The case for eating alligators (or not)

[@aragusea]

Love to Louisiana today.

[@hamsacc]

😭😭😭

[@literalidiotiguess5688]

Florida

[@OrriTheFox]

what happen to Lousiana?

[@AquibMohammedAyman]

@@OrriTheFox hurricane ida

[@febrezedrinker6229]

What would you say is your favorite cuisine?

[@felixlogographic2802]

Why I season my swamp, not my alligator

[@adamjabado4197]

😂

[@febrezedrinker6229]

Lol

[@TheSlavChef]

Why I season the human that the aligator will eat, not my alligator!

[@Error-gc7kj]

GET OUT OF MA SWAMP!!!

[@gigachad7531]

XD

[@sn2601]

It's actually quite easy to tell the difference between an alligator and a crocodile. Simply observe the animal long enough to determine whether it sees you later, or after a while.

[@brianmcmanus4690]

lmfao

[@fobbitoperator3620]

"I have researched this statement extensively, & found it to be quite accurate." -Commamder Spok

[@vladtheimpala5532]

Good one. *_(for a dad joke)_*

[@tinaburdo7739]

lol good one! :)

[@rev.leonidasw.smiley6300]

Ha!

[@fixedG]

This reminds me of a website I heard about some time ago that might interest you, unless you've already covered it. It's called "Eat the Invaders" and it's all about eating invasive species, started by a chef and a biologist, I think. They've got recipes for kudzu, nutria, carp, all sorts of things that we think of, especially in the south, as obnoxious pests with no economic use.

[@MyCommentsRMaturelol]

Love it! I wanted to eat zebra mussels but our lake is too polluted. Damn algae blooms

[@nolongeramused8135]

Lion Fish are really tasty.

[@johnsteel6008]

I'm thinking about going on a little field trip to Florida next winter, bring me a couple big ice chest and pick up some iguana. I would also really like to try lion fish, but they don't exactly just fall out of trees.

[@nolongeramused8135]

@@johnsteel6008 About ten years ago you could go snorkeling just about anywhere in the Caribbean with a speargun and get all you wanted, but since they showed up on the menu you'll need scuba gear. Many of the restaurants near dive resorts now feature lion fish, so if you happen to go someplace like Cozumel you can most likely find them. Ironically, it was some good ole boys in South Carolina that first brought attention to how yummy they were. They found a spot that was actually a bit deep for their gear but had reliable hunting, and they posted a few KZbin videos about it. Divers went nuts immediately after trying to find the "best" lion fish recipe.

[@johnsteel6008]

@@nolongeramused8135 That's really good though, if you think about it. Trying new food is always a great experience, but I'd rather the destructive little bastards be extinct in every ecosystem other than their own than have easy access to them to try.

[@sebastianguerra6358]

That rant about how Dino Nuggets are perfectly scientific is the reason why I keep coming back to Adam's channel lol. I love his sense of humor.

[@TheSlavChef]

I want to see the face of the cashier in McDonalds when I order some Dino Nuggets.

[@kilgoretrout8896]

You should research the term 'simulacrum'

[@harukik2634]

it's funny because it's true

[@rohan1_]

@Bernie Sanders >2021 and obsolete politician for a screen name

[@joshuamidgette4846]

If only they didn't taste like meat foam.

[@AlexM-tx2vr]

After watching this I wondered, "what do gators eat on a farm?" So I googled it and from a very quick search I learned they eat what I will sumerize as byproducts of the fishing industry.

[@MultiReptilian]

Sea monkeys

[@boldCactuslad]

childrens

[@OHYS]

Water sheeps

[@Tullminator]

They ate Chubb's hand.

[@critconk]

Well if we can't eat it, someone will. Besides it's a waste of proteins.

[@samhutch7679]

Ok honestly my mouth was agape at how legitimately responsible the gator egg harvesting is. Basically farming gators that literally wouldn't be alive otherwise. And then you got into the complexities of conservation... good stuff, Adam!

[@primeministersinister625]

I wonder if they return 12% of the number of eggs, or 12% of the number of hatchlings

[@Ricky_Spanishh]

​@@primeministersinister625the video said hatchlings...

[@CordinPieterse-zk7wb]

Well when u say animals I mean the species I personally just take eggs from my chickens nothing else.

[@suekim1147]

Only problem is you remove the environmental pressure which results in natural selection since you are selecting a random 12% of the eggs to return. Wonder if that causes wild alligators to adapt slower to env pressures.

[@OlExtraRegularBass]

​​@@suekim1147 It has to, right? They don't know which hatchlings have favorable traits. Plus, they are probably selecting based on what the leather will probably look like on the adult. Financial incentive doesn't bode well.

[@PhantomSavage]

I've had gator on a number of occasions, the first time was a General Tso's made with gator instead of chicken, and the rest was simple fried gator bites... but the taste and texture always reminded me more of pork than it did chicken, like pork loin or a pork chop. Another family member had pork General Tso's on the same night that I ordered the gator, and after tasting them back to back I honestly found it really difficult to tell the difference.

[@Hamox]

I think it tastes like humans

[@Ben-rz9cf]

Yeah it tastes a bit like salty chicken with the texture of pork... Or even kinda calamari-ish

[@Ultrajamz]

I think of it as almost shrimpy chicken

[@DragonTigerBoss]

@@Ultrajamz Waterfowl.

[@fermentedbadger5717]

I have to agree with the texture being closer to pork, especially if it is fried. My family loves alligator.

[@aknurlukpan8542]

Adam has started a series where he teaches us how to eat any living animal.

[@thomastegroen1274]

Eventually he will teach us to hunt and cook the ultimate game Man! (or not)

[@clouddd8053]

@@thomastegroen1274 I could see him doing a video on cannibalism some day haha

[@KarrasBastomi]

What next? Bat?

[@JaMorantBiggerArm]

@@clouddd8053 And then he makes a recipe with human meat 😳

[@wbw911]

so is Adam Chinese? XD

[@Anonymized-name]

"Killing animals can be a way to save them" A conservationist heart with a pragmatic mind. We need more people who think like that

[@comanderdouvi]

It’s the primary way conservation is done. Hunters in the US pay for the majority of conservation efforts through licensing and taxes. It’s the only tax I’m happy to pay.

[@bioemiliano]

@@comanderdouvi Also, without hunting prey species would expand till they consume all the food in their ecosystem and die, since we wiped out their predators in most places.

[@TheBreadCatt]

@@bioemiliano That would most likely not be what would happen. Over a long enough time period the species would most likely approximate the actual capacity the environment has for them. They might initially overshoot it and therefore over-saturate the environment, this would cause higher mortality, but most like wouldn't cause total extinction [1]. Also in respect to predation, we usually tend to remove the large carnivores from ecosystems, which are the ones that would feed off of the adult animals. But, an increase in general population size would also mean that there are a lot of babies, and smaller carnivores (which are more likely to not have been removed from the ecosystem by humans) will then have a larger source of food. This would in turn put a limit on the growth of the population by increasing the child mortality (one would then expect to see that if and once an individual reaches adulthood, then they might be expected to live a long time indeed). 1: The reason why a population would most likely not go extinct from over-population is interesting. If they over-populate, then there isn't enough food for every animal in the population. That would mean, that if every animal got exactly the same amount of food, then they would indeed all die. But nature is not that egalitarian. There are several factors to why animals of the same species in the same environment might end up acquiring different amounts of food. For one, some animals might just be better at getting food in the given environment than others (given there's enough genetic variation, this is a point I'll get back to). Another factor would be the details of the environment itself. Maybe some of the animals just happen to live in a part of the environment that has more food. Or it can be down to just luck, some animals are just luckier than others. With respect to genetic variation, this is important. We would expect to see that given that there's enough genetic variation in the population and the population is currently in a state of overpopulation then, there is a selective pressure on being good at acquiring food (or more specifically, being better than your peers). Because the animals that are better at finding food will be the ones to foster the next generation. Of course I initially stated the population would be expected approximate the "true" environmental capacity, so the population would probably not see itself often in a state of dire overpopulation. One thing that might be more likely to cause extinction would decease (caused by high population density). Indeed if the critical density for the spreading of decease is lower than the environment's capacity for the population, this could be a grave threat to said population. Here, genetic variation (and especially continuous generic variation, since deceases are "maliciously" ever-changing themselves) important for a species. The smaller and or more genetically uniform a population is, the more likely they'll be wiped out by a nasty bug. Also, I'm not saying that species don't go extinct from mass hunger or over-population. My point is just that rebounding species in a relatively static environment should not be expected to be very likely to do so. Most of the time when species go extinct for said causes, it's because their environment changes, especially drastically. One can also think of the general population size as a part the environment, but the difference here is that that part of the so-called environment "reacts" continuously the changes to the population itself, while say, a change in climate cares little for the populations that have to endure the changes. I know this response is totally overkill, but thinking about population dynamics (especially in an evolutionary sense) is just really interesting, so I ended up over-doing it a bit. Have a nice day :)

[@lekhakaananta5864]

"Killing humans can be a way to save them" Spot the difference

[@ShadowAraun]

@@lekhakaananta5864 kill a murderer to prevent more victims.

[@Zoinkerbob]

"but this shark wants to protect you" he can't keep getting away with this.

[@heysemberthkingdom-brunel5041]

And yet....

[@tdl487]

It was a smooth transition though. I think he's mastering the art.

[@shenone3285]

Lemon sharks also want to protect you. So cute. Why is it always the medium sized carnivores? What is it about them that makes them so agreeable to humans?

[@Jaburesu]

Those smooth transitions.

[@spiritssnowfall9990]

>:’0

[@adriennesnow3994]

I take serious offence to you implying alligators aren’t cute

[@uncroppedsoop]

no I'm with you on this but most others aren't

[@davemccage7918]

I don’t like the way they taste. They taste like an animal that lived most it’s life in dirty water, because they did….

[@katelensworld]

Can’t wait for the alligator recipe this Thursday XD

[@TheSlavChef]

My thoughts exactly!

[@tyronedsouza]

Hopefully an Alligator gumbo....

[@theodorebuggeroff9730]

Taste test vs chicken. Alligator leg on the left

[@McNasty43]

@@tyronedsouza sauce piquant is a better use for gator than gumbo

[@TheRubberMatch]

@@theodorebuggeroff9730 lol I don’t think it’ll be too hard to tell the difference between a gator leg and chicken leg 😂

[@drowsypig]

"Dino nuggets are the most scientifically correct shape of nugget!" My god he's *right*

[@heysemberthkingdom-brunel5041]

Why yes. What else would he be?

[@ObjectsInMotion]

Technically it would be chicken-shaped nuggets.

[@CoalCoalJames]

If you have ever had chickens, you know they are freaking raptors. Amazing creatures but fucking vicious (which surprises many people).

[@DavidGalvanwiz]

What else would he be? Left?

[@kemo7821]

@@heysemberthkingdom-brunel5041 McDonald’s had trademark (or standardized I don’t know for sure) shapes for their nuggets

[@gokucrazy22]

"Alligators will occasionally kill people, but they also keep other destructive pests in check" I see what you did there

[@brianmcmanus4690]

I noticed that too. Clever.

[@bored-dromaeosaur]

I didn't notice(somehow) but...*yes.* 100th like.

[@jamessparkman6604]

@@bored-dromaeosaur how about from now on instead of alligator farm raising alligators for meat why not raise them to eat baby pythons

[@clydemarshall8095]

We are not destructive pests.

[@jamessparkman6604]

@@clydemarshall8095 actually technically we are but we don’t have to be kill a few pythons and feed them to the alligators. Every day the alligators would get smarter in a hunting pythons, and that goes for all the rest of the invasive species in Florida.

[@SuperPatJelly]

Noone should be surprised when we get a "Why I salt my pond, and not my gator" video in a couple days

[@Kremithefrog1]

😂😂😂

[@p4pgoatc.j.watson679]

Yep. I laughed.

[@fanbuoy9234]

And since gators live in freshwater, it could also be a convenient way of avoiding having to slaughter the animal, while simultaneously seasoning it!

[@Eclipsed_Archon]

I love how this video tries to give all the facts and present cases for a lot of different arguments and ways of thinking about this while still attempting to remain mostly unbiased. I want more content like this.

[@Dolbic.]

*proceed to cooking it*

[@GiI11]

That's what real journalism is supposed to look like

[@Eclipsed_Archon]

just wish it was more common

[@jasonreed7522]

@@GiI11 and unfortunately real journalism is getting rarer, or atleast appears to be. The reasons why range from simple inexperienced/poorly trained young journalists, to higher ups pushing narratives and actively editing stories to fit, to technological reasons like KZbin's dreaded algorithm pushing a certain kind of content. Its nice to know that atleast some journalists are still capable of doing what the job is supposed to be, finding all sides of a story and presenting facts with as minimal bias as possible.

[@fuel]

@@jasonreed7522 This is a video about cooking alligator tail meat. This is in no way unbiased journalism. If you've come to this comment thread to harp on what "real journalism" is and what it should be, I'm afraid you appear to be quite lost.

[@fate3071]

My great grandmother is from new orleans and has a gumbo recipe that she has been using and perfecting for decades. Gator, while not always a part of it, is the centerpiece when she can get it. Glad to see these animals are doing well and hope to see them thrive for as long as they can

[@oliveoiI]

This sponsorship transition was quite literally a jumpscare, nice one

[@TheSlavChef]

Again?!

[@FezCaliph]

That was amazing lol

[@incognito6815]

How

[@johnfothergill5372]

lol yeah Adam's segues into ads are getting to be an artform of their own.

[@keithgawain3614]

As a dinosaur fan, I love the biology/paleontology rant on the semantics on how taxonomy works. Since all groups underneath a higher group are also members of the higher group, birds aren't just descended,, but are dinosaurs, which means birds are reptiles since dinosaurs are. There's a good xkcd comic on this AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON FISH

[@MedicFromTF2_REAL]

What's with fish?

[@blakkerr]

@@MedicFromTF2_REAL There's no such thing as "fish"

[@MedicFromTF2_REAL]

@@blakkerr oh yeah that lol

[@twinkletoes4236]

Ok, birds are not reptiles.

[@ArmyNavyAcademy]

We are all just weird fish

[@markh7915]

Adam, I want to applaud the objectivity you show in your videos. You consistently explore the data around a food topic without erratically jumping to conclusions. This lends level-headedness and objectivity to your videos in a medium that is too often lacking such clarity of thought. Also I appreciate the straightforwardness with which you present ads. It’s to the point and matter of fact, and then we move on. So thanks for your conscientiousness all around!

[@isaacarthur2883]

That ad read was so smooth a physics professor somewhere is ignoring the effects of friction.

[@diannt9583]

I'm not a baseball fan, but I could just see him sliding into home base on this one!

[@rsiddharth5646]

This is, by far, the most underrated comment I've ever read.

[@TheNigahiga2]

The best comment ever

[@Jesse__H]

Damn Adam I just respect the hell out of your commitment to thorough research. Gets me to click on 100% of your videos, honestly - regardless of the topic.

[@KalebPeters99]

+

[@helpfulapple3125]

I tend not to watch the actual cooking; some of that stuff gets me a bit hungry which isn’t exactly a good thing when I’m watching 80% of his videos late at night 😅

[@mikekratz39]

The same thing happened with the wild turkey in Ontario, Canada. They were extirpated in the mid 20th century and then reintroduced by hunters in 1986 for hunting. There are now thousands turkeys taken each year by hunters and the population, around 100 thousand, continues to increase.

[@bidenssugardaddy6098]

Fried alligator bites and a spicy honey mustard is really good. Lots of places in Charleston sc sell it

[@jasoncassell]

I've had gator twice. Once it was insanely delicious, the other time it was gamey and tough. I need to try it again!

[@bakuguardian]

I should give that a try if I'm ever in Charleston

[@atrak888]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5-ThJmhfbR3nrM

[@klakiti02]

Where in charleston.

[@nahor88]

I've had wild gator and farmed gator.... the wild gator I thought was kinda ick. Farmed gator is like chicken with a slightly different texture. Honestly, just eat chicken. LOL.

[@rvfharrier]

Tyrannosaurus Rex: "I am the king of lizards, my reign shall be everlasting and glorious!" Chicken: "Bruh."

[@Frag-ile]

CGP Grey: "We're top chicken!"

[@dynagoat7374]

@@Frag-ile If we are top chicken, then we are top dinosaur.

[@faceless2302]

Tyrannosaurs did exceptionally well as animals, but unfortunately they lived some dozens of millions of years before humans could find out how delicious they were. Truth is, the game was rigged from the start.

[@Person01234]

You wouldn't be making fun of birds if you ever met a large eagle.

[@citavalo]

Lizards?

[@wsvitak]

I’m not an environmentalist, not even close, but hearing how they handle the alligator eggs, returning them back to the wild and preserving the land is awesome. This sounds like a very efficient way of of being able to enjoy the benefits of the alligator without the negative effects of out right hunting.

[@joe-lq6jz]

i love how this went from "What is alligator meat? Can you eat it? Can you cook it?" To "Dino nuggets are literally the most scientifically accurate shape of nuggets."

[@ChillyFries444]

Felt 2% vsauce energy with thay line

[@troppmann]

"Why I eat dinosaur, not bird."

[@Andre-vt4np]

"Why I season my stone, not dinosaur"

[@xBatmanxBroncofanx]

I recently moved to Louisiana and Gator has become one of my favorite meats. Most places just do fried bites but after research and inspiration I'll be subbing it in more chicken and pork dishes. I love that you mentioned the focus on conservation as well. People here love and respect the gators, yes they can be a nuisance like any critters but they are a part of the identity here, especially in the more traditional Cajun country. The only thing Louisiana loves more is Crawfish 😂💛💚💜

[@334outdoors8]

Love to see you showing some attention to wild critters and how farming and in other cases hunting can actually help the animals I’ve eaten many wild gators and never had one taste like fish but I will say atleast for frying the body meat is definitely the best meat

[@diannt9583]

Probably a fishy taste would depend on how much seafood your alligator actually ate towards the end of his life?

[@Craxin01]

A different Adam, Adam Conover from Adam Ruins Everything, covered a similar topic. Some wild preserves in Africa for the conservation of endangered species will intentionally allow hunters to pay to hunt endangered species and the preserve offers up problem animals (overly aggressive rhinos for example), then use the proceeds to care for the remainder. Pay staff, keep out poachers, provide medical resources. If some great white hunter wants to have bragging rights, gets rid of a dangerous animal, and the whole thing actually helps keep the population healthy, sounds like a win-win-win to me.

[@zacharyalfano9846]

Great white sharks aren’t dangerous what you talking about what people need to do is leave the sharks the fuck alone and stop over fishing the food they eat. Toilets injure more people a year than sharks do by the way.

[@balex2344]

@@zacharyalfano9846 was that to a deleted comment or? that makes no sense

[@herika006]

I once went to the so called ”Blind restaurant” in Berlin where you would eat in total darkness. To take the experience to the next level, I opted for the surprise menu, ie. having no idea what they would serve me. I guess you see where this is going. We were told when leaving what we got, and apparently it was crocodile - I suppose alligator, but there might hve been language issues. While they said it should taste like chicken, my experience was very different. The meat had a very strong flavour that I remember went into my nose and found it very unpleasant, it reminded me more of beef than chicken. And I ended up doing something you might be too embarrassed doing in a normal restaurant: spat my food out and moved on to the dessert… I sometimes still wonder if it was really what they said it was.

[@lnhart7157]

Thats so Berlin

[@isaiahjones4657]

Nah you ate a person. Sorry

[@Yuyubro24]

bro what, they done served you human meat. At least look at what you're eating lol or know what it is.

[@friedrice207]

@@Yuyubro24 i have a few corpses i could donate to that restaurant

[@Great_Olaf5]

Does this place have accommodations for people with food allergies?

[@dbensen]

I want to thank you for being reasonable and evenhanded in your weighing up of the ethics around eating gator meat. Usually when I hear "ethics" on the internet I leave because the conversation stops being a conversation. But you kept it nuanced.

[@Feynman981]

Huge respect how you tackle this sensitive subject.

[@limesoda3998]

"If it bleeds, we can eat it."

[@SarimFaruque]

human

[@quokka_yt]

@oh no stop spamming lol

[@TheSlavChef]

If it moves, we can eat it!

[@quokka_yt]

@@TheSlavChef Flashback to the guy who ate a car

[@mirai5268]

@@quokka_yt its a bot

[@IanZainea1990]

It's sorta similar to historical sites. For the past 100-200 years the idea has been to preserve historical sites in pristine condition, but many are realizing that just isn't sustainable, tourism fades after a few years, and for some places may never be enough to cover repair and upkeep costs. (Talking buildings here.) And so some places are re-opening to use. Like concerts at the Colosseum. The Colosseum survived for millennia because it was almost continuously in-use, mostly as shops in the arches and even a church, but in use. Same with other great old buildings, Hagia Sophia, Notre Dame, Taj Mahal, The Pantheon, etc.

[@cafedetaro]

Adam's segues into the sponsor are so smooth they always catch me off guard, his are probably the only ones I sit through because halfway in I realize it's an ad read.

[@22hmartin]

Thank you Adam, your videos are part of my homeschooling curriculum for my little man since you tie science, history, and home economics all in one easily digestible 12-25 minute period and this one works right into our unit for this week.

[@Brent-jj6qi]

Based homeschooling

[@AudreysKitchen]

That’s good parenting/teaching. Adam has such a multi-disciplinary approach that is brilliant for developing critical thinking skills.

[@22hmartin]

@@AudreysKitchen Adam is excellent in this format and I love it; and the kiddo likes his charisma and all the little tidbits he learns. Practical skills, as well as many factoids and critical thought.

[@ettinakitten5047]

My kid's too young for his videos (she's watched them a bit, but at 1 month old I doubt she's understanding much of it). But I intend to use videos like this in my homeschooling when she's older.

[@Spectoral_on_SPOTIFY]

That Surfshark segue was pure genius

[@Venator70]

Can confirm the "feels like poultry, tastes like fish" experience. I wonder if braising some turkey in a fish sauce could make a "mock gator". I must give it a try.

[@yura37]

A buddy of mine went on a hunting trip in the deep south and brought me back 2 kilos of wild gator. the texture was odd, but tastewise it was an amazing meat. it is hard to describe but its some kind of odd mix of chicken, fish, and snake (in that order). do recommend.

[@Keravonos]

My uncle in Florida would hunt Gators when I was younger, I thought then and still do think it's a cool hobby, more so now as an adult that I know controlled hunting is a very important part of conservation. Doesn't hurt that deep fried gator tastes delicious

[@elbarto4069]

Controled hunting is stupid

[@spa7us]

@@elbarto4069grow up lil bro

[@holydiver6570]

"Why i started eating Human Flesh" Adam Ragusea in a year.

[@Edav1019]

It's videos like these that have made me fall in love with this channel! Impeccable research, stunning presentation and a fact based approach to the subject matter. Thank you for being a much needed source of good quality entertainment and knowledge building. 🙌

[@noahway13]

Facts? What is that? = )

[@Magnapinna4096]

when the pond is respectable, but the gator is impeccable

[@boiledelephant]

"If it's done properly" is the founding statement of my ethics on a lot of animal rights and animal farming topics. People pointing at PETA torture videos and going "be vegan!", and people pointing at cows in fields and going "see, they're fine, eat beef!" are both kinda missing the point.

[@SilverScaleMA]

Kind of reminds me of a conversation with someone who claimed to be totally vegan (in the sense that her diet didn't harm any animals) and only ate organic. I had to explian how most organic produce, especially vegetables, are technically not vegan because some of the primary ingredients of organic fertilizers in particular is bone and blood meal. And the majority of the blood and bone to make those meal come from slaughterhouses as byproducts of meat processing. She didn't believe me until I dared her to actually look up the contents of organic fertilizer. Needless to say she didn't say she was vegan after that...

[@TheRealGigachad1848]

I don't get it. You're killing the animal. How's that ethical?

[@SilverScaleMA]

@@TheRealGigachad1848 Animals kill animals, even herbivores. Are all animals unethical then? As long as the animal is not being wasted then it isn't, animals like cattle and pigs will still need to be slaughtered for the various other uses of their fats, blood, bone, and hide. Meat isn't the only purpose of livestock, if it was meat would be a *lot* more expensive. I do disagree with the way animals are treated in stockyards but the food chain requires herbivores to be culled in some way to not cause total destruction to the ecosystem.

[@boiledelephant]

​@@TheRealGigachad1848 Nature is not an intuitive ethical arena to modern urban humans. Most things in nature die being eaten alive or starving to death, most as infants. The natural world does not fit into a modern human ethical framework, and if it did, it would only be fair to call the natural world something like Hell. Clearly, if there is an ethics of nature, it is very unlike human ethics. *Human* ethics is concerned mainly with reduction of unnecessary suffering - not with cheating death for as long as possible. Death is compulsory; suffering is optional. This distinction is demonstrated by the existence of euthanasia laws, DNR options in medical care, the concept of 'war crimes' and the permission of extreme sports. Death is inevitable. But given the option, we may as well make decisions and design systems that reduce suffering and cruelty where possible. Environmentalism, meanwhile, is concerned with long-term sustainability. Ecologists and environmentalists want nature in balance, not nature free from death and cruelty (which would be a contradiction). This often involves huge amounts of killing; protecting the overall ecosystem from disease, instability, overpopulation or invasion sometimes necessitates culls. The point here is that the ethics of nature, if we are to construct it, must accept death and suffering as part of the norm. It makes no sense to talk about killing as being unethical in this arena, because almost every animal that lives will, usually sooner rather than later, die between the teeth of another. Perhaps we feel that as humans we're apart from nature, and subject to different, stricter rules. Human ethics certainly holds that killing humans is wrong, but mainly because of how it affects other humans; the rule is chiefly made of common self-interest. None of us want to be at risk from killers. We likewise make laws against killing pets, because a) we have inaugurated pets into human society, b) there are humans who care about them and would be traumatized by their killing, and c) it is a clear red flag against a person's character if they're willing to kill a pet, given a and b. But even if we are separate from the natural world, wild animals aren't. Without human involvement, wild animals are locked in a structure whose only exits are predation, starvation and disease. If we step into this arena and kill animals, we are having no effect on the balance of suffering - except, perhaps, to reduce it somewhat, by giving an animal a painless death (which is otherwise vanishingly rare in nature). But what if we take the animals *out* of nature? What if we selectively breed and rear entire generations of animals in captivity? Aren't they now in the human world, not the natural world? Or somewhere in between? Yes, they are. Shouldn't different ethics apply to this new arena of captive animals, which are neither human nor wild? Yes, definitely. And that's how it becomes an ethical question. Killing wild animals falls into the ethics of nature; killing humans and pets falls into the ethics of human society; killing farm animals in captivity falls into some new, third ethical arena. The rules of this new arena are not obvious. People mainly acquainted with pets instinctively feel killing farm animals is wrong, because they equate animals with pets and feel that killing pets is wrong. People mainly acquainted with wild animals may feel that killing farm animals is fine, because they equate farm animals with wild animals and wild animals, existing by default in an arena of cruel deaths, are fair game. Both are mistaken, however. Farm animals are not pets or wild animals; they are a third category. The lack the essential features that would put them in either the ethics of nature or human ethics. To be subject to human ethics, they'd have to be part of human society, cared for and loved by people as companions, conceptualized by most people as sharing some of society's protections. To be subject to the ethics of nature, they would have to otherwise be at risk of a wild animal's death and suffering, which they clearly aren't, because we intentionally bred them in captivity and safety. They have never lived, and could never live, in the natural world. I consider this an open question. There is no logical basis from the ethics of nature to say that killing them is fine, and there is no logical basis from human ethics for saying that killing them is wrong. Farm animals are therefore a new ethical category of animal that invites the creation of new ethical rules. We get to decide among us what those rules are.

[@treett4268]

@@TheRealGigachad1848 - Because ethics and morality is just another form of religion full of bullshit. morality is subjective.

[@keithyinger3326]

I've tried alligator meat once. My grandparents brought some back from a trip around the south to cook for the family. From what you said about the textures, i'm guessing this was body meat. It seemed more flaky, like a fish, vs solid chicken meat. Maybe it was how she cooked it as well. Breaded and deep fried. It's flakiness and mild flavor, reminded me a lot of Halibut. It was really good!

[@maileannlouie]

It’s normally the tail that’s the “prime” flesh. It does taste just like chicken so I’ll eat chicken

[@zixvirzjghamn737]

@@maileannlouie yeah it's more efficient and alligator meat doesn't taste different in any wayy ythat can't be done better by other animals. Plus it's an apex predator so if you eat wild then you'll get some mercury.

[@maileannlouie]

@@zixvirzjghamn737 or something else. I mean I wouldn’t eat a wild caught python or alligator or roadkill (which is extremely popular in FL roadkill) I call it US “bush meat”. I’m scared of venison now as there’s that disease like mad cow disease in hunted deer. In FL there’s a guy who farms deer to make a living for specifically for private hunting (which of course I’m assuming that they’re going to consume) on his property they tested positive for that virus and he’s fighting tooth and nail with FL Wild Life as he doesn’t want his deer killed. So he hasn’t separated the deer that are infected he refuses as he says he has no way to separate the infected from the ones who aren’t and more and more of his herd are testing positive. It sucks for him but the disease got In somehow. As far as bushmeat well we saw what happened in China when they feel that COVID came from bushmeat. Who knows? But I know there’s no “cure” for mad cow disease. So, no more venison on the menu. Sorry for the rant. It’s just the people are really weird in Florida

[@kilgoretrout8896]

As someone whose family is from Louisiana, I'm all about this upload.

[@leelewis926]

I don't subscribe often to KZbin channels, but I did so with yours. You present very informative and inspiring works. Having lived most of my life in Florida, I found this presentation to be very relevant. Having grown up with a lot of Mexican relatives and Mexican culture, I found you presentation on preparing Cacti especially interesting. I enjoy your work! Keep up the awesome educational clips!

[@kurtkremitzki1558]

The topic of eating iguanas would make a pretty interesting followup video to this one! The situation is almost inverted though in that iguanas have spread to some regions as invasive or pest species outside the regions in Mexico where there's a cultural background for eating it.

[@Liliththelizard]

*"Oh Hi Dave, I heard you got a new job! What is it you're doing these days?"* "Oh Hi Steve! Yeah, I'm a gator egg snatcher. That means I walk riverbanks and take eggs from wild alligators. It's a hoot!"

[@danielbickford3458]

And one hell of an exercise routine I'd guess

[@ronnickels5193]

@@danielbickford3458 just remember, serpentine

[@Craxin01]

Dave will end up being known as "stumpy" later in life.

[@danielbickford3458]

@@Craxin01 or he's actually quite successful at his job, "Twitchy"

[@Craxin01]

@@danielbickford3458 I'd go with lucky or fast legs. Twitchy sounds like the nickname for a meth addict.

[@OutlawPrince45]

As a Floridian I can say the best and most underrated gator cut is definitely the ribs; fried gator tail is the most popular but bbq gator ribs are even better. There is a real popular local restaurant in the Tampa Bay area called Skipper’s Smokehouse and they have the best damn ribs I’ve ever had, and they’re gator.

[@zixvirzjghamn737]

do they taste different than other ribs?

[@OutlawPrince45]

@@zixvirzjghamn737 They are most similar to pork ribs but also have a unique edge to them that’s hard to explain if you haven’t had gator before. Gator tail tastes kinda like chicken but with the same uniqueness mixed in there. The best way to describe it is gamey and fishy, but in a good way?

[@HuangChau]

u would probably eat human too.

[@rw4025]

As someone who's worked with conservationists, I loved how nuanced and balanced this video was. Pragmatism is essential, and extremists on both sides get us nowhere - like you said, sometimes you have to kill animals to save them.

[@midgetman4206]

Always a better choice to get a bigger picture. Look at both sides, see what they have to say, and come down to a conclusion through that (usually implementing from both works best).

[@prezentoappr1171]

@@midgetman4206 also why there's a need to use both observation and deduction, that's how the modern geographer find out the squared root of 2 which pythagoras cant explain cuz he only used one technique

[@stansman5461]

Exactly. Animal farming can help them. Another example is rhinos. Rhino horns were made legal and the population started to recover cause farmers actually kept the rhino alive to harvest the horn and bred them. But then it was made illegal, farmers no longer cared (considering it's in Africa and conservation comes after surviving) and poachers did what they do best, kill and cut the horn. And the population went into decline again.

[@noarmsnolife6665]

@@stansman5461 I looked this up and this seems to not be true. From the abstract of a study titled "will legal international rhino horn trade save wild rhino populations?": "We identified four mechanisms through which legal trade would impact wild rhino populations, of which only the increased revenue for rhino farmers could potentially benefit rhino conservation. Conversely, the global demand for rhino horn is likely to increase to a level that cannot be met solely by legal supply. Moreover, corruption is omnipresent in countries along the trade routes, which has the potential to negatively affect rhino conservation. Finally, programmes aimed at reducing rhino horn demand will be counteracted through trade legalization by removing the stigma on consuming rhino horn. Combining these insights and comparing them with criteria for sustainable wildlife farming, we conclude that legalizing rhino horn trade will likely negatively impact the remaining wild rhino populations"

[@Nextwave88]

,

[@cameronphenix2096]

Counter argument to the California gator ban: if you flood the market with farm raised gator leather, it becomes less profitable to poachers to hunt the endangered gator species, thereby disincentivizing the hunters.

[@Jasonwolf1495]

Potentially, but it could also increase demand overall and then those product still are desired.

[@عبدالرحمنهندي-ل2ط]

A counter for your counter argument to the California gator ban: It is true that an increase in supply will cause inflation in the gator market but it will also make the endangered gator species rarer thus more valuable

[@00muinamir]

The problem is that demand for luxury items is exploding in newly developed/developing areas. Achieving the kind of volume that can flood the market isn't going to be so easy.

[@cameronphenix2096]

@@عبدالرحمنهندي-ل2ط depends on how distinguishable they are. If they can't be told apart, then there will also be an increase in sellers who use the imported leather and claim it's the genuine leather, also flooding the market

[@the-outsider]

@@عبدالرحمنهندي-ل2ط additional point to add to your counter point: the increase in commercial farmed gator leather makes it that much easier for the endangered versions to slip through unnoticed increasing smugglers profits that much more. An increase of price, demand, and it being easier to move the products will make poaching seem alot more lucrative.

[@kristilisakleiner9384]

I really enjoy how informative your videos are, always learn something

[@horacegentleman3296]

That alligator looked so excited to say "hi" to me =]

[@andrewtoth7674]

"Alligators are the closest living things to birds." Confirmed: birds are not real

[@TheOuchee]

@@Tgoodie261 ya nice try buddy but I have that link memorized by now.

[@camelopardalis84]

Bananas are berries.

[@corneliahanimann2173]

So could dinosaurs speak? My parrot can and parrots can speak because their vocal cords are similar to human vocal cords. So if dinosaurs are birds, could they mimic sounds and communicate like parrots can?

[@maxliu7576]

@@corneliahanimann2173 that’s like saying chickens and songbirds and eagles may have also been able to speak which is false

[@hattedmoron555]

@@corneliahanimann2173 can songbirds, hawks and geese mimic human voices?

[@puddlespuddles5208]

Just wanted to say this was the first video I ever saw of you and your channel and to this day I think it is your best video ever made. Not that I don't enjoy or learn from your other videos but this is what made me a subscriber and a long term fan. Thank you and I doubt you or anyone will see this but felt like I needed to share that.

[@davidkim2345]

"swiping those wild eggs does not hurt the wild alligators, just the opposite, in fact." *sad mama gator noises*

[@toolbaggers]

In nature it's the strongest 12% that survive and reproduce. These ranchers are economically incentivised to keep the largest, healthiest babies for themselves and to only release what they believe are the ones that won't make them as much money thus HURTING the species as a whole in the long run.

[@toolbaggers]

I bet this was the same mentality as some delusional slave owners "rescuing people" from Africa.

[@Juxtaroberto]

@@toolbaggers If that were the case, the data would not have shown the wild populations' recovering. We should still see their numbers declining in the wild, but that's just not the case. "The strongest survive" is a slippery statement, and often a gross oversimplification of how natural selection works.

[@Juxtaroberto]

@@toolbaggers Are you comparing black people to swamp-dwelling reptiles? IDK man, sounds kinda racist.

[@randomnobody660]

@@Juxtaroberto Seriously? "Are you comparing black people to swamp-dwelling reptiles?" I don't get why it's some cardinal sin to compare anything to anything else in an analogy. An analogy is suppose to highlight a partial similarity, no sh!t the parts that aren't similar, aren't. In this case the argument is sort of half-made haphazardly, but I think the general idea is clear: it's a mistake to look at a single metric (in this case population), maintain it, and conclude no harm is done. You are using the same metric so of course you don't see the issue, but population is not everything. Is the average size of gators decreasing due to farmers releasing all the smaller ones? Is the gator population becoming more tame both to humans and to each other due to being raise in captivity with an abundance of food? The population is almost certainly evolving in a different direction than they would have due to the practice, it's just a matter of figuring out whether that's a good or bad thing, or at least whether it's a relevant thing.

[@xiaohu22]

I work in wildlife management and actually used to work for LDWF with alligators. I just wanted to say that I think you did a great job explaining everything! This video was extra cool to me getting to watch it after having done the work you were describing.

[@alyssaurus17]

Floridian here: I also agree that gator tastes a lot like chicken, but more tough. Also, I had no clue you could sell gator eggs. I have a pond in my backyard that I've seen Gators in, time to start checking for mud holes!

[@ajapaneseninja5116]

aligator is the kind of thing my dad would tell me about eating back in the day

[@TheSlavChef]

i wonder how it will taste, they say it is quite similar to chicken or rabbit meat

[@grimreactor9579]

@@TheSlavChef it's kinda taste like pork for me at least

[@sweet5304]

Cool dad alert

[@ConScortis]

In Australia some stores sell farmed crocodile meat. I have cooked it a few times and find it works really well with Thai style marinades - eg. coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice, chopped chilli, coriander and palm sugar. Barbecued its pretty good.

[@AlfredoPuente8]

Baby alligators are super cute, they sounds like a space laser and feel like a sandbag when you hold them.

[@mmhoss]

Hunting and conservation similarly go hand in hand. Seems counterintuitive if you only give it surface level thought fit for a tweet. But it's true-- most money for conservation efforts comes from hunting license revenues

[@janMelantu]

Plus hunting licenses allow conservation agencies to control how many animals are being hunted, and the authority to stop people who are breaking those limits.

[@toolbaggers]

I bet this was the same mentality as some delusional slave owners "rescuing people" from Africa.

[@janMelantu]

@@toolbaggers holy non sequitur, batman!

[@adamleblanc5294]

Not only that, but it's effective method of population control. If you have too many foxes, you'll run out of rabbits, if you have too many rabbits, you'll end up with too many foxes that will hurt other populations. or, in the case of certain species, if you have an older male that can no longer produce offspring, but it actively preventing other males from matting due to being bigger/stronger, letting him live will hurt the species as a whole, so it's better to let some rich asshole give you $50,000 to shoot it than to let it hurt the species for years to come.

[@gingermcgingin4106]

Also, it's quite hard to hunt something if it's extinct, so most hunters are very invested in the ecological well-being of their game

[@Mildnumber4444]

Biomagnification is probably my biggest concern when it comes to eating meat from any large carnivore (Alligator, Bear, etc.). I would certainly never want to eat meat from a very large or old alligator, an animal that has been around long enough to have a significant build up of mercury and other toxins from the prey they consume. Younger farmed animals may be better in this regard, but consuming meat from any apex predator has it's risks.

[@heysemberthkingdom-brunel5041]

Do you eat tuna?

[@Mildnumber4444]

@@heysemberthkingdom-brunel5041 Nope, and for exactly the same reason

[@whirledworld2]

Probably why in the video he talks about the farmed alligators being harvested young, most of your concerns were answered in it

[@RowdyBoy82]

All those concerns were addressed in this video. Ranch raised meat is usually around a year old and hasn't had any instances of mercury content.

[@trex1448]

These are not apex animals in food chain. They're farmed.

[@FaceD0wnDagon]

Love it or hate it, being economically useful to humans is probably the single best way to avoid extinction.

[@jennrodriguezdaluz]

i have gator on occasion down here in Texas, usually at some of my favorite Cajun establishments. it's always had a hybrid taste and texture of chicken and fish.

[@Burtocd]

Yea, I personally think gator, especially wild caught, taste similar to catfish.

[@killercaos123]

I’ve had fried gator bites. I really enjoyed it and was surprised at how similar it was in Tate to chicken, but had the feel of pork. Very interesting. Would try more if offered

[@redredleg4051]

I had it once and it was really dry, but I think it just wasn’t cooked well.

[@Juggornawt]

The best way is definitely fried or as jerky

[@simplesimon8255]

in Tate?

[@Milonpepsi]

Bruh

[@Tatusiek_1]

Andrew Tate

[@puccipower]

You are such a wonderful teacher! Thank you! I am so glad I found your channel. You deserve all of your 2 mil followers.

[@LiberalSquared]

Living in Florida, you'd think it would be easier to find gator meat in grocery stores.

[@RedRoseSeptember22]

True since they have gator ranches down there :)

[@Kremithefrog1]

If they don't have it then try asking your grocer to get it.

[@Mostlyharmless1985]

It's a pretty common stock in my grocery. Check the deep freezers, and if it's not there put in a request at the butcher counter, they'll have it for you in a few days.

[@Slaking_]

Probably not there cuz there aren't a lot of people buying gator meat

[@camelopardalis84]

There is gator meat in Floridian grocery stores to find. The thing is, it's still in the living body of an alligator some Florida man takes to the store.

[@rjpena4258]

“Killing animals can be a way to save them” That was definitely the best line to leave us with my god

[@lwilton]

People have been saying for years we should be eating bald eagles.

[@MarieRosu]

Such a profound thought, Adam truly is a philosopher of our times.

[@TomARowly]

idk you could also just leave them alone and not kill them yk

[@rjpena4258]

@@TomARowly thats not the point now is it Adam says this because the act of consuming alligator is mainly sourced by RANCHES, who work to preserve the species. Eat it or dont, personally i dont eat gator, but those that do are the people that care most for it (look at louisiana).

[@camerongunn7906]

Conservation works.

[@artbrownsr]

Adam while I may not be as astute as you are in the ways of conservation, I find that you Express yourself well, and cover even the Controversial parts as a discussion point rather than an adversary. I was taught early on about keeping what you have in a sustainable fashion, " waste not want not" was a common term in my family. Living in Alaska I've found that " Reduce, reuse, recycle." Was a way of life here long before the lower 48 came up with it.

[@sbraudrick]

As always, wildly informative and responsible, keep up the good work Adam!

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

2:06 "A crocodile gets cold, it straight up dies." So that's why Bea won't share her jacket.

[@jazzoo908]

Night in the woods reference?

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

@@jazzoo908 You got it!

[@ethervagabond]

Raguesa, master of ad segues. You're the only KZbinr whose ads I don't skip over, just for that reason. If sponsors aren't jumping over each other to sponsor you, they're dumb.

[@solevazquezmaria]

It is really interesting that they have to release 12% of the alligators they breed. I never knew that

[@RedRoseSeptember22]

Makes sense though since they have to breed :)

[@Craxin01]

Don't know if it's a "have to" situation and more a "be better if" situation. They could release more, maybe get a bigger return or fewer and get more profit of the ones they raised. I'm sure some egghead somewhere did the math and suggested 12% being the bare minimum and wrote it into the law.

[@walterw2]

me neither but it makes perfect sense if you think about critters like most reptiles that lay a bunch of eggs but only a few make it to adulthood just figure out the average that survive, return them to the wild and you won't alter the balance

[@Craxin01]

@@walterw2 Sounds logical to me.

[@gyrotechnics9766]

what if they have to release 5.3 alligators to they cut the tail off?

[@art_lobe]

I still remember that guy in "Swamp people" that killed an alligator with a magnum at point blank

[@faceless2302]

A lot of the bangsticks they use for harvesting gators use magnum pistol calibers too, notably .357 mag.

[@thisaccountisntreal107]

I remember discovering that show I truly didn't know what "swamp people" was about but I really had to find out

[@jebbsredemption]

My father and I were out fishing ~7 years ago and an alligator came to take our fish. Deadass just shot it in the head and it went right back down

[@brendorkusaviation8930]

@@jebbsredemption it survived a shot to the head?

[@jebbsredemption]

@@brendorkusaviation8930 No it went back down because it died. Lmao it was still in the water.

[@benjamincisco8445]

Love this topic! Not many people are talking about alligator meat! Right on man, you are a force on this platform!

[@Roonasaur]

3:14 Smooth. Real effing smooth man, for real. I can usually smell an ad segue from a mile away, but you got me this time ;)

[@donvalharris9819]

I've never had gator meat. Though I am willing to try it , here in Jamaica we have crocodiles and they are on the protected list I have spoken to people who claimed that they have eaten them but I don't have any hard evidence of that. Personally I think it's fair to try everything once because you never know what life may throw your way. Great videos Adam keep them coming.

[@birdguy5921]

Bruh that sponsor was almost as smooth as my brain

[@AmbushTricks]

Really interesting topics covered here. Definitely feel like I learned new things! Thanks Adam.

[@gcal8263]

search up the term 'charismatic megafauna' if you wanna read a bit more about why people are more inclined to protect (less ecologically important?) species like pandas and less inclined to protect things like gators or snakes

[@camelopardalis84]

Pretty privilege.

[@Craxin01]

@@camelopardalis84 Pandas are also less likely to eat someone's child.

[@NekoApril]

@@Craxin01 Most English speakers also don't live near panda habitats.

[@Craxin01]

@@NekoApril I'm sure if this nation were founded by Asian people, they'd kill off alligators to protect their land\people too.

[@gcal8263]

@@Craxin01 perceived danger toward humans isn't that much of a factor in this phenomenon since other charismatic megafauna include male lions and Bengal tigers and people perceive them as pretty dangerous

[@fattzulu1490]

the level of research that goes into these videos really deserves more respect than the video itself.. i salute you for your efforts 👌 💯

[@spookyplaguedoctor5714]

As a Floridian, it's really common to learn about just how important gators are to our ecosystem. One of the reasons why I'm currently majoring in bio science is simply how cool biodiversity is in FL.

[@McCaroni_Sup]

Floridius Mannus

[@donmcmaine9213]

If it pays it stays, this is a great example of this. That's also why "Hunting is Conservation" holds true

[@wasidanatsali6374]

Whitetails will never go extinct. Universities have entire departments dedicated to nothing but studying whitetails.

[@rebeccaburrow7199]

@@wasidanatsali6374 the whitetail population in texas was in major decline, same w our native turkey species, but texas made hunting part of the conservation plan and both populations are completely recovered

[@Craxin01]

Where did the preservation model originate from in the first place? Teddy Roosevelt, who wanted to have animals to hunt. Can't hunt an animal that's gone extinct.

[@MachineMan-mj4gj]

@@Craxin01 I heard a lot of money for elephant, rhino, and lion conservation came from big game hunters.

[@Craxin01]

@@MachineMan-mj4gj As long as it's done properly, conservation for hunting works quite well. A preserve might separate a problem animal from the herd or pride, pay a guide to lead the hunter to said animal, the herd or pride are more likely to thrive, the preserve takes in money to help conservation, and some hunter gets bragging rights. Sounds like a win-win-win here. I'm a liberal, and lot of us are vehemently anti-hunting, but I'm not when it's done right.

[@jennifermenth-pavel1260]

I love all of your videos but this one is definitely a cut above. Your explanation of the gator industry is one of the best and most accurate I have seen! The level of quality you deliver can only come from a man who takes pride in his work. Thank you for sharing and God bless. ❤😊

[@thunder_bug_1451]

I'm actually a college student studying biology in order to become a paleontologist, so I can speak to the relationship between crocodilians and birds. (I'm oversimplifying to make it more understandable, there's way more detail than I'm covering here, and way more clades and species that aren't getting brought up. If you're looking for a more detailed look at this I highly recommend AronRa's "Systematic Classification of Life" playlist) So basically there are two big groups of amniotes, which are the fully terrestrial (except for the ones that aren't) animals with backbones. The difference between these two branches is categorized by the number of holes in the skull (temporal fenestra). These aren't your eye sockets or nostril openings, but other holes that are used as either muscle attachments or just to make the skull lighter. If you have one hole, then you go down the path that becomes mammals, and eventually us. (The hole closed up in humans, but you can still feel where the skull is thinner. That's your temple on the side of your head.) The other main group has two holes, diapsids. This is the branch we're looking at. Diapsids have two further main groups, Lepidosaurs and archosaurs. The diagnostic characteristic of these two groups is found mainly in the hips and legs. Lepidosaurs are lizards and snakes and the like, and have a more sprawling 'primitive' gait. Archosaurs (including dinosaurs and crocodilians) have legs that are more firmly underneath them, and their legs move more front to back than in wide arcs like lepidosaurs. Yes crocodiles have a generally more basal way of walking, but when they need to they can stand up all the way and run surprisingly fast. There even used to be other species of crocodilian (long extinct) that could gallop and chase down prey on land. Archosaurs then have two further splits, into Pseudosuchians (false crocodiles) and Avemetarsalians (bird feet). Pseudosuchia is the group that has crocodiles and alligators and all their extinct weird relatives (like the galloping land croc mentioned earlier.) This group is characterised with a squat body, long and narrow skulls, which are nevertheless extremely dense and reinforced, and short necks. In other words, they look like crocodiles. Avemetatarsalians are characterized by some specific traits of their feet which allow for lots of flexibility and maneuverability, as well as the very first traces of what would become feathers. At this point they're similar to hair, and not very complex at all, but its here where they first show up. Inside this group we have pterosaurs, which we aren't gonna talk about, and dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are characterized by a number of things, primarily their posture, with legs that sit directly under the body as opposed to sprawled out. This means that they can run faster, and more efficiently, than other animals. There are a couple arguments going on right now as to how the different groups of dinosaurs are specifically related, but the one we care about are Theropods. Theropods are classified by their three-toed feet, and more complicated feathers, as well as a few adaptations to their skeleton to make it lighter. Continuing further we get to the split between Tyrannosaurs and birds (Tyrannosaurs are classified as being really big, with specific modifications to the skull to make them bite really hard.) The group that birds fall in are "Maniraptors", which are characterized by particularly long forelimbs and the shape of their hip bones. (It's thought that one use of these long forelimbs was to display big feather crests.) Already we have something that looks very birdlike just at the level of Maniraptors, this is where we have Oviraptor and Velociraptor and those sorts of things. From there on there are a number more groups that continue to make these animals more and more birdlike, until eventually we have modern birds, with fully developed feathers, wings, and all. The group that we classify as "modern birds" was actually around around 145 mya, although things that we would call birds if you put them in front of us alive today existed much earlier. And because an animal doesnt ever outgrow its ancestry, if its ancestors were something, it is too! Just like we are apes, and primates, and mammals, and so on, birds are theropods, and dinosaurs, and archosaurs, and so on. If anyone who is more knowledgeable wants to correct me on anything ofc feel free, I'm still just an undergrad so I don't have a professional level of knowledge, I'm just on the path to getting there. :)

[@Cabbage22927]

I like turtles

[@thunder_bug_1451]

@@Cabbage22927 The classification of turtles has come under some debate within the past few decades, but by this point seems to have resolved. The issue is that turtles do not have the diagnostic hole in the head to tell what kind of amniote it is, so it was thought to have been an anapsid. Anapsids were basically all the animals that were amniotes, but not of the two larger groups that became reptiles and mammals. These all went extinct millions of years ago, but because of some turtle like anapsid fossils, and the seemingly archaic features that turtles have, it was thought that maybe turtles could be the last surviving anapsids, which does sound like a cool idea and is something I wish were true. But science doesn't conform to what we like, and more recent fossil finds have clarified the evolution of turtles, and shown that they are in fact true reptiles, and not anapsids, and DNA evidence supports this.

[@JohnDlugosz]

You might clarify how "crocodiles" are the ancestor of dinosaurs while Crocodilia is only 95 mya (or 100 as Adam states at the start of the video). (Wish I could upvote you twice!)

[@thunder_bug_1451]

@@JohnDlugosz Crocodiles are not the ancestors of dinosaurs, my apologies if I gave that impression. Pseudosuchia is the larger group that contains all modern crocodilians, as well as innumerable other forms of crocodile-like animals. Most of these other kinds of animals have since gone extinct, and we are left with what is essentially the "basic" crocodile body plan. Think of it like if all lizards died, except for a skink. Yup, thats pretty much the basic lizard body plan, but youre losing out on all the weird things like monitors, geckos, etc. So to were there strange kinds of crocodilian now left only in the fossil record. This large and diverse group was a sister group to what would eventually become dinosaurs and pterosaurs (as well as a few other lesser known and not as diverse groups that are all extinct now). When these two lines split, neither crocodiles or dinosaurs existed yet, and neither was the ancestor of the other. To summarize: There was a split within the group of animals that we call archosaurs. When this split happened, the two groups of animals would have been very similar. One group eventually became very croc like, and eventually gave rise to true crocodilians. The other group became more bird like and eventually gave rise to true birds. Along the way there were many offshoots that were not very birdlike or croc like, but still with traits more similar to the one than the other. Hope that makes more sense, and if anything I said is confusing or you have more questions please feel free to ask for clarification!

[@thunder_bug_1451]

@@JohnDlugosz Oh and thanks for the positive thoughts, I like talking about this stuff and it makes me happy to tell other people about it :)

[@tien4930]

Would you ever consider a video about eating dogs? It’s a taboo subject i know but i think it would be interesting to delve into the cultural consensus on which animals are justified to eat.

[@bruhice6058]

Generally it’s pretty simple. You don’t eat pets or work animals.

[@fahn777]

@@bruhice6058 we eat cattle though, which can be work animals, but generally you're right. However, in some cultures dogs are not seen as pets, such as in some tribes in Papua New Guinea.

[@OmniversalInsect]

@@bruhice6058 People keep fish and eat fish

[@adityasrinivasulu]

@@OmniversalInsect but you wouldn't eat a goldfish... Ornamental/pet animals are kinda complicated in some cultures.

[@wm-fm1ts]

I think it would be a bit hard for him to get some dog meat in the US to eat and review, since it is so stigmatized here. It would make for an interesting video though. The only 'real' concern for how ethical dog meat is, imo, is whether farmed dogs are able to have a good quality of life before being slaughtered. I don't think they are. But, I also don't think any factory farmed animals are: Cornish cross and broiler chickens that are kept in massive groups, cattle in feed lots, pigs staying in dark barns their whole lives. Dog farms really do fit right in! It's just culturally seeing dogs only as pets that makes most people squeamish. In my own diet, I treat meat as a luxury item. I try to buy from local sources whenever possible, and to get things like pasture-raised beef. It doesn't guarantee that the animals were treated well, but they have a much better chance at getting a more 'natural' life than cheaper meats from a large grocery store. Plus, it supports local farms!

[@itsamindgame9198]

"Not quite as aggressive." Heheh. I remember watching an expert alligator handler in Oz helping out with hatching crocs. He was extremely shocked when baby crocs with only their head out of the shell yet would instantly attack anything in range.

[@lukasg4807]

Crocs are scary, alligators will leave you alone 90% of the time if you swam past them (although there is always the possibility they attack). Crocs on the other hand are one of the most terrifying things to be in the water with outside of hippos.

[@ThemBEanss]

The Dino nugget joke is the most I’ve laughed in a Ragusea video, much love to Louisiana

[@morpheusblackmamba]

At this point the ads just merge so smooth to the content that it just feels like I'm in imminent danger - hence Surfshark, the sponsor of this comment!

[@ጽጽ]

that surf shark transition made me laugh so hard, well-executed sir😂

[@alfalfabillenjoyer4878]

Damn, I was waiting for an episode like this!

[@eliangonzalezandthecoastgu2321]

I'm from Florida. I remember my uncles always showing up at family parties after a day in the swamp. Us kids were so fascinated because the alligators tendons twitch for a long time after death. (Even the jaws😂 ask me how I know) I prefer not to kill them but catching young ones is always fun

[@colinyoung3685]

Ok, I'll bite. How do you know about the jaw?

[@stumpy259]

@@colinyoung3685 must have stuck his tongue out at UT and the twitching jaw got his tongue.

[@chrisbuckley1785]

Keep your pecker out of the gators mouth. 😂

[@benjamincisco8445]

I'm routinely impressed by your content, seriously!

[@janzizka9963]

Note: Caimans are Alligatoroids too. Gavials (Gharials) on the other hand are closer related to true Crocodiles and along with them form the clade Longirostres. Also, no matter the simmilar look, gap between Crocodilian and Alligator lineages is about 85 mil. years already. Anyway: Very cool video, subrscribing 😊

[@inayamulla7780]

the part of returning 12% of eggs to the wild made me so happy :)

[@sir3nd3r70]

Truly a wholesome guy! I love your show. Thank you for making cooking less intimidating and fun.

[@edgytoucan3444]

As much as I think gators are cute, as I do most livestock animals, this video made me feel a lot better about the alligator farming industry. While I still wouldn't wear gator leather, the fact that gator farmers help conserve gators whilst keeping up their business is real cool. I'd like to try fried gator sometime.

[@bluesira]

Fried gator is tasty.

[@bluesira]

@@AzathothTheGreat Well then COME ON DOWN! as they say lol xD