Ep. 783: Does the Moon Impact Deer Behavior?

Published: 2025-10-27 09:00:00

Description Show ▼

Steven Rinella talks with Dr. Bronson Strickland, Mark Kenyon, Janis Putelis, Brody Henderson, Spencer Neuharth, Phil Taylor, and Corinne Schneider.

Topics discussed: In the name of efficiency and how Steve doesn't have room for pleasantries with the people he's close to; what the moon's doing and how it impacts deer behavior; the wildlife that is driven by moon phase; the buck movement study; the moon position; statistically significance and effect size; tortuosity; the powerful placebo effect; and more.

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Referenced Books

High Tide in Tucson

by Barbara Kingsolver

Steve Rinella references this book while discussing examples of wildlife affected by lunar cycles. He describes it as 'a book of like science writing' and discusses a story from the book about clams in an aquarium in Tucson that maintained tidal rhythms despite being far from the ocean. The author's name appears to be 'Barbara King Salver' in the transcript, but this is likely Barbara Kingsolver.

Referenced at 00:10:42

None

by Val Geist

Yanni mentions reading 'a couple of his books' by Val Geist (also spelled 'Valgeist' or 'valarious guys' in the transcript). The discussion centers around Val Geist's observations of mule deer behavior, specifically the concept of 'shirker bucks' - bucks that allegedly avoid breeding for multiple seasons to conserve resources before becoming dominant later in life.

Referenced at 01:44:40