Paul Rosolie: Jungle, Apex Predators, Aliens, Uncontacted Tribes, and God | Lex Fridman Podcast #429

Paul Rosolie takes Lex Fridman deep into the Peruvian Amazon to discuss apex predators, uncontacted tribes, deforestation, and the spiritual meaning he finds in wilderness.

• Rosolie’s team measured an 18-foot, 220-pound anaconda in 2014, then a record for the region; he believes 25-27 foot individuals likely exist.
• Uncontacted tribes in this region use 7-foot bamboo-tipped arrows accurate to several hundred meters — longer effective range than a shotgun.
• Tribes’ hostility toward outsiders stems from rubber-baron-era atrocities a century ago; generational trauma hardened into shoot-on-sight culture.
• Black caiman were hunted to near-extinction in the 1970s for leather but are rebounding; Rosolie saw a 16-foot individual, describing a bite force that is rib-crushing at scale.
• Junglekeepers needs $30 million over two years to protect the river corridor from logging; the uncontacted tribes’ fear of outsiders has incidentally kept loggers out for decades.
• Rosolie believes loggers or gold miners are the most likely cause of his eventual death, and has told friends to use it to fundraise if it happens.
• The White Witch moth, one of the largest by wingspan, still has an undocumented caterpillar stage as of 2024.

Guests: Paul Rosolie — naturalist, explorer, author, founder of Junglekeepers · 2024-05-15 · Watch on YouTube