01:11:22,760 --> 01:11:26,320 Speaker 1: five million years old. The candid family evolved five point 1288 01:11:26,400 --> 01:11:29,720 Speaker 1: three million years ago as a North American family. I mean, 1289 01:11:29,840 --> 01:11:33,400 Speaker 1: some of the great animal uh families of the world 1290 01:11:33,560 --> 01:11:38,479 Speaker 1: basically evolved in North America after the chickslob impact, the 1291 01:11:38,680 --> 01:11:43,800 Speaker 1: impact that destroyed the dinosaurs nearly completely fried life in 1292 01:11:43,920 --> 01:11:47,120 Speaker 1: North America because of the angle of the hit um. 1293 01:11:47,560 --> 01:11:51,799 Speaker 1: And out of that recreation of life in North America 1294 01:11:52,040 --> 01:11:56,719 Speaker 1: came the camel family, the horse family, the canted family, 1295 01:11:56,800 --> 01:12:00,360 Speaker 1: among many others, and so cana. It's all the canons 1296 01:12:00,360 --> 01:12:02,800 Speaker 1: of the world come out of North America, origins from 1297 01:12:02,880 --> 01:12:05,320 Speaker 1: five point three million years ago, and many of them 1298 01:12:05,439 --> 01:12:08,679 Speaker 1: leave North America go around the world. They go to Africa, 1299 01:12:08,800 --> 01:12:10,439 Speaker 1: they go to the Middle East, they go to Asia, 1300 01:12:10,720 --> 01:12:14,120 Speaker 1: they go to Europe. The coyote, however, is one of 1301 01:12:14,280 --> 01:12:18,840 Speaker 1: these North American canads that never leaves North America. So 1302 01:12:19,520 --> 01:12:23,160 Speaker 1: it is about as American an animal as it is 1303 01:12:23,240 --> 01:12:28,240 Speaker 1: possible to be. And as I began kind of brainstorming 1304 01:12:28,280 --> 01:12:31,000 Speaker 1: the idea for this book and and realizing some of 1305 01:12:31,080 --> 01:12:35,920 Speaker 1: these things, what I realized would make a book about 1306 01:12:36,680 --> 01:12:42,519 Speaker 1: coyotes and hopefully an important book for for modern people 1307 01:12:42,560 --> 01:12:46,519 Speaker 1: in the twenty first century, is that hardly any of us, 1308 01:12:47,080 --> 01:12:49,320 Speaker 1: whether we live in the west, the East, the south, 1309 01:12:49,720 --> 01:12:54,880 Speaker 1: the northeast, hardly any of us knows anything about coyotes. 1310 01:12:55,439 --> 01:12:58,040 Speaker 1: I mean, we know that Indians told stories about them, 1311 01:12:58,680 --> 01:13:02,040 Speaker 1: we know that they how we know that one used 1312 01:13:02,040 --> 01:13:05,360 Speaker 1: to fall off cliffs repeatedly on Saturday morning cartoons, and 1313 01:13:05,479 --> 01:13:10,320 Speaker 1: that's kind of about all anybody knew about those animals. 1314 01:13:10,360 --> 01:13:13,599 Speaker 1: And so I realized, as these animals are spreading across 1315 01:13:13,680 --> 01:13:17,280 Speaker 1: the continent into one new place after another, and people 1316 01:13:17,600 --> 01:13:19,960 Speaker 1: are seeing them for the first time, it might be 1317 01:13:20,240 --> 01:13:23,599 Speaker 1: an important thing not just for people who are seeing 1318 01:13:23,640 --> 01:13:25,680 Speaker 1: them for the first time, but even for Westerners who 1319 01:13:25,720 --> 01:13:28,240 Speaker 1: have been around them and haven't paid much attention to them, 1320 01:13:29,320 --> 01:13:33,200 Speaker 1: to actually know something about their story. And so that's 1321 01:13:33,280 --> 01:13:34,840 Speaker 1: kind of what I tried to do with that now, 1322 01:13:34,920 --> 01:13:37,599 Speaker 1: and it's done brilliantly, and they think there's so many 1323 01:13:37,680 --> 01:13:39,479 Speaker 1: things that are overlaid in the book, and then just 1324 01:13:39,560 --> 01:13:42,800 Speaker 1: in the subject of the kyo, it's natural history is 1325 01:13:42,880 --> 01:13:45,120 Speaker 1: one thing that I think you highlight that really doesn't 1326 01:13:45,640 --> 01:13:48,360 Speaker 1: that really isn't apparent to most of us. It wasn't 1327 01:13:48,520 --> 01:13:50,320 Speaker 1: to me at the time reading your book and being 1328 01:13:50,360 --> 01:13:53,960 Speaker 1: introduced to your work. I've spent my life outside and 1329 01:13:54,160 --> 01:13:56,200 Speaker 1: had experienced kais for the first time and at the 1330 01:13:56,240 --> 01:13:59,000 Speaker 1: same about the same age you did, and in kind 1331 01:13:59,000 --> 01:14:00,960 Speaker 1: of the same way, you know, like, what is this thing? 1332 01:14:01,080 --> 01:14:03,519 Speaker 1: Why is it chasing turkeys around that I'm trying to hunt? 1333 01:14:03,560 --> 01:14:05,479 Speaker 1: Why is it chasing the geese out of the field? 1334 01:14:05,560 --> 01:14:07,920 Speaker 1: Why is it? Why is this thing that doesn't look 1335 01:14:07,960 --> 01:14:10,840 Speaker 1: like it belongs here here? And then it leads you 1336 01:14:10,960 --> 01:14:13,760 Speaker 1: to learn other things, But the deep knowledge of the 1337 01:14:13,840 --> 01:14:15,720 Speaker 1: naturalistry of the cop just isn't there, for I think 1338 01:14:15,760 --> 01:14:19,160 Speaker 1: for most most hunters are most outdoors men. So there's 1339 01:14:19,200 --> 01:14:21,320 Speaker 1: that piece of it, But then there's you overlay on 1340 01:14:21,400 --> 01:14:25,760 Speaker 1: top of that the cultural significance with natives and then 1341 01:14:25,840 --> 01:14:28,640 Speaker 1: with our own weird popular culture and how it's kind 1342 01:14:28,680 --> 01:14:32,519 Speaker 1: of twisted and done all these things to the kyot. 1343 01:14:32,760 --> 01:14:34,600 Speaker 1: And if you start to overlay those and in your 1344 01:14:34,640 --> 01:14:36,320 Speaker 1: book does as well. You start to overlay all that 1345 01:14:36,439 --> 01:14:38,720 Speaker 1: kind of unpack it on. It's an it's an astounding 1346 01:14:38,760 --> 01:14:41,840 Speaker 1: account of the animal. It just really is. And I 1347 01:14:41,920 --> 01:14:44,479 Speaker 1: think it runs up against something that we briefly talked about. 1348 01:14:44,560 --> 01:14:48,360 Speaker 1: But the modern in the modern sense, the hunting audience. 1349 01:14:50,120 --> 01:14:51,519 Speaker 1: I don't know if you could break it up into 1350 01:14:51,560 --> 01:14:54,680 Speaker 1: certain camps, but there's certain individuals who see a coy 1351 01:14:54,760 --> 01:14:59,760 Speaker 1: out and think there's hatred, there's negativity, there's a lot 1352 01:14:59,840 --> 01:15:03,599 Speaker 1: of things emotions that are swept up because we hunt unglets, 1353 01:15:03,720 --> 01:15:07,840 Speaker 1: white tailed deer, moose, caribou, elk these are the things 1354 01:15:07,880 --> 01:15:11,120 Speaker 1: that we know intimately. We tellt our model of conservation 1355 01:15:11,400 --> 01:15:15,400 Speaker 1: as having recovered these things. And then so I think, 1356 01:15:15,520 --> 01:15:19,560 Speaker 1: very naturally, here comes this idea that here's this marauding 1357 01:15:21,000 --> 01:15:23,800 Speaker 1: kina that doesn't belong here, that wasn't here before, that's 1358 01:15:23,840 --> 01:15:28,640 Speaker 1: coming into compete with us on many levels, both you know, 1359 01:15:28,760 --> 01:15:32,200 Speaker 1: tangibly and sometimes intangibly, and so that's I think where 1360 01:15:32,280 --> 01:15:34,840 Speaker 1: we currently are, and so I think maybe we can 1361 01:15:34,880 --> 01:15:37,680 Speaker 1: work backwards to that. But we we had a lot 1362 01:15:37,760 --> 01:15:41,200 Speaker 1: of people right into a recent article we posted on 1363 01:15:41,280 --> 01:15:43,439 Speaker 1: the mediator dot com and it asked a pretty simple 1364 01:15:43,520 --> 01:15:47,959 Speaker 1: question for a hunter, which is should you shoot coyotes 1365 01:15:48,000 --> 01:15:51,120 Speaker 1: while deer hunting? And to me it's like, oh, that's 1366 01:15:51,120 --> 01:15:56,080 Speaker 1: a pretty simple question, but it evoked some pretty interesting 1367 01:15:56,200 --> 01:16:01,439 Speaker 1: responses in people. Um, A lot of them negative. And 1368 01:16:01,520 --> 01:16:05,160 Speaker 1: so do you have any feeling on you know, not 1369 01:16:05,240 --> 01:16:07,160 Speaker 1: you don't even have to dress the modern hunter, but like, 1370 01:16:07,360 --> 01:16:10,920 Speaker 1: what are the origins of these negative feelings and why 1371 01:16:11,040 --> 01:16:14,000 Speaker 1: might they be there? Based only you're not well? I mean, 1372 01:16:14,160 --> 01:16:16,640 Speaker 1: I think I can at least shed a little bit of, 1373 01:16:17,200 --> 01:16:21,040 Speaker 1: you know, a little bit of context on it. Um. 1374 01:16:22,880 --> 01:16:29,080 Speaker 1: So in the biography, I was mentioning before Europeans arrive 1375 01:16:29,439 --> 01:16:38,040 Speaker 1: with flocks of sheep and herds of cattle and hogs 1376 01:16:38,600 --> 01:16:46,280 Speaker 1: and chickens, in other words, before people with domestic animals 1377 01:16:46,720 --> 01:16:51,760 Speaker 1: come to North America, we have ten thousand years of 1378 01:16:52,320 --> 01:16:55,000 Speaker 1: native people in North America. And you have to remember 1379 01:16:55,120 --> 01:16:57,920 Speaker 1: at that time that the coyote is is west of 1380 01:16:57,960 --> 01:17:03,000 Speaker 1: the Mississippi River. It we have ten thousand years of 1381 01:17:03,600 --> 01:17:09,680 Speaker 1: native people everywhere that coyotes range, not looking at it 1382 01:17:10,439 --> 01:17:17,680 Speaker 1: as a competitor predator, but as a sacred animal that 1383 01:17:18,000 --> 01:17:21,120 Speaker 1: serves as a kind of an avatar, a stand in 1384 01:17:21,400 --> 01:17:24,160 Speaker 1: for humans in the world. So I mean one of 1385 01:17:24,240 --> 01:17:27,479 Speaker 1: the In fact, it's the first chapter in Coyote America, 1386 01:17:27,520 --> 01:17:31,519 Speaker 1: which is called Old Man America. Old Man America is 1387 01:17:31,800 --> 01:17:38,719 Speaker 1: the coyote. It's the the lead subject, the lead literary 1388 01:17:38,880 --> 01:17:44,679 Speaker 1: figure in the oldest literature, the oldest stories from this continent, 1389 01:17:45,479 --> 01:17:50,000 Speaker 1: the oldest stories we have from North America, which I 1390 01:17:50,120 --> 01:17:52,360 Speaker 1: think probably go back to the end of the Plaza 1391 01:17:52,439 --> 01:17:56,559 Speaker 1: st ten thousand years ago, are of a coyote deity 1392 01:17:57,160 --> 01:18:00,439 Speaker 1: who serves as a stand in for humans. And so 1393 01:18:01,680 --> 01:18:05,040 Speaker 1: thousands of these stories, by about a hundred and twenty 1394 01:18:05,160 --> 01:18:09,960 Speaker 1: years ago are preserved through oral tradition by native people, 1395 01:18:10,040 --> 01:18:12,760 Speaker 1: and hundred and twenty years ago start getting collected by 1396 01:18:13,080 --> 01:18:17,440 Speaker 1: anthropologists and ethnographers and become the basis of this coyote 1397 01:18:18,200 --> 01:18:22,280 Speaker 1: literature that we have. And in none of those stories 1398 01:18:22,520 --> 01:18:28,040 Speaker 1: do native people seem to resent that the coyote occasionally 1399 01:18:28,240 --> 01:18:32,160 Speaker 1: kills a fawn or certainly, I mean most of the 1400 01:18:32,479 --> 01:18:34,920 Speaker 1: rock art that you see of coyote with prey, it's 1401 01:18:34,960 --> 01:18:37,880 Speaker 1: usually small prey. It's usually rabbits or something like that. 1402 01:18:38,400 --> 01:18:41,160 Speaker 1: But I mean Indians are clearly aware that coyotes kill 1403 01:18:41,280 --> 01:18:45,920 Speaker 1: fawns and they'll kill big horn sheep, lambs, and it's 1404 01:18:46,000 --> 01:18:49,960 Speaker 1: difficult for coyotes, even in pacts to kill large animals. 1405 01:18:50,040 --> 01:18:52,720 Speaker 1: I mean they're not these are not very big animals. Uh. 1406 01:18:52,800 --> 01:18:57,000 Speaker 1: Coyotes are you know, thirty thirty five pounds at least 1407 01:18:57,080 --> 01:19:00,439 Speaker 1: in the West at the most. But there's not a 1408 01:19:00,640 --> 01:19:05,800 Speaker 1: sense of that among native people. When Europeans come over though, 1409 01:19:05,880 --> 01:19:10,640 Speaker 1: with domesticated animals, I mean, Europeans arrived without any preconceived 1410 01:19:10,680 --> 01:19:13,479 Speaker 1: notions about coyotes because there aren't any in Europe. But 1411 01:19:13,600 --> 01:19:18,880 Speaker 1: Europeans know about wolves, and we arrive with this many 1412 01:19:19,120 --> 01:19:24,439 Speaker 1: centuries deep antagonism towards wolves, and as soon as we 1413 01:19:25,040 --> 01:19:30,120 Speaker 1: land on the Atlantic shore or in the desert Southwest 1414 01:19:30,439 --> 01:19:33,599 Speaker 1: or California in the case of the Spaniards, everybody kind 1415 01:19:33,640 --> 01:19:36,400 Speaker 1: of begins to make war on the wolf population. But 1416 01:19:36,520 --> 01:19:39,000 Speaker 1: we kind of don't know exactly what to what to 1417 01:19:39,080 --> 01:19:43,519 Speaker 1: think about coyotes for a while. But to me, the 1418 01:19:44,720 --> 01:19:47,800 Speaker 1: the negative attitudes that I think a lot of people 1419 01:19:48,400 --> 01:19:52,720 Speaker 1: sort of have inherited without thinking about the origins of them, 1420 01:19:53,160 --> 01:19:57,280 Speaker 1: with respect to both wolves and particularly coyotes, I mean, 1421 01:19:57,320 --> 01:20:02,479 Speaker 1: the wolf negativity. They go back centuries from European origins 1422 01:20:02,560 --> 01:20:05,760 Speaker 1: handed down from you know, from family to family over time. 1423 01:20:06,800 --> 01:20:10,679 Speaker 1: But with coyotes, I think the negativity actually goes back 1424 01:20:10,760 --> 01:20:15,200 Speaker 1: to the Bureau of Biological Survey and its public relations 1425 01:20:15,320 --> 01:20:19,240 Speaker 1: campaigns in the twenties and thirties when wolves have been 1426 01:20:19,320 --> 01:20:22,640 Speaker 1: taken care of, and the Biological Survey, which is the 1427 01:20:22,720 --> 01:20:26,559 Speaker 1: federal agency that's going to quote solve the predator problem 1428 01:20:26,760 --> 01:20:31,400 Speaker 1: for for people who are raising stock, decide that the 1429 01:20:31,520 --> 01:20:36,040 Speaker 1: coyote is actually the arch predator, and so they put 1430 01:20:36,160 --> 01:20:42,120 Speaker 1: out just one canned newspaper article and one pamphlet after 1431 01:20:42,200 --> 01:20:47,000 Speaker 1: another arguing that coyotes are vermin and actually convince Congress 1432 01:20:47,040 --> 01:20:51,360 Speaker 1: to pass an act in that gives the Biological Survey 1433 01:20:51,479 --> 01:20:55,679 Speaker 1: ten million dollars to try to eradicate coyotes in North America. 1434 01:20:56,200 --> 01:21:00,560 Speaker 1: And so I think a lot of people today, I 1435 01:21:00,600 --> 01:21:04,560 Speaker 1: mean a hundred years later, have kind of absorbed that 1436 01:21:04,880 --> 01:21:09,240 Speaker 1: public relations campaign from the nineteen twenties, thirties and forties 1437 01:21:09,680 --> 01:21:12,879 Speaker 1: where a government agency was trying to convince the American 1438 01:21:12,960 --> 01:21:16,400 Speaker 1: population that this is an animal that deserves to be eradicated. 1439 01:21:16,960 --> 01:21:20,439 Speaker 1: Now you know people who So I did a talk 1440 01:21:20,800 --> 01:21:24,000 Speaker 1: in South Carolina a year or two ago, and everyone 1441 01:21:24,120 --> 01:21:28,479 Speaker 1: there was really concerned about coyotes being recent arrivals in 1442 01:21:28,640 --> 01:21:32,200 Speaker 1: South Carolina and killing fauns and making it more difficult 1443 01:21:32,280 --> 01:21:35,120 Speaker 1: for hunters to to get their deer during the deer season. 1444 01:21:35,600 --> 01:21:39,639 Speaker 1: I will say that they're in most of the Eastern States. 1445 01:21:39,760 --> 01:21:42,560 Speaker 1: In the Southern States, the argument is the coyotes a 1446 01:21:42,640 --> 01:21:46,960 Speaker 1: brand new animal on the scene. Uh, it's an invasive 1447 01:21:47,000 --> 01:21:50,200 Speaker 1: and intrusive animal and it's screwing everything up, and so 1448 01:21:51,200 --> 01:21:54,080 Speaker 1: I have an additional reason to be piste off at coyotes. 1449 01:21:55,640 --> 01:22:00,400 Speaker 1: I'll also point out that in the West, hunters don't 1450 01:22:00,600 --> 01:22:04,200 Speaker 1: regard coyotes as an invasive, brand new animal, but they 1451 01:22:04,280 --> 01:22:08,240 Speaker 1: often I was gonna say, there's there's so many things 1452 01:22:08,280 --> 01:22:11,320 Speaker 1: that are paradoxical about the way we see coyotes, and 1453 01:22:11,360 --> 01:22:13,200 Speaker 1: I think you've just laid it out well right there. 1454 01:22:13,320 --> 01:22:16,200 Speaker 1: The totem of the coyote is the jokester, the trickster, 1455 01:22:16,960 --> 01:22:20,840 Speaker 1: like the sly creature. But then there's also the and 1456 01:22:20,920 --> 01:22:25,040 Speaker 1: the paradox is it's also this evil, marauding, go anywhere, 1457 01:22:25,240 --> 01:22:29,439 Speaker 1: adaptable predator. And as you say, there is a bounties 1458 01:22:29,479 --> 01:22:31,559 Speaker 1: There has been in the past bounties on the coyotes 1459 01:22:31,680 --> 01:22:34,479 Speaker 1: set by state fishing game and Wyoming, but also in 1460 01:22:34,640 --> 01:22:38,800 Speaker 1: North Carolina, for example, and in Utah. And so as 1461 01:22:38,840 --> 01:22:43,040 Speaker 1: a hunter, when you're going around traveling around, you certainly see, 1462 01:22:43,960 --> 01:22:47,160 Speaker 1: you know, an aggressive stance taken by our state game 1463 01:22:47,360 --> 01:22:52,120 Speaker 1: officials on these animals. And so within the way that 1464 01:22:52,200 --> 01:22:55,200 Speaker 1: we think about hunting, that's we kind of would follow that, 1465 01:22:55,840 --> 01:22:57,560 Speaker 1: you know, and all sense in all senses of the 1466 01:22:57,600 --> 01:22:59,479 Speaker 1: world follow the idea that, well, if they're paying us 1467 01:22:59,479 --> 01:23:01,280 Speaker 1: a bounty to kill him in Wyoming, we better kill 1468 01:23:01,360 --> 01:23:04,640 Speaker 1: everyone that we see well, because we're doing good for 1469 01:23:05,320 --> 01:23:07,400 Speaker 1: for the state, and the state bologists are telling us 1470 01:23:07,439 --> 01:23:09,360 Speaker 1: this is right. So I mean, there's there certainly has 1471 01:23:09,400 --> 01:23:13,200 Speaker 1: been a paradoxical expression within the hunting community, but the 1472 01:23:13,320 --> 01:23:17,880 Speaker 1: culture at large is it's amazing. Well, the culture at large, 1473 01:23:17,960 --> 01:23:21,080 Speaker 1: I think, um and I think the hunting community falls 1474 01:23:21,160 --> 01:23:25,439 Speaker 1: into this category, has not been keeping up with the 1475 01:23:25,520 --> 01:23:29,640 Speaker 1: scientific literature about these animals. And that's part of it. 1476 01:23:29,880 --> 01:23:33,960 Speaker 1: So you know, I'm not going to say that, Okay, 1477 01:23:34,120 --> 01:23:37,519 Speaker 1: a hunter who sees a coyote trot by when he's 1478 01:23:37,520 --> 01:23:42,479 Speaker 1: in a deer stand and shoots it is engaging in 1479 01:23:42,840 --> 01:23:49,040 Speaker 1: a wrong headed act because I think relying on the 1480 01:23:49,439 --> 01:23:53,520 Speaker 1: knowledge that we've handed down over the last several decades, 1481 01:23:53,840 --> 01:23:56,599 Speaker 1: that would be the logical thing to do. I mean, 1482 01:23:56,680 --> 01:24:01,200 Speaker 1: I I argue in Coyote America that, how however, if 1483 01:24:01,280 --> 01:24:05,400 Speaker 1: you keep up with the modern literature on this animal, 1484 01:24:06,080 --> 01:24:09,479 Speaker 1: what you quickly realize, uh, and you don't have to 1485 01:24:09,600 --> 01:24:12,040 Speaker 1: read a lot of it. But what I'll just offer 1486 01:24:12,160 --> 01:24:15,160 Speaker 1: one example to the Utah example. But what you quickly 1487 01:24:15,280 --> 01:24:19,200 Speaker 1: realize is that the supposition that coyotes are making it 1488 01:24:19,360 --> 01:24:22,120 Speaker 1: more difficult for you to get your deer in the 1489 01:24:22,240 --> 01:24:27,439 Speaker 1: fall is likely unfounded, and shooting one that's trotting by 1490 01:24:27,600 --> 01:24:34,679 Speaker 1: under your dear stand basically is um, it's an act 1491 01:24:35,120 --> 01:24:40,760 Speaker 1: that really is not warranted by the science. Is there 1492 01:24:40,800 --> 01:24:43,080 Speaker 1: something there, an analogy that you would use to to 1493 01:24:43,400 --> 01:24:46,760 Speaker 1: give people to understand like how this is actually going down? 1494 01:24:46,800 --> 01:24:49,120 Speaker 1: Because I think we're talking about this earlier. I think 1495 01:24:49,720 --> 01:24:53,559 Speaker 1: as these ideas that you're speaking of are introduced, like here, hey, 1496 01:24:53,600 --> 01:24:56,120 Speaker 1: here's a study that says this about kids, shoot more, 1497 01:24:56,200 --> 01:24:59,360 Speaker 1: get more. That the kind of pushback that you would 1498 01:24:59,360 --> 01:25:02,960 Speaker 1: expect from you know, the core belief systems around KYO 1499 01:25:03,280 --> 01:25:06,639 Speaker 1: is there. It's like, WHOA, don't try to tell me, well, yeah, 1500 01:25:06,840 --> 01:25:09,880 Speaker 1: and so I mean as I said in Utah, Utah 1501 01:25:10,000 --> 01:25:13,600 Speaker 1: five years ago passed a mule Deer Protection Act, And 1502 01:25:13,680 --> 01:25:17,840 Speaker 1: so Utah is giving hunters, uh people, anybody who shoots 1503 01:25:17,840 --> 01:25:19,360 Speaker 1: at coyote. You don't have to be a hunter with 1504 01:25:19,439 --> 01:25:22,479 Speaker 1: a license. Anybody who shots a coyote gets a fifty 1505 01:25:22,520 --> 01:25:25,320 Speaker 1: dollar bounty if they present it to a state office 1506 01:25:25,880 --> 01:25:30,160 Speaker 1: under the Mule Deer Protection Act. The irony of the 1507 01:25:30,280 --> 01:25:32,960 Speaker 1: passage of this mule Deer Protection Act, and so far 1508 01:25:33,760 --> 01:25:35,960 Speaker 1: the last figures I saw are about a year old. 1509 01:25:36,040 --> 01:25:40,040 Speaker 1: But but a year ago, four years into the passage 1510 01:25:40,080 --> 01:25:43,760 Speaker 1: of that act, Utah had bountied thirty eight thousand coyotes 1511 01:25:43,920 --> 01:25:46,960 Speaker 1: under the Mule Deer Protection Act. The irony of the 1512 01:25:47,160 --> 01:25:51,600 Speaker 1: passage of that act by the Utah legislature was that 1513 01:25:51,960 --> 01:25:56,080 Speaker 1: it came within a year of the publication of a 1514 01:25:56,439 --> 01:26:01,160 Speaker 1: major study that had been done in nearby southeastern Idaho, 1515 01:26:01,800 --> 01:26:06,880 Speaker 1: the bordering state, that argued over a ten year study 1516 01:26:07,640 --> 01:26:13,120 Speaker 1: that coyotes actually play little, are virtually no role in 1517 01:26:13,360 --> 01:26:18,120 Speaker 1: mule deer demographics. That coyotes, to be sure, may end 1518 01:26:18,240 --> 01:26:21,439 Speaker 1: up killing a few lambs as a result of severe 1519 01:26:21,680 --> 01:26:26,040 Speaker 1: winners that weakens the herd and weakens lambs and makes 1520 01:26:26,080 --> 01:26:29,960 Speaker 1: them easier to catch, but that coyotes don't really have 1521 01:26:30,439 --> 01:26:34,400 Speaker 1: any effect usually if there's not a severe winner on 1522 01:26:34,720 --> 01:26:39,040 Speaker 1: mule deer populations. That study was published in a major 1523 01:26:39,360 --> 01:26:43,720 Speaker 1: journal a year before the Utah legislature passed this act, 1524 01:26:44,080 --> 01:26:47,479 Speaker 1: and either they weren't aware of it are they just decided, which, 1525 01:26:47,520 --> 01:26:49,560 Speaker 1: of course is something that we tend to do a 1526 01:26:49,640 --> 01:26:54,200 Speaker 1: little bit these days. I don't like that science, now 1527 01:26:54,360 --> 01:26:56,720 Speaker 1: I don't. I'm not gonna believe that science, and so 1528 01:26:56,880 --> 01:26:58,800 Speaker 1: I'm gonna go ahead and do what I wanted. Yeah, 1529 01:26:58,800 --> 01:27:03,000 Speaker 1: we've driven ourselves into like this weird skepticism culture, where well, 1530 01:27:03,120 --> 01:27:05,400 Speaker 1: that's that scientific journal must have had a they must 1531 01:27:05,439 --> 01:27:07,560 Speaker 1: have had a reason. Sure they had a bias of 1532 01:27:07,640 --> 01:27:09,519 Speaker 1: some kinds. And when they're like, when they're doing that, 1533 01:27:09,640 --> 01:27:13,560 Speaker 1: are they talking? Fawn recruitment is the major factor in 1534 01:27:13,680 --> 01:27:15,880 Speaker 1: all those things? I mean, because that's that's the picture 1535 01:27:15,880 --> 01:27:17,880 Speaker 1: of the kite that we normally get. They're they're killing 1536 01:27:17,920 --> 01:27:19,800 Speaker 1: fawns as soon as they hit the dirt. They're praying 1537 01:27:19,880 --> 01:27:25,559 Speaker 1: upon fawns when at crucial times in the season, crucial 1538 01:27:25,640 --> 01:27:29,160 Speaker 1: times and their maturation. Is that really where this comes 1539 01:27:29,240 --> 01:27:32,439 Speaker 1: down to like is fawn recruitment that like damaged that 1540 01:27:32,640 --> 01:27:36,880 Speaker 1: much by kyo wellulation. According to this study and some 1541 01:27:37,040 --> 01:27:41,120 Speaker 1: of the first studies that were done on coyote predation 1542 01:27:41,439 --> 01:27:44,639 Speaker 1: on game animals by the Murray brothers in the nineteen 1543 01:27:44,680 --> 01:27:50,960 Speaker 1: thirties in Jackson Hole and in Yellowstone Park, the Mury 1544 01:27:51,080 --> 01:27:55,320 Speaker 1: brothers argued and the the people who did this study 1545 01:27:55,400 --> 01:28:01,760 Speaker 1: in Idaho followed the same line of reasoning. The truth is, 1546 01:28:04,080 --> 01:28:08,559 Speaker 1: we've got a myopic view of the history of North America. 1547 01:28:09,280 --> 01:28:13,360 Speaker 1: We from European backgrounds have only been here for five 1548 01:28:13,479 --> 01:28:19,799 Speaker 1: hundred years. Somehow, coyotes and mule deer coyotes and bighorn 1549 01:28:19,920 --> 01:28:24,599 Speaker 1: sheep coyotes and white tailed deer coyotes and prom horns 1550 01:28:25,280 --> 01:28:32,560 Speaker 1: have affected a symbiotic balance between predation and pray that 1551 01:28:32,720 --> 01:28:36,439 Speaker 1: has lasted. Coyotes evolved into their present species a million 1552 01:28:36,520 --> 01:28:40,360 Speaker 1: years ago, so it's lasted for a million years. We've 1553 01:28:40,400 --> 01:28:42,680 Speaker 1: only been here five hundred years, and we've sort of 1554 01:28:42,800 --> 01:28:46,280 Speaker 1: arrived with the idea that, Okay, we're gonna fix everything 1555 01:28:46,400 --> 01:28:48,320 Speaker 1: that's wrong with North America, and one of the things 1556 01:28:48,320 --> 01:28:50,560 Speaker 1: we're gonna do is to get rid of the predators. 1557 01:28:51,000 --> 01:28:54,599 Speaker 1: When we're actually we actually introduced ourselves into a system 1558 01:28:54,880 --> 01:28:56,920 Speaker 1: that was a million years old. I mean, I'll give 1559 01:28:56,920 --> 01:28:59,679 Speaker 1: you an example with prong horns. How prom horns deal 1560 01:29:00,080 --> 01:29:03,880 Speaker 1: with coyote predation. Prom warns, of course, as adults have 1561 01:29:04,160 --> 01:29:08,240 Speaker 1: no no predators because all their predators died out in 1562 01:29:08,280 --> 01:29:12,519 Speaker 1: the Pleistocene. Prong horns can run sixty five hour and 1563 01:29:12,720 --> 01:29:16,240 Speaker 1: coyotes and wolves can only run forty three miles an hour, 1564 01:29:16,560 --> 01:29:19,880 Speaker 1: So adult pronghorns can get away from anything that chases them. 1565 01:29:20,320 --> 01:29:24,960 Speaker 1: But what coyotes do do is prey on funds, so 1566 01:29:25,640 --> 01:29:30,720 Speaker 1: prom horns long ago developed the ability to survive that predation. 1567 01:29:31,280 --> 01:29:34,920 Speaker 1: They have twins with the idea that the coyotes are 1568 01:29:34,920 --> 01:29:37,680 Speaker 1: probably going to get one and I'm going to get 1569 01:29:37,760 --> 01:29:41,200 Speaker 1: one up to replace me in the genetic streame. Uh As. 1570 01:29:41,360 --> 01:29:43,800 Speaker 1: I've written a couple of times about this. It's the 1571 01:29:43,920 --> 01:29:47,040 Speaker 1: prong horns strategy as an air and a spare, and 1572 01:29:47,160 --> 01:29:49,760 Speaker 1: the spare is probably the one that the coyotes are 1573 01:29:49,800 --> 01:29:53,719 Speaker 1: going to get. So what I think, in a way 1574 01:29:53,880 --> 01:29:58,680 Speaker 1: is happening with the hunting community and this lingering animosity, 1575 01:29:59,439 --> 01:30:03,400 Speaker 1: which is obviously old, because what hunting is is it's 1576 01:30:03,439 --> 01:30:07,040 Speaker 1: actually being a predator. And if you're a predator, you 1577 01:30:07,160 --> 01:30:12,040 Speaker 1: resent other predators getting involved in the game. But what 1578 01:30:12,200 --> 01:30:16,959 Speaker 1: I think has made it particularly pronounced in North America 1579 01:30:17,680 --> 01:30:21,439 Speaker 1: is that by a hundred years or so ago, we 1580 01:30:21,600 --> 01:30:25,599 Speaker 1: had eliminated all the predators, and when we created our 1581 01:30:25,800 --> 01:30:30,439 Speaker 1: modern game laws and bag limits, it was based on 1582 01:30:30,520 --> 01:30:35,280 Speaker 1: the idea that human predators would replace the natural ones, 1583 01:30:35,439 --> 01:30:41,160 Speaker 1: that humans would replace cougars and gray wolves and coyotes 1584 01:30:41,280 --> 01:30:44,360 Speaker 1: and whatever else you have out there. And so we 1585 01:30:44,680 --> 01:30:48,240 Speaker 1: sort of went from the early twentieth century until just 1586 01:30:48,400 --> 01:30:53,400 Speaker 1: the last couple of decades in this completely artificial situation 1587 01:30:53,880 --> 01:30:57,200 Speaker 1: where the natural predators of North America were so beaten 1588 01:30:57,280 --> 01:31:01,080 Speaker 1: back that we had no competition. And now that the 1589 01:31:01,240 --> 01:31:03,960 Speaker 1: predators are coming back and we're getting back to what 1590 01:31:04,160 --> 01:31:08,760 Speaker 1: is actually a more natural condition, everybody is screaming and 1591 01:31:08,840 --> 01:31:11,920 Speaker 1: bitching about so the wolves are going to get my elk. 1592 01:31:12,720 --> 01:31:14,920 Speaker 1: But what we've been used to for the last tunder 1593 01:31:14,920 --> 01:31:17,679 Speaker 1: of years is something that's not natural. It's been artificial. 1594 01:31:18,120 --> 01:31:20,519 Speaker 1: So how do you you know? Because I think there's 1595 01:31:20,560 --> 01:31:24,000 Speaker 1: so much fervor around this and both on all I 1596 01:31:24,080 --> 01:31:26,240 Speaker 1: think on all sides here, and what I like about 1597 01:31:26,280 --> 01:31:28,040 Speaker 1: American coyoty and what I like about the way that 1598 01:31:28,080 --> 01:31:30,519 Speaker 1: you approach it is here's the history of it, here's 1599 01:31:30,520 --> 01:31:32,760 Speaker 1: where we are, here's where we're going. I think that 1600 01:31:33,000 --> 01:31:34,880 Speaker 1: I think that makes it strikes a chord with me, 1601 01:31:34,960 --> 01:31:36,920 Speaker 1: and I hope strikes chord with anyone who has read 1602 01:31:36,920 --> 01:31:39,120 Speaker 1: it or will go on to read it. But like 1603 01:31:39,560 --> 01:31:43,080 Speaker 1: in creating a balance, because what I we had a 1604 01:31:43,160 --> 01:31:46,080 Speaker 1: gentleman on the podcast a couple episodes ago that was 1605 01:31:46,760 --> 01:31:49,200 Speaker 1: was charging, what we're talking about for hunters, Hey, all 1606 01:31:49,280 --> 01:31:52,040 Speaker 1: hunters hate predators. And my my response was like, I 1607 01:31:52,160 --> 01:31:54,439 Speaker 1: know a lot of hunters and I don't know any 1608 01:31:54,479 --> 01:31:56,719 Speaker 1: of them that hate predators, and and that is true. 1609 01:31:56,960 --> 01:31:59,200 Speaker 1: And I got criticized by a lot of people that said, hey, listen, 1610 01:31:59,200 --> 01:32:02,320 Speaker 1: you're not addressing what's out there, this reality that there 1611 01:32:02,400 --> 01:32:05,160 Speaker 1: are groups of hunters that do feel this way. So 1612 01:32:05,240 --> 01:32:08,320 Speaker 1: I said, okay, that's a fair comparison. So I'm glad 1613 01:32:08,360 --> 01:32:12,120 Speaker 1: we're having this conversation. My point is, as a hunter 1614 01:32:12,160 --> 01:32:14,960 Speaker 1: in the modern sense, wherever in my time that I 1615 01:32:15,080 --> 01:32:18,000 Speaker 1: have to be a hunter, I feel that balance is 1616 01:32:18,040 --> 01:32:20,640 Speaker 1: something that I'm trying to achieve in all of my activities. 1617 01:32:21,000 --> 01:32:23,880 Speaker 1: And I would hope that those that are setting game regulations, 1618 01:32:23,920 --> 01:32:26,439 Speaker 1: are thinking of those same things. I know that they 1619 01:32:26,479 --> 01:32:29,519 Speaker 1: are in most cases, and so thinking of like starting 1620 01:32:29,600 --> 01:32:31,800 Speaker 1: with the core belief of balancing these things because we 1621 01:32:31,920 --> 01:32:34,439 Speaker 1: have to balance them. They're ever changing, right as you said, 1622 01:32:34,439 --> 01:32:36,560 Speaker 1: they're changing all the time. Our generation will deal with 1623 01:32:36,640 --> 01:32:40,600 Speaker 1: coyotes and the prior generation did not have to. And 1624 01:32:40,760 --> 01:32:43,680 Speaker 1: so how do you what's the balance there? Because I 1625 01:32:43,720 --> 01:32:45,280 Speaker 1: don't I don't know that I've ever heard you or 1626 01:32:45,320 --> 01:32:48,040 Speaker 1: read anything where you said like, let's quit hunting predators, 1627 01:32:48,120 --> 01:32:51,280 Speaker 1: or let's quit hunting coyotes, or let's let's not touch him, 1628 01:32:51,840 --> 01:32:54,360 Speaker 1: like there's some version of balance here that kind of 1629 01:32:54,680 --> 01:32:56,800 Speaker 1: sets us in a course for the future. Yeah, well 1630 01:32:56,880 --> 01:33:00,280 Speaker 1: you've never read that, because I've never written that, never 1631 01:33:00,360 --> 01:33:04,400 Speaker 1: said anything like that. Um, I'm not any hunting in 1632 01:33:04,439 --> 01:33:12,040 Speaker 1: any way, including uh, including predators, particularly because of the 1633 01:33:12,120 --> 01:33:15,280 Speaker 1: simple fact that one of the things biology is teaching 1634 01:33:15,360 --> 01:33:18,120 Speaker 1: us about animals like wolves and coyotes, and coyotes are 1635 01:33:18,160 --> 01:33:22,400 Speaker 1: a particular example of this is they're they're extremely individualistic. 1636 01:33:23,240 --> 01:33:27,520 Speaker 1: And the studies that I used in writing Coyote America 1637 01:33:28,680 --> 01:33:34,360 Speaker 1: pretty much indicated that about ninety of the coyote population 1638 01:33:34,840 --> 01:33:37,439 Speaker 1: they're very good citizens. I mean they most of what 1639 01:33:37,600 --> 01:33:39,680 Speaker 1: coyotes do, the great majority of what katies do in 1640 01:33:39,720 --> 01:33:43,000 Speaker 1: the world is beneficially humans in the broad sense, and 1641 01:33:43,160 --> 01:33:47,080 Speaker 1: most of them are very good citizens of the natural world. 1642 01:33:47,240 --> 01:33:52,439 Speaker 1: But there are four or five, uh, sort of about 1643 01:33:52,479 --> 01:33:55,759 Speaker 1: the same percentage of humans that tend to get into trouble, 1644 01:33:56,520 --> 01:34:00,800 Speaker 1: about that percentage of coyotes. Uh. Individual sick as they are, 1645 01:34:01,439 --> 01:34:05,160 Speaker 1: will develop bad habits, they'll get into trouble. Sometimes they'll 1646 01:34:05,400 --> 01:34:08,200 Speaker 1: you know, a coyote will decide that it's going to 1647 01:34:08,320 --> 01:34:11,720 Speaker 1: kill every housecat that it can find. Sometimes a coyote 1648 01:34:11,800 --> 01:34:16,600 Speaker 1: will specialize in killing fononts. And so my thinking about that, 1649 01:34:16,800 --> 01:34:18,400 Speaker 1: and I think this is the way most of the 1650 01:34:18,479 --> 01:34:21,720 Speaker 1: coyote management programs that have been set up in most 1651 01:34:21,840 --> 01:34:25,439 Speaker 1: urban areas where coyotes, of course have become a prominent 1652 01:34:25,520 --> 01:34:28,080 Speaker 1: feature in the last few decades, is based on this 1653 01:34:28,400 --> 01:34:33,240 Speaker 1: principle that what you do is you leave the good 1654 01:34:33,360 --> 01:34:38,000 Speaker 1: citizen animals alone. If there is a problem one, you 1655 01:34:38,520 --> 01:34:40,880 Speaker 1: take care of it. You you remove it from the 1656 01:34:40,960 --> 01:34:43,880 Speaker 1: population in some way, and that's usually by shooting it, 1657 01:34:44,000 --> 01:34:48,160 Speaker 1: by taking it out. But the majority of the animals 1658 01:34:48,280 --> 01:34:51,880 Speaker 1: are not going to get into trouble, and so the 1659 01:34:52,520 --> 01:34:55,639 Speaker 1: you know, I've heard people say, I've had people say 1660 01:34:55,680 --> 01:34:58,839 Speaker 1: to me, Okay, so a coyote. I think a coyote. 1661 01:34:58,880 --> 01:35:02,400 Speaker 1: In fact, I tell a story about a Novajo guy 1662 01:35:03,200 --> 01:35:05,160 Speaker 1: that I met when I was floating down the Grand 1663 01:35:05,240 --> 01:35:07,360 Speaker 1: King and a few years ago, and he told me 1664 01:35:07,479 --> 01:35:11,519 Speaker 1: this coyote story about he lived and lives in Bluff, Utah, 1665 01:35:11,920 --> 01:35:14,960 Speaker 1: and uh, a coyote was getting into town and it 1666 01:35:15,120 --> 01:35:18,120 Speaker 1: was chasing dogs and it was killing sheep, and so 1667 01:35:18,360 --> 01:35:22,960 Speaker 1: the local Novajo chapter leadership told him to ask Marcus 1668 01:35:23,000 --> 01:35:25,080 Speaker 1: if he would take care of this animal, he would 1669 01:35:25,080 --> 01:35:29,560 Speaker 1: take it out. And he puts his rifle in the 1670 01:35:29,640 --> 01:35:32,519 Speaker 1: gun rack in his truck and he's driving around the 1671 01:35:32,680 --> 01:35:36,280 Speaker 1: dirt roads around Bluff one day, and son of a gun, 1672 01:35:36,479 --> 01:35:39,400 Speaker 1: this coyote comes trotting out right in front of his truck, 1673 01:35:40,280 --> 01:35:42,519 Speaker 1: and so he slams on the brakes, and when the 1674 01:35:42,680 --> 01:35:45,639 Speaker 1: dust settles from the truck stopping, the coyote is still 1675 01:35:45,680 --> 01:35:48,519 Speaker 1: standing there right in front of his truck, twenty feet away, 1676 01:35:48,680 --> 01:35:51,200 Speaker 1: looking right at him, and so he's reaching up to 1677 01:35:51,240 --> 01:35:53,880 Speaker 1: get his rifle down. I mean, and I won't go 1678 01:35:54,000 --> 01:35:56,559 Speaker 1: through the whole story that I tell it's a uh 1679 01:35:56,680 --> 01:35:58,200 Speaker 1: and I tell it in the words that he he 1680 01:35:58,960 --> 01:36:03,519 Speaker 1: described it to me as we were floating down the river. Um. 1681 01:36:03,920 --> 01:36:09,320 Speaker 1: But he ultimately ends up not shooting that animal because 1682 01:36:09,600 --> 01:36:13,320 Speaker 1: of two things. First of all, he thought, I'm not 1683 01:36:13,520 --> 01:36:16,960 Speaker 1: sure this is the right one, you know. I mean 1684 01:36:17,120 --> 01:36:21,400 Speaker 1: Indians suffered in their history in America. Some Indian got 1685 01:36:21,439 --> 01:36:25,719 Speaker 1: into trouble. The cavalry goes out, and the nearest Indian 1686 01:36:25,840 --> 01:36:29,000 Speaker 1: village they can find, they right into and shoot everybody 1687 01:36:29,040 --> 01:36:33,520 Speaker 1: in sight, even if they weren't involved in the depredation 1688 01:36:33,600 --> 01:36:37,160 Speaker 1: of the crime. And so Marcus's idea was, I'm not 1689 01:36:37,320 --> 01:36:39,640 Speaker 1: sure this is the right coyote. It may not be, 1690 01:36:40,080 --> 01:36:42,400 Speaker 1: and I don't want to shoot an animal that's that's 1691 01:36:42,479 --> 01:36:45,160 Speaker 1: not the one that's causing trouble. And the other thing 1692 01:36:45,240 --> 01:36:49,840 Speaker 1: he realizes as he's looking at it is that, man, 1693 01:36:50,400 --> 01:36:55,760 Speaker 1: this thing is gorgeous. Look at it. It is completely confident. 1694 01:36:55,840 --> 01:36:58,680 Speaker 1: At one point, it turns towards him and yawns at 1695 01:36:58,760 --> 01:37:02,960 Speaker 1: him and in just sort of nonchalantly walks off the road. 1696 01:37:03,600 --> 01:37:07,320 Speaker 1: And his take on it was, I'm getting to witness 1697 01:37:07,720 --> 01:37:11,759 Speaker 1: something really beautiful and really wonderful in the natural world. 1698 01:37:12,320 --> 01:37:16,880 Speaker 1: And who am I to erase it and take it away. 1699 01:37:18,040 --> 01:37:23,080 Speaker 1: Why not just enjoy the delight of getting to see 1700 01:37:23,680 --> 01:37:28,439 Speaker 1: something really beautiful happening in nature, rather than killing it 1701 01:37:28,680 --> 01:37:33,280 Speaker 1: and draining all the romance out of the world in 1702 01:37:33,680 --> 01:37:36,840 Speaker 1: some single act that, as he said, I may end 1703 01:37:36,920 --> 01:37:40,880 Speaker 1: up regretting if I do. Yeah, And I think that's I. 1704 01:37:41,160 --> 01:37:43,920 Speaker 1: This is only I only speak for me personally. Like 1705 01:37:44,000 --> 01:37:45,840 Speaker 1: I said, there's plenty people out there to have a 1706 01:37:45,880 --> 01:37:47,720 Speaker 1: more hardened view in the cull ups of hunters than 1707 01:37:47,760 --> 01:37:50,360 Speaker 1: I do. I think if I would, if I were 1708 01:37:50,400 --> 01:37:52,800 Speaker 1: to assess my current state of being when it comes 1709 01:37:52,800 --> 01:37:55,640 Speaker 1: to coyotes, it is more of a question than it 1710 01:37:55,760 --> 01:37:59,040 Speaker 1: is a statement. It's like, what is my role right 1711 01:37:59,080 --> 01:38:02,760 Speaker 1: as a hunter? I? Oh, I trust our model. I 1712 01:38:02,840 --> 01:38:06,800 Speaker 1: trust that my role within hunting an elk or hunting 1713 01:38:06,840 --> 01:38:10,680 Speaker 1: a deer, it it's a model that's worked. It's an 1714 01:38:10,680 --> 01:38:14,120 Speaker 1: equation that has an answer, and I kind of know 1715 01:38:14,240 --> 01:38:17,599 Speaker 1: where it's going. So just for me personally, I think 1716 01:38:17,680 --> 01:38:19,320 Speaker 1: right now, my question be like, where do I fit 1717 01:38:19,400 --> 01:38:21,800 Speaker 1: in as a hunter? I have the ability to take 1718 01:38:21,840 --> 01:38:25,280 Speaker 1: out every kio it was within range? What do I 1719 01:38:25,400 --> 01:38:28,880 Speaker 1: do you know? I've I've certainly been on plenty of 1720 01:38:29,360 --> 01:38:33,960 Speaker 1: ranches in Texas or like in Georgia one time where 1721 01:38:33,960 --> 01:38:35,680 Speaker 1: it was like, if you see the lantern when you 1722 01:38:35,720 --> 01:38:37,080 Speaker 1: sit down on the trees, and I said, listen, if 1723 01:38:37,120 --> 01:38:39,559 Speaker 1: you want to hunt deer here, you must shoot every 1724 01:38:39,600 --> 01:38:42,000 Speaker 1: kid you see no questions. I asked. If I find 1725 01:38:42,040 --> 01:38:46,719 Speaker 1: out you didn't, we're gonna have trouble. And so I've 1726 01:38:46,800 --> 01:38:49,639 Speaker 1: been through those kind of situations. I don't feel bad 1727 01:38:49,720 --> 01:38:52,160 Speaker 1: in shooting a kioude if I if i've I've thought 1728 01:38:52,200 --> 01:38:54,080 Speaker 1: it through, just like I've thought anything through when I 1729 01:38:54,200 --> 01:38:57,320 Speaker 1: kill it. And so, but when I think about your 1730 01:38:57,360 --> 01:38:59,920 Speaker 1: book and kind of what you posit, I want to 1731 01:39:00,320 --> 01:39:02,479 Speaker 1: what's my role? And that's like I said, that's just 1732 01:39:02,560 --> 01:39:04,120 Speaker 1: me personally. I think there's plenty of other people that 1733 01:39:04,200 --> 01:39:07,880 Speaker 1: can say, well, yeah, I appreciate you saying that, Ben, 1734 01:39:08,000 --> 01:39:11,000 Speaker 1: And so, I mean, I guess what I would say 1735 01:39:11,720 --> 01:39:19,439 Speaker 1: is that, uh, it's everyone's personal decision. Um. If it's 1736 01:39:19,479 --> 01:39:22,080 Speaker 1: me sitting in the deer stand and a coyote walks by, 1737 01:39:22,760 --> 01:39:28,360 Speaker 1: I'm putting my rifle down and marveling at the animal. 1738 01:39:29,320 --> 01:39:32,880 Speaker 1: Um unless somebody tells me this is a coyote. That's 1739 01:39:32,960 --> 01:39:37,920 Speaker 1: you know, it's somehow developed, you know, a need to 1740 01:39:38,200 --> 01:39:41,439 Speaker 1: kill every ranch dog within twenty miles and it's got 1741 01:39:41,520 --> 01:39:44,880 Speaker 1: a particular marking that you can recognize, then I might, 1742 01:39:45,479 --> 01:39:49,320 Speaker 1: you know, maybe I would do, uh, do the deed 1743 01:39:49,400 --> 01:39:53,040 Speaker 1: and take it out. But um, personally, I'm not going 1744 01:39:53,120 --> 01:39:54,840 Speaker 1: to do anything like that. But I think it's a 1745 01:39:54,920 --> 01:39:58,240 Speaker 1: decision that everybody has to make. I guess what I'm 1746 01:39:58,360 --> 01:40:06,200 Speaker 1: saying is, know something about these animals other than what 1747 01:40:06,720 --> 01:40:13,639 Speaker 1: you've just absorbed by sort of you know, information handed 1748 01:40:13,720 --> 01:40:19,320 Speaker 1: down or sort of street legends or something urban legends. 1749 01:40:20,120 --> 01:40:28,840 Speaker 1: And don't fool yourself that you're doing something that scientifically 1750 01:40:29,120 --> 01:40:35,360 Speaker 1: and ecologically viable by taking out every coyote that you see, 1751 01:40:35,720 --> 01:40:38,679 Speaker 1: I mean, in a place like Georgia, the reason those 1752 01:40:38,720 --> 01:40:41,200 Speaker 1: coyotes are there is because we got rid of all 1753 01:40:41,280 --> 01:40:45,360 Speaker 1: the red wolves. I mean, in the original natural situation 1754 01:40:45,640 --> 01:40:49,400 Speaker 1: in Georgia seventy five or a hundred years ago was 1755 01:40:49,520 --> 01:40:52,000 Speaker 1: that if you went out and hunted whitetail deer, you 1756 01:40:52,120 --> 01:40:54,439 Speaker 1: were hunting deer in a place where there were also 1757 01:40:54,600 --> 01:40:57,799 Speaker 1: wolves that were taking out deer. And that's how nature 1758 01:40:58,040 --> 01:41:01,840 Speaker 1: is supposed to work, when it an entire heaven and 1759 01:41:01,920 --> 01:41:05,800 Speaker 1: an entire earth, is throw said, But when you extract 1760 01:41:05,920 --> 01:41:10,080 Speaker 1: the predator from it and then get used to they're 1761 01:41:10,120 --> 01:41:13,280 Speaker 1: not being a predatory. Point. Yeah, it's hard to kind 1762 01:41:13,280 --> 01:41:16,640 Speaker 1: of bitch about the fact that, well, the predators from 1763 01:41:16,720 --> 01:41:19,760 Speaker 1: the west are going to fill that niche if they 1764 01:41:19,840 --> 01:41:23,840 Speaker 1: have the opportunity. And so when people tell me, well, 1765 01:41:23,960 --> 01:41:26,040 Speaker 1: you know, everywhere in the South, I'm going to kill 1766 01:41:26,120 --> 01:41:30,160 Speaker 1: every coyote, I c uh, it always makes me think, well, 1767 01:41:30,200 --> 01:41:32,240 Speaker 1: you know, a hundred years ago, you'd have had wolves here, 1768 01:41:32,280 --> 01:41:34,760 Speaker 1: and so that's why there wouldn't have been coyotes in 1769 01:41:34,800 --> 01:41:37,960 Speaker 1: the woods. And I think, like, like we said earlier, 1770 01:41:38,000 --> 01:41:40,559 Speaker 1: there was a moment in time which I was kind 1771 01:41:40,600 --> 01:41:42,479 Speaker 1: of a part of where it's like, they're coming in, 1772 01:41:43,040 --> 01:41:46,160 Speaker 1: they're here, Like, what do we do that they're here? 1773 01:41:46,200 --> 01:41:48,320 Speaker 1: Now you know they weren't here before they're here, Now 1774 01:41:48,400 --> 01:41:50,679 Speaker 1: what do we do kill them all if if they're 1775 01:41:50,680 --> 01:41:52,760 Speaker 1: going to have a negative effect, because what are they 1776 01:41:52,800 --> 01:41:55,880 Speaker 1: coming here to do? Not coming here to play sports 1777 01:41:55,960 --> 01:41:58,720 Speaker 1: and go to the library, coming here to kill and 1778 01:41:58,880 --> 01:42:02,639 Speaker 1: pray upon the things that we've worked hard to kind 1779 01:42:02,720 --> 01:42:06,080 Speaker 1: of balance and and grow. So there was that moment. 1780 01:42:06,160 --> 01:42:09,760 Speaker 1: I think it's probably an honest moment to be they're here, 1781 01:42:10,240 --> 01:42:13,280 Speaker 1: we got to figure something out. But now, but now 1782 01:42:13,320 --> 01:42:16,120 Speaker 1: they're everywhere, so that we're past that moment. It I mean, 1783 01:42:16,520 --> 01:42:19,800 Speaker 1: you're right, that was a moment, but that was a 1784 01:42:20,000 --> 01:42:25,000 Speaker 1: moment of a specific couple of generations, because a generation 1785 01:42:25,200 --> 01:42:28,080 Speaker 1: or two back from there, what you would have been 1786 01:42:28,120 --> 01:42:31,439 Speaker 1: seeing was well, fewer and fewer wolves all the time, 1787 01:42:32,000 --> 01:42:34,439 Speaker 1: fewer and fewer wolves. There should be wolves still here. 1788 01:42:34,760 --> 01:42:37,120 Speaker 1: And then finally we reach a period of two or 1789 01:42:37,200 --> 01:42:39,680 Speaker 1: three generations where while there are no wolves at all, 1790 01:42:39,960 --> 01:42:43,040 Speaker 1: and we got used to that, but that's not the 1791 01:42:43,320 --> 01:42:47,680 Speaker 1: natural world of North America. It's just not natural for 1792 01:42:47,880 --> 01:42:51,360 Speaker 1: us to have no predators on the continent. That's what 1793 01:42:51,520 --> 01:42:55,280 Speaker 1: we managed to create for a while, and everybody got 1794 01:42:55,360 --> 01:42:57,559 Speaker 1: pretty used to it, to be sure. And so now 1795 01:42:58,439 --> 01:43:01,240 Speaker 1: having to confront the fact that predators are back, you know, 1796 01:43:01,360 --> 01:43:04,320 Speaker 1: we're kind of that's super interesting, man, to think about 1797 01:43:04,360 --> 01:43:08,280 Speaker 1: it that way, because then in that scenario, the coyote 1798 01:43:08,360 --> 01:43:12,000 Speaker 1: come becomes the symbol of what of like taking it back. 1799 01:43:12,200 --> 01:43:14,880 Speaker 1: It's the rewilding of the East and the South. I 1800 01:43:14,960 --> 01:43:16,680 Speaker 1: never really thought about that way, but it's like it's 1801 01:43:16,840 --> 01:43:19,840 Speaker 1: there's there was always predators. There was always going to 1802 01:43:19,880 --> 01:43:22,000 Speaker 1: be predators. We did a nice job within our manifest 1803 01:43:22,040 --> 01:43:25,280 Speaker 1: destiny time of kind of of changing the way that 1804 01:43:25,800 --> 01:43:28,479 Speaker 1: everything works. But nature has its way of like, hey 1805 01:43:28,800 --> 01:43:30,800 Speaker 1: we have this animal, Oh we know, we know who 1806 01:43:30,840 --> 01:43:34,960 Speaker 1: can do that job. Coyotes go on. It's that line 1807 01:43:35,000 --> 01:43:40,360 Speaker 1: from Jurassic Park. No, that's that's if you're looking at 1808 01:43:40,439 --> 01:43:42,600 Speaker 1: it with an open mind. You have to see that. 1809 01:43:43,240 --> 01:43:46,360 Speaker 1: You have to and and go at it if you 1810 01:43:46,520 --> 01:43:48,839 Speaker 1: if you're approaching it from that angle, then you're approaching 1811 01:43:48,880 --> 01:43:50,560 Speaker 1: it with an open mind like, hey, look, this was 1812 01:43:50,600 --> 01:43:54,720 Speaker 1: always going to happen. What we got used to is not. 1813 01:43:56,040 --> 01:43:58,960 Speaker 1: It's it's natural for us. But we choose like periods 1814 01:43:58,960 --> 01:44:02,280 Speaker 1: of time as native even natural. We're just choosing periods 1815 01:44:02,320 --> 01:44:04,519 Speaker 1: of time here. But when you look at a million years, 1816 01:44:04,640 --> 01:44:07,600 Speaker 1: that's that's the full boat as far as well we 1817 01:44:07,640 --> 01:44:10,599 Speaker 1: can really you know what the context provides. Well, that's 1818 01:44:10,600 --> 01:44:14,080 Speaker 1: exactly right. And I mean that's how I try to 1819 01:44:14,200 --> 01:44:17,479 Speaker 1: when I write about animals in in Coyote America or 1820 01:44:17,560 --> 01:44:19,560 Speaker 1: in the other book that I published a couple of 1821 01:44:19,600 --> 01:44:23,400 Speaker 1: years ago, American Serengetti, which is about you know, these 1822 01:44:23,560 --> 01:44:26,040 Speaker 1: big animals that we had on the American Great Plains 1823 01:44:26,120 --> 01:44:28,120 Speaker 1: that we lost and we don't even have a historical 1824 01:44:28,200 --> 01:44:30,960 Speaker 1: memory in the United States of only a hundred and 1825 01:44:31,000 --> 01:44:34,320 Speaker 1: twenty five years ago we had a beast sheary in 1826 01:44:34,400 --> 01:44:37,440 Speaker 1: the central part of the United States that was comparable 1827 01:44:37,560 --> 01:44:40,800 Speaker 1: to that of Africa, and we don't even remember that 1828 01:44:40,960 --> 01:44:44,080 Speaker 1: it was there. But that was the largest destruction of 1829 01:44:44,200 --> 01:44:47,960 Speaker 1: animal life anywhere in world history that I was able 1830 01:44:48,000 --> 01:44:50,320 Speaker 1: to discover when I was writing that book. I mean, 1831 01:44:50,360 --> 01:44:54,519 Speaker 1: we took out thirty million bison and fifteen million prong horns. 1832 01:44:54,560 --> 01:44:58,400 Speaker 1: I mean it just it's five to six million wild horses, 1833 01:44:58,640 --> 01:45:02,799 Speaker 1: even in order eradicate this beast area from the American 1834 01:45:02,840 --> 01:45:08,040 Speaker 1: Great Plains. But if you understand, you know, being a 1835 01:45:08,200 --> 01:45:11,720 Speaker 1: hunter or being somewhat observing the natural world in the 1836 01:45:11,880 --> 01:45:16,080 Speaker 1: context of a bigger history than just the immediate time 1837 01:45:16,200 --> 01:45:19,320 Speaker 1: frame that you're in, then suddenly all this starts making 1838 01:45:19,479 --> 01:45:21,800 Speaker 1: a kind of a sense that you've you've never thought of, 1839 01:45:21,920 --> 01:45:24,800 Speaker 1: and we tend to think about hunters is being okay, 1840 01:45:24,880 --> 01:45:27,880 Speaker 1: this is a timeless tradition that we've always engaged in. 1841 01:45:28,360 --> 01:45:30,479 Speaker 1: I mean, we came out of Africa as hunters, we 1842 01:45:30,520 --> 01:45:32,679 Speaker 1: spread around the world as hunters. This is something we've 1843 01:45:32,880 --> 01:45:35,840 Speaker 1: always done. Well, we need to think about the animals 1844 01:45:36,080 --> 01:45:40,360 Speaker 1: in the same way. Not just Okay, I'm a hunter. 1845 01:45:40,520 --> 01:45:43,879 Speaker 1: I come from two million years of evolution out of Africa. 1846 01:45:44,560 --> 01:45:47,080 Speaker 1: But all I can think of is this five year 1847 01:45:47,200 --> 01:45:50,120 Speaker 1: or ten year period that I happen to be hunting deering. Yeah, 1848 01:45:50,120 --> 01:45:52,559 Speaker 1: and you'll find our will find ourselves as hunters tradition. 1849 01:45:52,600 --> 01:45:54,120 Speaker 1: I think talking on both sides of her mouth when 1850 01:45:54,160 --> 01:45:56,760 Speaker 1: that's concerned, you know, in defending hunting, it's like, well, 1851 01:45:56,800 --> 01:45:59,200 Speaker 1: we've always done this. This is our blood, it's in 1852 01:45:59,280 --> 01:46:01,960 Speaker 1: our blood, it's in genetics to do this. And at 1853 01:46:02,000 --> 01:46:04,679 Speaker 1: the same time we're like, well, you know we want 1854 01:46:05,240 --> 01:46:07,320 Speaker 1: I want big bucks. Well here's what I gotta do 1855 01:46:07,400 --> 01:46:08,920 Speaker 1: to get that, And so you end up kind of 1856 01:46:10,200 --> 01:46:13,639 Speaker 1: wanting to use the pro side of hunting being really 1857 01:46:13,720 --> 01:46:16,000 Speaker 1: what made us and a lot of sense has made 1858 01:46:16,040 --> 01:46:18,479 Speaker 1: us who we are and what we are in the 1859 01:46:18,560 --> 01:46:22,040 Speaker 1: sense of human evolution. But we can't then just address 1860 01:46:22,640 --> 01:46:26,719 Speaker 1: wildlife in the natural world and conservation in the context 1861 01:46:26,800 --> 01:46:29,200 Speaker 1: of only the time in which we live. That's yeah, 1862 01:46:29,360 --> 01:46:32,360 Speaker 1: that's that's certainly my point. Yeah, I think that's I 1863 01:46:32,439 --> 01:46:35,599 Speaker 1: think it's worth repeating just because it's it should there 1864 01:46:35,600 --> 01:46:38,400 Speaker 1: should be some profundity in it for anybody who really 1865 01:46:38,479 --> 01:46:42,439 Speaker 1: cares about in the ecosystem, past, present, future or whatever, 1866 01:46:42,680 --> 01:46:44,960 Speaker 1: you know, because it's it's a relationship that we all 1867 01:46:45,000 --> 01:46:47,160 Speaker 1: have that's important. Which it was just another part of, 1868 01:46:47,400 --> 01:46:52,800 Speaker 1: you know, of hunting being in nature. Uh what we 1869 01:46:52,960 --> 01:46:56,679 Speaker 1: always think, what we argue when when you defend hunting, 1870 01:46:57,000 --> 01:46:59,920 Speaker 1: one of the things you say is that, Okay, much 1871 01:47:00,000 --> 01:47:03,880 Speaker 1: sch of it is about being outdoors, being engaged with 1872 01:47:04,600 --> 01:47:08,639 Speaker 1: with nature, being engaged with animals, and so it's bigger, 1873 01:47:09,400 --> 01:47:11,719 Speaker 1: a bigger thing. I think it should be a bigger 1874 01:47:11,800 --> 01:47:16,040 Speaker 1: thing than just Okay, I shot an eight point white 1875 01:47:16,080 --> 01:47:20,280 Speaker 1: tail last week. It should be about seeing Jupiter in 1876 01:47:20,360 --> 01:47:25,280 Speaker 1: the sky before the sun came up, and hearing woodpeckers 1877 01:47:26,280 --> 01:47:31,559 Speaker 1: banging on hardwood trees, uh in that twilight, and hearing 1878 01:47:31,640 --> 01:47:35,120 Speaker 1: squirrels chattering, and watching a red tail hawk come over 1879 01:47:35,240 --> 01:47:38,080 Speaker 1: and swoop down on something that you can't quite tell 1880 01:47:38,200 --> 01:47:41,840 Speaker 1: what it is, and and seeing a coyote trot by. 1881 01:47:42,080 --> 01:47:45,120 Speaker 1: And I mean that's all a part of the the 1882 01:47:45,280 --> 01:47:49,479 Speaker 1: whole of being out there. It's not just the act 1883 01:47:49,600 --> 01:47:53,080 Speaker 1: of pulling the trigger and dropping the animals. Ay man, Yeah, 1884 01:47:53,120 --> 01:47:55,400 Speaker 1: I think there was a tern that that's been used 1885 01:47:55,400 --> 01:47:57,720 Speaker 1: around me a bunch lately, and we've been working on 1886 01:47:57,800 --> 01:47:59,400 Speaker 1: what I was telling you about the back forty project 1887 01:47:59,479 --> 01:48:01,920 Speaker 1: we were working on of Michigan. And there's a term 1888 01:48:02,000 --> 01:48:03,960 Speaker 1: we heard from a bunch of people kind of in 1889 01:48:04,040 --> 01:48:08,240 Speaker 1: a confluence ecosystem services, And I used that in the 1890 01:48:08,320 --> 01:48:11,840 Speaker 1: last episode we're talking about snakes. But for whatever reason, 1891 01:48:11,960 --> 01:48:15,040 Speaker 1: that term and the idea around it helps me understand 1892 01:48:15,840 --> 01:48:19,479 Speaker 1: different species. And it's like each thing has a service 1893 01:48:20,000 --> 01:48:23,040 Speaker 1: to the ecosystem and to erase any one of those 1894 01:48:23,080 --> 01:48:25,320 Speaker 1: things is to eliminate that service, you know. And so 1895 01:48:25,479 --> 01:48:28,240 Speaker 1: can we take people through kind of what that is 1896 01:48:28,320 --> 01:48:31,640 Speaker 1: for kyles, Like what do they bring to these ecosystems? Well, 1897 01:48:32,000 --> 01:48:36,519 Speaker 1: are they occupy the niche of the mid size predator, 1898 01:48:36,840 --> 01:48:41,240 Speaker 1: which is present all over the world. Um jackals occupy 1899 01:48:41,439 --> 01:48:44,080 Speaker 1: that niche in Africa, in the Middle East and increasingly 1900 01:48:44,160 --> 01:48:48,000 Speaker 1: Europe because jackals, which are fairly closely related to coyotes, 1901 01:48:48,120 --> 01:48:49,800 Speaker 1: only split from them a little more than a million 1902 01:48:49,880 --> 01:48:52,479 Speaker 1: years ago, especially the golden jackals, And I've seen like 1903 01:48:52,520 --> 01:48:55,160 Speaker 1: golden is very similar, very similar. They look very much 1904 01:48:55,200 --> 01:48:59,879 Speaker 1: like coyotes, and they are expanding through Europe. Uh tasma 1905 01:49:00,000 --> 01:49:04,479 Speaker 1: An and devils in Tasmania occupy the niche of the 1906 01:49:04,800 --> 01:49:08,360 Speaker 1: excuse me, the mid sized predator. Everywhere in the world. 1907 01:49:08,640 --> 01:49:13,439 Speaker 1: Every ecology has developed, uh, a large predator for for 1908 01:49:13,720 --> 01:49:17,400 Speaker 1: large prey, a mid sized predator, and smaller predators like 1909 01:49:17,640 --> 01:49:20,880 Speaker 1: minks for example, and weasels and things like that. But 1910 01:49:21,000 --> 01:49:24,880 Speaker 1: there's always a mid sized predator everywhere that nature has 1911 01:49:25,280 --> 01:49:28,679 Speaker 1: evolved to fill all the normal niches. And so those 1912 01:49:28,720 --> 01:49:33,479 Speaker 1: midsized predators, uh, they keep a balance, for example, in 1913 01:49:33,760 --> 01:49:38,280 Speaker 1: terms of the numbers of skunks and weasels and raccoons 1914 01:49:38,840 --> 01:49:43,000 Speaker 1: remain lower when the mid sized predator niche is filled. Uh. 1915 01:49:43,360 --> 01:49:48,200 Speaker 1: Every place that we've come close to eliminating coyotes, and 1916 01:49:48,479 --> 01:49:50,880 Speaker 1: and the truth is, of course, as people who read 1917 01:49:50,960 --> 01:49:55,080 Speaker 1: my book will understand, it's essentially impossible, as a result 1918 01:49:55,160 --> 01:49:59,880 Speaker 1: of the peculiar evolution of coyotes alongside wolves, to rem 1919 01:50:00,000 --> 01:50:03,400 Speaker 1: move coyotes, which is another part of the shooting them. 1920 01:50:03,560 --> 01:50:06,840 Speaker 1: You may think you're doing good, you're actually even in 1921 01:50:06,960 --> 01:50:10,200 Speaker 1: that sort of practical sense, you're not doing so. But 1922 01:50:10,360 --> 01:50:13,880 Speaker 1: the niche of the mid sized predator is critical in nature, 1923 01:50:14,320 --> 01:50:17,479 Speaker 1: and so uh, as I said, there's kind of nowhere 1924 01:50:17,520 --> 01:50:19,599 Speaker 1: around the world you can find a place where there's 1925 01:50:19,640 --> 01:50:22,400 Speaker 1: not an animal that occupies that niche that the coyote 1926 01:50:22,479 --> 01:50:24,680 Speaker 1: does here. Now, that's a great way to look at it. 1927 01:50:24,680 --> 01:50:26,640 Speaker 1: And what do you think about trophic cascade? Is that 1928 01:50:26,760 --> 01:50:29,200 Speaker 1: something that like I've heard it use and I've heard 1929 01:50:29,240 --> 01:50:32,000 Speaker 1: it decried. I've I've kind of seen that term bounce around. 1930 01:50:32,560 --> 01:50:34,760 Speaker 1: You have a perspective on that, well, I mean one 1931 01:50:34,800 --> 01:50:37,679 Speaker 1: of the ways to to watch it, uh and see 1932 01:50:37,680 --> 01:50:40,080 Speaker 1: it in action. We should explain, I'm sorry, explain what 1933 01:50:40,120 --> 01:50:44,800 Speaker 1: that is first. The trophic cascade is what happens in 1934 01:50:44,960 --> 01:50:48,120 Speaker 1: nature when a species is removed from its niche. And 1935 01:50:48,200 --> 01:50:50,880 Speaker 1: the one that most of us are familiar with these days, 1936 01:50:50,960 --> 01:50:53,320 Speaker 1: because you can, of course go on YouTube and see 1937 01:50:53,360 --> 01:50:56,200 Speaker 1: examples of it, uh, is the removal of the gray 1938 01:50:56,240 --> 01:50:59,280 Speaker 1: wolf in the West and particularly in Yellowstone National Park. 1939 01:50:59,720 --> 01:51:03,200 Speaker 1: So gray wolves the last gray wolves are killed in 1940 01:51:03,280 --> 01:51:07,599 Speaker 1: Yellowstone in nine so there are no wolves in Yellowstone 1941 01:51:07,600 --> 01:51:13,280 Speaker 1: from when we reintroduced them, uh, period of seventy years. 1942 01:51:14,120 --> 01:51:17,320 Speaker 1: It's that's a very useful period, by the way, and 1943 01:51:17,439 --> 01:51:21,320 Speaker 1: I devote some time to it for coyotes in Yellowstone 1944 01:51:22,080 --> 01:51:27,640 Speaker 1: because coyote evolution alongside wolves is what has given them 1945 01:51:27,880 --> 01:51:32,280 Speaker 1: coyotes their wariness, their intelligence, and their ability to survive 1946 01:51:32,680 --> 01:51:36,720 Speaker 1: almost anything that wolves are humans can throw at them 1947 01:51:36,800 --> 01:51:39,559 Speaker 1: to try to diminish their numbers. They evolved a number 1948 01:51:39,760 --> 01:51:43,800 Speaker 1: of adaptations that allowed them to survive wolf harassment that 1949 01:51:44,200 --> 01:51:47,320 Speaker 1: when we started harassing them, they began to employ against 1950 01:51:47,400 --> 01:51:50,760 Speaker 1: our efforts too. But that period of seventy years where 1951 01:51:51,040 --> 01:51:54,960 Speaker 1: there are no wolves in Yellowstone but the coyote population 1952 01:51:55,120 --> 01:51:58,120 Speaker 1: is there, one of the things we realize is that 1953 01:51:58,479 --> 01:52:03,200 Speaker 1: when coyotes are not harassed and not persecuted, their population 1954 01:52:03,320 --> 01:52:06,000 Speaker 1: doesn't just keep growing and growing and growing so that 1955 01:52:06,120 --> 01:52:09,400 Speaker 1: they spill out of Yellowstone and and just run amuck 1956 01:52:09,479 --> 01:52:13,479 Speaker 1: all over the whole West. Coyotes, like most animals, rise 1957 01:52:13,640 --> 01:52:16,720 Speaker 1: to the level of the carrying capacity of the landscape, 1958 01:52:17,200 --> 01:52:21,160 Speaker 1: and their numbers don't really grow beyond that. So one 1959 01:52:21,200 --> 01:52:23,880 Speaker 1: of the things that biologists who were studying coyotes and 1960 01:52:23,960 --> 01:52:28,800 Speaker 1: Yellowstone during this interval when wolves weren't there realized is that, wow, 1961 01:52:29,400 --> 01:52:32,479 Speaker 1: the normal litter size for coyotes is about five to 1962 01:52:32,680 --> 01:52:36,960 Speaker 1: six pups. But in this situation where coyote numbers have 1963 01:52:37,160 --> 01:52:41,080 Speaker 1: risen to the level of the carrying capacity, they're only 1964 01:52:41,160 --> 01:52:43,320 Speaker 1: able to get they may have four or five pups, 1965 01:52:43,400 --> 01:52:46,880 Speaker 1: but they're only able to raise a couple because there's 1966 01:52:46,920 --> 01:52:49,519 Speaker 1: just not the space on the landscape for any more 1967 01:52:49,600 --> 01:52:54,960 Speaker 1: of them. But the trophic realization, the trophic cascade realization 1968 01:52:55,120 --> 01:53:00,439 Speaker 1: comes when we reintroduce wolves back into the park. And 1969 01:53:00,600 --> 01:53:05,400 Speaker 1: when wolves gray wolves get back into Yellowstone, the population 1970 01:53:05,520 --> 01:53:07,839 Speaker 1: of coyotes, and this is sort of the way trophic 1971 01:53:07,960 --> 01:53:12,840 Speaker 1: cascades work all the way down the line. While coyotes 1972 01:53:12,920 --> 01:53:16,080 Speaker 1: were there and wolves were not, we think the numbers 1973 01:53:16,160 --> 01:53:20,840 Speaker 1: of raccoons, skunks, and weasels probably went down, and even 1974 01:53:21,040 --> 01:53:25,320 Speaker 1: foxes probably went down because of the effect of coyotes 1975 01:53:25,520 --> 01:53:29,000 Speaker 1: rising to the level of the carrying capacity. When wolves 1976 01:53:29,120 --> 01:53:33,559 Speaker 1: come in, the number of coyotes drops by nearly fifty 1977 01:53:34,400 --> 01:53:39,240 Speaker 1: in Yellowstone. That allows the number of weasels, minks, skunks, 1978 01:53:39,360 --> 01:53:43,400 Speaker 1: and raccoons to rise. And of course the other effect 1979 01:53:43,520 --> 01:53:51,000 Speaker 1: it has because prey animals, their instinct about predators is 1980 01:53:51,520 --> 01:53:57,759 Speaker 1: unless they have been culturally trained to flee, they don't 1981 01:53:57,840 --> 01:54:02,080 Speaker 1: really flee predators. And we had several generations of elk 1982 01:54:02,520 --> 01:54:06,320 Speaker 1: in Yellowstone National Park that had not learned what to 1983 01:54:06,439 --> 01:54:10,120 Speaker 1: do when wolves come back on the landscape and elk 1984 01:54:10,320 --> 01:54:13,760 Speaker 1: basically stood around and let wolves just run them down 1985 01:54:14,160 --> 01:54:17,320 Speaker 1: and kill them one after another. But when wolves finally 1986 01:54:17,360 --> 01:54:20,400 Speaker 1: did start scaring the crap out of the elk population 1987 01:54:20,760 --> 01:54:23,400 Speaker 1: in Yellowstone and of course lowering their numbers as a 1988 01:54:23,479 --> 01:54:27,519 Speaker 1: result of predation, that began to produce an effect on 1989 01:54:28,479 --> 01:54:32,760 Speaker 1: the plant community, so that suddenly you've got cotton woods 1990 01:54:32,880 --> 01:54:38,840 Speaker 1: and aspens able to grow again when elk herbivory had 1991 01:54:38,920 --> 01:54:43,160 Speaker 1: basically kept those species almost cropped down to the point 1992 01:54:43,200 --> 01:54:47,720 Speaker 1: where they couldn't replace themselves. So the Yellowstone with the 1993 01:54:47,840 --> 01:54:52,360 Speaker 1: wolf recovery has provided this kind of remarkable look at 1994 01:54:53,240 --> 01:54:56,560 Speaker 1: a landscape that when it's complete it looks like this, 1995 01:54:56,840 --> 01:55:00,200 Speaker 1: but when you take one animal out or another animal out, 1996 01:55:00,520 --> 01:55:04,800 Speaker 1: it changes the whole landscape, even down to the plant communities. Yeah, 1997 01:55:05,240 --> 01:55:08,280 Speaker 1: that's so compelling, And and the coyotes like where it 1998 01:55:08,400 --> 01:55:10,720 Speaker 1: sits and all. This whole story kind of to me 1999 01:55:10,920 --> 01:55:13,520 Speaker 1: is painted well both in that but in also like 2000 01:55:14,160 --> 01:55:16,960 Speaker 1: we went through at the turn of the century and 2001 01:55:17,040 --> 01:55:18,520 Speaker 1: on into what we'll call, I guess we could just 2002 01:55:18,560 --> 01:55:21,800 Speaker 1: call like the conservation and recovery period of our hunting 2003 01:55:21,920 --> 01:55:25,520 Speaker 1: history if we can market somehow. It's like we we've 2004 01:55:26,520 --> 01:55:29,600 Speaker 1: we wiped out a lot of things. We established some 2005 01:55:29,680 --> 01:55:33,560 Speaker 1: principles and practices and ideologies that would help us bring 2006 01:55:33,680 --> 01:55:37,240 Speaker 1: those things back more in certain landscapes than others. Right, 2007 01:55:37,280 --> 01:55:39,160 Speaker 1: We've picked yellow stone in other places to kind of 2008 01:55:39,240 --> 01:55:43,840 Speaker 1: have these havens, and now we're kind of there, like 2009 01:55:44,440 --> 01:55:46,120 Speaker 1: in a lot of ways with unclos were in the 2010 01:55:46,400 --> 01:55:48,560 Speaker 1: best of times. You know, there's more white tail deer 2011 01:55:48,600 --> 01:55:51,560 Speaker 1: here than wind. Columbus put a boat down, didn't know 2012 01:55:51,560 --> 01:55:56,920 Speaker 1: where he was. We're so we we've have to kind 2013 01:55:56,960 --> 01:55:59,920 Speaker 1: of I think I've been thinking this lately. We kind 2014 01:56:00,000 --> 01:56:01,600 Speaker 1: of have to start to adjust the way that we 2015 01:56:02,000 --> 01:56:04,520 Speaker 1: we look at things were no longer our model of 2016 01:56:04,600 --> 01:56:07,880 Speaker 1: conservation is no longer helping to recover many of these things. 2017 01:56:08,640 --> 01:56:11,360 Speaker 1: It's looking at like, how do we manage what's here, 2018 01:56:11,920 --> 01:56:15,120 Speaker 1: keep it where it is, provide balance, and then allow 2019 01:56:15,280 --> 01:56:18,080 Speaker 1: some of these things that we've we've extrapated to come 2020 01:56:18,120 --> 01:56:21,480 Speaker 1: back and find a way to be and hopefully, hopefully 2021 01:56:21,600 --> 01:56:24,200 Speaker 1: hunting can can help facilitate that in a way that 2022 01:56:24,320 --> 01:56:27,240 Speaker 1: makes sense. And that's where we get to some of 2023 01:56:27,280 --> 01:56:29,440 Speaker 1: the arguments that we have and we've had over grizzly 2024 01:56:29,520 --> 01:56:32,560 Speaker 1: bears and gray wolves and things like that. So I 2025 01:56:32,640 --> 01:56:34,080 Speaker 1: think if you can maybe come into it with like 2026 01:56:34,240 --> 01:56:36,760 Speaker 1: maybe an honest I don't know if you agree with 2027 01:56:36,840 --> 01:56:39,320 Speaker 1: that kind of characterization of where we are, but like, 2028 01:56:39,440 --> 01:56:41,120 Speaker 1: if we can come to it with sort of an 2029 01:56:41,160 --> 01:56:43,760 Speaker 1: honest look at kind of the current state of being, 2030 01:56:43,800 --> 01:56:45,720 Speaker 1: that maybe we could address it better. Because there certainly 2031 01:56:45,840 --> 01:56:47,600 Speaker 1: is a lot of fervor and a lot of anger 2032 01:56:47,720 --> 01:56:50,600 Speaker 1: around predators and what we do with them and in 2033 01:56:50,680 --> 01:56:54,920 Speaker 1: the roles of of us. Yeah, there is. I think 2034 01:56:55,000 --> 01:56:57,720 Speaker 1: we're getting there though, and I have I have great, 2035 01:56:58,120 --> 01:57:03,400 Speaker 1: great hopes for coming generations because I think the coming 2036 01:57:03,440 --> 01:57:07,720 Speaker 1: generations if they if they read uh, and if they 2037 01:57:08,480 --> 01:57:12,320 Speaker 1: pay attention to good science, uh and read science, and 2038 01:57:13,040 --> 01:57:18,360 Speaker 1: because what science basically is, it's for people who are outdoors. 2039 01:57:18,560 --> 01:57:22,600 Speaker 1: It's woodcraft, it's mountain craft, it's river craft. It's I mean, 2040 01:57:22,960 --> 01:57:25,720 Speaker 1: as I was telling you earlier today we were having lunch. 2041 01:57:25,800 --> 01:57:28,720 Speaker 1: You know, one of the experiences I've I've been getting 2042 01:57:28,760 --> 01:57:32,560 Speaker 1: to enjoy and doing talks around the country about both 2043 01:57:32,600 --> 01:57:38,080 Speaker 1: the Coyote Book and American Serengetti is having uh people 2044 01:57:38,200 --> 01:57:43,040 Speaker 1: who are wilderness guides uh come to these reading events 2045 01:57:43,120 --> 01:57:46,320 Speaker 1: that I've been doing and basically saying man, I've been 2046 01:57:46,440 --> 01:57:50,280 Speaker 1: absorbing the stuff from your books. I heard about you. 2047 01:57:50,440 --> 01:57:54,080 Speaker 1: I learned about you from Joe Rogan podcasts or Stephen 2048 01:57:54,160 --> 01:57:57,440 Speaker 1: Ronella podcasts a Mediator podcast, and I got your books, 2049 01:57:57,440 --> 01:58:00,560 Speaker 1: and I've been absorbing that information because it's giving me 2050 01:58:00,760 --> 01:58:04,720 Speaker 1: additional woodcraft and mountain craft. And so, I mean, that's 2051 01:58:04,840 --> 01:58:09,680 Speaker 1: really kind of what science does. If you absorb it 2052 01:58:09,800 --> 01:58:13,640 Speaker 1: and incorporated, it makes your experience of the world out 2053 01:58:13,680 --> 01:58:18,280 Speaker 1: there that much richer that you suddenly began to understand 2054 01:58:18,360 --> 01:58:21,160 Speaker 1: how it works, how it's worked in the past, how 2055 01:58:21,680 --> 01:58:23,880 Speaker 1: we changed it without I mean, we didn't know what 2056 01:58:23,960 --> 01:58:26,000 Speaker 1: the hell we were doing when we were getting rid 2057 01:58:26,040 --> 01:58:28,760 Speaker 1: of all those predators. We just were employing the European 2058 01:58:29,040 --> 01:58:31,960 Speaker 1: standard of you know, you wipe out the wolves. That's 2059 01:58:32,000 --> 01:58:36,760 Speaker 1: what they did in Europe even years ago. So we 2060 01:58:36,920 --> 01:58:39,440 Speaker 1: just came to North America and did the same thing 2061 01:58:39,600 --> 01:58:42,600 Speaker 1: without really understanding what the consequences were going to be. 2062 01:58:42,840 --> 01:58:46,360 Speaker 1: And now we're getting an opportunity to, you know, to 2063 01:58:46,480 --> 01:58:50,560 Speaker 1: experience the whole enchilata, the entire heaven and entire earth 2064 01:58:51,880 --> 01:58:54,680 Speaker 1: work like yours is. Like it provides some some level 2065 01:58:54,720 --> 01:58:58,520 Speaker 1: of empowerment to someone that's looking to make these informed choices. 2066 01:58:58,840 --> 01:59:01,880 Speaker 1: You know, we've I've had folk on the podcast. Had 2067 01:59:02,080 --> 01:59:04,240 Speaker 1: a friend of mine due Shawn's Mentana on the podcast 2068 01:59:04,320 --> 01:59:07,920 Speaker 1: that was grew up in Czechoslovakia, and he talked about 2069 01:59:09,240 --> 01:59:12,560 Speaker 1: this idea of hunters being this this great source of 2070 01:59:12,720 --> 01:59:15,520 Speaker 1: knowledge because they were the selectors. They were the ones 2071 01:59:15,600 --> 01:59:17,920 Speaker 1: going out into the wilderness and decide like they had 2072 01:59:17,960 --> 01:59:20,360 Speaker 1: to take stock of everything that was in the woods 2073 01:59:20,360 --> 01:59:22,440 Speaker 1: because they had to understand what the selective was not 2074 01:59:22,560 --> 01:59:26,480 Speaker 1: the select and they had this great responsibility within not 2075 01:59:26,680 --> 01:59:29,879 Speaker 1: only like the smaller communities about it, in the greater culture. 2076 01:59:30,960 --> 01:59:34,560 Speaker 1: It's in. We have some of that still, but it's 2077 01:59:34,600 --> 01:59:38,000 Speaker 1: it's it's messy, it's it's it's involved in all the 2078 01:59:38,080 --> 01:59:39,560 Speaker 1: other things we did. Like you said that, we didn't 2079 01:59:39,600 --> 01:59:41,440 Speaker 1: know what we were doing at the time, and so 2080 01:59:41,560 --> 01:59:44,360 Speaker 1: we had a lot of looking back at our you know, 2081 01:59:44,880 --> 01:59:49,600 Speaker 1: our predestined move across this country. Like we fixed a 2082 01:59:49,640 --> 01:59:52,280 Speaker 1: lot of it, but we're not all the way there now, 2083 01:59:52,360 --> 01:59:54,560 Speaker 1: we're not all way there. But you know that's kind 2084 01:59:54,600 --> 01:59:59,280 Speaker 1: of what the big context, the big history is for, 2085 02:00:00,080 --> 02:00:06,560 Speaker 1: is uh, wrapping your head around the long term patterns 2086 02:00:06,880 --> 02:00:12,960 Speaker 1: and trying to understand where along the line of the 2087 02:00:13,120 --> 02:00:18,360 Speaker 1: trajectory we are and how you correct the errors that 2088 02:00:18,680 --> 02:00:21,200 Speaker 1: we've made in the past, and how you try to 2089 02:00:21,640 --> 02:00:25,080 Speaker 1: set up a future that's going to be more equitable 2090 02:00:25,240 --> 02:00:30,000 Speaker 1: for for not just us. It's not all about us, 2091 02:00:30,520 --> 02:00:33,400 Speaker 1: of course, it's about all the rest of the natural 2092 02:00:33,440 --> 02:00:37,040 Speaker 1: world that's out there. And so uh, as I said, 2093 02:00:37,120 --> 02:00:40,520 Speaker 1: I'm I'm I'm optimistic, especially for the you know, the 2094 02:00:40,640 --> 02:00:45,280 Speaker 1: coming generations. I think I think that the generations that 2095 02:00:45,480 --> 02:00:48,200 Speaker 1: are here now and are are you know, on the 2096 02:00:48,360 --> 02:00:53,320 Speaker 1: eve of emerging, uh in sort of manning the tiller 2097 02:00:53,440 --> 02:00:56,520 Speaker 1: of the direction of the country. Uh, They're going to 2098 02:00:56,560 --> 02:01:00,520 Speaker 1: be less influenced by the kind of propagand and like 2099 02:01:00,720 --> 02:01:04,640 Speaker 1: the Bureau of Biological Survey was putting out about predators 2100 02:01:04,720 --> 02:01:07,720 Speaker 1: in the twenties, thirties and forties, Yeah, what what is 2101 02:01:07,760 --> 02:01:09,720 Speaker 1: there to kind of put a bowl on that? What 2102 02:01:10,680 --> 02:01:12,320 Speaker 1: what is there that people can go out and grab? 2103 02:01:12,400 --> 02:01:14,680 Speaker 1: And we've we've covered cloudy America. But when we're looking 2104 02:01:14,720 --> 02:01:16,480 Speaker 1: for data and looking for like what what are the 2105 02:01:16,560 --> 02:01:18,720 Speaker 1: things the key in on is like, hey, this is valuable, 2106 02:01:18,840 --> 02:01:21,360 Speaker 1: this has value. Is there anything that you've in your 2107 02:01:21,680 --> 02:01:23,640 Speaker 1: putting the book together you had to I'm sure calmed 2108 02:01:23,720 --> 02:01:26,400 Speaker 1: through lots and lots of resources. Is there something that 2109 02:01:26,480 --> 02:01:31,440 Speaker 1: you use the tool to maybe to seek out legitimacy. Well, 2110 02:01:31,560 --> 02:01:37,640 Speaker 1: I'm I'm kind of a big advocate of understanding what 2111 02:01:37,960 --> 02:01:41,680 Speaker 1: was here, uh five hundred years ago, a thousand years ago. 2112 02:01:42,160 --> 02:01:44,080 Speaker 1: I mean, you go back twelve thousand years ago. Of 2113 02:01:44,160 --> 02:01:47,240 Speaker 1: course we had obsary that really was an analog of 2114 02:01:47,520 --> 02:01:53,040 Speaker 1: of Africa with mammoths and camels and ground slots and 2115 02:01:53,240 --> 02:01:56,480 Speaker 1: say were tooth cats and and you know, we humans, 2116 02:01:56,560 --> 02:02:01,520 Speaker 1: probably again without knowing what the hell we were doing, uh, 2117 02:02:01,680 --> 02:02:04,520 Speaker 1: probably played a major role in the simplification of that. 2118 02:02:04,640 --> 02:02:07,920 Speaker 1: And be Sherry ten thousand years ago to the eternal 2119 02:02:08,520 --> 02:02:11,280 Speaker 1: regret of all of the rest of us down the timeline. 2120 02:02:11,360 --> 02:02:14,160 Speaker 1: I mean, I'd love to be able to walk outside, 2121 02:02:14,360 --> 02:02:16,840 Speaker 1: uh you know, into the hills around Bozeman and see 2122 02:02:16,880 --> 02:02:19,640 Speaker 1: a herd of mammoths go by, and those things would 2123 02:02:19,680 --> 02:02:21,600 Speaker 1: have been here ten thousand years ago. I mean, we 2124 02:02:21,680 --> 02:02:25,520 Speaker 1: know there are mammoth sites within fifty miles of here. Um, 2125 02:02:26,320 --> 02:02:30,360 Speaker 1: so I I kind of uh, you know, I'm I'm 2126 02:02:30,400 --> 02:02:35,200 Speaker 1: an advocate of the big history thing. Um. You know, 2127 02:02:35,360 --> 02:02:37,839 Speaker 1: I won't say I'm necessarily a mammoth of really our 2128 02:02:37,920 --> 02:02:43,840 Speaker 1: advocate of rewilding with mammoths. Um. But I do think 2129 02:02:44,040 --> 02:02:51,240 Speaker 1: that North America is not too urbanized, not too developed 2130 02:02:51,720 --> 02:02:55,400 Speaker 1: for us to have a good semblance of the wild 2131 02:02:55,480 --> 02:03:02,080 Speaker 1: America that we managed to acquire when uh, when Europeans 2132 02:03:02,120 --> 02:03:05,120 Speaker 1: and native people met one another five hundred years ago. 2133 02:03:05,560 --> 02:03:08,200 Speaker 1: Indian people had managed over the ten thousand years since 2134 02:03:08,240 --> 02:03:10,840 Speaker 1: the plies to saying to keep things. I mean, they 2135 02:03:11,120 --> 02:03:14,920 Speaker 1: did pretty damn well for ten thousand years. And that's 2136 02:03:15,000 --> 02:03:17,640 Speaker 1: kind of the world i'd like to I'd like to see. 2137 02:03:18,320 --> 02:03:22,760 Speaker 1: And uh, it means that animals like coyotes and gray 2138 02:03:22,800 --> 02:03:26,720 Speaker 1: wolves deserve a place there. They're a functioning part of 2139 02:03:26,840 --> 02:03:30,600 Speaker 1: the ecology of this continent for millions of years. And 2140 02:03:31,280 --> 02:03:33,000 Speaker 1: who the hell were we to think that we were 2141 02:03:33,000 --> 02:03:36,120 Speaker 1: gonna walk in here and overnight just take them out 2142 02:03:36,200 --> 02:03:39,280 Speaker 1: without any thought. I think that's I find that in 2143 02:03:39,400 --> 02:03:42,840 Speaker 1: all of and there's very many contentious points, and for 2144 02:03:42,960 --> 02:03:45,360 Speaker 1: whatever reason, I like to run right out of it 2145 02:03:46,200 --> 02:03:49,600 Speaker 1: to do it that way. But I think in general 2146 02:03:49,720 --> 02:03:51,880 Speaker 1: that's a good place, Like that last statement you made 2147 02:03:51,920 --> 02:03:53,680 Speaker 1: is a good place to get into the middle where 2148 02:03:53,760 --> 02:03:55,560 Speaker 1: we can have a conversation, like if we all can 2149 02:03:55,640 --> 02:03:59,880 Speaker 1: agree that this is not only valuable in the present tense, 2150 02:04:00,000 --> 02:04:02,680 Speaker 1: in the past tense, and it's inevitable for the future tense. 2151 02:04:03,760 --> 02:04:06,360 Speaker 1: How when we all value these animals, and then what 2152 02:04:06,440 --> 02:04:08,360 Speaker 1: do we do? We might I think people that are 2153 02:04:09,080 --> 02:04:11,000 Speaker 1: folks we've had in here that are anti hunting on 2154 02:04:11,080 --> 02:04:13,480 Speaker 1: the on the predator side of things, might say, well, 2155 02:04:13,520 --> 02:04:16,080 Speaker 1: we just don't touch them. We let them play their 2156 02:04:16,120 --> 02:04:18,360 Speaker 1: service for the ecosystem. We don't touch them, We allow 2157 02:04:18,440 --> 02:04:20,800 Speaker 1: them to do whatever they want to do. Hunters might 2158 02:04:20,800 --> 02:04:23,280 Speaker 1: say that, but what if we just we just trim 2159 02:04:23,360 --> 02:04:26,040 Speaker 1: around the edges, like we there can be a service 2160 02:04:26,120 --> 02:04:29,720 Speaker 1: that hunters can then provide to Um, there's a conversation 2161 02:04:29,760 --> 02:04:31,560 Speaker 1: we had right there. We can certainly look at the 2162 02:04:31,640 --> 02:04:33,800 Speaker 1: data and look at what you've learned about the history 2163 02:04:33,840 --> 02:04:36,480 Speaker 1: of what might happen and make some sort of sensical 2164 02:04:36,680 --> 02:04:40,120 Speaker 1: like just like have some some pragmatism and go forward. 2165 02:04:40,800 --> 02:04:43,640 Speaker 1: Um will we do that? I don't know, but we 2166 02:04:43,760 --> 02:04:46,360 Speaker 1: can certainly do that in pockets. And I think conversations 2167 02:04:46,400 --> 02:04:48,160 Speaker 1: like this one can help move it. Well, I hope so. 2168 02:04:48,400 --> 02:04:51,160 Speaker 1: I mean one of the things, uh, I kind of realized, 2169 02:04:51,920 --> 02:04:55,640 Speaker 1: uh a few years ago the Cowboy poets and Nevada 2170 02:04:56,120 --> 02:04:59,600 Speaker 1: asked me to do a keynote address for uh there 2171 02:05:00,000 --> 02:05:02,440 Speaker 1: annual meeting. That's something to put on your resume. Yeah, 2172 02:05:04,240 --> 02:05:06,720 Speaker 1: for a cowboy. Everybody wants to be a cowboy Poe 2173 02:05:06,720 --> 02:05:09,440 Speaker 1: at least. And there was a There was a crowd 2174 02:05:09,560 --> 02:05:13,840 Speaker 1: of about eight or nine hundred people, many of whom 2175 02:05:14,160 --> 02:05:17,520 Speaker 1: you know. As a I realized that as a former 2176 02:05:17,720 --> 02:05:22,960 Speaker 1: university professor, I probably didn't necessarily share uh some of 2177 02:05:23,000 --> 02:05:25,640 Speaker 1: the same values with some of the people in the audience. 2178 02:05:26,640 --> 02:05:29,480 Speaker 1: But I realized before I did that talk, and this 2179 02:05:29,640 --> 02:05:31,280 Speaker 1: is kind of the way I pitched it, that the 2180 02:05:31,560 --> 02:05:35,880 Speaker 1: one thing we all had in common that I had 2181 02:05:35,960 --> 02:05:39,480 Speaker 1: in common with them and they had in common with me. 2182 02:05:40,320 --> 02:05:42,760 Speaker 1: And this is how I tried to try to sort 2183 02:05:42,800 --> 02:05:47,240 Speaker 1: of to aim the talk that I did was that 2184 02:05:47,560 --> 02:05:52,920 Speaker 1: we all were in love with the Old West. They 2185 02:05:53,080 --> 02:05:56,760 Speaker 1: love the Old West. I love the Old West. They 2186 02:05:56,920 --> 02:05:59,520 Speaker 1: might have liked the Old West because of horses and 2187 02:05:59,760 --> 02:06:02,920 Speaker 1: cow attle. I like the Old West because of the 2188 02:06:02,960 --> 02:06:06,480 Speaker 1: world Lewis and Clark saw. But we were all in 2189 02:06:06,640 --> 02:06:11,240 Speaker 1: love with that common vision of what the American West 2190 02:06:11,520 --> 02:06:14,680 Speaker 1: once was. And I think in a larger sense, we 2191 02:06:14,880 --> 02:06:16,800 Speaker 1: kind of probably are all kind of in love with 2192 02:06:16,920 --> 02:06:21,040 Speaker 1: what America once was, all of the country, and if 2193 02:06:21,080 --> 02:06:25,520 Speaker 1: we can somehow just start there and use that as 2194 02:06:25,600 --> 02:06:29,000 Speaker 1: a commonality, then maybe we can as we get into 2195 02:06:29,080 --> 02:06:32,200 Speaker 1: all these separate issues and the nuances of it all, 2196 02:06:32,680 --> 02:06:35,240 Speaker 1: we can all keep remembering this is the one thing 2197 02:06:35,480 --> 02:06:38,240 Speaker 1: we all want to see. It almost always comes back 2198 02:06:38,280 --> 02:06:40,240 Speaker 1: to value systems, right, I mean, it always comes back 2199 02:06:40,280 --> 02:06:42,240 Speaker 1: to the thing of the lucky thing we're having all 2200 02:06:42,320 --> 02:06:46,160 Speaker 1: this conversation is that we all value these things like 2201 02:06:46,240 --> 02:06:47,960 Speaker 1: they wouldn't be here if we didn't all agree that 2202 02:06:48,000 --> 02:06:50,560 Speaker 1: they have value. Let's let's all agree. And I think 2203 02:06:50,600 --> 02:06:52,120 Speaker 1: maybe with coyotes, that's the one thing you can just 2204 02:06:52,240 --> 02:06:53,840 Speaker 1: kind of spin back to. Can we just all agree 2205 02:06:53,880 --> 02:06:55,800 Speaker 1: they have value. They wouldn't be here, they wouldn't be 2206 02:06:55,840 --> 02:06:58,520 Speaker 1: so damn adaptable, they wouldn't be what they are if 2207 02:06:58,560 --> 02:07:01,000 Speaker 1: they didn't have value. They just it's impossible to say 2208 02:07:01,040 --> 02:07:05,000 Speaker 1: those things and and have any monica the truth. I mean, 2209 02:07:05,080 --> 02:07:08,000 Speaker 1: they just are. So it's it's nice to through your 2210 02:07:08,080 --> 02:07:10,480 Speaker 1: work and conversations they just just to freaking see it 2211 02:07:10,720 --> 02:07:13,960 Speaker 1: for a minute, stop and see it and think about it, 2212 02:07:14,040 --> 02:07:16,200 Speaker 1: and then go back to the debate about what we 2213 02:07:16,240 --> 02:07:18,200 Speaker 1: want to do with them, you know, when they're eating 2214 02:07:18,240 --> 02:07:22,280 Speaker 1: the fawns and whacking lambs and and bothering our cattle 2215 02:07:22,320 --> 02:07:24,680 Speaker 1: and eating the chickens in downtown l a of the 2216 02:07:25,440 --> 02:07:31,000 Speaker 1: of the of the foe, aristocratic uh you know, tech 2217 02:07:31,520 --> 02:07:33,800 Speaker 1: guy or the or in the case of like Joe 2218 02:07:33,880 --> 02:07:37,360 Speaker 1: Rogan is the famous podcaster whose chickens are getting He's 2219 02:07:37,400 --> 02:07:41,080 Speaker 1: living in Ventura in Hollywood Hills and getting his chickens 2220 02:07:41,120 --> 02:07:43,640 Speaker 1: whacked by coyotes. You know, So it's like there's some 2221 02:07:43,960 --> 02:07:46,600 Speaker 1: some weird do you feel like there's some weird irony 2222 02:07:46,800 --> 02:07:50,920 Speaker 1: and in the current state of like urban coyotes, like 2223 02:07:51,440 --> 02:07:55,360 Speaker 1: they just don't give a shit, Like well they The 2224 02:07:55,480 --> 02:07:58,200 Speaker 1: truth is they've been living among us for you know, 2225 02:07:58,400 --> 02:08:01,160 Speaker 1: ever since we got here fifteen thousand years ago, and 2226 02:08:02,240 --> 02:08:05,800 Speaker 1: uh so they're they're used to being around us. That's 2227 02:08:05,920 --> 02:08:09,160 Speaker 1: one of the reasons. For example, in the nineteen twenties, 2228 02:08:09,240 --> 02:08:12,440 Speaker 1: we were able to pretty effectively get rid of wolves, 2229 02:08:13,040 --> 02:08:15,840 Speaker 1: but we were never able to get rid of coyotes 2230 02:08:15,920 --> 02:08:17,640 Speaker 1: or even come close to it. And one of the 2231 02:08:17,720 --> 02:08:22,080 Speaker 1: reasons is because they have been living amongs and knowing 2232 02:08:22,160 --> 02:08:26,080 Speaker 1: how to interact with us for so very long. And 2233 02:08:26,840 --> 02:08:30,480 Speaker 1: I mean, you know, without going into too much biological detail, 2234 02:08:30,640 --> 02:08:34,640 Speaker 1: they have a particular adaptation called fish and fusion that's 2235 02:08:35,160 --> 02:08:39,120 Speaker 1: very similar to something we do in our evolutionary lives. 2236 02:08:40,080 --> 02:08:41,920 Speaker 1: It's one of the many things that coyotes have in 2237 02:08:42,040 --> 02:08:45,800 Speaker 1: common with humans. Uh learning how to survive through your 2238 02:08:45,880 --> 02:08:48,800 Speaker 1: wits as another one. But this fish and fusion adaptation 2239 02:08:48,920 --> 02:08:56,680 Speaker 1: means that coyotes when they're pressured, they don't exist as 2240 02:08:56,840 --> 02:09:00,800 Speaker 1: packs and in groups in a fusion mode in in 2241 02:09:00,920 --> 02:09:05,320 Speaker 1: our sense as communities, but when they're pressured and harassed 2242 02:09:05,400 --> 02:09:09,360 Speaker 1: and persecuted, they tend to split into singles and pairs 2243 02:09:09,680 --> 02:09:12,240 Speaker 1: and scatter across the landscape. I mean, that's one of 2244 02:09:12,280 --> 02:09:15,400 Speaker 1: the ways we survived great disease epidemics and our our 2245 02:09:15,480 --> 02:09:18,960 Speaker 1: evolutionary history as we did the same thing, and coyotes 2246 02:09:19,000 --> 02:09:23,920 Speaker 1: have that ability. So I mean their ability to survive 2247 02:09:24,440 --> 02:09:28,680 Speaker 1: through their ecological adaptations that are very similar to the 2248 02:09:28,760 --> 02:09:32,080 Speaker 1: ones that we used to survive, and their survival by 2249 02:09:32,120 --> 02:09:35,360 Speaker 1: our by wits, which is of course how we humans 2250 02:09:35,400 --> 02:09:37,680 Speaker 1: have come to be a dominant species on the planet. 2251 02:09:38,600 --> 02:09:41,080 Speaker 1: That's to me one of the reasons we ought, as 2252 02:09:41,280 --> 02:09:44,920 Speaker 1: Indian people did we ought to really appreciate coyotes, because 2253 02:09:45,240 --> 02:09:48,839 Speaker 1: in effect, they're emulating in the world the same success 2254 02:09:49,400 --> 02:09:52,000 Speaker 1: that we've had. I mean, if you look at them 2255 02:09:52,040 --> 02:09:54,640 Speaker 1: that way, other than just you know, there there's the 2256 02:09:54,960 --> 02:09:58,160 Speaker 1: little vermin that's breathing up good air and uh, I 2257 02:09:58,200 --> 02:10:02,920 Speaker 1: should shoot it on site, you start appreciating the natural 2258 02:10:03,000 --> 02:10:06,840 Speaker 1: world and America, North America in a way that maybe 2259 02:10:06,880 --> 02:10:08,840 Speaker 1: you haven't before. I think, and I think we've said 2260 02:10:08,880 --> 02:10:11,440 Speaker 1: this before in this past. Maybe maybe an unpopular thing, 2261 02:10:11,480 --> 02:10:14,240 Speaker 1: but I think true is that we have seen this 2262 02:10:14,360 --> 02:10:17,720 Speaker 1: in the hunting community. And I think maybe in general, 2263 02:10:18,040 --> 02:10:20,040 Speaker 1: I don't know, but certainly in the hunting community were 2264 02:10:21,000 --> 02:10:23,080 Speaker 1: it's almost as if we enjoy when the gloves come 2265 02:10:23,120 --> 02:10:27,000 Speaker 1: off when someone says, hey, listen, ferrell hogs don't care 2266 02:10:27,040 --> 02:10:29,520 Speaker 1: how you kill them, like when we and we very 2267 02:10:29,600 --> 02:10:32,640 Speaker 1: much enjoy when the ethical gloves are removed, like there's 2268 02:10:32,680 --> 02:10:36,040 Speaker 1: a we we there's we revel in it a little 2269 02:10:36,040 --> 02:10:38,880 Speaker 1: bit like oh wow, we can just we can hate 2270 02:10:38,920 --> 02:10:42,400 Speaker 1: these ones, or like we can just that that happens. 2271 02:10:42,440 --> 02:10:45,240 Speaker 1: And it's not I'm not saying that. I'm saying that 2272 02:10:45,280 --> 02:10:48,800 Speaker 1: from experience, like personal experience, like when somebody says, like, oh, 2273 02:10:48,880 --> 02:10:50,720 Speaker 1: there's a group of there's a group of pigs or 2274 02:10:50,720 --> 02:10:52,440 Speaker 1: a group of coyotes, and we don't have to value 2275 02:10:52,520 --> 02:10:55,240 Speaker 1: them like we do the other ones. And here's uh, 2276 02:10:55,600 --> 02:10:57,600 Speaker 1: you know, I our laser night vision goggles and a 2277 02:10:57,640 --> 02:11:00,200 Speaker 1: machine gun and we might eat him. We I know, 2278 02:11:00,320 --> 02:11:03,240 Speaker 1: we don't know, go for it though, like it becomes 2279 02:11:03,920 --> 02:11:06,040 Speaker 1: it's analogous to a video game or something you know, 2280 02:11:06,840 --> 02:11:08,720 Speaker 1: I've seen that I've seen with and see what pigs 2281 02:11:08,840 --> 02:11:11,720 Speaker 1: or other things. And so Yeah, the biologists refer to 2282 02:11:11,840 --> 02:11:16,120 Speaker 1: that as the henhouse syndrome. It's the it's the same 2283 02:11:16,200 --> 02:11:19,200 Speaker 1: thing that I mean, most predators do it, and they 2284 02:11:19,280 --> 02:11:24,480 Speaker 1: tend to do it with prey that's either naive, are 2285 02:11:24,600 --> 02:11:29,280 Speaker 1: not valued and uh. And what it results in is 2286 02:11:29,600 --> 02:11:34,160 Speaker 1: the fox that gets into a henhouse uh and kills 2287 02:11:34,640 --> 02:11:38,960 Speaker 1: fifty or sixty chickens in a night, bites the introls 2288 02:11:39,120 --> 02:11:42,600 Speaker 1: out of four or five as it's leaving, but basically 2289 02:11:42,800 --> 02:11:48,960 Speaker 1: just slaughters the prey and leaves them lying. And predators 2290 02:11:49,040 --> 02:11:52,280 Speaker 1: all over the world have an inclination to occasionally do 2291 02:11:52,440 --> 02:11:55,480 Speaker 1: that surplus killing things like that. Yeah, and human predators 2292 02:11:55,880 --> 02:11:59,320 Speaker 1: do the same thing and sometimes sort of like being 2293 02:11:59,440 --> 02:12:01,720 Speaker 1: freed to able to do it. Yeah, there's like this 2294 02:12:01,920 --> 02:12:04,120 Speaker 1: weird like wow, man, it was stressful trying to pick 2295 02:12:04,160 --> 02:12:06,320 Speaker 1: out the right one of those and make sure there's 2296 02:12:06,400 --> 02:12:07,840 Speaker 1: more of them. And if you just tell me that, 2297 02:12:07,920 --> 02:12:09,840 Speaker 1: I can just oh man, we gotta get rid of 2298 02:12:09,840 --> 02:12:13,520 Speaker 1: all the ease, then perfect. It's the easier situation. Let's cumbersome. 2299 02:12:14,040 --> 02:12:16,520 Speaker 1: We should probably end up here on like some you 2300 02:12:16,600 --> 02:12:20,040 Speaker 1: got some really good, like wit examples of what kyos 2301 02:12:20,120 --> 02:12:24,480 Speaker 1: do that might make us chuckle or make us appreciate. Well, 2302 02:12:24,640 --> 02:12:27,960 Speaker 1: I mean, they're all kinds. I figured that the list 2303 02:12:28,080 --> 02:12:32,080 Speaker 1: is endless. The list is endless. I mean we think 2304 02:12:32,320 --> 02:12:37,840 Speaker 1: that urban life, for example, is probably selecting for uber 2305 02:12:38,000 --> 02:12:43,920 Speaker 1: intelligent coyotes. I mean, the whole you know, literature behind 2306 02:12:44,160 --> 02:12:48,200 Speaker 1: urban coyotes is kind of fascinating because, for one thing, 2307 02:12:48,320 --> 02:12:51,600 Speaker 1: when coyotes get into cities and start living among people, 2308 02:12:52,240 --> 02:12:53,840 Speaker 1: they live a lot longer than they do out in 2309 02:12:53,880 --> 02:12:57,000 Speaker 1: the country because out in the country people are shooting them, 2310 02:12:57,240 --> 02:13:00,080 Speaker 1: poisoning them, trying to run over them with cars. And 2311 02:13:00,160 --> 02:13:02,839 Speaker 1: when they get into in the average lifespan of coyote 2312 02:13:02,840 --> 02:13:05,360 Speaker 1: and the countryside is about three years. When they get 2313 02:13:05,400 --> 02:13:08,960 Speaker 1: into cities, they're living to ten, twelve, thirteen years old, 2314 02:13:09,800 --> 02:13:13,200 Speaker 1: and the result of living that long and sort of 2315 02:13:13,720 --> 02:13:18,400 Speaker 1: learning how you work life in cities means that coyotes 2316 02:13:18,440 --> 02:13:23,280 Speaker 1: are doing things like learning how to cross interstate highways 2317 02:13:23,400 --> 02:13:27,360 Speaker 1: during the rush hour, and they do it by crossing 2318 02:13:27,960 --> 02:13:32,040 Speaker 1: four lanes of traffic and then sitting in the median. Sometimes. 2319 02:13:32,480 --> 02:13:35,280 Speaker 1: A biologists in Chicago is watch coyotes sit in a 2320 02:13:35,360 --> 02:13:39,160 Speaker 1: median sometimes for three minutes, waiting for traffic to clear 2321 02:13:39,480 --> 02:13:45,200 Speaker 1: in the other four lanes before then dashing across. In California, 2322 02:13:46,120 --> 02:13:49,880 Speaker 1: California Highway one has become are not Highway one, but 2323 02:13:49,960 --> 02:13:53,720 Speaker 1: one oh one has of course, carries so much traffic 2324 02:13:54,080 --> 02:13:59,840 Speaker 1: that coyotes are becoming loath to cross it. And one 2325 02:13:59,880 --> 02:14:01,680 Speaker 1: of the things that seems to be happening is that 2326 02:14:01,920 --> 02:14:04,840 Speaker 1: on either side of Highway one oh one, we are 2327 02:14:04,920 --> 02:14:10,840 Speaker 1: starting to get the beginnings of subspecies differentiation between the 2328 02:14:10,960 --> 02:14:15,960 Speaker 1: coyote populations east of one oh one and west of 2329 02:14:16,040 --> 02:14:19,760 Speaker 1: one oh one. Toys and crips were in different bandanas. Absolutely, 2330 02:14:19,800 --> 02:14:23,560 Speaker 1: they're wearing different bandanas and are becoming slightly different from 2331 02:14:23,640 --> 02:14:27,240 Speaker 1: one another because they're not crossing enough to actually exchange 2332 02:14:27,320 --> 02:14:31,160 Speaker 1: genes anymore. I mean, so highways and modern human life 2333 02:14:31,200 --> 02:14:34,600 Speaker 1: are kind of shaping these animals. I'll give you another one, 2334 02:14:35,120 --> 02:14:38,680 Speaker 1: a couple of examples from when I've visited the predator 2335 02:14:38,760 --> 02:14:42,840 Speaker 1: research facility outside Logan, Utah, and talked to the scientists 2336 02:14:42,880 --> 02:14:45,440 Speaker 1: at Wildlife Services of course, who are designing all sorts 2337 02:14:45,480 --> 02:14:52,520 Speaker 1: of ways to control coyotes, both using uh non mortal 2338 02:14:53,240 --> 02:14:57,960 Speaker 1: uh non lethal means and lethal means. They describe for 2339 02:14:58,120 --> 02:15:04,880 Speaker 1: me their studies of coyote individuality, where they would set 2340 02:15:05,000 --> 02:15:10,040 Speaker 1: up a an enclosure with a pot of goodies at 2341 02:15:10,120 --> 02:15:15,800 Speaker 1: one end and would in between the coyote population. They 2342 02:15:15,880 --> 02:15:20,240 Speaker 1: put twenty coyote twenty coyotes in this particular enclosure. They 2343 02:15:20,360 --> 02:15:24,120 Speaker 1: had a whole uh suite of goodies at the far end, 2344 02:15:24,280 --> 02:15:27,240 Speaker 1: maybe a hundred and fifty feet away, and they tried 2345 02:15:27,480 --> 02:15:34,000 Speaker 1: all kinds of various um basically obstacles to the coyotes 2346 02:15:34,080 --> 02:15:37,280 Speaker 1: getting to the goodies. One of the things they discovered 2347 02:15:37,520 --> 02:15:43,160 Speaker 1: was that within a single day, two or three of 2348 02:15:43,200 --> 02:15:48,240 Speaker 1: the coyotes out of the twenty, walked past every blowing 2349 02:15:48,480 --> 02:15:53,840 Speaker 1: suren flashing light, flattery, everything that they put up and 2350 02:15:54,480 --> 02:15:57,960 Speaker 1: got the goodies. They let this experiment go on for 2351 02:15:58,080 --> 02:16:02,520 Speaker 1: a month and out of those any coyotes. Fourteen of 2352 02:16:02,680 --> 02:16:07,839 Speaker 1: them never went to the other end, never once managed 2353 02:16:07,880 --> 02:16:10,760 Speaker 1: to go down and get the lure from the far 2354 02:16:10,960 --> 02:16:13,800 Speaker 1: end of the enclosure. And so what some of the 2355 02:16:13,960 --> 02:16:18,760 Speaker 1: urban biologists are arguing is that it's those bold coyotes 2356 02:16:19,320 --> 02:16:23,320 Speaker 1: that are willing to wade through whatever obstacles you put 2357 02:16:23,440 --> 02:16:27,720 Speaker 1: up in order to realize their goal and survive that 2358 02:16:27,960 --> 02:16:31,640 Speaker 1: are populating most of the cities. Yeah. And you see 2359 02:16:31,640 --> 02:16:33,840 Speaker 1: how you see how an animal evalls and and our 2360 02:16:33,920 --> 02:16:37,520 Speaker 1: effect on it. So that's right, we're shaping the evolution 2361 02:16:37,560 --> 02:16:40,200 Speaker 1: of these animals. Uh, you know, as we're sitting here, 2362 02:16:41,320 --> 02:16:43,960 Speaker 1: it's amazing. Well, thanks for coming all the way to Bozeman. Man. 2363 02:16:45,360 --> 02:16:47,920 Speaker 1: Look and you told me that you're you're looking forward 2364 02:16:47,920 --> 02:16:50,640 Speaker 1: to another appearance on Rogan's podcast. That's pretty exciting. Don't 2365 02:16:50,640 --> 02:16:53,000 Speaker 1: want to break any of that news. Yeah, I will 2366 02:16:53,040 --> 02:16:57,120 Speaker 1: say we're still negotiating it, but yeah, it might might 2367 02:16:57,200 --> 02:16:59,560 Speaker 1: happen here in a few weeks. I look forward to it. 2368 02:16:59,640 --> 02:17:00,880 Speaker 1: The more and the more we can get you out 2369 02:17:00,879 --> 02:17:02,720 Speaker 1: there talking about this stuff, the better in my opinion. 2370 02:17:02,800 --> 02:17:06,520 Speaker 1: And this is it's enlightening and it's damn important subject. 2371 02:17:07,040 --> 02:17:09,879 Speaker 1: Of all the things we touched on just just value. 2372 02:17:09,879 --> 02:17:11,960 Speaker 1: What do we value? What are we into? Why do 2373 02:17:12,040 --> 02:17:13,840 Speaker 1: we think the way we think? Man? I love it. 2374 02:17:14,040 --> 02:17:15,640 Speaker 1: It's been fun to be here. Be I appreciate it, 2375 02:17:15,640 --> 02:17:21,680 Speaker 1: all right, Thanks Dan. Okay, I guess I grew up. 2376 02:17:23,080 --> 02:17:26,080 Speaker 1: That's it. That's all th HC Episode eighty six in 2377 02:17:26,160 --> 02:17:28,600 Speaker 1: the Books. Just want to say a big thank you Phil. 2378 02:17:28,720 --> 02:17:32,960 Speaker 1: What man, that's why, that's what I say. Sorry, sorry, 2379 02:17:33,240 --> 02:17:35,520 Speaker 1: Look what the hell? Man? I didn't know you were here. 2380 02:17:35,560 --> 02:17:40,760 Speaker 1: I thought I get out of the podcast studio. Jesus Christ. 2381 02:17:41,879 --> 02:17:47,280 Speaker 1: Phil's leaving. He's trying to take my outro. Anyway, Yeah, 2382 02:17:47,360 --> 02:17:50,800 Speaker 1: come back, come back. I miss you. Uh anyway, Thanks 2383 02:17:50,879 --> 02:17:55,080 Speaker 1: to Dan Flores and my our Meteator crew for talking 2384 02:17:55,080 --> 02:17:57,240 Speaker 1: about kites with us. It was great. Now I have 2385 02:17:57,360 --> 02:17:59,200 Speaker 1: something that I didn't tell Phil about that I want 2386 02:17:59,240 --> 02:18:01,520 Speaker 1: to surprise him with. Oh yeah, I love this. This 2387 02:18:01,560 --> 02:18:03,600 Speaker 1: has been happening a lot lately. Yeah, this is a 2388 02:18:03,640 --> 02:18:06,520 Speaker 1: good Okay, I want to give well, you know, we 2389 02:18:06,560 --> 02:18:08,879 Speaker 1: do a lot of segments here on the show, right yeah, 2390 02:18:09,280 --> 02:18:11,840 Speaker 1: a lot of different segments. I want to do one 2391 02:18:12,320 --> 02:18:16,320 Speaker 1: called Dr Phil you know, and I'm offering it to 2392 02:18:16,360 --> 02:18:19,080 Speaker 1: you officially right now. Would you like to accept and 2393 02:18:19,480 --> 02:18:22,560 Speaker 1: and I will give you no, there are no parameters. 2394 02:18:22,640 --> 02:18:25,400 Speaker 1: You can do whatever you want. This is dangerous with 2395 02:18:25,640 --> 02:18:29,000 Speaker 1: Dr Phil. I will accept all right, perfect, okay, but 2396 02:18:29,120 --> 02:18:31,920 Speaker 1: before we talked about how it was contingent on whether 2397 02:18:32,040 --> 02:18:35,959 Speaker 1: or not I kept my mustache after Halloween. Yeah, I'd 2398 02:18:36,000 --> 02:18:38,480 Speaker 1: still like you to keep it. But I'll give you 2399 02:18:38,560 --> 02:18:41,440 Speaker 1: this segment either way. Give you a segmentad right now. Okay, 2400 02:18:41,560 --> 02:18:44,360 Speaker 1: you're gonna regret this, well, yeah, well I will. We'll 2401 02:18:44,440 --> 02:18:47,720 Speaker 1: get to exactly what Dr Phil means. But if you 2402 02:18:47,720 --> 02:18:49,760 Speaker 1: want to write into t a C that the meter 2403 02:18:49,959 --> 02:18:53,480 Speaker 1: dot com and suggest what Dr Phil the new th 2404 02:18:53,640 --> 02:18:57,480 Speaker 1: HC segment should be about or should cover, just write 2405 02:18:57,520 --> 02:18:59,520 Speaker 1: it right in, write an email and I'll for that 2406 02:18:59,560 --> 02:19:02,840 Speaker 1: over to Phil. And Um, he's gonna get a little 2407 02:19:02,879 --> 02:19:06,520 Speaker 1: piece of glory, a little piece of podcast, hosting glory 2408 02:19:06,959 --> 02:19:08,720 Speaker 1: the first time in his life. And you never know 2409 02:19:08,800 --> 02:19:11,240 Speaker 1: that this might go. You might get your own podcast. 2410 02:19:11,720 --> 02:19:15,160 Speaker 1: I can't wait. I'm excited. You're excited. Yeah, I'm already 2411 02:19:15,200 --> 02:19:17,840 Speaker 1: racking my brain. It's palpable. So join us next time 2412 02:19:18,520 --> 02:19:23,520 Speaker 1: for Dr Phil Medicine woman there it is just talk 2413 02:19:23,560 --> 02:19:28,720 Speaker 1: about medicine. Today's episode a seat of mening. I like it. 2414 02:19:28,879 --> 02:19:31,560 Speaker 1: Dr Phil Medicine and maybe we'll stick with that. Anyways, 2415 02:19:31,760 --> 02:19:36,040 Speaker 1: we'll see you then bye bye, because I can't go 2416 02:19:36,280 --> 02:20:05,600 Speaker 1: a week without doing right with R. Drinking in. Don't 2417 02:20:05,680 --> 02:20:08,560 Speaker 1: sit in at the bas foold, stop to throw roots. 2418 02:20:08,879 --> 02:20:12,200 Speaker 1: I'm feeling like in all on our barras shoes. All 2419 02:20:12,440 --> 02:20:14,600 Speaker 1: tell me what is it that a shoe