Ep. 857: Turkey Season Changes, the Death Valley Super Bloom, and Bad Poachers

This episode of The MeatEater Podcast dives into a range of outdoor topics, starting with a passionate call to action to protect 4,000 acres of public land in North Carolina’s Tucker Town Reservoir through a $200,000 matching donation campaign with OnX. The hosts then recount a dramatic spearfishing adventure in the Bahamas involving a massive moray eel that terrorized a grouper in a cave complex, turning the hunt into a high-stakes underwater battle. Spencer Newhart shares a humorous and frustrating bike-and-fly-fishing trip to Yellowstone, where poor fishing conditions turned it into a pure biking excursion. The episode highlights Turkey Week at the MeatEater store, including a giveaway and a photo contest for rare turkey plumage, which ties into Dr. Mike Chamberlain’s genetic research. Max Barta discusses a local pond ecosystem and plans to install duck nesting boxes to boost mallard populations. A lively segment on TSS (Tungsten Super Shot) ammunition features a 'March Madness'-style corrections contest, with a winner exposing Brody’s inaccuracies on tungsten’s density and melting point. The hosts also cover a major poaching case in North Dakota involving over 30 deer, elk, and a moose, and explore the science behind moose subspecies, debunking the idea of the 'Shire’s moose' as a distinct genetic group. Finally, the episode celebrates the rare 2026 Death Valley super bloom, driven by perfect rainfall conditions, and teases the upcoming second season of the true crime podcast Blood Trails.