Co-Hosts/Wildlife Experts Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant & Peter Gros talk to The Inside Reel about legacy, education and interaction in regards to the 2nd season of the new iteration of "MutualOf Omaha's Wild Kingdom" entitled "Protecting The Wild" on NBC.
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00:00Well, but it's also the one thing, and Peter, you said this too, and you were alluding to
00:23it, Dr. Reyes, the aspect of the more you know, it's about education, because only by
00:27understanding these animals to a point can we respect them and treasure them as we're
00:33supposed to.
00:34Can you talk about that and the importance of that?
00:36Yes.
00:37And I think that's also one of our goals, is certainly we want to affect the attitudes
00:42of this next generation about the importance of conservation, as Mutual of Omaha has been
00:46doing since the 60s.
00:49What we hope to do is replace fear of wildlife with knowledge about wildlife, so people then
00:55are more comfortable taking walks in nature, maybe backpacking or camping in nature, introducing
01:00their families and friends to spending time in the natural world.
01:04Then hopefully, once you've spent time in nature, you sort of get hooked on this wonderful
01:09balance in life of our everyday busy lives and look forward to spending more time out
01:14in the natural world, then you become a future conservationist and want to do what you can
01:19do to help.
01:20Well, I was just going to say that, yeah, I just agree with Peter completely.
01:26And you don't have to fall in love with wild animals and protecting them through being
01:33with them, right?
01:34You don't have to be a wildlife ecologist or a nature show host like we are to love
01:38wildlife.
01:39You can honestly be someone who sits on their sofa and watches a nature program like Wild
01:44Kingdom to build that knowledge and then care a whole, whole lot.
01:49You don't have to go through all the hoops, and that's one of the things they're so proud
01:52of with their show is that it feeds that education, it gives some thrills, it's just, I'm biased,
01:59it's like the perfect show that gives you a story, some excitement, and lots of kind
02:05of informal education to empower you to join the environmental movement.
02:18Yeah, I just barely...
02:36Then I spot something.
02:38A dark silhouette breaches the water's surface.
02:41Look at that.
02:42Oh yeah.
02:43You don't have anything in khaki, do you?
02:49And this is about full-grown, right?
02:57Yeah, that's an adult.
02:59And that leads to my last question, actually it's two-pronged, but it's the aspect of legacy.
03:03And Peter, obviously having seen it from 85 on, you do that legacy, but then Dr. Ray helping
03:09create the new legacy within Mutual of Omaha.
03:12So like the balance of the two ideals, because the practical, the technology, all these things,
03:18what legacy of something like Wild Kingdom means to both of you from your different perspectives,
03:24but then because of your experience and because of your wisdom, you can show and impart that
03:30knowledge because you're the experts.
03:33So adding sort of that expertise to the legacy from both of your perspectives.
03:38So two-pronged, however you guys would like to answer.
03:41Well, I think that's an astute observation and there's this nice transition.
03:45I remember growing up seeing Marlon Perkins and Jim Fowler, which sort of affected my
03:50attitude about wildlife, and then being a part of working with Mr. Fowler, and now sort
03:55of being the link between that show and the new show, which is becoming more science-based,
04:01as we mentioned, more technology involved.
04:03But our goal is still the same, to share the importance of conservation with the next generation,
04:10and hopefully then they will do what they can to participate in preserving this wonderful
04:14environment, this natural world that we all live in.
04:18Yeah, I have to say, I knew that I wanted to be a nature show host before I knew that
04:25I wanted to be a scientist.
04:27So it kind of happened in that order.
04:29I was a kid watching nature programs, including Wild Kingdom, including watching Peter on
04:34Wild Kingdom, and I thought to myself, that's what I want to do.
04:38I want to host a nature show.
04:39What better job?
04:40You get to explore, you get to travel, you get to interact with wild animals, and you
04:44get to promote wildlife conservation.
04:46That was just perfect for me then.
04:49And I have to say, there's no kind of clear path to being a nature show host.
04:54Both of us, neither of us, I should say, necessarily submitted an application or had an audition
04:59or anything like that.
05:01It's different for everyone.
05:03And so I became a scientist.
05:05I became a wildlife ecologist through going to college and graduate school.
05:09And for so many years, that was sufficient.
05:12I was doing all of the nature show hosting stuff without the cameras.
05:16And it was very, it was very purposeful.
05:19This bird is what brought Jim Fowler to Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom in their very first
05:25show.
05:26That's right.
05:27Here we are in remote South Texas.
05:29Yeah, it's gorgeous here.
06:06I ended up, you know, just through science and through doing a lot of science communication
06:14on my real research, there was a period where I was doing research and kind of like holding
06:18an iPhone, you know, and showing people what I was doing in the research capacity.
06:23It built up my exposure as a communicator.
06:28And somewhere along the way, I got considered to host Wild Kingdom.
06:32And so I feel so honored to be a scientist on this show and to show people, you know,
06:39that scientists are also communicators, are also adventurers, are also hosts of shows
06:44and to really, you know, bring that credibility that Wild Kingdom has always had, now we're
06:50just building it even more.
06:52And it's just, you know, scientists don't get put on TV very much.
06:55So it's truly an absolute honor to be in this position.
07:00And you know, man, oh man, like you said, our show keeps getting more scientific and
07:05more full of technology and more fun at the same time.
07:09So both important, so happy and pleased to be able to continue this legacy.
07:13I was going to say with you guys, but you know, Dr. Ray, it becomes so meta because
07:19you're there with Peter.
07:21You watched it.
07:22Trust me.
07:23That whole element, the circle of life, my God, that's awesome.
07:26And we're friends.
07:27So that's another thing.
07:28It's not just like, oh, I used to, you know, like worship this show and admire the host
07:34when I was a kid.
07:36But then, you know, we work together and it's, you know, very stoic and what, no, we are
07:40buddies.
07:41We help each other.
07:42We spend so much time together in the field.
07:45We have magical moments together.
07:47We celebrate together.
07:48I mean, it's, I never, you couldn't have told me when I was a kid that one day one of my
07:52favorite people in the world would be Peter Gross.
07:55And yet here we are.
07:56Oh, that's awesome.
07:57You wouldn't have told me that somebody would walk in for the first time and sure, I'll
08:01walk through that swamp at night and see if I can find an alligator with you.