Wild Secrets And Mysteries Of The Animal World

Bright Side

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Transcript

00:00:00You call your beloved cat to have his dinner.

00:00:02Sir Scratchy.

00:00:03Suddenly, you hear loud stomping.

00:00:06The dishes on the dinner table

00:00:07clink with every thump.

00:00:09A painting's fallen off the wall.

00:00:11Is it an earthquake?

00:00:12No, that's a cat the size of a pony

00:00:15walking into the dining room.

00:00:17It needs ten times as much food

00:00:19as the average cat.

00:00:20And it purrs like a tractor.

00:00:22No, Scratchy, stop rolling.

00:00:24You'll turn over the cupboard.

00:00:26Well, this is one possible scenario

00:00:29for the evolution of animals in the future.

00:00:32Climate, water, oxygen in the air,

00:00:34and even gravity are factors

00:00:36that influence the course of evolution.

00:00:39For example, scientists predict

00:00:40that some bird species

00:00:42will gradually lose their warm feathers.

00:00:44In the future, they will basically look

00:00:46like sphinx cats with beaks and wings.

00:00:50The same thing might happen to our pets.

00:00:52Gradually, their fur will become shorter

00:00:55until they're completely bald.

00:00:57Urban pests like pigeons and rats

00:01:00will become even bigger,

00:01:01the size of a cat.

00:01:03A few million years ago,

00:01:04rats were barely the size

00:01:06of your little finger.

00:01:07That's because they hid in small burrows

00:01:09and had to be nearly invisible

00:01:11to large predators.

00:01:12Now they live in comfortable cellars

00:01:14that humans have built.

00:01:16They can create cozy nests there.

00:01:18And the large amount of food

00:01:19and trash cans keeps them from starving.

00:01:22So they feel quite comfortable

00:01:24and continue to grow in size.

00:01:26Even more,

00:01:27rats have already developed oily fur

00:01:30so that dirty or toxic water

00:01:32can run off them

00:01:33without harming the rodents themselves.

00:01:36Plant-eating mammals, on the other hand,

00:01:38might have it worse.

00:01:40Their food will gradually diminish.

00:01:42With time,

00:01:43there will be fewer forests

00:01:44and greenery on the planet,

00:01:46and some plants will disappear altogether.

00:01:49Eventually, animals like deer,

00:01:51elephants, giraffes, and others

00:01:53will get smaller and smaller

00:01:55because of the lack of food.

00:01:56In addition to shrinking,

00:01:58mammals will have smaller eyes

00:02:00so they don't lose water

00:02:01from their bodies.

00:02:02And their ears will become larger

00:02:04to lose heat through them.

00:02:05Their tails will grow longer

00:02:07to swat away insects.

00:02:09As land mammals become smaller,

00:02:12birds will increase in size.

00:02:14That's because they'll be able

00:02:15to include shrinking animals

00:02:17in their diet.

00:02:18And the muscles of birds

00:02:19will become much stronger

00:02:21because they'll have to fly

00:02:22long distances in search of food.

00:02:25Animals in hot and dry places

00:02:27are more likely to learn

00:02:28how to get water from the air.

00:02:30To do so, they'll need long sails

00:02:32or skin flaps.

00:02:34Early in the morning,

00:02:35when the air is coolest,

00:02:37moisture will accumulate

00:02:38on these new body parts,

00:02:39and some lizards will evolve

00:02:41their collars to a much larger size.

00:02:44Then they'll be able to collect

00:02:45more rainwater.

00:02:47As for the marine world,

00:02:48we can already see some fish

00:02:50jumping out of the water

00:02:51to catch insects.

00:02:53In the course of evolution,

00:02:54fish fins may become longer

00:02:56and stronger so that they can

00:02:58leap further.

00:02:59And gradually, those fins

00:03:01will turn into wings

00:03:02to make them truly flying fish.

00:03:05Perhaps in the future,

00:03:06these fish will hunt small birds.

00:03:08To do that, they'll learn

00:03:10to hold their breath for longer

00:03:12and fly much higher.

00:03:13But the big fish and marine mammals

00:03:15will have a hard time.

00:03:17The ocean will heat up,

00:03:19and some species will begin

00:03:20to disappear.

00:03:21The largest inhabitant

00:03:23of the aquatic world,

00:03:24the blue whale,

00:03:25which is the size of two school buses,

00:03:27will shrink in size

00:03:29because there will be less food

00:03:30for it in the ocean.

00:03:32But the population of lizards

00:03:33and reptiles will thrive.

00:03:36They're good at absorbing heat.

00:03:38And with climate change,

00:03:39there will be more insects

00:03:40on our planet,

00:03:41which means more food

00:03:43for lizards.

00:03:44They'll start to increase

00:03:45in size,

00:03:46but now they'll have

00:03:47to defend themselves

00:03:48against big birds.

00:03:50Their legs will become longer

00:03:51and stronger,

00:03:52so they'll be able to run

00:03:53a lot faster

00:03:55and not get eaten by a bird.

00:03:57And the insects,

00:03:58well, they'll just explode.

00:04:00Insects will probably live

00:04:01in huge swarms

00:04:03and fly around looking for food.

00:04:05And they'll be angry

00:04:06and hungry

00:04:07because their usual source

00:04:08of food, mammals,

00:04:10will have either ceased to exist

00:04:12or shrunk in size.

00:04:14Humans will change, too.

00:04:16Scientists predict

00:04:17that between 1,000

00:04:18and 1 million years from now,

00:04:20we will completely lose our hair.

00:04:22Our limbs will become

00:04:24thinner and longer,

00:04:25and we'll be about

00:04:26seven feet tall.

00:04:28Our feet will most likely

00:04:29lose their toes

00:04:30because they're no longer

00:04:31needed to keep our balance.

00:04:33Our head and brain

00:04:34will become more like a balloon.

00:04:36And our lifespan

00:04:37will be more than 100 years.

00:04:40Because humans are at the top

00:04:41of the food chain

00:04:42and don't take part

00:04:43in natural selection,

00:04:44we'll gradually become

00:04:45similar to each other.

00:04:47In tens of millions of years,

00:04:49all humans will probably

00:04:50look the same.

00:04:52Plus, we're developing

00:04:53genetic engineering technology.

00:04:56Luminous rabbits,

00:04:57incredibly sized cows,

00:04:59web-weaving goats,

00:05:00super muscular pigs,

00:05:02and more.

00:05:03But we're more interested

00:05:04in how animals will evolve

00:05:05on their own.

00:05:07So, fast forward ahead in time.

00:05:09Humans have long lived

00:05:11on other planets

00:05:11and in other galaxies.

00:05:13Earth has long since

00:05:14become home to animals

00:05:16and plants.

00:05:17The only traces of humans here

00:05:19are giant cities

00:05:20made of metal and concrete

00:05:21that are buried

00:05:22deep underground.

00:05:24And up there,

00:05:25incredible creatures

00:05:26like the necropteryx live.

00:05:28It's something between

00:05:29an ostrich and a vulture

00:05:31the size of an adult human.

00:05:32Its long and powerful beak

00:05:34is its main tool

00:05:35for protection

00:05:36against predators

00:05:37and for eating.

00:05:38Their strong legs

00:05:40with long claws

00:05:41make them excellent runners.

00:05:43This creature can walk

00:05:44dozens of miles in a day.

00:05:46Necropteryx needs

00:05:47warm fur or feathers.

00:05:49Without humans

00:05:50and the greenhouse effect,

00:05:52the temperature on Earth

00:05:53has dropped.

00:05:54But with a warm jacket,

00:05:56they'll be able to survive

00:05:57even a new ice age.

00:05:59And like ostriches,

00:06:00they reproduce by laying eggs.

00:06:03This is a parashrew.

00:06:05It's like a common shrew

00:06:06a couple of inches long.

00:06:07But it has an unusual feature,

00:06:10a parachute on its tail.

00:06:12While little,

00:06:13they live in their parents' nests.

00:06:15But when they leave them,

00:06:16they launch themselves

00:06:17into the air

00:06:18and then open a parachute

00:06:19made of thin fur.

00:06:21The warm currents of air

00:06:23rise up and carry them.

00:06:25They can spend up to 24 hours

00:06:26in the air.

00:06:27Then, they'll nest elsewhere

00:06:29and their babies

00:06:30will leave their home

00:06:31the same way.

00:06:33The waka.

00:06:34Waka waka.

00:06:35This animal looks like

00:06:36a striped giraffe

00:06:37with only two legs.

00:06:39It'll be one of the fastest

00:06:40creatures on our planet.

00:06:42No predator can beat it

00:06:44in a race.

00:06:45Plus, their eyes are perched

00:06:46high on their head.

00:06:48And with its long neck,

00:06:49the waka can see a threat

00:06:51even when sitting in tall grass.

00:06:54Terabites are descendants

00:06:55of termites

00:06:56that will appear on Earth

00:06:57in 200 million years.

00:06:59If they see a threat,

00:07:01they'll spew a stream of chemicals,

00:07:03something like acid,

00:07:04from their huge head.

00:07:06Even the biggest predators

00:07:07will be afraid to approach them.

00:07:09Reed stilts are about

00:07:10three and a half feet tall

00:07:12and weigh almost as much

00:07:13as an adult human.

00:07:15Thanks to its striped coloring,

00:07:16a reed stilt is almost invisible

00:07:18in the reeds.

00:07:20It walks on its thin legs

00:07:21through marshy terrain

00:07:23and feeds on small fish.

00:07:25Its long neck and sharp teeth

00:07:26allow it to dash into the water,

00:07:28almost cobra-like.

00:07:30It catches fish

00:07:31and swallows them almost whole.

00:07:33But all of these predictions

00:07:35are very speculative.

00:07:36There are billions of factors

00:07:38that influence the course

00:07:39of evolution.

00:07:40The course of evolution

00:07:41could go the other way

00:07:42at any time.

00:07:44For example,

00:07:45an asteroid hits the Earth,

00:07:46causing a mass extinction

00:07:48and changing our planet's climate.

00:07:50A small percentage

00:07:51of surviving organisms

00:07:52begin to adapt

00:07:53to the new conditions.

00:07:55In a few million years,

00:07:56we'll have animals

00:07:57that none of us

00:07:58could have even imagined.

00:08:01Squirrels' teeth

00:08:03never stop growing,

00:08:04but the animals wear them down

00:08:06by gnawing on nuts

00:08:07and other hard foods.

00:08:08The front of the rodent's teeth

00:08:10is actually orange.

00:08:11It's because they're covered

00:08:12in special tough enamel.

00:08:14Bet you're glad you don't have

00:08:15that to deal with.

00:08:17Some bird species don't mind

00:08:19munching on chili peppers.

00:08:21That's because they can't

00:08:22feel the heat.

00:08:23Peppers burn your mouth

00:08:24because they contain

00:08:26a special chemical,

00:08:27capsaicin.

00:08:28But birds don't have

00:08:29the taste buds needed

00:08:30to feel its effects.

00:08:32The rhino's horn is made of hair,

00:08:34or at least the same protein

00:08:36that makes up your hair and nails.

00:08:39This protein is called keratin.

00:08:41Such a horn is kind of unique

00:08:42since other animals have horns

00:08:44with a bony center.

00:08:47The woodpecker can peck the wood

00:08:4820 times per second.

00:08:50This pace is almost too high

00:08:52for the human eye to notice.

00:08:54How much wood would a woodpecker

00:08:55peck if a woodpecker

00:08:56could peck wood?

00:08:58The number of pecks

00:08:59often reaches a total of

00:09:008,000 to 12,000 a day.

00:09:04A starfish does have eyes,

00:09:06one on the end of each of its arms.

00:09:08These eyes are light-sensitive

00:09:09groups of cells.

00:09:11Frogs don't need to drink water.

00:09:13Instead, they have an area

00:09:15known as the drinking patch.

00:09:17It's on their bellies and thighs.

00:09:19They use it to absorb water

00:09:20directly through the skin.

00:09:22Well, that could save some time.

00:09:24Most caterpillar species

00:09:26have around 4,000 muscles

00:09:28in their body,

00:09:29and almost 250 of them

00:09:30are in the head alone.

00:09:32Christmas tree worms

00:09:34are much more beautiful

00:09:35than you can imagine.

00:09:36But even though the pines

00:09:38look awesome,

00:09:39two-thirds of the worm's body

00:09:40is hidden in a calcium carbonite tube.

00:09:43And the point of this is…

00:09:45I don't have one.

00:09:48Narwhal's famous tusks

00:09:50are actually their teeth

00:09:51that are kind of turned inside out.

00:09:53These unicorns of the sea

00:09:55have just two teeth.

00:09:57And in males,

00:09:58one of them grows right through

00:09:59their upper lip.

00:10:01Unlike your teeth,

00:10:02this one is tough inside

00:10:03and sensitive and soft

00:10:05on the outside.

00:10:07The anteater doesn't have teeth.

00:10:10But it's not a problem.

00:10:11This creature has a super long tongue.

00:10:14This tongue helps the animal

00:10:15lap up more than 35,000 termites

00:10:18and ants every day.

00:10:20That's one way to lick hunger.

00:10:23The flea can jump more than 200 times

00:10:25their body length.

00:10:27If humans had such an ability,

00:10:29they would jump as high

00:10:30as the Empire State Building.

00:10:32Woo-hoo!

00:10:33The red-eyed tree frog's eggs

00:10:35can hatch earlier

00:10:36if they sense their environment

00:10:37isn't safe.

00:10:39Small animals with fast metabolism

00:10:42see in slow-mo.

00:10:43This helps them escape larger creatures.

00:10:47Koalas' fingerprints are very,

00:10:49very similar to the human ones.

00:10:51Sometimes these animals' fingerprints

00:10:53even get confused at crime scenes.

00:10:56Probably in Australia.

00:10:58The hippo's sweat is pink

00:11:00and not exactly sweat.

00:11:02It's a reddish, oily fluid.

00:11:04Its function is to not cool the body

00:11:06but to moisturize the skin and protect it.

00:11:09This fluid also functions as an antibiotic.

00:11:13So, you get sunburned or cut,

00:11:15you can smear a hippo all over you.

00:11:18Polar bear's skin is black

00:11:20and the hairs of their coat are hollow

00:11:22and almost see-through.

00:11:23These animals have fur growing

00:11:25even on the bottom of their paws.

00:11:27This gives them a better grip on ice

00:11:29and protects against cold.

00:11:32Some species of tarantulas,

00:11:34some of the largest spiders in the world,

00:11:36can live without food for more than 2 years.

00:11:39I still think they're creepy.

00:11:41Platypuses close their eyes while kissing,

00:11:44I mean, swimming.

00:11:45They have special folds of skin

00:11:47covering their ears and eyes.

00:11:49They prevent water from getting inside.

00:11:51These animals' nostrils also have a watertight seal.

00:11:55Emus can't walk backwards,

00:11:57but scientists aren't sure why.

00:12:00These flightless birds are the only ones

00:12:02that have calf muscles.

00:12:04Emus can sprint really fast,

00:12:06they can also travel long distances,

00:12:08but they can't back up.

00:12:10Crocodiles can't move their tongue

00:12:12because it's attached to the mouth roof.

00:12:15It keeps the throat closed

00:12:16and protects the animal's airway.

00:12:19Water snakes, dolphins, whales,

00:12:21alligators, crocodiles, and turtles

00:12:23can drown.

00:12:25It'll happen if they stay underwater for too long.

00:12:28These animals can't breathe in the water,

00:12:30they can just hold their breath

00:12:31for a very long time.

00:12:34Only one species of birds can fly backwards,

00:12:37that's hummingbirds.

00:12:39Hey, go talk to the emu!

00:12:40These tiny birds can also beat their wings

00:12:43up to 80 times per second.

00:12:46Despite what elephant shrews look like,

00:12:48these small animals are more closely related

00:12:51to elephants than shrews.

00:12:53Maybe that's why they have their

00:12:54trademark trunk-like noses.

00:12:56Elephant shrews use them to munch on insects.

00:12:59Shrew enough!

00:13:01Cats, as well as other felines,

00:13:03can't taste sweet things.

00:13:05They don't have the taste buds needed for that.

00:13:08Too bad, more for me!

00:13:10Flamingos can only eat

00:13:11with their heads upside down.

00:13:13That's why their lower bill is massive

00:13:16and their upper bill isn't fixed.

00:13:18Such an arrangement is perfect

00:13:19for upside-down feeding.

00:13:21But it's the opposite of what other birds have.

00:13:24It's not easy being pink!

00:13:27Tiger skin is as striped as their fur.

00:13:31That's all I have to say about that.

00:13:33When toucans sleep,

00:13:34they curl into pretty tight balls.

00:13:37These birds can turn their head

00:13:39so that their tail covers their head

00:13:41and the beak rests on the back.

00:13:43So yeah, they have a ball!

00:13:45The ostrich has some of the largest eyes

00:13:47in the animal kingdom.

00:13:49They're more massive than a bird's brain.

00:13:51Each eye is as big as a billiard ball.

00:13:55All clownfish get born male.

00:13:58But in some circumstances,

00:14:00they can turn into females.

00:14:02This change is irreversible.

00:14:04Unlike most fish,

00:14:06when seahorses mate,

00:14:07they do it for life.

00:14:09Even cuter, when the mates travel,

00:14:11they move side by side

00:14:13and often hold on to each other's tails.

00:14:15The male usually gets stuck schlepping the luggage.

00:14:18Termites never sleep.

00:14:20They don't need to recharge their batteries.

00:14:22But they can eat 24 hours a day,

00:14:247 days a week, on your house.

00:14:28The sloth needs up to 2 weeks

00:14:30to digest its food.

00:14:32Hey, take your time, no hurry,

00:14:34nothing on the schedule.

00:14:36Dogs' nose prints can be used

00:14:38for their identification.

00:14:40They are similar to human fingerprints

00:14:42and unique for each animal.

00:14:44Owls don't have eyeballs.

00:14:47Instead, they have eye tubes

00:14:49that don't move in the eye sockets.

00:14:51Penguins don't have external ears,

00:14:54but their hearing is especially sharp.

00:14:56Especially when they're on the lookout

00:14:58for polar bears.

00:15:00Shh, let's not tell them.

00:15:02Jellyfish are up to 98% water.

00:15:05That's why when they get washed ashore,

00:15:07their bodies can evaporate into the air

00:15:09after just a few hours.

00:15:12If a traffic jam happens underwater,

00:15:15an alligator will always give way

00:15:17to a manatee.

00:15:19Nice manners.

00:15:21Grizzly bears have such a strong bite

00:15:23that they can crush a bowling ball.

00:15:25So, it's smart just to let them win.

00:15:29Giant pandas aren't picky

00:15:31about their sleeping spots.

00:15:33They usually fall asleep wherever they are,

00:15:35in most cases, right on the forest floor.

00:15:39The giant panda's newborn cubs are tiny.

00:15:42They weigh like a small cup of coffee

00:15:44and are smaller than a mouse.

00:15:47The red handfish can walk along

00:15:49the ocean floor with the help of its hands.

00:15:52But, of course, they are not hands,

00:15:54but evolved fins.

00:15:56Really.

00:15:57Cats don't usually meow at each other.

00:16:00A study has shown the felines

00:16:02use this way of communication

00:16:04mostly to get attention from us humans.

00:16:07And it works.

00:16:09Sloths can't shiver.

00:16:11It's not that they're too busy

00:16:13digesting that two-week-old meal.

00:16:15Their fur is sometimes covered with algae.

00:16:18And when they get too hot or too cold,

00:16:21their metabolism shuts down.

00:16:23During the hard times,

00:16:25immortal jellyfish transform themselves

00:16:28back into their younger state.

00:16:30Once they reach the stage when they're

00:16:32nothing but a blob of tissue, like me,

00:16:34these creatures start to grow again.

00:16:36And this process can apparently

00:16:38repeat again and again.

00:16:41The closest living relatives of the T. rex

00:16:44are chickens and ostriches.

00:16:46Don't turn your back!

00:16:48The moray eel has another set of jaws

00:16:51that can extend from his throat.

00:16:53First, the main jaws close around

00:16:55an unlucky sea creature.

00:16:57Then, the additional set grabs

00:16:59the eel's future meal with

00:17:01backward-pointing, razor-sharp teeth.

00:17:03And after that, the captured animal

00:17:05gets dragged back into the eel's throat.

00:17:08I just lost my appetite.

00:17:10Some species of snails have hairy shells.

00:17:13Thanks to these hairs,

00:17:15snails can better stick to wet surfaces.

00:17:18When humpback whales hunt,

00:17:20they often gather in a group

00:17:22and apply a bubble-net tactic

00:17:24to catch their food.

00:17:26The bubbles don't let the schools

00:17:28of fish get away.

00:17:30Snow leopards can't roar

00:17:32like other large felines.

00:17:34It has to do with their

00:17:36less-developed vocal cords.

00:17:38But these animals can meow,

00:17:40growl, hiss,

00:17:42and even purr.

00:17:44Not to drift away from their group

00:17:46while napping,

00:17:48but to hold hands.

00:17:50They can also entangle themselves

00:17:52in giant seaweed for the same purpose.

00:17:54Hey, it kelps!

00:17:56Lions are often called

00:17:58the king of the prairie.

00:18:00I thought it was the king of the jungle.

00:18:02And still, up to 90% of all

00:18:04the hunting in the pride

00:18:06is done by the females.

00:18:08The males are in charge

00:18:10of protecting the territory

00:18:12and the pride members.

00:18:14And they make the delicious

00:18:16cater.

00:18:18Cats are famous for their uncanny ability

00:18:20to move their ears.

00:18:22All because kitties have 32 muscles

00:18:24in each outer ear.

00:18:26Some shark species can glow in the dark.

00:18:28Unfortunately, only other

00:18:30sharks can see this greenish

00:18:32glimmer.

00:18:34You have up to 8,000 taste buds,

00:18:36but your pooch has just a bit

00:18:38over 1,500.

00:18:40The blue jay can imitate other birds.

00:18:42Its favorite is a hawk's call.

00:18:44The blue jay uses it

00:18:46to scare away other birds

00:18:48from its territory.

00:18:50Slow lorries are insanely cute

00:18:52and just as treacherous.

00:18:54They're the only known venomous primates.

00:18:56They have a gland in the crook

00:18:58of their inner arm.

00:19:00It secretes toxins that can cause

00:19:02unpleasant consequences in people.

00:19:04The hartebeest has an amazing

00:19:06evasion tactic.

00:19:08To run away from other animals,

00:19:10they move in a zigzag pattern.

00:19:12Bottlenose dolphins have names

00:19:14for one another.

00:19:16Those are specific whistles.

00:19:18Hey Bob! Hey Charlie! Hey Dolly!

00:19:20Hey boys! And thanks for all the fish!

00:19:22Giraffes have long,

00:19:24and I mean it, black tongues.

00:19:26Scientists suppose this color

00:19:28might protect the tongue

00:19:30from getting sunburned.

00:19:32Well, that's all I got. See ya!

00:19:34So every evening,

00:19:36right before you're about to switch off

00:19:38the television and go to bed,

00:19:40a pooch enters the living room.

00:19:42It sprawls out on the floor

00:19:44and seems to be… watching TV?

00:19:46In 2012,

00:19:48in the UK, a company producing

00:19:50dog food created an

00:19:52unusual commercial. It was made to

00:19:54attract dogs' attention.

00:19:56The ad used special high-frequency sounds.

00:19:58They were inaudible to the human ear,

00:20:00but dogs could hear them

00:20:02very well. The idea was simple.

00:20:04A pooch gets so entranced

00:20:06by the commercial that owners

00:20:08can't help but notice it. And the next

00:20:10dog food they buy is the advertised

00:20:12product. In theory,

00:20:14the idea sounded promising.

00:20:16In reality, most dogs showed

00:20:18no reaction whatsoever,

00:20:20meaning ads can't probably manipulate

00:20:22pets as well as they influence

00:20:24people. But even though

00:20:26this experiment was a failure,

00:20:28dogs still do find watching TV

00:20:30interesting. You may have noticed

00:20:32your fluffy companion react to

00:20:34animals, moving objects, and other

00:20:36images appearing on the screen.

00:20:38It's almost as if they see the same

00:20:40things you do.

00:20:42If we talk about colors,

00:20:44TV and reality don't look different

00:20:46to dogs. They see the world

00:20:48in shades of yellow and blue, and

00:20:50can't pick out green and red hues.

00:20:52Plus, canine vision is

00:20:54somewhat blurred.

00:20:56Dogs process what's happening on the screen

00:20:58in a different way than you do.

00:21:00When you watch something, your brain needs

00:21:0216 to 20 video frames per

00:21:04second to detect movement.

00:21:06For your pooch, this number must be more

00:21:08than 70 frames per second.

00:21:10Let's say your pet is seated in

00:21:12front of an old TV. In this case,

00:21:14what the animal sees looks

00:21:16like a flipbook. If it's a

00:21:18modern television, your pup is likely

00:21:20to be much more interested

00:21:22because modern TV sets have a faster

00:21:24video frame rate.

00:21:26As for the content itself, dogs

00:21:28react to the same stuff that would attract

00:21:30their attention in real life.

00:21:32It can be squeaking toys, commands,

00:21:34and other dogs barking, growling,

00:21:36yipping, and whatnot.

00:21:38If the TV screen isn't showing

00:21:40anything related to dogs, though,

00:21:42your pet will probably remain

00:21:44completely uninterested.

00:21:46In a 2017 experiment,

00:21:48dogs were offered to

00:21:50watch different activities happening

00:21:52on three screens. The animals

00:21:54didn't show any preferences for one screen

00:21:56over the others. In fact,

00:21:58they didn't look even a tiny bit

00:22:00curious or eager to spend some time

00:22:02in front of any of the TVs.

00:22:04It might be because dogs

00:22:06have a super short TV attention

00:22:08span. Usually, they only look

00:22:10at the screen for a couple of seconds at a time.

00:22:12On the other hand, hunting

00:22:14dogs, which are innately interested

00:22:16in moving objects, can get more

00:22:18captivated, while those canines

00:22:20that mostly rely on smell

00:22:22will get bored in no time.

00:22:24Other pets, like cats

00:22:26or parrots, also seem to enjoy

00:22:28an occasional TV show or two.

00:22:30Many parrot owners are sure

00:22:32their birds love watching TV.

00:22:34They get excited when

00:22:36a particular commercial is on.

00:22:38They can even start flapping their wings,

00:22:40dancing, or whistling.

00:22:42But what do they see on the screen?

00:22:44A parrot's vision is different

00:22:46from yours in several ways. For one

00:22:48thing, its eyes are on the sides

00:22:50of the head, not facing forward.

00:22:52It helps the bird to see a larger area

00:22:54and protect itself from enemies.

00:22:56But even though parrots have a

00:22:58broader vision, they can't perceive

00:23:00depth well enough. It means

00:23:02that images on a widescreen TV

00:23:04look much flatter to them than they do to you.

00:23:06When you're watching TV,

00:23:08you see one constant image.

00:23:10But for parrots, the screen

00:23:12is constantly flickering at a fast

00:23:14speed. And the coolest thing?

00:23:16These birds can see ultraviolet light,

00:23:18but the human eye can't detect it.

00:23:20And

00:23:22how about cats? These animals

00:23:24are natural hunters. That's why

00:23:26they most often react to the images

00:23:28of rodents and birds.

00:23:30In one study, more than 100

00:23:32cats watched TV for

00:23:343 hours a day. The felines

00:23:36were split into 5 focus groups.

00:23:38Each group had its own program

00:23:40to view, which ranged from the

00:23:42footage of people and animals moving

00:23:44to a blank screen.

00:23:46The average time the cats spent watching TV

00:23:48was a bit more than 6%.

00:23:50The most popular were the shows

00:23:52about animals. If your cat

00:23:54likes staring at the screen from time

00:23:56to time, try not to let it alone

00:23:58in front of the TV. The chances

00:24:00are your pet's hunting instincts

00:24:02will take over. And when it

00:24:04pounces to catch a bird flying on the

00:24:06screen, your television will end

00:24:08up on the floor.

00:24:10All in all, it might not be bad

00:24:12that our pets have such limited

00:24:14screen time. But this whole TV

00:24:16watching situation makes me think,

00:24:18how do different creatures see the world

00:24:20around them? Fish's eyes

00:24:22are not that different from ours, but

00:24:24they're covered with a protective film.

00:24:26Otherwise, fish wouldn't be able to see

00:24:28clearly underwater. Like

00:24:30in the human eye, there are rods for

00:24:32black and white vision, and cones for

00:24:34color vision in the fish's eyes.

00:24:36Some fish species, like tank

00:24:38dwelling goldfish, can also

00:24:40see ultraviolet. Fish's

00:24:42eyes are also designed in such a way

00:24:44that everything located nearby

00:24:46looks bigger than it really is.

00:24:48Snakes have

00:24:50rather poor vision. That's why

00:24:52they have to stick out their tongues to get

00:24:54an idea of what's going on around them.

00:24:56On the bright side,

00:24:58snakes can spot thermal

00:25:00radiation amazingly well.

00:25:02All living creatures emit this kind of

00:25:04radiation. At night,

00:25:06this natural ability is 10

00:25:08times more effective than any

00:25:10modern night vision device.

00:25:12But during the day, snakes can

00:25:14only react to movement.

00:25:16Rats and mice don't have

00:25:18perfect vision either. It's quite blurry

00:25:20with bad depth perception.

00:25:22These rodents perceive colors a bit

00:25:24like people with red-green color blindness.

00:25:26Everything looks bluish,

00:25:28and the colors they do see are

00:25:30kind of faded. Also,

00:25:32rats and mice are likely to connect

00:25:34smells with what they see at the moment.

00:25:36They mostly perceive the world

00:25:38with the help of their whiskers through touch.

00:25:40Move

00:25:42over! Cows can see the world

00:25:44in much less vibrant colors than

00:25:46most people. Only a few hues

00:25:48look bright. The rest are

00:25:50faded. These animals also

00:25:52don't see things clearly enough.

00:25:54It's because they can't focus their

00:25:56eyes as fast as people do.

00:25:58Plus, cows need more time

00:26:00to process visual information.

00:26:02They have poor depth perception

00:26:04because of their limited vertical vision.

00:26:06It's 60 degrees

00:26:08versus 140 degrees in humans.

00:26:10You might have noticed

00:26:12cows stop before walking across shadows.

00:26:14That's because they can't

00:26:16tell whether it's a shadow or a ditch

00:26:18or a hole in the ground.

00:26:20Horses can see

00:26:22almost 360 degrees.

00:26:24But they have two blind spots.

00:26:26A small one directly in front

00:26:28of their noses and the other behind

00:26:30their tails. Horses don't see

00:26:32colors as bright as we do.

00:26:34Their color deficiency makes it hard

00:26:36for them to spot some objects.

00:26:38They also can't distinguish red colors.

00:26:40People

00:26:42can see more hues than bees.

00:26:44But bees have a broader range

00:26:46of color vision. You base your

00:26:48color combinations on blue, green,

00:26:50and red. And bees

00:26:52on blue, green, and ultraviolet.

00:26:54These insects don't have

00:26:56special photoreceptors to see the red

00:26:58color. But they can distinguish

00:27:00yellow, orange, and a unique

00:27:02color called bee's purple.

00:27:04That's a mixture of yellow and ultraviolet

00:27:06light. Bees see color

00:27:08five times faster than people.

00:27:10Their color vision is not only the

00:27:12speediest in the animal world.

00:27:14It also helps them find natural landing

00:27:16strips invisible to people.

00:27:18Flies' eyes

00:27:20don't move. But their spherical

00:27:22shape and the way they stick out of the

00:27:24bugs' heads gives flies an

00:27:26almost 360-degree vision.

00:27:28These insects can't

00:27:30focus and are short-sighted,

00:27:32just like some people I know.

00:27:34But the coolest thing about how they see the world?

00:27:36It resembles a mosaic.

00:27:38Thousands of teeny images

00:27:40that together create the whole picture.

00:27:42Flies are so jumpy

00:27:44for a reason. Even though these bugs

00:27:46don't see well, they're great at

00:27:48picking up movement. This ability

00:27:50helps them flee in the blink of an eye.

00:27:52Um, that's flee as in

00:27:54get away, not flee as in

00:27:56the bugs on your dog. Are we clear?

00:27:58Good.

00:28:00Moving on. Sharks

00:28:02see the world in monochrome. These

00:28:04creatures are a bit short-sighted.

00:28:06But sharks only need the sense

00:28:08of sight once they're closing in

00:28:10on their soon-to-be dinner.

00:28:12And in dim light, a shark can

00:28:14see almost 10 times better

00:28:16than you do.

00:28:18Garden snails' eyes don't focus

00:28:20or see colors. But these slow

00:28:22creatures can make out other living

00:28:24beings coming close.

00:28:26Snails also know how to navigate

00:28:28toward dark, safe places.

00:28:30All thanks to their ability to

00:28:32analyze the difference in light intensity.

00:28:34Adult

00:28:36giant clams don't move.

00:28:38They attach themselves to a rock or

00:28:40coral and watch the world through

00:28:42hundreds of tiny pinhole eyes.

00:28:44Those are situated along the

00:28:46edges of their soft bodies.

00:28:48Clams can distinguish 3 different

00:28:50colors. But unfortunately,

00:28:52they can't combine the information

00:28:54they receive. That's why they see

00:28:56bright and colorful but totally

00:28:58shapeless images. But that's

00:29:00no slam on the clam. And

00:29:02they're also delicious.

00:29:04There are sharks

00:29:06that glow in the dark. For example,

00:29:08swell sharks. They live

00:29:10in the dark ocean depths, almost

00:29:121,700 feet under the surface.

00:29:14No one knows

00:29:16why exactly, but they emit

00:29:18a fluorescent glow only other

00:29:20swell sharks can see. Scientists

00:29:22detected the glow because they used filters

00:29:24that blocked out yellow light.

00:29:26They think that could be the

00:29:28way for these big fish to communicate

00:29:30with their buddies. This glow

00:29:32helps sharks fight infections on a microbial

00:29:34level.

00:29:36Cowbirds have secret passwords

00:29:38they use to recognize each other.

00:29:40They're a specific type of parasite

00:29:42bird since they lay their eggs in

00:29:44other bird species' nests.

00:29:46The young cowbirds have an inner

00:29:48mechanism where they recognize their species

00:29:50singing, like some sort of secret password

00:29:52only they know. That's

00:29:54how they manage to find others of their

00:29:56kind. A grizzly bear

00:29:58has an incredibly strong bite.

00:30:00It may look cute, but if you're close

00:30:02to this big guy, you better

00:30:04stay out of reach of its sharp claws

00:30:06and especially its mouth.

00:30:08Its bite force is more than

00:30:108 million pascals, which means

00:30:12it can crush a bowling ball.

00:30:14Some animals

00:30:16have skin-deep stripes

00:30:18and others have more superficial ones.

00:30:20Tigers are in the first group.

00:30:22Not only is their fur striped,

00:30:24but their skin is as well.

00:30:26It's the same with some other furry big cats,

00:30:28like snow leopards.

00:30:30Giraffes and zebras are in the

00:30:32second group since they have patterns

00:30:34only on their coats.

00:30:36Speaking of zebras, do you

00:30:38think they're black with white stripes

00:30:40or white with black stripes?

00:30:42At first, it really looks like the second option

00:30:44is correct. Their black stripes

00:30:46mostly end towards the inside of

00:30:48their legs and on their bellies

00:30:50and the rest of it is white.

00:30:52But that's not true. Surprisingly,

00:30:54they're black with white stripes.

00:30:56All of their fur, both

00:30:58white and black, grows from follicles

00:31:00that have something called melanocyte

00:31:02cells. All animals

00:31:04have these cells. They produce

00:31:06a pigment called melanin

00:31:08and it gives color to their hair and skin.

00:31:10When it comes to zebras,

00:31:12chemical messengers tell

00:31:14which melanocytes send pigment

00:31:16to which area of fur. That's why

00:31:18zebras have a black and white pattern.

00:31:20But white is not actually

00:31:22its own pigment. It's an

00:31:24absence of melanin.

00:31:26So black is their default color.

00:31:28Koalas

00:31:30have fingerprints that are so close to

00:31:32ours that they could even taint crime

00:31:34scenes. It doesn't seem like they have a lot

00:31:36in common with humans, but take a closer

00:31:38look at their hands.

00:31:40They have distinctive loops and

00:31:42arches. So if any koalas

00:31:44want to do something illegal, it would

00:31:46be a good idea for them to wear gloves.

00:31:48Ghost crabs

00:31:50growl when they're around creatures they don't

00:31:52like or find threatening.

00:31:54They do it using teeth in their stomachs.

00:31:56First, they'll let you

00:31:58know they'll defend themselves if you try

00:32:00anything by showing you their claws.

00:32:02If that doesn't work,

00:32:04they'll go for fearsome growling noises

00:32:06like dogs. But the noise

00:32:08is coming from rubbing their three

00:32:10elongated hard teeth inside

00:32:12their stomach. Ghost crabs

00:32:14produce the same noise when they're grinding up

00:32:16food.

00:32:18Speaking of teeth, did you know

00:32:20narwhal tusks are actually some sort

00:32:22of an inside-out tooth?

00:32:24Unlike the majority of other whales,

00:32:26narwhals are the ones that come with a large

00:32:28tusk, or tooth,

00:32:30that grows from the inside of their jaw.

00:32:32It has up to 10 million

00:32:34nerve endings, and they're

00:32:36unprotected, which means its tusk is

00:32:38very sensitive to any type of contact.

00:32:40It's almost like a piece

00:32:42of skin, because tusks usually

00:32:44don't have many nerve endings.

00:32:46Up to 95% of

00:32:48humans are right-handed, and

00:32:50it's the same with bottlenose dolphins.

00:32:52There are even more right-handed

00:32:54ones among them than among

00:32:56humans. During one study,

00:32:58scientists found that bottlenose dolphins

00:33:00turn to their left side over

00:33:0299% of the time,

00:33:04which means they're right-handed.

00:33:06They place their right side and

00:33:08right eye closer to the ocean

00:33:10floor as they go for prey, such as

00:33:12squids, shrimps, or smaller fish.

00:33:14More cool facts

00:33:16from the ocean. Did you know

00:33:18humpback whales use bubbles when they go

00:33:20after their prey? You might think they

00:33:22don't need any special method, considering

00:33:24how large they are. But when they're

00:33:26lurking for prey in the open waters,

00:33:28these whales team up and

00:33:30use something called a bubble net

00:33:32technique. While swimming

00:33:34in an upward spiral, they blow

00:33:36bubbles underwater. These bubbles

00:33:38make it difficult for fish to

00:33:40escape. The oldest

00:33:42evidence we have of domesticated

00:33:44cats dates up to 12,000

00:33:46years ago. Researchers

00:33:48discovered this almost 20 years

00:33:50ago when they were digging through an ancient

00:33:52village in Cyprus.

00:33:54They found cat bones right next

00:33:56to human ones, which suggested

00:33:58they were close even when their lives

00:34:00came to an end. Humans were hunters,

00:34:02so they domesticated dogs first.

00:34:04Some were up to 29,000

00:34:06years ago. Dogs

00:34:08helped them catch other animals, but

00:34:10they didn't think they needed cats until they started

00:34:12to settle down and store surplus

00:34:14crops. Mice became

00:34:16frequent guests in grain stores,

00:34:18so cats came in handy in those

00:34:20times. Puffins are

00:34:22quite innovative when they want to scratch

00:34:24their bodies. They can surely be proud

00:34:26of their stunning beaks, but they

00:34:28obviously think it's not enough for scratching.

00:34:30Researchers noticed

00:34:32they tend to spontaneously take a

00:34:34small wooden stick to scratch an

00:34:36itchy spot.

00:34:38There's a special type of ant

00:34:40that only lives in a small part of

00:34:42Manhattan. The Broadway

00:34:44Medians at the 63rd and 76th

00:34:46Street is the area these

00:34:48crawling critters decided was the best

00:34:50spot for them. The Manhattan

00:34:52ant looks like it's from Europe,

00:34:54but no European species can

00:34:56actually match it.

00:34:58Hey Potterheads, can you believe there's a thing

00:35:00like Chocolate Frog? Well,

00:35:02not quite, but it looks like it.

00:35:04New Guinea and Australia

00:35:06weren't always separated. They spent

00:35:08millions of years together until about

00:35:1012,000 years ago. Rising

00:35:12sea levels divided them. Since

00:35:14they were together for so long, some animals

00:35:16and plants still inhabit both

00:35:18areas, including

00:35:20Green Tree Frogs. These

00:35:22frogs have spread really far and wide,

00:35:24and some of them, who live in

00:35:26hot, swampy regions surrounded by

00:35:28plenty of crocodiles, actually look

00:35:30like they're made of chocolate.

00:35:32We all know flamingos for their

00:35:34specific color, but they're not

00:35:36actually pink. They're born grey,

00:35:38and that's how they would stay if it

00:35:40weren't for their diet of blue-green

00:35:42algae and shrimp.

00:35:44These foods have a specific natural

00:35:46dye, which is why flamingo

00:35:48feathers turn pink over time.

00:35:50These little Tasmanian

00:35:52devils grow up and leave their moms.

00:35:54They socialize together, forming

00:35:56bonds that last for the rest of their lives.

00:35:58Not only them,

00:36:00cows also have stronger social ties

00:36:02than we think. They like to socialize,

00:36:04and they make long-lasting

00:36:06friendships. One research even

00:36:08discovered their heart rates significantly

00:36:10increase as a sign of stress

00:36:12when they're separated from their BFFs.

00:36:14Imagine you could

00:36:16simply freeze yourself solid during the

00:36:18cold winter days instead of listening

00:36:20to your teeth chatter and trying to tighten your

00:36:22jacket. That's what frogs can do.

00:36:24Aquatic frogs

00:36:26mostly hibernate underwater and spend

00:36:28most of the winter at the bottom of a

00:36:30pond, lake, or some other body

00:36:32of water.

00:36:34Toads and frogs are generally

00:36:36cold-blooded, which means the temperature of their

00:36:38body takes on the temperature of their

00:36:40surroundings. So

00:36:42frogs can freeze during the winter because

00:36:44of a high concentration of sugar or

00:36:46glucose in their vital organs.

00:36:48Once they unfreeze, they continue

00:36:50as if nothing happened.

00:36:52Octopuses have three hearts

00:36:54and blue blood.

00:36:56They can move at speeds of 25

00:36:58miles per hour, and they spray

00:37:00ink that not only blurs the predator's

00:37:02visual field but actually harms

00:37:04them. Also, they have nine

00:37:06brains, the central one and eight

00:37:08smaller brains located in their arms.

00:37:10That's why their arms can open

00:37:12a shellfish while the central brain

00:37:14is busy doing something else.

00:37:16An octopus even

00:37:18tastes with its arms. They have

00:37:20cells in their suckers that enable the arms

00:37:22to touch and taste in a way that they

00:37:24detect chemicals marine creatures

00:37:26produce. That way, an

00:37:28octopus can distinguish prey from

00:37:30rocks.

00:37:36The

00:37:38liger is probably the most popular

00:37:40hybrid animal and an incredibly

00:37:42large cat. You won't

00:37:44see them in the wild. People most

00:37:46deliberately breed them. Lions

00:37:48and tigers don't even inhabit

00:37:50the same areas. So,

00:37:52a liger is a mix of a male

00:37:54lion and a female tiger,

00:37:56and they can grow to be very big in a

00:37:58pretty short period of time.

00:38:00They're actually the biggest cats in the world.

00:38:02Hercules, the largest

00:38:04recorded liger, is a real example

00:38:06of that. 922

00:38:08pounds and 10.8

00:38:10feet long. Imagine taking

00:38:12him for a walk. Ligers are

00:38:14mostly way bigger than either of their

00:38:16parents. In most cases,

00:38:18they behave and look more like lions

00:38:20than tigers. But they have

00:38:22some tiger traits, too. For

00:38:24example, striped backs.

00:38:26And they're crazy about swimming.

00:38:28The

00:38:30taigen. Nobody could fault you for thinking

00:38:32the taigen and liger are basically

00:38:34the same animal. I mean, they're

00:38:36both a combination of tigers and lions.

00:38:38But a taigen comes from

00:38:40a crossbreeding of a male tiger

00:38:42and a female lion. They're

00:38:44usually smaller than their parents,

00:38:46and definitely much smaller than their

00:38:48giant, could you call them siblings?

00:38:50In most cases,

00:38:52they inherit charming looks from their

00:38:54tiger fathers. But they get some

00:38:56interesting traits from their mother's side, too.

00:38:58For example, love

00:39:00for socialization and the ability

00:39:02to roar. Hands down,

00:39:04one of the rarest hybrid animals in the world

00:39:06are wolfins.

00:39:08These fellas are a mashup of a female

00:39:10bottlenose dolphin and a male

00:39:12false killer whale.

00:39:14Its name might make you think differently,

00:39:16but a false killer whale belongs

00:39:18to the dolphin family. They're not

00:39:20even related to killer whales.

00:39:22Wolfins are such an interesting

00:39:2450-50 mix and balance of

00:39:26their parents. They have dark gray

00:39:28skin, the perfect blend of a

00:39:30black false killer whale and light

00:39:32gray dolphin skin.

00:39:34Dolphins have anywhere between 80 and

00:39:36100 teeth. False killer whales

00:39:38have 44. And their hybrid

00:39:40young is halfway, with

00:39:4266 teeth in total.

00:39:44What would it look like if algae and a

00:39:46slug paired? No need to imagine.

00:39:48You have a green sea slug

00:39:50to check the result. It lives

00:39:52in salt marshes in Canada and New England.

00:39:54And it's possibly the weirdest

00:39:56hybrid creature you'll see in this video

00:39:58and in general. Part plant,

00:40:00part animal.

00:40:02So, some slugs seem to

00:40:04have been very sneaky while

00:40:06stealing the genes from innocent algae

00:40:08that they have eaten to enable them to look

00:40:10like this. Since they're partially

00:40:12a plant, they can produce the

00:40:14plant pigment called chlorophyll.

00:40:16That means these unusual

00:40:18slugs can even photosynthesize.

00:40:20That's the process plants

00:40:22use to turn sunlight into energy.

00:40:24So, they produce their own

00:40:26molecules that contain energy

00:40:28without having to eat anything at all.

00:40:30When scientists first discovered

00:40:32it, a green sea slug was the

00:40:34first case of a multicellular animal

00:40:36that's able to produce chlorophyll.

00:40:38What do you get when you

00:40:40mix a male leopard and a female lion?

00:40:42You get an interesting hybrid

00:40:44called a leppin.

00:40:46These animals grow to be almost as big

00:40:48as lions, but they still have

00:40:50shorter legs, similar to their father leopard.

00:40:52They inherit some of his other

00:40:54traits too, like a love for

00:40:56climbing and swimming.

00:40:58You can have a union with a male lion

00:41:00and a female leopard too, and the result

00:41:02is called a leopard.

00:41:04Male lions are usually around 10 feet

00:41:06long and weigh about 500 pounds.

00:41:08The female leopard is way smaller,

00:41:10only 5 feet long,

00:41:12with a weight of about 80 pounds.

00:41:14The difference in size here is too

00:41:16big, so this pairing really

00:41:18doesn't happen that often.

00:41:20Okay, how about a buffalo and a cow?

00:41:22When you were little, maybe you

00:41:24thought that they could be a good match.

00:41:26But in reality, the combination

00:41:28creates an unusual hybrid animal

00:41:30called a beefalo.

00:41:32Not many types of hybrid animals

00:41:34can reproduce on their own, but a

00:41:36beefalo can do it.

00:41:38When a grizzly and a polar bear get together,

00:41:40it results in a growler bear,

00:41:42or bizzly bear,

00:41:44or grizzlar, whichever you

00:41:46like the most. You can see them

00:41:48even in the wild. These two

00:41:50types of bears have a mutual contempt

00:41:52for one another. Yep, they're not

00:41:54good at living together in a mutual habitat.

00:41:56But even though it's rare,

00:41:58the love can still happen

00:42:00and result in these cute, caramel

00:42:02colored hybrid growler bears.

00:42:04In most cases, they'll be

00:42:06a bit smaller than polar bears.

00:42:08On average, 60 inches tall

00:42:10at the shoulder, and approximate weight

00:42:121,000 pounds. But

00:42:14they're well equipped for surviving in warmer

00:42:16climates, thanks to the genes they got

00:42:18from their grizzly family side.

00:42:20Now let's get to one pretty tough

00:42:22fella, the jaglion.

00:42:24As its name implies,

00:42:26it's the hybrid of a jaguar and a

00:42:28lion. We don't know much about

00:42:30these intriguing big cats because

00:42:32only a few of them exist.

00:42:34But there was an unintentional mixing between

00:42:36a black jaguar and a lioness,

00:42:38which eventually resulted in

00:42:40two jaglion cubs.

00:42:42One had a dark gray coat with

00:42:44black spots, because of the dominant

00:42:46melanin gene black jaguars usually

00:42:48have. The other one had a

00:42:50lion color and the rosette

00:42:52pattern spots that remind you of a jaguar.

00:42:54Yep, you already know it.

00:42:56There are also liguars,

00:42:58a hybrid of a female jaguar and a

00:43:00male lion. That's some colorful

00:43:02family. Speaking of wild

00:43:04cats, have you ever heard of a

00:43:06savannah cat? Savannah cats

00:43:08are in both categories of house pets

00:43:10and exotic hybrids, since

00:43:12they're a mix of a domestic cat

00:43:14and a wild African serval hybrid

00:43:16animal. We're talking about

00:43:18striking animals, almost as big as

00:43:20a domestic cat. But what gives them

00:43:22their exotic look are their tall

00:43:24bodies, slender forms, and

00:43:26spotted coats. These cats are

00:43:28extremely loyal, intelligent, and

00:43:30loving creatures. Here's one

00:43:32unexpected mixture, a

00:43:34zebraoid. Technically, it's

00:43:36a name people use to describe a hybrid

00:43:38of a zebra and any

00:43:40equine species. But

00:43:42when you pair a zebra and a horse,

00:43:44their young is called a

00:43:46zorse. Zebra hybrids

00:43:48mostly look like whichever animals they've been

00:43:50crossbred with, but with the striped

00:43:52coat of a pure zebra.

00:43:54Most of these hybrid creatures don't even have

00:43:56fully striped coats. You can

00:43:58mostly see the stripes on non-white

00:44:00areas of their bodies and legs.

00:44:02Speaking of zebra hybrids,

00:44:04check out this adorable creature.

00:44:06It's called a zonkey, or

00:44:08zedonk, zebras,

00:44:10zanky, eh, take your pick.

00:44:12They're mostly either tan,

00:44:14gray, or brown in color.

00:44:16You'll distinguish them by unique stripes

00:44:18that are darkest on their legs and belly.

00:44:20Unlike some hybrids,

00:44:22such as the liger, zonkeys

00:44:24can normally live in the wild.

00:44:26In fact, that's where you can find them,

00:44:28living life to the fullest across

00:44:30savannas and open woodland, mostly

00:44:32in Africa. Can you guess

00:44:34what a geep is? Yep,

00:44:36a combination of goat and

00:44:38sheep, and definitely one of the most

00:44:40adorable and cuddliest hybrid

00:44:42creatures in this video. Geeps

00:44:44are very rare. Some experts

00:44:46even believe it's possible that they're not

00:44:48true hybrids, but just sheep

00:44:50with certain genetic abnormalities.

00:44:52After all, sheep and goats

00:44:54do carry different numbers of chromosomes,

00:44:56which means cross-species mixes

00:44:58are almost impossible.

00:45:00When a camel and a llama get together,

00:45:02you get a cute little thing called

00:45:04a cama. Similar

00:45:06to beefalo, the cama

00:45:08also produces the best economic traits

00:45:10of both its parents. The first

00:45:12one was born in 1998.

00:45:14Camas don't have camel

00:45:16humps. Their body is covered in

00:45:18soft, fleecy fur, similar

00:45:20to their llama side of the family.

00:45:22They can drink big amounts of water at

00:45:24a time, so they can survive with

00:45:26almost no water at all for pretty long

00:45:28periods. The coy

00:45:30wolf is a hybrid where nothing

00:45:32looks that unusual to most people,

00:45:34since the coyote and the wolf are

00:45:36not that drastically different in their looks.

00:45:38After all, these two species

00:45:40only diverged around 200,000

00:45:42years ago. Now, they're

00:45:44still able to mate and bring

00:45:46coy wolf cubs to the world.

00:45:48People living in eastern Canada

00:45:50and the U.S. might be familiar with

00:45:52these smart, adaptable animals that

00:45:54inhabit their forests, neighborhood parks,

00:45:56or sometimes even cities.

00:45:58These hybrids have emerged over the past

00:46:00century or so. And they've

00:46:02picked up the characteristics of both their

00:46:04parents. When a coy wolf is fully

00:46:06grown, it's somewhere in between

00:46:08the size of both parents.

00:46:10But it's also 55 pounds

00:46:12heavier than pure coyotes, and

00:46:14has a bigger jaw, longer legs,

00:46:16smaller ears, and a bushier tail.

00:46:18Check out the

00:46:20narluga, an extremely rare creature

00:46:22whose parents are a narwhal

00:46:24and a beluga whale.

00:46:26It's a pretty strange animal, but far

00:46:28from being lonely. They mostly live

00:46:30in the North Atlantic. Scientists

00:46:32had suspected their existence for decades.

00:46:34In 1990, they found

00:46:36an unusual-looking whale skull

00:46:38located in an Inuit hunter's tool

00:46:40shed in Greenland. People from that

00:46:42area said that there were other similar

00:46:44looking animals, and they fit the description

00:46:46of neither a beluga whale nor

00:46:48a narwhal. People said they had

00:46:50gray skin, narwhal-like tails,

00:46:52and beluga-like flippers.

00:46:54Narwhals and beluga whales

00:46:56are similar in size, and they share

00:46:58a family, the Monodontidae

00:47:00family. So, it may not even be

00:47:02that surprising that they're able to successfully

00:47:04breed in the wild.

00:47:06So, it's a hot

00:47:08summer day, you're outdoors,

00:47:10enjoying the weather. You'll want to

00:47:12lie on the cool grass somewhere in the shade

00:47:14just to relax, but

00:47:16eww, looks like someone

00:47:18spat there. But it's actually

00:47:20a spittlebug's house.

00:47:22These guys sip a lot of watery sap

00:47:24from the plants, and when they process

00:47:26it, it forms a lot of bubbles,

00:47:28not less than 150 times

00:47:30their body mass daily.

00:47:32The spittlebugs are actually

00:47:34spittlebugs.

00:47:36All these bubbles form a cocoon

00:47:38where young insects can grow safely.

00:47:40No bird or animal wants to

00:47:42eat this cocoon because it tastes bitter

00:47:44as if you licked a Nintendo

00:47:46cartridge. Not so fast,

00:47:48cheetah! Apparently, Dracula

00:47:50ant is the world's fastest animal

00:47:52and the vampire's in the ant world.

00:47:54They'd definitely win any burger

00:47:56eating contest since they're able to

00:47:58snap their jaws 5,000 times

00:48:00faster than your eye can blink.

00:48:02To understand how fast the

00:48:04Dracula ant is, you gotta make a

00:48:06video of his jaws chomping

00:48:08at 480,000

00:48:10frames per second. At this speed,

00:48:12you'll see the ant slowly

00:48:14moving its mandibles.

00:48:16They don't run, but their mouths are

00:48:18rapid, and they move those jaws

00:48:20so fast, they even bend

00:48:22while snapping together. Now, people

00:48:24can do that too, snapping our fingers

00:48:26so that they bend.

00:48:28The darkest animal out there

00:48:30is the IM-70 chicken.

00:48:32Not only these guys have black feathers,

00:48:34eyes, and claws,

00:48:36they also have black bones.

00:48:38The color is bluish black,

00:48:40and it is deep. If you ever

00:48:42try those chicken wings, they'll look

00:48:44as if someone had marinated them in

00:48:46blackberry juice or squid ink.

00:48:48They say Marco Polo was the

00:48:50first to have discovered these odd

00:48:52or charming roosters. Back in

00:48:541298, the explorer wrote about

00:48:56a breed of chickens that were

00:48:58as black as cats and laid

00:49:00the best eggs.

00:49:02This freshwater fish has been around

00:49:04since the beginning of the 20th century

00:49:06and probably remembers good old times

00:49:08with black and white and even

00:49:10silent movies. One

00:49:12big-mouthed buffalo made it to

00:49:14112 years old.

00:49:16Still, the world's oldest creatures live

00:49:18in the sea. There are deep-sea

00:49:20sponges that are 11,000

00:49:22years old, and they're safe and

00:49:24sound. This fish has

00:49:26incredible gills, which lets it

00:49:28hold its breath for over 4 minutes.

00:49:30Meet the coffin fish,

00:49:32a weird-looking but tough

00:49:34animal. They're also famous as

00:49:36sea toads. They actually look

00:49:38much more like toads, not classic

00:49:40fish with fins and scales.

00:49:42They can also inflate because of the

00:49:44seawater they gulp, so they

00:49:46expand just like a balloon.

00:49:48In fact, this super ability lets

00:49:50this fish hold its breath for several

00:49:52minutes because they actually get the

00:49:54oxygen from the water they keep inside.

00:49:56But the absolute champion

00:49:58is the human.

00:50:00The world's champion can survive

00:50:02holding the breath for over 20 minutes.

00:50:04There are

00:50:06some animals that make their own clothes.

00:50:08Sponge crabs make a sort

00:50:10of hat from sponges to protect

00:50:12them from underwater bad guys.

00:50:14To figure out how the crabs

00:50:16decided on their outfit, researchers

00:50:18gave them some foam sponges

00:50:20that were different in sizes.

00:50:22The bigger the crab is, the bigger the sponge

00:50:24it chooses. They use various

00:50:26techniques to get this perfect shape,

00:50:28starting from cutting out a small

00:50:30hole for the head, and then

00:50:32they see if the size fits them.

00:50:34If they're good to go, they continue

00:50:36to cut and dig into that sponge

00:50:38until it becomes a perfect hat.

00:50:40Recently, researchers

00:50:42have spotted a moth that would drink

00:50:44birds' tears while they sleep.

00:50:46So far, there were only 3

00:50:48registered cases of animals feeding

00:50:50on other animals' tears.

00:50:52These were some Amazon butterflies,

00:50:54solitary bees, and moths.

00:50:56Their regular diet mostly

00:50:58includes nectar, but it does lack

00:51:00essential salts that aren't that

00:51:02easy to find elsewhere.

00:51:04Not only do they drink birds' tears,

00:51:06they also drink turtles' tears,

00:51:08crocodiles' tears, and those of many

00:51:10mammals found in the Amazon jungle.

00:51:12Really? Crocodile tears?

00:51:14Some sea dwellers

00:51:16can emit red light.

00:51:18For example, the stoplight loosejaw fish

00:51:20uses it to catch dinner.

00:51:22Shrimps don't see the red light,

00:51:24so the loosejaw fish can spot

00:51:26any red shrimp emitting pulses

00:51:28of red light and catches it without

00:51:30scaring the dinner away.

00:51:32Mammals can glow too.

00:51:34A flying squirrel glows under UV light,

00:51:36emitting pink light.

00:51:38It happens because they're able to absorb

00:51:40light and emit it back in

00:51:42another wavelength.

00:51:44The platypus may not have

00:51:46the largest cheek pouches, but they're

00:51:48definitely the weirdest.

00:51:50They keep gravel inside those pouches

00:51:52to help mash the food they normally eat.

00:51:54Worms, shellfish, snails.

00:51:56These guys are toothless,

00:51:58so gravel comes in handy

00:52:00when it comes to chewing the food.

00:52:02It works just like a blender.

00:52:04Makes you wonder what they use for the mouthwash, huh?

00:52:08If humans had the same incredible

00:52:10cheeks just like chipmunks have,

00:52:12we'd be able to transport our groceries

00:52:14right in our mouths.

00:52:16In fact, chipmunks can transport

00:52:18something as large as themselves

00:52:20in their oversized mouth luggage sections.

00:52:22Hamsters have the same superpower too,

00:52:24and can even carry their young

00:52:26in the mouth in case of the need

00:52:28to run away.

00:52:30A baby carrot, which seems tiny for a human

00:52:32but significantly large for a hamster,

00:52:34can disappear without a trace

00:52:36in between those huge cheeks.

00:52:40The Mariana snailfish,

00:52:42which logically lives in the Mariana Trench,

00:52:44is relatively small.

00:52:46It's as large as two medium candy bars.

00:52:48Despite the size,

00:52:50they can easily withstand the pressure

00:52:52that equals 1,600 elephants

00:52:54standing on it.

00:52:56This fish has a unique body structure.

00:52:58For example, it has some gaps

00:53:00in the skull.

00:53:02If their skull was uniform and had no holes,

00:53:04it would never withstand the pressure

00:53:06in the depths of the Mariana Trench.

00:53:08Plus, their cartilage skeleton

00:53:10is soft and flexible.

00:53:12They also have no actual eyes.

00:53:14But they really don't need them

00:53:16since they live in complete darkness

00:53:18in the world's deepest trench.

00:53:20Hey, meet the Pinocchio frog.

00:53:22Not hard to guess.

00:53:24Their nose can grow in size

00:53:26in the blink of an eye in various situations.

00:53:28Whenever they feel danger coming,

00:53:30it gets larger.

00:53:32When these frogs are calm and feel safe,

00:53:34it goes back to normal.

00:53:36It may also elongate when they want

00:53:38to attract mates.

00:53:40And probably when they croak a lot.

00:53:42Haha, just kidding.

00:53:44Do you enjoy it when it rains?

00:53:46You probably grab a cup of hot chocolate,

00:53:48cover yourself up with a blanket,

00:53:50and sit on the windowsill,

00:53:52looking at the drops dripping down the window.

00:53:54If you like it,

00:53:56you're definitely not a Myanmar snub-nosed monkey

00:53:58that's been recently discovered

00:54:00– guess where? – in Myanmar.

00:54:02Their nostrils are so upturned

00:54:04and exposed to the outer world

00:54:06that they sneeze every time it rains.

00:54:08But if you were in a choir,

00:54:10you have something in common.

00:54:12Snub-nosed monkeys like singing together.

00:54:16Amazon pink river dolphins

00:54:18aren't born pink.

00:54:20They're young and always gray.

00:54:22But the older they get, the pinker they turn.

00:54:24It's like people

00:54:26having wrinkles when they age.

00:54:28And these guys simply get a different color.

00:54:30Hey, I'd like to get a little pink

00:54:32instead of those smile lines.

00:54:36You'd certainly love to be a termite

00:54:38because of their crazy sleep schedule.

00:54:40They actually never sleep,

00:54:42and the only thing they do is nibble

00:54:44on the wooden pegs they see around them.

00:54:46Well, if you're afraid of gaining weight

00:54:48because of a cellulose-rich diet,

00:54:50you could probably turn into a snail.

00:54:52They get a power nap for some hours

00:54:54and then can run without sleep

00:54:56for as long as 30 hours in a row.

00:55:00No fish can survive

00:55:02for any significant period of time

00:55:04without water, except this one.

00:55:06The African lungfish.

00:55:08When they feel something's wrong,

00:55:10they start secreting a mucus cocoon

00:55:12and go underground,

00:55:14give or take 9 inches under the soil.

00:55:16They have a built-in tube to breathe.

00:55:20Mountain stoneweeders, native to New Zealand,

00:55:22aren't afraid of drastic temperature changes.

00:55:26Their blood contains a special protein

00:55:28that doesn't let their blood crystallize

00:55:30in case of extreme temperatures.

00:55:32They tolerate any cold better than polar bears

00:55:34and even penguins,

00:55:36who live in the officially world's coldest place,

00:55:38Antarctica.

00:55:40Ring-tailed lemurs have one of the craziest ways

00:55:42of conflict resolution.

00:55:44They have stink fights.

00:55:46Taking into account the average number

00:55:48of lemurs in a group,

00:55:50about 20 or 30 animals,

00:55:52you'll see there's a lot of competition.

00:55:54Their scent glands are on their wrists

00:55:56and shoulders.

00:55:58Those on the wrists are harmless.

00:56:00The odor they produce is quite volatile.

00:56:02Those on the shoulders are nasty

00:56:04and produce brown, funky-smelling paste

00:56:06that would outlast any perfume.

00:56:08So, back off!

00:56:14The seahorse is an unusual fish.

00:56:16Normally, female animals carry a child,

00:56:18but seahorses do it the other way around.

00:56:22For 9 to 45 days,

00:56:24the future father carries the eggs

00:56:26inside a special pouch

00:56:28where the birth process begins.

00:56:30Then the male opens his brood pouch

00:56:32and squeezes out the children.

00:56:36The female anaconda

00:56:38finds the deepest puddle

00:56:40and spends her pregnancy in it.

00:56:42She will starve for about 7 months

00:56:44while pregnant.

00:56:46Then she will give birth to 40 children

00:56:48that make up 30% of her body weight.

00:56:50Her babies are completely independent

00:56:52and will explore the world around them.

00:56:54The Suriname toad

00:56:56looks like a normal toad

00:56:58but is totally flat.

00:57:00Unlike most animals,

00:57:02this one carries its future children

00:57:04not inside but on its back.

00:57:06Female toads have special holes

00:57:08on their backs for each egg

00:57:10where the babies develop.

00:57:12After 3 to 4 months,

00:57:14the little Suriname toads

00:57:16wake up and crawl out of the pockets

00:57:18on mom's back.

00:57:21Kangaroos are born

00:57:23just one month after conception

00:57:25but they're not yet ready for life

00:57:27in the outside world.

00:57:29Newborn kangaroos are smaller than an inch.

00:57:31These tiny creatures

00:57:33crawl into their mom's pouch

00:57:35using their front legs.

00:57:37After 195 days,

00:57:39the kangaroo grows big and strong

00:57:41enough to leave the pouch.

00:57:45Sea urchins lay more than 2 million eggs

00:57:47but not all survive.

00:57:50Male and female urchins

00:57:52throw something like a cloud into the water

00:57:54which contains the future offspring.

00:57:56In the next few hours,

00:57:58if the egg cloud is not eaten

00:58:00by other sea creatures,

00:58:02the eggs will turn into a ball

00:58:04with microscopic hairs

00:58:06and then form a skeleton.

00:58:08At this point,

00:58:10they're ready for their own reproduction.

00:58:12Most animals either lay eggs

00:58:14or have a live birth.

00:58:16But the Jackson's chameleon does both

00:58:18and gives birth up to 30 young at a time.

00:58:20The female bears the eggs

00:58:22minus a shell

00:58:24right inside her body

00:58:26instead of laying them

00:58:28as many other chameleon species do.

00:58:30In the yellowhead jawfish family,

00:58:32a dad fish takes care

00:58:34of the future offspring.

00:58:36The male broods the eggs

00:58:38inside his mouth.

00:58:40After the birth,

00:58:42the male carries his babies

00:58:44in this safe place.

00:58:46The father keeps his children safe

00:58:48because he can swim away from danger

00:58:50with the babies in his mouth.

00:58:54Sloths spend most of their time

00:58:56on the treetops.

00:58:58Their birth process is extravagant.

00:59:00The female lets her hind legs

00:59:02dangle and clings to a branch

00:59:04only by her front ones

00:59:06and gives birth in this position.

00:59:08The baby sloth grabs the mother's fur

00:59:10right after birth

00:59:12and climbs to her chest.

00:59:14The velvet spider

00:59:16builds a special room for giving birth

00:59:18and childcare.

00:59:20Just like weaving a spider web,

00:59:22she constructs a cocoon around her

00:59:24where she lays up to 80 eggs.

00:59:26Then she makes a hole in the cocoon

00:59:28so that the offspring can escape.

00:59:30But this hole is too small for her

00:59:32so she will never come out.

00:59:34For two weeks,

00:59:36she will feed the hatched spiders

00:59:38until they become independent.

00:59:41Whales,

00:59:43the biggest mammals in the animal kingdom,

00:59:45give birth underwater,

00:59:47so their babies have to rise all the way up

00:59:49to the surface to take their first breath.

00:59:51Mom whale will feed the baby

00:59:53with 54% fat milk

00:59:55for the next four months

00:59:57until it grows enough to eat on its own.

01:00:01Octopuses give birth

01:00:03only once in a lifetime.

01:00:05One of the arms of the male octopus

01:00:07is adapted to fertilize females.

01:00:09Some octopuses separate the arm

01:00:11from their body and give it to the female.

01:00:13After laying eggs,

01:00:15female octopuses circulate water currents

01:00:17over the eggs to clean them

01:00:19and protect them from predators.

01:00:23Now imagine giving birth

01:00:25to a baby the size of a 4-year-old.

01:00:27Poor mom!

01:00:29But that's what kiwi birds do.

01:00:31Their eggs can weigh up to a quarter

01:00:33of their body mass.

01:00:35To produce such a big egg,

01:00:37they have to eat three times more than usual.

01:00:41Shingleback lizards

01:00:43also have a difficult pregnancy.

01:00:45These animals normally have up to two babies,

01:00:47which doesn't seem so bad.

01:00:49But the babies can make up

01:00:51a third of the mother's weight.

01:00:53That's like a human giving birth

01:00:55to a 7-year-old child.

01:00:57Giraffes are some

01:00:59of the tallest terrestrial animals,

01:01:01which has an effect on the birth process.

01:01:03In a giraffe birth,

01:01:05the baby first pokes out the front hooves,

01:01:07then the nose,

01:01:09and the entire head.

01:01:11Within an hour, the baby is born.

01:01:13Before taking the first breath,

01:01:15the baby giraffe falls from the height

01:01:17of 6.5 feet to the ground.

01:01:21Hammerhead sharks can give birth

01:01:23without mating with another shark.

01:01:25Basically, they're just making copies

01:01:27of themselves.

01:01:29This was first discovered in 1999

01:01:31in a Nebraska zoo.

01:01:33There are just a few other animal species,

01:01:35like some geckos and lizards,

01:01:37that can reproduce this way.

01:01:41Porcupines are known for their sharp quills.

01:01:43In the womb, these quills are soft,

01:01:45but right after birth,

01:01:47when coming in contact with air

01:01:49for the first time,

01:01:51they become hard and sharp.

01:01:55Naked mole rats are incredibly reproductive.

01:01:57They live in colonies and have a queen,

01:01:59who is the only female to give birth.

01:02:01First-time moms can have

01:02:03up to 15 babies,

01:02:05but every litter after,

01:02:07the number of babies grows.

01:02:09At her peak, a mole rat queen

01:02:11can have up to 33 babies,

01:02:13which is the largest litter size

01:02:15of any mammal on Earth.

01:02:19Hippopotamus pregnancies last about 8 months,

01:02:21despite the animal's big size.

01:02:23When ready to give birth,

01:02:25hippo moms leave the herd

01:02:27for two weeks to establish

01:02:29a strong connection with their babies.

01:02:31Hippo calves are born underwater,

01:02:33so they learn to swim

01:02:35from the very beginning.

01:02:37Zebras have a really hard time

01:02:39after birth,

01:02:41both for mom and the baby.

01:02:43Zebras are an animal who can see

01:02:45a new-born baby as a potential threat

01:02:47in the future.

01:02:49So, when a baby zebra comes out,

01:02:51a male zebra can attack it immediately.

01:02:53The mother protects her offspring,

01:02:55often not having any time to rest.

01:02:59Elephants have the longest

01:03:01gestation period of all mammals,

01:03:03lasting more than 18 months.

01:03:05Though they live up to 70 years,

01:03:07most elephants won't have

01:03:09more than 4 babies.

01:03:11When the elephant mom is ready to give birth,

01:03:13other elephants from the herd

01:03:15form a protective circle around her

01:03:17until she delivers the baby.

01:03:19At birth, they can weigh up to

01:03:21260 pounds.

01:03:23To protect them from predators,

01:03:25barnacle geese lay eggs

01:03:27on a cliff at 400 feet,

01:03:29which is the height of a 36-story building.

01:03:31When the eggs hatch,

01:03:33the little chicks face a problem.

01:03:35There's no food nearby because

01:03:37they're on a rock.

01:03:39So, at just a few days old,

01:03:41they jump off the cliff

01:03:43and try to make a soft landing.

01:03:45Although marine iguanas

01:03:47don't have to leap off a cliff,

01:03:49they're also in a hurry

01:03:51soon after they're born.

01:03:53Female marine iguanas lay eggs

01:03:55in an underground cave that they dig.

01:03:57This is a safe place to hide from predators.

01:03:59But sooner or later,

01:04:01the baby iguanas come out of these caves

01:04:03to eat. And this is the moment

01:04:05when snakes start to hunt them.

01:04:07The fastest and strongest iguanas

01:04:09survive to enjoy the food.

01:04:13A sandwich before bedtime

01:04:15will lower the quality of your sleep.

01:04:17Any late-night meal increases metabolism

01:04:19and body temperature.

01:04:21It activates the activity of the brain.

01:04:23An active brain at night

01:04:25leads to a lot of nightmares.

01:04:27Technically, it's possible

01:04:29to say that there's still a lot of dinos

01:04:31on our planet. Birds are actually

01:04:33the only surviving dinosaurs.

01:04:35They evolved from theropods,

01:04:37the dinosaurs that ran on

01:04:39two legs. Yep, T. rex

01:04:41is a distant relative of chickens,

01:04:43ostriches, and even hummingbirds.

01:04:45A phone

01:04:47is ten times dirtier than a toilet

01:04:49handle. Also, beware

01:04:51of office tables since they have

01:04:53hundreds of times more bacteria per square inch

01:04:55than office toilet seats.

01:04:57Yikes!

01:04:59Ants can actually take over

01:05:01the world. Argentinian ants

01:05:03have built colonies in every part of the planet

01:05:05except Antarctica.

01:05:07Insects from different colonies

01:05:09are on good terms and never have

01:05:11conflicts. In reality,

01:05:13flamingos are white.

01:05:15The bird turns pink due to beta-carotene.

01:05:17This pigment is

01:05:19found in the algae and the shrimp that

01:05:21it feeds on. You can change your

01:05:23skin color too. If you eat a lot

01:05:25of carrots, your skin will turn slightly

01:05:27orange. This will happen because

01:05:29of the high beta-carotene content

01:05:31in the vegetable. Hypothetically,

01:05:33you can see the past.

01:05:35When you look into the starry sky,

01:05:37you're looking into the past.

01:05:39When the sun disappears, we know

01:05:41about it only after eight minutes.

01:05:43This is how long it takes the light

01:05:45to reach the Earth. Scientists

01:05:47from Japan played audio recordings

01:05:49for cats to prove they're truly dismissive.

01:05:51In those recordings,

01:05:53the owners of the cats called them by their names.

01:05:55Cats' pupils dilated.

01:05:57The animals moved their tails,

01:05:59legs, or ears.

01:06:01Cats heard people but rarely

01:06:03responded. It's all about evolution.

01:06:05Cats came to people

01:06:07because they were attracted by mice that

01:06:09ate grains. They lived close to people

01:06:11but were never tamed.

01:06:13Trees have their

01:06:15own underground sort of internet.

01:06:17The roots of 90%

01:06:19of trees are interconnected by mycelium

01:06:21filaments. Trees

01:06:23exchange information and nutrients

01:06:25through them. They warn each other

01:06:27about danger and fight parasites

01:06:29together. Trillions of

01:06:31microorganisms live inside

01:06:33you. They make up 3%

01:06:35of your body weight and weigh up to

01:06:376 pounds. Microorganisms

01:06:39play a very important role.

01:06:41They help with digestion,

01:06:43absorb nutrients, and do many other

01:06:45things we never notice.

01:06:47In comparison with microorganisms,

01:06:49there are really few people

01:06:51on our planet. A teaspoon of

01:06:53soil contains more living organisms

01:06:55than there are humans on the planet

01:06:57Earth. Human memory

01:06:59has a limit. Scientists

01:07:01estimate that your brain can memorize

01:07:032.5 million gigabytes

01:07:05of data. To use up

01:07:07all the memory limits, you need to

01:07:09upload a 300-year-long

01:07:11high-quality video right into your memory.

01:07:13People have

01:07:15mined 200,000 tons of gold

01:07:17throughout history, of which about

01:07:19two-thirds have been mined since the

01:07:211950s. If we

01:07:23made a cube out of all this metal,

01:07:25it would be 70 feet high and

01:07:27wide. Recent data

01:07:29from scientists confirmed the myth

01:07:31that in the Earth's core, there are

01:07:33huge reserves of gold.

01:07:35The metal is enough to cover all

01:07:37the planet, and people might have gold

01:07:39up to their knees. The problem

01:07:41is, we just can't mine it from there.

01:07:43Scientists

01:07:45used to believe that there were

01:07:47400 billion trees growing on Earth,

01:07:49but there are over 300

01:07:51trillion of them, or

01:07:53420 trees per person.

01:07:55There are more trees

01:07:57on Earth than there are stars in the

01:07:59Milky Way galaxy.

01:08:01The desert and cold Wrangell

01:08:03Island was the last place where mammoths

01:08:05lived. These giant

01:08:07animals disappeared about 4,000

01:08:09years ago. By this time,

01:08:11the Great Pyramid at Giza had been

01:08:13around for only 500 years.

01:08:15Archaeologists

01:08:17have found pots of honey that are

01:08:193,000 years old in Egypt.

01:08:21It didn't go off and turned out

01:08:23to be edible. It's possibly

01:08:25because of the chemical composition

01:08:27of honey. Bacteria

01:08:29and insects that can spoil honey

01:08:31can't live in it.

01:08:33You're actually drinking the water

01:08:35that dinosaurs drank.

01:08:37The water on our planet is the same

01:08:39as it was billions of years ago.

01:08:41Only a small portion of the liquid

01:08:43has evaporated. By the way,

01:08:45scientists still don't know

01:08:47exactly where the water came from.

01:08:49We have a detailed map

01:08:51of the Moon and Mars.

01:08:53Still, over 80% of the

01:08:55Earth's ocean is unmapped and

01:08:57unexplored. We can't study

01:08:59the oceans properly because of pressure,

01:09:01cold, and lack of light

01:09:03underneath billions of tons of water.

01:09:05The myth that you

01:09:07can't put hot food in the fridge is

01:09:09not true. There's only one

01:09:11rule to follow. Food

01:09:13should be divided into small portions

01:09:15and placed into separate containers,

01:09:17preferably shallow, for quicker

01:09:19cooling in the refrigerator. This way,

01:09:21you'll preserve both your food and

01:09:23your fridge. On Earth,

01:09:25there are biologically immortal

01:09:27creatures. It's a transparent jellyfish

01:09:29called Turritopsis dornii.

01:09:31When it reaches maturity,

01:09:33it sinks to the bottom and turns into a

01:09:35polyp. From a polyp,

01:09:37the creature again turns into a jellyfish.

01:09:39The number of rebirths is unlimited.

01:09:41You can

01:09:43actually break a glass with your voice,

01:09:45but it's quite hard.

01:09:47The volume of your scream must be at

01:09:49least 105 decibels,

01:09:51and it must last about 2 to

01:09:533 seconds.

01:09:55The jackhammer

01:09:57works at a volume of 90 decibels.

01:10:01Sailors from

01:10:03all over the world talked about the giant

01:10:05squid they met on their voyages.

01:10:07For many years, scientists considered

01:10:09monsters with long tentacles

01:10:11to be a myth. But

01:10:13in 2004, the first

01:10:15photo of a squid was taken.

01:10:17They actually exist.

01:10:19Scientists have registered an animal that has

01:10:21grown to 43 feet.

01:10:23Your nose and

01:10:25ears get bigger every year.

01:10:27This isn't due to an increase in size,

01:10:29but due to gravity.

01:10:31With age, the cartilage of the nose

01:10:33and ears weaken. Because of this,

01:10:35they sag and appear larger.

01:10:37The Kepler Space Telescope

01:10:39expedition confirmed that

01:10:41Earth isn't unique.

01:10:43Most likely, our world isn't the only

01:10:45place in the universe where there's life.

01:10:47The device size of a minibus

01:10:49flew through space for 9 years.

01:10:51During this time, it

01:10:53confirmed the existence of 300

01:10:55million planets that are potentially

01:10:57habitable. They have a solid

01:10:59surface, liquid water, and

01:11:01nearby stars that look like our sun.

01:11:03All plants,

01:11:05fungi, animals,

01:11:07and humans evolved from a single

01:11:09microbe. Scientists

01:11:11call it LUCA, Last

01:11:13Universal Common Ancestor.

01:11:15The microbe was discovered by comparing

01:11:17the genes of living beings and

01:11:19their descendants. LUCA

01:11:21lived 4.5 billion years ago.

01:11:23It lived in the craters of

01:11:25deep sea volcanoes among hot lava

01:11:27and water.

01:11:29Recent research by scientists

01:11:31has shown that Neanderthals could

01:11:33hibernate like bears.

01:11:37This is confirmed by the bones of

01:11:39ancient people from the Spanish cave

01:11:41Cima de los Huesos.

01:11:43Scientists have found signs of

01:11:45slow metabolism on the bones.

01:11:47It proves that Neanderthals slept

01:11:49for months and did not leave

01:11:51the cave.

01:11:53The myth

01:11:55that closed eyes improve memory

01:11:57is true. When your eyes are closed,

01:11:59you don't need to memorize information

01:12:01and the environment visually does not

01:12:03distract you. This frees up your brain's

01:12:05energy and makes the memory more

01:12:07efficient.

01:12:09The acidity levels of the human gastric

01:12:11juice and the acid from the car battery

01:12:13are almost identical.

01:12:15Plastic and even metal will dissolve

01:12:17in your stomach. If we drop a metal

01:12:19plate the size of a penny into gastric

01:12:21juice, there will only be about

01:12:2363% remaining of it within

01:12:2524 hours.

01:12:27Mosquitoes actually bite

01:12:29some people more than others.

01:12:31The most delicious humans are those

01:12:33with type O blood. Also,

01:12:35these insects have really good

01:12:37eyesight. They're attracted by

01:12:39green, black and red colors.

01:12:41So, check the color of your

01:12:43clothes before you go camping.

01:12:45Each human is

01:12:4799.9% empty space.

01:12:49Your body, like any other

01:12:51object in the universe, consists

01:12:53of atoms. At the center

01:12:55of atoms, there's a super small nucleus.

01:12:57If you zoom the atom up

01:12:59to the size of a basketball, you won't

01:13:01see the core. If it was possible

01:13:03to get all the empty space out of your body,

01:13:05you'd probably be as tiny

01:13:07as a grain of sand.

01:13:09You can actually put a shark in a

01:13:11trance for 15 minutes.

01:13:13To do this, you need to stroke the nose

01:13:15of the dangerous animal with your hand.

01:13:17This sort of hypnosis is called

01:13:19tonic immobility. That happens

01:13:21thanks to the receptors in the shark's nose.

01:13:23When stroked, the receptors

01:13:25send a lot of signals.

01:13:27And the shark's brain is unable to process

01:13:29them all.

01:13:31Glass is an amorphous substance

01:13:33and it disobeys many laws of physics.

01:13:35It's solid, but it looks

01:13:37liquid if you look at it under a microscope.

01:13:39In reality, it's neither

01:13:41liquid nor solid.

01:13:43It happens because the heat needed to produce

01:13:45glass changes the way molecules

01:13:47behave. It's like when you iron your

01:13:49clothes, and fibers change because

01:13:51of high temperatures.

01:13:53Don't worry if you notice

01:13:55a sort of a pocket your pooch has

01:13:57on their ear. It actually has a name.

01:13:59Henry's pocket, or more

01:14:01scientifically, cutaneous marginal

01:14:03pouch. It's a fold of skin forming

01:14:05an open pouch, and you can see it

01:14:07on the lower posterior part of a dog's

01:14:09ear. No one knows exactly

01:14:11what it's for. Still,

01:14:13one hypothesis is that it helps

01:14:15detect high-pitched sounds.

01:14:17Hmm, looking for

01:14:19something slimy? Well,

01:14:21many people tend to believe that snails

01:14:23are just slugs with shells.

01:14:25But even though they look so similar,

01:14:27they're completely different species.

01:14:29Slugs don't need any protective

01:14:31shells, as all their internal

01:14:33organs are, well, internal

01:14:35inside their slimy bodies.

01:14:37They can squish themselves and get

01:14:39into hard-to-reach places, which is

01:14:41why slugs can often be found

01:14:43in the most unlikely spaces,

01:14:45like under tree bark, or

01:14:47inside tiny crevices, or

01:14:49at the library pretending to study

01:14:51for exams. Snails,

01:14:53on the other hand, are tightly connected

01:14:55with their shells and can't survive

01:14:57without one. Unlike hermit crabs,

01:14:59which replace their shells as they

01:15:01grow, snails are born with a

01:15:03shell on their back. Baby snails

01:15:05look adorable with those fragile,

01:15:07translucent bubbles that calcify

01:15:09and become bigger and tougher with age.

01:15:11Cute? Well, you be the judge.

01:15:13Many of the snail's internal

01:15:15organs are inside the shell too,

01:15:17meaning that if it gets crushed

01:15:19or damaged, well, the animal would

01:15:21probably not survive. Still,

01:15:23a snail can repair small scratches

01:15:25and cracks in the shell with the help

01:15:27of proteins and calcium secreted

01:15:29by its mantle. Now, turtles

01:15:31are very close to snails in this regard,

01:15:33by the way, because, contrary

01:15:35to common myth, they can't

01:15:37leave their shell at a whim either.

01:15:39A turtle's shell is an integral part

01:15:41of its body, and despite the reptile

01:15:43being able to hide its head and

01:15:45paws inside to protect itself

01:15:47from predators, its skeleton

01:15:49is fused with the hard shell,

01:15:51and just like any other animal skeleton,

01:15:53it grows with the turtle itself.

01:15:55Now, koalas do

01:15:57only eat eucalyptus leaves,

01:15:59but there are over 600 different

01:16:01kinds of those, and koalas

01:16:03only munch on 30, or

01:16:05just 5% of what's available on the menu.

01:16:07So, it has to be a

01:16:09very specific eucalyptus tree

01:16:11to make a good meal for a picky koala.

01:16:13These adorable creatures also

01:16:15have something in common with domestic

01:16:17cats. They sleep for 18

01:16:19to 20 hours a day.

01:16:21Polar bears aren't at all

01:16:23white. Their skin is black

01:16:25under the fur. They need the white color

01:16:27to disguise themselves while on the hunt.

01:16:29The color black absorbs

01:16:31the sun better than any other,

01:16:33while white fur doesn't stop sunlight.

01:16:35Rays pass right through it.

01:16:37In a sense, a polar bear

01:16:39has transparent fur.

01:16:41There's a myth that dogs

01:16:43and cats see the world in black and white.

01:16:45In reality, they just can't

01:16:47distinguish some colors.

01:16:49Nobody knows how exactly dogs see.

01:16:51Some think they only distinguish

01:16:53two colors. Could be blue and

01:16:55yellow, for all we know. But they

01:16:57can see shades of other colors

01:16:59better than people. And cats have

01:17:01wonderful night vision. They need about

01:17:037 times less light than a human

01:17:05to see in the dark.

01:17:07Now, giraffes were thought to be mute.

01:17:09But recently, it's been found

01:17:11that they make low-frequency sounds

01:17:13at night to communicate with each other.

01:17:15During the day, they don't say a word

01:17:17and warn each other of danger

01:17:19in a very unusual way,

01:17:21by moving their well-developed eyebrows.

01:17:23It's likely

01:17:25that at night, it's difficult

01:17:27to see the eyebrows, so

01:17:29they start talking for real.

01:17:31While we're on the topic of giraffes,

01:17:33these animals sleep much more than 30 minutes

01:17:35a day, but probably not as much

01:17:37as you do. Their sleeping pattern

01:17:39is quite typical. After

01:17:41researchers monitored a herd of giraffes,

01:17:43they found out they slept at night

01:17:45and took short naps in the afternoon.

01:17:47In total, each giraffe

01:17:49had around 5 hours of sleep

01:17:51every day. Oh, and by the way,

01:17:53a herd of these guys is actually known

01:17:55as a tower of giraffes.

01:17:57It makes sense with the long necks.

01:17:59Seagulls can drink seawater.

01:18:01There are salt-secreting glands near

01:18:03their eyes. These glands purify

01:18:05seawater very quickly, and the

01:18:07salty residue comes out through the nostrils.

01:18:09Yep, you guessed it.

01:18:11Salty snot.

01:18:13The Adelie penguins are real romantics.

01:18:15They only have one

01:18:17partner for life. The male

01:18:19must give a smooth stone to the female

01:18:21to create a family. You could say

01:18:23that's kind of an engagement ring.

01:18:25Like humans, though, a female penguin

01:18:27may refuse and not accept the ring.

01:18:29Hmm. Speaking

01:18:31of animal love, foxes are

01:18:33romantic too. Male foxes

01:18:35are good fathers and husbands.

01:18:37They're devoted to their loved ones for life.

01:18:39They look after the females

01:18:41and even pick fleas from their fur.

01:18:43Aww. Male foxes

01:18:45improve their whole houses and

01:18:47take an active part in their babies' upbringing.

01:18:49Dolphins can sleep

01:18:51with one eye closed and the other one open.

01:18:53Half of the brain dreams and

01:18:55rests, and the second half closely

01:18:57monitors the environment for signs of danger.

01:18:59The perfect brain for sleeping

01:19:01during boring classes and meetings.

01:19:03Hey, I didn't say that.

01:19:05Besides, dolphins manually

01:19:07control their breathing. They can simply

01:19:09drown if their whole brain is sleeping.

01:19:11Sea otters are the cutest

01:19:13sleepers among all animals.

01:19:15In the summer, because of the heat,

01:19:17sea otters spend all the time in water.

01:19:19They swim on their backs and

01:19:21sleep in that position. The babies

01:19:23are sleeping on their mother's stomach, and

01:19:25two adults hold each other by the paws

01:19:27so that they're not carried apart

01:19:29by water currents.

01:19:31Ostriches don't stick their heads in the sand

01:19:33when threatened. In fact, these guys

01:19:35don't bury their heads at all.

01:19:37This myth has spread thanks to that famous

01:19:39idiom to hide one's head in the sand.

01:19:41In real life, ostriches

01:19:43have to dig holes in the sand for their eggs

01:19:45because they're flightless birds.

01:19:47To make sure they're evenly heated,

01:19:49ostriches put their heads in there

01:19:51to rotate the eggs from time to time.

01:19:53But ostriches still have some

01:19:55escaping mentality. When they

01:19:57face some threat, they can flop to

01:19:59the sand and stay perfectly still,

01:20:01pretending they aren't alive.

01:20:03Now, according to a

01:20:05popular misbelief, sharks can

01:20:07breathe only while moving because

01:20:09swimming helps them push water over their

01:20:11gills. Although many kinds of

01:20:13sharks are designed this way, many

01:20:15others, like bottom-dwelling nurse sharks,

01:20:17don't need swimming to pump

01:20:19oxygen-rich water over their gills.

01:20:21Meanwhile, all sharks

01:20:23do lack swim bladders, so

01:20:25if they stop swimming, they'll

01:20:27probably sink to the bottom.

01:20:29But luckily, a shark's body can't

01:20:31be compressed. That's why rapid

01:20:33descents or ascents are

01:20:35safe for them.

01:20:37Scientists from Japan played audio

01:20:39recordings for cats to prove

01:20:41they're truly dismissive.

01:20:43In those recordings, the owners

01:20:45of the cats called them by their names.

01:20:47Cats' pupils dilated,

01:20:49the animals moved their tails, legs,

01:20:51or ears. Cats heard people

01:20:53but rarely responded.

01:20:55It's all about evolution. Cats came

01:20:57to people because they were attracted by

01:20:59mice that ate grains.

01:21:01They lived close to people but were never

01:21:03tame. And yet, we keep

01:21:05feeding them. Birds

01:21:07are actually the only surviving

01:21:09dinosaurs. They evolved from

01:21:11theropods, the dinosaurs that

01:21:13ran on two legs. Yep,

01:21:15T. rex is a distant relative of

01:21:17chickens, ostriches, and even

01:21:19hummingbirds. In reality,

01:21:21flamingos are white.

01:21:23The bird turns pink due to

01:21:25beta-carotene. This pigment is found

01:21:27in the algae and the shrimp that it feeds on.

01:21:29You can change your color too.

01:21:31If you eat a lot of carrots,

01:21:33your skin will turn slightly orange.

01:21:35This will happen because of the high

01:21:37beta-carotene content in the vegetable.

01:21:39Sailors from all over

01:21:41the world talked about the giant

01:21:43squid they met on their voyages.

01:21:45For many years, scientists considered

01:21:47monsters with long tentacles to be

01:21:49a myth. But in 2004,

01:21:51the first photo of a giant

01:21:53squid was taken. They actually

01:21:55exist. Scientists have

01:21:57registered an animal that has grown to

01:21:5943 feet.

01:22:01Mosquitoes actually bite some people more

01:22:03than others. The most delicious humans

01:22:05are those with type O blood.

01:22:07Also, these insects have really

01:22:09good eyesight. They're attracted

01:22:11by green, black, and red colors.

01:22:13So, check the color of your clothes

01:22:15before you go camping.

01:22:17You can actually put a

01:22:19shark in a trance for 15 minutes.

01:22:21To do this, you need to

01:22:23stroke the nose of a dangerous animal

01:22:25with your hand. This sort of hypnosis

01:22:27is called tonic immobility

01:22:29that happens thanks to the

01:22:31receptors in the shark's nose.

01:22:33When stroked, the receptors send

01:22:35a lot of signals, and the shark's brain

01:22:37is unable to process them all.

01:22:39Now, what it doesn't say here is

01:22:41exactly how you get close enough to a shark

01:22:43to rub its nose. I'd say

01:22:45that's important information, don't you think?

01:22:47Elephants aren't afraid

01:22:49of mice, per se. But these

01:22:51massive animals have bad vision.

01:22:53They also move fairly slowly.

01:22:55That's why they can get startled

01:22:57by a bird or a small creature,

01:22:59like a mouse, darting past them.

01:23:01Just the element of surprise,

01:23:03nothing more. The chameleon

01:23:05can change its color, but

01:23:07this creature doesn't do it to camouflage

01:23:09itself. The color change

01:23:11helps the animal regulate its temperature

01:23:13and communicate with peers.

01:23:15Now, when most dogs pant,

01:23:17their tongues hang out of their mouths.

01:23:19That's why many people think

01:23:21that's how they sweat. In reality,

01:23:23dogs' sweat glands are located

01:23:25on their paw pads. Plus,

01:23:27there are other sweat glands all over

01:23:29their bodies. Dogs pant

01:23:31to evaporate moisture from their nasal passages,

01:23:33tongues, and the lining of their lungs.

01:23:35This also helps to cool

01:23:37them down. You might leave

01:23:39wasps alone, but don't be

01:23:41so sure they'll do the same.

01:23:43Bees do respect human boundaries,

01:23:45and if you don't bother them, they won't

01:23:47hurt you. But wasps are

01:23:49so bad-tempered, they can sting you

01:23:51even if you're just walking by their nest.

01:23:53Well, phooey on them!

01:23:55Living at depths

01:23:57of up to 5,000 feet,

01:23:59the hagfish is one of the strangest

01:24:01creatures in the ocean.

01:24:03And there's plenty on the list. The

01:24:05goblin shark, sea spiders,

01:24:07red-lipped batfish, and even

01:24:09people swimming during winter.

01:24:11It's freezing, man! Get out!

01:24:13Although it looks like an eel,

01:24:15this fish belongs to the

01:24:17Agnatha species. That's fish without

01:24:19jaws. And the family also

01:24:21includes lampreys, terrifying

01:24:23monsters with disc-shaped

01:24:25suction-cup mouths filled

01:24:27with spiraling rows of teeth.

01:24:29Hagfish have two tongues,

01:24:31four hearts, and no eyes

01:24:33or stomach. Like something from another

01:24:35planet. And what sets them

01:24:37apart from anything on this planet

01:24:39is that they have a skull

01:24:41but no spine. They don't

01:24:43have bones either. That unique

01:24:45spineless skull is made entirely

01:24:47out of cartilage. The same stuff in your

01:24:49ears and nose, that's right.

01:24:51Scaleless with skin that

01:24:53seems to fit over them like an oversized

01:24:55holiday sweater. It'd be a

01:24:57mistake to think this frail little

01:24:59creature would be an easy dinner.

01:25:01They've evolved to escape from other

01:25:03fish like Houdini's of the deep.

01:25:05And the trick is slime.

01:25:07Lots of it. When

01:25:09something tries to gobble them up or

01:25:11gets just too close for comfort,

01:25:13hagfish release a protein

01:25:15from the holes lining their sides.

01:25:17When this stuff meets the surrounding

01:25:19water, it balloons dramatically,

01:25:21as in 10,000 times.

01:25:23The more water touches

01:25:25it, the bigger this goo ball gets.

01:25:27A teaspoon of hagfish

01:25:29slime can turn into a bucket full

01:25:31in a second. It instantly

01:25:33clogs the gills of any fish trying to

01:25:35chomp down on our slimy friend.

01:25:37Even sharks. But

01:25:39hagfish have gills too.

01:25:41So why doesn't the slime block their own?

01:25:43Easy peasy. This

01:25:45hagfish will simply tie itself into

01:25:47a knot and scrape the slime

01:25:49off its body. Doesn't mean

01:25:51their slime comes without inconveniences.

01:25:53Sometimes it gets in the

01:25:55hagfish's tiny nose. To get

01:25:57rid of it, they make themselves sneeze.

01:25:59Sort of. Gesundheit.

01:26:01This fish's

01:26:03homemade goo is made of flexible strands

01:26:05that are surprisingly

01:26:07strong. As in, stronger than

01:26:09nylon. Imagine falling

01:26:11into a pool of the stuff. You'd struggle

01:26:13to move your arms and legs to swim.

01:26:15It might feel like rubber bands

01:26:17tying you up. But

01:26:19you'd be perfectly safe as long as

01:26:21the stuff doesn't get in your nose or throat.

01:26:23In that case, you'd be

01:26:25as unfortunate as those gilled

01:26:27creatures trying to bite into the slimy

01:26:29fish. And hey,

01:26:31our own species is eyeballing it

01:26:33for loads of potential uses.

01:26:35From parachutes to cars

01:26:37and even clothing. Forget about

01:26:39diving in a pool of this goo. You could

01:26:41be wearing a slime suit in the future.

01:26:43But

01:26:45when it comes to landish creatures,

01:26:47the platypus is just

01:26:49weird. This mammal

01:26:51has a duckbill, a beaver tail,

01:26:53webbed feet, and lays eggs.

01:26:55Like a lot of fish, the

01:26:57platypus, and its relative, the

01:26:59echidna, have no stomach.

01:27:01But they don't need one.

01:27:03They store their food in their cheeks

01:27:05until they surface. Once they've

01:27:07eaten, the food goes straight to their gut.

01:27:09Just when the platypus couldn't

01:27:11get any stranger, they also

01:27:13sweat milk for their platypups.

01:27:15When winter has put bears,

01:27:17bats, snakes, and even

01:27:19myself into hibernation, there's

01:27:21one animal that does things a

01:27:23little differently. During the cold

01:27:25season, the wood frog lets

01:27:27itself freeze, sometimes

01:27:29for up to 7 months.

01:27:31Like a brown popsicle,

01:27:33they fill their body with a syrupy

01:27:35unnatural antifreeze to stop

01:27:37crystals from forming. And when

01:27:39the right time comes, they can just

01:27:41thaw themselves out, even

01:27:43multiple times a season.

01:27:45These frogs will find a nice covered

01:27:47area in the forest and wait until

01:27:49spring comes. Once they're thawed,

01:27:51they'll hop away like nothing happened

01:27:53at all. When your name's

01:27:55the boxer crab, you have to

01:27:57live up to it. Ding ding!

01:27:59Round one! This little crab

01:28:01is super smart. It has sea

01:28:03anemones living in its claws,

01:28:05and these DIY boxing gloves

01:28:07pack a punch. Carrying

01:28:09around these little tentacled sea

01:28:11creatures helps this tiny crab

01:28:13defend itself against fish and

01:28:15anything bigger than it. When

01:28:17feeling disturbed, the crab starts

01:28:19swinging, and its gloves start stinging.

01:28:21The tentacles

01:28:23of sea anemones are covered in

01:28:25stinging cells that help the animal

01:28:27capture its lunch. Yep, that's

01:28:29no plant, it's a hungry

01:28:31beast! It's a win-win

01:28:33relationship. For helping the crab

01:28:35protect itself, the gloves get

01:28:37a fun ride around the ocean floor

01:28:39and free meals.

01:28:41Its other names don't sound as tough,

01:28:43but I assure you, the pom-pom

01:28:45or cheerleader crab looks cute

01:28:47but shouldn't be messed with.

01:28:49If you're afraid of spider

01:28:51webs, this is one to avoid.

01:28:53Darwin's bark spider

01:28:55is an orb-weaver type

01:28:57that creates a jaw-droppingly

01:28:59large web for a penny-sized

01:29:01spidey. The silk in its web

01:29:03is 10 times stronger than Kevlar

01:29:05and double the strength of any

01:29:07other spiders on the planet.

01:29:09And the webs themselves can be as big

01:29:11as a king-sized bed.

01:29:13Not that you'd want to sleep in one.

01:29:15Their web bridges are even more impressive.

01:29:17They can be over 80 feet

01:29:19long. The spiders build

01:29:21them across rivers to catch bugs

01:29:23flying over the water. Or you,

01:29:25rafting down the rapids. Watch

01:29:27out! And here I thought

01:29:29I spent too much time on the web.

01:29:31Go on to the beach

01:29:33on a hot sunny day when you realize

01:29:35you're out of sunblock. Hey,

01:29:37just do what hippos do.

01:29:39When they sweat, they create

01:29:41their own sunscreen. Living

01:29:43in the water for most of its life,

01:29:45a hippo's skin must stay wet

01:29:47to keep hydrated. When they do

01:29:49have to venture out of the water,

01:29:51something strange happens.

01:29:53The red or pink color we sometimes

01:29:55see on hippos are little

01:29:57beads of fluid that absorb the sun's

01:29:59UV and protect the skin

01:30:01from burning. They're also

01:30:03highly acidic to help stop bacteria

01:30:05growing on the skin.

01:30:07Hippos might look big and clumsy,

01:30:09but they could easily outrun and

01:30:11out-swim the best Olympic athletes

01:30:13out there. Must be why the

01:30:15ancient Greeks called them hippopotamus,

01:30:17the river horse.

01:30:19Now, when you're a plant,

01:30:21it's hard to defend yourself.

01:30:23But not for the acacia tree.

01:30:25It has built-in bodyguards,

01:30:27ants. When a few of the leaves

01:30:29are getting nibbled on, the vibrations

01:30:31alert the ant brigade to head

01:30:33out and stop the trespasser.

01:30:35Living in the hollow thorns of the

01:30:37branches, the acacia ants come

01:30:39out and shock the hungry animal

01:30:41with their wasp-like stinger.

01:30:43The tree is so grateful to the ants

01:30:45that it feeds them yummy nectar.

01:30:47Not only do the ants stop

01:30:49animals from grazing too much,

01:30:51they also help improve the tree's health

01:30:53by reducing the bacteria that

01:30:55would be on the leaves.

01:30:57Now, never heard of a sea squirt?

01:30:59I don't recommend getting too close

01:31:01unless you want water in your face.

01:31:03The sea squirt may look like

01:31:05an underwater plant, but

01:31:07it's an animal more closely related

01:31:09to us than a cockroach.

01:31:11These squishy little creatures are

01:31:13in an umbrella category with vertebrates

01:31:15like you, me, and

01:31:17anyone or anything else with a fancy

01:31:19backbone. That big happy

01:31:21family is called the chordates.

01:31:23Starting as little

01:31:25tadpole-like larvae, sea squirts

01:31:27wiggle around in the ocean for

01:31:29a short time until they find a

01:31:31nice bit of water to call their own.

01:31:33Since they're unable to feed

01:31:35themselves, drastic measures must

01:31:37be taken. And I mean drastic.

01:31:39Like oysters, barnacles,

01:31:41and mussels, the sea squirt

01:31:43has a glue-like substance

01:31:45that cements it to the first place it

01:31:47lands. Once they've picked their

01:31:49forever home, they need to start eating.

01:31:51The first thing to go is their

01:31:53own tail. Then they absorb

01:31:55their gills and even their brain.

01:31:57No longer need the ability to

01:31:59navigate the ocean, it's become

01:32:01unnecessary. They're not

01:32:03heartless though. The sea squirt's

01:32:05ticker is very similar to a human's.

01:32:07It even looks a little like ours.

01:32:09Now here's one you won't

01:32:11forget. Lobsters, crayfish,

01:32:13and crabs have teeth in

01:32:15their stomachs. After they

01:32:17gulp something down, the food in their

01:32:19stomach gets ground up by large teeth.

01:32:21This is called gastric

01:32:23milling, and it helps the crustaceans

01:32:25digest it easier.

01:32:27One species of crab had to take it a

01:32:29step further, of course. The

01:32:31ghost crab uses these teeth

01:32:33not only for eating, but also

01:32:35to growl. By

01:32:37grinding their tummy teeth when

01:32:39scared or struggling with another crab,

01:32:41they're warning to get away.

01:32:43Well, when you don't have vocal

01:32:45cords, stomach growling will have

01:32:47to do. They're also the

01:32:49fastest type of crab on the planet.

01:32:51They can move 100 body

01:32:53lengths per second. They'd be

01:32:55like you running one and a half football

01:32:57fields in the blink of an eye.

01:32:59Whoa, look at that!

01:33:01Back in

01:33:032009, people in Ishikawa,

01:33:05Japan, saw a kind of rain

01:33:07no one's ever seen before. It was

01:33:09raining tadpoles. First

01:33:11reason is that the wind that day was so strong

01:33:13it lifted and carried all those

01:33:15tadpoles away in no time.

01:33:17The second possible reason is that big birds

01:33:19such as gulls just dropped them

01:33:21while they were flying to their nests.

01:33:23Some scientists believe these creatures were

01:33:25hauled off the ground by a water spout

01:33:27and rained down later. By the

01:33:29way, that day, people found not

01:33:31only tadpoles, but also frogs

01:33:33and fish instead of puddles. And

01:33:35yep, it can be raining worms too.

01:33:37Some people claim they've seen snake

01:33:39rains. Yay!

01:33:41It was a

01:33:43lovely spring in 1876

01:33:45in Bath County, Kentucky.

01:33:47Mrs. Crouch was making soap in the yard

01:33:49of her house when she suddenly noticed

01:33:51it started raining meat.

01:33:53It wasn't ground meat. Those were large

01:33:553-inches in diameter chunks of meat

01:33:57falling right on her.

01:33:59Two volunteers were brave enough to try that

01:34:01grisly-looking meat of unknown origin,

01:34:03and they said it tasted like

01:34:05lamb or deer. Well, they were no

01:34:07foodies. It turned out to be beef.

01:34:09Such cases were registered in

01:34:11Europe too, and the only logical

01:34:13explanation of meat showers

01:34:15is that buzzards flying over

01:34:17just drop meat pieces they save for lunch.

01:34:19With no luggage, their bodies are lighter

01:34:21and they can fly easier.

01:34:23Wow, I wish it rained donuts on me once.

01:34:25Rains aren't unusual

01:34:27for Oakville, Washington,

01:34:29but this one still doesn't have any solid

01:34:31explanation. Instead of common

01:34:33raindrops, people watched translucent

01:34:35jelly-like blobs

01:34:37falling down from the skies. These little

01:34:39things covered about 20 square miles.

01:34:41Those who got really close to

01:34:43that sort of rain said they felt bad

01:34:45the next day. Scientists studied

01:34:47those blobs and realized they contained

01:34:49human white blood cells, but

01:34:51other tests later showed it wasn't true.

01:34:53Some people think these might've been

01:34:55evaporated jellyfish, which resulted

01:34:57in rain, or it could simply

01:34:59be some waste from a commercial plane.

01:35:01Almost the same thing happened

01:35:03in 2012 in Dorset, UK.

01:35:05During a hailstorm, people

01:35:07found gelatin balls together with

01:35:09hailstones. Researchers collected

01:35:11these goopy balls and stored them

01:35:13in a fridge to study later.

01:35:15Turns out it wasn't necessary since

01:35:17the slimy blobs didn't melt at room

01:35:19temperature. No one is sure

01:35:21even now about where the balls came from,

01:35:23but the first idea was that those

01:35:25were eggs of some aquatic animal

01:35:27carried by birds right up in the sky.

01:35:29Later tests proved that the

01:35:31jelly substance was a chemical that

01:35:33acts as a water lock and is used

01:35:35in many commercial products, even

01:35:37cables to protect them from water.

01:35:39Australian spiders are notorious,

01:35:41and to frighten people, they even

01:35:43learn how to rain. Spider rains

01:35:45are a pretty common thing for Australia

01:35:47because of ballooning. They

01:35:49climb up trees, then spin strands

01:35:51of silk, and that's why the wind can

01:35:53carry them away. Usually people

01:35:55don't notice it, but when it's wet,

01:35:57hundreds of spiders climb up to more

01:35:59desirable places. People say

01:36:01that when it rains or snows, it's

01:36:03possible to see spiders literally

01:36:05drift down on those webs as

01:36:07if they were balloons.

01:36:09If you ever travel to the Mekong Delta,

01:36:11you'll probably have a chance to see glowing

01:36:13balls rising up from the water and

01:36:15beelining straight into the air.

01:36:17The locals call these the

01:36:19Naga fireballs. Sizes may

01:36:21vary, so these reddish balls can be

01:36:23as tiny as a cherry and as large

01:36:25as a watermelon. During the night,

01:36:27you can see dozens and sometimes even

01:36:29thousands of fireballs. Scientists

01:36:31don't have any solid explanation

01:36:33why it happens, but it's probably

01:36:35flammable gas released by the

01:36:37marshy environment. Still, a local

01:36:39superstition claims it's all because

01:36:41of a giant serpent living in the Mekong.

01:36:43Tornadic

01:36:45waterspout is a tornado that

01:36:47doesn't occur on land, but on water.

01:36:49The speed of the tornado can be really

01:36:51high. The water is collected and

01:36:53partially pulled up. It manages

01:36:55to pull fish and even turtles up

01:36:57into the air. Actually, raining

01:36:59fish can also be explained by this weather

01:37:01phenomenon. The same might happen on

01:37:03the snow too, but it's really rare.

01:37:05There are only 6 pictures of snow

01:37:07spouts, 4 of which were taken in

01:37:09Ontario. This weather phenomenon

01:37:11requires that the water is warm enough

01:37:13to produce fog while the air temperature

01:37:15is really cold, next to

01:37:17impossible.

01:37:19Lava is red, sky is

01:37:21blue, I'm on bright side, and so

01:37:23are you. Okay, I made that up.

01:37:25But the part about the lava being red

01:37:27can change. That's true,

01:37:29especially if you see the lava flowing

01:37:31from Kawaii Gen volcano located

01:37:33in Indonesia. It has a typical

01:37:35red color during the day, but at

01:37:37night, it turns luminescent blue.

01:37:39No mystery behind it, just

01:37:41tons of sulfuric acid.

01:37:43This volcano also has the largest acidic

01:37:45crater lake in the world.

01:37:47The water there is so turquoise, you want to

01:37:49jump in immediately, but you probably

01:37:51already guessed that you should never,

01:37:53ever do that. The fire on that

01:37:55volcano is also blue, and it's the

01:37:57largest blue fire in the world rising

01:37:59up to 16 feet.

01:38:01In some places, water may look like glass.

01:38:03White salt ponds might look

01:38:05like windows or even portals to the

01:38:07world underneath. They have their look

01:38:09because of salt evaporation, and such

01:38:11lakes can be found in France and India.

01:38:13But the Cargill Salt Ponds

01:38:15in the San Francisco Bay Area

01:38:17look even crazier because of vibrant colors.

01:38:19The shades vary. It can

01:38:21be deep blue, grass green,

01:38:23orange, crimson, vermilion,

01:38:25and even magenta. The color difference

01:38:27is all about the different levels of

01:38:29salinity and tiny microorganisms

01:38:31living in those ponds.

01:38:33On the shore of the Baltic Sea in

01:38:35Kaliningrad District, Russia, there's

01:38:37an enigmatic national park called

01:38:39Dancing Forest. The pine

01:38:41trees are all crooked and twisted there.

01:38:43The forest didn't appear until the early

01:38:4560s, when the pines were planted to make

01:38:47the dune sand in that area a bit more

01:38:49stable. It's probably the unstable

01:38:51sand that made those trees twist

01:38:53that way. Another reason

01:38:55why those trees are so crooked might be

01:38:57strong winds. Some people claim

01:38:59it has something to do with supernatural

01:39:01powers. They say this forest is

01:39:03a place where positive and negative energies

01:39:05meet. Locals believe if

01:39:07someone climbs through one of the rings in those

01:39:09trees, it'll add an extra year

01:39:11to this person's life.

01:39:13The throbbing hum in Taos, New Mexico

01:39:15has driven locals crazy

01:39:17since the 1990s. Low-frequency

01:39:19hum doesn't let you sleep normally.

01:39:21Even though scientists tried so hard

01:39:23to find the source of the hum, they

01:39:25failed. They blamed it on mechanical

01:39:27devices, and even animals.

01:39:29The West Seattle hum, for example,

01:39:31was related to toadfish.

01:39:33Different variations of hum were also

01:39:35heard in the UK, Australia,

01:39:37and in some areas of the United States.

01:39:39Luckily, only about 2%

01:39:41of the world's population can hear it.

01:39:43Not to lessen clouds, or

01:39:45simply night clouds, are so rare

01:39:47because 1. they only form

01:39:49in summer, and 2. they can

01:39:51only be seen at latitudes between

01:39:5350 and 70 degrees both north

01:39:55and south. To see those clouds,

01:39:57the sun should be already below

01:39:59the horizon, but the clouds still have to

01:40:01be in sunlight. It's possible for

01:40:03the highest clouds in the atmosphere, which are

01:40:05located about 50 miles up.

01:40:07We can't see them during the day because they're

01:40:09too faint. Fairy rings,

01:40:11also known as elf rings or

01:40:13pixie rings, are the enigmatic

01:40:15rings of mushrooms that appear in grasslands

01:40:17and forested areas.

01:40:19Scientists can't explain why these fungi

01:40:21can form nearly perfect circles.

01:40:23But the superstition claims that fairy

01:40:25dances would burn the ground causing

01:40:27mushrooms rapid growth. In fact,

01:40:29it's partially true. The mushrooms

01:40:31grow in places where grass withered.

01:40:33The Amazon River,

01:40:35one of the longest on our planet,

01:40:37stretches for 4,000 miles,

01:40:39which is more than a drive from Vienna to

01:40:41New Delhi. But there's one river

01:40:43in South America that beats the Amazon River

01:40:45twice. First, it's wider.

01:40:47Second, nobody ever saw it.

01:40:51It's an Amazon underwater twin

01:40:53called the Hamza River, and it

01:40:55runs 2.5 miles underneath.

01:40:57Scientists found it 10 years ago

01:40:59back in 2011.

01:41:01Don't blink or you'll miss this

01:41:03rarest weather phenomenon.

01:41:05Red sprites are electrical discharges

01:41:07in the sky that look a bit like an

01:41:09aurora. It's super powerful,

01:41:11about 10 times stronger than any regular

01:41:13lightning, but it lasts just a couple of

01:41:15seconds. They were first photographed

01:41:17in 1989, and there are still

01:41:19very few photos and video recordings

01:41:21of this lightning. To make a video

01:41:23that can clearly show red sprites,

01:41:25it should be at about 7,000

01:41:27frames per second. Well,

01:41:29I'm out.

01:41:31The sight of its fin

01:41:33in the water nearly stops your heart.

01:41:35It's the reason you feel

01:41:37so uneasy going for a

01:41:39swim at the beach. That

01:41:41massive, razor-toothed hunter

01:41:43that's made its name known,

01:41:45the Great White Shark.

01:41:47So, if the ultimate terror

01:41:49of the sea is leaving the area,

01:41:51it must be for a good reason.

01:41:53But what could possibly

01:41:55scare the Great White away?

01:41:57A giant Lovecraftian monster

01:41:59that makes even Megalodon

01:42:01look tiny? Nah, not

01:42:03even close.

01:42:05Nothing can clear a portion

01:42:07of the ocean as quickly as

01:42:09orcas can. When their powerful

01:42:11pods come looking for food like

01:42:13seals and squids, even the

01:42:15biggest, scariest sharks leave

01:42:17the area without looking back.

01:42:19It's not known if these whales

01:42:21specifically target Great Whites,

01:42:23or they're just keeping the competition

01:42:25out of the area. But what marine

01:42:27experts do know is that sharks

01:42:29flee, sometimes not even

01:42:31coming back until the following year.

01:42:33Makes sense.

01:42:35Orcas are much larger than Great Whites

01:42:37in size. They have plenty of

01:42:39teeth, and they'll use them to satisfy

01:42:41their merciless desire for

01:42:43meat. Orcas are also

01:42:45highly intelligent, and will work

01:42:47as a team to get what they want.

01:42:49Whether that's catching a school of

01:42:51fish, getting seals off the ice,

01:42:53or even chasing down humpback

01:42:55whales. So, if the

01:42:57Great White shark itself is

01:42:59scared of the mighty orca, should you

01:43:01be? Well, me personally?

01:43:03I keep my distance from any wild

01:43:05animal. But maybe

01:43:07this will help you sleep better at night.

01:43:09Orcas are known to be

01:43:11picky eaters. Goodness for you,

01:43:13human isn't on the menu.

01:43:15They aren't likely to change their diet

01:43:17just because you're in the water today.

01:43:19Oh, by the way, orcas

01:43:21aren't even whales. They're technically

01:43:23the largest species of dolphin.

01:43:25And sharks are also afraid

01:43:27of their relative, the bottlenose

01:43:29dolphin. Even

01:43:31a single bottlenose is too powerful

01:43:33for a shark, but they're tougher

01:43:35when they travel as a pod.

01:43:37Sharks are easily outmaneuvered

01:43:39by the highly agile marine mammals.

01:43:41They use that blunt snout

01:43:43like a battering ram. This basically

01:43:45annoys the shark so much

01:43:47that it just leaves the area.

01:43:49Now, if you think about other top

01:43:51hunters in the animal kingdom,

01:43:53wolves always come to mind.

01:43:55Packs can take over vast territories.

01:43:57And since they're at the

01:43:59top of the food chain, they get to

01:44:01pick and choose from a large menu

01:44:03with anything they please.

01:44:05They're highly intelligent, fast, and agile.

01:44:07But probably their biggest

01:44:09advantage? Numbers.

01:44:11If grizzlies or mountain lions

01:44:13try taking advantage of them,

01:44:15the numbers game always works

01:44:17in the wolves' favor, leading

01:44:19to the hunter becoming the hunted.

01:44:21Even without numbers,

01:44:23they dominate and terrify.

01:44:25It's too hard for any other

01:44:27animal to target a lone wolf,

01:44:29so even they are usually

01:44:31left alone.

01:44:33Imagine being able to pounce a wild

01:44:35boar in below freezing temperatures

01:44:37while dressed in orange against

01:44:39a completely snow-covered white environment.

01:44:41Siberian tigers are

01:44:43clearly not playing around.

01:44:45Over 10 feet

01:44:47long and weighing up to 400 pounds,

01:44:49they're the largest of all

01:44:51wild cats. This kitty could

01:44:53easily jump right over your head

01:44:55while carrying double its body weight.

01:44:57The only animal that can really

01:44:59challenge this king of the forest

01:45:01is a large enough brown bear,

01:45:03and it'd be a close call.

01:45:05No wonder the Siberian tiger is

01:45:07the top of the food chain in its

01:45:09part of the globe.

01:45:11As for the top boss in the waters

01:45:13of South America, that would be

01:45:15the green anaconda.

01:45:17Not even jaguars and caiman

01:45:19are safe around the biggest snake in the

01:45:21world. The murky

01:45:23waters of riverbanks camouflage

01:45:25the giant snake perfectly.

01:45:27They go unnoticed,

01:45:29sitting there waiting for something to come

01:45:31have a drink.

01:45:33And then, whoosh, the snake strikes!

01:45:35It uses its sharp curved

01:45:37teeth and 15 feet of

01:45:39pure muscle to hold its lunch

01:45:41in place. Luckily for

01:45:43most animals, after eating their fill,

01:45:45anacondas can go weeks

01:45:47or even months without worrying about

01:45:49their next meal.

01:45:51But the world's biggest snake isn't the most dangerous.

01:45:53That title

01:45:55belongs to the black mamba.

01:45:57Lions, spotted hyenas,

01:45:59giraffes, and even elephants

01:46:01will avoid the mamba at all costs.

01:46:03They all know one bite

01:46:05can stop them very quickly.

01:46:07Growing up to 14 feet,

01:46:09it's the second longest

01:46:11venomous snake in the world after

01:46:13the king cobra. The African

01:46:15black mamba does hold the top

01:46:17spot as the world's fastest snake.

01:46:19It slithers along

01:46:21going 12 miles per hour.

01:46:23That's about where most treadmills

01:46:25max out. Not top dog,

01:46:27but worth a mention, is the

01:46:29green anaconda's neighbor, the

01:46:31electric eel. Very

01:46:33few animals are willing to take on

01:46:35such a highly charged creature.

01:46:37Electric eels have around

01:46:396,000 special cells

01:46:41that can produce up to 800

01:46:43volts of electricity. That's

01:46:45more than 6 times the standard U.S.

01:46:47wall socket. That's enough

01:46:49to knock a horse off its feet and

01:46:51to power holiday lights.

01:46:53In 2019,

01:46:55a Tennessee aquarium hooked some tree

01:46:57lights up to their eel tank.

01:46:59Every time the eel shot the water,

01:47:01the trees lit up.

01:47:03It's been said that the electric eel

01:47:05can recycle its volts

01:47:07in a process called

01:47:09revolting. Nah, I made that up.

01:47:11One more truthful eel

01:47:13fact to knock you off your feet,

01:47:15electric eels are air

01:47:17breathers. They have to surface about

01:47:19every 10 minutes to fill their mouth

01:47:21with air. Yep, their single

01:47:23lung is in their mouth.

01:47:25Does the king of the jungle reign

01:47:27unchallenged? In books and

01:47:29movies, sure. In real

01:47:31life, not so much.

01:47:33For one, their home is on the African

01:47:35plains, not the jungle.

01:47:37A whole assortment

01:47:39of contenders, like hyenas,

01:47:41leopards, and crocodiles, are always

01:47:43trying to take the king's crown.

01:47:45Even zebras and giraffes can

01:47:47stop the big cats with a quick kick

01:47:49if they're cornered.

01:47:51If we go by bite force,

01:47:53the African Nile crocodile

01:47:55has the biggest that humanity has

01:47:57ever measured. Its jaws are

01:47:59five times more powerful than that

01:48:01of a lion's. Now earlier,

01:48:03with the water critters, all you had

01:48:05to do was avoid the water.

01:48:07Good luck avoiding a lion.

01:48:09They can run 50 miles per hour,

01:48:11jump the length of a school bus,

01:48:13and climb trees.

01:48:15The lion's biggest challenger for the apex

01:48:17role is the African

01:48:19wild dog.

01:48:21These two are constantly going at

01:48:23it because they hunt for the same food

01:48:25in the same area.

01:48:27Where there's a big pride of lions, the

01:48:29dogs have no choice but to flee.

01:48:31But they've got one thing against

01:48:33the cats. Endurance.

01:48:35Lions might

01:48:37reach incredible speeds, but that's

01:48:39only in short bursts. It takes

01:48:41too much energy to carry 400-plus

01:48:43pounds of muscle over long distances

01:48:45while going as fast

01:48:47as you can. African wild

01:48:49dogs, though, have long, slender

01:48:51legs and big lungs for their body

01:48:53size. Meaning,

01:48:55they can run fast and keep it up

01:48:57for miles. That's how they hunt.

01:48:59Their lunch just gets tired

01:49:01of running. There's one animal

01:49:03brave enough to take on the king if

01:49:05the cat gets too curious. The

01:49:07hippo. They may seem cute

01:49:09and squishy, but

01:49:11hippos are one of the most dangerous

01:49:13animals on the planet. Based

01:49:15on statistics, you should fear them

01:49:17way more than great white sharks.

01:49:19And there's nothing squishy

01:49:21about them. Hippos are pure muscle

01:49:23and weigh as much as a car.

01:49:25Their pointy

01:49:27canine teeth can grow longer than your

01:49:29forearm.

01:49:31These guys aren't afraid of anything.

01:49:33Even lions and crocodiles prefer

01:49:35to keep their distance.

01:49:37Their name means water horse.

01:49:39And they do spend up to

01:49:4116 hours a day submerged.

01:49:43Funny thing is, hippos

01:49:45can't really swim. If you see one

01:49:47swimming, it's actually pushing itself

01:49:49off the lake or river bottom.

01:49:51It can still be even the best Olympic

01:49:53swimmer's speed, so watch out!

01:49:55Yup, move aside, Leo!

01:49:57Hippos are the true apex

01:49:59animal of Africa. But

01:50:01I wouldn't get close enough to give

01:50:03them the award.

01:50:05As for the ruler of the forest,

01:50:07make way for the grizzly bear.

01:50:09Weighing over half a ton,

01:50:11you'd be mistaken thinking these

01:50:13large fluff balls are slow and

01:50:15bumbling. Being able

01:50:17to maintain a speed of 25 miles

01:50:19per hour for long stretches

01:50:21is too easy for the behemoth

01:50:23brown bear. Uphill,

01:50:25downhill, and on every terrain,

01:50:27they're the off-road SUV

01:50:29of the animal world.

01:50:31Without having any natural enemies,

01:50:33this bear is at the top of its

01:50:35local food chain. Good thing they

01:50:37sleep for a third of the year.

01:50:39Just hope you don't run into a grizzly

01:50:41um, ever.

01:50:43But especially right before it's about to

01:50:45go into hibernation.

01:50:47They spend the autumn months fattening up

01:50:49for winter. And they're even

01:50:51hungrier than usual.

01:50:53Now, being the largest bird of prey

01:50:55in North America, it's no wonder

01:50:57the golden eagle is found

01:50:59all over the continent in woodlands

01:51:01and mountain ranges. Their

01:51:03wingspan is nearly 8 feet.

01:51:05And they don't call it

01:51:07eagle vision for nothing.

01:51:09These birds can spot a rabbit

01:51:11from 3 miles up in the air.

01:51:13It'd be like you

01:51:15seeing an ant while standing on top

01:51:17of a 10-story building.

01:51:19Golden eagles can also make quick

01:51:21dives from a great height.

01:51:23During these dives, they can reach

01:51:25speeds up to 200 miles per hour,

01:51:27as fast as a flying arrow.

01:51:33450 million years ago

01:51:35No, I wasn't around then.

01:51:37The sea level was higher, coral reefs

01:51:39started to form, the climate on our planet

01:51:41was stable and warm, not even

01:51:43dinosaurs were around yet.

01:51:45The time when bony and jawed fish

01:51:47we know as sharks appeared.

01:51:49They've been dominating the oceans

01:51:51and making other marine creatures flee

01:51:53in fear ever since.

01:51:55Many of them, like great white sharks,

01:51:57have evolved and adjusted to life in the open

01:51:59ocean as hunters with a pretty high

01:52:01position in the food chain.

01:52:03Sharks are less diverse today than before.

01:52:05One of the reasons is the asteroid

01:52:07strike from the age of dinosaurs.

01:52:09After it reduced the number of shark species,

01:52:11only smaller and deep-water

01:52:13kinds that ate primarily fish

01:52:15survived. They started getting bigger

01:52:17over time. Near the surface,

01:52:19sharks such as makos or

01:52:21great white ones develop faster

01:52:23movements and are somewhat between

01:52:25grey and blue to blend in with their

01:52:27surroundings. The epaulette

01:52:29shark can even walk on the land.

01:52:31It can't take a walk on the beach because it can't

01:52:33breathe outside of the water, but it

01:52:35lives on coral flats in shallow

01:52:37tropical waters, so it can

01:52:39walk in kind of a crawling motion.

01:52:41But deep down below,

01:52:43there are mysterious alien-looking,

01:52:45often huge shark species

01:52:47that didn't come to the surface,

01:52:49which is why they didn't need to adjust

01:52:51to the new environment and different conditions.

01:52:53They haven't changed a lot through

01:52:55time, so they're some living

01:52:57fossils. These creatures

01:52:59mostly don't have 5 gill slits

01:53:01— the most common number — but

01:53:036 or 7. It's because

01:53:05there's less oxygen the deeper you go in

01:53:07the ocean, so they need more gill

01:53:09slits. Sharks on the surface

01:53:11evolved to have fewer gill slits.

01:53:136-gill sharks

01:53:15are the most primitive sharks we have today.

01:53:17Their skeletons are like those

01:53:19of ancient extinct sharks,

01:53:21and they can survive only in very

01:53:23deep waters. Like cats,

01:53:25sharks have a layer of reflective

01:53:27cells placed inside their eyes,

01:53:29which helps them see better in the dark

01:53:31deep sea or cloudy waters.

01:53:33Sharks on the surface have

01:53:35big eyes because they evolved to hunt

01:53:37in the sunlight, so they tend to rely

01:53:39on their vision. Those that live in

01:53:41shallow waters have small eyes,

01:53:43so they can protect themselves from the sand.

01:53:45Like some other deep sea

01:53:47creatures, 6-gill sharks

01:53:49also have bigger eyes to take in

01:53:51as much light as possible.

01:53:53They have more light-sensing rods,

01:53:55but don't distinguish colors that well.

01:53:57In the ocean's twilight zone,

01:53:59with the minimum of sunlight,

01:54:01there's a couple of bioluminescent shark

01:54:03species. They don't take in light within

01:54:05their eyes, but produce or re-emit

01:54:07it with their bodies.

01:54:09Their skin or organs have specialized

01:54:11cells that produce a soft

01:54:13blue-green light. Deep sea

01:54:15creatures that produce their own light

01:54:17do that to attract their prey,

01:54:19deter animals from going after them,

01:54:21or, scientists think, communicate

01:54:23with each other.

01:54:25It can even help them to camouflage.

01:54:27They do it by hiding their silhouettes

01:54:29from animals going after them.

01:54:31They produce enough light to match their

01:54:33surroundings. The biggest

01:54:35luminous underwater creature is

01:54:37the kitefin shark, found

01:54:39swimming 980 feet below

01:54:41sea level, preying on groundfish

01:54:43or smaller sharks. It can

01:54:45grow almost 6 feet long and lives

01:54:473,200 feet below

01:54:49sea level. Deep sea sharks

01:54:51are also bigger than those on the surface.

01:54:53The Greenland shark can grow up

01:54:55to 24 feet long, bigger

01:54:57than a great white. There's a thing

01:54:59called deep sea gigantism.

01:55:01Creatures in nutrient-poor depths

01:55:03of the ocean grow bigger because

01:55:05that way, they lose less energy

01:55:07as heat. The Greenland shark

01:55:09lives its life in slow motion.

01:55:11It has a slow metabolism

01:55:13and can go very long periods

01:55:15without food. With their slow

01:55:17pace, they evolve to live up to

01:55:19500 years at depths of

01:55:217,200 feet.

01:55:23Sharks in shallow waters catch

01:55:25their prey, relying on agility

01:55:27and speed. But for them, it's

01:55:29easier because there's plenty of food on the

01:55:31surface. Deep sea sharks

01:55:33with less food and slower life rhythm

01:55:35had to develop a different style.

01:55:37They're more opportunistic,

01:55:39definitely not picky, and

01:55:41don't care if their future meal is

01:55:43alive or not.

01:55:45Frilled shark, another living fossil

01:55:47from the darkest depths, hasn't evolved

01:55:49much through time, and they're one of

01:55:51the last of their kind, with all of

01:55:53their relatives already gone extinct.

01:55:55It grows up to 7 feet long,

01:55:57primarily hunts on squid,

01:55:59and catches other sharks and fish.

01:56:01It looks like a dinosaur,

01:56:03a snake-like face,

01:56:05a long, smooth, thin body that

01:56:07moves in a serpentine way.

01:56:09It can propel itself with the power of its

01:56:11tail and curl like snakes.

01:56:13They don't swim in a straight line like

01:56:15other sharks.

01:56:17Cookie-cutter shark grows up to 20 inches.

01:56:19It got the name because of the way it

01:56:21feeds, biting off small pieces.

01:56:23It's a parasite creature,

01:56:25which means it feeds off bigger

01:56:27animals but leaves them alive.

01:56:29They have sharp teeth and sometimes

01:56:31even swallow those that fall off

01:56:33on purpose. Some researchers think

01:56:35it could be because they live in the depths

01:56:37that are nutrient-poor.

01:56:39If they swallow the teeth, they could

01:56:41recycle calcium and other material

01:56:43from it.

01:56:45Prickly shark is a rare and unusual creature

01:56:47with many thorn-like denticles

01:56:49and two small dorsal fins.

01:56:51It lives mostly in the depths of the

01:56:53Pacific region up to 1,900 feet.

01:56:55Ghost sharks

01:56:57are not even real sharks,

01:56:59but fish closely related to them

01:57:01and rays. They have big

01:57:03pectoral and pelvic fins,

01:57:05two dorsal fins, pretty big eyes,

01:57:07and unlike their cousins, have a

01:57:09single external gill opening.

01:57:11Ghost sharks have slender tails

01:57:13and can grow up to 80 inches,

01:57:15silver to blackish color.

01:57:17They sometimes live in rivers and

01:57:19coastal waters, but also in the

01:57:21depths of the ocean of 8,200

01:57:23feet or even deeper.

01:57:25They are pretty weak swimmers,

01:57:27so they tend to feed on invertebrates

01:57:29and small fish.

01:57:31Goblin sharks

01:57:33Swimming through the deep sea, this creepy

01:57:35shark with a flabby body

01:57:37suddenly sees a small innocent squid.

01:57:39It goes toward it,

01:57:41but the potential snack notices it

01:57:43and quickly starts moving to dart away.

01:57:45It seems like the plan could work

01:57:47at first, but then the shark suddenly

01:57:49thrusts the jaw of its mouth and

01:57:51catches the poor little squid in a second.

01:57:53After the meal is finished,

01:57:55the animal simply fits the jaw

01:57:57back into the mouth and goes away

01:57:59as if nothing happened.

01:58:01This is possible because it has a jaw

01:58:03connected to three-inch long flaps

01:58:05of skin, which is why it can

01:58:07fold from the snout.

01:58:09It can grow up to 12 feet long with a weight

01:58:11of 460 pounds.

01:58:13Scientists think goblin sharks are

01:58:15mostly active in the morning and evening.

01:58:17The shark has a long, prominent snout

01:58:19and specific sensing organs

01:58:21on it. It uses them to sense

01:58:23electrical fields in the dark oceanic

01:58:25depths.

01:58:27Sevengill shark is a big cow shark,

01:58:29brown to silver gray on top,

01:58:31white underneath, black and white

01:58:33spots, with a thick body,

01:58:35a small dorsal fin, and a wide,

01:58:37blunt snout. It can grow up

01:58:39to 10 feet long, mostly lives

01:58:41in the depth of 1,870 feet,

01:58:43but you can also find it in

01:58:45deep channels and bays.

01:58:47It can be aggressive toward humans if provoked,

01:58:49so don't.

01:58:51Like most deep-sea creatures, it's an

01:58:53opportunistic hunter that's not

01:58:55quite picky, but likes to go after dolphins,

01:58:57seals, porpoises,

01:58:59and other marine animals.

01:59:01Megamouth sharks mostly live

01:59:03in the depths of 15,000 feet

01:59:05and spend most of their time

01:59:07in the dark, like me.

01:59:09Scientists discovered it in 1976

01:59:11because it went near the surface

01:59:13at night to feed on zooplankton.

01:59:15That's the only time these sharks

01:59:17go there. During the day,

01:59:19they return to their quiet, dark, and

01:59:21mysterious depths. They are

01:59:23filter feeders, which means they keep

01:59:25their mouths wide open while swimming

01:59:27so they filter the planktons they like

01:59:29to eat. There are organs that

01:59:31produce light inside of their mouths,

01:59:33which attracts potential prey,

01:59:35such as pelagic crustaceans.

01:59:37These sharks live in the deep

01:59:39parts of the ocean, but you can rarely

01:59:41find them below almost two miles.

01:59:43Scientists think some other

01:59:45stronger bony fishes out-competed

01:59:47them. Deep parts of oceans

01:59:49became oxygenated around

01:59:5170 million years ago, and sharks

01:59:53have been around way longer.

01:59:55But bony fishes adjusted

01:59:57and adapted efficient ways to use

01:59:59oxygen, while sharks were slow

02:00:01with adaptations, so they lost.

02:00:03Also, oceanic depths

02:00:05are way colder, which is

02:00:07challenging for fish and the rest of

02:00:09cold-blooded animals because the speed

02:00:11of their metabolism widely depends

02:00:13upon the external temperature.

02:00:17And they're off!

02:00:19The Nile crocodile easily out-swims

02:00:21the hippo. They're swimming upstream

02:00:23against a heavy current. But the croc's

02:00:25body is built for swimming through rough

02:00:27water. It weighs as much as two

02:00:29refrigerator freezers and is thought to be

02:00:31the heaviest reptile on Earth.

02:00:33It can swim up to 22 miles per hour.

02:00:35The hippo can't swim.

02:00:37Not really. It just walks on

02:00:39the bottom of the river and pushes off

02:00:41from any big rock it finds.

02:00:43It can close its nostrils whenever it wants

02:00:45to be able to glide a bit through

02:00:47the water, but it's no match

02:00:49for the croc. The croc reaches

02:00:51the shore and starts running through a field.

02:00:53But better make way. The hippo

02:00:55is catching up. It's speeding

02:00:57across the flat terrain. Even though

02:00:59it's huge, the hippo can out-sprint

02:01:01a human. The croc was miles

02:01:03ahead, but the hippo's faster

02:01:05on foot. The hippo breaks through the

02:01:07ribbon. It's all over!

02:01:09Beep, beep! Hey

02:01:11there, roadrunner! Whatcha runnin' from?

02:01:13Wait, hold everything. That coyote

02:01:15is catching up fast. He's right

02:01:17on your tail. The greater roadrunner

02:01:19can run up to 20 miles per hour,

02:01:21even faster when it's really hungry.

02:01:23Despite what you see in cartoons,

02:01:25a coyote is actually twice as fast

02:01:27as a roadrunner, but the cartoon

02:01:29version is way funnier.

02:01:31In lane one, from the dense jungles

02:01:33of South America, the

02:01:35ever-slow sloth. And

02:01:37right underneath him in lane two,

02:01:39we have a typical garden snail.

02:01:41And the

02:01:43race is

02:01:45on for the slowest

02:01:47animal on Earth.

02:01:49With the sloth's top speed

02:01:51clocking in at 0.2

02:01:53miles per hour, it's no wonder

02:01:55they call it a giant moving pillow.

02:01:57Well, I call them that.

02:01:59The snail's off to a good start.

02:02:01It can cover a small neighborhood

02:02:03in about an hour. This boneless

02:02:05creature has only one foot, which

02:02:07is covered in protective slime.

02:02:09It's too blurry to see,

02:02:11but I think the sloth is

02:02:13still in the same spot. And now

02:02:15it's asleep. It'll probably be

02:02:17asleep through the whole race. A sloth

02:02:19can snooze it up for 15 hours a day.

02:02:21It's asleep for more than

02:02:23half of its life. And look,

02:02:25the snail got out of that sunny patch.

02:02:27Next stop, a shady

02:02:29patch. Ooh, it's too

02:02:31close to call. We'll have to wait till the

02:02:33sloth wakes up to get back to this race.

02:02:35A grizzly bear can

02:02:37easily outrun a human. If you're

02:02:39at a picnic and you cook up something

02:02:41a little too yummy, better leave your

02:02:43lunch behind. The fastest a

02:02:45human can sprint is 28 miles per

02:02:47hour. Said, of course, by Usain

02:02:49Bolt. So he'd probably be able

02:02:51to run away in time. If you're

02:02:53slower than him, which you are, then

02:02:55you're in trouble. In a

02:02:57one-on-one sprint between a human and

02:02:59a grizzly bear, you're gonna be the

02:03:01bear's lunch every time. But

02:03:03out of all the bears, which one's the

02:03:05fastest? Polar bears,

02:03:07grizzly bears, brown bears, sun bears,

02:03:09and the cute, cuddly panda

02:03:11bear. On your marks, get

02:03:13set, go!

02:03:15The tension is palpable. The grizzly

02:03:17and the brown bear are claw-to-claw.

02:03:19A brown bear can easily run as fast

02:03:21as a grizzly. The sun bear is

02:03:23the smallest bear in the race. It's

02:03:25about 6 feet long, or tall, or

02:03:27whatever. It just can't keep up.

02:03:29The polar bear got off to a

02:03:31great start, but it just doesn't have

02:03:33the speed of the grizzly or brown bear.

02:03:35Grizzly takes the lead.

02:03:37No, it's the brown bear.

02:03:39Now grizzly. Wait, where's panda?

02:03:41What's it doing?

02:03:43I don't think it knows it's a race, but

02:03:45isn't it cute? It just finished

02:03:47its third bamboo stick. A panda

02:03:49bear can eat up to 28 pounds of bamboo

02:03:51a day. That's, like, a lot.

02:03:53But it's off.

02:03:55It found its shortcut and is rolling

02:03:57down that hill. It zooms

02:03:59past the grizzly and the brown bear.

02:04:01It's all over! Panda wins!

02:04:03Sorry, bears. We all

02:04:05know that the panda isn't exactly fast.

02:04:07It's actually one of the slowest bears.

02:04:09Still, if you see a panda

02:04:11rolling down the hill in your direction,

02:04:13run! A Boeing

02:04:15747 has a top speed

02:04:17of around 620 mph.

02:04:19The fastest bird is

02:04:21the grey-headed albatross.

02:04:23It can fly up to 80 mph and

02:04:25stay up there for 10 hours without

02:04:27landing. The peregrine falcon

02:04:29is faster, but only when it's

02:04:31diving straight down to grab some takeout.

02:04:33Watch out, pigeon!

02:04:35Wow. Big planes take

02:04:37a long time to get up in the air,

02:04:39but the albatross? It's up and off

02:04:41in a few seconds. It's in the lead.

02:04:43But a few minutes later...

02:04:45Back to Slow-Mo-Ville.

02:04:47The sloth's awake. That's good.

02:04:49But so far, it's only managed

02:04:51to lift its arm to reach that tree branch.

02:04:53The garden snail's still

02:04:55trying to get past that big rock.

02:04:57Sloths spend a lot of their

02:04:59time as motionless as possible

02:05:01so that they don't become someone else's

02:05:03breakfast. Not great training

02:05:05for a race. But hold on!

02:05:07Player 3 has entered

02:05:09the race. It's the Galapagos

02:05:11tortoise. Its powerful front

02:05:13legs carry this tank of an animal.

02:05:15It's a whopping 4 times faster

02:05:17than the garden snail. This

02:05:19just got interesting. We got

02:05:21ourselves the race that'll last

02:05:23a century. The tortoise is running

02:05:25and dodging every obstacle.

02:05:27Nothing can stop it. Hey,

02:05:29no cheating, sloth! Don't be dropping

02:05:31tree branches from up there.

02:05:33Deep underground, a mole's busy

02:05:35burrowing around. A mole can

02:05:37eat as many earthworms as his own body

02:05:39weight and can dig around 15

02:05:41feet per hour. The American

02:05:43badger is the fastest digging

02:05:45animal in the world and is surprisingly

02:05:47fast on land. It can

02:05:49almost match the speed of a human on a

02:05:51good day. Head to head,

02:05:53the American badger wins the tunnel

02:05:55race pretty easily. Too bad the

02:05:57mole can't see where it's going.

02:05:59Moles aren't really blind. They just

02:06:01have terrible eyesight and they're color

02:06:03blind. And they can't wear glasses

02:06:05down there. Ah,

02:06:07the proud cheetah. It's sprinting

02:06:09across the savannah at warp speed.

02:06:11I've been the fastest land

02:06:13mammal for millions of years. I've

02:06:15got this! The fastest cheetah

02:06:17on record was a sprinter named

02:06:19Sarah. When she was 11,

02:06:21she ran the 100 meters in under

02:06:236 seconds. A cheetah can run up

02:06:25to 80 miles per hour if it sees

02:06:27something tasty. Sarah

02:06:29was raised in an American zoo and

02:06:31was one of the first cheetahs to have a

02:06:33puppy buddy when she was growing up.

02:06:35Alexa and Sarah, friends forever.

02:06:37But soaring above Sarah

02:06:39is a humble little bat.

02:06:41And that bat is making Sarah look

02:06:43slow. The Brazilian

02:06:45free-tailed bat can hit 100 miles

02:06:47per hour. It's the fastest mammal

02:06:49on the planet. Now, time

02:06:51for some shrinking. First to the

02:06:53blocks is the Australian tiger beetle.

02:06:55It charges forward at 6

02:06:57miles per hour. It may not seem

02:06:59like much, but relative to its size,

02:07:01it's lightning fast. That's

02:07:03like a human running alongside a high-speed

02:07:05train. Running in the

02:07:07inside lane is the Saharan

02:07:09silver ant. Ants are

02:07:11team players and are strongest when they're

02:07:13working together. But even one

02:07:15ant can be amazingly strong.

02:07:17An ant can lift hundreds of times

02:07:19its own weight and can sprint

02:07:21like there's no tomorrow. Hussein

02:07:23bull can hit 4 strides per second.

02:07:25This silver ant does 50.

02:07:27Scientists even discovered that

02:07:29these little ants like to gallop

02:07:31once they reach their top speed.

02:07:33Our last contender, the fastest

02:07:35animal on Earth. It's none

02:07:37other than this tiny mite.

02:07:39It's only the size of a sesame

02:07:41seed. If we go by body

02:07:43lengths per second, this microscopic

02:07:45animal outruns everything

02:07:47else on the planet. It's believed

02:07:49to run almost twice as fast as

02:07:51the tiger beetle. And if it were human-sized,

02:07:53it would run faster than the speed

02:07:55of sound. Um, let's

02:07:57get back to the crawlers. They finish yet?

02:07:59The tortoise is in the lead.

02:08:01The snail finally got past

02:08:03that large rock. And the sloth

02:08:05is on its way to branch number 2.

02:08:07The tortoise is 3

02:08:09feet away from the finish line.

02:08:11Wow, I just can't take much more of this

02:08:13excitement. But I think

02:08:15I have time for a latte!

02:08:17That's it for today. So hey, if you

02:08:19pacified your curiosity, then give the

02:08:21video a like and share it with your friends.

02:08:23Or if you want more, just click on these

02:08:25videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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