Dino Hunters

Look, I'm a science geek. I get it. But this is a reality TV show. It's entertainment, not science. Looking to a reality TV show for real science would be like looking to a reality TV show to find a decent president. It just ain't happening.

Some of my fellow geeks and nerds are complaining that this show is bad science and promotes illegal fossil hunting. I'd say those are unfair complaints. Again, don't look to TV reality shows for science. If you don't find the show entertaining then don't watch it, but there's little point in complaining that the show isn't something that it wasn't intended to be. And the fact is that the fossil hunting on this show is perfectly legal in the jurisdictions where the show was filmed. The fossil hunters are land owners hunting on their own land, or have the permission of the land owners to hunt fossils. There's nothing illegal going on that I can see.

The more general complaint is that the commercialization of fossils is harmful to science. But the fact is that if these land owners and hunters weren't looking for these fossils they'd erode to dust within fairly short order. The fossils being found on the show are already partially exposed to the elements or are near the surface, and the reason they're being found is because the land is rapidly eroding and uncovering them. If they aren't dug up by someone they'll soon be lost to science anyway.

The Society for Vertebrate Paleontology has written a letter to the Discovery Channel complaining about commercialized fossil hunting in general, and about this show in particular because the cast lacks diversity (there are only a few women and one possible person of color featured on the show) and some of the show's promotional material included reference to a felon who has been convicted of fossil theft.

I'm as sensitive to diversity as the next liberal geek, but just how many women or people of color own ranch land in Montana, Wyoming, or South Dakota who are also interested in fossil hunting as a means of making a living? Keeping the show within legal bounds appears to be the limiting factor on diversity, not any conscious decision on the part of the Discovery Channel. And so far I've seen no actual mention of the felon they were complaining about in the show, so maybe the letter from the SVP had some positive impact.

My advice is to watch the show if you're interested in amateur fossil hunting. Avoid it if the lack of real science turns you off (and please avoid voting reality TV show stars into high political office). But remember that if these guys weren't digging these fossils up no one else would, and they'd be lost to both erosion and science.

Reading some reviews I'm appalled some people think they have the right to judge what someone does on their own land. There are millions if not billions of dinosaur fossils to be found and everyone of them that these land owners find can lead to more discovery's. If anything this show puts the spotlight on illegal digs and showcases how meticulous these ranchers are in their documentation and their problem with poachers which just destroy scientific sites. Thinking museums are all goody goody just means they have no education in the methods used by them in the past. More museums are now able to purchase fossils from legitimate diggers.

I'm delighted to hear how educated and knowledgeable these "hunters" are about dinosaurs, and where even tiny fossils fit in its origins.

One of the *very few* reality shows that doesn't have fake, scripted drama to use as filler in an episode.

People continue to complain about RANCHERS DIGGING ON THEIR OWN LAND. Go away complainers. They have every right to dig and sell what they find. There is NOTHING ILLEGAL going on here. Are their methods rough? Yes. If you don't like it, change the channel.

My complaint is that there is too much filler and small talk and not enough actual reveal of the actual skeletons.

The ranchers (who own their own land) navigate their areas for Dino fossils. The ranchers do not proclaim to be experts, but pull in the necessary scientists to review their finds. Kudos to the ranchers for doing the work, and the scientists reviewing the results. Great partnership on a really intriguing new show.