On a warm spring day, before swarms of wide-eyed children, Coyote Peterson takes the stage cuddling a giant monitor lizard like an infant. The lizard – an apex predator the size of a well-fed toddler – claws at Coyote’s shoulder and eyes the throng of hyped-up humans who’d gathered to watch their favorite wilderness YouTuber handle dangerous and cuddly animals alike.
Coyote tenderly taps the big-bellied reptile and sways into a soothing lizard-dance, speaking gently. It’s enough to calm both the sharp-toothed reptile and the sea of giddy children.
“Now that he feels pretty calm, he’s pretty comfortable,” Coyote says. “I’m going to put the lizard down.”
Just moments before, the kids chanted, cheered and lurched their little bodies across the stage to high-five Coyote, a wildlife adventurer and storyteller. But for now, the crowd is attentive, inspired by Coyote’s cool confidence, ready to pet a prehistoric predator.
INSPIRING FUTURE CONSERVATIONISTS
Coyote’s signature charm, passion for animals and insatiable fascination about the natural world is part of what’s fueled his wild acclaim. His YouTube show Brave Wilderness, now in its tenth year online, has amassed more than 21 million subscribers and 5 billion video views.
“We certainly want people to have a great respect for all of the animals on our planet,” Coyote says. “Whether the things that are living right in your own backyard or the things that are in a far off country that you're traveling on an epic vacation to go and see. Every animal plays an important role within its own respective ecosystem.”
Some of his most-watched videos feature Coyote purposely stung by giant ants, foot-long centipedes or 200 angry yellow jackets. One video of Coyote wincing in pain from a red velvet ant bite garnered 84 million views. But for all of the shock and awe, Coyote insists his bite-sting videos serve a higher purpose. The viral videos lure masses of viewers to his channel where they can discover Coyote’s more conservation-centric episodes aimed at inspiring younger generations to be brave and take interest in the natural world.
“What we hope people walk away with is just a new found fascination,” Coyote says.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BRAVE
Coyote often tackles issues surrounding apex predators such as wolves or mountain lions and teaches his audience about these often misunderstood creatures. In one show, he enters a wolf enclosure and feeds it a deer carcass while cameras film nearby. Across his 900+ videos Coyote shares up-close encounters with manatees, jaguars, rhinoceros, sharks and baby foxes. Working alongside trained wildlife biologists, he offers dramatic glimpses into daily animal life, their natural habitats and often ends with a call to action to protect the species. Sometimes Coyote suggests ways to donate to conservation or offers a petition to sign. Other times he simply encourages his followers to be brave and stay wild. At the heart of the show is exploring what it means to be brave both personally and in the world.
“Being brave is honestly just believing that something is possible,” he says. “I think the biggest fears people face in life are more so what they can't do than what they can do. And to be brave is to be like, yep, I'm gonna get that done. I'm gonna figure out how to do it even though it seems impossible.”
BECOMING COYOTE PETERSON
Coyote’s own fascination with animals began as a toddler when he witnessed a horse giving birth on his family farm in Northeastern Ohio. As a young boy, he’d often spend hours playing in the woods miles away from home. Later, he studied film at Ohio State University and – inspired by Steve Irwin, Jeff Corwin and Bear Grylls and other wildlife adventurers – chose to share his love for animals by filmmaking, eventually winning an Emmy for his work. In 2019, he produced 18 episodes for an Animal Planet series called Brave the Wild before covid restrictions halted production.
These days, Coyote is a non-stop creative force, simultaneously managing a dozen projects, a dedicated production team and grueling travel schedule. His projects include an animated series, video game developments, conservation initiatives, land acquisitions and directing a documentary feature film telling the story of four boys who survived a grizzly bear attack in 2022. This summer, Coyote accompanied the boys and a wildlife expert as they lived among giant bears in Alaska, marking the first time the boys saw bears since their attack.
And while he hopes his content inspires kids toward conservation, he also has a word of advice to parents along the way: Don’t be afraid to let your kids experience nature.
“You have to let kids get out there and experience nature,” he says. “And to experience nature, you're going to get dirty. You're going to fall down. You're going to experience discomfort in no matter what way, shape or form that is. And you have to embrace that and you learn from it.”