#48 Peter Gros - Co-Host of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild

Peter Gros is a veteran wildlife expert. As the co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, Peter Gros shares his love of wildlife and wilderness with audiences throughout the country. Gros joined the original Wild Kingdom team in 1985 and has nearly 30 years of field experience with captive wildlife, establishing breeding programs for endangered animals and rehabilitation programs for birds of prey. 

He's a USDA licensed Exhibition Exhibitor and Animal Educator, and an active member of the American Zoo and Aquariums Association, Association of Wildlife Educators and Zoological Association of America. Gros is also on the Board of Directors of the Suisun Marsh Natural History Association and a trustee for the Cheetah Conservation Fund. He's a frequent lecturer on conservation and preservation around the United States and Canada. 

His mission is to excite people about wildlife and teach them to understand and care about the natural world.

Mark and Peter discuss inspiration to devote a life to conservation work, bringing endangered species back from the brink, utilizing a large platform to get people to care, and gauging kids in nature early and often the biggest threats to wildlife today and adaptation in a changing climate.

Check out the links mentioned in the show:

Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild

Save What You Love with Mark Titus:⁣

Produced: Emilie Firn

Edited: Patrick Troll⁣

Music: Whiskey Class⁣

Instagram: @savewhatyoulovepodcast

Website: savewhatyoulove.evaswild.com

Support wild salmon at evaswild.com

Creators & Guests

Host

Mark Titus

Mark Titus is the creator of Eva’s Wild and director of the award winning films, The Breach and The Wild. He’s currently working on a third film in his salmon trilogy, The Turn. In early 2021, Mark launched his podcast, Save What You Love, interviewing exceptional people devoting their lives in ways big and small to the protection of things they love. Through his storytelling, Mark Titus carries the message that humanity has an inherent need for wilderness and to fulfill that need we have a calling to protect wild places and wild things.

Guest

Peter Gros

Peter Gros is a veteran wildlife expert. As the co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild, Peter Gros shares his love of wildlife and wilderness with audiences throughout the country. Gros joined the original Wild Kingdom team in 1985 and has nearly 30 years of field experience with captive wildlife, establishing breeding programs for endangered animals and rehabilitation programs for birds of prey. He's a frequent lecturer on conservation and preservation around the United States and Canada. His mission is to excite people about wildlife and teach them to understand and care about the natural world.

What is Save What You Love with Mark Titus?

Wild salmon give their very lives so that life itself can continue. They are the inspiration for each episode asking change-makers in this world what they are doing to save the things they love most. Join filmmaker, Mark Titus as we connect with extraordinary humans saving what they love through radical compassion and meaningful action. Visit evaswild.com for more information.

00:00:00:13 - 00:00:30:14
Mark Titus
Welcome to the Save What You Love podcast. I'm your host, Mark Titus. Today I sat down with Peter Gros. Peter spent his childhood watching host Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler navigate the wild wonders of the world on Mutual of Omaha, his Wild Kingdom. I'm a certain age, but I'm sure many, many, many of you out there remember sitting on Sunday nights on the couch like I did watching Mutual Omaha as Wild Kingdom and, wow, what a cool continuum to get to talk to Peter.

00:00:30:16 - 00:01:00:09
Mark Titus
today, Peter Gros, host, Mutual of Omaha, Wild Kingdom: Protecting the Wild. Growing up in New York's Hudson Valley, Peter was surrounded by a large variety of North American wildlife and then mutual. Omaha's wild kingdom motivated him to further his education and wildlife care and pursue a career in wildlife conservation education. His expertise led to designing innovative wildlife displays where animals roam free on small islands, while people viewed them from rafts off shore.

00:01:00:11 - 00:01:22:00
Mark Titus
He then became a spokesman for the natural world while developing endangered species breeding programs, which landed him an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1984. It was in Carson's studio where Gros met one of his lifetime childhood idols, Jim Fowler. He was a former host, a mutual Omaha's Wild Kingdom, and was presented with a chance of a lifetime.

00:01:22:02 - 00:01:50:20
Mark Titus
Marlin Perkins was stepping down from his hosting duties at the time, and the show needed a new co-host. Gros literally leapt at the opportunity. In 1985, Peter officially joined as co-host of Wild Kingdom. Throughout his 38 year career, Gros has seen real change like bald eagles and alligators coming off the endangered species list. And he says, although we have more work to do, there could never be a more rewarding career for me.

00:01:50:22 - 00:02:21:01
Mark Titus
Right now, Peter Gros is hosting Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild on Saturday mornings on NBC. In this episode, we discuss inspiration to devote a life to conservation work, bringing endangered species back from the brink, utilizing a large platform to get people to care, and gauging kids in nature early and often. The biggest threats to wildlife today and adaptation in a changing climate.

00:02:21:03 - 00:02:29:19
Mark Titus
Peter is a gentleman and a scholar, and I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did, having the conversation with him. Onward!

00:02:29:21 - 00:03:06:02
Music
How do you save what you love?
When the world is burning down?
How do you save what you love?
When pushes come to shove.
How do you say what you love?
When things are upside down.
How do you say what you love?
When times are getting tough.

00:03:06:04 - 00:03:09:21
Mark Titus
Peter, welcome to the show. Where are you joining us from today?

00:03:09:23 - 00:03:16:08
Peter Gros
Thank you. Mark. It's a pleasure to talk to you. I'm not that far from you, actually. I'm up in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

00:03:16:10 - 00:03:42:01
Mark Titus
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful place. And I'm so glad you could join us today. I, like so many others, have been a disciple of Mutual of Omaha, Wild Kingdom. I remember sitting on our crappy orange fabric couch. My brother and I kind of huddled up together watching Marlin Perkins, and it was like the delight of our week was watching the show.

00:03:42:01 - 00:03:50:00
Mark Titus
And now you get to carry on that legacy. I'd love for you to just start and tell us your story. Where'd you grow up? How did you get into this line of work?

00:03:50:02 - 00:04:17:02
Peter Gros
Well, not unlike you. I started my excuse me, my Sunday afternoons watching Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler as well, which sort of, set the hook for me. I was raised in the Hudson Valley, surrounded by forests and a pond in the backyard, in an area that had been forested by my grandfather. and that was sort of my childhood playground.

00:04:17:04 - 00:05:04:02
Peter Gros
So I was sort of, required to spend time in the natural world. after that, I, went to school for animal husbandry and behavior and then started work, eventually designing, free roaming displays. And I was fortunate enough to have, large litter of tigers born that happened to be the largest ever. Wow. And they the mother whom I had, raised, let me in the den box to rotate the youngsters the cubs, so they could then, get the necessary colostrum, which they needed within the first 24 hours.

00:05:04:03 - 00:05:11:14
Peter Gros
As a result of that, someone took a picture. In those days, it went on the wire. Remember that.

00:05:11:16 - 00:05:12:22
Mark Titus
The way. Yes.

00:05:13:00 - 00:05:42:04
Peter Gros
And I was contacted. If I would bring it on and, bring the Cubs on a national show and talk about tigers. And I agreed if, in fact, we could talk about the plight of spotted and striped endangered cats and specifically tigers, and I did. And who was there? But, Jim Fowler from Wild Kingdom. Wow. So we had a it went well and we had a great talk and we were familiar with each other's careers.

00:05:42:04 - 00:06:06:18
Peter Gros
And he said, Mr. Perkins at the time was, in that. Well, and thinking about retiring and they were looking for someone to work with Jim Fowler, who didn't want an actor, they wanted someone in the conservation field. And I thought for about three seconds and said, yes. And so you might think that that was sort of the beginning.

00:06:06:20 - 00:06:08:21
Peter Gros
and that was in 1985.

00:06:08:23 - 00:06:30:11
Mark Titus
Wow, wow. Did you always have a bent toward conservation or, you know, was there. Yeah. Which which came first? The the love of the animal, just the the critter itself. Or did you have some sense of man? You know, we need to protect these guys out there, which kind of happened. At the same time.

00:06:30:12 - 00:07:00:07
Peter Gros
I had an appreciation of wilderness at a very young age and enjoyed the time I spent in nature and, growing up in the Hudson Valley. also had an interest in, in sailing. And at the time, I remember reading about the Hudson River not really being a safe enough place to swim in, and there was a movement to clean up, effluent from factories and plants into the river.

00:07:00:09 - 00:07:33:21
Peter Gros
And over a period of time, it was getting better and better. And I became interested in stream and river cleanups. And then, as I began more interested to find out, challenged wildlife around the world and wanted to know what I could do more internationally. along came this tremendous opportunity, right? Mutual of Omaha, which gives me a platform to be able to talk about, progress about wildlife around the world and in wildlife and wildlands that were being challenged.

00:07:33:23 - 00:07:55:17
Peter Gros
So that sort of, really inspired me to learn more and more and more, read as much as I possibly could, and then fortunately, be able to travel with Jim Fowler, working with biologists and scientists and experts, and come back to the US and share that knowledge we had learned about, international conservation.

00:07:55:19 - 00:08:14:17
Mark Titus
You know, it's this it's a similar story for me. I grew up fishing here in Puget Sound. Salmon were always a huge part of my life. I grew up fishing with my dad, became a guide in Alaska for, dozen years, and worked in the salmon industry in Bristol Bay and, you know, didn't really know how it would come full circle.

00:08:14:17 - 00:08:45:11
Mark Titus
But when it sort of did in this idea for creating a, my first feature documentary, The Breach, came into my consciousness, I like you, I started I had this glimmer of an idea that, hey, maybe this could go further. Maybe the work itself could be work toward conservation. And that's, in fact, what's happened over time. I'm curious, how did your your activism or your work in conservation augment or change at all?

00:08:45:11 - 00:08:51:09
Mark Titus
If it did indeed change once you started working at Mutual of Omaha as well? Kingdom.

00:08:51:11 - 00:09:15:09
Peter Gros
Well, well, like you, who is, in the business of storytelling through film, you become aware very quickly how impactful you can be affecting public attitude. the old expression about a picture being worth a thousand years. I'm familiar with the kind of things that you've done. And think of all the people who have seen your work as a result of that.

00:09:15:09 - 00:09:17:20
Peter Gros
Say, what can I do to help?

00:09:17:22 - 00:09:18:07
Mark Titus
Right.

00:09:18:07 - 00:09:44:00
Peter Gros
That's I feel the same way. I think that literally hundreds of thousands of people, are, are a show that runs on NBC on Saturday mornings, Mutual of Omaha as well. The Kingdom protecting the wild, gives us that platform and an opportunity to educate and affect people's attitudes and sort of connect the next generation with conservation.

00:09:44:02 - 00:09:51:18
Peter Gros
one of our recent shows was right there, Puget Sound. this one you're probably familiar with called pause.

00:09:51:20 - 00:09:53:01
Mark Titus
Sure. Absolutely.

00:09:53:03 - 00:10:19:10
Peter Gros
They take in injured wildlife, one of which was an eagle, that they had been shot, if you can imagine that, and needed surgery, you know, over a long, extensive period of time of recovery, it got strong enough to be able to, fly in its flight cage. We were there when we took it down, to a park near Puget Sound where, as you described.

00:10:19:10 - 00:10:41:15
Peter Gros
So the salmon are running. It's. Yeah. Eagle Paradise there. Yeah. And, we opened the door and released it, and it flew up into a tree nearby, and we needed sound in the background in the forest behind it and sat up there, and it was strong and healthy. And it was a wonderful show to be able to do.

00:10:41:15 - 00:10:49:17
Peter Gros
So appreciate where you live and the kind of wildlife you have there. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for the Pacific Northwest.

00:10:49:19 - 00:10:58:01
Mark Titus
Same obviously, and Alaska. And I'm thinking maybe you were on the Skagit River. Yeah. for the Eagles.

00:10:58:02 - 00:10:59:20
Peter Gros
Yes. You're right, I believe it was.

00:10:59:21 - 00:11:28:23
Mark Titus
Yeah, yeah, I, I know, I know it. Well, it's, I think it's considered one of my, my home, Rivers State in the Snoqualmie, and it's, it's where I get my solace after, you know, putting in the hours. and speaking of, I know that you are one of the faces of protecting the wild. and as a show, how much input do you have on the content of each episode?

00:11:29:00 - 00:11:40:02
Mark Titus
Are you summarily the host of the show, or do you turn your creative juices up and and contribute to the, the each of the episodes as they're being built?

00:11:40:04 - 00:12:04:22
Peter Gros
Well, we we all contribute, good. Hearst Media Group, doctor Ridgeway and Grant, myself, mutual of Omaha. We all contribute into the development of the stories that need to be told. as you probably noticed, the first year, was about positive, successful conservation stories. Yeah, the original Wild Kingdom. And it's interesting to think back.

00:12:05:00 - 00:12:10:19
Peter Gros
Mutual of Omaha has been involved with this show. This is our 60th year for a little.

00:12:10:21 - 00:12:11:20
Mark Titus
Bit over the.

00:12:11:20 - 00:12:39:11
Peter Gros
Years. So to be able to continue that legacy, to me is is an honor. Yeah. To be able to have to contribute with my knowledge of reproduction of endangered species and, animal behaviors and, and the knowledge that I've learned traveling around the world is, is just a thrill. So, yes, there is a lot of, of, data accumulated.

00:12:39:11 - 00:13:13:12
Peter Gros
Of course, we deal with the local biology artists and researchers and scientists with whom will be telling the story, and that all is incorporated, into each each story. The nice thing about the shows that we started with is that I remember as a teenager watching a show about the bald eagle, and how they use of it affected the thickness of the eggs and how they became part of the endangered species list, and black footed ferret, which was actually thought to actually be extinct.

00:13:13:14 - 00:13:39:02
Peter Gros
And then the problem with beavers and then, the numbers of animals that were, on the endangered species list, even the first year I joined the show, the alligator in Florida, right, was threatened, and it came off the endangered species list. I had the good fortune to be able to talk about wildlife that Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler talked about.

00:13:39:04 - 00:13:53:06
Peter Gros
Mutual of Omaha, Wild Kingdom, that were highly threatened and endangered to talk about some of these species now that due to conservation projects and successes are coming off the endangered species list.

00:13:53:08 - 00:13:53:12
Mark Titus
Wow.

00:13:53:14 - 00:13:59:04
Peter Gros
So it's it's it's an incredible thrill for me just to be a part of that.

00:13:59:06 - 00:14:31:03
Mark Titus
Yeah. It's that's just such good work. And I'm curious to dig in a little bit more. I personally curious about the, the regenerative work of, of these species. And that's kind of where your roots were. Right? And husbandry and, how how much hands on are you involved with and how much, how much can you tell us about, recreation or or, species breeding that enhances some of these species that are endangered?

00:14:31:05 - 00:15:03:21
Peter Gros
Well, probably the, the, the black footed ferret that in the 80s was thought to be extinct, was rediscovered in Wyoming, near Yellowstone and on a private ranch and and then the Department of Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service and private landowners in zoos around the United States all worked together as a team to figure out, how to make the decision of what to do with these few remaining black footed ferrets.

00:15:03:23 - 00:15:34:12
Peter Gros
So it was decided that they would be collected and placed at numerous zoos. So if disease was an issue, the remaining ferrets wouldn't disappear. The gene pool was sort of spread around. eventually they were reproducing well enough, to be taken back to this, hog ranch in Wyoming and turn loose again near a prairie dog town, which is about 85% of their diet.

00:15:34:14 - 00:16:02:21
Peter Gros
we were there to be able to release a species that was, thought to be extinct and to see them back out on the prairie, going down the holes, moving into the prairie dog town again was such a thrill. not unlike the story that we've told about the California condor. There are literally 22 birds remaining when that same decision had to be made.

00:16:02:23 - 00:16:22:12
Peter Gros
to collect them and move them into breeding situations and places like the San Diego Zoo and the Los Angeles Zoo and the Oregon Zoo. and many more were able to breed them in incubators. And then I'm sure you're familiar with the famous feeding of them with puppets that look like.

00:16:22:14 - 00:16:25:08
Mark Titus
Of course, of course. Anybody?

00:16:25:10 - 00:16:41:13
Peter Gros
Yeah. Well, you with the program realizes that they were raised thinking that those puppets were their parents feeding them. and so they didn't become imprinted on people. now there are over 500 condors again.

00:16:41:15 - 00:16:42:04
Mark Titus
wow.

00:16:42:06 - 00:17:05:08
Peter Gros
We went to, one of the locations where they're released back to the wild. I remember going to Zion National Park. It might come back up a little. And thank you for sure. Seven hours up to a peak, called Angel's Landing to look out over a valley where one might possibly see one of the few remaining condors years ago.

00:17:05:10 - 00:17:28:11
Peter Gros
now, the final mad check is being taken on this condor that I was holding in my arms, and it was looking up at me with this huge beak, and it passed perfectly and was ready to be released. And I took it over to the edge of the hill and faced it into the wind and just opened my arms and watch.

00:17:28:11 - 00:17:45:04
Peter Gros
This nine foot wingspan is this amazing. Condor locked his wings in the heat. Thermals were coming up and off at one back over to the land where it used to live. It was Those are the kind of memories that just stay with you forever.

00:17:45:06 - 00:18:12:21
Mark Titus
That's incredible. you're kind of leading into the thought process I was having as you were wrapping that story up. there's a lot more known about the symbiotic nature of nature now. And, I mean, trees and mycelial network, for one thing. the sentience of different animals. And you, you come from a background of working with animals.

00:18:12:23 - 00:18:50:02
Mark Titus
you've got a scientific sensibility and a discipline, for sure, but is are there any moments where, you feel these attachments to these critters and or is there is there that kind of by definition and by the virtue of your work, that detachment that you have necessary to to do the objective work? Or do you find yourself getting kind of attached to these guys, the ferrets, the condors, the, the, the animals that you you might feel a heart sense for, especially ones that are endangered.

00:18:50:04 - 00:19:12:16
Peter Gros
That's that's a great question. And and when when we're talking to biologists who spent five, six, sometimes ten years of their lives working with these very endangered animals, getting them to a point where their offspring can be released back to the wild is that very same question? This is must be it must be bittersweet.

00:19:12:18 - 00:19:13:16
Mark Titus
Yeah.

00:19:13:18 - 00:19:37:18
Peter Gros
You've you've nursed this animal to a point where it's ready to go back to the wild again. And the most consistent answer seems to be, of course, we love to see them back in the wild. But you do build a bond. You do realize that they have different personalities. you get to know them so well that it's hard to see them go again, back up where they belong.

00:19:37:18 - 00:20:02:20
Peter Gros
But there's nothing more rewarding. I didn't see, an animal back where it belongs. Out flying or running free again. I know one of the, Again. Back at paws. There were a couple of bears that were caught in that devastating fires in the Pacific Northwest. And obviously, and they were there for treatment for a year and were treated with no human contact.

00:20:02:22 - 00:20:37:17
Peter Gros
And there the burns on their paws were treated and they healed again. And the older the skin had sloughed off and all new skin grew back, and they even hibernated there again with no human contact, because whenever they were treated, they were asleep, tranquilized, and then the people who worked through them so extensively, their paws had to the the care of these young bear cubs that grew and grew as they went back up into the Cascade Mountains and released back to the wild.

00:20:37:19 - 00:20:55:00
Peter Gros
And you could see it here, here and there. Yeah, it was again, it was it was tough. But they were so pleased to see them back again. And they do have tracking devices and they were at last check acting like normal wild bears back in the in the forest again.

00:20:55:02 - 00:21:26:14
Mark Titus
Wow. Look, I think there's a danger in anthropomorphizing animals. potentially. But I also see I'm going to choose to look at an optimistic way of thinking in those folks. You are one of them. On the ground who are doing this great work and what you're able to do, especially in your work as somebody in the media who who has a big, broad platform.

00:21:26:16 - 00:22:05:03
Mark Titus
I think ultimately, if we can get other folks to care, we got a good shot at creating popular sentiment to contribute the financial resources necessary, contribute, a different attitude in a societal way about how we treat nature and that we are a part of nature and it is a part of us, as opposed to it's just something out there for our taking and for our resource extraction and for our finite needs, which has been the case, you know, frankly, for the last couple hundred years, really primarily.

00:22:05:05 - 00:22:31:02
Mark Titus
Do you do you get a sense that maybe consciousness is shifting in a direction that's lending us toward a more sympathetic, more compassionate, more empathetic viewpoint toward inclusiveness in nature of our own and nature with us. And second part to that question is, do you see that changing in kids and young people in particular?

00:22:31:04 - 00:23:05:18
Peter Gros
I do. I see positive changes. I think that, because of the internet and so much more interested, there's so much more interested in what's happening in the natural world. I see one of the fastest growing hobbies, if you will, our young people becoming involved in hiking, backpacking and kayaking, canoeing, spending time in the great outdoors. And one of the things that that I like to champion is as early as you can expose your friends and your young family and your children to the outdoors.

00:23:05:20 - 00:23:31:04
Peter Gros
even before there have motor controls to be able to walk. They have wonderful little backpacks. Now they can be riding in your back into day hikes and then eventually grow that into overnight camping at county and state and then eventually national parks. we in our country have some of the most magnificent national parks, of many places I've ever been.

00:23:31:04 - 00:24:01:20
Peter Gros
It's incredible what we have to offer children in this country, about it. So, yes, I think that that you're seeing more and more young people expressing more interest. The most common question I get after people see our shows on NBC on Saturday morning, if I'm I'm someplace where I'm approached by young people. The question used to be is dangerous what you do, what am I doing with white sharks?

00:24:01:22 - 00:24:20:07
Peter Gros
what's it like in Siberia and lake? By call, those kinds of questions. And now it's we. We learned so much about the science behind your show. What can we do to help? And it's it's such a transition to hear those kinds of questions from young people that.

00:24:20:09 - 00:24:50:03
Mark Titus
Well, two thoughts. One was you stole my thunder. You were you were. Not at all. You're not at all. You're you're we're on the same page. That's a good thing. And I was going to ask you about some of the more intrepid and we'll get to that. But also, the familiarity as well, like the, the work in my adult life, really came out of that same question, being up on stage after screening films, what can I do to help?

00:24:50:05 - 00:25:10:05
Mark Titus
And all of the things the salmon business that we have, we donate 10% of our profits back to the indigenous folks of Bristol Bay, where we sourced the salmon from to give their kids four year college scholarships and, trade school scholarships. And, and ultimately, all of that has been to answer that one question, what can I do to help?

00:25:10:05 - 00:25:33:03
Mark Titus
We've tried to create, frictionless pathways to do that. And especially our focus in, in Wild Salmon. so, with that in mind, I mean, you get to do really cool things and you get to see really amazing things. And in order to do that, you have to step outside of your comfort zone from time to time.

00:25:33:03 - 00:25:50:13
Mark Titus
Correct. So given that backdrop, can you give us a few examples of some of the most intrepid, some of the most, I don't know, scary, the things that took you actually out of your comfort zone, but but then maybe gave you the greatest satisfaction afterwards.

00:25:50:15 - 00:26:17:03
Peter Gros
Sure, sure. I think that, I'm fortunate to be able to say being in the great outdoors is my comfort zone, but it's it's the it's the other aspects of the business which have become a, a learning curve that I'm very pleased to be very pleased to be able to do. Right. But certainly we were just, we just finished a show about sharks off of Santa Barbara.

00:26:17:05 - 00:26:43:18
Peter Gros
the, doctor Ray and I were able to go out where they were, tracking great white sharks with drones and a lot of the data shown from this, this drone filming, is that our old, our old perceptions of great white sharks had changed the mood. To think about them is marauding great white sharks looking for anything in the ocean to to consume.

00:26:43:20 - 00:27:26:15
Peter Gros
In 1885, I remember going to a place appropriately called, Dangerous Reef in Australia, where the white sharks would come in during pumping season. And it was one of my very first shows. And so when I was asked if I did you scuba dive before we went the the only real answer is, of course I scuba dive. And several weeks later we were anchored out off of Dangerous Reef in this older shrimp boat with a shark cage on the side, and the sharks were swimming around the stern of the boat and I my job was to swim from the boat over to the shark cage, and we would film them.

00:27:26:17 - 00:28:00:05
Peter Gros
And, the head diver was there, and he watched me as I was nervously glancing at the dorsal fins behind the boat and assembling my regulator into the back of my scuba tank and the this big hand on my shoulder and said, Mr. Gros, how long have you been diving? And I said, well, I diving. Well, now, just a few weeks ago, I was diving in California and I had been a friend, put me in his swimming pool and taught me the body breathe is he said, you're deeper and you're real.

00:28:00:07 - 00:28:02:03
Peter Gros
You're comfortable underwater.

00:28:02:05 - 00:28:03:02
Mark Titus
My God.

00:28:03:04 - 00:28:26:10
Peter Gros
So he said, tell me the truth. You've just put that on backwards. And I did it. So stick close to me. You'll be just fine. So I learned there with this wonderful master diver who taught me a lot. And then, that was a bit of, the scary. It's your scary question. That was part of that having, and legs come up to the cage.

00:28:26:12 - 00:28:56:01
Peter Gros
now, most recently when we filmed our show, we've learned that white sharks are just curious about people. It's so awesome. By the drone footage, you'll see swimmers or paddleboarders or surfers or kayakers or people in the ocean that many sharks around them, just curiously watching to see what they're doing. We were instructed to paddle out off the coast about a quarter of a mile.

00:28:56:03 - 00:29:22:10
Peter Gros
The drone was hovering, and they directed us by radio to paddle over to this eight foot, roughly white shark in our little 14ft kayaks. And sure enough, the shark popped up right next to us and swam around several times and then circled around behind and and it sort of followed behind for a little bit and then was curious, rolled up.

00:29:22:10 - 00:29:43:14
Peter Gros
You could see its eye and it could see first, and then off it went on its way. So we paddle back. Yeah. And so what this research is showing, and all the data that's been accumulated is that sharks are curious, actually just really curious about what's going on in the ocean. They're actually very particular about what they're going to eat.

00:29:43:15 - 00:29:58:17
Peter Gros
So we're hoping to change attitudes about great white sharks, how important they are to the ocean. There are own species and we have to be need white sharks.

00:29:58:19 - 00:30:27:11
Mark Titus
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00:30:27:13 - 00:30:52:23
Mark Titus
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00:30:53:01 - 00:31:11:04
Mark Titus
Visit Eva's welcome to join our growing community. Doing good by eating right. That same spelled backwards wild.com and eat wild to save wild. Now back to the show.

00:31:11:06 - 00:31:41:20
Mark Titus
I, I've seen, a young woman on Instagram who, whose name is escaping right now. So we'll put these in the show notes. Dear listener. that has absolutely blown my mind about her, encounters, close encounters with sharks and the blowing up these perceptions, these old perceptions of shark behavior. And to to your point about being, you know, marauders and eating machines and.

00:31:41:22 - 00:32:08:18
Mark Titus
Yeah, men, killers and air quotes, you know, out in the ocean and, more about this deep level of curiosity as you're talking about. Yes. That that's gotta feel whether that's a shark or a whale or, or a raptor or any of these, these amazing creatures that you work with, it's got to give you a real sense of awe and humility, perhaps.

00:32:08:20 - 00:32:10:22
Mark Titus
Is that does that ring true?

00:32:10:23 - 00:32:45:15
Peter Gros
Oh, it absolutely it does. It's it's a sense of awe and it's reassurance that the more we learn through modern day technology, the better chance we're going to have of preserving wildlife. there's a tremendous transition through how we would film with heavy film cameras and then transitioning to video and having to hide in a camouflaged tent next to a waterhole, waiting for animals to come in and drink, spending hours looking for wildlife in Africa.

00:32:45:17 - 00:33:13:00
Peter Gros
The manner in which they did the research in those days sometimes involved roping or netting, because that's how scientists had to do it then, and it was a very hands on now due to today's technology. When we film, we're filming with drones. We have heat sensing cameras that animals walk by, motion sensing cameras. We put a light trails, so biologists can study them.

00:33:13:02 - 00:33:36:08
Peter Gros
what you're seeing with our with our long lenses. We've recently filmed, the plight of wolves in this country, specifically red wolves. and that's a wonderful show that we love to tell because there were so many misconceptions about wolves from the 40s. the big bad wolves. It great way back to us being taught the wrong information about them.

00:33:36:08 - 00:34:01:17
Peter Gros
And now the present day show explains what wolves are really about and how we need them. One important part of the ecosystem they are. But back to my point about the modern day technology. These long lenses that we have now, we can reach out hundreds of yards and bring them up close as we film them. So what you're seeing more of now is natural wildlife behavior up close and personal.

00:34:01:19 - 00:34:25:13
Peter Gros
So we still have adventure. We still want people to see Mutual of Omaha as well, kind of protecting the wild. You're still dealing with X factors. They're still wild animals, but it's science based and it's interesting and there's always surprises. But you're going to see a lot more wildlife up close doing what it does naturally in the natural world.

00:34:25:14 - 00:34:28:11
Mark Titus
Did you in fact work with film cameras?

00:34:28:13 - 00:34:54:05
Peter Gros
I did indeed, yes. I remember being, up in, the 80s in, oh, you would grow up near, you know, North Alaska, the most northerly point in Alaska filming Polar bears. Wow. And it was so cold that they actually had to degrease the camera cameras take all the grease out because it turned into glue and man on the cameras for short periods of time.

00:34:54:08 - 00:35:18:13
Peter Gros
This is a point Barrow, Alaska. Yeah, it's short periods of time. for filming there. So yes, we did we did get to do that. And then we filmed, in a warmer climate. We went to Africa and we filmed on the Zambezi River, which is right on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe, and we put in right under Victoria Falls.

00:35:18:15 - 00:35:44:00
Peter Gros
And the cameras that we filmed the rafting down this classify water through what's called Valley of the Giants for very good reason. Great. We wound up the cameras in waterproof cases in the point of view was from ours in the raft as well as from camera people along the shore. So I've been fortunate enough to see the transition from film to video to digital.

00:35:44:02 - 00:35:47:23
Peter Gros
And now, with all these wonderful new manners in which we get to film.

00:35:48:01 - 00:36:12:16
Mark Titus
It, well, look, for I have shot on film myself and, it is just a testament to technology, to where we are to the democratization to of being able to tell stories. I mean, once upon a time you had to have a huge, amazing philanthropic backer like Mutual of Omaha or Private Money or a Hollywood studio system to be able to get into the game.

00:36:12:19 - 00:36:44:04
Mark Titus
Yeah. And you know, and you had to have a tremendous amount of skill and patience and luck, and technical savvy to be able to, you know, be able to handle that equipment. And, you know, holy smokes, you got to be judgmental about what you get because you don't have an infinite supply that you can just keep running and offloading like we do now with our digital onto, you know, hard drives or, whatever the source codes are, it's.

00:36:44:04 - 00:37:12:09
Mark Titus
Yeah, it's a it's just a totally different world. And it's, it's got to be I can't imagine being actually out in the field, like in an extreme climate of cold, like you're talking about Point Barrow or in hot and sand and wet. that, that to me, knowing what the game is, that's a tremendous testament to your not only, your, your, savvy, but, you know, your, your grit to be able to get that done so.

00:37:12:09 - 00:37:13:13
Mark Titus
Well, it's,

00:37:13:15 - 00:37:20:09
Peter Gros
It's, it's it's a great labor of love. I like you. I think we both know we have the best jobs in the world.

00:37:20:12 - 00:37:21:16
Mark Titus
Totally. It totally.

00:37:21:17 - 00:37:57:23
Peter Gros
It's, it's. But even with today's technology, as I'm sure you know, there are X factors. just reflecting on not that long ago, filming a story about the return of the otters near Monterey Bay, that they were disappearing. And the Monterey Bay aquarium and other facilities have been taking orphaned otters and saving them. Well, we were there filming in a kelp forest, and the kelp forests are being threatened because of sea urchins, because the the sea stars that used to keep them in check have dwindled to a surge.

00:37:57:23 - 00:38:25:13
Peter Gros
And the hotter section of ocean temperatures. So they've lost their major predator. Sea otters still like to eat sea urchins. That's a good thing. So there's this very intimate connection of wildlife together or keeping each other in balance. We were there diving with our digital gear and and had a wonderful photographer with us, and we went into the kelp bed and the visibility's about five feet.

00:38:25:14 - 00:38:55:17
Peter Gros
So wow. Ready to film the kelp beds and the otters and the fortunately, harbors seal. Noticing the yellow trim on my fins came out and decided to play with that. So we have some some great surges of kelp beds and not that far away. Or otters are laying on their backs basking, holding on the to the kelp with one fin while the there's this, this wonderful full creatures play with my fin.

00:38:55:19 - 00:39:08:13
Peter Gros
And they were able to capture that on film. I mean that what we do is relatively easy, being able to capture the people behind the camera and they're they're the true artist. I tell you, you are.

00:39:08:13 - 00:39:09:09
Mark Titus
So right.

00:39:09:10 - 00:39:38:18
Peter Gros
That. And then just north of there is a slow, cold corkscrew slew where the otters have been reintroduced, and they're doing so well that they're actually back up to carrying capacity there. So again, a species that was almost disappearing. Now this slew has so many otters, it's doing well and thriving and reproducing in the wild again. Hopefully you'll see them go farther and farther and see more of them up along the the Pacific coast.

00:39:38:20 - 00:40:07:21
Mark Titus
That's just great news all the way around. You just touched on this in talking about the otters. and I know that there are many answers to this question based on the species we're talking about, but coming from it from 100,000ft view, what do you consider right now to be the biggest threat to wildlife today? And has your opinion changed throughout your time working in animal conservation on what that threat or those threats could be?

00:40:07:23 - 00:40:32:21
Peter Gros
Well, I think the biggest threat to wildlife is the habitat, which they need to survive. I think we're doing better. I think back to places like Costa Rica, where 35% of their land has been set aside for wildlife, and a result of this wonderful businesses of all called eco tourism. The incentive there is people come and take pictures.

00:40:32:23 - 00:41:01:20
Peter Gros
It creates an economic base which creates a reason for to save this natural habitat for wildlife needs to exist. we recently did a show in Florida about a corridor connecting wildlife from the southern tip of Florida all the way to the northern end. By creating this corridor of ranchers and private landowners, all agreeing this to connect this 18 million acre corridor.

00:41:01:22 - 00:41:28:10
Peter Gros
So animals like bears and the Florida panther, who all need to migrate to find mates and for other reasons, will all be interconnected. Again, about 12 million acres now is already completed. And this is again is one of the shows that you'll see on Protect Wild Kingdom. Protecting the Wild on Saturday mornings on NBC is how this corridor is connecting wildlife, as it should be.

00:41:28:12 - 00:41:52:17
Peter Gros
Also, the highway department in Florida is creating underpasses for wildlife to be able to cross under these busy Florida freeways. car strikes has been a problem. and now there's the solution is more and more underpasses in other states like California, overpasses are going and, wildlife crossings are not new. We're starting to see them more and more.

00:41:52:19 - 00:42:19:17
Peter Gros
And the, the habitat stop being contiguous because of the freeway system and the growth goal. Now, as we connect their habitats again the way it used to be. So I'm hopeful. I'm optimistic. I see more and more people wanting to participate. I see ranch owners and landowners seeing, being, taking pride in the fact that they have such large sections of land that wildlife can share with them.

00:42:19:19 - 00:42:22:09
Peter Gros
that I'm very optimistic.

00:42:22:11 - 00:42:49:10
Mark Titus
We have a super successful wildlife Passage overpass on I-90 going across Snoqualmie Pass here in Washington. Next time, if you drive west here, you might notice it. And they've got, several underpasses that are connecting, as well. And they've got a new final stage. It'll be another large scale overpass further east of where the current one is.

00:42:49:12 - 00:43:18:13
Mark Titus
And, it is just so exciting to see the success that it is already rendered from. you know, martens and minks and elk and bear and foxes and coyotes. I mean, the whole thing is just working. And I agree with you. I'm optimistic too. And you get to see these large scale projects receive some success and, and get young people behind it.

00:43:18:13 - 00:43:33:18
Mark Titus
And, and frankly, politicians and folks that have the kind of, capital to, to continue funding these things, it does really put some wind in your sails about what we are capable of doing as a species. It's it's great.

00:43:34:00 - 00:43:58:03
Peter Gros
It it is great and it's exciting. And you being a part of all this, you feel the same kind of excitement and energy that I get. you work for. You've worked with the Nature Conservancy recently. We recently completed a show about the return of the Channel Island Fox to the Channel Islands is 17 miles off the coast of Northern California.

00:43:58:05 - 00:44:26:15
Peter Gros
amazing. Directly out from Santa Barbara. Actually, years ago, it was used for ranching. the ranch became unsuccessful, and the ranch stopped, but there were still feral pigs and other introduced species. And because of that, golden eagles were attracted, golden eagles, not only eight other wildlife, but they also went after the island. Fox Island foxes didn't understand predators.

00:44:26:15 - 00:44:48:17
Peter Gros
They didn't even try to evade them. And the other foraging animals had eaten away a lot of the cover, so they had no cover. The Nature Conservancy became involved, purchased a large portion of the island. it's become a national park. You can actually go out and sections of the island and camp now and learn how they've saved this archipelago.

00:44:48:19 - 00:45:15:19
Peter Gros
The story now we can't. They're intense. And the golden eagles were relocated. bald eagles, which were originally on the island of have been replaced there. They are now bald eagles eat fish, not foxes. The foxes are thriving. Their numbers are doing well. Santa Barbara Zoo and other zoos were involved in setting up breeding facilities on the island rather than on the mainland.

00:45:15:19 - 00:45:43:04
Peter Gros
So they had no immune system that could handle diseases that might originated from island from mainland foxes. So they were raised there on the island in these large introductory pens released back to the wild when we were filming there, those pens were overgrown with grass, not even necessary to be used anymore. And on some of the islands, they're they're just they're thriving.

00:45:43:06 - 00:46:02:20
Peter Gros
When you do camp, the foxes will actually come up and be near you at night. Kind of curious about what's going on. So another another successful reintroduction story and how we've people have changed their habits about how they're using, natural wild lands.

00:46:02:22 - 00:46:37:19
Mark Titus
Peter, I'm curious, have you had the, opportunity to work with indigenous stewards of the lands and, and or observe the work that's been done by, you know, First Nations and, Native American folks? there seems to be a resurgence in, looking at things through a lens that the people that were here before colonization looked at the world, and they had a pretty damn good success rate at, you know, keeping things in a really sustainable way.

00:46:37:19 - 00:46:44:20
Mark Titus
Have you have in your professional life, have you had any chance to intersect with, indigenous folks in the way that they do things?

00:46:45:01 - 00:47:05:17
Peter Gros
Yes, yes, I have, and we've learned an awful lot from the way they do things and have done things for generations, with the bowhead whales, that are migrating and coming up around Point Barrow. We were part of the the census with them as well. and didn't tend to the, Indigenous Peoples Conference. And there was discussion.

00:47:05:17 - 00:47:43:07
Peter Gros
They manage they have their own wildlife manage management group. And we talked about reintroduction of bison. And now they have very successful bison programs where they exchange animals. So they're not they don't have animals in the herd that are are related. I have in many countries, and I always look forward to it. I think one of the joys of my job is I work with different cultures, from North America to Siberia to all over the United States, to China.

00:47:43:09 - 00:48:09:13
Peter Gros
and I work with so many different cultures of people and, and even taking young kids, 70 year old children, seven year old, seventh grade children with me, to the Peruvian rainforest with a cross-cultural exchange with the jaguar people there in the river in Austria. And the conclusion I've come to is we're all pretty much the same wherever we go in the world.

00:48:09:15 - 00:48:38:13
Peter Gros
we all have the same needs. We have similar interests. We want happy families. We want shelter, we want roof, we want food. But we're all so similar that when we spend time working together, The golden rule, it's just that simple. You treat people the way you want to be treated, and, it's it's such a wonderful opportunity to be able to travel and deal with as many different cultures as I have.

00:48:38:15 - 00:49:06:23
Mark Titus
Wow. What what a great career you've had. And and I agree with what exactly? Everything you just said. when you have an opportunity to. Well, for one thing, put these devices down and get back away from behind the screen and get into the world and engage with nature and engage with other people that may look at things differently based on their life experience, based on their history, based on their geography.

00:49:07:01 - 00:49:29:03
Mark Titus
But ultimately, you're right. We are all pretty much the same. We're from made of the same stuff, and we we want our kids to to thrive and we want to have our basic needs met. But but ultimately, I think that there's a lot of love and a lot of laughter and a lot of care for this planet and these animals.

00:49:29:03 - 00:49:57:19
Mark Titus
I'm looking over here because my dog's looking at me with eyes from the couch. these these critters that we love, you know, that we we we can do better than we've done. And, there's room for all of us. And with that, I wanted to ask you, you had a quote a while back, and you said, before wild Kingdom, there was an attitude that we had plenty of wildlife and they would last forever.

00:49:57:21 - 00:50:18:09
Mark Titus
But the show made us all very aware that our planet had problems, and we needed to preserve the natural world for both animals and our own quality of life. Okay. So that was your quote. There are still folks who don't feel we have any problems with the way we are operating as a species. We've really been talking about this and around this, this whole conversation.

00:50:18:09 - 00:50:30:13
Mark Titus
But I had to really put a fine point on it. from your perspective, and with the wealth of experience and depth of knowledge you have, how do we get folks to care?

00:50:30:15 - 00:51:01:08
Peter Gros
I think we need to introduce folks to the natural world, as I mentioned earlier, as early as possible, who research has shown that not only physically but mentally, it's healthy for us to have a balance in life, spending time in nature. I think that what mutual Obama has done for years is exposed people through the lens and on their shows, more and more of our natural world to see how incredible it is.

00:51:01:10 - 00:51:32:19
Peter Gros
The attitude about there's, there are fewer animals in many cases. we do need to make that point. I think our goal is to affect the next generation and be sure that they're aware that they can make a difference, be it one person or a group of people, be it a corporation. You can make a difference. The message is with a platform like, we have to be able to talk to people about what they can do to help.

00:51:32:21 - 00:51:53:15
Peter Gros
enough has been said, I think in recent history about the the status of our planet. I call it the the gloom and doom message. There has been a lot of gloom and doom. People are very clear about it. And sometimes when I speak at universities, I'll ask for a show of hands, and some people actually think it's too late.

00:51:53:17 - 00:52:19:06
Peter Gros
It's absolutely not too late. If you look back there, what we grew up with, with the polluted rivers and DDT and the serious problems that we had that seemed insurmountable. We have problems now that the next generation looks at. They're thinking about climate change and issues that may seem instrumental animals that again, we as humans need to save the natural world.

00:52:19:06 - 00:52:35:22
Peter Gros
We need to have time in nature. We need and we are we. We're instinctively know that we need to be able to do that. I think the more we can teach people about what they can do to preserve the natural world, the more they're going to want to become involved. You feel good when you're doing the right thing.

00:52:35:22 - 00:53:04:01
Peter Gros
The right thing is to preserve this incredible natural world that we have. And people like you and like Mutual of Omaha and Wildlife shows continue to share the knowledge we have about the state of the natural world. Sure, we have problems. Yes, there's gloom and doom, but also we need to create hope. We need to talk about the number of, excuse me, the numbers of problems we had in the past that we solved.

00:53:04:01 - 00:53:09:12
Peter Gros
Now remember, you're the fastest bird in the world. Growing up, the peregrine falcon was disappearing.

00:53:09:12 - 00:53:10:11
Mark Titus

00:53:10:11 - 00:53:33:13
Peter Gros
Now they're in office buildings around Seattle. They're all around our country. They were reintroduced safely. We were talking about the bald eagle. Bald eagle came off the endangered species list. The wolf did. The grizzly bears are doing well. The black bears are doing well. There's a long list which I don't know why we tend not to hear. Maybe good news doesn't quite sell as well as bad news.

00:53:33:13 - 00:53:49:04
Peter Gros
I don't really know why, but we need to be able to spend more time talking about solutions of of for nature and the natural world in the past and solutions. They're going to come in the future, as long as we all become a part of it.

00:53:49:06 - 00:54:13:02
Mark Titus
Peter, I couldn't agree with you more. And your your optimism is a joy. the name of this show is Save What You Love. It's not. We're screwed. for a very, very particular reason. I think love is the more powerful emotion, the more enduring emotion. And you're right, it doesn't sell as much. you know, divisive news headlines.

00:54:13:04 - 00:54:36:17
Mark Titus
but it is the one that endures. And, frankly, that's where I'm going to. I'm going to park it and put put my money on the future as well. So, Peter Gros, I so appreciate you taking the time to speak with me and be on the show. And you don't get off the hook, though, without doing the bonus round, which is, our fun little way of ending things up every week, or every show.

00:54:36:19 - 00:54:54:10
Mark Titus
And, it's just a it's a little imagination game. Let's just say, God forbid, because these things are happening now more frequently. But there was a wildfire that was going to take out your home, and you got all the loved ones out and the critters, of course. But if you could only take one physical thing, what would be that one thing?

00:54:54:10 - 00:54:55:22
Mark Titus
You would save.

00:54:56:00 - 00:54:59:22
Peter Gros
A suitcase full of all the pictures.

00:55:00:00 - 00:55:14:08
Mark Titus
Of course, that's a life in pictures. And also, if there was one thing on a more metaphysical level, one trait about you that makes Peter. Peter, what would that one thing be?

00:55:14:10 - 00:55:18:20
Peter Gros
Concern for our natural world and the people that occupy it.

00:55:18:22 - 00:55:40:14
Mark Titus
Very good. You are a pro, sir. Well, listen, Peter, we know that we can watch Mutual of Omaha, Wild Kingdom, protecting the wild on Saturdays on NBC. Are there any other places that you want to direct folks to check out your work? Or the the great conservation work that you admire others are doing right now?

00:55:40:16 - 00:55:48:19
Peter Gros
I would go to go to Wild kingdom.com, and then there are many avenues that will direct you to to learn more about what we're doing.

00:55:48:21 - 00:56:00:13
Mark Titus
Thank you. Man, that is wonderful. Well, Peter Gros, thank you for being on Save What You Love and I appreciate you. And I appreciate the great work you're doing in the world. And until next time, we'll see you down the trail.

00:56:00:15 - 00:56:04:22
Peter Gros
Thank you. Mark, it's been a pleasure. Take care.

00:56:05:00 - 00:56:36:06
Music
How do you say what you love?
How do you say what you love?
How do you say what you love?
How do you say what you love?

00:56:36:08 - 00:57:00:08
Mark Titus
Thank you for listening to save what you love. If you like what you're hearing, you can help keep these conversations coming your way by giving us a rating on whatever platform you're listening from and leaving a comment on Apple Podcasts. It really helps get the word out. Check out photos on our Instagram feed we're at Save What You Love podcast, and you can get links from today's featured guest in the show notes of this episode.

00:57:00:10 - 00:57:29:06
Mark Titus
Join our growing community by subscribing to our newsletter at Evans wild.com and then clicking on connect in the upper corner. You'll get exclusive offers on wild salmon shipped to your door, and notifications about upcoming guests and more great content on the way. That's at Evans wild.com. The word save spelled backwards. wild.com. This episode was produced by Emilie Firn and edited by Patrick Troll.

00:57:29:08 - 00:57:35:05
Mark Titus
Original music was created by Whiskey Class. Thanks again for listening and we'll see you all down the trail.