00:00Well, but it's also the one thing, and Peter, you said this too, and you were alluding to
00:23it, Dr. Reyes, the aspect of the more you know, it's about education, because only by
00:27understanding these animals to a point can we respect them and treasure them as we're
00:33supposed to.
00:34Can you talk about that and the importance of that?
00:36Yes.
00:37And I think that's also one of our goals, is certainly we want to affect the attitudes
00:42of this next generation about the importance of conservation, as Mutual of Omaha has been
00:46doing since the 60s.
00:49What we hope to do is replace fear of wildlife with knowledge about wildlife, so people then
00:55are more comfortable taking walks in nature, maybe backpacking or camping in nature, introducing
01:00their families and friends to spending time in the natural world.
01:04Then hopefully, once you've spent time in nature, you sort of get hooked on this wonderful
01:09balance in life of our everyday busy lives and look forward to spending more time out
01:14in the natural world, then you become a future conservationist and want to do what you can
01:19do to help.
01:20Well, I was just going to say that, yeah, I just agree with Peter completely.
01:26And you don't have to fall in love with wild animals and protecting them through being
01:33with them, right?
01:34You don't have to be a wildlife ecologist or a nature show host like we are to love
01:38wildlife.
01:39You can honestly be someone who sits on their sofa and watches a nature program like Wild
01:44Kingdom to build that knowledge and then care a whole, whole lot.
01:49You don't have to go through all the hoops, and that's one of the things they're so proud
01:52of with their show is that it feeds that education, it gives some thrills, it's just, I'm biased,
01:59it's like the perfect show that gives you a story, some excitement, and lots of kind
02:05of informal education to empower you to join the environmental movement.
02:18Yeah, I just barely...
02:36Then I spot something.
02:38A dark silhouette breaches the water's surface.
02:41Look at that.
02:42Oh yeah.
02:43You don't have anything in khaki, do you?
02:49And this is about full-grown, right?
02:57Yeah, that's an adult.
02:59And that leads to my last question, actually it's two-pronged, but it's the aspect of legacy.
03:03And Peter, obviously having seen it from 85 on, you do that legacy, but then Dr. Ray helping
03:09create the new legacy within Mutual of Omaha.
03:12So like the balance of the two ideals, because the practical, the technology, all these things,
03:18what legacy of something like Wild Kingdom means to both of you from your different perspectives,
03:24but then because of your experience and because of your wisdom, you can show and impart that
03:30knowledge because you're the experts.
03:33So adding sort of that expertise to the legacy from both of your perspectives.
03:38So two-pronged, however you guys would like to answer.
03:41Well, I think that's an astute observation and there's this nice transition.
03:45I remember growing up seeing Marlon Perkins and Jim Fowler, which sort of affected my
03:50attitude about wildlife, and then being a part of working with Mr. Fowler, and now sort
03:55of being the link between that show and the new show, which is becoming more science-based,
04:01as we mentioned, more technology involved.
04:03But our goal is still the same, to share the importance of conservation with the next generation,
04:10and hopefully then they will do what they can to participate in preserving this wonderful
04:14environment, this natural world that we all live in.
04:18Yeah, I have to say, I knew that I wanted to be a nature show host before I knew that
04:25I wanted to be a scientist.
04:27So it kind of happened in that order.
04:29I was a kid watching nature programs, including Wild Kingdom, including watching Peter on
04:34Wild Kingdom, and I thought to myself, that's what I want to do.
04:38I want to host a nature show.
04:39What better job?
04:40You get to explore, you get to travel, you get to interact with wild animals, and you
04:44get to promote wildlife conservation.
04:46That was just perfect for me then.
04:49And I have to say, there's no kind of clear path to being a nature show host.
04:54Both of us, neither of us, I should say, necessarily submitted an application or had an audition
04:59or anything like that.
05:01It's different for everyone.
05:03And so I became a scientist.
05:05I became a wildlife ecologist through going to college and graduate school.
05:09And for so many years, that was sufficient.
05:12I was doing all of the nature show hosting stuff without the cameras.
05:16And it was very, it was very purposeful.
05:19This bird is what brought Jim Fowler to Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom in their very first
05:25show.
05:26That's right.
05:27Here we are in remote South Texas.
05:29Yeah, it's gorgeous here.
06:06I ended up, you know, just through science and through doing a lot of science communication
06:14on my real research, there was a period where I was doing research and kind of like holding
06:18an iPhone, you know, and showing people what I was doing in the research capacity.
06:23It built up my exposure as a communicator.
06:28And somewhere along the way, I got considered to host Wild Kingdom.
06:32And so I feel so honored to be a scientist on this show and to show people, you know,
06:39that scientists are also communicators, are also adventurers, are also hosts of shows
06:44and to really, you know, bring that credibility that Wild Kingdom has always had, now we're
06:50just building it even more.
06:52And it's just, you know, scientists don't get put on TV very much.
06:55So it's truly an absolute honor to be in this position.
07:00And you know, man, oh man, like you said, our show keeps getting more scientific and
07:05more full of technology and more fun at the same time.
07:09So both important, so happy and pleased to be able to continue this legacy.
07:13I was going to say with you guys, but you know, Dr. Ray, it becomes so meta because
07:19you're there with Peter.
07:21You watched it.
07:22Trust me.
07:23That whole element, the circle of life, my God, that's awesome.
07:26And we're friends.
07:27So that's another thing.
07:28It's not just like, oh, I used to, you know, like worship this show and admire the host
07:34when I was a kid.
07:36But then, you know, we work together and it's, you know, very stoic and what, no, we are
07:40buddies.
07:41We help each other.
07:42We spend so much time together in the field.
07:45We have magical moments together.
07:47We celebrate together.
07:48I mean, it's, I never, you couldn't have told me when I was a kid that one day one of my
07:52favorite people in the world would be Peter Gross.
07:55And yet here we are.
07:56Oh, that's awesome.
07:57You wouldn't have told me that somebody would walk in for the first time and sure, I'll
08:01walk through that swamp at night and see if I can find an alligator with you.
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