Hello, and good morning, Jennifer. How are you doing today? I'm
doing great. How are you? Absolutely fantastic. I think that this book
should have come with like some sort of soundtrack dun dun, dun, dun,
and and a narrator that goes, meanwhile, we're gonna check out this
next animal that is not looked upon as being a safe animal. I think
that would absolutely enhance the experience of the rear if there was such a soundtrack.
It had to be fun to put this together because in reality, so
many of us want to We want to buddy up with all shapes of animals
and their sizes, because I mean, we have a zoo just right down
the road here that that saves wild you know, the big cats, but
they're not so friendly. That is correct, And I think that that's you
started with a really brilliant point that we do because of the Internet and different
names and social media, we think that a lot of animals are really cute,
and they may be really cute, but they also have a fear side,
and you know, by and large we should leave them alone. Well
see see I feel the same way about the deer that are in my forest
here in South Charlotte, North Carolina. I mean those bucks, I swear
that they want to come up and kick my butt is what they want to
do with that rack on their head. And it's like, Okay, I
respect you. You do what you got to do, but please don't attack
me. That's correct. You know, they they need and they deserve their
space, and should we decide to intrude in that space, a lot of
animals will absolutely come after you and remind you that they need to have that
bit of territory for their own. I thought the crocodile was just a US
kind of thing, only to learn that what they're in the nile as well.
Oh yes, yes, the nile crocodile is actually one of the more
fierce reptiles that lives on our planet. You know, all of the crocodiles
I would definitely leave alone. I would never I would never bother any of
them. But yeah, the saltwater crocodile is definitely right up there. That's
one of the things that when when you walk through Charleston, you go back
into some of the parks and things like that. I mean, they they
they've got signs and actually say watch out and be aware of the alligators and
and that just you know, you sit there you think, really, is
this a movie? What's going on? But this book really does identify with
with a younger generation that hey, look you got to pay attention wherever you
go. Absolutely absolutely. I have a friend who lives in Florida, and
their take is that if you see a you know, a standing body of
water, whether that is a runoff ditch or whether that's a pond, you
should assume that there is an alligator in it, you know. And I
think that that's really an important thing for kids and quite frankly adults to understand.
I'm a big elephant fan. Of fact, if you saw this studio,
you would see amazing elephants inside this room. They're all over the place
because they're so positive. And yet I'm learning in this book the elephant roar
is is not exactly your best friend. No, No, if you hear
an elephant roar, you are in trouble. Yeah. So again, that's
another animal that we tend to, you know, just have as sort of
you know, it's a stuffed animal, it's online. But yeah, if
you hear that roar, you should watch out because it does have that tusks
those tusks and that trunk which it will use to strike a blow, Oh
my god. Yeah. And protective, Oh my god, when the elephants
are together, who the bull is unbelievably protective. Absolutely, yes, as
is the matriarch of the herd. Those are very very when it comes to
offspring. Just in general, that's when animals tend to be their most fierce
and protective. Again, even animals that you don't necessarily think that would be
protective or that could you know, do a lot of damage. Absolutely,
if they're protecting young or eggs. The book we're talking about is Deadliest Animals
on the Planet. I study animal behavior as well as spirituality, and I've
always believed that we can learn the art of survival just by watching the animals.
I think that that is a great take. I think that all animals
do have physical adaptations that help them to survive in their environment. But I
think the lesson that we can learn from that is how important our environment is
for us, and how important it is that we be able to share that
with other people or with other people, of course, with other people on
the planet, but also other creatures. Is you know, there's might the
the weird guy inside me. He wants to ask a stupid question in the
way of are you going to put this in animal speak so that you can
call it. The deadliest animal on the planet is the human? So that
is true, And you know, that was one of the things that actually
struck me as so interesting when I was a kid our zoo. I'm from
near Pittsburgh, when the last thing you saw before you left the zoo is,
you know, come close to see the deadliest animal on the planet,
And it was a mirror. Yes, and you know that I mean,
and you know I'm not I'm not particularly young. So for a long time
that has been, you know ingrained in my thinking of the humans place on
the planet, that we really are the deadliest animal on the planet. For
so many reasons. I was such a big hippo fan for the longest time
until they were they were basically transferred into the country of column And now the
hippo has taken over that entire environment. They're trying to figure out how to
end that. So I'm glad that you put focus on the hippo is not
always the cutest animal on the planet. No, they are another one where
you know, if you're in their territory. They are very territorial, and
there have been so many accounts of people who you know, are in a
boat and you know, again, big animal, big animal, twenty inch
teeth, you know. And I know they're sort of famous for being vegetarians,
but they can weigh up to two tons and they will heave that bult
against the boat and tip it right over. The photographs are really special because
I guess I grew up looking at so many books with the beautiful photographs,
so when I see that, it brings out the inner child. But it's
such a major part of this book, Deadliest Animals on the Planet. Absolutely.
I was so lucky to work with an amazing team of photo editors that
I wrote the text and then it was the job to comb through what I
can only imagine must be one of the most formidable photo archives on the planet
to come up with some pictures that really speak to what the text is saying.
And they just did an amazing job. And you also put focus on
the animals in the sea or the ocean, because I mean, so many
times we just think of those that are just on land right and again,
and I think that you know, that's a lot of the animals in the
sea aren't necessarily as photogenic or for the reasons that they would do. A
lot of the animals online, say, are the lamprey for example, It's
it's basically a parasite and it has just this you know, alien looking mouth
full of teeth that it uses to attach itself onto it onto its post.
And to me, getting to see that the picture that they chose for that
one is just marvelous. It just shows how really range that the mouth of
that animal is. Well, it's like a modern day monster, is what
it is. It's like, man, this was not created in Hollywood,
right right. Wow. And and for the billion and one cat people that
are listening, your house cat can be very deadly as well. Yep,
absolutely they that's another you know their internet superstars, right. Everyone loves the
cat mean in theory anyway. But they are really good predators. They are
good at what they do. They are still cats, and they will take
down their prey about thirty percent of the time, which may not sound,
you know, too impressive until you start to think about lions and tigers.
I mean they may only make a kill ten percent of the time. So
you know, the little guys are definitely deadly also, and dogs aren't so
friendly either. I mean because I mean my own wild dog here has has
done a lot of damage and we've just got on. You know, sometimes
we have to understand the animal before we sit there and judge the animal.
Absolutely, I you know, I have again my path to working for National
Geographic Kids has just been filled with wonderful people and they have taught me so
many different things. And one of them is, you know, someone struck
me. It told me at one point that it really struck me, is
that you know, if your cat, your healthcat or dog was large enough,
it would absolutely have the ability to you know, take you out and
might you know, we like we tend to trust animals, but you know
that's not a perfect system for sure. What is the fascination with the eel?
And the reason why I bring that up is because if you go and
you see these gigantic aquariums, the eel is always part of it. But
they're not so friendly. No, they are absolutely not friendly. They tend
to be very shy, you know, they're not as most animals do not
choose aggression as their first right, you know me means of defense. Most
you know, of all my research, I found that almost all animals,
even you know, snakes and ones that we really think of as being quite
deadly, they would they would much rather hide for numerous reasons. But the
electric eels don't really don't see very well, so it's very you know,
they don't have the ability to discern whether you're swimming by just to take a
good look at it, or whether you're swimming by to you know, make
a meal out of it. So they tend to be a little less you
know, discerning when they let go of that current, you know, you
talk about their environment and things, and right away I started thinking about our
own copperhead snakes here, and it's it's like, okay, if you don't
walk in the backyard and not think about the copperhead snake being back there,
then something's really wrong. And I think that's what we need to do,
is we need to understand the environment of the story as well. Yes,
absolutely. You know one of my friends who is she's a naturalist in here
in Pennsylvania, and she her specially is her pology, and you know,
she says, you know, rattlesnakes, we have the Eastern timber rattlers,
and you know, she said, it's always the second hiker that gets bitten
because it's the first one that startles them and the second one that's falling behind
that that you know, sort of takes the fall for the for the first
hiker's transgression. Oh my god, when you talked about that about the second
person, because that I got a bull constrictor because we ran into a rattlesnake
out in Montana and I thought, well, I got to learn to love
the snake. Well, that bulk constrictor was just as bad. It bites
absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, we may love them, but they don't They
don't reciprocate that love right in the in the same way. And oh so
true. Where can people go to find out more about the book and find
out how how National Geographic Kids is constantly in contact with educating our little ones.
Well, I obviously they could definitely go to the nat GIO Kids site.
The book is available, or we'll be available at you know, a
local bookstore or you're online retailer. But you know, you brought up something
that I think is so important is that I think kids are naturally scientists,
right, I mean, we say kids are naturally curious, but we don't
always frame that is that they are scientists and I really think that they are.
Ye, And just by turning back a question on them, you know,
kids go through a WY phase, but asking them questions that start with
all, well why do you think this? And why do you think that?
And then and then figuring that out together, I mean to me,
I think that really encourages kids to keep that natural curiosity as they grow.
Oh so true. Will you be brilliant today? Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year. Thank you so much and I appreciate the time you bet be brilliant today