Call of the Wildman

***Call of the Wildman*** is an American reality television series following the exploits of Kentucky woodsman Ernie Brown, Jr., nicknamed "The Turtleman". Aided by his friend, Neal James, and his dog, Lolly, Brown operated a business in catching and releasing nuisance animals. The show was shot near Brown's home in Lebanon, Kentucky, and aired for four seasons on Animal Planet from October 30, 2011 to September 14, 2014.

The show is noted for being one of many reality shows featuring individuals in the southern United States. Though some poverty advocacy groups expressed concern that it would exploit stereotypical views of Southerners, it proved to be one of Animal Planet's most popular shows during the first quarter of 2011 and led to Brown's rise in stardom.

## Premise

Set deep in the backwoods of wild Kentucky, the series follows legendary woodsman Ernie Brown Jr. - aka "The Turtleman" - as he takes on some of the most outlandish and outrageous animal nuisances in the woods, including not just turtles, but also raccoons, skunks, snakes, venomous spiders, and possums. Brown's animal catching technique is designed to protect both himself and the animal from harm. Once he captured an animal, he relocated it to a safer location in the wild. In each episode, Brown is accompanied by Neal James, his best friend, and his dog, Lolly. James serves as the secretary of Brown's business, fielding telephone calls from individuals in need of his services. Some episodes also feature friends who help Brown, including handyman Jake Ison and David "Squirrel" Brady.

## Episodes

Main article: *List of Call of the Wildman episodes*

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## Reception

*Call of the Wildman* was Animal Planet's most popular show in the first quarter of 2011, garnering almost 780,000 viewers. The episode "Baby Mama Drama" set a record for the show's largest audience ever, an estimated 1.6 million, according to the network.

*Call of the Wildman* was noted for being one in a line of similarly themed reality shows featuring individuals from the Southern United States and include terms like "hillbilly" and "redneck" in their titles; others included Animal Planet's own *Hillbilly Handfishin'*, A&E's *Billy the Exterminator* and *Duck Dynasty*, History Channel's *Swamp People*, National Geographic Channel's *Rocket City Rednecks*, and CMT's *My Big Redneck Vacation*.

Because of the show's depiction of Brown's spartan existence in the woods, there were some poverty advocacy groups who expressed concern that it would exploit stereotypical views of Southerners as beingly poorly educated, poorly groomed, and impoverished. Despite this, Animal Planet executive Marjorie Kaplan insisted that they had received no negative feedback on the show, and executive producer Dawn Sinsel added that the network "was careful to represent the talent in their true colors and not 'cover up' their true talent," and hoped that Brown's personality and love of animals would replace all stereotypes. Brown himself also defended the show, commenting "You either watch the show and love it, or you don't. I'm not doing anything wrong, just cheering people up."

## Controversy and aftermath

Critics of the series alleged that the scenarios and animal catching scenes were scripted and faked using appropriated animals instead of naturally occurring events. Karen Bailey, founder of the Kentucky Wildlife Center, said that a 2012 episode in which Brown is featured rescuing a family of raccoons trapped in laundry room actually featured a male raccoon as the mother and babies were obtained from different locations. After the episode was filmed, Bailey stated that the animals were brought back to the center, and one of the babies died.

The premiere episode of the second season featured Brown removing two cottonmouth snakes from a public pool in Danville, Kentucky. Jim Harrison, director of the Kentucky Reptile Zoo, stated that cottonmouths are not indigenous to the area where the scene was filmed and that the snakes must have been brought in for the show's filming; Animal Planet denied the claims. However, a city investigation concluded that the show's crew had placed the snakes in the pool and had not obtained approval to do so.

Following the episode "Deer Destruction" in 2013, Brown received a letter from the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife reminding him that his Nuisance Wildlife Control Officer (NWCO) permit did not allow him to handle deer and warned that any future violation could result in the revocation of his permit, a citation, or both. Brown's last NWCO license expired in February 2014, and the department refused to renew it because he had not fully documented his captures in 2013.

On January 21, 2014, it was alleged that Brown appeared to have falsified records submitted to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife about what was captured, released, and euthanized on the show. Both the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and People of the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) demanded an investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding the allegations. In 2017, a USDA investigation concluded that the show exhibited a coyote, porcupines, raccoons, bats, armadillos, and deer without a valid license in violation of the Animal Welfare Act. The main producer was fined $180,000 while an unnamed producer for the show was fined $1,800 for the violations.

The show went off the air after Brown lost his license, though he and James continued to post animal rescue videos on YouTube and Facebook until James died of natural causes on February 1, 2019.