American Jungle Reality Show (Hilo, Kailua: home, live, law)

[crash1122]

Anyone else catch this show on the History Channel? It's about 8 different "clans" who live completely off the land, off grid on the east side of the Big Island. I didn't want to see all the hunting, but I like hearing the accents and I wanted to see a non-tourist part of the island

One thing I thought was amusing, is that the hunting season is supposed to take place during the "dry" season. It was raining every day they filmed!!!

[Jonah K]

Originally Posted by crash1122

Anyone else catch this show on the History Channel? It's about 8 different "clans" who live completely off the land, off grid on the east side of the Big Island. I didn't want to see all the hunting, but I like hearing the accents and I wanted to see a non-tourist part of the island

It looks like those some of those "clans" were hunting in my "backyard", considering that I left a couple of hundred acres of it in its "natural state", complete with lava tubes and wild pigs. "Scotty Boy" and "Charlie Boy" of the "Spear Clan" are probably cousins of mine.

Folks that didn't catch the show can watch it online at the History Channel's website...
Watch American Jungle Full Episodes & Videos Online - History.com

Originally Posted by crash1122

One thing I thought was amusing, is that the hunting season is supposed to take place during the "dry" season. It was raining every day they filmed!!!

It still rains quite a bit on the Hilo side of the Big Island even during the "dry" season.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

It still rains quite a bit on the Hilo side of the Big Island even during the "dry" season.

Indeed Hilo's average driest month is wetter than Portland, Oregon's wettest month.

[McFrostyJ]

I just watched the first episode and I now feel that I have a complete understanding of what life must be like in Kailua for Whtviper1.

[Mark.ca]

Originally Posted by Jonah K

"Scotty Boy" and "Charlie Boy" of the "Spear Clan" are probably cousins of mine.

You must be proud...

[McFrostyJ]

From The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs
The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs, Hawai`i Island

THE HISTORY CHANNEL’S NEW SERIES AMERICAN JUNGLE misrepresents 
hunting in Hawai`i, according to a statement from Department of Land & Natural Resources. DLNR finds the series’ depiction of hunting activities “to be inaccurate, offensive, and in some cases, potentially illegal.” The department has launched an investigation into possible law violations occurring during filming of the show. Activities such as night hunting depicted in the show, both on public and private land, are illegal.

Division of Forestry and Wildlife, which oversees DLNR’s hunting program, denied a permit request last spring for the production to film on state forest lands.
“We denied the film permit request because it failed to provide sufficient details to indicate the show’s content and raised concerns as to possible illegal activities that might be depicted in the series,” stated DLNR chair William Aila, Jr.

“Cultural insensitivity of the series is also a concern to DLNR,” the statement said. “The series depicts ‘clans’ that are fighting over access trails to territorial hunting grounds that inaccurately portray restrictive access to Hawai`i’s public lands, which are held in public trust for the people.”
In the first episode of the series, spears and dogs were used to hunt a cow. “However, in an archival review of more than 60,000 historical documents, there is no evidence that native Hawaiians hunted pigs in the forest with spears, let alone cattle,” the statement said. Cattle are not recognized as game animals in Hawai`i and are illegal to hunt without a special feral cattle control permit.

“Hunting serves important historical, cultural and practical roles in Hawai`i,” said Gov. Neil Abercrombie. “When guided by lawful and ethical hunting practices, hunting supports worthy conservation objectives in protection of native species and habitats against invasive and destructive elements. Portraying our local hunters as primitives demeans our people and their contributions to subsistence and wildlife conservation. This appears to be a fictional ‘reality’ production with no connection to actual hunters in Hawai`i. If we discover any laws or regulations have been broken, we will vigorously pursue legal and/or criminal charges.”

Others expressing concern in the statement are Hawai`i County Game Management Advisory Commissioner Willie-Joe Camara, Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement chief Randy Awo and Inga Gibson, Hawai`i director of The Humane Society.

On the Facebook page for rustyboar.com, TJaye Ailama Forsythe, who came up with the idea for the series, responded to DLNR’s statement: “This is a television show, not a documentary. Television shows have fictional and non-fictional elements to them. American Jungle was considered more of a reality show because these are not actors, and they are not reading from a script. If the show was meant to be an accurate depiction of hunting in Hawai`i, we would have created a documentary.”

[Joliefille]

Not to mention the heinous pidgin accents.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Joliefille

Not to mention the heinous pidgin accents.

Gotta love that unique Hawaiian Culture this show brings to all of us.......

Must be why all the tourists flock here.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

It is so sad that some tv goofs decided to have a "reality" show that is so far away from any truth. Yes, we do have people who hunt wild animals here on the Big Island, but (1) I don't know of any "clans" who hunt together, (2) they hunt feral pigs and sheep mainly, although now they are hunting the axis deer that were brought over illegally, (3) they hunt with guns and dogs, not spears and dogs.

Kinda makes me sad to think of how my home is being portrayed on national tv. I hope that not many people watch it.

Makes me wonder how true to life the show "Alaska The Last Frontier" is.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

It is so sad that some tv goofs decided to have a "reality" show that is so far away from any truth.

I hate to tell ya, but "reality" shows are not reality... never were, never will be. They are heavily produced, typically pre-scripted, with Production Assistants constantly prodding the participants, feeding them lines and ideas, creating artificial situations, trying to get people to fight with each other, trying to get people to do stupid things, IOW, to do anything that is less boring than what real people actually do 99.9% of the time. I mean really, would anybody want to watch a show about your life?

I get why producers and networks love them, because they are faster and easier and cheaper to produce than almost anything else. Why I can't understand is why people watch them. They're bogus.

Yes, we do have people who hunt wild animals here on the Big Island, but (1) I don't know of any "clans" who hunt together, (2) they hunt feral pigs and sheep mainly, although now they are hunting the axis deer that were brought over illegally, (3) they hunt with guns and dogs, not spears and dogs.

The State also recently opened a limited season of hunting for feral cows on the Mauna Kea slopes, up around the Mile 22 marker on Saddle Road. I can't find the details now that applications have closed, but I think a suitable rifle or shotgun was required. No bowhunting. Oh, and turkeys are also popular with hunters.

Makes me wonder how true to life the show "Alaska The Last Frontier" is.

See above.