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Tag: alligator

Deep-sea gator bait, a mining company’s continued decline, why are there so many Garfield phones on French beaches, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: April 1, 2019.

Posted on April 1, 2019April 1, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)

  • Shameless plug for my Patreon! This month, subscribers who sign up for the Ocean Pun Sticker reward will get this glorious squat lobster in high quality vinyl. Suitable for dive gear, laptops, field equipment, or anywhere luxuriously goofy stickers are displayed.

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

  • Gator falls!
    • Scientists Dropped Dead Gators to the Seafloor to See What Bites.
    • Why A Scientist Dropped Dead Alligators In The Gulf Of Mexico.
Each giant isopod is around the size of a football. LOUISIANA UNIVERSITIES MARINE CONSORTIUM
  • Researchers beginning to uncover the mystery of hagfish’s zombie hearts.

Read More “Deep-sea gator bait, a mining company’s continued decline, why are there so many Garfield phones on French beaches, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: April 1, 2019.” »

Deep-sea gator falls covered in isopods, more struggles for the Ocean Cleanup, a robot lost in the cold (but not the one you’re thinking of), and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 18, 2019

Posted on February 18, 2019February 17, 2019 By Andrew Thaler
Weekly Salvage

Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

What do you do if you find yourself at the helm of a major Louisiana marine science institution? If you’re Dr. Craig McClain, you plant the first experimental Alligator falls in the deep Gulf of Mexico!

Photos courtesy Dr. Craig McClain via Deep Sea News.

On the other hand, if you find yourself at the helm of a US Navy destroyer, you might want to review this incredible and exhaustive accounting of the USS Fitzgerald disaster and how training deficits, exhaustion, and poor decision making compounded to create a deadly situation.

USS Fitzgerald. Public domain photo.

Read More “Deep-sea gator falls covered in isopods, more struggles for the Ocean Cleanup, a robot lost in the cold (but not the one you’re thinking of), and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 18, 2019” »

It’s not about the Mermaids: Animal Planet’s track record of fabricated reality

Posted on July 19, 2013March 24, 2014 By Andrew Thaler 24 Comments on It’s not about the Mermaids: Animal Planet’s track record of fabricated reality
Popular Culture, Science

The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, of which this post is not about. Photo by ADT.
The Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen, of which this post is not about. Photo by ADT.

I have fond memories of Animal Planet. I grew up with Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin. On the rare occasions when I have caught their recent programming, I’ve enjoyed shows like River Monsters and Monsters Inside Me. These are certainly not high-minded nature documentaries like Planet Earth and Blue Planet, but they manage to be both entertaining and informative. Then came the ghost hunters, pet psychics, bigfoot hunters, and mermaids. I started watching with a cynical eye*, started noticing things that seemed out of place: a catfish that looked already dead before being caught, a multitude of pets that looked surprisingly healthy considering their life in a hoarders house, conversations that seemed awkward, forced, and disjointed. And then there was Mermaids.

I’m not naive to the realities of reality shows**, but I do believe that channels like Animal Planet, channels that bill themselves as educational programming, have a responsibility to present fact-based programming. I also believe the public has a reasonable expectation that Animal Planet’s programming is at least honest in the events it portrays. Whale Wars is not Storage Wars. I’m also not a reality TV hater, and believe that it is possible to create compelling, educational programming in that format. After all, had it aired today, the Underwater World of Jacques Cousteau would have been classified as a reality show.

I’m not even talking about intentionally fake shows, like Lost Tapes or Mermaids: the Body Found, nor am I talking about shows with supernatural premises, like Pet Psychics or The Haunted, although I do have problems with the ways those shows portray the supernatural credulously while marketing them as science-based. I’m talking specifically about shows where Animal Planet stages, distorts, or manufactures scenes and then presents them as being actual events captured by their film crew. I’m talking about outright deception with the intention of misleading the audience.

I’m also talking about evidence. Over the years, I have had hundreds of head-scratching moments while watching Animal Planet shows that I strongly suspect were staged. For some the evidence is there, but, unless someone involved in the production comes forward, most will remain unconfirmed. Instead of wallowing in hearsay, I present to you four cases in which we have convincing evidence–statements from members of the cast, discordance with widely reported events, or witness and expert testimony–that an Animal Planet show is staged.

Read More “It’s not about the Mermaids: Animal Planet’s track record of fabricated reality” »

Biodiversity Wednesday: South Carolina’s Santee Cooper Lake System

Posted on March 23, 2011March 23, 2011 By David Shiffman 3 Comments on Biodiversity Wednesday: South Carolina’s Santee Cooper Lake System
Conservation, Science

As part of our Biodiversity Wednesday series, we’ve discussed amazing ecosystems all over the world. This week’s post will focus on an area a little closer to home (at least a little closer to my home). The Santee Cooper lake system, home to unique fish and a fascinating history, is less than an hour from Charleston. If you’ve ever driven on I-95 through South Carolina, you’ve gone right over it.

The Santee-Cooper system is marked with a white arrow. Image created with Google Earth

Read More “Biodiversity Wednesday: South Carolina’s Santee Cooper Lake System” »

Charlie and the Adventure: July 14, 2010

Posted on July 14, 2010July 2, 2010 By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Charlie’s wish is granted!

Charlie and the Adventure: July 13, 2010

Posted on July 13, 2010July 2, 2010 By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Charlie stops by the large alligator habitat at Alligator Adventure, but wishes that he could get closer to an alligator.

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