Dino Hunters

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.

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.

I think this show pretty good. People searching for dinosaur bones mostly on there own property and having fun doing it! Message to the negative reviewer (s)You have the right to sell whatever dino bones you find and there's nothing that can be done about it so get over it!

Ok it sounds like the negative reviews here are out of line. These people have been doing this longer than most others in the field. Plus like others have mentioned... THIS IS THEIR PROPERTY. They are trying to save their property and this is not their main life, they are ranchers. You are only seeing a small portion of their life. And they ARE preserving fossils not destroying them. Most only sell to museums. Some of the best fossils EVER found have come from these people. If these people didn't do this, most of the fossils would have been destroyed my Mother Nature. They are no different then all the websites that sell fossils to the public. And it helps spark an interest in fossils, or is that the problem some of you have? We enjoy watching the time and prep they take when they do find a nice specimen. And also glue and other types of adhesive are used on fossils to keep them from falling apart, very common.

Based on the comments, it sounds like a lot of scientists are jealous that these farmers can dig up dinosaurs on their own land and they cannot. Tall poppies syndrome?

At the end of the day is it 100% scientifically accurate? Probably not. Do I care? No, as it give a little bit of an in site into the world of bones and fossils. i.e. I didn't realise how much effort went into digging it up and restoring it to look like they do in a museum display. That was pretty interesting and something new that was learned.

Do I care if they make a buck? No i do not as at the end of the day it is their land and if they didn't dig them up they would turn to dust anyway.

Has the show made me want to buy some dinosaur fossils? absolutely, didn't even know that was a thing. What is wrong with private collectors want a tooth, a small bone or a claw? They seem to be priced reasonably well and it sounds like Museums already have more than they want.

Do I want a season 2? Absolutely as can't wait to see some more full bodies dug up and cleaned up and eventually maybe end up assembled as a display somewhere.