Archive for February, 2026

How Jim Fowler of Wild Kingdom Became Famous

February 25, 2026

This recent generation of political correctness has driven humor away. Funny sitcoms used to be a staple of television, but today there are few, if any, television shows that are genuinely funny. Cancel culture has put comedy on mute. Modern television executives would censor most the humor from such classics as Seinfeld. One example of an episode of Seinfeld that could never air today is Season 9 Episode 6 entitled “The Merv Griffin Show.” The premise seems to make light of date rape, and today’s television executives, fearing the “me too” political backlash, would edit the entire premise, transmogrifying the episode into humorless milquetoast. The episode depicts Jerry Seinfeld dating a woman who has a classic toy collection, but she won’t let him play with her toys, so he plies her with turkey and wine until she passes out. He plays with her toys while she is unconscious, and on other occasions invites his friends to come over to play as she lay unaware. Of course, it’s creepy but it’s just a silly joke. Instead of taking advantage of her “toys,” he’s playing with her actual toys. Meanwhile, Kramer finds the discarded set of the old “Merv Griffin Show” and resurrects it, hosting a facsimile of that show with guests–more silly hilarity. Jim Fowler, a co-host of Wild Kingdom for decades, often made appearances on talk shows, and he appears as a guest on Kramer’s show. He brings a hawk to the show, but George Costanza crashes the show with an injured squirrel that the hawk attacks. I haven’t seen an episode of a television show this funny on network television in a very long time.

Jim Fowler made an appearance on an episode of Seinfeld. He often introduced little known animals to talk show audiences. Network television would never dare show an episode today with one of the storylines depicted in this episode. This episode aired during 1997 when sitcoms were still funny.

Jim Fowler was the first scientist to study harpy eagles in depth. He published his findings and as a result was hired as co-host of Wild Kingdom.

Harpy eagles are the largest eagles in the world and hunt medium-sized mammals like some kind of terrifying dinosaur.

Jim Fowler was born in Albany, Georgia during 1930 but spent most of his early life in Virginia. He was the first scientist to extensively study the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) of South America–the largest species of eagle in the world. He spent 6 months observing 2 harpy eagle nests in the Kanaka Mountains of British Guiana during the early 1960’s, and he published a paper about it in 1964.

Harpy eagles prey on medium-sized mammals including monkeys, tree sloths, coati-mundis, opossums, and porcupines. There are no cases on record of them preying on human toddlers, but they are capable of it. Mr. Fowler set up blinds next to 2 harpy eagle nests, and he made daily observations. Both nests were on the tallest trees in the vicinity. The eagles utilized silk-cotton trees (Ceiba pentandra), one of which was 7 feet in diameter. He discovered it takes 2 years to raise their young to independence, demonstrating that these apex predators are intelligent and require a long educational process. Mr. Fowler captured a juvenile male, a juvenile female, and an adult female to study in captivity. The captured eagles showed no fear of humans. For the animals they prey upon, they must seem like some kind of terrifying dinosaur.

After Mr. Fowler’s study was published, Marlin Perkins invited him on the show to feature harpy eagles, and Marlin hired him to be a co-host. After Marlin’s death in 1985, Mr. Fowler became the main host, and he frequently introduced audiences to little known animals on late night talks shows. This is how he became famous. He made over 50 appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He died in 2019.

Harpy eagles are the largest extant eagles, but there were a couple of slightly larger species that occurred during the Pleistocene. Woodward’s eagle (Buteogallus woodwardii) lived in North America and likely supplemented its diet with carrion. The Haast’s eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) of New Zealand was the largest eagle species ever and preyed upon extinct Moa birds (and possibly native children).

Reference:

Fowler, J; and J. Cape

“Notes on the Harpy Eagle from British Guiana”

The Auk 81 (3) July 1964

https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=18321&context=auk

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Posted in Ornithology | Leave a Comment »

Landscapes in the Neanderthal World

February 18, 2026

Most paleoart depicts Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalis) living in a cold steppe environment. Although Neanderthals did range into steppe landscapes, they were likely more common in more forested areas or locations with at least some trees. A new study using paleoecology, archaeobotany, and climatology aims to change this common misconception.

Neanderthals first evolved about 430,000 years ago and lived until about 35,000 years ago when they were probably wiped out and/or assimilated by modern humans (Homo sapiens). During Ice Ages much of Europe and Asia was transformed into cold and arid grassy steppes where wooly mammoths, wooly rhinos, steppe bison, horses, and caribou roamed. However, there were important refugium where forested or partially forested ecosystems survived. These environments were located on the Iberian Peninsula, southern Italy, the southern Balkans, the Caucuses Mountains, the Zagros Mountains in Iran, and the Levant. During Interglacials most of Europe and western Asia were covered in mixed oak and pine forests. Interstadials, warmer climate phases within Ice Ages, saw the expansion of non-analogue plant communities where species with northern European affinities grew with Mediterranean species of plants in compositions not found today. Neanderthals occurred for 395,000 years. 72% of that time was during Ice Ages, but 28% of that time was during Interglacial periods. So, for about one-third of their existence, forest and woodland environments predominated. Forested refugium existed during Ice Ages, and the majority of the Neanderthal population probably gravitated toward these environments rather than cold steppe where food was scarcer.

Traditional illustrations of Neanderthal landscapes. Though they did occur in steppe environments, they were probably more common in wooded ecosystems because there was more food. From the below referenced paper.

Neanderthals were more common in environments depicted in this image. There were more resources than on the steppe. This represents an interstadial climate phase when trees encroached on grasslands. From the below referenced paper.

Another environment likely preferred by Neanderthals. Other woodland environments may have been modified by fires started by Neanderthals to keep them more open.

Forested environments provided more food than steppe environments. Neanderthals had ready access to plant foods, including acorns, nuts, seeds, fruit, and edible forbs and grasses. A dental wear study of Neanderthals who lived in what is now Greece suggests they did eat fruit, seeds, grasses and sedges. The animals preyed upon by Neanderthals were more abundant in forested areas than on steppes because of the available forest mast. Neanderthals could hunt red deer, roe deer, wild boar, goat, aurochs, woodland bison, rabbit, and hare. Prey occurred in denser populations and would be easier to ambush than on open steppes where the approach of hunting people could be observed for quite a distance. Rivers and streams with fish were more common in forested regions as well.

From the below referenced study I was most interested in the discussion of non-analogue woodlands found in the southern Balkans during some Interstadial climate phases. Between 60,000 BP-30,000 BP climate fluctuated rapidly from cold to warm phases. The alternating phases didn’t last long enough to cause a complete change in climate that would terminate most species of plants with either warm or cold climate affinities. Here, temperate species including oak, chestnut, birch, hackberry, pine, and fir grew alongside Mediterranean species such as olive, mock privet, pistachio, and manna ash. This is the type of environment I would most like to see, if I could jump in a time machine. I’m sure it would host the most diverse faunal assemblage.

Reference:

Carrion, J.; G. Amoros, A. Amoros, A. Marion Arroyo

“Beyond the Cold Steppes: Neanderthal Landscapes and the Neglect of Flora”

Quaternary Science Review 371 Jan 2026

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379125004937

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Posted in Pleistocene Mammals | 3 Comments »

Megafauna Walking the Beaches of Southern Spain 125,000 Years BP

February 11, 2026

Ichnologists examined animal tracks found near the coast of Spain at 4 sites, and they date to the last Interglacial ranging in age from 90,000 years BP-140,000 years BP. Ichnology is the study of animal tracks. They found tracks that compare favorably to the enormous, extinct straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus), horse, red deer (known as elk in North America), wolf, stone marten, and beetle. The sites include Torro de Copa, Calblanque, Monte de la Ceniza, and Pena del Aquela Regional Nature Park. The tracks are important evidence that these species occurred here because their remains are not found in the local fossil record, though they are found in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula.

Location and geological setting of sites where fossil tracks of animals dating to the last Interglacial were found in Spain. From the below referenced paper.

The tracks were found in fossilized sand dunes created by Ice Age winds. Note the impressions of raindrops. This indicates the sand was wet when the tracks were made. From the below referenced paper.

Fossilized elephant tracks. From the below referenced paper.

Map of sites where evidence of extinct elephants have been found. The yellow represent tracks; the red circles represent bones. From the below referenced paper.

Straight-tusked elephants were 1 of the largest land mammals of all time. There were 4 species and they ranged across Africa, Europe, and Asia. I believe they would still exist today, if not for man. During Ice Ages mammoths replaced them in colder regions, but they could still occur in warmer regions of Europe and Asia.

Ichnologists find impressions of rain drops in the sand next to the tracks, indicating the sand was wet from rain when the tracks were made. The tracks were made on coastal sand dunes that formed during a previous Ice Age when climate was dry, and wind blew sand into big dunes. However, by the time these tracks were made, wetter climate fostered the spread of beach shrubs that stabilized the dunes. They were walking through a scrubby habitat with many bare spots. The dunes were adjacent to a mixed forest of ash, birch, fir, and hornbeam. Straight-tusked elephants likely fed on the twigs and leaves of these plants. Some tracks appear as if the animals were just passing through, perhaps as part of a seasonal migration. Other trackways suggest the animals were congregating on the spot and trampling the ground. Neanderthals likely hunted these animals here.

The sites were dated using uranium-series dating of coral and seashells. They must have been rapidly covered by sediment that today is being eroded away, making them visible. It’s a nice snapshot of the local fauna during the interglacial. If not for man, all of these species would still enjoy living next to the Mediterranean Sea today.

Reference:

Carvalho, C.; et al

“New Vertebrate Track Sites from the Last Interglacial Dune Deposits of Coastal Murcia (Southeastern Spain): Ecological Corridors for Elephants in Iberia”

Quaternary Science Review 369 December 2025

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379125004512

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Posted in Pleistocene Mammals | Leave a Comment »

The 1920 Georgia Bulldogs–The Team that Earned the Nickname

February 4, 2026

It’s the week of the Super Bowl, but I don’t care who wins. I watch the NFL for entertainment and do not have a favorite team. I often mildly root for the team with the most former Georgia Bulldog players on their roster. I wanted to see the Rams in this year’s Super Bowl because Mathew Stafford, their quarterback, played for Georgia between 2006-2008, but alas, the Rams fell short in Seattle where they also battled the referees. The only sports team that I passionately favor is the Georgia Bulldogs football team. Most sports fans, and even Georgia Bulldogs’ fans don’t know how Georgia earned the nickname–Bulldogs. Here is the story of how that happened.

Before 1920 the Georgia football team was simply known as the Red and Black. During 1893, just their 2nd season, some fans did call them Bulldogs, but the name didn’t stick. By 1920 the press started calling them the Wildcats, however Georgia earned the nickname Bulldogs when they were playing Virginia on the road. Virginia athletic rules at the time didn’t allow freshmen to play, and 3 of Georgia’s star players were freshmen. Despite this handicap, Georgia held Virginia to a scoreless draw. The game included 2 goal line stands by Georgia, and a sportswriter by the name of Cliff Wheatley wrote Georgia “bulldogged Virginia at the goal line.” Georgia has been known as the Bulldogs ever since.

Georgia won the Southern Conference (precursor to the SEC) in 1920, and 1 pollster ranked them number 1 in the nation. They destroyed every team except Virginia and Alabama. The game against Alabama was an exciting classic, but unfortunately there is no film of it. Note how short the season was. Just 2 months.

The 1920 Georgia Bulldogs had a strong line. They were so good, Georgia started scheduling games against Ivy League powers the next year. The Ivy League still dominated college football during the 1920s.

The 1920 Georgia Bulldogs were a great team, finishing 8-0-1 in the Southern Conference, precursor to the SEC. The Berryman Quality Points Rating System rated them number 1 in the whole nation 70 years later, but official polls at the time gave the national championship to California and Princeton. Georgia destroyed most of the teams they played that year. Too bad, they didn’t play Georgia Tech that year because the Yellow Jackets also finished undefeated. The most exciting game of the year was against Alabama. Georgia took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but Alabama fought their way back into the game. With 2 minutes left Alabama attempted to drop kick a short field goal that would have probably won the game, but Georgia’s Kirk Whelchel blocked the kick, and Buck Cheves returned it 87 yards for the winning touchdown. Descriptions of the play are sketchy because sportswriters at this time were a bunch of incoherent drunks, and there is no film of it. Football was not widely filmed yet. Georgia’s coach, Herman Stegeman, coached for 2 more seasons and later became athletic director and scout for the football team. The next year, Georgia began scheduling traditional Ivy League powers that were still considered the best teams in the nation during the 1920s.

Reference:

Smith, Loren

Between the Hedges: 100 Years of Georgia Football

Longstreet Press 1992

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Posted in pop culture | Leave a Comment »

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