March 6, 2025 ā¢ 44 mins
In this episode of Wild Tails, Chris Mortensen, scientist, educator and co-host of All Creatures Podcast, shares a hilarious and humbling experience about being "bird shamed." Despite his expertise in animal science, Chris found himself outmatched by a bird-watching friend who had spotted far more bird species than he ever had.
Chris and Mike discuss the joys and challenges of birdwatching, why some people excel at identifying birds, and how even the most knowledgeable wildlife experts can be caught off guard in nature. Whether you're a passionate birder, a zoology enthusiast, or just love a good wildlife story, this episode is packed with fun insights and laughs.
š Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform!
Ā
Listen to All Creatures Podcast https://www.allcreaturespod.com/
Follow All Creatures Podcast on Instagram @allcreaturespodcast
Follow Wild Tails podcast in InstagramĀ @Wildtailspod
Follow Wild Tails Podcast onĀ Bluesky
Follow the Wild Tails SubstackĀ
Email the show atĀ wildtailspod@gmail.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:17):
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hello and welcome to the Wild Tales Podcast.
I am your host, Mike Bona.
Thank you for tuning in again and thank you to all my new listeners, which
surprisingly to me, I have quite a few of.
So I would like to take an opportunity now just to kind of reintroduce myself
for those who may be new to listening to the podcast.
(00:38):
I am your host, Mike Bona.
I have spent over 20 years working with exotic animals as a zookeeper and
conservationist with a particular passion for giraffes.
I've worked closely with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation in Africa, and I
also love sharing incredible animal stories with all of you, which was the
inspiration for this podcast, Wild Tales.
(01:01):
Today I am thrilled to chat with my longtime friend, Chris Mortenson.
Chris is the host of the All Creatures Podcast, a podcast which I highly
recommend, especially episode 228, where his guest was me, Mike Bona.
But all of them are great.
It's just a fascinating podcast to listen to every week.
(01:22):
They focus on a new species of animal and they just delve deep into each
species and you learn so much information.
I recommend every episode.
I know most people might be attracted to the big, exciting animals they have on
their podcast, the giraffes, the lions, elephants, the big ones, but I
(01:44):
recommend if there's a species you're not quite familiar with, or maybe you
never heard of, give it a listen.
Learn something new.
There's some fascinating animals out there that a lot of people are not aware
that they exist, but you can learn about them on the All Creatures Podcast.
And Chris and his co-host, Angie, do a great job talking about each species on
(02:06):
each episode.
So he was a great guest.
It was great catching up with him.
We chatted for a long while before I even hit the record button.
So I'm excited to share our conversation with you.
So let's dive into this episode of Wild Tales.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Chris Mortenson.
(02:27):
Well enough chit-chat just the two of us, we have a podcast to record, so
let's get into it.
Chris Mortenson, thanks for joining the Wild Tales Podcast.
You are the co-host of the Wild, sorry, I'm Wild Tales, let me get this
right.
You're the co-host of the All Creatures Podcast.
You've been going on forever.
How many episodes do you have now?
Oh geez, we have 480 something episodes.
(02:54):
And of that, probably like 30 of them are repeats, 30 or 40, because that's a
new thing.
That's a thing now when you've been around for so long.
And then I would say out of the species, we're probably, I haven't done a count
lately, but we're probably near 200 species at least, and then close to 180
interviews.
So over 200 species we've covered.
(03:16):
Interviewed people from all over the planet, working in conservation, people
you've introduced me to.
Yeah, we've been busy.
Yeah, I was going to say, you have that many episodes, but I hear your podcast
peaked at episode 228 when you interviewed Mike Bona.
That guy?
Oh yeah, what ever happened to that guy?
I don't know that guy.
(03:36):
I met him somewhere, though, yeah, that was...
Yeah, I don't think it's gotten better since.
That was...
No, no.
You should have just wrapped it up then.
Yeah, I think it peaked at episode one, and then no.
It's going strong, and we're committed to it.
I mean, it's just a passion project of ours.
It's not our day jobs.
Both Angie and I...
Yeah, both Angie and I are very busy educators, scientists, and we just love
(04:03):
the All Creatures podcast.
That's like our downtime.
But we have to do the research on the species we cover, or I have to
read a whole book when I'm interviewing authors and do our homework.
But when we record, it's just like...
People don't know this, but Angie and I, you and I were chit-chatting for at
least a good half hour.
We talked for like a solid hour about life, everything going on.
Oh, we better record.
(04:25):
Record for another hour.
Yeah, so...
Right.
Yeah.
She's my bestest friend in the whole world.
She's amazing.
Thanks to her.
Yeah, that's what we're just doing.
We're just chatting forever about everything.
But I haven't talked to you in forever, because I used to see you from time
to time, but you bailed.
You split.
You left the country.
You live in New Zealand now.
Yeah.
It was...
Something called COVID happened, too.
(04:45):
So don't forget that.
I got stuck in New Zealand, so poor me.
Yeah, we all talked about going to New Zealand.
You're the only one that actually did it.
Yeah.
That's a long story, but no, I actually did.
I did make it into New Zealand during COVID.
My kiddos were stuck here with my ex-partner, and I was stuck in the UK
(05:08):
with my current partner, and I was one of the very few that got in during
the border closings.
And I did my two weeks in prison, in quarantine, in a lovely hotel in Rotorua
in New Zealand, and it was awesome.
I mean, no masks for about six months, no COVID.
(05:29):
We were safe, and then we weren't, and then it made it in the country, and
then we had our lockdowns.
Mike, I actually...
Sorry, I could go on all day, but I was actually locked down in three
countries.
I was locked down just south of you in Orange County, and then I got on
an airplane, flew to England to be with Pippa.
I was locked down in the UK, and then I flew to New Zealand, and then
(05:52):
finally, when COVID hit there, I was locked down there, so it was a journey,
wasn't it?
Oh, gosh.
Well, hopefully, we're all through with the lockdowns now.
Yes.
That's...
Won't come back.
Won't come back.
But I did...
Yeah.
I did miss hanging out with you at the zoo.
That was fun.
Yeah.
Me too.
But we'll get you back.
Yeah, I'll be back.
I'll be back.
(06:12):
All right.
So, hey, it's Wild Tales.
This is a storytelling podcast, and you do so much research for yours.
I don't know how you do it.
Different species every week.
You do all your homework.
I just turn on the microphone and start talking.
I make it so much easier on my end.
Yeah.
Okay.
I am a nerd.
So, I just...
You can call me a nerd.
(06:34):
I'm...
I mean, I got my PhD in animal physiology.
I love learning.
And I did...
When I was in academia, I was a professor at the University of Florida.
I did do some work with elephants, African and Asian, some manatee work, rock
hyrax work.
I was trying to get into Somali wild ass work, white rhino work, while I was
(06:59):
doing some domestic animals.
And I've always had this bug about endangered species and helping.
So, when the idea of the podcast came around, Angie was finishing up her PhD
with me.
And I said, you know, I want to do this podcast.
And I'll tell you what, spending the hours it takes to prepare is so
(07:21):
fascinating.
You learn about the animal's history, you learn about their physiology, then we
always look at their conservation, what's being done.
So, there's a lot of good stories out there.
You know this.
You've interviewed or worked with all those conservation experts out in the
field.
I mean, you introduced me to Ian.
I mean, I love telling that story about the mountain frog in Southern
(07:42):
California that nobody knows about, and all the work that the LA Zoo was doing.
So, I meet all these interesting people, but then we tell the animal story.
So, you know, why should we care about what is the Southern yellow-legged
mountain frog that's like critically endangered in the mountains above your
(08:03):
house?
And you know, all these animals, you learn so much about them, and you can't
help but fall in love.
So, yeah, it's a passion.
It absolutely is.
Yeah, it's great.
I mean, you learn about animals that, you know, as a listener, that you may
have little knowledge about.
They're so kind of obscure, and even yourself, you have a broad knowledge of so
(08:23):
many species.
I know even you come across a species like, I know nothing about this animal.
Why do you learn so much?
Oh, so many.
Like, you know, and the thing is, there's only so much room in your brain.
I have discovered that in academia.
I can only stuff so much information in my head.
But if I go back and really, I just have to look through my notes real
quick on a species we covered, and I'm like, oh, yeah, I remember this, and oh,
(08:47):
yeah, I remember that.
Ilya, how do you say it, Ilya pika, the one that looks like the Ewok, you
know, you see the photos in China?
Like, I knew nothing about pikas.
I didn't know that, you know, they have to live at 20,000 feet or whatever,
and climate change is going to kill them all because it's going to get too hot.
Like, you know, sorry, that's a bad fact, but they're so amazing.
(09:11):
And then you find out in California, we have pika.
I never knew what the heck, I just wrote it.
I didn't know anything about it.
Moose.
Here's a fact.
Here's a fact that sticks out to me.
I got so many.
But this one.
I love moose.
Shoot.
Yeah, moose don't sweat.
I didn't know that.
They don't sweat.
Yeah.
(09:32):
And to cool off, to thermoregulate, because again, the physiologist in me, how
does their body system do that?
They go stand with their hooves and legs in cold water and streams and lakes to
cool down.
They drink, but they live, you know, in the northern US and then in Canada.
But if it gets above, I think it's 88 degrees Fahrenheit for too long, it will
(09:57):
kill them.
They will literally die of heat exhaustion.
And so when you think about global warming and climate change, I always think
of the moose.
You know, we always think of polar bears and all these other species, but I
think of the moose.
That's why moose are disappearing in the northern 48 states in the US.
That's why in the Yukon, it was Yellowknife or something, not Yellowknife, it
(10:22):
was somewhere way in the north.
I looked one day and it was 98 degrees Fahrenheit one day, a few summers ago.
And I think of all the moose up there, like, holy smokes.
You know, they're dying or they're suffering.
So yeah, you learn all these facts about these animals and you uncover so many
fascinating things in their superpowers, like mantis shrimp or just, oh my God,
(10:46):
they're octopuses from another world.
Oh, they're alien.
The list.
Yeah.
The list goes on and on and on.
Yeah.
I believe I've even messaged you after listening to a few episodes being like,
dude, I had no idea what the electric eels, not actually an eel.
What the hell?
Yeah.
Yeah.
You've been lied to.
Yeah.
They're electric field.
I mean, that was like episode 200.
(11:08):
That was so, oh, that was so much fun.
Oh, and then piranha.
We did them.
I mean, we've done all the big species, but then you start finding these
obscure ones that nobody really knows about and bring them to life.
Like lemmings.
That was one we did recently, I don't know, 20 episodes ago.
Do lemmings follow each other and jump off cliffs?
(11:29):
No, they don't.
Again, we were lied to.
Yes.
We were lied to.
Yeah.
All those cartoons.
And we were lied to by, oh, do I dare say it?
Was it Disney?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, God.
Yeah.
Don't even get me started on Disney.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sorry, Mickey.
If you're listening, please don't revoke my pass.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
We love you, Disney.
We love you.
(11:51):
All hail the mouse overlord.
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Don't piss off Mickey Mouse.
So.
Hey, Chris, you got a story for me?
Oh, geez.
I'm trying to think of all the stories.
Okay.
Here's one.
So I've been bird shamed.
So what does that mean?
(12:12):
My buddy, because whenever I think of Mike, I always think of my buddy here,
Jesse.
He works at the Hamilton Zoo in New Zealand.
He's American.
I met him years ago in Florida briefly, and I shook his hand and said, oh,
hey, nice to meet you.
He was friends of friends, but when I moved here, he actually was living here.
So we became really close friends.
And in New Zealand, besides all the invasive species, our only native mammals
(12:39):
are bats, land mammals.
Okay.
Yeah.
We have seals and everything else on our coast, but there was no rodents.
There was no stoats, weasels, all those other species that have been introduced
by man or humans.
So we just have this really crazy bird population that we're known for, kiwis
(12:59):
and kakapo and pukeko and all the amazing animals we have here.
So Jesse got me into bird watching because I can't go on safari in New Zealand,
but I can go watch birds.
He's really turned on the bird nerd in me, and I've been trying to bleed that
enthusiasm in the podcast, because when you start listening and watching birds,
(13:27):
you realize they're around you all the time.
I mean, we were just starting, he said, oh, I heard the birds in the
background.
And it was probably a mina, common mina, again, invasive species, but they're
pretty prolific here and they're loud.
And you start noticing all the life around you, it gets you outdoors, it's good
for your mental health.
And so I really took up bird watching.
(13:47):
So Jesse would take me around with my bins and then there's these two wonderful
apps that Cornell University Department of Ornithology puts out.
There's Merlin Bird ID app.
So that helps you identify the birds you're seeing.
And then they have eBird, which is you're logging the birds you see.
And you need accounts for those, but they're so worth it because scientists are
(14:11):
literally taking that information and it's helping conservation.
So that's why I push it so much.
It's citizen science and I liken it like it's Pokemon Go.
Like we all had the craze and people still play it.
My son still plays it.
He's, dad, can I have your phone?
And he tries to catch Pokemon wherever we're around, but you got to catch them
all.
So you start building your bird list and you start getting all your species.
(14:34):
So right now in New Zealand, we have about 260 species of birds and I have
101 on my list.
So that's pretty good, the century club.
But Jesse's like one off the 200 mark because it's really hard to see.
A lot of them are coastal birds too or they go out on the ocean.
(14:56):
So over the years, Jesse and I during COVID and I've done some traveling in the
States and Australia and so it was like a year and a half ago.
I said, Jesse, my bird list is only at 247 and he shamed me.
He said, Chris, that's ridiculous.
He's got like a thousand birds or 1200.
I was like, oh man, you're bird shaming me.
(15:17):
He's like, okay, buddy, we're going to get out and we're going to start
building your list.
So since he's thrown that gauntlet, I have built my bird list and I'm over 410
now.
I just caught like 60 species in the States when I was there last month in
Florida.
And every time I travel, I'm always out with my bins and I'm always looking for
(15:39):
birds.
So the story is I went to Papua New Guinea last year.
Never in my life did I ever think I would step foot in Papua New Guinea
because I looked into it and there are parts where you shouldn't go, right?
And yeah, it's got a lot of issues.
(15:59):
It's got a lot of issues with the peoples there and a lot of exploitation and
like palm oil and cocoa.
So you have to be careful.
But a lot of Australians go to New Guinea because the New Guineans fought with
them in World War II.
So there's this really combined history.
(16:21):
So I went with a big group of Australians and we went to a couple of
the islands, which were amazing.
But then I went to Rabaul, which I'm a big history nerd.
And that was like the big Japanese base of World War II.
New Britain's the island.
And so Rabaul is the big town.
So that was the big base and sea base and plane base, like Battle of
(16:44):
Guadalcanal for the Americans.
And that's where the Japanese were based.
So I just really wanted to go there.
But I went on this World War II tour and my wife was pregnant.
So she stayed on the ship.
Every time I got out of the bus, they're like, oh yeah, look at all this
stuff.
I'm out there with my binoculars looking for birds, right?
So we went to the...
(17:05):
At the end of the tour, it was like a four-hour tour.
At the end, we get out of our little buses.
We're at the Australian cemetery there because World War I, World War II, the
Aussie, the Anzacs, and the Kiwis, Indian troops, the ones that died there.
So we're at the big cemetery.
And I did the little ceremony, you know, paying my respects, took my hat off
(17:26):
and all that because, you know, that's why a lot of the Aussies were there.
But then I was like, my bins were out.
And so the tour guide, she comes up to me.
She's like, I noticed you're always looking for birds, you know, speaking her
broken English.
And I said, oh yeah, you know, I'm always, always looking for birds.
(17:49):
I'm a big bird.
So I show her my app.
I'm like, this is my account for today.
And then she's like, you know, you should really see this one bird.
It's got the big beak and they're really loud.
And all of a sudden, I'm not joking, squawk, squawk, squawk.
Two Blythe's hornbills were flying right by us.
They looked like two crab claws.
(18:10):
They literally, if you look up the Blythe's hornbill, really bright orangish
long beaks, and it looked like two crab claws flying.
And I was like, are you kidding me?
And I just was beaming.
I said, thank you.
She's like, when you come back, she gave me her card.
We'll take you on a proper bird tour, you know, where they go and you leave
(18:32):
all the cars behind and they take you up into the hills.
But for me, that was like my ultimate bird sighting in a spot on earth I
never thought I would visit.
So the take home story is don't be afraid to travel and, you know, be careful,
obviously traveling, but get out and see the world, get to know other people,
(18:54):
other cultures, and look up.
Look up and start looking at the birds because they're just as charismatic and
awesome as your giraffe, who I love.
I love them.
Elephants are my number one species, but birds are pretty fantastic.
They are.
I totally recommend that too, especially someone myself.
Like, I grew up in a small town and I don't know if, did you grow
(19:18):
up in a small town too, or did you grow up in a city?
Yeah, I mean, Mission Viejo, Del Mar.
Down the coast of San Diego.
Central Coast, Paso Robles.
It's much smaller than it is now.
But I know people that I grew up with that never left that town.
And I've been to all over the country.
I've been to Africa.
I've been to Europe.
And so there's so much in this world worth seeing.
(19:39):
And especially animals and wildlife.
I don't know a lot about birds, but I do love and appreciate birds.
I do have a friend who's a bird nerd that I work with who, if I
can get a good picture of a bird, I'll send it to him and just be
like, what's this?
I do that to Jesse still.
Actually, I love when I go to a zoo, like I go to the San Diego
(20:00):
Zoo, because they have a lot of aviaries and a lot of birds.
I'll just take a picture of a random bird, because you have no idea what part
of the world I'm looking at.
I'll get the correct response within a minute.
Like, oh, that's Eurasian, whatever.
I don't know.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jesse knows.
I always ask him.
And I'll say this.
Birds are dinosaurs.
(20:20):
That's the thing.
Like, you look at them, that they've evolved from dinosaurs, right?
That is living dinosaurs.
So when you see them, it's not just the cassowary or the emu or the ostrich.
Look at their feet.
But that's why we think dinosaurs had feathers, because we know that they are
actually living dinosaurs.
(20:40):
So for your children, I think it's a hobby.
And I actually had to bribe my kids to go do bird counting during COVID.
I said, okay, a dollar a bird.
So we'd go out and we'd find, like, 20 species.
I was like, oh, God.
I owe my boys 20 bucks a pop.
But it's New Zealand cash, so it doesn't go as far as U.S. cash.
But it's a way to get them out in nature.
(21:02):
It's a way to get them active and looking at the animals around you.
Yeah, actually, we had a bird fly into one of our windows yesterday.
So we went out and found it.
And luckily, it was alive, just stunned.
So we kind of put it in the box.
But now I'm like, I have to know what this bird is, because I don't know.
(21:22):
So we did our research and looked it up.
And it was a lesser goldfinch.
Oh, yeah, okay.
Yeah, it was a cute little bird.
Cute, cute.
Yeah, it was funny, because it was stunned.
We left it in a box for like a half hour or something like that.
And we went out and checked on it.
And we got a little too close.
And finally, it's like, oh, I'm gone.
And it just darted, just took off.
I did have to look up while you were talking to Blythe Hornbill.
(21:44):
That is a beautiful bird.
I don't know if you can see that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean, it's literally that orange, reddish flying.
It looked like a crab claw.
I was like, oh, my goodness.
That does look like a little tiny dinosaur.
Oh, they are.
They absolutely are.
And I'll tell you, bird behavior is fascinating, the more you look into it.
So for the podcast, just put that out there.
(22:06):
The courting behavior, the males have to work hard.
They're incredible.
If you want to bird shame me while you're talking, I have the eBird app.
Okay.
I have it.
I want to click on it.
All right.
Let me do some comparisons.
All right.
There's no comparison.
(22:28):
You're going to laugh at this.
All right.
Let's see if they'll show up.
Species observed.
28 species.
28.
That's California, right?
I went on one bird watching trip with my buddy that I work with.
And that's just California.
And that is when I went on holiday to visit my mom, like last year, the
(22:51):
year before.
Come on, Mike.
You got to get out there, man.
I do.
I do.
But yeah, this was...
When was this even?
Like last year?
2023.
I went on a bird watching trip in 2023, and I saw 28 species.
That's a good day, actually.
28 in a day is good.
But my buddy was real psyched.
We had to go out that day, out to Lancaster, just up north of LA, because
(23:17):
there were spottings of a...
I had learned this all this day.
I had no idea.
It's a tundra bean goose.
Okay.
I think it's from Russia.
It has no business being in California, let alone Southern California.
So we tracked it down, and we found a bunch of other bird watchers there.
It appears like a rare bird.
(23:38):
It's crazy.
People come from hundreds of miles to see the bird.
That is crazy.
But yeah, we spotted...
In Australia, it was funny.
Four months ago, an emperor penguin washed up on shore.
Oh, wow.
In South Australia.
And I told Jesse, I'm like, man, I'm so tempted to get on an airplane.
(24:00):
I mean, we couldn't afford it, but it just...
To go see an emperor penguin...
Oh, I got another story for you, too.
But to see an emperor penguin, and add that to my list without going to
Antarctica is a dream.
But yeah, it's a passion.
(24:20):
It's just incredible.
And the more you learn about them, the more you see them, the more you
appreciate them.
Because they're everywhere, wherever you live, wherever you're listening, you
have birds all around you.
You're right.
I got to start doing it more, especially since my actual Pokemon Go account got
hacked and deleted.
There you go.
I might as well just switch to the real thing.
Yeah, yeah.
It helps scientists.
So yeah.
(24:42):
Very cool.
Yeah.
So this is my other cool animal sighting.
I don't know why I didn't tell this one first, but I had to bring in
the bird stuff.
So I was here in New Zealand.
You have the North Island, the South Island.
North Island is, for Lord of the Rings fans, the Shire.
I mean, I literally live 20 minutes from Hobbiton.
And I live in the Rolling Green Hills.
(25:04):
That's kind of the North Island.
We have a lot of the ferns.
And just gorgeous, gorgeous landscape.
Then the South Island is Rohan.
Right?
So the big valley, the mountains with the snow, dry shrub grass.
That's the South Island of New Zealand.
Now, I mean, they have ferns in some really gorgeous spots too, but many of it.
(25:26):
So I was at the bottom of the South Island for work because I was teaching
here.
And I was meeting with some of my colleagues down there.
And so being the bird nerd that I was, I was going to go to this
place called Kaka Point.
It was just outside Dunedin.
And you come to New Zealand.
It is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
(25:46):
I can say that.
The only other place I think comes close for me is Vancouver Island in Canada
that I've been.
It's just everywhere you go, it is a postcard.
So I'm driving along the beach, this really rocky shoreline to get to this
lighthouse, which is facing South towards Antarctica.
(26:10):
And it's one of the more Southern points of New Zealand.
And just the coastline is beautiful.
I'm looking for albatross.
I did see a couple albatross flying.
And I pull up and I was like, no, on the beach.
I'm like, no way.
There's no way that is what I'm looking at.
And I think I sent this to you.
(26:30):
I don't know if I told you this or not.
And I rolled down my window and I'm going to find the photo.
And I called Angie right away.
And I said, Angie, there is no way I'm looking at this animal.
And I don't know if you would know, if you could even guess what it would
have been.
But we covered it in the podcast.
In New Zealand?
It is seen sporadically in New Zealand.
(26:55):
Very rarely is it's...
Do I get any clue?
Is it native?
No, it's not.
It's native to Antarctica.
Oh, okay.
And I literally, if I come back as any creature, it's this one.
Oh, obviously it's a seal.
(27:17):
It's a...
Come on, come on.
Come on, hoofed stock guy.
No, there's no hooves.
There's a...
No, that's got spots.
What animal never loses their...
No, they never lose their...
Leopard seal?
Yes, yes.
Points.
It was a freaking leopard seal hauled out on the beach.
(27:41):
Randomly, they'll come up this far north.
But they live in Antarctica.
That was one of my favorite species we covered.
They live in Antarctica.
They don't have a lot of predators.
Really, orcas are the only thing that might mess with them.
And if you're going to come back as an animal, that's what I want to come
back as.
Because you have your big swimming pool.
There's plenty of food.
(28:02):
Penguins and other things to eat.
Crab, they can filter feed.
And yeah, I saw a leopard seal hauled out on the beach just resting.
And I was like, no way.
Because it's a really rare sighting in New Zealand.
That's awesome.
Yeah, to see that wild animal that swam.
Because New Zealand is...
Compared to Antarctica, it's a lot further north than, say, the southern tip of
(28:23):
South America.
It's a lot farther north.
And the south coast of Australia is a lot farther north.
I don't know, it's 10,000 miles or something between us and Antarctica.
It's really, really far.
And to see something native to Antarctica hauled out on the beach was pretty
incredible.
That was a really cool moment.
(28:43):
Yeah, that reminds me when I went to Hawaii and seeing the Hawaiian monk seals
on the beach there.
Very endangered, yeah.
Yeah, I think you did an episode on those too, right?
Yeah, we did.
Yeah, very endangered.
Midway Island, all those Hawaiian islands because of all...
Not only just the warming oceans, but all the plastic that's there.
(29:03):
You know, just suffocating them.
Yeah, they're in big trouble.
You're a downer, man.
But, hey, you know what?
Do you want some good stories?
Okay, here's good stories.
There are people like Mike who go in every day and take care of these
endangered species and educate the public.
So that's why I'm a big believer in zoos.
Hey, I know that guy.
(29:23):
Zoos pour a lot into conservation.
There is a lot of good going on in the world.
It's hard to see it.
But, again, after interviewing 150-something people that work...
A lot of them work in conservation.
We know now today a lot more on how we tackle some of these issues like
(29:46):
poaching.
How do we go into these, you know, countries we don't go in there.
It's empowering the governments to do something about it.
And it's just...
The face of conservation is...
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. Go Unlimited to remove this message.) Hello and welcome to the Wild Tales Podcast.
I am your host, Mike Bona.
Thank you for tuning in again and thank you to all my new listeners, which
surprisingly to me, I have quite a few of.
So I would like to take an opportunity now just to kind of reintroduce myself
for those who may be new to listening to the podcast.
(00:38):
I am your host, Mike Bona.
I have spent over 20 years working with exotic animals as a zookeeper and
conservationist with a particular passion for giraffes.
I've worked closely with the Giraffe Conservation Foundation in Africa, and I
also love sharing incredible animal stories with all of you, which was the
inspiration for this podcast, Wild Tales.
(01:01):
Today I am thrilled to chat with my longtime friend, Chris Mortenson.
Chris is the host of the All Creatures Podcast, a podcast which I highly
recommend, especially episode 228, where his guest was me, Mike Bona.
But all of them are great.
It's just a fascinating podcast to listen to every week.
(01:22):
They focus on a new species of animal and they just delve deep into each
species and you learn so much information.
I recommend every episode.
I know most people might be attracted to the big, exciting animals they have on
their podcast, the giraffes, the lions, elephants, the big ones, but I
(01:44):
recommend if there's a species you're not quite familiar with, or maybe you
never heard of, give it a listen.
Learn something new.
There's some fascinating animals out there that a lot of people are not aware
that they exist, but you can learn about them on the All Creatures Podcast.
And Chris and his co-host, Angie, do a great job talking about each species on
(02:06):
each episode.
So he was a great guest.
It was great catching up with him.
We chatted for a long while before I even hit the record button.
So I'm excited to share our conversation with you.
So let's dive into this episode of Wild Tales.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce Chris Mortenson.
(02:27):
Well enough chit-chat just the two of us, we have a podcast to record, so
let's get into it.
Chris Mortenson, thanks for joining the Wild Tales Podcast.
You are the co-host of the Wild, sorry, I'm Wild Tales, let me get this
right.
You're the co-host of the All Creatures Podcast.
You've been going on forever.
How many episodes do you have now?
Oh geez, we have 480 something episodes.
(02:54):
And of that, probably like 30 of them are repeats, 30 or 40, because that's a
new thing.
That's a thing now when you've been around for so long.
And then I would say out of the species, we're probably, I haven't done a count
lately, but we're probably near 200 species at least, and then close to 180
interviews.
So over 200 species we've covered.
(03:16):
Interviewed people from all over the planet, working in conservation, people
you've introduced me to.
Yeah, we've been busy.
Yeah, I was going to say, you have that many episodes, but I hear your podcast
peaked at episode 228 when you interviewed Mike Bona.
That guy?
Oh yeah, what ever happened to that guy?
I don't know that guy.
(03:36):
I met him somewhere, though, yeah, that was...
Yeah, I don't think it's gotten better since.
That was...
No, no.
You should have just wrapped it up then.
Yeah, I think it peaked at episode one, and then no.
It's going strong, and we're committed to it.
I mean, it's just a passion project of ours.
It's not our day jobs.
Both Angie and I...
Yeah, both Angie and I are very busy educators, scientists, and we just love
(04:03):
the All Creatures podcast.
That's like our downtime.
But we have to do the research on the species we cover, or I have to
read a whole book when I'm interviewing authors and do our homework.
But when we record, it's just like...
People don't know this, but Angie and I, you and I were chit-chatting for at
least a good half hour.
We talked for like a solid hour about life, everything going on.
Oh, we better record.
(04:25):
Record for another hour.
Yeah, so...
Right.
Yeah.
She's my bestest friend in the whole world.
She's amazing.
Thanks to her.
Yeah, that's what we're just doing.
We're just chatting forever about everything.
But I haven't talked to you in forever, because I used to see you from time
to time, but you bailed.
You split.
You left the country.
You live in New Zealand now.
Yeah.
It was...
Something called COVID happened, too.
(04:45):
So don't forget that.
I got stuck in New Zealand, so poor me.
Yeah, we all talked about going to New Zealand.
You're the only one that actually did it.
Yeah.
That's a long story, but no, I actually did.
I did make it into New Zealand during COVID.
My kiddos were stuck here with my ex-partner, and I was stuck in the UK
(05:08):
with my current partner, and I was one of the very few that got in during
the border closings.
And I did my two weeks in prison, in quarantine, in a lovely hotel in Rotorua
in New Zealand, and it was awesome.
I mean, no masks for about six months, no COVID.
(05:29):
We were safe, and then we weren't, and then it made it in the country, and
then we had our lockdowns.
Mike, I actually...
Sorry, I could go on all day, but I was actually locked down in three
countries.
I was locked down just south of you in Orange County, and then I got on
an airplane, flew to England to be with Pippa.
I was locked down in the UK, and then I flew to New Zealand, and then
(05:52):
finally, when COVID hit there, I was locked down there, so it was a journey,
wasn't it?
Oh, gosh.
Well, hopefully, we're all through with the lockdowns now.
Yes.
That's...
Won't come back.
Won't come back.
But I did...
Yeah.
I did miss hanging out with you at the zoo.
That was fun.
Yeah.
Me too.
But we'll get you back.
Yeah, I'll be back.
I'll be back.
(06:12):
All right.
So, hey, it's Wild Tales.
This is a storytelling podcast, and you do so much research for yours.
I don't know how you do it.
Different species every week.
You do all your homework.
I just turn on the microphone and start talking.
I make it so much easier on my end.
Yeah.
Okay.
I am a nerd.
So, I just...
You can call me a nerd.
(06:34):
I'm...
I mean, I got my PhD in animal physiology.
I love learning.
And I did...
When I was in academia, I was a professor at the University of Florida.
I did do some work with elephants, African and Asian, some manatee work, rock
hyrax work.
I was trying to get into Somali wild ass work, white rhino work, while I was
(06:59):
doing some domestic animals.
And I've always had this bug about endangered species and helping.
So, when the idea of the podcast came around, Angie was finishing up her PhD
with me.
And I said, you know, I want to do this podcast.
And I'll tell you what, spending the hours it takes to prepare is so
(07:21):
fascinating.
You learn about the animal's history, you learn about their physiology, then we
always look at their conservation, what's being done.
So, there's a lot of good stories out there.
You know this.
You've interviewed or worked with all those conservation experts out in the
field.
I mean, you introduced me to Ian.
I mean, I love telling that story about the mountain frog in Southern
(07:42):
California that nobody knows about, and all the work that the LA Zoo was doing.
So, I meet all these interesting people, but then we tell the animal story.
So, you know, why should we care about what is the Southern yellow-legged
mountain frog that's like critically endangered in the mountains above your
(08:03):
house?
And you know, all these animals, you learn so much about them, and you can't
help but fall in love.
So, yeah, it's a passion.
It absolutely is.
Yeah, it's great.
I mean, you learn about animals that, you know, as a listener, that you may
have little knowledge about.
They're so kind of obscure, and even yourself, you have a broad knowledge of so
(08:23):
many species.
I know even you come across a species like, I know nothing about this animal.
Why do you learn so much?
Oh, so many.
Like, you know, and the thing is, there's only so much room in your brain.
I have discovered that in academia.
I can only stuff so much information in my head.
But if I go back and really, I just have to look through my notes real
quick on a species we covered, and I'm like, oh, yeah, I remember this, and oh,
(08:47):
yeah, I remember that.
Ilya, how do you say it, Ilya pika, the one that looks like the Ewok, you
know, you see the photos in China?
Like, I knew nothing about pikas.
I didn't know that, you know, they have to live at 20,000 feet or whatever,
and climate change is going to kill them all because it's going to get too hot.
Like, you know, sorry, that's a bad fact, but they're so amazing.
(09:11):
And then you find out in California, we have pika.
I never knew what the heck, I just wrote it.
I didn't know anything about it.
Moose.
Here's a fact.
Here's a fact that sticks out to me.
I got so many.
But this one.
I love moose.
Shoot.
Yeah, moose don't sweat.
I didn't know that.
They don't sweat.
Yeah.
(09:32):
And to cool off, to thermoregulate, because again, the physiologist in me, how
does their body system do that?
They go stand with their hooves and legs in cold water and streams and lakes to
cool down.
They drink, but they live, you know, in the northern US and then in Canada.
But if it gets above, I think it's 88 degrees Fahrenheit for too long, it will
(09:57):
kill them.
They will literally die of heat exhaustion.
And so when you think about global warming and climate change, I always think
of the moose.
You know, we always think of polar bears and all these other species, but I
think of the moose.
That's why moose are disappearing in the northern 48 states in the US.
That's why in the Yukon, it was Yellowknife or something, not Yellowknife, it
(10:22):
was somewhere way in the north.
I looked one day and it was 98 degrees Fahrenheit one day, a few summers ago.
And I think of all the moose up there, like, holy smokes.
You know, they're dying or they're suffering.
So yeah, you learn all these facts about these animals and you uncover so many
fascinating things in their superpowers, like mantis shrimp or just, oh my God,
(10:46):
they're octopuses from another world.
Oh, they're alien.
The list.
Yeah.
The list goes on and on and on.
Yeah.
I believe I've even messaged you after listening to a few episodes being like,
dude, I had no idea what the electric eels, not actually an eel.
What the hell?
Yeah.
Yeah.
You've been lied to.
Yeah.
They're electric field.
I mean, that was like episode 200.
(11:08):
That was so, oh, that was so much fun.
Oh, and then piranha.
We did them.
I mean, we've done all the big species, but then you start finding these
obscure ones that nobody really knows about and bring them to life.
Like lemmings.
That was one we did recently, I don't know, 20 episodes ago.
Do lemmings follow each other and jump off cliffs?
(11:29):
No, they don't.
Again, we were lied to.
Yes.
We were lied to.
Yeah.
All those cartoons.
And we were lied to by, oh, do I dare say it?
Was it Disney?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, God.
Yeah.
Don't even get me started on Disney.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sorry, Mickey.
If you're listening, please don't revoke my pass.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
We love you, Disney.
We love you.
(11:51):
All hail the mouse overlord.
Yes.
Yes.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Don't piss off Mickey Mouse.
So.
Hey, Chris, you got a story for me?
Oh, geez.
I'm trying to think of all the stories.
Okay.
Here's one.
So I've been bird shamed.
So what does that mean?
(12:12):
My buddy, because whenever I think of Mike, I always think of my buddy here,
Jesse.
He works at the Hamilton Zoo in New Zealand.
He's American.
I met him years ago in Florida briefly, and I shook his hand and said, oh,
hey, nice to meet you.
He was friends of friends, but when I moved here, he actually was living here.
So we became really close friends.
And in New Zealand, besides all the invasive species, our only native mammals
(12:39):
are bats, land mammals.
Okay.
Yeah.
We have seals and everything else on our coast, but there was no rodents.
There was no stoats, weasels, all those other species that have been introduced
by man or humans.
So we just have this really crazy bird population that we're known for, kiwis
(12:59):
and kakapo and pukeko and all the amazing animals we have here.
So Jesse got me into bird watching because I can't go on safari in New Zealand,
but I can go watch birds.
He's really turned on the bird nerd in me, and I've been trying to bleed that
enthusiasm in the podcast, because when you start listening and watching birds,
(13:27):
you realize they're around you all the time.
I mean, we were just starting, he said, oh, I heard the birds in the
background.
And it was probably a mina, common mina, again, invasive species, but they're
pretty prolific here and they're loud.
And you start noticing all the life around you, it gets you outdoors, it's good
for your mental health.
And so I really took up bird watching.
(13:47):
So Jesse would take me around with my bins and then there's these two wonderful
apps that Cornell University Department of Ornithology puts out.
There's Merlin Bird ID app.
So that helps you identify the birds you're seeing.
And then they have eBird, which is you're logging the birds you see.
And you need accounts for those, but they're so worth it because scientists are
(14:11):
literally taking that information and it's helping conservation.
So that's why I push it so much.
It's citizen science and I liken it like it's Pokemon Go.
Like we all had the craze and people still play it.
My son still plays it.
He's, dad, can I have your phone?
And he tries to catch Pokemon wherever we're around, but you got to catch them
all.
So you start building your bird list and you start getting all your species.
(14:34):
So right now in New Zealand, we have about 260 species of birds and I have
101 on my list.
So that's pretty good, the century club.
But Jesse's like one off the 200 mark because it's really hard to see.
A lot of them are coastal birds too or they go out on the ocean.
(14:56):
So over the years, Jesse and I during COVID and I've done some traveling in the
States and Australia and so it was like a year and a half ago.
I said, Jesse, my bird list is only at 247 and he shamed me.
He said, Chris, that's ridiculous.
He's got like a thousand birds or 1200.
I was like, oh man, you're bird shaming me.
(15:17):
He's like, okay, buddy, we're going to get out and we're going to start
building your list.
So since he's thrown that gauntlet, I have built my bird list and I'm over 410
now.
I just caught like 60 species in the States when I was there last month in
Florida.
And every time I travel, I'm always out with my bins and I'm always looking for
(15:39):
birds.
So the story is I went to Papua New Guinea last year.
Never in my life did I ever think I would step foot in Papua New Guinea
because I looked into it and there are parts where you shouldn't go, right?
And yeah, it's got a lot of issues.
(15:59):
It's got a lot of issues with the peoples there and a lot of exploitation and
like palm oil and cocoa.
So you have to be careful.
But a lot of Australians go to New Guinea because the New Guineans fought with
them in World War II.
So there's this really combined history.
(16:21):
So I went with a big group of Australians and we went to a couple of
the islands, which were amazing.
But then I went to Rabaul, which I'm a big history nerd.
And that was like the big Japanese base of World War II.
New Britain's the island.
And so Rabaul is the big town.
So that was the big base and sea base and plane base, like Battle of
(16:44):
Guadalcanal for the Americans.
And that's where the Japanese were based.
So I just really wanted to go there.
But I went on this World War II tour and my wife was pregnant.
So she stayed on the ship.
Every time I got out of the bus, they're like, oh yeah, look at all this
stuff.
I'm out there with my binoculars looking for birds, right?
So we went to the...
(17:05):
At the end of the tour, it was like a four-hour tour.
At the end, we get out of our little buses.
We're at the Australian cemetery there because World War I, World War II, the
Aussie, the Anzacs, and the Kiwis, Indian troops, the ones that died there.
So we're at the big cemetery.
And I did the little ceremony, you know, paying my respects, took my hat off
(17:26):
and all that because, you know, that's why a lot of the Aussies were there.
But then I was like, my bins were out.
And so the tour guide, she comes up to me.
She's like, I noticed you're always looking for birds, you know, speaking her
broken English.
And I said, oh yeah, you know, I'm always, always looking for birds.
(17:49):
I'm a big bird.
So I show her my app.
I'm like, this is my account for today.
And then she's like, you know, you should really see this one bird.
It's got the big beak and they're really loud.
And all of a sudden, I'm not joking, squawk, squawk, squawk.
Two Blythe's hornbills were flying right by us.
They looked like two crab claws.
(18:10):
They literally, if you look up the Blythe's hornbill, really bright orangish
long beaks, and it looked like two crab claws flying.
And I was like, are you kidding me?
And I just was beaming.
I said, thank you.
She's like, when you come back, she gave me her card.
We'll take you on a proper bird tour, you know, where they go and you leave
(18:32):
all the cars behind and they take you up into the hills.
But for me, that was like my ultimate bird sighting in a spot on earth I
never thought I would visit.
So the take home story is don't be afraid to travel and, you know, be careful,
obviously traveling, but get out and see the world, get to know other people,
(18:54):
other cultures, and look up.
Look up and start looking at the birds because they're just as charismatic and
awesome as your giraffe, who I love.
I love them.
Elephants are my number one species, but birds are pretty fantastic.
They are.
I totally recommend that too, especially someone myself.
Like, I grew up in a small town and I don't know if, did you grow
(19:18):
up in a small town too, or did you grow up in a city?
Yeah, I mean, Mission Viejo, Del Mar.
Down the coast of San Diego.
Central Coast, Paso Robles.
It's much smaller than it is now.
But I know people that I grew up with that never left that town.
And I've been to all over the country.
I've been to Africa.
I've been to Europe.
And so there's so much in this world worth seeing.
(19:39):
And especially animals and wildlife.
I don't know a lot about birds, but I do love and appreciate birds.
I do have a friend who's a bird nerd that I work with who, if I
can get a good picture of a bird, I'll send it to him and just be
like, what's this?
I do that to Jesse still.
Actually, I love when I go to a zoo, like I go to the San Diego
(20:00):
Zoo, because they have a lot of aviaries and a lot of birds.
I'll just take a picture of a random bird, because you have no idea what part
of the world I'm looking at.
I'll get the correct response within a minute.
Like, oh, that's Eurasian, whatever.
I don't know.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jesse knows.
I always ask him.
And I'll say this.
Birds are dinosaurs.
(20:20):
That's the thing.
Like, you look at them, that they've evolved from dinosaurs, right?
That is living dinosaurs.
So when you see them, it's not just the cassowary or the emu or the ostrich.
Look at their feet.
But that's why we think dinosaurs had feathers, because we know that they are
actually living dinosaurs.
(20:40):
So for your children, I think it's a hobby.
And I actually had to bribe my kids to go do bird counting during COVID.
I said, okay, a dollar a bird.
So we'd go out and we'd find, like, 20 species.
I was like, oh, God.
I owe my boys 20 bucks a pop.
But it's New Zealand cash, so it doesn't go as far as U.S. cash.
But it's a way to get them out in nature.
(21:02):
It's a way to get them active and looking at the animals around you.
Yeah, actually, we had a bird fly into one of our windows yesterday.
So we went out and found it.
And luckily, it was alive, just stunned.
So we kind of put it in the box.
But now I'm like, I have to know what this bird is, because I don't know.
(21:22):
So we did our research and looked it up.
And it was a lesser goldfinch.
Oh, yeah, okay.
Yeah, it was a cute little bird.
Cute, cute.
Yeah, it was funny, because it was stunned.
We left it in a box for like a half hour or something like that.
And we went out and checked on it.
And we got a little too close.
And finally, it's like, oh, I'm gone.
And it just darted, just took off.
I did have to look up while you were talking to Blythe Hornbill.
(21:44):
That is a beautiful bird.
I don't know if you can see that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
I mean, it's literally that orange, reddish flying.
It looked like a crab claw.
I was like, oh, my goodness.
That does look like a little tiny dinosaur.
Oh, they are.
They absolutely are.
And I'll tell you, bird behavior is fascinating, the more you look into it.
So for the podcast, just put that out there.
(22:06):
The courting behavior, the males have to work hard.
They're incredible.
If you want to bird shame me while you're talking, I have the eBird app.
Okay.
I have it.
I want to click on it.
All right.
Let me do some comparisons.
All right.
There's no comparison.
(22:28):
You're going to laugh at this.
All right.
Let's see if they'll show up.
Species observed.
28 species.
28.
That's California, right?
I went on one bird watching trip with my buddy that I work with.
And that's just California.
And that is when I went on holiday to visit my mom, like last year, the
(22:51):
year before.
Come on, Mike.
You got to get out there, man.
I do.
I do.
But yeah, this was...
When was this even?
Like last year?
2023.
I went on a bird watching trip in 2023, and I saw 28 species.
That's a good day, actually.
28 in a day is good.
But my buddy was real psyched.
We had to go out that day, out to Lancaster, just up north of LA, because
(23:17):
there were spottings of a...
I had learned this all this day.
I had no idea.
It's a tundra bean goose.
Okay.
I think it's from Russia.
It has no business being in California, let alone Southern California.
So we tracked it down, and we found a bunch of other bird watchers there.
It appears like a rare bird.
(23:38):
It's crazy.
People come from hundreds of miles to see the bird.
That is crazy.
But yeah, we spotted...
In Australia, it was funny.
Four months ago, an emperor penguin washed up on shore.
Oh, wow.
In South Australia.
And I told Jesse, I'm like, man, I'm so tempted to get on an airplane.
(24:00):
I mean, we couldn't afford it, but it just...
To go see an emperor penguin...
Oh, I got another story for you, too.
But to see an emperor penguin, and add that to my list without going to
Antarctica is a dream.
But yeah, it's a passion.
(24:20):
It's just incredible.
And the more you learn about them, the more you see them, the more you
appreciate them.
Because they're everywhere, wherever you live, wherever you're listening, you
have birds all around you.
You're right.
I got to start doing it more, especially since my actual Pokemon Go account got
hacked and deleted.
There you go.
I might as well just switch to the real thing.
Yeah, yeah.
It helps scientists.
So yeah.
(24:42):
Very cool.
Yeah.
So this is my other cool animal sighting.
I don't know why I didn't tell this one first, but I had to bring in
the bird stuff.
So I was here in New Zealand.
You have the North Island, the South Island.
North Island is, for Lord of the Rings fans, the Shire.
I mean, I literally live 20 minutes from Hobbiton.
And I live in the Rolling Green Hills.
(25:04):
That's kind of the North Island.
We have a lot of the ferns.
And just gorgeous, gorgeous landscape.
Then the South Island is Rohan.
Right?
So the big valley, the mountains with the snow, dry shrub grass.
That's the South Island of New Zealand.
Now, I mean, they have ferns in some really gorgeous spots too, but many of it.
(25:26):
So I was at the bottom of the South Island for work because I was teaching
here.
And I was meeting with some of my colleagues down there.
And so being the bird nerd that I was, I was going to go to this
place called Kaka Point.
It was just outside Dunedin.
And you come to New Zealand.
It is one of the most beautiful places on earth.
(25:46):
I can say that.
The only other place I think comes close for me is Vancouver Island in Canada
that I've been.
It's just everywhere you go, it is a postcard.
So I'm driving along the beach, this really rocky shoreline to get to this
lighthouse, which is facing South towards Antarctica.
(26:10):
And it's one of the more Southern points of New Zealand.
And just the coastline is beautiful.
I'm looking for albatross.
I did see a couple albatross flying.
And I pull up and I was like, no, on the beach.
I'm like, no way.
There's no way that is what I'm looking at.
And I think I sent this to you.
(26:30):
I don't know if I told you this or not.
And I rolled down my window and I'm going to find the photo.
And I called Angie right away.
And I said, Angie, there is no way I'm looking at this animal.
And I don't know if you would know, if you could even guess what it would
have been.
But we covered it in the podcast.
In New Zealand?
It is seen sporadically in New Zealand.
(26:55):
Very rarely is it's...
Do I get any clue?
Is it native?
No, it's not.
It's native to Antarctica.
Oh, okay.
And I literally, if I come back as any creature, it's this one.
Oh, obviously it's a seal.
(27:17):
It's a...
Come on, come on.
Come on, hoofed stock guy.
No, there's no hooves.
There's a...
No, that's got spots.
What animal never loses their...
No, they never lose their...
Leopard seal?
Yes, yes.
Points.
It was a freaking leopard seal hauled out on the beach.
(27:41):
Randomly, they'll come up this far north.
But they live in Antarctica.
That was one of my favorite species we covered.
They live in Antarctica.
They don't have a lot of predators.
Really, orcas are the only thing that might mess with them.
And if you're going to come back as an animal, that's what I want to come
back as.
Because you have your big swimming pool.
There's plenty of food.
(28:02):
Penguins and other things to eat.
Crab, they can filter feed.
And yeah, I saw a leopard seal hauled out on the beach just resting.
And I was like, no way.
Because it's a really rare sighting in New Zealand.
That's awesome.
Yeah, to see that wild animal that swam.
Because New Zealand is...
Compared to Antarctica, it's a lot further north than, say, the southern tip of
(28:23):
South America.
It's a lot farther north.
And the south coast of Australia is a lot farther north.
I don't know, it's 10,000 miles or something between us and Antarctica.
It's really, really far.
And to see something native to Antarctica hauled out on the beach was pretty
incredible.
That was a really cool moment.
(28:43):
Yeah, that reminds me when I went to Hawaii and seeing the Hawaiian monk seals
on the beach there.
Very endangered, yeah.
Yeah, I think you did an episode on those too, right?
Yeah, we did.
Yeah, very endangered.
Midway Island, all those Hawaiian islands because of all...
Not only just the warming oceans, but all the plastic that's there.
(29:03):
You know, just suffocating them.
Yeah, they're in big trouble.
You're a downer, man.
But, hey, you know what?
Do you want some good stories?
Okay, here's good stories.
There are people like Mike who go in every day and take care of these
endangered species and educate the public.
So that's why I'm a big believer in zoos.
Hey, I know that guy.
(29:23):
Zoos pour a lot into conservation.
There is a lot of good going on in the world.
It's hard to see it.
But, again, after interviewing 150-something people that work...
A lot of them work in conservation.
We know now today a lot more on how we tackle some of these issues like
(29:46):
poaching.
How do we go into these, you know, countries we don't go in there.
It's empowering the governments to do something about it.
And it's just...
The face of conservation is...
Popular Podcasts
Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes present: Aubrey OāDay, Covering the Diddy Trial
Introducingā¦ Aubrey OāDay Diddyās former protege, television personality, platinum selling music artist, Danity Kane alum Aubrey OāDay joins veteran journalists Amy Robach and TJ Holmes to provide a unique perspective on the trial that has captivated the attention of the nation. Join them throughout the trial as they discuss, debate, and dissect every detail, every aspect of the proceedings. Aubrey will offer her opinions and expertise, as only she is qualified to do given her first-hand knowledge. From her days on Making the Band, as she emerged as the breakout star, the truth of the situation would be the opposite of the glitz and glamour. Listen throughout every minute of the trial, for this exclusive coverage. Amy Robach and TJ Holmes present Aubrey OāDay, Covering the Diddy Trial, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!