Pearl of the Squid - Best of Coast to Coast AM - 11/9/24 - podcast episode cover

Pearl of the Squid - Best of Coast to Coast AM - 11/9/24

Nov 10, 202415 min
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Episode description

Guest host Connie Willis and undersea explorer Scott Cassell discuss protecting giant squid in the sea and punishing ivory poachers on land.    

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Transcript

Speaker 1

Now here's a highlight from Coast to coast a m on iHeart Radio.

Speaker 2

That's really cool. How the pearl ages itself?

Speaker 3

Well, it was a brilliant study by doctor Makaida and it really is the best study of its kind to age any of the giant squid species, which are there five you know, giant squid Arkituthus. Then you got Mescenta Kaituthus HAMILTONI, otherwise known of the colossal squid, and I have plans to go and film that in person. But they're estimated they may reach well over a ton, So that's a that's another BFS species, And and they live in Antarctica primarily, but they also you know, come into

the Atlantic Indian oceans as well. But the study by Mark, by you and I to do that was so homegrown and so based. It was like, you know, my friend's a jeweler, I'll take it there and we'll we'll do this together. And it was just absout beautiful. But Michel was how do you know what a layer is? So I never challenged it. I actually helped him a little bit with a study collecting species. But he did such a great job and I care about him he's a

wonderful man. So I never actually published any of my concerns. But the bottom line is, how do you know that layer on the statle with is in fact twenty four hour cycle? You don't. It could be a cycle of predation every time it comes up to sunlight. It could be temperature change, it could be a feeding cycle. So you don't really know what every layer on the pearl is. Therefore it kind of sort of negates the whole thing about it. But it is a really good thumbnail. So

how long does jis squid live? We don't know. But the only reason that they're not conquered the world and driving around in cars, it's because they only live for a short period of time. The learning speed of a squid is so stunning. I had one ripped my shoulder out of its socket, up it onto my camera and pulling it back. At the time I could bench pus three hundred pounds. I wasn't a whim. I was just

I wasn't expecting this level of ferocity. So comes up behind me, grabs my arm and the camera yanks it in back, pulls my right arm out of it soket. Then another one grabs me and it pops back in, So I thank Tim kind of what really, wow? What

that's People don't realize how violent these things are. And all the while, they got a beak the size of a man's hand that's trying to remove an orange sized chunk of flesh every three seconds and bites and swallows and uses the radula, which is a spike covered tongue to swallow the meat. Then it goes in for another bite. And they are problems solving, intelligent like an octopus, but they do so just in predation. So if they can't eat you, they have no use for you, so they

leave in about thirty seconds. So all of the footage that you've seen me encounter over the last ten years or ten years when I was researching these animals and filming them, interactions are usually only thirty seconds long, and then you sit in the water wait for the next one. So they you never see a humbold squid by itself. They're like gang members. They're usually one hundred or a

thousand of them, so you're alone. Next thing you know, you're surrounded by one hundred one hundred pound squid, sometimes two hundred pounds squid that want to eat you. That's the only reason they're there. And they know their great white shark look like a puppy.

Speaker 2

So that's the humble right. How many like yeah? How many giants squid hang out together?

Speaker 3

They're more loaners solo. Yeah they are, although you know people have seen more than one together. There's another of the of the five giant squid species called Taningia, and they are often seen as a couple, the male and female, and they hang out. And if you capture capture one tan India, fishermen will notice the other one will surround the boat for days. You know, it won't leave.

Speaker 2

So who gets to name these? Did you ever get to name one? Because you've seen them.

Speaker 3

I've discovered species, but I've never named anything. I turned my see, I was an explorer. I'm a part of the scientific process. My job is to collect information and give that to people that are working on PhDs or working on a scientific program, and then they take that data and they put it wherever they want it. So

they they do all the naming stuff. But I got to, you know, discover several species, and and you know that's one of the things is that I like to protect animals, so That's how I got into hunting poachers, not to kill them. I've never killed any poachers, but you wanted to. Oh yeah, I mean they're they're discover of the earth. They're they're the clowest people. And I've seen them killing dolphins, uh, sharksening, killing sea turtles, killing sea lions for their penis, all

this basically for the Chinese market. Well what ye said, Yeah, if you ever want to help the environment, there's there's people out there trying to protect from I've gone to South Africa and run as a as a rifleman to protect rhinos from coachers. I've lived there, done that for periods of time and at different sites, and i just love rhinos, So I've put my life on the line to protect rhinos. But if you really want to help rhinos, don't buy anything from China. Let China go into economic decline.

So they stopped the demand for gorilla feet and you know, sea lion penis and all this stupid you know gorilla uh uh, tiger pause. You know, all these things go to China because they have an economy that has made so many wealthy people. They believe they could afford all the luxuries of life and everything belongs to them. So if you actually want to save an elephant from ivory coaching,

stop buying from China. I mean, so that's that's fundamentally the thing is that the great evil on killing animals was them. So I started hunting poachers for prosecution, and I would use sniper tactics which I learned in the army, and combat diver skills which I learned as a contractor working with the army. And so I would literally drop off a boat and do a combat dive, which a little rebreather and stealthy equipment and listening systems and filming,

you know, thermal night vision, all this stuff. And I would go into harbors that were operated by drug cartels that had hired poachers to kill animals so they could sell it to China, and I would I put a lot of people in prison, drug cartel members included, which is why they had a bounty on my head for years. I did this all by myself. It wasn't like a team of people. I wasn't paid for the most part

to do this, I would I was a contractor. I would go and do things in war torn areas, usually as a good guy and then I would come back with way too much money and I would spend it living down hunting poachers for months at a time. And I turned that over to friends that I made with different police departments and you know, different countries that I was operating in, and they'd prosecute them in prison. But thank you. I never claimed, but you're welcome. But I've

never claimed anything from it. But I got lots of video and footage.

Speaker 2

Well here's the deal with that that I'm thinking is, in order for you to catch them, you have to literally not just videotape them or film them or whatever you're doing there, but you have to actually watch them do it in order to stop them. So you have to see this little massacre before you can turn them in.

Speaker 3

You know, I really appreciate your heart for being able to think that through and realize that. Yeah, I have had to endure watching that, and you know, I felt like I could crush rocks in my hands. I was so angry, you know, watching them dragging a sea lion that's screaming and begging for his life while it was in a net, while they literally got it and amputated penis, while it's still alive, being held down. How do you not ever unsee that? You can't. So these people are

the most cruel people. And I later found out through different law enforcement agencies they are the same pattern people as a rapist. So if you've got a poacher, they're usually abusive to the people that they're around. They're usually awful people.

Speaker 2

Oh yeah, yeah, Well the serial killers all killed animals when they were kids.

Speaker 3

Right, I agree, that's that's completely correct, And thank you for bringing that up. And that's why, you know, when I'm hired to be a submersible pilot, I would be able to go and be in the peace and the beauty, and so I was away from people. I was away from people that are coaching them, away from you know, people that hurt. So I was around you know, God's creation, this beautiful ocean, and I've seen things from the vantage of a submersible that you would not believe. And just

new species that are still unknown to science. Nobody still knows what they are, and I got them on video that are just really like what is that? Well, we don't know until we catch her one and or see what multiple times, we'll figure it out.

Speaker 2

But yeah, and then bring it up for us Scott, so we can cut it open and see what it is. That's the same way with bigfoot. You know, I'm serious, but that's what they want with bigfoot. They want to take out a bigfoot and cut it up. And stay away from those people that say that, you know, that's what they want to do, or that hide that they want to do it. There's a lot of them out there.

I know the people. They're out there. They're saying they're bigfooters and all they want to do is take one down, but they're playing it off. They just want to find people's areas where they are. So those of you out there that genuine don't tell your spots. Quit sharing information with people that you you better know these people inside now when you.

Speaker 3

Share it, well, you're right. And if I can and have the permission to talk to your audience, who, by the way, thank you for listening to me. And I hope, I hope you guys are liking some of my crazy stories. I've always prided myself on being partially insane. But the reality is that if you identify species and somebody wants it, they'll find a way to go and harvest it. And I've seen this firsthand. I was working with river monsters, and I was working with a wonderful guy. You guys

may have seen on TV, Jeremy Wade. So Jeremy and I are working together on humbold squid project and he's just absolutely sweetheart. And while we were working with him, he hired a scientist from California and we pull up one little squid. Because I wasn't sent ahead of time to go and scout the squid out. The scientists said, oh, I know exactly where they are. And of course it turned out to be a lie. Scientists had no idea where they were. Field Men like me find species that

they researched they don't know often have fun. Anyway, they didn't know where the squid were. And we found one small quid and we picked it up and we put it inside of a bucket and it was too small to film. It was too small to be scary, it was too small to study. It was like foot and a half long. And I said, well, there's no reason

to keep this ould guy. Let's let him go. And the scientist goes, no, I want him, and he pulls them out of the bucket and slams him on the deck to kill it, and I said, what's what's the point and he goes, I just want to have a single specimen to take back with me. I don't have a plan for it yet, but I'll think of something.

Speaker 1

Oh.

Speaker 3

And I looked at this guy and again, I could break rocks with my hand, and Jeremy just looks at me and he goes. He calls my name, and I just I just left. I went to the bottle of the ship and sat there for a while because I just watched a scientist quote unquote kill an animal for no scientific value, for the joy of murdering it. And I've seen that a lot. So we put to verify their species. No, DNA should be fine in the watercol you get some hair, you get some video, something like that.

But here's the thing. If you know, if a location of these things is found out, the worst thing you can do is announce it. And because nobody's going to be able to properly protect it, yeah, and people will find a way. I've seen poachers go in places that are well protected and guarded, like you know, you know, in places in Mexico that are well protected and guarded places and uh in an island chains that are literally protected by navies and poachers still find a way to

go in there and slaughter. So don't we need we need people like me that can go up to Bigfoot if they're found out ands me.

Speaker 2

You know, we need more of you all over. Yeah, we need more of you all over. In fact that some of the other things you're You're welcome. There's other things, thank you. There's other things that you have also. I mean, you're amazing when it comes to underwater like the I think it's the line fish that people have, like just they had maybe in their tank or aquarium and then they put it out into the sea or ocean or wherever they put it, and then those there's a problem

with that messing up. It's not supposed to be happening in that area, correct, it messes up everything else.

Speaker 3

Oh my god. I mean you're completely correct. And I appreciate you knowing that. I love your mind and you're a you're a you're as curious as a child, Connie, and I love that about you. I never lose it. But the lionfish is an evasive species in America and it's primarily on the East coast Florida. All the way up to Maine, believe it or not, and all the way down into the South American region, so all the

way down through Mexico. And these animals are not supposed to be here, and they got there with the aquarium trade or even museums that have allowed them to be here, and them to enter the environment here, like you know, I'm moving in Buffy, my little fish here can't come with us, so let's just put him in the bay so he can live on well. The fecundity, in other words, the amount of eggs that a female can have is stunning.

We're talking million eggs per female and they're sexually mature in less than a year some people say ninety days from birth. And so in a very short period of time, this predator will have a tremendous amount of eggs. And there are no natural predators for the lionfish in this area. And you have an animal winefish that only eat babies, not human babies. They only eat like baby shrimp, baby

coral fish, like clownfish. They only eat baby animals in the coral reef, and they displace by eating all the babies. There's no animals to refill like sea bass and grouper and you know, more eel and all this stuff. All those species are declining rapidly because the lions fish, you're eating their babies and they're not reproducing, and they're replacing them with their incredible ability to spread.

Speaker 1

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