00:00:09 Speaker 1: From Mediator's World News headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. This is Kel's we can review with Ryan kel Kelly. Now here's Kel. If you've ever felt a little down and out, a little unattractive and unwanted, maybe just some rough patches in your love life, this makes cheer you up. A study published in the journal Ecological Society of America, written by Dr Khalifa and brought to my attention by That Mule coups or cows and Antelope jack Rabbit Love and biologist Jim Heffelfinger, documents the act of faking death in order to avoid male coercion. This is described as and this is a direct quote, extreme sexual conflict resolution. Specifically, this study observed moreland hawker or edge darner dragonflies and was kicked off by the initial sighting of a female dragonfly being chased by a male, when suddenly the female's wings quit beating and she crashed violently to the ground. The male departed after only a short look at what appeared to be the deceased female. Now, this observation had been made previously, but apparently it had not been linked to a sexual avoidance technique. In this study. At least this was not a fluke or random act. In eighty eight point six percent of the observed chase sequences, females crashed to the ground when pursued by a male, and those that were able to crash in tall grass or bushes were no longer pursued. The ones that hit short grass continued to be harassed. Why are these females pursued so heavily, Well, the males set up and wait around bodies of water, which the females like to deposit their fertilized eggs around. There is surplus of males, So when a female becomes non deceptive due to the fact that she has already made it, the males that were not a part of the copulation just see her as an opportunity to copulate. Hence the need for sexual conflict resolution. And yes, I would hope everyone listening would consider the act of playing dead a pretty clear sign that you know, she's just not into you, dude. Maybe wait name waits bab baby said, we know the dragonflies do. Another interesting tidbit from this paper, the female dragonflies were found to be fully conscious, as in they were aware so far as we know of awareness and dragonflies. This was not an evolutionary and uncontrollable comatose physiological state like that of one of my favorite critters, the apossum. This maneuver is a conscious act of fakery, which is not common at all in the animal world if you exclude humans, of course. In fact, only two speed she's a robber fly, the European mantis, and Pissura mirabilis, which is a spider species native to Europe as well as Russia, at China, and North Africa. In the case of the spider, it is the male that fakes death during and after sex in order to avoid being eaten by the female. The female is known to drag the male who's feigning death around for a while. This is after he presents a quote nuptial gift in the form of food. If you think you've been on a bad date, you've got nothing on Pissura mirabilis. But back to dragonflies and listen up. This is interesting stuff. Dragonflies are classified as odinata, which refers to their serrated teeth. In Greek, odinate means to the one. If you are a dragonfly watcher, just like a bird watcher, that hobby is called oding. You are an odor, which is a good thing and not to be confused with you have an odor, which I guests could be a good thing or a bad thing. The act of voting has led to all sorts of truly incredible observations, including the act of extreme sexual conflict resolution. But also dragonflies migrate. In fact, I have personally seen a swarm, which is the term for a group of dragonflies migrating right over the top of my highly industrialized, citified condo here in Bozeman, Montana. And my place is at least a mile from the nearest still water that a lot of dragonflies prefer. But a mile migration is nothing. As it turns out, odors in New Jersey conducting a study found that green darners traveled in average of seven point five miles per day after a three day rest. That's just on average. They had one individual who traveled more than one hundred miles in a day, if you think that is something. Through the use of tiny tracking transmitters, one study tracked the glow skimmer dragonfly, which I'll just tell you right now is the migration champion of the insect world, as it crossed the Indian Ocean and back. That's some eleven thousand miles according to the Smithsonian. To me, this would make a heck of a lot more sense if the globe skimmer were like the dragonflies and the fossil record, with wingspans of over two ft. But this little dragonfly is only one and a half inches long. Again, that's eleven thousand miles. The globe skimmer dragonfly is the furthest migrating insect in the world. If this gets your citizens scientists fuel pumping and it should, check out the Dragonfly Swarm Project. You can report the swarms you find. But back to the point, which is why would this be a cheerful example for folks who are a little down on their luck in the love game, in cells and whatnot. Well, because dragonflies are amazing, beautiful, deadly creatures who perform a task that everyone loves, which is eating mosquitoes and gnats, things that bite you. Sometimes they'll consume thirty to one hundred a day, and despite being around for over three hundred million years, even they don't get the lady they pursue almost ninety percent of the time. That's all I was trying to say. It's a big old goofy world. This week good news, guns, corrections, national park goats, and so much more. But first I'm gonna tell you about my week. My week started a little rough. If you listen to the first ever shamefully phoned in Meat Eater podcast recording, episode number two fifteen, titled I missed my Friends. I got robbed, more correctly burgled, as a listener pointed out, people get robbed, stuff gets burgled. The thieves, low down, dirty, shameful creatures that they are, We're not super efficient at cleaning me out. So I've spent the week cleaning up the garage and properly organizing things so it will be, you know, much easier to cart away all my good stuff in the future. One thing the sad, unproductive sacks got away with was and will remain very hurtful, the knife from this old, crusty, unattractive, one legged viking and blacksmith named rick Schmitt a k A. Ricky Ray of Schmidt Knives and Forage had a whitefish Montana and uh former fishing guide. I met Ricky Gray a long time ago when I had first started guiding fishing full time out of West Glacier, Montana. Ricky would guide the occasional trip. He stood out from the rest of the crew, not because he was older than us and had his own boats and gear. He stood out because he just seemed to always be happy and smiling and had this attitude of general gratitude. He'd always be smiling as he walked around the fly shop and boat barn getting his trip ready. He even had two whole legs back then. You see on occasion in some guide circles you could run into this seriousness, this attitude that if one does not take oneself seriously, as displayed through wrinkled brow and consistency of dour, solemn negative thoughts regarding the river being too high, too low, too cold, too warm, too people, too clear, too murky, not to mention the quality of the clientele, who could cast too far, too short, They don't set when they eat, and they don't eat what you set out for lunch. If you don't have that attitude, then you know you just aren't being a guide. Well or rich Schmidt just seemed happy to be there and happy to talk with people he knew and didn't know. Aside from this, he made knives that were absolutely gorgeous at that time, he had gotten ahold of as in stole from some mountain slope a length of skitter cable, and had started forging that twisted cable into knife blades, being careful to leave the weave of the individual strands a cable visible on parts of the blade. There were something to envy, absolutely gorgeous. Every guy wants a good knife. Now, to be clear, I was dead, broke, and Rick's knives were expensive. On top of that, I was just this new face. Nobody knew me. I was just background noise if that. But I was there in the background one day and observed Ricky Ray given one of his masterful works of art to a fellow yet senior guide, someone I figured could not appreciate it the way I could, nor could they likely even use knife like that. What's more, they could probably afford the durn thing. Jealousy, envy, the whole enchilada. That's what I was feeling. Now. Life moves along, and we take different gigs and move around, and occasionally I would hear about Ricky Ray and pass along my well wishes, and very occasionally we would actually bump into each other and chat, and rick would be happy and look and so appreciative of just you know, talking with me who he didn't even know that much, you know, just a genuine fellow. Some years later, I'm living in Idaho and I get a call to throw my hat in the ring to be on the national board for the Great Public Land nonprofit back Country Hunters and Anglers. I made that interview call on the side of the road in early spring, watching Canada geese land in the field between Boise and ammad, Idaho. We had our national rendezvous and Boise that same year, there was Rick Schmidt. He had donated knives for about ten different raffles and auctions. We got to catch up just for a minute. Too busy, but it was great to see him again. When I got home to my place and catch um Idaho, a few days had passed and a package showed up in my p O box. Inside it was my very own Rick Schmidt knife, something I had secretly coveted for a decade. With it was a note that said careful, this is sharp and thanks for volunteering. I could have cried. I called Ricky up and thanked him, told him how much it meant, and I asked if there was anything I could do in return to thank him, he said, you just did. But that knife isn't just to look at. You have to use it. Long winded way of sand. This public lands living father, guide craftsman, and good timer is a highly impactful type that I know makes the world a better place. This guy, Rick Schmidt hit about a bad luck in the health department and is one of these immuno compromised people that are so susceptible to this COVID nineteen. Another reason to keep your fish stints at least one adult paddlefish right now away from each other. Ricky Ray just turned sixty. He's a lot shorter on one side than the other, but he's still got a lot of living and impacting the lives of outdoor river loving people to do. And here's my dirty secret. I never used that dark knife. Maybe that broken promise lured those ne'er do wells into my dear. This would also be a great time to mention that this podcast is powered by steel power equipment and those thieves they also got away with one of my steel chainsaws. It was brand new. I had not had a chance to form such a loving relationship with it as I had. The Rick Schmidt knife, but those sons of guns stole that opportunity too. Major thanks and appreciation all my friends at steel. I built a pegboard back splash to my work bench with my remaining saws, the M s A two for the rough cuts. As I've mentioned many times on this podcast, one of the many benefits of an electric chainsaw is you can run them in the middle of the night inside your garage. Very little noise and no fumes. Good clean living. Grandpa was a carpenter, all right. A couple of corrections, then we're off to the races. A couple of episodes back, I was rambling about ocean basin crossing turtles, one in particular named Yoshi from Two Oceans Aquarium, who, when released, traveled about twenty three thousand miles in twenty six months. The turtle is, of course, a reptile, not a mammal, as is what slipped out of me. Ray whisk Over, thank you for catching that one. You weren't the only one, but you're the only one. I'm naming all you darned Washingtonians from Spokane to hump Tulips. I pronounced the town of Squim like I'm sorry, I am wet I just got done with a short squim spelled s e q u i am apparently situated in a rain shadow on the Olympic Peninsula and gets shockingly little precipitation. According to meat Eater's own non COVID harboring Washington native Sam Longdren, squim again spelled s e q u i am is locked in. My apologies. At least you can tell who the out of towners are, and for you Washingtonians, we're gonna move on to some fun thing as you can do in the spring that doesn't necessarily have to include all the city, state, and federal grounds that have been closed in response to lack of social distancing and COVID nineteen in the western part of the state. First check out Spencer New Hearts article what is a false Morale Mushroom at the mediator dot com. Now keep in mind the term false morale is actually a fairly large umbrella term, so read up and be on the lookout. Record your bird sightings or dragonflies as we learned about. Also, asparagus season is here. All of these things mentioned, I have found an urban interface and roadside ditches not on state or federal lamp, although they can be found there too. Additionally, Justin Sprul writes in to say, Asian giant hornet monitoring is a new springtime activity in Washington State, and the Washington Department of Agriculture is looking for volunteers. If you remember from episode forty nine, the Asian giant hornet is a potentially harmful honey bee eater and an invasive species. If you're looking to go do some good and have an excuse for exercise, look up the Washington State Department of Agriculture. I am very confident that if you tell folks you are actively searching for aggressive Asian giant hornets, you'll have no problem finding a minimum social distance onto the public land's desk. As we all know, spring is in the air. Days are getting longer. Sure it'll keep snowing in Montana, but the point is we are all getting the itch to be outside in some areas that is difficult to the closures of some trailheads, parks, parking areas on both state and federal land. Some good news on this one. The Congressional Sportsman's Foundation just issued to press release stating that a letter penned in conjunction with over fifty national conservation groups has been sent to our fifty state governor is urging them to keep our outdoor access opportunities open, which is good. That means that the outdoor recreating public has gotten off their duff's enough to write their elected officials. We are not out of the woods yet, or in a lot of cases, into the woods yet again. I want to urge everyone now more than ever that our actions will represent the whole. If you see garbage, pick it up. Do not park at a full or near full parking area and practice pack it in, pack it out in all areas, show state agencies that are still doing the work that we outdoor loving public peoples can both police and pick up after ourselves, as well as maintain the proper social distance. That's the only way these spots will open back up or remain open. If you have any additional questions, please check out Joe Surmeli's latest article It's up to us at the media eater dot com. Um, I'm sure if you're like me and you're sitting in a spot where you're surrounded by public lands, that you feel like you're only a half mile away with paradise waiting wherever you are, So we hope things change soon. Moving on. According to every single source I can find, from AP News to Al Jazeera, the United States of America is putting some serious buying power into firearms right now. The FBI conducted three point seven million background checks in March alone. A little over two million of those were for firearm purchases. Over two hundred and ten thousand background checks were done on March one, a single day record. Why the heck am I covering this on the weekend Review Because COVID nineteen is proving more beneficial to conservation funding than Democratic president. Before you get all hot and bothered or confused, I'm talking about the Pittman Robertson the excise tax. Of course, that pr money or Pittman Robertson a bit of legislation's beerheaded in nineteen thirty seven by Nevada Senator Key Pittman and Virginia Congressman Absalom Willis Robertson. They took a pre existing excise tax on firearms and ammunition sales and diverted the money to the Secretary of Interior for distribution to states on behalf of wildlife and habitat the difference in PR now versus ninety seven is that the tax it was extended to cover handguns, firearm accessories, and an eleven percent tax on archery equipment. Later PR funds were extended to be used for hunter safety classes, shooting ranges, and most recently, outreach in the form of our three recruitment, reactivation, and Retainment of hunters. PR funds are not distributed willy nilly. Funds are distributed in a pay to play model where state agencies can pick a project, get to work on it, then submit it for consideration. If chosen, the state will be reimbursed for up to seventy of the project. I like that model. Gotta have some skin in the game. Now. As for my wise crack regarding COVID nineteen firearms purchases and Democratic presidents being good for Pittman, Robertson and conservation, we typically see firearms sales spike when Democrats are elected or looking likely to be elected. The last time we in the U saw firearms sales anywhere near this high is when President Obama was elected. For example. It is important to note or ponder that the person who purchases guns, ammunition, firearm accessories, archery equipment with no intention or inclination to ever use the stuff in an outdoor oriented fashion, which does happen a lot, kind of like you know folks who buy like decorative towels or bowls or something that aren't for use, they're just for looking at. For instance, I have an a R fifteen style rifle chambered in the six and a half grendel, which is essentially the decorative mixing bowl of my arsenal. The difference between the grendel and the mixing bowl is all the stuff I purchased to assemble that rifle, lower upper fore end, carrier, bolt face, magazines, ammunition all contributed to the funding of conservation. Anyway, if you're a fan of wildlife and are not a purchaser of conservation licenses or bird stamps, are doing any donating to conservation organs that are doing the good work, you better make a habit of thanking those firearm owners for their purchases. Moving on, Olympic National Park just posted all the ways you can volunteer within the park with the National Park Service. One thing that caught my eye and many many others is asking hunters to volunteer to help with the eradication of the non native mountain goats within the park. The volunteer application is very thorough. Strict guidelines, training, and policies are in place on behalf of all hunters. I asked those that apply to understand that this is a situation that will put a lot of focus on hunting and hunters in general, so take it seriously. On top of that, please understand what you are volunteering to do eradicate mountain goats. It is up to the volunteers to decide what they pack out of the mountains. There are no requirements outside of what park biologists are asking for, at least in the paperwork I have read. They're not asking for stakes, roasts, and burgers, all neatly wrapped up, packaged and labeled. In other words, I am all for this experiment. To be clear, We've discussed this scenario in Grand Teton National Park. To be honest, I got a little early tip on this one that it was coming down the pipe or mountain. Rather, it is an experiment of the social type, So tread cautiously and take this opportunity seriously as seriously as the decision to do the job of a volunteer tasked with killing mountain goats while being a hunter looking at a pile of meat stack and up that you can either choose to leave or take. And last, but not least, on this very happy, upbeat episode, the Department of Interior announced the opening of an additional two point three million acres to hunting and fishing opportunities across nine seven National wildlife refugees and nine national fish hatcheries. American sportsman and women coughed up nearly one billion dollars in excise taxes just last year through taxes I've already mentioned like Pittman Robertson for firearms, archery and ammunition purchases, Dingle Johnson fishing equipment purchases and boat fuel. But let's not stop there, harass and continue to harass your duly elected officials to pass and co sponsor the Great American Outdoors Act. If you have a Congressman or state rep that is a tired old stick in the mud like oh, I don't know Jim rish Idaho or Mike Lee a Utah, or mind them that they work for you and it is their job to represent their district's voice, not their personal opinions. You can do that very simply by getting a petition going within your district. Collect enough signatures to show them that their own personal opinions should be kept personal. That's your call to action this week, so get on it. Just a reminder to all that this has been episode fifty of Cal's Weekend Review. That is roughly a hundred and sixty five thousand words about the length of your average romance novel on the shelf. I wonder what pays more very special. Thanks to Fill the engineer. He is the man behind the sound effects, the show has gotten so much better and more fun through all of your hard work. Thank you, Phil, Old Phil, you ain't much to look at, just a free rambling man. And of course, thank you so much to all of you listening to Cal's Weekend Review. I hope you're having this much fun as we are. If you are, tell some friends, buy a T shirt, maybe even a steel chainsaw, and keep setting me straight by writing in to a s k C. A L at the Meat Eater dot com. I may not get back to you, but I'm always thinking about you. Have a great week and get outside. Rest in peace, John Prime. I think I'm gonna be a symphony just as soon as I found to keep you back. Oudable deal, loan ouable bill, loman oable bill around, and the world'll take a rag

Save this episode