GAR WARS! The Battle to Save this GIANT Fish!

In this episode of Breaking Trail, get ready for the FEATURE LENGTH version of Gar Wars and witness the epic battle save this GIANT fish!

A RIVER MONSTER sized thank you goes out to the Gar Guys – Hayden Roberts, Florian Kappen, Maximiliaan “Max” Claus and Josh Perkin for their leadership in the field, expertise in ichthyology and driving fight to help preserve the future of these living relics.

Special thanks to Texas A & M University for allowing the Brave Wilderness team to document their continued research on this subject matter.

Special thanks to Steve Goodman for allowing us to explore and film his beautiful stretch of private river.

Additional thanks to Solomon David, Matthew Miller and Bubba Bedre for their guidance and expertise on the history of gar and the future of conservation for this species.

Archival photo and video credits: Solomon David, Bubba Bedre, Florian Kappen and Max Claus.

“GAR WARS – A conservation fish force!” title and phrasing credit: Matthew Miller/Cool Green Science

Thank you to Meredith Joyce-Houghton for creating the incredible artwork in this episode! IG: @joycehoughtoncreative

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The Brave Wilderness hosts and crew are professionally trained but receive assistance from animal experts and safety personnel when in potentially life-threatening situations. Permissions were obtained by the crew to film in all locations associated with this series. No animals were injured, killed, or removed from their natural habitat in the filming of this program and instances where animals are brought to the scene are clearly acknowledged in the video. Professional advice should always be sought before entering any dangerous environment, or before encountering any species of animal. Every precaution is taken to handle animals with care and in the least stressful way possible; expert opinions are often solicited when handling animals that may potentially inflict harm to any cast and crew.

[rage]

I love this dudes energy, he’s so excited and educated about wildlife & seems to really respect it massively. A friend of the wilderness is a friend of mine

[MartiMcfly-mfpq]

I love how these fish aren’t aggressive to humans!
The work that you guys do to keep these fish alive for many more years! It’s fascinating

[benjaminritchie-smith]

Hearing stories like this about animals being hunted to extinction truly makes me so very sad but knowing that there are people like you who are willing to stand up for what’s right and protect these magnificent creatures truly fills my heart with hope thank you Coyote😁

[bishoukun]

My dad is a marine biologist who works at FIU. I lived and worked with the team there for a few years and I can assure you that every single one of them loves fish and aquatic life with a passion and a drive for conservation that has gone unmatched. Unfortunately, not many other people realize the importance of aquatic life ecosystems, but that doesn't stop them from researching and exploring ways to help our fishy friends. I'm extremely familiar with the sonar machine y'all are using there, too - one of the lovely humans I had the pleasure and honor of assisting and watching work was a sonar specialist who creates systems and machines, including building a drone controlled by a PS4 controller, to identify and count the fishes below.

[adamturner]

I remember watching an episode of river monsters where Jeremy Wade emphasised the importance of saving them as well. Also it turns out the alligator gar may be massively important with dealing with an a truly devastating invasive species. It turns out the alligator gar has a real liking for snakeheads.

[giri]

REALLY LOVE THE WORK THE CREW IS DOING TO PROTECT GARS. GARS FOR THE WIN!!!!

[collinpugh]

any other fish fights for its life when its caught but these magnificent beasts are so relaxed and just looking to live its life by itself. what an absolute legend. these fish are amazing pieces of history. happy to be a neighbor of an absolute legend itself being "Coyote". You sir are a movement in itself.

[hariyoganathan]

A prehistoric, ancient behemoth unlike anything I have seen before! What an amazing animal! Thank you for promoting it’s protection Coyote! As always, another great video!

[chadtaylor]

Thank you Coyote, for bringing to attention the importance of that fish. Alligator Gar are hands down my favorite fish, maybe animal, and regulations definately need to be put in place to protect them. I wish you well. What a beautiful girl she was.

[selecta]

Ive always been scared of the alligator gar, but now after watching this video I can truly say this is a beautiful species! And im not scared anymore of this fish.

[AJ-wmnn]

I nearly stepped on a three footer in the red river of Texas and its escape from me nearly soaked me completely. They're not dangerous, they are a beautiful and vital part of our ecosystem that needs appreciation and respect!

[jones]

It’s crazy how this man travels everywhere for us. Let’s just thank him for this amazing content

[animalwrld]

I am a kid and everyone in my school used to hate wildlife but yesterday I was determined to make them love it
So I did a presentation about chameleons. After that everyone started to love wilderness. Thank you for making me love wildernesses
When I grow up I will become just like you!

[oriongranville]

I legit got misty eyed when Max nose-bumped that gar... That is the face of true love and a genuine conservationist!

[butterytoast]

I absolutely love getting one of these beasts on the end of my rod. They're massive, and fight like crazy. I always catch and release, and absolutely applaud anyone working to preserve them for future generations.

[loveitdoit]

I'm studying to be an Ichthyologist and love this so much! I focus more on tiny fish. My current project is actually looking into a fish no one has before in hopes to protect it. But, I have caught a few Long Nosed gars. They're impossible to hold onto because they're such a powerful animal!

[blueeyedcowboy]

My favorite episode ever. Grew up at Possum Kingdom Lake in Texas, and caught and released these all the time. The end almost brought tears. Please, Keep it up!

[astick]

They are so remarkably calm about being held right at the water where they could've just thrashed their way out of his hands and be free.

[NOBLEFILMS]

YOU ARE DOING GREAT WORK FOR THE CONSERVATION OF ALLIGATOR GARS BRAVE WILDERNESS!

[autumnryn]

They seem like such chill fish and so sweet too. But omfg that nose bump 🥹❤