3 New Studies Support Human Overhunting as the Cause of Late Pleistocene Megafauna Extinctions

3 new studies support human overhunting as the cause of Late Pleistocene extinctions in South America, and perhaps the most interesting study is an isotopic analysis of the Anzick child’s remains. The Anzick child was an 18-month-old toddler deliberately buried after his death. The body was discovered in Wilsall, Montana during 1968 and was associated with over 100 Clovis artifacts. Radiocarbon dates suggest the toddler lived sometime between 12,900 years BP-12,695 years BP. In 2014 local Indian fanatics insisted scientists let them rebury the body because of their stupid religious beliefs, but genetic evidence suggests this tribe was not even directly descended from the baby’s parents. Instead, the baby was more closely related to Indians living in Central and South America today. Nevertheless, scientists still had isotopic data from the child’s bone chemical composition, and they were able to determine the baby’s mother’s diet. (The child likely still got most of his nutrition from nursing.)

Scientists used a statistical model of the isotopic composition to determine mammoth made up 35%-40% of the mother’s diet, showing that megafauna was the most important resource for the Clovis people in this region. Elk made up 15%-17% of their diet, camel and/or bison made up 21% of their diet, horse made up 6% of their diet, and small mammals only 4% of their diet. (Bison and camel had a similar diet, so scientists can’t distinguish their isotopic signatures.) The ancestors of the Clovis may have been generalist foragers who had already reduced populations of horses and camels, but they became big game hunting specialists during the Clovis era. This study also compared the Anzick child’s isotopic composition with those from other large carnivores that lived in the region then. The Clovis diet was most similar to that of the scimitar-toothed cat. This big, fanged cat is thought to have specialized in hunting juvenile mammoths. Archaeologists and anthropologists who proclaimed humans hardly ever hunted mammoth were certainly wrong. Large mammals were the central item in the diet of the Clovis culture, and humans surely overexploited them into oblivion.

Pie charts from the below referenced study (Chatters et. al.) showing the percentage of mammals that made up each species diet. Humans enjoyed a diet most similar to Homotherium–the scimitar-toothed cat. FYI, Arcotodus = short-faced bear, Aenocyon = dire wolf, Miracinonyx = psuedo cheetah, Canis = timber wolf, Panthera = giant lion, Bootherium = helmeted musk-ox, Cervus = elk, Equini = horse, Mammuthus = mammoth, Camelops = camel, Bison = bison, Ovis = big horn sheep, Rangifer = caribou, Antilocapra = pronghorn.

Another study examined the database of 1600 reliable radio-carbon dates of human-occupied sites in South America during the Late Pleistocene. The scientists used 6 different statistical models to estimate the earliest human arrival in South America, and the how rapidly humans colonized the continent. They estimated humans arrived in South America between 16,600 years BP-15,100 years ago, but they lean toward the more recent date. The initial colonizers lived in low population densities and are less visible in the archaeological record. The scientists didn’t use dates earlier than this because the evidence is inconclusive. Both human and megafauna populations increased following the Last Glacial Maximum, but eventually the latter became extinct as humans became more common in the environment. The extinctions seem to correspond to human population densities and not climate change. Grassland environments favorable to megafauna retracted during a Late Pleistocene climate fluctuation, but megafauna began declining 500-1400 years before this, and there was still plenty of grassland habitat available.

A third study, authored by several of the scientists who wrote the study discussed above, compared megafauna populations both spatially and temporarily with the prevalence of fishtail projectile points. Fishtail projectile points were the most common arrowhead used by South American Indians to hunt large mammals. Megafauna populations began to increase about 17,500 years ago when climate following the Last Glacial Maximum improved. (Megafauna population densities were estimated using radio-carbon dates of subfossil remains in the paleobiology database. In my opinion this is a little dubious because the fossil record might not represent actual population densities.) About 13,500 years ago when Indians started using Fishtail projectile points, megafauna populations began to decline. Patagonian grassland and the Pampas hosted the highest populations of megafauna, while the Andes hosted the lowest. Species of megafauna covered in this study included Hippidion (a genus of horses restricted to South America during the Late Pleistocene), horses belonging to the Equus genus, llama, 3 species of ground sloth, glyptodont, notiomastodon, and gompothere. The last 2 were elephant-like species. South America suffered an even larger percentage of large mammal extinctions than North America during the end of the Pleistocene. 82% of South America’s large mammals became extinct compared to 70% of North America’s large mammal extinctions. The authors of this study feel confident humans were primarily responsible because megafauna began declining centuries before any major climate fluctuation, but they did decline when Fishtail point projectiles became more prevalent in the archaeological record.

Fishtail projectile points were used by Paleoindians to kill large mammals. An increase of their appearance in the archaeological record is associated with a decline in megafauna populations.

Chart showing the correlation between the prevalence of Fishtail projectile points and a decline in megafauna populations. From the below referenced study by Prates (2021).

References:

Chatters, J.; B. Pottter, S. Fiedel, J. Morrow

“Mammoth Featured Heavily in Western Clovis Diet”

Science Advances 10 (49) December 2024

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr3814dr3814

Prates, L.; G. Politis, S. Perez

“Rapid Radiation of Humans in South America after the Last Glacial Maximum: A Radiocarbon-based Study”

PLOS ONE July 2020

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0236023

Prates, L.; S. Perez

“Late Pleistocene South American Megafauna Extinctions Associated with Rise of Fishtail Points and Human Populations”

Nature Communications 12 (2175) 2021

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22506-4

John James Audubon and Henry David Thoreau: A Contrast

I can’t think of a bigger contrast between 19th century naturalists than the differences between John James Audubon and Henry David Thoreau. First, a brief biography of each.

Audubon was born in Haiti during 1785 and was the illegitimate child of a retired French naval officer who owned a plantation there. His mother was a Spanish chambermaid, and he had many mulatto brothers and sisters because his father fornicated with his slaves as well. His father sent him to the U.S. to avoid Napoleon’s draft, and he overcame his prejudice against the English when he married an American woman of English descent. He owned a farm in Kentucky, but it failed. Birds always fascinated him, and he loved painting, so he decided to make a living painting American birds. His well-known books include The Birds of America, The Quadrupeds of America, and An Ornithological Biography. Journals of his travels down the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers are also enjoyable to read. Audubon died of a stroke in 1851.

Portrait of John James Audubon.

Henry David Thoreau was born in 1818 and lived in Concord, Massachusetts for almost his entire life. Unlike Audubon, he did very little traveling, instead focusing on the nature he found locally. His most famous book is Walden–a collection of essays about the more than 2 years he spent living in a cottage next to Walden Pond, a mile from any neighbors. He went there for solitude to write his first book, Travels Down the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Walden is his most popular book, but I enjoyed Cape Cod and The Maine Woods more. Thoreau disdained the common labor most people performed then, but his books didn’t sell well, and he was forced to work as a surveyor. He never married, and he didn’t like to socialize with young ladies. He may have been gay during a time period when this was especially taboo. He died in 1862 of tuberculosis.

Portrait of a young Thoreau.

Audubon grew up speaking French. English was his second language, and it is noticeable in his earliest writings, but he did eventually master English, and his later writings reflect that improvement. His writing is straightforward with no pretention and is mostly factual with just a little embellishment. Thoreau’s writing is often deeply philosophical. Although he was a man of science, he would invite appreciation of nature’s beauty with long spiritual discussions. He had a much greater command of the English language than Audubon, but I prefer reading the latter’s writing. Thoreau could write 5000 words describing what different kinds of snow looked like, and I think that was tedious.

Audubon bought, owned, and sold slaves; and he was shockingly cruel to animals. Thoreau was adamantly opposed to slavery and was an occasional vegetarian opposed to the wonton slaughter of wild animals. (White tail deer were already extirpated from Massachusetts during his lifetime.) Thoreau was part of the Underground Railroad and helped escaped slaves get to Canada. He was the only person in his neighborhood who supported John Brown’s ill-fated attempt to spark a slave rebellion. Audubon strongly supported slavery, and his best friends were all slave-owners. He killed thousands of animals, just so he could get a better view to paint a realistic portrait. He once nailed a live bald eagle’s talons to the floor in order to take a lifelike portrait of it. He even experimented on his own hunting dog, feeding it parakeets to see if it would be poisoned by the toxic plants they ate. The worst Thoreau did was to temporarily hold some small animals captive, so he could observe them. He detained a screech owl, a flying squirrel, and turtles. He carefully returned the owl and the squirrel to the exact place he captured them. Clearly Thoreau was a much more humane person than Audubon.

Phinizy Swamp February 2025

Phinizy Swamp is an extensive protected wetland located about a 15-minute drive from my house in Augusta, Georgia. It’s used to filter the city’s sewer effluent. I visited the park last Friday and identified 8 species of birds and 2 species of reptiles in about an hour. I encountered a cardinal, a mallard duck, a flock of coots, cormorants, thrushes, purple gallinules, a great blue heron, a Eurasian ring-collared dove, a green anole, and 2 alligators. I saw at least 2 other species of birds, but they wouldn’t stay still for my camera, and I couldn’t identify them. I didn’t see any migratory ducks–maybe they already returned north. The soil in this wetland is very fertile from the sewage run-off, and heavy nitrogen-feeding plants such as bamboo cane and cattail are common. Cypress festooned with Spanish moss is 1 of the more abundant tree species here.

Bamboo cane and cattails thrive in nitrogen-enriched soils, and they are the most common aquatic plants in the park.

Spanish moss, a relative of pineapple, hangs from bald cypress trees.

Another view of bald cypress. This redwood relative is deciduous–unusual for a coniferous tree.

This mallard duck was still sleeping when we returned 30 minutes later.

I think this is either a hermit thrush or a wood thrush. They look similar, are closely related, and belong to the same genus-Hylocichla. I saw quite a few. It’s probably a wood thrush. Wood thrushes are year round residents and are also known as swamp thrushes. Hermit thrushes are migratory and spend summers in Canada and a few regions south of the Canadian border. They are known to return north early.

Crested cormorants drying their wings. They swim underwater and eat fish.

Purple gallinule.

We saw a pair of alligators. It was hard to see in my camera because of the sun’s glare. I estimate these are a 4-footer and a 6-footer. The 6-footer was much bulkier and older.

A photo of the larger alligator sunning itself. It was an unusually warm day for February even in Augusta. Thermometer in the shade hit 78 degrees F.

Neolithic Lake Villages in Europe

I wonder what life was like in Neolithic Europe when it was still mostly wilderness. People began practicing agriculture, and they became more sedentary, but this must have been difficult. They grew wheat, rye, barley, peas, flax, and poppy seeds. These crops had to be defended from wild boar, deer, bear, crows, and other seed-eating birds. Livestock had to be protected from wolves and bears. Moreover, village outcasts likely rummaged through the crops as well. Perhaps the biggest threat to not only their food supply, but their lives, came from nomadic tribes traveling on horseback from distant lands. These strangers pillaged, raped, and robbed. Motivations varied but clearly some tribes participated in these heinous acts from a sense of joyous cruelty. As a defensive adaptation, some sedentary people built their villages on stilts or piles over marshes or lakes. They surrounded these villages with walls of upright logs, and they used canoes to access the village from land. Gates could keep the villages relatively safe from invading barbarians traveling on horses. They weren’t impregnable, but invaders would need to build a fleet of canoes and also find a way to breech the walls.

In Europe archaeologists often find the remains of houses built over lakes that people lived in thousands of years ago.

Location of some lakes in Europe where the remains of villages built on stilts have been found. The Jura region of Switzerland has the most sites, but this defensive adaptation was used all over Europe. Map from the below referenced study.

Artist’s representation of a Neolithic lake village. During winter when the lake froze they could just walk over the ice. Nomadic raiders may have roamed less during brutal European winters.

Lake villages must have been neat places to live with a beautiful view of the lake. Hearths kept the insides of homes warm. Archaeologists have found collapsed walls where tools were hung. Houses had trap doors where people crapped, pissed, and dumped their garbage. The waste likely attracted fish and turtles–an easily accessed form of protein. If crops failed or were destroyed, the lakes offered these 2 sources of protein as well as ducks and geese and edible aquatic plants. Archaeologists sift through the organic matter from these former sites and find remains of some of the wild plants they ate. Crabapple and hazelnut are the most common items found, but lake dwellers also ate strawberries, black berries, raspberries, elderberries, beechnuts, acorns, common reed seeds (Phragamites), spinach relatives, turnip, garlic mustard, pine nuts, and blackthorn (a relative similar to sour plums).

The oldest known site of a lake village (also known as pile dwellings) is in Albania, and it dates to 7900 years ago. The practice spread across Europe, and sites of former lake villages are found in Germany, France, and Austria. The Jura region in Switzerland has the most sites–more than 50. The practice spread all the way to Great Britain where they are known as crannaries. People ceased building lake villages in Europe about 2000 years ago, and these structures rotted and collapsed into the lake for archaeologists to find thousands of years after they were abandoned.

Reference:

Colledge, S.; and J. Conolly

“Wild Plant Use in European Neolithic Subsistence Economics: A formal assessment of Preservation Bias and the Implication for Understanding Changes in Plant Distribution”

Quaternary Science Review 101 October 2014

Some Non-Native Mammals Found in Great Britain

Many of the most common species of mammals found in Great Britain are surprisingly not native to the isles. From 1870-1930 it was fashionable for rich people to release North American gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) on their estates. Since then, they have spread throughout England (as the below map shows) where they outcompete native red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris). They digest acorns and nuts better than red squirrels can and dominate oak forests. Red squirrels still remain in coniferous forests of Scotland. Though gray squirrels readily colonize new areas when juveniles seek new territories in September, the main reason for their rapid dispersal is human-aided transport.

Difference between red and gray squirrels.

Map showing encroachment of gray squirrels on red squirrel range since 1945.

Archaeological evidence suggests humans brought brown hares (Lepus europaeus) to Great Britain about 2500 years ago alongside chickens as a source of easily acquired protein. The hares escaped captivity and now roam grassy areas of Britain including farmland and pastures where they supplement their natural appetite for grass and forbs with agricultural crops. Unlike rabbits, hares are built for endurance running in open country, and they live in mutual home ranges that increase safety with multiple eyes and ears capable of detecting the presence of predators. Reportedly, the meat of hare is darker than rabbit, and it is usually slow cooked in wine. This species also has been introduced to southeastern Australia, Argentina, New York, and Ontario.

Brown hares boxing for breeding rights.

Fallow deer (Dama dama) occurred in Britain during the most recent interglacial period about 120,000 years ago, but during the last Ice Age, they became restricted to what today is Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, and maybe Italy. Romans introduced fallow deer to England, then the population became extirpated. Before the Norman conquest fallow deer were re-introduced and were at first confined to parks, but they escaped. Now, they are found in England alongside the 2 native species of deer-roe and red. Red deer are the same species as North American elk. Fallow deer prefer open deciduous woodlands.

Fallow deer now range into England, as they did during the Sangamonian Interglacial.

Some red necked wallabies (Notamacropus rufogriseus) escaped from captivity while others were deliberately released, and now they still occur in several regions of Britain including Lock Lomand, Nottinghamshire, and the Isle of Man. They were first set loose in England about 1900. In some areas they may be on the increase, while in others they’ve been extirpated. A recent study determined there were 95 credible sightings of wallabies between 2008-2018. They are native to southeastern Australia and Tasmania where they inhabit scrub and dry forest. This species has adapted well to British natural areas because of the relatively mild climate and abundance of plant foods. They eat heather, grass, and berries. Harsh winters and cars take a toll and foxes prey on the young joeys, but adults have no natural enemies.

Map showing credible sighting densities of red necked wallabies in England. From the below referenced paper.

Red necked wallaby. They average between 15-50 pounds. When I was a boy, my father knew I was interested in Australian wildlife, and he would try to entice me to go for walks in the park by telling me he saw kangaroos there. If we lived in England, he wouldn’t have been lying.

Reference:

English, H. ; A. Caravaggi

“Where’s Wallaby? Using Public Records and Media Reports to Describe the Status of Red Necked Wallabies in Britain”

Ecology and Evolution September 2020

Did I see a road-killed Florida Panther (Puma concolor) in Central Georgia?

The answer is probably not because it is so unlikely, but it sure looked like one. This past November I was driving home after visiting family members for Thanksgiving. I was driving 70 mph eastbound on I-20 in Madison County near Big Indian Creek, a rural area with a good stretch of trees between the east and west bound lanes. I saw a large dead animal on the side of the road as I drove past it. I spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out what it was. Dead deer and coyotes are commonly seen on I-20, and that was what I expected, but this animal was gray, short-haired, and had a catlike head. First, I considered a short-haired dog of some kind. However, this location was far from any residential neighborhood, and it occurred to me belatedly that it looked like a Florida panther. It may have taken me so long to recognize it because the sight was so unexpected, but I was in a hurry to get home and get drunk, and I hate driving. We were making good time for a change (it’s a 5–6-hour drive), and I was reluctant to turn around and drive back to take a picture of unidentified roadkill. If the realization would have struck earlier, I would have stopped to examine it and take photo evidence. The improbability of what I saw may have blinded me…or I just didn’t get a good look at it and my conclusion was wrong. Too late now. All I can do is speculate.

Though improbable, it is possible a Florida panther could wander into Georgia. Cougars formerly ranged all over Georgia but were hunted to extirpation in the state before WWII. A drastic decline in the deer population, their favorite food, circa 1900 contributed to their extirpation from the state. However, in 2007 a deer hunter killed a Florida panther that was walking toward his deer stand in Troup County. Another was killed in the Okefenokee Swamp in 2014. Both were from the south Florida population. So, there are 2 documented cases of male Florida panthers wandering into Georgia. The area I thought I saw a road-killed panther was right next to a marsh similar to habitat in Florida for which they are well adapted.

Known present day range of the Florida panther.

Location of Troup County where a deer hunter killed a Florida panther in 2007.

Location of Madison County where I may have seen a road-killed Florida Panther.

Map of the area where I may have seen a road-killed Florida Panther. It’s all woods and marsh with a nice population of deer.

More Florida panthers were killed in 2024 than in any year ever recorded, mostly by cars.

The Florida panther is a subspecies of cougar, a predator that formerly roamed from northern Canada to the tip of South America and from California to the Atlantic Coast. The Florida panther is the last surviving population east of the Mississippi and by 1970 that population had dwindled to 30. Wildlife biologists introduced 8 female cougars from Texas in 1995 to prevent the population from inbreeding extirpation. The project was a success. Scientists determined hybrid cougar kittens had a 3 times better survival rate than inbred kittens. Today, the population is estimated to be between 120-230. This wide variation in population estimates surprises me because this is such a well-studied population. Male cougars often wander past the Caloosahatchee River, but within the last 2 years a female with kittens finally crossed north of the river, and a breeding population may be expanding. Scientists also determined Florida panthers are the leading cause of deer mortality in southwest Florida, now that the population has rebounded.

2024 was a record year for the highest number of panther deaths since recovery efforts began. 29 were killed by cars. 7 were killed by other predators, probably male panthers killing kittens. A new real estate development in Naples, Florida has led to increased traffic and more panther deaths. Most panthers live on cattle ranches. If these ranches are broken up into real estate developments, it would eliminate prime panther habitat.

Reference:

Pim, S.; L. Dollar, L. Bass

“The Genetic Rescue of the Florida Panther”

Animal Conservation 8 (2) 115-122 2006

Everglades Mink (Neogale vison evergladensis) Scat Attracts Other Species

The American mink is not endangered and lives all across North America in wetlands with the exception of the American Southwest, but the subspecies that occurs in the Everglades is considered threatened. Mink are weasels well adapted to living in freshwater marshes where they prey upon rabbits, rodents, fish, frogs, tadpoles, birds, turtles, snakes, and insects. They often kill more than they can eat because their primitive brains don’t shut off when the killer instinct is activated. They are relentlessly vicious and sometimes kill animals such as cormorants that are much larger. Put a mink in a cage with a similar-sized rat and the latter will freeze in fear. They’ve escaped into the wild in Europe where they outcompete the native European mink. Mink raised on fur farms are larger than wild mink but have smaller brains and hearts. They don’t make good pets. People handling them usually wear gloves to reduce injuries from bites.

Range of the Everglades mink. Scientists think they have been extirpated from the area around Lake Okeechobee. Mink also live in the salt marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.

Mink sometimes capture prey larger than themselves. Scientists think Burmese pythons may be reducing their populations, but mink may be able to kill juvenile pythons. I don’t know what kind of snake this is…maybe an indigo snake.

Florida has abundant freshwater habitats ideal for mink, but they are restricted to 3 areas of the state. They live in salt marshes on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, and they occur in the Everglades. Apparently, they’ve been extirpated from the area around Lake Okeechobee. They suffer natural mortality from alligators, coyotes, Burmese pythons, large birds of prey, and outbreaks of canine distemper. In addition marshes have been drained for agricultural use, eliminated much of their habitat. Probably, a combination of these factors caused the disappearance of this subspecies from the Lake Okeechobee area.

Scientists used a golden retriever trained to recognize the scent of spotted skunks, weasels, and mink to locate mink in the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve and the Picayune Strand State Forest within the Everglades. Mink and weasels can’t spray like skunks, but they smell like them. The dog was rewarded with a toy when he located a mink den. The dog found 1 temporary den used by a female and 2 young. Scientists put up a camera trap where the mink was marking its territory with scat. The trap got some interesting images within the timespan of a week.

Photo of a mink where it was marking its territory with scat. Image from the below referenced study.

Photos of the species attracted to the mink scat. Image also from the below referenced study.

The camera trap captured images of raccoons 24 times, opposums 4 times, fish crows 4 times, and bobcats twice. The camera also recored a gray catbird, a gray squirrel, and a mouse; but these were thought to be incidental, and these 3 species weren’t attracted to the scat.

I’ve never seen a live mink, but I have seen road-killed mink near streams. They are uncommon in the fossil record, probably because they’ve always been relatively less abundant compared to some other species. Nevertheless, fossil evidence does show they occurred in North America since at least the early Pleistocene.

Reference:

Smith, L; and K. Hassler

“Mink Latrines are Hotspots for Wildlife Activity”

Southeastern Naturalist Volume 23 Issure 3 2024

Jimmy Carter, the Antisemite

Jimmy Carter is being universally honored since his death last week, and I find this revolting. The wrinkled-up do-gooder was a disgusting antisemite who at his core combined medieval antisemitism with new wave leftist hatred of the Jewish state. For decades Carter taught antisemitic bible lessons in his weekly Sunday school classes. He often broke out the old dishonest trope of how Jews were Christ-killers. The Jews never crucified anybody…that was the Roman method of execution. If the Jews wanted to execute Jesus, they would’ve stoned him to death, like they allegedly did to his brother, James. This false accusation was an excuse for antisemitic mobs to mass murder Jews for 2 thousand years. Carter falsely claimed Jews had Jesus executed because he threw the moneychangers out of the temple. Note how this false accusation ties Jews with money–another antisemitic trope. Romans used crucifixion to execute people they deemed politically threatening to their rule, and his execution had nothing to do with his actions in the temple, if it ever even happened. Carter wrongly taught that Jews feel superior to Gentiles and hate them. This is not true, but Jesus did express superiority to Gentiles, something Carter never acknowledged, if he was aware of it. Carter claimed Jews used ritual sacrifice as an excuse not to take care of their parents–total nonsense. Finally, he tied his false claim of a Jewish superiority complex to the way Israel treats the Arabs who are trying to kill them.

Carter clearly hated Jews, and he vented his hatred in a book he wrote that wrongly libeled the Jewish state as practicing apartheid. The title of the book is Palestine: Peace not Apartheid. Obviously, Israel does try to keep Jew-killing terrorists separate from Jewish victims of terrorism. That is self-defense…not apartheid. Carter admits in his book that Israel is not really an apartheid state, yet he left the dishonest smear in the title. He doesn’t even define apartheid in his book and only uses the word 3 times. It’s clear he wanted to make Israel a pariah state, like South Africa was for a decade, to economically punish the Jewish state because they are defending themselves from terrorists. Arabs are elected to the Knesset (Israel’s legislative body), and over 30,000 Arabs serve in the Israeli Defense Forces. That is not apartheid.

Carter vented his hatred of Jews by writing a dishonest book about the Jewish state. This book was riddled with lies, inaccuracies, and unfair cheap shots. Critics and historians panned the book, and Carter blamed the “Jewish-controlled media” for the criticisms. Sounds like typical neo-Nazi antisemitism.

Carter’s book was praised by neo-Nazis. If you write a book that is praised by neo-Nazis, you are an antisemite.

Carter expressed sympathy for Hamas, a terrorist group dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state. He openly called for the U.S. to recognize Hamas as the leaders of the Palestinian people. Anyone supporting a terrorist group that wants to wipe out Jews is clearly an antisemite. Carter supported the BDS movement, an antisemitic organization that wants to economically punish Israel with boycotts for simply existing. Why does he single out the Jewish state? Why didn’t Carter call for boycotting China and other countries that actually do violate human rights? It’s just another excuse to take cheap shots at the Jewish state. Carter was visibly angry once when a reporter asked him, if he thought Arabs were in any way responsible for the violence in the Middle East. He claimed just the Jews were responsible. Sounds like Mel Gibson, the antisemitic actor. Here is a historical fact: Arabs began the violence between them and the Jews in this region about 100 years ago when Muslim gangs massacred Jewish villages.

Carter blamed his 1980 landslide loss in the Presidential election to Ronald Reagan on the Jews. He lost because he was a very weak President who presided over a terrible economy. Economists had to invent a name to describe Carter’s economy. They called it stagflation because inflation and unemployment were both in the double digits. Carter was completely impotent when Iranian students took over the U.S. Embassy in Teheran. He lost because he sucked as a President. Scapegoating Jews for one’s own failures is classic antisemitism. He still beat Reagan within the Jewish vote.

Carter established the U.S. Holocaust Memorial, but even here he demonstrated his antisemitism. He complained that there were too many Jews named to the council. The Holocaust happened to the Jews and the victims were Jewish. Of course, the council should mostly be made up of Jews. Nevertheless, Carter nixed the proposal of 1 Christian clergyman to the council because his name sounded “too Jewish.”

Blackfish Strandings

Until well into the 19th century, many people living in coastal communities made a living by scavenging shipwrecks. They were called wreckers. Everything that washed up on shore from shipwrecks was profitable, including actual money, raw and manufactured products, and booze. Lawson, author of the first American natural history book, met a Scotsman living off the coast of South Carolina who recovered barrels of oatmeal…ironically a long-term supply of his favorite food. Other wreckers grew vegetable gardens scavenged from shipwrecked seed. They also salvaged wood from wrecked ships that they used for firewood or construction. Another source of income for wreckers were stranded whales. These produced more meat and fuel in the form of blubber than they could use or sell. Following a whale stranding, kids would show up with pieces of bread to eat with fresh blubber. Blackfish often suffer mass strandings. Blackfish are actually whales, not fish, and are today more commonly known as pilot whales. Modern concerned citizens try to rescue pilot whales when they get stranded on shore because the whale’s own weight will suffocate them, if they are out of water for any length of time, but formerly they produced an economic boon for the local populace.

Humans herded blackfish pods to the shore when they were close to stranding. It was a huge economic boon for them. During the Pleistocene blackfish strandings provided a feast for carnivores and scavengers.

The reason pilot whales (Globicephala sp.) strand in large numbers is still a mystery. Pilot whales use electro-magnetic fields to navigate, and some think temporary changes in earth’s electro-magnetic field causes pilot whales to get confused and swim off course. Magnetic rocks on the coast of New England may contribute to pilot whale strandings. Others think noise pollution from ships causes mass strandings, but these strandings occurred long before noise pollution was common. Pilot whales live in pods in the hundreds, and they subsist on a diet of fish and squid. There are 2 species of pilot whales (the long-finned pilot whale G. melas and the short-finned pilot whale G. macrorhynchus). The short-finned pilot whale occurs globally in temperate and tropical waters; the long-finned occurs in the higher latitudes. The long-finned pilot whale lived in the northern Pacific as recently as 2000 years ago but is now extirpated there.

Pilot whale range map. The green represents the long-finned pilot whale range, and the blue represents the short-finned pilot whale range. They overlap in some regions. Long-finned pilot whales occurred near Alaska and the Bering Sea until about 2000 years ago.

Long-finned pilot whales along with at least 3 other pairs of cetacean species have a similar range distribution. One subspecies of long-finned pilot whale lives in the colder waters of the northern hemisphere, and the other subspecies lives in the colder waters of the southern hemisphere. Scientists, using DNA from mass pilot whale strandings over a 30-year period, found low genetic diversity, despite the species being found over such a wide area. A statistical model suggests the northern and southern pilot whale populations became isolated from each other during the Last Glacial Maximum before 12,900 years ago. At least 3 other pairs of cetacean species have the same curious range distribution. These include right whales (Eubaleana japonica and E. australis), right whale dolphins (Lissodelphus peronii and L. borealis), and harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena and P. spinnipinnis). The speciation between these species must be related to changes in ocean currents that altered water temperatures and led to isolation of populations and divergence.

I was unaware of this cetacean species until I was researching this article. The right whale dolphin is the only species of dolphin without a dorsal fin.

Reference:

Kraft, S; M. Perez-Alvern, C. Olavarria, and E. Paulis

“Global Phylogeography and Genetic Diversity of the Long-finned Pilot Whale Globicephala melas, with New Data from the South Pacific”

Scientific Reports 10 (1769) 2020

Ancient Pear Trees and Cape Cod Apple Orchards

The Endicott pear tree located in Danvers, Massachusetts is the oldest known fruit tree in North America and is at least an astonishing 385 years old. John Endecott, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, planted this tree between 1628-1639 from a sapling grown in England and shipped overseas. The tree survived 2 hurricanes and a catastrophic event in 1964 when thoughtless vandals cut every branch and left just a 6-foot stump. The tree regrew and has variously been protected since by wooden and chain-link fences. Suburban sprawl replaced the farm this tree originally grew upon, and now the tree is protected and maintained by Massachusetts General Hospital. This entity now owns the land, and a wrought iron fence has been erected to protect the amazingly old tree. I learned about this tree as a result of rereading Henry Thoreau’s Cape Cod. This famed naturalist mentioned another ancient pear tree that grew at Eastham on Cape Cod from about 1648-1848. Apparently, a storm blew down this tree 2 years before Thoreau visited the Cape. Thomas Prence planted this tree, and reportedly it still produced 15 bushels of pears on average annually until the storm unfortunately knocked it down. Jeremiah Diggs traveling on Cape Cod saw a descendent of this tree as recently as the 1930’s. The pears produced by Prence’s tree were small but sweet. I researched this tree online and learned about the even older surviving Endicott pear tree.

A pear tree that is nearly 400 years old grows on hospital property in Massachusetts. A wrought iron fence surrounds the tree to protect it from psychotic scumbags.

These ancient trees produce bushels of small but sweet fruit every year. I wonder what they taste like. My favorite variety of pear is the small Seckel pear. I think they have the best pear flavor. Royal Riviera pears sold by Harry and David are more luscious, but I like a perfectly ripe Seckel even better.

This is a drawing of a 200-year-old pear tree on Cape Cod that a storm knocked over before Thoreau visited the Cape.

The settlers who colonized Cape Cod had a limited selection of fruits that grew wild there including beach plum, service berry, and blueberry. They imported apple and pear tree saplings from England, and Thoreau noted apple orchards with short shrubby trees that grew on the sandy seaside soil, not unlike the oaks and pines that also grew on the cape. Thoreau and his companion stayed for a night with John Newcombe who grew an apple variety he named “Summer Sweeting.” It’s likely an extinct variety, and he may have been the only person who ever cultivated it. Newcombe was 88 years old when he met Thoreau in 1850. He was quite a character. Newcombe recalled seeing George Washington sitting on his horse during the American Revolution, and he described the first President as being large and fat. (From portraits I never noticed Washington being overweight.) Newcombe lived with his wife, a daughter, a 10-year-old boy, and a middle-aged man Thoreau simply referred to as a fool. The idiot made threatening comments, but the old man and his wife told him to shut up and go away. Who knows what kind of mental disorder he had? Newcombe was a retired oysterman (his sons took over his business), though he still cultivated a large garden of a half-acre. Thoreau reports how the old man sat by the fire chewing tobacco and chatting non-stop, while his wife prepared breakfast. He kept spitting the tobacco juice toward the fireplace where his wife was cooking the buttermilk pancakes, doughnuts, applesauce, green beans, and eels. His back was to the fire, and he alternately spit to his left and right. Thoreau ate the doughnuts and applesauce because he thought they received less tobacco juice, but his companion disagreed and ate the buttermilk pancakes and green beans instead.

Baldwin apples were once a well-liked variety but were replaced by Macintosh. Baldwin apples originated in Massachusetts about the time Thoreau visited Cape Cod.

There are still apple orchards on Cape Cod, and some of them grow antique varieties, though most originated after Thoreau visited the cape. Baldwin was a well-liked variety but was largely replaced by Macintosh. The former produces heavily every other year, while the latter produces heavily every year. Macintosh is also sweeter. Nevertheless, Baldwin is reportedly a good cider and fresh eating apple. Other antique varieties grown on Cape Cod include Macoun, Northern Spy, and Arkansas Black. I had an Arkansas Black tree in my yard, and the apples it produced were excellent, albeit with a bitter peel. I had to have it removed when I needed a new drain field for my septic tank 12 years ago.