The MeatEater Podcast - Ep. 574 : MeatEater Kids III

Episode Date: July 19, 2024

Welcome to our brand new podcast, MeatEater Kids! It's a fun, educational, and engaging podcast for all of you outdoor kids. Learn about science and history from Steve's "Why It's the Way It Is" segment and impress your friends with your newfound knowledge, develop your ear for animal vocalizations with our "Guess that Critter" segment brought to you by Katie Rinella, and play long during "Kids Trivia" with host Spencer Neuharth. Connect with Steve, Spencer, MeatEater, and The MeatEater Podcast Network MeatEater on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YoutubeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

part one why it's the way it is today we're going to talk about fish and we're going to talk about two different ways in which fish can use their habitats like the ways they can use the places they live and how to utilize their landscape or let's say their waterscape in order to have their babies so what we're going to talk about are these these terms that seem complicated and hard to say and hard to spell the two terms of this the first one is anadromous okay i'm just gonna spell it for you so you know a-n-a-d-r-o-m-o-u-s anadromous and anadromous has An anadromous has an opposite. The opposite of anadromous is catadromous. So that one is C-A-T-A-D-R-O-M-O-U-S. We're going to start by talking about the first one, the one that starts with an A, which is anadromous. An anadromous fish is a fish that lives its life out in the ocean

and then goes up a river in order to reproduce. I think the most classic example of an anadromous fish is a salmon. Okay. In our country, in the United States of America, we have six kinds of salmon. There are five salmon in the Pacific ocean, and there's just one kind of salmon, the Atlantic salmon that lives in the Atlantic ocean. If you're curious about the five in the Pacific, I'll tell you what they are. They all have two names, two common names. You have king salmon, which are called Chinook. You have silver salmon, which people also call Coho. You have pink salmon, which people call Humpies. You have sockeye salmon, which people will call Reds. And you have chum salmon, which people will call dog salmon. So those are the five salmon in the Pacific Ocean that go up the rivers in our country.

And there's that one salmon, the Atlantic salmon, the Atlantic Ocean. All these fish are anadromous fish. And here's what that means. They are born in rivers. They're born in fresh water. So as an egg, they're a fertilized egg. And these fertilized eggs will lay down in the gravel on the bottom of a river. And eventually that fertilized egg will hatch into a little baby fish that, surprisingly, within a few days of hatching, you'd kind of recognize it as a little fish. Different species of salmon, so different kinds of salmon, will spend different amounts of time in the rivers where they hatched or were born.

Pink salmon and chum salmon will go out right away. Pretty quickly, they go back out to the ocean where they're going to live their lives. A sockeye salmon, which is a Pacific salmon, a sockeye salmon will find its way to a lake. So they're dependent on lake systems being along the rivers where they reproduce. And they'll spend one to two years in a lake, freshwater lake, before going out to the ocean. A Chinook or King Salmon might spend about five months in a freshwater river before going out to live its life in the ocean. And a Coho Salmon will stay in its freshwater river for over a year. Over on the Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic Salmon will stay up in its freshwater river for two or three years.

All of these different salmon, all these different anadromous fish, will then grow up out in the ocean. They grow big out in the ocean. Chinook salmon might get up to 50 pounds, 60 pounds, 70 pounds. Coho salmon can grow up to 20 pounds out in the ocean. Sockeye salmon, you know, they might be 8 to 12 pounds out in the ocean. Pinks are a little bit smaller, but they'll go out in the ocean until they're several pounds. Eventually, the fish out in the ocean will reach maturity.

It'll get about as big as it's going to get. And then it's time for that fish to complete the life cycle. And it's time for that fish to go up the river. They usually go up the same river to the same place where they were born. And they travel from the ocean back into the fresh water and they go up the river

and they lay their eggs. The females lay the eggs and the males fertilize the eggs. So they have grown big and live the males fertilize the eggs. So they have grown big and lived their lives out in the ocean, and then they go up to complete their life cycle and reproduce. In the case of these Pacific salmon, when they go up to reproduce, these anadromous fish, when they go up the river,

it's the final journey they will make. They die up that river. An Atlantic salmon is able to go up the river and reproduce, and it will make. They die up that river. An Atlantic salmon is able to go up the river and reproduce and it will survive. It can live and go back out into the ocean. And those are all anadromous fish. And that's just some of the anadromous fish. Other anadromous fish that you might've heard of, striped bass will live their lives out in the ocean, but they'll go up into rivers and estuaries in order to reproduce. The American shad is an anadromous fish. Lives its life out in the ocean,

and it'll go up into a river to reproduce. And that's where it's born before moving back out into the ocean. There's a thing called a sea-run cutthroat trout. So this is a cutthroat trout that lives its life out in the ocean and goes up a river to spawn there are some anadromous fish that are kind of surprising or maybe things you haven't heard of there is a fish it's it's an eel like fish called a lamprey and

it's a it's what's called a jawless fish they have little suckers on their mouth lampreys will live their lives out in the ocean when they're out in the ocean how they survive is they latch on to other fish and suck the juices and bloods out of other fish and that's what they feed on but when it's time for them to lay their eggs they're an agimus right when it's time for them to lay their eggs they they're anadromous, right? When it's time for them to lay their eggs, they go up the rivers and reproduce. But now let's talk about that opposite. If you remember, anadromous has an opposite. The opposite of anadromous is catadromous.

A catadromous fish is a fish that lives its life up in the rivers. Okay, lives its life in freshwater and goes out to the ocean to reproduce. We only have on our continent, on our continent of North America, we only have one catadromous fish. The catadromous fish we have is called the American eel. And American eels live in the Atlantic Ocean. So they live on the eastern side of our country, on the eastern coast of our country. Eels will live in the rivers all the way up into what's called the maritime provinces of Canada. So if you go to Maine and go north of Maine,

those parts of Canada, north of Maine, they'll be called the Maritime Provinces. Those areas have American eels. And then American eels live all down the eastern coast. So you go from Maine down into New York and you keep going down to Virginia, North Carolina, Florida. Okay. All that is American eel territory. The Caribbean islands. So Cuba, Puerto Rico, and on and on, they all have American eels. There's that little part of South America that what would be the Northeast portion of South America that forms kind of the bottom of the Caribbean ocean or the southwest part of the Caribbean Ocean, they have American eels there. So it's a huge area that these eels all exist in,

but we call them American eels. They are, again, a critadromous fish. So these eels are born out in the Atlantic Ocean. There's an area called the Sargasso Sea, and it seems like all the eels from all those places I described, it seems like they all go to the Sargasso Sea to reproduce. And when their babies hatch, their babies are just little larvae. And these larvae are dispersed by the ocean's currents.

At first, they're not able to move themselves. They can't swim. They're just, at first, they're not able to move themselves. They can't swim. They're just dispersed all over the place by ocean currents, by just waves and wind and currents pushing them around. And they get dispersed and they start to grow a little bit bigger

and they'll turn into a thing called an elver or a thing called a glass eel. And these eels will start picking their way up rivers. So the same way that salmon babies will start making their way down rivers because they're going to go live their lives in the ocean. They're going to mature and become adults in the ocean. These eels start making their way up rivers where they travel up, up, up. They can stay in the big parts of the rivers. They can stay in estuaries near the ocean. They can go way up rivers and enter little creeks and ditches and marshes.

They can go anywhere and they'll live their whole lives up in the fresh water, up in these rivers, creeks, and marshes. And then later, when they reach sexual maturity, they will do their migration. And their migration is downriver. So in a lot of parts of their range, a lot of places where they live, they will wait till late summer and they will migrate downriver. They will travel across the ocean to the place where they all meet up to reproduce. And those eels will reproduce and

they will die and their babies will repeat that journey. So again, the American eel is a catadromous fish and there are lots of anadromous fish, but the most obvious examples that all of us have heard about are salmon. Salmon are monogamous. The American eel is catagamous. Part 2. Guess That Critter. It's time for Guess That Critter, where we play animal sounds, and you've got to guess what animal is making those sounds. You'll learn some neat facts about these animals and develop your ear to better identify their sounds in the wild.

Or in this case, maybe in your attic, too. And don't worry, we'll throw in some clues along the way. Now, listen closely. Because these predatory birds are highly active during twilight, meaning they're crepuscular, they're more likely to be seen and heard making their signature call at dusk and dawn. Both males and females make this call, although the male's call is slightly lower in pitch. The call has different meanings, from marking territory to announcing the presence of a predator. If you're out in thick woods or swampy areas, you might observe them nesting in mature trees

using hollow cavities at least 16 feet off the ground, usually cavities that were abandoned by other creatures, such as squirrels or raccoons. Or you might spot them swooping up prey, anything from rodents like mice to rabbits and opossums, as well as other birds, frogs, lizards, snakes, fish, crabs, and even some insects. These birds are monogamous, meaning a pair mates for life, but they don't necessarily stay together when not raising young. This is the sound of a male and female together in courtship, which you're likely to hear during the breeding season that runs from December through March. Now, here's some raucous duetting. A Meat Eater podcast listener sent us this audio from Connecticut.

It's likely two separate pairs facing off at the boundary of their territories. These critters are very territorial, especially when they're taking care of their babies. Here are some babies calling to their parents. Okay, it's time for the reveal. It's a barred owl, otherwise known as a hoot owl. The barred owl's signature hoot of eight or nine notes sounds like, Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all? a hoot owl. The barred owl's signature hoot of eight or nine notes sounds like, who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all? Historically, their range spanned across forested country in eastern North America, but the owls have been steadily expanding their range westward. One interesting thing about barred owls is that they don't seem to mind humans,

and at times even appear to demonstrate an interest in humans and human structures. Their tolerance for people could help explain why they're turning up in more and more places, as increased human development displaces other species of owls that are more shy. Oh, and here's one last thing. There's a tradition of turkey hunters using the barred owl's call to get a shock gobble from a turkey to determine its location. Why don't you give it a try? Part 3. Trivia! And now, it's time for Meat Eater Kids Trivia, the other only game show where conservation always wins. This is a quiz show for kids who love the outdoors. Take it away, Spencer! Today I'm joined by Jimmy, Rosie, Matthew, Ina, Mabel, Hayden, Conley, Reed, and Bay. Each player Take it away, Spencer. Access Initiative, which provides more access to public lands for hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, swimming, and whatever else you like to do outdoors. Let's see how much money our players can raise. Question one. Which of these animals would not be found in Lake Erie? Is it alligator,

Canada goose, or largemouth bass? Which of these animals would not be found in Lake Erie? Alligator, Canada goose, or largemouth bass? Pretty quick answers. Jimmy, you got this one right? Yes, sir. How about Mabel? You got this one right? I think so. Okay. Alligator, Canada goose, largemouth bass. Is everybody ready? Yeah. Quick to answer. Go ahead and reveal your answers. Ina. Alligator. Rosie. Alligator. Bay. Largemouth bass. Mabel. Alligator. Jimmy. Alligator. Reed.

Alligator. Matthew. Alligator. Conley. Largemouth bass. Hayden. Alligator. The correct answer is alligator. Yes! You folks got it right. The correct answer is alligator. A few folks got it right. The closest alligator habitat to Lake Erie is about 450 miles to the south in North Carolina. Gators can survive in water down to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit, so they wouldn't like Lake Erie anyway. Have you ever seen a gator?

Yes. Where'd you see a gator at? Louisiana. Okay. I heard that the Putellis family is going to North Carolina. Are there gators in North Carolina? I don't know. You just said there were. Did I? Yeah. I literally

just said that there are gators in North Carolina. Good point, Mabel. The student has become the teacher. I was just testing you guys, actually, and you passed. Sure you were. I was making sure everyone's listening. Question two. How often is there a full moon?

Is it every 10 days, every 20 days, or every 30 days? We got speed answers in the room. I think they know this one. How often is there a full moon? Every 10 days. Every 20 days.

Every 30 days. Jimmy and Mabel, giving each other a thumbs up. You guys like each other's answer? No, I wasn't doing it about that. I was just saying for correcting you. I thought that was funny. Oh, okay. Your dad has a similar attitude.

I think it brings him more joy than watching you kids grow up. If your dad can get one over on me, he's just giddy. Does everybody have an answer? Yes. Go ahead and reveal your answers. Ina. 30. Rosie. 20.

Bae. 20. Mabel. 30. Jimmy. 30. Reed. 30. Matthew. 20. Conley. 30. Rosie 20. Bay 20. Mabel 30. Jimmy 30. Reed 30. Matthew 20. Conley 30. Peyton 30. The correct answer is every 30 days. Some of you got it right.

I think we had every answer represented, though. Full moons come around every 29.5 days, so about once a month. A blue moon is the second full moon in a month where there's two full moons. Because February is only 28 or 29 days, it never has a blue moon. Sometimes it actually has a black moon, which is when there's no full moon in the whole month. Have any of you guys ever heard the saying about once in a blue moon? Yes. Do you know what that means? No.

No. No. Rare. Yeah, exactly. It'd be like Steve Rinella wins trivia once in a blue moon. That'd be an example of something very rare that happens. Exactly. Scoreboard, buddy. That is rare.

That's right. Question three. Thank you, Matthew. This next great question comes to us via Joe Walcott. If you have a question you think is right for Meat Eater Kids Trivia, send it to kidstrivia at themeateater.com. What kind of animal is a puma? Is it a shark, a cougar, or a turkey? What kind of animal is a puma? Shark, cougar, turkey.

This is maybe the most confident I've seen in the room. We may have a perfect score among us. Conley, you got this one right? Yes. You know this one for sure? I know this one for sure. Okay, counting on you. Bay, you got this one right? I got this one. You seem to like your answer. Yes. How about Reed? You got this one, right? Yeah. Okay. Our players think that they are going to have $90 for sure on this answer. Is everybody ready? Yes. Go ahead and reveal your answers.

We have Ina saying... Cougar. Rosie. Coogie. Bay. Cougar. Mabel. Cougar. Jimmy. Cougar. Reed. Cougar. Matthew. Cougar. Conley. Cougar. Hayden. Cougar. They got it. The correct answer is cougar. That's the first time we've ever had all of our players get the right answer. Cougars actually hold the Guinness World Record for most nicknames for an animal.

They say it has over 40 nicknames including mountain lion, panther, catamount, painter, and deer tiger. What do you guys like to call them? Puma. Mountain Lion. Puma. Mountain Lion. Mountain Lion. No idea.

Mountain Lion. Mountain Lion seems to be the consensus. A few of you like Puma. I think there's a company named Puma. You're exactly right. There it is. Phil, that's it for today's round of trivia. How much money did we raise?

They raised $220. $220. Oh, my God. That's pretty good. We're only $50 short of the max. Well done, kids. Join us next time for more Meat Eater Kids trivia, the only other game show where conservation always wins. Thank you so much for listening.

We really hope you enjoyed the episode. If you want to bone up on your outdoor knowledge before the next episode drops, pick up a copy of the book, Catch a Crayfish, Count the Stars. It's available wherever books are sold, and it's chock full of activities that'll turn you into a true outdoor expert. Now get outside and be sure to tune in next week for another episode of Meat Eater Kids!