Episode 26: The Cannibal in the Jungle (2015)

On this episode we’re joined by Dr. Matt Tocheri to discuss The Cannibal in the Jungle (2015), an Animal Planet mockumentary which blurs the line between fact and fiction. The (fictional) story centres around a team of ornithologists who were attacked by a group of Homo floresiensis (the so-called “hobbits”), which happen to be Matt’s area of expertise. We discuss hominin evolution, biogeography, and the boundaries between entertainment and misinformation.

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In this episode:

Watch the director’s cut here: https://www.simongeorgedirector.com/amerikan-kanibal

Homo Floresiensis and the myth of the ebu gogo: https://aeon.co/ideas/investigating-homo-floresiensis-and-the-myth-of-the-ebu-gogo

Between Ape and Human: An Anthropologist on the Trail of a Hidden Hominoid By Gregory Forth: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Between-Ape-and-Human/Gregory-Forth/9781639361434

Ghostwatch (1992) BBC Halloween special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQfMTktMZLQ

Wolf Creek (2005): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416315/

The Flores Scops Owl: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flores_scops_owl

What is the Wallace Line? https://www.thoughtco.com/the-wallace-line-1224711

Evans et al. (2020). Mitogenomics of macaques (Macaca) across Wallace’s Line in the context of modern human dispersals. Journal of Human Evolution, 146, 102852: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102852

Teixeira et al. (2021). Widespread Denisovan ancestry in Island Southeast Asia but no evidence of substantial super-archaic hominin admixture. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5 (5), 616-624: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01408-0