50+ Cool Animal Facts I Found During a Midnight Deep Dive

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Transcript

00:00:00Did you know that animals see the world differently from us?

00:00:03Take this. Pigeons actually have better vision than humans.

00:00:06Crazy, right?

00:00:08So let's try to see the world from the animals' eyes.

00:00:11Let's start with snakes.

00:00:13Their way of seeing the world is totally different from ours.

00:00:16They have special infrared-sensitive receptors in their snouts.

00:00:19This allows them to see the radiated heat of warm-blooded mammals.

00:00:23Now let's move on to cows.

00:00:25These big guys don't see colors as well as humans do.

00:00:28They can't see the color red because they don't have the necessary receptors in their retinas for that.

00:00:33So they only perceive variations of blue and green.

00:00:37Also, they don't like it when someone approaches them from behind.

00:00:40They have a near panoramic vision.

00:00:43And the only area they can't see is directly to the back.

00:00:46So if you're ever sneaking up on a cow, make sure you give them a heads up.

00:00:51Horses have a blind spot right in front of their faces because of their eye placement.

00:00:55This means they can't see things directly in front of them.

00:00:58Also, they don't see as many colors as we do.

00:01:01Just like cows, their world is mostly made up of greens, yellows, and blues.

00:01:05Poor guys.

00:01:07Fish eyes have ultraviolet receptors and a more spherical lens than humans.

00:01:11This gives them an almost 360-degree vision.

00:01:15As for colors, they're able to see all the same ones as we humans do.

00:01:19But because light behaves differently underwater, they have a hard time discerning red and its shades.

00:01:24Deep sea fish can easily see in the dark, which is pretty cool.

00:01:28Sharks, on the other hand, can't distinguish colors at all.

00:01:32But they see much clearer under the water than we do.

00:01:36Birds have some pretty unique ways of seeing the world.

00:01:39Unlike humans, birds can see ultraviolet light.

00:01:43This helps them differentiate between males and females of their own species,

00:01:47as well as better navigate in their surroundings.

00:01:50Also, they are very good at focusing.

00:01:53For example, falcons and eagles can focus on a small mouse in the field up to a distance of one mile.

00:01:58A pigeon can see all the tiny details.

00:02:00So if you ever need to find a crack in the pavement, just ask a pigeon.

00:02:04And by the way, it has a 340-degree field of vision,

00:02:07and generally their vision is considered twice as good as a human's.

00:02:11There, you have it.

00:02:12I'm envious of a pigeon.

00:02:15Insects have some weird vision patterns, too.

00:02:18Flies, for example, have thousands of little eye receptors

00:02:21that work together to give them a big picture of what's going on around them.

00:02:25And get this.

00:02:26They see everything in slow-mo.

00:02:28Plus, they can see ultraviolet light.

00:02:31It helps them with communication.

00:02:34Bees have their own problems.

00:02:36These guys can't tell what the color red is.

00:02:38To them, it looks like a dark blue.

00:02:40How messed up is that?

00:02:42Now, rats.

00:02:44These little guys can't see red, either.

00:02:45But that's not the weirdest part.

00:02:47Either of their eyes moves on its own,

00:02:49so they're seeing double like all the time.

00:02:51It's a wonder they don't run into more walls, am I right?

00:02:56Cats don't see shades of red or green.

00:02:58But they do see brown, yellow, and blue hues like a boss.

00:03:02Plus, they got a wide-angle view,

00:03:04so they can peep more stuff on the sides than we can.

00:03:07There's more, though.

00:03:08When it's pitch black outside,

00:03:10cats become ninja-like,

00:03:11and can see six times better than us.

00:03:14Their pupils adjust to any lighting like magic.

00:03:17Now let's talk about dogs.

00:03:19These furry friends can't see red or orange,

00:03:21but they do rock at blue and violet.

00:03:23Plus, they can differentiate 40 shades of gray.

00:03:26I mean, it's not 50, but still impressive.

00:03:30On a related note,

00:03:31frogs are really picky eaters.

00:03:33They won't even bother with food that isn't moving.

00:03:36They could be surrounded by a buffet of delicious bugs,

00:03:38but if they don't wiggle,

00:03:40frogs won't even bat an eye.

00:03:42And they're not the most observant creatures, either.

00:03:44If something isn't important to them, like a shadow,

00:03:47they won't even bother looking at it.

00:03:50Chameleons have eyes that can move independently of each other,

00:03:53so they can see everything around them without even turning their heads.

00:03:56They can even see two images at the same time,

00:03:59like a double-feature movie,

00:04:01one in front and one behind.

00:04:03Pretty impressive, right?

00:04:05What would you do if you suddenly got 360-degree vision like a chameleon?

00:04:09Share in the comments.

00:04:12In the US, people experience 250,000 human bites,

00:04:16400,000 cat bites,

00:04:18and 4.5 million dog bites each year.

00:04:22Yes, adorable animals can still attack you unexpectedly.

00:04:26Let's take a look at the cutest and fiercest examples.

00:04:30Forget about these viral videos of people hugging pandas.

00:04:34These cuddly-looking cuties can be surprisingly dangerous.

00:04:37Despite cartoonish looks,

00:04:39they're still wild and they will attack a human when they feel threatened.

00:04:44Even a snow leopard is scared to mess with an adult panda.

00:04:48So, if you ever meet this animal in person,

00:04:51keep a healthy distance, especially if it has cubs.

00:04:55Pandas switched from omnivorous to a vegetarian diet a couple of million years ago.

00:04:59But they still have these carnivorous teeth

00:05:02and retractable claws in their paws that can easily cut your skin.

00:05:06Today, scientists speculate that pandas' strict bamboo diet

00:05:09may be contributing to their extinction.

00:05:12So, it makes sense to plant some more bamboo

00:05:15to prevent these fluffy monsters from returning to their carnivorous habits, huh?

00:05:21But let's say you're hiking in the woods in China,

00:05:24and suddenly a ferocious panda jumps out of nowhere.

00:05:27First of all, make sure to carry bear spray and be ready to use it.

00:05:32You can pretend you're not alive,

00:05:34especially if the panda is too big to fight with.

00:05:37Don't rush to run away, though.

00:05:39Instead, try talking to the animal while backing away slowly.

00:05:43If a panda follows you while you're hiking,

00:05:45make loud noises along the trail to scare it away.

00:05:48The smell of food can attract pandas, as well as snow leopards,

00:05:51so avoid cooking if you know you're being stalked.

00:05:56And speaking of deceptive fluffballs,

00:05:59koalas and wombats can't be trusted either.

00:06:02These Australian animals are closest relatives,

00:06:05so they share some common traits.

00:06:07Koalas are territorial creatures,

00:06:10and they don't hesitate to use their sharp claws and teeth to prove it.

00:06:14If a koala starts biting you, it won't let go easily.

00:06:17You'll have to pull it away.

00:06:19So, it would be wise to wear long trousers and a jacket

00:06:22to provide additional protection to your skin.

00:06:25Also, make sure to protect your pets,

00:06:27because koalas definitely won't do that.

00:06:31Now, don't be tricked by those cuddly videos of people with koalas, too.

00:06:35These are zoo animals that have gone through a long bonding journey

00:06:38before becoming human-friendly.

00:06:40If you ever come across these creatures in the wild,

00:06:43don't try to take a selfie and avoid triggering them with loud noises.

00:06:48Although koalas are known for sleeping 22 hours a day,

00:06:52it doesn't mean you can't trigger them.

00:06:55Koalas tend to get more alarmed

00:06:57when they detect strangers within a 16-foot radius.

00:07:00By the way, spraying urine on enemies

00:07:03is one of the koalas' favorite defense mechanisms.

00:07:06The majority of koalas in the wild can spread unpleasant conditions,

00:07:10so that's another huge reason to stay away from them.

00:07:14Now, wombats may look like innocent, friendly hamsters,

00:07:17but these nocturnal marsupials are known for attacking people,

00:07:21dogs, and even wild dingoes.

00:07:23Yep, they bit several people so badly that they needed hospitalization.

00:07:28So, the safety rules are the same as with koalas.

00:07:31No hugs, no selfies.

00:07:33By the way, if you dare to run away from a wombat,

00:07:36keep in mind it can run up to 25 mph.

00:07:39What about you?

00:07:42Now, take swans.

00:07:43When it comes to personal boundaries,

00:07:45these fancy birds can show some sinister traits, too.

00:07:49Swans can defend their mates and nests very aggressively,

00:07:52which includes biting and even taking your life.

00:07:56Their nesting season between April and June is especially dangerous,

00:08:00so if you're swimming or even walking near a body of water in spring

00:08:04and you spot a sneaky swan coming your way,

00:08:07make sure to keep a respectful distance.

00:08:09You don't want to try to touch or feed them.

00:08:12Don't do anything that can provoke the birds,

00:08:14and heaven forbid you to approach their nests.

00:08:19Beware of the mute swan.

00:08:21It's one of the biggest hooligans in the bird world.

00:08:24These guys are less vocal compared to other swan species,

00:08:27so they can skip warning shouts and simply attack you in total silence.

00:08:32If it happens, don't rush to run away.

00:08:35Instead, try to stay calm, keep on facing the swan, and slowly back away.

00:08:40Using a barrier such as a fence or a tree can be helpful, too.

00:08:45You can also trick the swan into believing that you're a bigger bird.

00:08:49Just show them an open umbrella or a wide piece of clothing that imitates wings,

00:08:54if you happen to have it handy.

00:08:57Sometimes you can come across a swan that looks like it needs your help.

00:09:00Even if it breaks your heart,

00:09:02safety rules don't recommend trying to save the bird on your own.

00:09:06That's because the swan may perceive your help as a threat.

00:09:10Instead, you should notify local wildlife authorities,

00:09:13and they'll take proper care of the animal.

00:09:17There are many stories of dolphins saving people and being cute and playful,

00:09:21but their games can be surprisingly dangerous, especially in the wild.

00:09:25Even sharks can lose their lives if they mess with the wrong willy.

00:09:30Swimming with these smiley creatures is riskier than you might think.

00:09:34Dolphins can start pushing you with their powerful noses and bodies.

00:09:38In some cases, they can pull you underwater and bite you with their sharp teeth.

00:09:43Unfortunately, not everyone survives such an encounter.

00:09:47So, how do you tell a good dolphin from a sinister one?

00:09:51Well, first of all, if the dolphin is wild, never attempt to feed, pet, or play with it.

00:09:57If you see them flapping their jaws, chasing, slapping their tails in the water,

00:10:01or even releasing clouds of bubbles from their blowholes,

00:10:04take this as a sign of aggression.

00:10:07If you ever find yourself kayaking or swimming in the water with an aggressive dolphin,

00:10:11leave the area as soon as possible.

00:10:15Want to see one of the most poisonous creatures on Earth?

00:10:18Well, here you go!

00:10:19It's hard to resist putting this colorful guy on your palm to take a cute picture,

00:10:24but this could be your last photoshoot.

00:10:27The 2-inch long golden poison dart frog has enough venom to take the lives of 10 healthy adult men.

00:10:33This toxin is meant to attack the predator's nervous system

00:10:36and cause muscle contractions, respiratory paralysis, and even worse.

00:10:43Unlike snakes and scorpions, dart frogs don't need to bite to transfer their venom.

00:10:47They excrete it through their skin glands.

00:10:50So, if you ever happen to touch this cutie by mistake,

00:10:53don't rub your eyes and wash your hands immediately.

00:10:56The toxin has to get into your bloodstream to affect you.

00:11:00So, if you have any cuts on your skin,

00:11:02it makes sense to go to the hospital as soon as possible.

00:11:05Keep in mind that dart frog's skin tends to poison everything it touches,

00:11:10and the toxin can remain on those objects for up to a year.

00:11:15Ah, look at this cute Shrek-eyed toy!

00:11:18Wait a second, it's alive!

00:11:20Say hello to one of the few venomous mammals on the planet,

00:11:24the slow loris.

00:11:26It's no wonder that this furry creature is the star of the shadow pet market,

00:11:30but you should read the directions before purchasing it

00:11:33since a refund is unlikely to be possible.

00:11:36You may have seen this animal raising its hands as if surrendering to the police.

00:11:41You wish!

00:11:43Slow loris has a toxin released from its bronchial gland on the sides of its elbows.

00:11:49This innocent-looking fluffy takes the venom into its mouth to mix it with its saliva.

00:11:55After that, it can rub its hair with the toxin to scare away its rivals.

00:12:00Or give you a fierce venomous bite that you'll never forget.

00:12:06This toxin causes anaphylactic shock, so it's dangerous to human life.

00:12:11Do you still want to bring this cutie home?

00:12:13Nah, I didn't think so.

00:12:16Now, just because the platypus looks like an ancient Pokemon,

00:12:20it doesn't mean you can let your guard down.

00:12:23Male platypuses have a special tool to fight for mates,

00:12:26hidden sharp spurs on their hind feet.

00:12:29They contain a dose of venom that's fatal to a dog-sized animal.

00:12:33But it doesn't mean you're safe.

00:12:35They can attack humans too.

00:12:38And the sensation caused by the platypus' venom

00:12:41is described as long-lasting intense ache

00:12:44that cannot be relieved with conventional medicines.

00:12:48So, never try to pet this cutie.

00:12:50It's not worth it.

00:12:53There are many more cute but vicious animals on the planet,

00:12:56so remember that looks can be deceiving.

00:12:58And stay safe.

00:13:02If you're being approached by an aggressively looking dog,

00:13:05start yelling and screaming.

00:13:07It'll show your dominance and spook the animal off.

00:13:11Yes, this is a widespread myth.

00:13:13And no, it won't help you if you meet a canine

00:13:15that looks as if it's going to attack you.

00:13:18The best course of action in this rather scary situation

00:13:21is to stand still and avoid direct eye contact with the animal.

00:13:26You shouldn't run.

00:13:27It may only encourage the dog to start chasing you.

00:13:30If the animal attacks, drop to the ground and curl into a ball,

00:13:34protecting your head and neck with your hands.

00:13:38But what if you come across another,

00:13:40much more dangerous representative of the canine family?

00:13:43A wolf?

00:13:45Running away won't save your life.

00:13:47Wolves are much faster than humans, especially in the forest.

00:13:52Plus, as soon as you start running,

00:13:54the wolf's prey drive will immediately kick in.

00:13:57Instead, maintain eye contact with the animal at all times

00:14:01and never ever turn your back on it.

00:14:04While trying to escape,

00:14:06make sure the wolf remains in front of you.

00:14:08If the predator ends up behind you,

00:14:10its hunting instincts may come into play.

00:14:13So slowly back away while facing the animal.

00:14:19You might have heard that if you've been bitten by a snake,

00:14:22you should apply garlic to the bite area.

00:14:25Another misconception.

00:14:27Garlic has absolutely no effect on snake venom.

00:14:30Instead, try to remember the color and shape of the snake.

00:14:34You can later help doctors treat the bite

00:14:36and figure out what anti-venom is needed.

00:14:39Also, remain still and as calm as possible.

00:14:43It can slow down the spread of venom.

00:14:46And, of course, immediately seek medical help.

00:14:50If you see a bear,

00:14:52fall down on the ground and pretend to have passed away.

00:14:55Unfortunately, it doesn't always work this way.

00:14:58First of all, you need to show the animal that you're not prey.

00:15:02Do not make any high-pitched noises and don't scream.

00:15:05This way, you may agitate the bear even more.

00:15:09If you wave your arms, do it slowly.

00:15:12If you decide to talk some sense into the bear,

00:15:15do it in a calm and low voice.

00:15:17Without taking your eyes off the bear,

00:15:20start to move sideways.

00:15:22It won't let you trip and go down.

00:15:25Do not rush or run away.

00:15:27Although at first sight bears may look clumsy and heavy-footed,

00:15:31they're surprisingly good runners.

00:15:33Plus, these animals love chasing their prey.

00:15:37That's why if a bear charges after you,

00:15:39stop moving altogether.

00:15:44There's a misconception that bees can only sting once.

00:15:47But in reality, the problem is that honeybee stingers are barbed

00:15:51and can easily catch on their victim's skin.

00:15:54The stinger gets stuck.

00:15:56The bee can't free itself and doesn't usually survive such an accident.

00:16:00You need to remember that bees will protect their hives no matter what.

00:16:05And they can sting you even if you're just walking by.

00:16:09Dark colors can make bees more aggressive

00:16:12since such hues make people look like they're natural enemies.

00:16:16That's why if you're dressed in a black T-shirt,

00:16:18your chances of being stung by these insects are higher.

00:16:22If a swarm of bees is following you,

00:16:24hide in an enclosed or dark space.

00:16:27The lack of proper lighting will throw the insects off your track.

00:16:31Similar rules apply to wasp encounters.

00:16:34One of the worst mistakes you can make

00:16:36is wearing your long hair down and wearing dark clothes.

00:16:40Wasps are attracted to dark moving objects

00:16:43and your clothes and hair certainly fit this description.

00:16:47So if you suspect you may come across some wasps,

00:16:50put on some light-colored clothes

00:16:52and keep your hair tied up in a ponytail or bun.

00:16:56Contrary to popular belief,

00:16:58bathing a wasp sting in vinegar or baking soda won't help.

00:17:02Instead, apply some ice to the affected area.

00:17:07Gorillas are called the kings of the jungle and not without a reason.

00:17:11They are leaders that tend to protect their family and land.

00:17:15They won't normally attack you if you behave obediently.

00:17:18So upon meeting a gorilla, sit down.

00:17:22This way, you won't look large and threatening, towering over the animal.

00:17:27Try not to make loud noises and avoid direct eye contact.

00:17:31In case of an attack or approach, curl into a ball.

00:17:35Gorillas are proud animals.

00:17:37As a rule, they won't attack the weak and defenseless.

00:17:43Surprisingly, a wild kangaroo can pose a serious threat to a person.

00:17:48But it will only happen if you enter the animal's territory and it feels threatened.

00:17:53To avoid a conflict, cough.

00:17:55It's not a joke.

00:17:56Your coughs should be short and quiet.

00:17:59The kangaroo will consider it a sign of disease,

00:18:02and there's a chance it won't attack you.

00:18:04After that, back away slowly.

00:18:07This way, you will look smaller, therefore less threatening.

00:18:11Don't turn away and run.

00:18:13It will only provoke the animal.

00:18:15Remember that kangaroos are perfect jumpers,

00:18:17capable of catching up with you in a few moments.

00:18:20Of course, we must talk about sharks.

00:18:24The good news is that out of several hundred shark species existing on Earth,

00:18:29only about a dozen attack humans.

00:18:32If a shark gets interested in you, it will be extremely hard to break away.

00:18:37To not attract sharks, prevent blood or any other body fluids from getting into the water,

00:18:43Sharks can feel smells at great distances.

00:18:46Also, when you go swimming, take off shiny jewelry or other reflective objects.

00:18:52Sharks are attracted to shiny things because they mistake them for fish scales.

00:18:57Don't turn your back on this predator, and don't try to escape in panic.

00:19:01You will look like prey this way.

00:19:03Move slowly.

00:19:06Hitting the animal in its eyes and gills can only make it angrier and more determined to attack.

00:19:11Instead, start making bubbles.

00:19:13They are too noisy for sharks, and these animals don't like them.

00:19:18If you encounter a wild boar, it will be a mistake to try to escape the animal by jumping into the water.

00:19:25Boars are actually good swimmers and can easily follow you if they feel threatened.

00:19:30Instead, start whistling or singing if you spot a wild boar walking nearby.

00:19:36If you've encountered a lion, maintain eye contact with the animal.

00:19:41Don't turn your back and don't move your eyes away.

00:19:44It will give the predator some time to attack.

00:19:47Try to look more massive than you actually are.

00:19:50Lift your arms and jack it up.

00:19:52If you look big and threatening, the animal will try to avoid the confrontation.

00:19:57Speak to the lion in a reasonably loud and confident voice.

00:20:01Such behavior isn't typical for a victim.

00:20:04You will baffle the predator, and it will perceive you as an irritating presence, which is better to stay away from.

00:20:11Elephants are clever and quite friendly animals, but they have been known to attack people.

00:20:16This is especially true about female elephant mothers with babies.

00:20:21If you have come across an elephant, pay attention to its body language.

00:20:26If the trunk is curled and the ears are pulled back, it means it might try to attack and crush you.

00:20:32If the animal approaches, don't run.

00:20:35Try to find something to serve as a barrier between you and the elephant.

00:20:39It can be a stone or a tree.

00:20:42Rhinoceroses have bad eyesight.

00:20:45That's why it's easy to frighten them and provoke them to attack.

00:20:49These animals' speed can reach 30 miles per hour.

00:20:53These animals' speed can reach 37 miles per hour, which is why it's really difficult to outrun them.

00:21:00The most foolproof way to escape from a rhinoceros is to hide behind a tree.

00:21:05It's a serious obstacle for the animal.

00:21:07Also, it's unlikely to follow you through bushes or high grass.

00:21:14Hippos may seem cute, but this image is very misleading.

00:21:19These animals can be extremely dangerous.

00:21:22Despite their weight, hippopotamuses can run at a speed of 18 to 28 miles per hour.

00:21:29Plus, it's quite easy to make them angry.

00:21:31So, if the weather is hot, try not to come close to bushes.

00:21:35The level of water lowers during the drought season, and hippos hide in tall grass.

00:21:41To make the animal leave you alone, climb a tree, a rock, or a steep hill.

00:21:46Wait there until it goes away.

00:21:49Despite the widespread opinion, bulls react to movement, not the color red.

00:21:54Or any other color.

00:21:56That's why if a bull is running at you, stay straight and still.

00:22:00Use your hat, t-shirt, or other clothes you have at hand as bait.

00:22:05When the bull runs up close enough, throw this object as far away from you as possible.

00:22:10The bull will change the direction and follow this new target.

00:22:15Well, meet the tiny terrors of our world.

00:22:19Fire ants.

00:22:21When they sting, they inject venom that can cause serious trouble.

00:22:24For most people, it's just a fiery sensation and raised bumps.

00:22:28But for others, especially those who are allergic to it, it's life-threatening.

00:22:33These ants set up their camps right under your feet.

00:22:36They're quick to swarm and are fiercely protective of their colonies.

00:22:40They show no mercy to intruders.

00:22:42Their stings are rated about 1.2 on the Schmidt Insect Sting Index, where 4 is the maximum.

00:22:50It feels like a sudden jewel.

00:22:52But the sensations are less burning than when a bee stings you.

00:22:56They originated in tropical regions like Central and South America.

00:23:00But now you can find them even in some temperate zones like North America.

00:23:05In their colonies, fire ants have a strict hierarchy.

00:23:09A queen, winged males and females, and different types of workers.

00:23:13They communicate through chemicals and sounds.

00:23:16The most famous member of this genus is the red imported fire ant.

00:23:21They've come from South America and invaded the southern U.S.

00:23:25They build large mounds, making farming difficult and damaging crops.

00:23:29It's almost impossible to control them.

00:23:31And on top of that, there's now the rise of another invasive species.

00:23:36The tawny crazy ant.

00:23:38This one poses a threat to native ecosystems.

00:23:41Turns out ants can be dangerously unfriendly.

00:23:45Colorful blister beetles are among the 10 most dangerous insects in the world.

00:23:50Luckily, they're not lethal to humans unless they go for you in a big pack.

00:23:55However, they pose a serious threat to large animals such as horses.

00:23:59Blister beetles produce a toxin called cantharidin, which causes skin blistering in humans.

00:24:05In the past, people believed it could treat warts and even rabies.

00:24:08And some even used it in love potions.

00:24:11However, it's a risky game.

00:24:14In the 1950s, a man was jailed for giving cantharidin-laced candies to two women, resulting in a tragic outcome.

00:24:21These beetles are not to be messed with.

00:24:24Handling them or ingesting them is very dangerous.

00:24:27They're attracted to alfalfa and hay.

00:24:29If a horse eats either of those, even a few beetles can release enough cantharidin to end it.

00:24:37This cute caterpillar from South America is called Linomia obliqua.

00:24:41And it's the most dangerous caterpillar on Earth.

00:24:44It's responsible for several fatalities due to its potent venom.

00:24:48It's the larval stage of the giant silkworm moth.

00:24:52When it grows up, it becomes a beautiful and harmless silkworm.

00:24:56But if you see them as youngsters, it's better to stay away.

00:25:00Its toxicity stems from venom-injecting bristles.

00:25:04They serve as a defense mechanism against predators.

00:25:07The poison messes up how your blood clots and can cause really bad symptoms like burning feelings,

00:25:12throwing up, kidney problems, and sometimes even lethal outcomes.

00:25:17A single bite probably won't lead to anything horrifying.

00:25:20It delivers only a tiny amount of venom.

00:25:23But these caterpillars tend to congregate, and they're quite good at camouflage.

00:25:28This increases the risk of multiple stings.

00:25:33Locusts themselves aren't dangerous to humans.

00:25:36They're ordinary, loud grasshoppers.

00:25:38But they're infamous for their swarming behavior.

00:25:41These swarms often happen when there's a dry period with no rain.

00:25:45And then suddenly, a lot of rain falls, and plants start growing fast.

00:25:49Once it begins, it's nearly impossible to stop.

00:25:52They can become a destructive force within minutes.

00:25:55Throughout history, locust plagues have been devastating, wreaking havoc on crops and farmland.

00:26:01What's interesting is that the term locust can mean different things depending on where you're from.

00:26:07In some places, we're talking about cicadas, which are also known for their loud sounds.

00:26:12But true locusts are ancient creatures, relatively unchanged since the Triassic era.

00:26:18They're among the oldest insects on Earth.

00:26:22Wasps, hornets, and even bees can be extremely dangerous, especially to those allergic to their stings.

00:26:29The Asian giant hornet is the largest of the wasps.

00:26:32It can reach up to 2 inches in size.

00:26:35It packs a powerful venom that can cause serious discomfort and even spray into people's eyes.

00:26:40There's an even more venomous species in the Philippines called Vespa Luctuosa.

00:26:45Not to be confused with Expecto Patronum.

00:26:48Any Harry Potter fans?

00:26:50Anyway, fatalities because of wasps or bees are rare but not unheard of.

00:26:55In the UK, about 10 people pass away each year from bee or wasp sting reactions.

00:27:01Always stay cautious.

00:27:03All these insects are very territorial and will fiercely defend their hives.

00:27:07When provoked, they signal danger to nearby bees and instigate a mass defense effort.

00:27:13If you need to handle them, it's best to call professionals.

00:27:18A flea is tiny and humble, but it left a colossal impact on human history and health.

00:27:25They're not just annoying pests, they're notorious carriers of various human conditions

00:27:30and are responsible for some of the worst outbreaks in history.

00:27:34Back in the 14th century, I forget where I was,

00:27:38but the bubonic plague wiped out over 25 million people in Europe,

00:27:42and fleas were a big part of spreading it.

00:27:45Fleas spend their lives searching for warm-blooded hosts to feed on,

00:27:49whether it's reptiles, mammals, pets, or humans.

00:27:53Despite their tiny size and absence of wings, they make up for it with impressive jumping abilities.

00:27:59They can leap 6 feet and jump over 1,200 feet in the air.

00:28:03A flea bite might seem like a minor annoyance, causing itching and inflammation,

00:28:08but a lot of them can lead to anemia in their hosts.

00:28:11Of course, the most dangerous part about them is the viruses, bacteria, and worms they transmit.

00:28:18Kissing bugs mostly live in both Americas, with smaller populations in Africa and Asia.

00:28:24Despite the friendly name, they're great at passing on bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

00:28:30One of the parasites they carry is trypanosoma cruzi.

00:28:34It's the culprit behind illnesses that affect millions globally and claim thousands of lives each year.

00:28:40What's interesting is that symptoms don't often appear until 10 or 30 years after being bitten.

00:28:46They typically manifest as heart failure, digestive issues, or nervous system problems.

00:28:52They don't actually kiss you. They suck on you and are attracted to their prey by breath.

00:28:57If you breathe through your mouth, you're a target.

00:29:00They're messy biters, often biting chaotically and almost uncontrollably,

00:29:05which only adds to their unsettling nature.

00:29:10Many have heard of the tsetse fly, an unusual and scary insect from tropical Africa.

00:29:15These flies are carriers of one of the most devastating human diseases, sleeping sickness.

00:29:21Similar to the kissing bug, the tsetse fly transmits trypanosomes, the parasites that cause sleeping sickness.

00:29:28They acquire this parasite from an infected host or from within the fly's own body.

00:29:33Sleeping sickness doesn't strike immediately.

00:29:36After a bite, it takes 1-3 weeks for symptoms to appear.

00:29:40Fever, headaches, joint pains, and itchiness.

00:29:43As the illness progresses, it can invade the nervous system, leading to confusion, insomnia, and loss of balance.

00:29:50Without treatment, it can result in a coma and then a fatal outcome.

00:29:55Luckily, sleeping sickness can be treated, and the number of losses is declining.

00:30:00The tsetse fly holds historical significance too.

00:30:03Its presence has hindered European colonial expansion in Africa.

00:30:09And the crown of the most dangerous insect in the world goes to the mosquito.

00:30:15It's no surprise why.

00:30:16Despite their small size, they wield a massive impact.

00:30:20They're not only responsible for more human losses annually than any other animal,

00:30:25but they've also left an indelible mark on history.

00:30:28These little insects influence the rise and fall of entire civilizations.

00:30:33For example, malaria significantly weakened ancient civilizations such as in Rome and Greece.

00:30:39What's interesting is that it's not just the mosquitoes themselves that are dangerous, but the parasites.

00:30:45Bacteria and viruses carry and transmit through their bites.

00:30:49These tiny horrors spread a buffet of diseases.

00:30:52Despite malaria, there's also yellow fever,

00:30:55which, just like with the tsetse fly, hindered European colonization efforts in tropical regions.

00:31:01The scariest one of them is the Anopheles mosquito.

00:31:04It's the apex predator of the insect world.

00:31:07It's responsible for more fatal outcomes and illnesses than any other insect.

00:31:13So how do we combat these tiny yet mighty foes?

00:31:16With prevention.

00:31:18We need to eliminate standing water in our surroundings and practice mosquito control measures.

00:31:23We must always stay one step ahead to protect ourselves and our communities from dangerous insects.

00:31:31You decided to go scuba diving for the first time.

00:31:34The water is clear and the sun is shining on the seabed.

00:31:38You take a few selfies and a fish swimming by when suddenly, the ocean goes pitch black.

00:31:45You look up and...

00:31:47Oh my, what is that gigantic animal?

00:31:50It's definitely not a shark, not a whale.

00:31:54Is it...

00:31:55Is it a...

00:31:57It's definitely not a shark, not a whale.

00:32:00Is it...

00:32:01Is it... a turtle?

00:32:03Yup, but fear not, it's not gonna hurt you.

00:32:06If you had lived on this same earth about 72 million years ago,

00:32:10then maybe this could have really happened to you.

00:32:15Scientists have recently found the fossils of a gigantic marine turtle that could have grown as big as 12 feet.

00:32:23If you don't have any idea of how big that is, let's see some examples.

00:32:27That's the average length of a hippopotamus,

00:32:30six golden retrievers,

00:32:32or two Michael Jordans stacked on top of each other.

00:32:37The turtle's scientific name is an homage to that old school sea monster called Leviathan.

00:32:43Maybe you remember this from old school history lessons.

00:32:47The Leviathan is supposedly a mythical creature that would swallow entire ships or people that were deemed too greedy by the creature.

00:32:57Can you imagine being swallowed by this humongous sea turtle?

00:33:01No, thank you.

00:33:05The fossils of this gigantic creature began to be excavated between 2016 and 2021,

00:33:11all the way in northeastern Spain.

00:33:14The first fossil was located by a hiker in the Spanish Pyrenees,

00:33:18and it was around 8 inches long.

00:33:20The pelvis of this turtle alone measured around 35 inches.

00:33:26It would definitely be one of the biggest turtles today if it hadn't gone extinct.

00:33:32FYI, the largest living sea turtles today can reach up to 6 feet in length,

00:33:38which is already pretty big.

00:33:42Now, how about a gigantic prehistoric scorpion?

00:33:47I bet most people here are not huge fans of these creatures,

00:33:51especially since they're poisonous.

00:33:53Which is why the thought of a 9 foot long aquatic scorpion might be the stuff of nightmares.

00:33:58Let's just say that if they hadn't gone extinct some 400 million years ago,

00:34:03lakes and rivers would be much more dangerous places for humans today.

00:34:08These gigantic insects were considered to be apex predators in their time,

00:34:13hunting everything from fish to other animals, even of their own kind.

00:34:18Yikes, I got goosebumps just imagining these creatures.

00:34:22Should we thank the asteroid that hit our planet now or later on in this video?

00:34:28Another prehistoric animal that would shock humans if it were still alive

00:34:32is the so-called megatherium, a gigantic sloth.

00:34:37This huge sloth is believed to have grown up to 20 feet long,

00:34:42and its weight could be up to 8,000 pounds.

00:34:46It was found in the woodlands and grasslands of South America.

00:34:50The creature used to stand on its two feet in order to reach leaves on high branches.

00:34:55These giant sloths had huge claws.

00:34:59They helped them climb trees.

00:35:01I gotta say, I feel uncomfortable imagining these elephant-sized sloths climbing trees.

00:35:07Oh, of course.

00:35:09Some dinosaurs will make our supersized creatures list, but before that, here's a fun fact.

00:35:15Did you know some dinosaurs are still alive today?

00:35:19Scientists have proven that birds are classified as theropod dinosaurs.

00:35:24Such infamous creatures as the T-Rex and Velociraptor belonged to this group.

00:35:31I'm sure you've heard these names even before you watched Jurassic Park.

00:35:35The Velociraptor is that scary dino that breaks into the kitchen.

00:35:39Well, they evolved, gained some feathers, and turned into various species of birds we know today.

00:35:46That means that any bird from chickens to those little blue ones is a direct descendant of dinosaurs.

00:35:55Now, does the name Spinosaurus ring a bell?

00:35:59You can see this huge dinosaur in some museums today.

00:36:03It's fossils, I mean.

00:36:05The Spinosaurus was one of the biggest land predators to walk Earth.

00:36:10Actually, to walk its land and water.

00:36:13Since scientists believe that this dino was semi-aquatic.

00:36:18It fed mostly on meat, which means humans would be its natural prey if it lived today.

00:36:25This meat-eating dino lived around 90 to 100 million years ago.

00:36:29It was about 60 feet long, 12 feet high, and weighed up to 22 tons.

00:36:36Its head was around the size of 8 bowling balls and was shaped like a crocodile's face.

00:36:42Basically, the Spinosaurus was a big African elephant with the face of a crocodile.

00:36:49Just kidding, but that would look funny though, wouldn't it?

00:36:53A much more attractive dino was this guy.

00:36:56It's considered to be the largest dinosaur that has ever lived on our planet.

00:37:01What made it so big was its extremely long neck and very long tail.

00:37:08You wouldn't want to stand behind this creature, believe me.

00:37:11If it decided to swish its tail, you'd get catapulted very far away.

00:37:15This creature lived around 100 million years ago and its fossils were first found in Argentina around 2012.

00:37:23The dino measured 120 feet from head to tail, which made it almost as big as an American football field in width.

00:37:32Hmm, and have I mentioned it weighed almost as much as a space shuttle?

00:37:36A staggering 75 tons!

00:37:40If it had been a carnivore, it would have probably been the greatest predator.

00:37:44But this big guy was a peaceful herbivore that had such a long neck that it could eat leaves from high trees.

00:37:50Cute, right?

00:37:54We must also talk about the Shastasaurus.

00:37:57As the name suggests, this animal is popularly known as the Mount Shasta lizard.

00:38:03Even though it was a marine reptile and probably never set foot on the mountain itself.

00:38:09This dino was usually around 23 feet long.

00:38:12But there was a specific strand of this species that could get as big as 69 feet long.

00:38:18About the size of the great blue whale.

00:38:22This made it the biggest marine reptile to have ever lived.

00:38:26A fun fact about the Shastasaurus is that scientists believe it didn't even have teeth.

00:38:32Which means it could only feed on soft-bodied prey, such as squid for example.

00:38:39The next animal on our list is the blue whale.

00:38:43Believe it or not, the biggest living animal on Earth actually started small.

00:38:48These days, the average mature blue whale can reach up to 100 feet in length and weigh up to 200 tons.

00:38:55That's more or less the weight of 40 elephants put together.

00:39:00Or 30 Tyrannosaurus rexes.

00:39:02Or 2,670 average-sized people.

00:39:05Blue whales have to eat up to 50 million calories per day to support that body.

00:39:11That's the equivalent of 30,000 Big Macs.

00:39:14Just FYI.

00:39:17But blue whales weren't always this big.

00:39:20They actually evolved from a four-legged mammal that lived on Earth around 48 million years ago.

00:39:27Their ancestor was called Pakicetus and it was only 6 feet long.

00:39:31Here's a fun fact.

00:39:33To be able to live in the water as one does today, the blue whale had to go through some intense adaptations.

00:39:40A blue whale can replace up to 80-90% of oxygen in its lungs each time it takes a breath.

00:39:47A human replaces only up to 15% for comparison.

00:39:51It allows these animals to dive for up to 1 hour at a time, down to a staggering 4,000 feet.

00:39:58Or up to 1 hour at a time, down to a staggering depth of 330 feet.

00:40:05Elephants were bound to make the list.

00:40:07Elephants are currently the largest land animals on Earth.

00:40:10They can grow to be about 13 feet tall and weigh up to 7 tons.

00:40:15That's pretty small if we compare it to the other animals that once lived on Earth, right?

00:40:20But if we placed a 6-foot tall human next to an elephant, we'll see it's not at all that small.

00:40:28African elephants are bigger than their close relatives, Asian elephants.

00:40:32And they have a similar lifespan to humans, up to 70 years.

00:40:38Pokemon might have made us collectively wish that salamanders were real-life dragons.

00:40:43Although, they're not.

00:40:45They can still be pretty cool though.

00:40:48There's a giant species of salamander that is known to be the largest living amphibian.

00:40:54They can grow to be as long as a regular-sized human, reaching up to 6 feet.

00:40:59I bet that wouldn't be a pleasant underwater encounter.

00:41:04So, the most famous survival rule when it comes to encounters with bears is to stay still and pretend you aren't a living thing.

00:41:12But this rule won't work with all bears, only with grizzlies and brown ones.

00:41:18If you're in North America, you'll find those in Alaska, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

00:41:24Black bears, the ones you need to run away from, live in a larger territory.

00:41:29You can find them in 40 states, much of Canada, and even part of northern Mexico.

00:41:34So, if you're hiking in Yellowstone, you could run into either a black bear or a grizzly.

00:41:40But let's say you're in California.

00:41:42The bear you accidentally meet is most likely a black one.

00:41:46And no, you can't just tell the difference by the color of its fur.

00:41:50Black bears can be black, brown, cinnamon, blonde, blue-gray, or even white.

00:41:56It's getting complicated, isn't it?

00:41:59If you notice a hump at the shoulders of your unexpected date, it's a grizzly.

00:42:04Black bears don't have those.

00:42:06A grizzly will also have a dished face, round ears, and long, light-colored claws.

00:42:12A black bear has a straight, dog-like muzzle, pointed ears, and dark claws.

00:42:17We'll have a quiz on this later.

00:42:19Maybe.

00:42:23So, if you're sure it's a grizzly or a brown bear, lie down.

00:42:27Take a fetal position, tuck your knees to your chest, and cover your head to show the bear you won't hurt them.

00:42:33These big guys mostly attack if they feel there's a threat to them.

00:42:37You can never outrun them, so don't even try.

00:42:40If they see you're a harmless little human, in 99% of cases, the bear will pass by.

00:42:46Wait for 2 or 3 minutes until you can't hear the bear anywhere near.

00:42:50It might hang out in the area to make sure you didn't stand up and, if you did, get into attack mode.

00:42:56If you pack well for emergencies and have bear spray on you,

00:43:00take off the safety clip when the bear is around 60 feet away and spray the bear.

00:43:05Aim slightly below its face.

00:43:08It's more effective than just assuming the fetal position.

00:43:11When the bear leaves, run away for safety in the opposite direction from the predator.

00:43:16Got all that? Good.

00:43:21If you're dealing with a black bear, it won't stop if it sees you in a fetal position on the ground.

00:43:26If you don't have bear spray on you and the bear is clearly interested in you, show it who's boss.

00:43:32Throw rocks or your stuff at it.

00:43:34Shout, hey bear, loudly.

00:43:36Clap, make yourself look bigger by raising your arms and jacket.

00:43:40Climb on a rock or a stump.

00:43:42Do whatever it takes to scare it.

00:43:44Black bears are a lot like those bad guys at school who want to steal your lunch.

00:43:49They'll often give up if they see you can stand up for yourself.

00:43:53If the bear gets dangerously close to you, hit it in the eyes or nose

00:43:58and try to shock or stun it to make your unwanted hiking partner flee in fear.

00:44:03If the bear, no matter which type, is just sitting in the distance and staring at you,

00:44:08try to shuffle away super slowly.

00:44:11Move sideways at a slight angle so you don't trip as you backpedal away from this guy.

00:44:16This way, the bear won't think that you're trying to run away and won't be triggered to chase you.

00:44:22Talk calmly to yourself to show the bear that you're a human.

00:44:26Singing also helps.

00:44:28Hey, maybe she'll know the tune.

00:44:30Avoid direct eye contact with the animal and never stand between the cubs and their mother.

00:44:35Don't freak out if the bear stands on its hind legs.

00:44:38It's not an aggressive move.

00:44:40Says right here.

00:44:41In case you ever plan to visit an area populated with polar bears,

00:44:45don't go without a bear deterrent, like a tank.

00:44:49Healthy polar bear males weigh half a ton,

00:44:52stand 8 feet tall on its hind legs,

00:44:54and can chase prey at 25 miles per hour.

00:44:57So don't go out alone.

00:44:59Hike with others and talk while you hike to indicate you're a group of humans.

00:45:03Remember, not all polar bears are mean predators who want to have you for lunch.

00:45:08Some of them are just going somewhere.

00:45:10If you spot one with your head down, stalking in,

00:45:14not trying to go somewhere but definitely trying to focus on people,

00:45:18that's when you should be alarmed.

00:45:20Move away from the bear slowly.

00:45:22Don't run.

00:45:23Only if the bear gets close to you, use your deterrence.

00:45:29Some people claim that ammonia is a great bear repellent.

00:45:32Bears really don't like it.

00:45:34So if you soak some rags in it and throw them in your garbage,

00:45:37the brown guests shouldn't bother you.

00:45:40And if you meet a bear in the wild and it's not that into you,

00:45:44ammonia could help you repel it.

00:45:46But it also destroys the nasal passages,

00:45:49leaving the animal without its sense of smell,

00:45:51which means it won't be able to sniff out food.

00:45:54It can also annoy a bear who wasn't planning to charge after you

00:45:58and provoke it to do so.

00:46:00Anything that smells interesting to bears,

00:46:02like food and stinky garbage,

00:46:05will make them notice you and come to check your camp out.

00:46:08So cook away from the camp and don't litter.

00:46:11If you put bear spray on your tent,

00:46:13you might attract unwanted fluffy guests.

00:46:16The pepper products in it smell like food,

00:46:19so that could be one way to attract bears.

00:46:23If you notice a bear standing along the road,

00:46:26resist the urge to stop and take photos.

00:46:29Move at least 100 yards away and pull over to a safe location.

00:46:33Roadside bears quickly get used to humans and traffic noise,

00:46:37which can become dangerous for their lives.

00:46:40And they're more likely to approach campgrounds and picnic areas

00:46:43in search of human food.

00:46:47People who live close to the wilderness and on the mountains

00:46:50are used to bear visitors and don't fear them.

00:46:53Douglas Harder spotted a mother black bear and her two cubs

00:46:56emptying the bird feeder on his second-story deck.

00:46:59Once he returned home after a while

00:47:01and found that a bear had broken into his kitchen

00:47:04through a partially open sliding door.

00:47:06The uninvited guest had scratched up a wall

00:47:09and stolen some junk food before running away.

00:47:12Harder just finished cleaning up after the bear

00:47:15when a cub shoved its face through the cat door.

00:47:18Its photos went viral online.

00:47:22Then there's Kristen Jones.

00:47:24She was visiting her parents in North Carolina

00:47:26and decided to do some yoga on the bank of a nearby lake.

00:47:30She was using earbuds

00:47:32and didn't hear the bear approach her from the back.

00:47:35Suddenly, she felt someone sniffing and licking her neck.

00:47:38She thought it was her neighbor's dog

00:47:40and stretched her arm to pet it,

00:47:42and that scared away the animal.

00:47:44Kristen managed to snap a couple of photos of the bear moving away,

00:47:47although no one believed the licking story.

00:47:50She remembers this as the scariest moment of her life

00:47:53and hopes it will never repeat.

00:47:55As for the bear, he was most likely spotted in the area

00:47:58looking for food in trash cans and on other people's decks.

00:48:04Scientists who observe polar bears

00:48:06note how incredibly smart these animals are.

00:48:09Members of Polar Bears International

00:48:12have captured hundreds of photos to better study these animals.

00:48:15Before they started using a special cage,

00:48:18they would take photos using a camera

00:48:20that was on the end of a long pole

00:48:22that would be lowered from a height.

00:48:24One day, the camera's flash went off

00:48:26right in front of a bear's face.

00:48:28He didn't appreciate the paparazzi move,

00:48:30but instead of ruining the camera,

00:48:32the bear calmly extended one arm.

00:48:35Then it stretched one claw

00:48:37and touched the lip of the camera's lens.

00:48:40The animal kept the claw inside

00:48:42and wouldn't let go of the camera.

00:48:44The photographer was trying to move the pole,

00:48:46but it was pointless.

00:48:48After 15 minutes, the bear looked up at him

00:48:51and finally let go of the equipment.

00:48:53It looked like it was trying to send a message

00:48:55never to use a flash on it again.

00:49:05Lions, dogs, cats,

00:49:07all these mammals sleep in pretty comfortable positions.

00:49:10But not whales.

00:49:12They look like giant floating loaves of bread,

00:49:14which is a scene one diver accidentally came across

00:49:17in the Caribbean Sea.

00:49:19Six whales were just standing upright

00:49:21with their tails pointed down

00:49:23at a depth of about 65 feet below the surface.

00:49:26Scientists discovered that when sperm whales take a nap,

00:49:29they stay in this position for 10 to 15 minutes.

00:49:32They don't move or breathe.

00:49:34But these creatures spend only 7% of their time asleep,

00:49:38far less than other mammals.

00:49:40Usually, they either rest peacefully in the water

00:49:43or relax, slowly swimming next to other marine animals.

00:49:47When they're moving and sleeping at the same time,

00:49:49they're actually taking a nap.

00:49:52These animals can't go too deep

00:49:54and need to stay close to the surface.

00:49:56Great white sharks sleep and hunt at greater depths,

00:49:59which means one less thing to worry about

00:50:01when taking a quick nap.

00:50:03Plus, it gets pretty cold the deeper you go,

00:50:06and whales need warmer environments

00:50:08that can help them maintain the temperature

00:50:10of their large bodies.

00:50:12When alone, dolphins enter a stage of deep sleep.

00:50:15It usually happens at night

00:50:17and lasts for only a few hours at a time.

00:50:20While sleeping, the animal floats at the surface.

00:50:23It shuts down half of its brain, I can relate,

00:50:26together with the opposite eye.

00:50:28The other half is at a low alert level,

00:50:31ready to react if some unwanted visitor comes closer.

00:50:35The part of the brain that is awake also sends signals

00:50:38when it's time to go up to the surface

00:50:40to take a breath of fresh air.

00:50:42Marine mammals have the blowhole.

00:50:44That's a flap of skin they can open and close

00:50:46whenever they want.

00:50:48People breathe automatically.

00:50:50Your body knows what it needs to do

00:50:52even when you're sleeping.

00:50:54But whales and dolphins have a voluntary breathing system.

00:50:57It means they need to consciously go to the surface

00:51:00to get some air.

00:51:01And one part of their brain needs to always be awake

00:51:04to inform the animal it's time to go up.

00:51:07Whales and dolphins can hold their breath

00:51:09way longer than other species.

00:51:11They also have a higher tolerance for carbon dioxide

00:51:14and can take in more air.

00:51:16Their red blood cells store more oxygen too.

00:51:20Whales' and dolphins' blood goes only to those body parts

00:51:23that really need oxygen.

00:51:25If a whale only uses its brain, heart, fins,

00:51:28and some other muscles needed for swimming at the moment,

00:51:31those will also be the only body parts

00:51:33that will get the oxygen.

00:51:35Digestion or other functions can wait.

00:51:38The ocean is not a place where you can relax

00:51:40and peacefully fall asleep.

00:51:42While sleeping, fish reduce their activity.

00:51:45Their metabolism becomes slow.

00:51:47Some of them keep floating in the same spot.

00:51:50Others find a safer place among corals or in the mud.

00:51:54Early in life, dolphins learn to make a unique whistle

00:51:57that helps others from their pod to identify them.

00:52:00That means these specific whistles are their names,

00:52:03and dolphins do respond to them.

00:52:06Clams have feet.

00:52:08It looks like a large tongue that sometimes protrudes from the shell,

00:52:11but that's actually the foot.

00:52:14And it's relatively long compared to the length of the animal.

00:52:17Clams use this limb to dig themselves in the sand.

00:52:21The blue whale is the largest living animal,

00:52:24and it's also larger than the majority of dinosaurs used to be.

00:52:28They can grow to more than 100 feet long

00:52:30and have a weight of almost 200 tons.

00:52:33That's like 50 adult elephants.

00:52:35A blue whale's tongue alone can weigh more than one elephant.

00:52:39Such a giant surely needs to eat a lot.

00:52:42Half a million calories in just one mouthful.

00:52:45The blue whale's heart is the size of a small car

00:52:48and weighs 1,300 pounds.

00:52:51To move the blood through such a giant body,

00:52:53the heartbeats are so strong you can hear them even from 2 miles away.

00:52:58The heart of a whale beats only 8 to 10 times per minute.

00:53:02The whale is one of the loudest creatures out there.

00:53:05Its call can go up to 180 decibels, which is as loud as a jet plane.

00:53:10Almost 95% of jellyfish's body is made of water.

00:53:14For comparison, the human body is 60% water.

00:53:18It's probably not a surprise since jellyfish don't have a heart,

00:53:22blood, eyes, or brain.

00:53:24The other 5% of their body weight is proteins, muscles, and nerve cells.

00:53:29Jellyfish have been around for more than 500 million years.

00:53:33This makes them older than dinosaurs.

00:53:35These creatures haven't changed much,

00:53:37and today's jellyfish are pretty much like their ancestors.

00:53:41These creatures live in the ocean,

00:53:43but in 1991, more than 2,000 jellyfish polyps were taken into space.

00:53:49Scientists wanted to see how they would react in the environment with no gravity.

00:53:53The jellyfish reproduced and created 60,000 new polyps,

00:53:58but unfortunately, those couldn't function normally after getting back to Earth.

00:54:03One species of jellyfish can literally live forever.

00:54:06As it grows older, the critter goes down to the seafloor to become a polyp again,

00:54:11and that polyp turns into a new jellyfish with the same genetics.

00:54:16Greenland sharks can live 500 years.

00:54:19This is an animal with almost the longest lifespan among vertebrates.

00:54:24Sperm whales are sociable creatures.

00:54:26They spend their life surrounded by their family.

00:54:29These animals support one another and have close friends they remember well,

00:54:33even if they don't see each other for a long time.

00:54:36Electric eels have small eyes that are not so effective in environments with no light,

00:54:42so they mostly rely on their electric organs.

00:54:45Those consist of 6,000 cells.

00:54:48Eels use them to stow power, similar to batteries.

00:54:51These creatures use electricity like bats use their radars or dolphins their sonar.

00:54:57An eel can also produce enough electricity to power a panel of light bulbs.

00:55:03There's a small tropical archerfish that can learn to recognize human faces.

00:55:08This fish has an interesting ability to spit small jets of water from its mouth.

00:55:13Researchers showed the fish the image of two different faces placed side by side.

00:55:18One was unknown and the other was familiar.

00:55:21The fish was supposed to spit water at the familiar one.

00:55:24The creature took the right guess more than 80% of the time.

00:55:29Every year in the winter, great white sharks that live along the California coastline disappear.

00:55:35It feels as if they take a vacation for 30 to 40 days.

00:55:39The animals go to a point halfway between Hawaii and Mexico.

00:55:43They might do it to get some food, relax, or hang out with their buddies from other areas.

00:55:48The spot is now called the Whale Shark Cafe.

00:55:52Some types of sharks, like makos, whale sharks, or white sharks, breathe in a very specific way.

00:55:58It requires them to swim all the time.

00:56:01They also need to move quickly and with their mouth open.

00:56:04This way, the oxygen can enter and reach their gills.

00:56:08Sea sponges are some of the most primitive animals.

00:56:11They're immobile, don't have a mouth, eyes, bones, brain, heart, lungs, or any other organ whatsoever.

00:56:18And still, they're alive.

00:56:20There's such a thing as a sea unicorn.

00:56:23That's an animal called the narwhal.

00:56:25Its horn is actually a tooth that can grow up to 10 feet long.

00:56:29Manatees, also known as sea cows, are distant relatives of elephants.

00:56:34Their weight can go up to 1,000 pounds.

00:56:37These creatures are vegetarian and need to eat around 10% of their total weight on a daily basis.

00:56:43That's lots of sea salad!

00:56:45In some cases, manatees share space with alligators, but they get along pretty well.

00:56:51You can even find a photo from Florida where an alligator rides a manatee's back.

00:56:57Frogfish have special fins that help these creatures walk along the sand.

00:57:02They're very useful in shallow waters.

00:57:05A ghost pipefish is hard to see, but once you spot it, you're bound to get really surprised.

00:57:11Its head makes up over 40% of its body.

00:57:15Crabs don't feel like wasting time on such formalities as putting foods in their mouth.

00:57:20That's why they taste it with their feet, which is where their taste buds are.

00:57:25Marine iguanas are the only lizards on our planet that like spending time in the ocean,

00:57:30even though they mainly live on land.

00:57:32They're herbivores that feed in shallow waters and swim like snakes.

00:57:36Iguanas use their long claws to hold on to the bottom when they need to graze.

00:57:41Green turtles can cross over 1,400 miles when migrating.

00:57:46They try to find the perfect spot to lay their eggs.

00:57:50Penguins sort of fly when they're underwater, reaching a speed of 25 miles per hour.

00:57:56More than 5 million years ago, I've heard, I wasn't around then,

00:58:00deep-sea worms and humans had a common ancestor.

00:58:03So we still share 70% of our genes with these creatures, and with sea stars, squid, and octopuses.

00:58:12The ocean covers over 70% of our planet, and over 80% of it is unexplored.

00:58:18More than 1 million species live there.

00:58:20But there are not only animals.

00:58:223 million shipwrecks are lying all over the ocean floor, hiding mysterious stories.

00:58:28Many of them are yet to be discovered.

00:58:36It's just a regular day.

00:58:38As usual, you're taking a shower before starting to get ready for work.

00:58:42Everything is going as planned.

00:58:44Until it isn't!

00:58:45One clumsy move, some water spilled on the floor, and you're flapping your arms in the air,

00:58:51your body nearing the floor with frightening speed.

00:58:54Everything goes black.

00:58:56First thing you hear is a high-pitched whining in your head.

00:59:00Ouch, your head!

00:59:03You carefully get up.

00:59:05There's no blood, and that's good.

00:59:08An even better thing is that the annoying noise stops abruptly.

00:59:12Holding your head, you leave the bathroom and almost stumble over your cat, Milo.

00:59:17He hisses, and then a clear voice in your head says,

00:59:21Clumsy loser.

00:59:23Huh?

00:59:24You whip your head around in fear, but you see no one.

00:59:28It's just you and... Milo?

00:59:31You've probably hit your head more than you thought.

00:59:34You shrug and make your way to the kitchen.

00:59:37Milo follows you.

00:59:38You hear ceaseless grumbling.

00:59:40Why can't he sleep in the bedroom, and I'm banned from there?

00:59:44Why haven't I gotten my meal yet?

00:59:46This leather creature's too lazy.

00:59:48Shall I scratch the sofa or leave a mouse on his pillow?

00:59:52The first thought that comes to your mind is,

00:59:55We have mice in the house?

00:59:57The second is more relevant.

00:59:59I'm losing my marbles!

01:00:01Great!

01:00:02Acting on autopilot, you pour some milk into Milo's bowl and fill another one up with some dry food.

01:00:09The cat doesn't seem to be satisfied with how fast you are,

01:00:12if his,

01:00:13Oh for goodness sake, move it, man!

01:00:16is anything to go by.

01:00:18Okay, now you'll have to live with the knowledge that your beloved cat Milo

01:00:23actually has the personality of a grumpy old man.

01:00:27Ah.

01:00:28You decide to lock yourself in the bathroom again,

01:00:30because you're starting to get overwhelmed.

01:00:33You sit down heavily on the toilet lid,

01:00:35and almost jump a foot in the air

01:00:37when you hear someone arguing loudly.

01:00:40After looking around, you find out that,

01:00:43apparently, there are not only mice,

01:00:46but also cockroaches in your house.

01:00:48Just great.

01:00:50At the moment, you're staring at a couple of these insects,

01:00:53which seem to be having a fight.

01:00:56At least, one of them is accusing the other of,

01:00:58wait, what?

01:01:00Cheating?

01:01:01You've heard enough.

01:01:03You're about to dash out of the bathroom

01:01:05when you hear a bang.

01:01:08In the living room, you find your cat on the floor

01:01:11under a smashed flower pot.

01:01:13The worst thing?

01:01:14He seems to be really hurt.

01:01:16He won't stop whimpering and meowing.

01:01:19Ah, it hurts, it hurts.

01:01:21My paw.

01:01:22Ouch, ouch.

01:01:24But the sofa can't remain unscratched today.

01:01:28You grab Milo, shove him into the carrier,

01:01:31Hey, watch out, you leather bag.

01:01:34and head for the clinic.

01:01:36On the way, you have to concentrate hard

01:01:38to block out the noise of countless voices assaulting you.

01:01:42The waiting area at the vet is full.

01:01:44Uh-oh, you're in for a long wait.

01:01:47Half an hour later, your head is ready to explode.

01:01:52You've found out that that yellow python

01:01:55is suspiciously interested in the hamster

01:01:57a girl in the corner is clutching to her chest.

01:02:00So fat.

01:02:02So pretty.

01:02:04The hamster's worried about his stash of nuts.

01:02:07Where did I hide them?

01:02:08Where, where, where?

01:02:10A tiny dog that has come with an elderly lady

01:02:13is anxious about needles.

01:02:15If that shop thingy comes near me once again,

01:02:17they'll regret it.

01:02:18I'll destroy everyone on my way.

01:02:21Finally, it's your turn.

01:02:23The vet invites you to her office

01:02:25and you bend to pick up Milo

01:02:27when a desperate-looking young man

01:02:29bursts into the room.

01:02:31My puppy!

01:02:32What's wrong with him?

01:02:34The vet looks at you apologetically,

01:02:36but you're focused on the puppy.

01:02:38It looks weak,

01:02:39but you manage to figure out the words

01:02:41chocolate, yum.

01:02:43When you tell the vet and the anxious owner

01:02:46that the pooch has eaten some chocolate,

01:02:48which is basically poison for dogs,

01:02:50they give you a funny look

01:02:52and disappear into the doctor's office.

01:02:55Sometime later, the guy exits,

01:02:57holding the dog that looks better than before.

01:03:00When they leave, the vet turns to you.

01:03:03How did you figure out the dog had eaten chocolate?

01:03:07Uh-oh, here it comes.

01:03:09You decide that honesty is the best strategy

01:03:12and tell the vet that you can understand

01:03:15what animals say.

01:03:17Of course she doesn't believe you.

01:03:19You have to try hard to persuade her.

01:03:21But with the help of two other dogs,

01:03:23Milo and an elderly squirrel,

01:03:26you manage to make her believe you.

01:03:30When you get back home,

01:03:31your head is spinning,

01:03:33and you're pretty hungry.

01:03:34All you can think about is some fried eggs and bacon.

01:03:38Yum.

01:03:39Wait, bacon?

01:03:41But it's...

01:03:42Uh-oh.

01:03:44Apparently, starting today,

01:03:46you're a vegan.

01:03:48Anyway, that's when it starts.

01:03:50You don't know how it happens,

01:03:52but you become famous overnight.

01:03:55The next morning, a loud noise wakes you up,

01:03:58and it doesn't sound like animals talking to you.

01:04:01You look out of the window

01:04:02and see crowds of people gathered around your house.

01:04:05Some of them are reporters,

01:04:07but others are pet owners

01:04:09that have come to ask you for help.

01:04:12Milo is not happy.

01:04:14While grumbling nonstop and calling your names,

01:04:17he bites your leg and retreats under the stairs.

01:04:20And you go out of your house to talk to people

01:04:23and answer the reporters' questions.

01:04:26In the evening, you're exhausted but also happy.

01:04:29You've saved several animals today.

01:04:32They had serious health and psychological problems

01:04:35their owners couldn't figure out on their own.

01:04:37Lying in bed in the dark,

01:04:39you think of how you can use your ability.

01:04:41That's when your plan takes shape.

01:04:45Soon, you become the most renowned animal care specialist

01:04:49in the world.

01:04:51You listen to animals talking about their problems,

01:04:54talk them out of depression,

01:04:56and help them resolve misunderstandings with their owners.

01:05:00TV shows invite you for interviews.

01:05:02Your YouTube channel is growing every day.

01:05:05People recognize you on the street

01:05:07and ask you to take pictures with them.

01:05:09You travel the world,

01:05:10help endangered species,

01:05:12and give lectures.

01:05:13You open vet clinics all over the globe

01:05:16and invite the best professionals to work there.

01:05:19You never feel lonely.

01:05:21There's always someone to talk to or listen to.

01:05:24At least, some birds when you're walking in the park

01:05:27or some fish when you're having a rare moment of rest on the beach.

01:05:32At the same time,

01:05:33you've come to realize how many animals are begging for help,

01:05:37but no one can hear them.

01:05:39You decide to take up the role of their speaker.

01:05:43It turns out you're now famous not only in the human world,

01:05:46but also in the world of animals.

01:05:49They're grateful,

01:05:50and in return,

01:05:51they start informing you of different natural disasters

01:05:54that are about to happen on the planet.

01:05:57You've heard that animals can predict earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

01:06:02And if before,

01:06:03people had to try hard to notice some unusual behavior of certain species,

01:06:08now,

01:06:09animals just pass you information about what's going to happen and where.

01:06:14With time,

01:06:15you notice that you spend less time among people

01:06:18and more time with animals.

01:06:20Together,

01:06:21you plan campaigns against zoos,

01:06:24circuses,

01:06:25and other places where animals are kept against their will.

01:06:29And then,

01:06:30one day,

01:06:31the unthinkable happens.

01:06:33You're returning home when a black van stops next to you.

01:06:37A few big masked guys grab you and push you inside.

01:06:41The doors close behind your back.

01:06:44Inside,

01:06:45you find out that several influential people aren't happy with your activity.

01:06:50You realize that this trip isn't going to end well.

01:06:54The guys blindfold you and lead you somewhere.

01:06:57But,

01:06:58at one moment,

01:06:59you lose your footing

01:07:00and hit your head on something

01:07:02hard.

01:07:04You open your eyes.

01:07:06Milo is standing over you,

01:07:08looking at your lying body rather indifferently.

01:07:11And then,

01:07:12the most terrible thing happens.

01:07:14He meows what sounds like a whole sentence,

01:07:17turns away,

01:07:18and walks out of the bathroom.

01:07:20And,

01:07:21you don't understand a meow of what he's saying.

01:07:25Was it all

01:07:26just a dream?

01:07:29There are sharks that glow in the dark.

01:07:32For example,

01:07:33swell sharks.

01:07:34They live in the dark ocean depths,

01:07:36almost 1,700 feet under the surface.

01:07:39No one knows why exactly,

01:07:41but they admit a fluorescent glow

01:07:43only other swell sharks can see.

01:07:45Scientists detected the glow because they used filters

01:07:48that blocked out yellow light.

01:07:50They think that could be the way for these big fish

01:07:53to communicate with their buddies.

01:07:55This glow helps sharks fight infections on a microbial level.

01:08:00Cowbirds have secret passwords they use to recognize each other.

01:08:04They're a specific type of parasite bird

01:08:06since they lay their eggs in other bird species' nests.

01:08:10The young cowbirds have an inner mechanism

01:08:12where they recognize their species singing,

01:08:14like some sort of secret password only they know.

01:08:17That's how they manage to find others of their kind.

01:08:21A grizzly bear has an incredibly strong bite.

01:08:24It may look cute,

01:08:25but if you're close to this big guy,

01:08:27you better stay out of reach of its sharp claws

01:08:30and especially its mouth.

01:08:32Its bite force is more than 8 million pascals,

01:08:35which means it can crush a bowling ball.

01:08:39Some animals have skin-deep stripes

01:08:42and others have more superficial ones.

01:08:44Tigers are in the first group.

01:08:46Not only is their fur striped,

01:08:48but their skin is as well.

01:08:50It's the same with some other furry big cats,

01:08:52like snow leopards.

01:08:54Giraffes and zebras are in the second group

01:08:57since they have patterns only on their coats.

01:09:01Speaking of zebras,

01:09:02do you think they're black with white stripes

01:09:04or white with black stripes?

01:09:06At first, it really looks like the second option is correct.

01:09:09Their black stripes mostly end

01:09:11towards the inside of their legs and on their bellies,

01:09:14and the rest of it is white.

01:09:16But that's not true.

01:09:17Surprisingly, they're black with white stripes.

01:09:21All of their fur, both white and black,

01:09:23grows from follicles that have something called

01:09:26melanocyte cells.

01:09:28All animals have these cells.

01:09:30They produce a pigment called melanin,

01:09:32and it gives color to their hair and skin.

01:09:35When it comes to zebras,

01:09:37chemical messengers tell which melanocytes

01:09:39send pigment to which area of fur.

01:09:42That's why zebras have a black and white pattern.

01:09:45But white is not actually its own pigment.

01:09:48It's an absence of melanin.

01:09:50So black is their default color.

01:09:53Koalas have fingerprints that are so close to ours

01:09:56that they could even taint crime scenes.

01:09:59It doesn't seem like they have a lot in common with humans,

01:10:01but take a closer look at their hands.

01:10:04They have distinctive loops and arches.

01:10:07So if any koalas want to do something illegal,

01:10:10it would be a good idea for them to wear gloves.

01:10:13Ghost crabs growl when they're around creatures

01:10:16they don't like or find threatening.

01:10:18They do it using teeth in their stomachs.

01:10:21First, they'll let you know they'll defend themselves

01:10:24if you try anything by showing you their claws.

01:10:27If that doesn't work,

01:10:29they'll go for fearsome growling noises like dogs.

01:10:32But the noise is coming from rubbing their three

01:10:34elongated hard teeth inside their stomach.

01:10:37Ghost crabs produce the same noise

01:10:39when they're grinding up food.

01:10:42Speaking of teeth, did you know

01:10:44narwhal tusks are actually some sort of an inside-out tooth?

01:10:47Unlike the majority of other whales,

01:10:50narwhals are the ones that come with a large tusk

01:10:53or tooth that grows from the inside of their jaw.

01:10:56It has up to 10 million nerve endings

01:10:59and they're unprotected,

01:11:01which means its tusk is very sensitive to any type of contact.

01:11:04It's almost like a piece of skin

01:11:07because tusks usually don't have many nerve endings.

01:11:10Up to 95% of humans are right-handed.

01:11:13And it's the same with bottlenose dolphins.

01:11:16There are even more right-handed ones among them

01:11:19than among humans.

01:11:21During one study, scientists found that bottlenose dolphins

01:11:24turn to their left side over 99% of the time,

01:11:27which means they're right-handed.

01:11:30They place their right side and right eye

01:11:33closer to the ocean floor as they go for prey,

01:11:36such as squids, shrimps, or smaller fish.

01:11:39More cool facts from the ocean.

01:11:41Did you know humpback whales use bubbles

01:11:44when they go after their prey?

01:11:46You might think they don't need any special method

01:11:49considering how large they are,

01:11:51but when they're lurking for prey in the open waters,

01:11:54these whales team up and use something called a bubble net technique.

01:11:57While swimming in an upward spiral,

01:12:00they blow bubbles underwater.

01:12:02These bubbles make it difficult for fish to escape.

01:12:05The oldest evidence we have of domesticated cats

01:12:08dates up to 12,000 years ago.

01:12:11Researchers discovered this almost 20 years ago

01:12:14when they were digging through an ancient village in Cyprus.

01:12:17They found cat bones right next to human ones,

01:12:20which suggested they were close

01:12:23even when their lives came to an end.

01:12:25Humans were hunters, so they domesticated dogs first,

01:12:28somewhere up to 29,000 years ago.

01:12:31Dogs helped them catch other animals,

01:12:34but they didn't think they needed cats

01:12:36so they started to settle down and store surplus crops.

01:12:39Mice became frequent guests in grain stores,

01:12:42so cats came in handy in those times.

01:12:45Puffins are quite innovative when they want to scratch their bodies.

01:12:49They can surely be proud of their stunning beaks,

01:12:52but they obviously think it's not enough for scratching.

01:12:55Researchers noticed they tend to spontaneously take

01:12:58a small wooden stick to scratch an itchy spot.

01:13:01There's a special type of ant

01:13:04that only lives in a small part of Manhattan.

01:13:07The Broadway Medians at the 63rd and 76th Street

01:13:10is the area these crawling critters decided was the best spot for them.

01:13:15The Manhattan ant looks like it's from Europe,

01:13:18but no European species can actually match it.

01:13:21Hey, Potterheads, can you believe there's a thing like chocolate frog?

01:13:25Well, not quite, but it looks like it.

01:13:28New Guinea and Australia weren't always separated.

01:13:31They spent millions of years together

01:13:34until about 12,000 years ago, rising sea levels divided them.

01:13:37Since they were together for so long,

01:13:40some animals and plants still inhabit both areas,

01:13:43including green tree frogs.

01:13:46These frogs have spread really far and wide,

01:13:49and some of them, who live in hot, swampy regions

01:13:52surrounded by plenty of crocodiles,

01:13:54actually look like they're made of chocolate.

01:13:57We all know flamingos for their specific color,

01:14:00but they're actually pink.

01:14:02They're born gray, and that's how they would stay

01:14:05if it weren't for their diet of blue-green algae and shrimp.

01:14:08These foods have a specific natural dye,

01:14:11which is why flamingo feathers turn pink over time.

01:14:14These little Tasmanian devils grow up and leave their moms.

01:14:18They socialize together,

01:14:20forming bonds that last for the rest of their lives.

01:14:23Not only them, cows also have stronger social ties than we think.

01:14:27They like to socialize, and they make long-lasting friendships.

01:14:31One research even discovered their heart rates

01:14:34significantly increase as a sign of stress

01:14:37when they're separated from their BFFs.

01:14:39Imagine you could simply freeze yourself solid

01:14:42during the cold winter days

01:14:44instead of listening to your teeth chatter

01:14:46and trying to tighten your jacket.

01:14:48That's what frogs can do.

01:14:50Aquatic frogs mostly hibernate underwater

01:14:52and spend most of the winter at the bottom of a pond,

01:14:55a lake, or some other body of water.

01:14:58Toads and frogs are generally cold-blooded,

01:15:01which means the temperature of their body

01:15:03takes on the temperature of their surroundings.

01:15:06So frogs can freeze during the winter

01:15:08because of a high concentration of sugar or glucose in their vital organs.

01:15:12Once they unfreeze, they continue as if nothing happened.

01:15:16Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood.

01:15:20They can move at speeds of 25 miles per hour,

01:15:23and they spray ink that not only blurs the predator's visual field

01:15:27but actually harms them.

01:15:29Also, they have nine brains,

01:15:31the central one and eight smaller brains located in their arms.

01:15:34That's why their arms can open a shellfish

01:15:37while the central brain is busy doing something else.

01:15:40An octopus even tastes with its arms.

01:15:43They have cells in their suckers

01:15:45that enable the arms to touch and taste

01:15:47in a way that they detect chemicals marine creatures produce.

01:15:51That way, an octopus can distinguish prey from rocks.

01:15:57I have news for you.

01:15:59Rats are ticklish.

01:16:01Well, I thought it was news.

01:16:03Anyway, they have a so-called laugh center in their midbrain,

01:16:06and it activates when someone tickles the animals

01:16:09or when they engage in some fun and playful activities.

01:16:12Scientists discovered this in 2016

01:16:15after tickling the rodents on their bellies

01:16:17and listening to their squeaky giggles.

01:16:20Now, hummingbirds are the only birds we know about

01:16:23that can fly backward.

01:16:25They mostly do it when they want to move away from flowers.

01:16:28And here's an animal that can't go backward, a kangaroo.

01:16:31They can hop around and cross great distances,

01:16:34but the structure of their strong rear feet and big tails

01:16:37prevent them from walking backwards.

01:16:43Narwhals are those weird creatures

01:16:45that look like some sort of sea unicorns.

01:16:48That horn on their head is not a tusk.

01:16:50It's a giant tooth that sticks out

01:16:52through the upper lip of male narwhals.

01:16:55This tooth is probably one of the tools

01:16:57that plays a role in attracting ladies.

01:17:01Now, flamingos are not actually pink.

01:17:03They're born gray, but throughout their life,

01:17:06they eat lots of algae and other foods

01:17:08that contain a red-orange pigment

01:17:10we know as beta-carotene, like in carrots.

01:17:13This pigment gets broken down

01:17:15and ends up in their skin and feathers,

01:17:17which is what makes them pink.

01:17:19They need to eat a lot of such food

01:17:21to stay like that, though.

01:17:23If we humans wanted to change our skin color,

01:17:25we wouldn't be able to eat enough

01:17:27food rich in beta-carotene to really turn pink,

01:17:30or, in our case, maybe even orange.

01:17:35Sloths are really slow.

01:17:38All the jokes and memes about them are true,

01:17:41but they're also very skilled swimmers,

01:17:43and they move in the water around

01:17:453-4 times quicker than on land.

01:17:47They can do breaststroke just like people,

01:17:49and it's an important skill for them

01:17:51to have because they're tropical animals

01:17:53that mostly live in jungles,

01:17:55and those areas are often flooded.

01:17:57Tigers are the biggest members

01:17:59of the feline family.

01:18:01Yup, even bigger than lions.

01:18:03And no tiger has the same set of stripes.

01:18:05Their coat is actually a camouflage

01:18:07that comes in handy when they need

01:18:09to find a good spot where their prey

01:18:11won't see them.

01:18:13Interestingly, their skin is striped too,

01:18:15not just the coat.

01:18:17Their stripes are as unique

01:18:19as our fingerprints.

01:18:21Even though they look kind of funny

01:18:23and innocent, you wouldn't want

01:18:25to bother a platypus.

01:18:27These wild animals are some of the few

01:18:29mammal species that can poison you.

01:18:31They have spurs on the tips of their

01:18:33back feet that can release venom.

01:18:35It's not potent enough to pose a life threat,

01:18:37but the stain can still be very painful

01:18:40and can cause swelling and other issues.

01:18:43When a ladybug needs to defend itself

01:18:45against potential predators,

01:18:47it starts bleeding from its knees.

01:18:49Now, it's not actual blood

01:18:51coming out of its joints.

01:18:53It's a certain chemical that smells bad

01:18:55and, therefore, repels predators.

01:18:57They have another mechanism that helps

01:18:59them survive in the harsh animal kingdom

01:19:01– their specific color.

01:19:03Predators really don't like the combinations

01:19:05of bright colors, such as red,

01:19:07orange, and black, because they know

01:19:09that creatures colored this way

01:19:11can taste awful.

01:19:15Roosters can get extremely noisy

01:19:17in the morning, but they don't go deaf

01:19:19because they don't even hear

01:19:21how loud their crowing can be.

01:19:23What keeps them safe is special

01:19:25built-in noise protection plugs.

01:19:27Hens have the same system that reduces

01:19:29the risk of hearing loss, too.

01:19:31Not only do they have this protection,

01:19:33but they can also regrow cochlear

01:19:35hair ears if they get damaged

01:19:37in only a couple of days.

01:19:39Owls don't have eyeballs.

01:19:41They have something that's more like

01:19:43eye tubes, and they can't move

01:19:45them back and forth like we do

01:19:47with our eyeballs, which is why

01:19:49these birds have incredibly flexible necks.

01:19:51They're able to rotate their heads

01:19:53270 degrees.

01:19:55For comparison, humans can only

01:19:57manage 180.

01:19:59That's why owls have a specific system

01:20:01of blood vessels in their heads.

01:20:03It delivers fresh blood to the brain

01:20:05if the bird turns its head too quickly

01:20:07and cuts off circulation.

01:20:11Just keep swimming!

01:20:13You may remember how Dory the Blue Tang

01:20:15sang this in Finding Nemo.

01:20:17Dory wasn't a shark, but

01:20:19that's a message some shark species

01:20:21need to take literally.

01:20:23Mako sharks, great whites,

01:20:25whale sharks, and some other kinds

01:20:27need to keep swimming. Otherwise,

01:20:29they'll stop breathing.

01:20:31We use our lungs for breathing,

01:20:33and some sharks use a method called

01:20:35This means they swim with their

01:20:37mouths open. That way, they

01:20:39allow water to flow through their gills

01:20:41and thus extract oxygen.

01:20:45The most dangerous

01:20:47animal on our planet isn't

01:20:49a bear, a shark, or some toothy tiger.

01:20:51It's something way smaller –

01:20:53the mosquito. Not only is it

01:20:55extremely irritating, but it

01:20:57also transfers serious diseases

01:20:59such as yellow fever, malaria,

01:21:01or dengue fever.

01:21:03Annually, hundreds of thousands of people

01:21:05don't survive the battle with those diseases.

01:21:07Mosquitoes also

01:21:09outnumber every other creature across

01:21:11the globe, apart from termites and ants.

01:21:15Grizzly bears are

01:21:17incredibly strong animals with a bite

01:21:19powerful enough to crush a bowling

01:21:21ball. That's why you won't see them

01:21:23allowed in bowling alleys.

01:21:25Despite that, they're mostly light eaters.

01:21:27They're strong enough to make a meal out

01:21:29of whatever they come across,

01:21:31including a bison, moose, or elk.

01:21:33But they still like to munch on their

01:21:35fruits, nuts, berries, and

01:21:37even a small unfortunate mouse

01:21:39that gets lost and ends up in

01:21:41the predator's mouth.

01:21:43The inland taipan is

01:21:45the most venomous snake on the planet.

01:21:47We know it as the western

01:21:49taipan. It lives in Australia.

01:21:51Just one bite has enough

01:21:53venom to turn out fatal for at least

01:21:55100 fully grown humans.

01:21:57And it can also do the job within only

01:21:59half an hour if you don't have anything

01:22:01to treat the bite right away.

01:22:03They say these snakes are mostly shy,

01:22:05and they mind their own business. But,

01:22:07like other animals, they will attack

01:22:09if they feel threatened or provoked.

01:22:13There's a kind of turtle

01:22:15that can stay alive for months under the

01:22:17ice by breathing through its behind.

01:22:19When it gets colder,

01:22:21some animals can't find safe places

01:22:23to stay, so they must survive

01:22:25harsh winter conditions wherever they are.

01:22:27And while bees get cozy

01:22:29in their nests, and bears sleep

01:22:31in caves, painted turtles

01:22:33stay in their ponds that freeze over.

01:22:35Since the ice limits their access

01:22:37to air, they extract oxygen

01:22:39directly from the water and breathe

01:22:41through their behinds. Yes,

01:22:43that would be handy.

01:22:45It's well known that ravens are

01:22:47incredibly intelligent animals.

01:22:49They're excellent at solving problems.

01:22:51But it seems they also have impressive

01:22:53social intelligence.

01:22:55They're very in tune with their feelings

01:22:57as well as the emotions of their mates.

01:22:59If one raven in the group feels

01:23:01pessimistic, it's likely to bring

01:23:03the others down too. A real

01:23:05buzzkill! When they see a bird

01:23:07that doesn't like certain food

01:23:09and expresses it in a very vivid way,

01:23:11they lose interest in their own

01:23:13food as well.

01:23:15The pistol shrimp

01:23:17is one of the loudest animals

01:23:19in the world, even though it's tiny

01:23:21only about 3 quarters of an inch long.

01:23:23When it senses food, it opens

01:23:25its large claw that can grow as

01:23:27long as half its body length

01:23:29and lets him water it. Then it

01:23:31snaps the claw shut extremely fast

01:23:33which shoots out a very strong

01:23:35jet of bubbles. These bubbles can

01:23:37stun or even finish the prey

01:23:39the shrimp is trying to catch. And

01:23:41when the bubbles pop, it produces a

01:23:43snapping sound louder than anyone

01:23:45would expect.

01:23:47Crocodiles are even scarier than we

01:23:49thought because many of them can

01:23:51gallop like horses. They probably

01:23:53inherited this ability from their

01:23:55ancient ancestors who were as small

01:23:57as cats, had long legs, and

01:23:59could run at speeds of about 11

01:24:01miles per hour. Smaller crocodiles

01:24:03probably gallop when something's after

01:24:05them, but caimans and alligators

01:24:07obviously don't need to use this skill.

01:24:09It's you who's more likely

01:24:11to gallop away when you see them!

01:24:21It turns out, starfish

01:24:23don't have a head. They are

01:24:25the head. When you first look at

01:24:27a starfish, you think it's got five arms.

01:24:29Scientists have always been curious

01:24:31about why starfish look like this

01:24:33and, in particular, where their heads

01:24:35are. Most animals,

01:24:37including us, have bodies that are

01:24:39bilaterally symmetrical, meaning you

01:24:41can split them down the middle and get two

01:24:43matching sides. But starfish,

01:24:45along with sand dollars and sea

01:24:47anemones, are different.

01:24:49They're radially symmetrical, meaning

01:24:51their bodies have identical parts spread

01:24:53out from the center. Starfish,

01:24:55or sea stars, are special because

01:24:57they have this five-way symmetry,

01:24:59and you can divide them into five equal

01:25:01parts. To make this

01:25:03discovery, scientists used a technique

01:25:05called RNA tomography, which

01:25:07helps study genes.

01:25:09They focused on the genes controlling the outer

01:25:11layer, including the nervous system.

01:25:13Surprisingly, the genes associated with

01:25:15the head were active in the starfish's

01:25:17head and its arms.

01:25:19Yet, genes linked to the body

01:25:21trunk were hardly active.

01:25:23This suggests that starfish

01:25:25have a unique separation between their head

01:25:27and body. The study sparked new

01:25:29questions about how these creatures evolved

01:25:31and what their ancestors with trunks

01:25:33might have been like, based on their

01:25:35fossil records.

01:25:37It also showed that genes active

01:25:39in the head of an acorn worm were also

01:25:41active in a starfish's skin,

01:25:43covering its entire body.

01:25:45These genes are the most active

01:25:47at the center of each arm,

01:25:49changing towards the arm's end to

01:25:51resemble genes found in the rear of

01:25:53other animals.

01:25:55Starfish lack genes for a torso.

01:25:57All this challenges

01:25:59traditional views on starfish anatomy.

01:26:05There's a rumor about Paul McCartney

01:26:07recording an ultrasonic whistle for

01:26:09his Shetland sheepdog at the end

01:26:11of the Beatles' song, A Day in the Life.

01:26:13Dogs can hear ultrasonic

01:26:15sounds since their hearing ability is

01:26:17incredible. To move just one of

01:26:19their ears, dogs need to involve 18

01:26:21muscles. It allows them to

01:26:23swiftly locate the origin of sounds, and

01:26:25it's another skill where they outshine

01:26:27us. Their awesome ears

01:26:29sometimes shadow their noses.

01:26:31Dogs' sense of smell is up

01:26:33to 100,000 times more

01:26:35acute than that of humans. While humans

01:26:37have around 5 million scent receptors,

01:26:39a bloodhound boasts

01:26:41up to 300 million!

01:26:47Another study proves that dogs and

01:26:49bottlenose dolphins may share a

01:26:51fascinating similarity with humans.

01:26:53They call out the names of loved ones

01:26:55when they become separated.

01:26:57This makes them the first non-human

01:26:59animals to do so.

01:27:01The research has uncovered that dolphins

01:27:03copy one another's signature whistles

01:27:05when they're separated from close pals.

01:27:07In the Sarasota Dolphin Research

01:27:09Program recordings, pairs of dolphins

01:27:11were held in separate nets, but they

01:27:13could still communicate with each other.

01:27:15Turns out, some of their chit-chats were

01:27:17mimicking the unique whistles of their

01:27:19dolphin buddies.

01:27:23Next up, we have flamingos with their

01:27:25peculiar dining habits. You often

01:27:27see them feeding with their heads positioned

01:27:29upside down. This distinctive

01:27:31behavior is linked to the anatomy

01:27:33of their mouths and the mechanics of maneuvering

01:27:35their long, elegant necks

01:27:37around the water. These birds are

01:27:39skilled filter feeders, employing

01:27:41their tongues as effective sieves to

01:27:43capture food. When a flamingo

01:27:45lowers its neck beneath the water, it

01:27:47positions its mouth essentially

01:27:49upside down. Then, the bird

01:27:51closes its mouth and skillfully propels

01:27:53water through comb-like extensions

01:27:55on its beak. It also utilizes

01:27:57its tongue to expel the water

01:27:59while retaining all the gathered food.

01:28:01If you've watched the movie

01:28:03My Octopus Teacher on Netflix,

01:28:05you might already know that octopuses

01:28:07can bond with humans. But this time,

01:28:09we'll only focus on the anatomy of this

01:28:11creature. Octopuses have

01:28:13three hearts. One heart pumps blood

01:28:15throughout the body, and the other two

01:28:17tag-teams send that blood to the

01:28:19animal's gills. Octopuses

01:28:21also have nine brains.

01:28:23Each of their eight tentacles has

01:28:25its very own mini-brain.

01:28:27These mini-brains allow each tentacle

01:28:29to move independently at lightning

01:28:31speed. There's a ninth

01:28:33brain in the mix, and this one oversees

01:28:35the entire octo-nervous system.

01:28:39Opossums are intelligent,

01:28:41in a way, too. They're

01:28:43known for pretending to pass away when

01:28:45their life is threatened. When they face

01:28:47predators, opossums attempt to intimidate

01:28:49their foes by showing their teeth,

01:28:51hissing, and growling. Yet,

01:28:53when these tactics fall short,

01:28:55opossums resort to shutting their eyes.

01:28:57Collapsing onto their side and

01:28:59pretending to have passed away.

01:29:01To look more convincing,

01:29:03an opossum might drool, let its

01:29:05tongue hang out, and even excrete waste

01:29:07to enhance the illusion of a sudden

01:29:09demise. Remarkably,

01:29:11opossums can uphold this state for

01:29:13several hours, waiting until they're

01:29:15confident that the threat is gone.

01:29:17Monkeys can be loud when calling

01:29:19one another, but a howler monkey's

01:29:21shout can travel approximately

01:29:23three miles in specific situations.

01:29:25Males are usually louder than females.

01:29:27The thing is, the sound is created by

01:29:29pulling air through a space in an

01:29:31enlarged bone in the animal's throat.

01:29:33This bone is larger in males

01:29:35compared to females, and that's

01:29:37why males sound louder.

01:29:41Polar bears have black skin

01:29:43beneath all that fur. Their

01:29:45fluffy white coat is actually

01:29:47translucent. It only

01:29:49seems white because it bounces back

01:29:51visible light.

01:29:53The skin itself is jet black.

01:29:55These creatures are also impressive

01:29:57when it comes to swimming. They can

01:29:59hit speeds of up to six miles per

01:30:01hour in the water, which is pretty

01:30:03fast for such big creatures.

01:30:05They can swim for miles and

01:30:07keep going for hours.

01:30:09Their big paws are designed for

01:30:11swimming. They use them to paddle

01:30:13through the water while their back

01:30:15legs stay straight and act like a

01:30:17rudder, helping them steer.

01:30:19Since we've visited polar bears,

01:30:21we might as well add a romantic

01:30:23fact about penguins here.

01:30:25Male Gentoo and Adelie penguins

01:30:27put themselves out there with

01:30:29proposals. They offer their

01:30:31potential mates precious pebbles,

01:30:33essential for building nests in the

01:30:35harsh Antarctic landscape.

01:30:37If the lady penguin accepts the pebble,

01:30:39they're in it for life, bonded

01:30:41and ready to mate.

01:30:43Another study has found that our

01:30:45adorable house cats share more than

01:30:4795% of their genetic makeup

01:30:49with tigers.

01:30:51These little furballs also mimic

01:30:53many behaviors of their wild relatives,

01:30:55like marking territory with scents

01:30:57and the classic, stalking

01:30:59and pouncing during playtime.

01:31:01Biologically though, a cat's

01:31:03brain is kind of similar to a human's.

01:31:05We share identical

01:31:07emotional regions in our brains.

01:31:09Cats can also make up to a hundred

01:31:11different sounds.

01:31:15Owls have

01:31:17eye tubes or cylinders.

01:31:19Their rod-shaped eyes don't do

01:31:21the eyeball moving.

01:31:23Our eyes can move in almost all directions.

01:31:25Owls have to make a full body

01:31:27or full head turn to look around,

01:31:29all because of night vision.

01:31:31To master

01:31:33the art of seeing in the dark,

01:31:35they need large corneas that can scoop

01:31:37up every bit of light.

01:31:39Most nighttime critters, like

01:31:41slow lorises or tarsiers,

01:31:43have enormous eyes to get the job done.

01:31:45But owls have small

01:31:47skulls on their agenda,

01:31:49so those big eyes couldn't swell out.

01:31:53Cockroaches

01:31:55are notorious for their survival

01:31:57skills, and a key reason

01:31:59is their unique brain structure.

01:32:01They have two brains, one in their head

01:32:03and a more basic one near their abdomen.

01:32:05They're so hard to get because

01:32:07these critters are incredibly quick

01:32:09to react. They have tiny hairs

01:32:11on their rear end that can feel the

01:32:13slightest breeze. When these hairs

01:32:15twitch, the cockroach doesn't waste time.

01:32:17It instantly switches to escape mode.

01:32:21Research shows that a cockroach can react

01:32:23in just one twentieth of a second.

01:32:25So by the time we turn on

01:32:27the light or grab something to target it,

01:32:29the cockroach is already speeding off.

01:32:31Cats can

01:32:33have dreams.

01:32:35Sometimes you can see your cat's whiskers twitching

01:32:37or its legs kicking while it's sleeping.

01:32:39This doesn't necessarily mean your pet

01:32:41is having a nightmare. We can look

01:32:43at human sleep to get a clue about what's

01:32:45happening with our feline friends.

01:32:47During REM sleep, our brains

01:32:49get super active, almost like

01:32:51when we're awake. That's also the

01:32:53prime time for dreaming. REM sleep

01:32:55is named this way because of the quick

01:32:57movements the eyes make under the eyelids.

01:32:59But while our eyes might be

01:33:01moving, the rest of our body

01:33:03stays still. The focus

01:33:05is on what's going on in our minds.

01:33:07This is true for cats too.

01:33:09Besides an occasional twitch,

01:33:11cats usually don't move much when they're

01:33:13asleep.

01:33:15So

01:33:17Megalodon was one of the biggest and most

01:33:19ferocious monsters on our planet.

01:33:21Powerful jaws, razor-sharp

01:33:23teeth, gigantic size.

01:33:25But what do you know about how it

01:33:27sounded? Imagine how loudly

01:33:29it growled, permeating the

01:33:31underwater world with sound vibrations.

01:33:33This sound resembled

01:33:35nothing. Megalodon didn't

01:33:37have a voice. It was a shark,

01:33:39and sharks don't have sound-producing organs.

01:33:41It was a quiet danger.

01:33:43But despite its muteness

01:33:45– yes, that is a word –

01:33:47you could have still heard it.

01:33:49Come with me. Now you're

01:33:51underwater, clenching your fist,

01:33:53raising your hand, and quickly bringing

01:33:55it down. Now imagine that you

01:33:57have a big submarine instead of a fist

01:33:59and hear the water flowing around

01:34:01the smooth surface of the hull.

01:34:03That's what a Megalodon sounded like.

01:34:05When this monster was swimming

01:34:07out to the surface and opening its jaws,

01:34:09it sounded like a waterfall.

01:34:11The giant shark swam at high

01:34:13speed. When the water was passing

01:34:15through its mouth and gills, it sounded

01:34:17like a flowing river. A fast,

01:34:19powerful river. Megalodon

01:34:21had no voice, only the scary

01:34:23sound of flowing water.

01:34:25Other ancient fish could make sounds,

01:34:27but you would hardly hear them.

01:34:29Whales, dolphins, and their distant

01:34:31ancestors are not counted because

01:34:33they're mammals. Fish

01:34:35communicated at frequencies elusive

01:34:37to human ears. They still have

01:34:39this ability, but in most,

01:34:41the ocean was and is

01:34:43a pretty quiet place.

01:34:45So let's get out on ancient lands and

01:34:47check what was going on with the sounds there.

01:34:49Thanks to modern technologies,

01:34:51scientists can analyze

01:34:53the sounds of many ancient animals.

01:34:55Using CT scans,

01:34:57they found that some dinosaurs had complex

01:34:59systems of small, open pockets

01:35:01in their skulls. They used

01:35:03these winding cranial mazes

01:35:05to reproduce a wide range of sounds

01:35:07and regulate body temperature.

01:35:09And people have managed to hear them.

01:35:11An ancient bird that lived

01:35:1379 to 140 million

01:35:15years ago, Vegasus,

01:35:17sounded similar to some farm birds

01:35:19like duck and geese.

01:35:21But the ancient creature probably screamed

01:35:23in a scarier way.

01:35:25Scientists found this out thanks to the

01:35:27Syrinx fossil they discovered in 2016

01:35:29in Antarctica.

01:35:31It's the oldest known vocal organ in the world.

01:35:33It helped Vegasus make

01:35:35a double humming sound coming from the

01:35:37left and right sides of the Syrinx.

01:35:39Imagine a duck and goose screaming,

01:35:41increase the volume several

01:35:43times. Perhaps that's what

01:35:45its distant ancestors sound like.

01:35:47As for other flying reptiles

01:35:49like the pterodactyl,

01:35:51it couldn't scream like Vegasus

01:35:53because it didn't have a Syrinx.

01:35:55These winged monsters could growl,

01:35:57hiss, and snap their beaks.

01:35:59And this was their most effective sound.

01:36:01Remember any tall basketball

01:36:03player. The skull of the pterodactyl

01:36:05was slightly longer than their

01:36:07height. Just imagine what a

01:36:09noise the dinosaur created when it was

01:36:11snapping its powerful beak.

01:36:13The clicking sound could deafen and frighten

01:36:15other ancient creatures nearby.

01:36:17Now, you probably know

01:36:19what a Tyrannosaurus sounds like,

01:36:21thanks to the movies. Among thousands

01:36:23of others, you'll recognize this

01:36:25prolonged roar similar to a

01:36:27chainsaw, vacuum cleaner, and horn.

01:36:29And, honestly, its

01:36:31roar has a lot in common with the natural

01:36:33sounds that this monster could make.

01:36:35Thanks to modern technologies

01:36:37and well-preserved remains,

01:36:39scientists managed to simulate the

01:36:41voice of these ancient animals.

01:36:43Imagine you're uploading data about a

01:36:45T-Rex into a program and preparing

01:36:47to hear an intimidating roar.

01:36:49You press play and

01:36:51it sounds like a bee.

01:36:53Tyrannosaurus Rex's scream

01:36:55was similar to birds, not mammals.

01:36:57But it wasn't just a bee.

01:36:59It used nostrils to scream,

01:37:01not a mouth. The hum

01:37:03came from the chest and resembled a

01:37:05siren with low bass.

01:37:07Maybe it sounded a lot more intimidating

01:37:09than what we saw in the movies. It was louder

01:37:11than all the trumpets of the symphony

01:37:13orchestra, and it did it only

01:37:15with the help of its nose.

01:37:17It's not known for sure whether it could

01:37:19growl through the mouth.

01:37:21You could also hear how long neck

01:37:23dinosaurs sounded in the movies.

01:37:25Their calls were similar to those of

01:37:27elephants, something between a saxophone

01:37:29and a car horn.

01:37:31But in fact, these tall creatures

01:37:33whispered. Almost all

01:37:35mammals make sounds thanks to the

01:37:37laryngeal nerve. This nerve

01:37:39runs down along the neck,

01:37:41then goes around the blood vessels of the chest

01:37:43and comes back to the larynx.

01:37:45In short, the brain gives a signal

01:37:47and it passes twice the distance

01:37:49along the body before the sound is

01:37:51released from the mouth.

01:37:53And now, remember those long necks

01:37:55of dinosaurs? This was the height

01:37:57of a five-story building.

01:37:59But the voice signal had to run a distance

01:38:01of ten floors. It took too

01:38:03long to make this long trip,

01:38:05and this affected the dinosaurs' roar.

01:38:07So, when they wanted to make a sound,

01:38:09they just hissed.

01:38:11And it was probably similar to the sound

01:38:13of a giant viper.

01:38:15But the most detailed sounds

01:38:17scientists have managed to get belongs

01:38:19to the Parasaurolophus.

01:38:21You know this herbivorous dinosaur

01:38:23thanks to the long crest on the

01:38:25back of its head. We saw the dinosaur

01:38:27using it in movies and documentaries

01:38:29to fight opponents and enemies.

01:38:31Some scientists believed it also

01:38:33used the comb to drop fruits and

01:38:35leaves from trees. Others thought

01:38:37the dinosaur used it to improve its sense

01:38:39of smell. But it turned

01:38:41out that in addition to self-defense

01:38:43and fighting, they used the comb

01:38:45to make loud and scary sounds

01:38:47in different keys. Scientists

01:38:49replicated this with fantastic

01:38:51accuracy, thanks to the structure

01:38:53of its hard tissues. Almost

01:38:55all living beings with a voice

01:38:57use soft organs to make sounds.

01:38:59And these soft tissues decompose

01:39:01quickly. Parasaurolophus

01:39:03had solid ones. They noticed

01:39:05tubes leading from the nostrils

01:39:07to the crest and back to the nostrils

01:39:09when they found the skull. It was

01:39:11like a crumhorn, a curved

01:39:13musical wind instrument.

01:39:15This proved the dinosaur used the crest

01:39:17on the back of its head to make the sounds

01:39:19louder. The comb allowed it

01:39:21to trumpet so its relatives

01:39:23could hear it in the forest.

01:39:25They made humming sounds with low and high

01:39:27notes. Mix a saxophone and

01:39:29trumpet with a goose hum,

01:39:31car horns and low frequencies,

01:39:33then increase the volume several times.

01:39:35That's what Parasaurolophus

01:39:37sounded like. That's also what

01:39:39my 4th grade band sounded like.

01:39:41But I digress. You can

01:39:43listen to different shades and timbres of this

01:39:45dinosaur on the Internet.

01:39:47It used noises with different tones

01:39:49to create complex social connections.

01:39:51They could communicate, identify

01:39:53each other, trumpet danger,

01:39:55or conversely, signal their friendly

01:39:57intentions. Alright, we've

01:39:59just heard how some ancient reptiles

01:40:01sounded. But what about ancient

01:40:03insects? They didn't have vocal

01:40:05cords, of course. Instead,

01:40:07they used friction between body parts.

01:40:09Look at modern crickets

01:40:11chirping with their wings. One wing

01:40:13has tiny notches. The second

01:40:15has the shape of a mediator.

01:40:17Take a simple plastic comb and run your

01:40:19fingertip over its teeth.

01:40:21Crickets make their sounds by the same principle.

01:40:23Their wings vibrate and release

01:40:25a series of sound waves into the air.

01:40:27But the clicking of an ancient

01:40:29bush cricket was very different

01:40:31from modern insects since they

01:40:33were much noisier. The sounds

01:40:35of these clicks were like a whistle.

01:40:37With the help of high frequency waves,

01:40:39they could also communicate secretly

01:40:41as if they were doing it through a

01:40:43closed radio channel. If you

01:40:45heard this, you would hardly be able

01:40:47to fall asleep to it.

01:40:49Now, modern crickets are not so loud

01:40:51as they began to add more high

01:40:53frequencies to their sounds.

01:40:55Higher pitch waves don't spread as far,

01:40:57reducing the risk that a bat will

01:40:59hear the insects. Just imagine

01:41:01how the jungle of that time

01:41:03sounded. The loud chirping

01:41:05of crickets hurts the ears.

01:41:07Then you hear a Brachiosaurus

01:41:09hissing. The clicks of Pterodactyls

01:41:11shake the sky like

01:41:13thunderclaps. Then you hear

01:41:15the trumpet sounds of different tones

01:41:17somewhere in the jungle. These are

01:41:19Parasaurolophus communicating with

01:41:21each other. And then you get scared

01:41:23by a loud Tyrannosaurus

01:41:25siren. What a racket!

01:41:27You'd probably not find peace in such

01:41:29conditions. Fortunately, humans

01:41:31appeared millions of years later.

01:41:33And, by the way, scientists

01:41:35have managed to find out and understand

01:41:37what our distant ancestors sounded

01:41:39like. They carefully examined

01:41:41the insert function of the mouth, nose

01:41:43and throat on the Neanderthal skeleton.

01:41:45Their voices were similar

01:41:47to ours, but the phonetic range

01:41:49of an adult Neanderthal was the

01:41:51same as if they were 2 to 3 years

01:41:53old. It was like mumbling

01:41:55without consonant sounds.

01:41:57The study of the skull couldn't recreate

01:41:59precisely the sound of Neanderthals.

01:42:01But in 2007,

01:42:03scientists extracted DNA samples

01:42:05from their bones. They found

01:42:07a variation of the gene that responds

01:42:09to human speech. Scientists believed

01:42:11that Neanderthals fought with

01:42:13Homo sapiens, you know, our

01:42:15family tree. As a result of

01:42:17this conflict, their kind became

01:42:19extinct. But the found gene

01:42:21points they could have had

01:42:23other connections with each other.

01:42:25Perhaps Neanderthals could understand

01:42:27their language and even pronounce

01:42:29some words.

01:42:59One of his most

01:43:21famous theories is called

01:43:23countershading. Basically,

01:43:25animals are painted by nature

01:43:27so that the parts that get the most light

01:43:29from the sky are the darkest

01:43:31and vice versa.

01:43:33It's like they're wearing the

01:43:35perfect outfit to match their environment.

01:43:37And let me tell you, this

01:43:39technique is not just for fashion

01:43:41savvy animals. It's also

01:43:43used by ships to avoid detection.

01:43:45Thayer and his

01:43:47friend even got a patent for it.

01:43:49Thayer

01:43:51also came up with the idea of

01:43:53background blending, which is

01:43:55when an animal or object is painted

01:43:57to match the colors of its surroundings.

01:43:59Think of it as

01:44:01a natural camouflage suit.

01:44:03Thayer didn't stop there though.

01:44:05He also proposed a theory

01:44:07on something called disruptive

01:44:09or dazzle camouflage.

01:44:11This is when an object is painted

01:44:13with a crazy pattern to make it

01:44:15harder to judge its distance or

01:44:17speed. It's like when you're

01:44:19trying to hit a pinata that's moving all

01:44:21over the place and you can't quite get your

01:44:23timing right.

01:44:25Think about it. If you're a shark

01:44:27swimming beneath the surface of the

01:44:29ocean and you look up, you're going

01:44:31to see the bright sky and the lighter

01:44:33colored ocean surface.

01:44:35If you're a prey animal swimming

01:44:37on the surface, your lighter belly

01:44:39will blend in with the bright sky,

01:44:41while your darker back will blend in

01:44:43with the deeper water.

01:44:45It's not just aquatic

01:44:47animals that use countershading to their

01:44:49advantage. Land animals

01:44:51like deer and rabbits have

01:44:53lighter bellies and darker backs,

01:44:55which helps them blend in with the

01:44:57dappled light of the forest floor.

01:44:59And let's not forget

01:45:01about birds. Many

01:45:03birds have countershading on their feathers,

01:45:05which helps them blend in with the sky

01:45:07when seen from below and the ground

01:45:09when seen from above.

01:45:11Some creatures out there have

01:45:13a way of warning others that they're

01:45:15not to be messed with.

01:45:17Yeah, it's called

01:45:19cosmetism, a fancy word for

01:45:21using bright colors or markings

01:45:23to let predators know that they're toxic

01:45:25or just downright

01:45:27unappetizing.

01:45:29Take the skunk, for example.

01:45:31That broad white stripe

01:45:33on its back is like a neon sign

01:45:35that says, don't get too close

01:45:37or else you'll regret it.

01:45:39And those yellow-banded

01:45:41poison dart frogs? They're

01:45:43walking billboards for their own poison

01:45:45with their bright and graphic colors,

01:45:47letting everyone know that

01:45:49they're not to be fooled with.

01:45:51Even wasps use the power

01:45:53of bright colors to signal to potential

01:45:55threats that they're packing a sting.

01:45:57And you know

01:45:59those cute little ladybugs?

01:46:01The brighter they are, the more toxic they can be.

01:46:03Who knew that something

01:46:05so adorable could be so

01:46:07deadly?

01:46:09It turns out that

01:46:11white, yellow, red,

01:46:13and black are the most effective

01:46:15warning colors in the animal kingdom.

01:46:17Just like how traffic signs

01:46:19caution drivers, these bright markings

01:46:21are nature's way of saying,

01:46:23watch out, buddy!

01:46:25If you ever come across a critter with some

01:46:27serious bling, just remember,

01:46:29they're not trying to be fashionable.

01:46:31But how come

01:46:33some animals have evolved to use

01:46:35bright colors and others didn't?

01:46:37It's a question that's

01:46:39been baffling scientists

01:46:41for a long time.

01:46:43Thankfully, one theory coming from

01:46:45a team of researchers at the University

01:46:47of Arizona has uncovered

01:46:49some interesting insights into this

01:46:51colorful mystery.

01:46:53It turns out that

01:46:55the function of an animal's vibrant

01:46:57coloring is strongly linked to the

01:46:59activity patterns of its evolutionary

01:47:01ancestors.

01:47:03So species that use their bright

01:47:05colors to attract mates are

01:47:07usually descended from ancestors that

01:47:09were active during the day.

01:47:11Meanwhile, those that

01:47:13use their colors to ward off predators

01:47:15usually had ancestors that

01:47:17were active at night.

01:47:19It seems that animals have

01:47:21evolved to use their colors in the

01:47:23most advantageous way possible.

01:47:25Now,

01:47:27you may be wondering how vivid

01:47:29coloration even came to be in

01:47:31the first place.

01:47:33Well, it seems that early in their

01:47:35evolution, most species started

01:47:37out pretty plain and drab.

01:47:39But over time, bright colors

01:47:41evolved across many different

01:47:43lineages because they helped animals

01:47:45survive and reproduce.

01:47:47But

01:47:49not all bright colors are

01:47:51created equal.

01:47:53The researchers found that vividly

01:47:55colored lizards and birds

01:47:57usually use their coloring as a mating

01:47:59signal to attract partners,

01:48:01while colorful amphibians and

01:48:03snakes often wear their colors

01:48:05as a warning sign for predators.

01:48:07And get this,

01:48:09many of these amphibians and snakes

01:48:11are diurnal now or active

01:48:13during the day, but their ancestors

01:48:15were actually nocturnal,

01:48:17active at night.

01:48:19So, there's no clear connection

01:48:21between warning colors and present

01:48:23day activity patterns.

01:48:25Mother nature

01:48:27sure is creative when it comes to

01:48:29helping animals adapt and survive

01:48:31in the wild.

01:48:33But there are some creatures out there

01:48:35who take the award for the weirdest

01:48:37animals any day.

01:48:39Have you ever stopped to think about what it

01:48:41would be like if we could see through

01:48:43all the layers that protect our internal

01:48:45organs? Because

01:48:47that's exactly what has happened with

01:48:49the glass frog.

01:48:51Imagine

01:48:53you're strolling through the lush rainforest

01:48:55of Central and South America,

01:48:57and you come across a tiny

01:48:59little frog perched on a leaf.

01:49:01From above, it looks like

01:49:03your average run-of-the-mill frog.

01:49:05But if you flip it over, you'll see

01:49:07all its organs on display.

01:49:09Heart, intestines, and all.

01:49:11You might be wondering

01:49:13why on Earth these frogs have

01:49:15evolved to be see-through.

01:49:17It turns out that their super thin

01:49:19translucent skin actually

01:49:21helps them blend in with their surroundings

01:49:23too. When light

01:49:25shines on them from above, their silhouette

01:49:27becomes all jumbled up and difficult

01:49:29for predators to decipher.

01:49:31And let's face it,

01:49:33when you're surrounded by vibrant greenery,

01:49:35a green topcoat is a

01:49:37perfect camouflage.

01:49:39But what about those transparent

01:49:41legs? Well, they help to

01:49:43blur the outlines of the frog's

01:49:45body, making it even tougher

01:49:47for predators to recognize their

01:49:49shape.

01:49:51I, for one, had no idea

01:49:53penguins also came in

01:49:55yellow.

01:49:57One wildlife photographer stumbled

01:49:59upon a sight that left him gobsmacked

01:50:01on a remote island in the

01:50:03southern Atlantic Ocean.

01:50:05He captured some amazing

01:50:07images of a yellow king penguin

01:50:09that had everyone on the beach

01:50:11flapping with excitement.

01:50:13There were

01:50:15120,000 birds on

01:50:17that beach, and this was the only

01:50:19yellow one there.

01:50:21Scientists are scratching their heads

01:50:23as to how this coloration happened

01:50:25naturally. They think

01:50:27it's a form of leucism,

01:50:29which is basically an animal's inability

01:50:31to produce the proper pigments

01:50:33for its natural coloration.

01:50:35But they're not entirely sure.

01:50:37All king penguins produce small

01:50:39amounts of this yellow pigment naturally.

01:50:41But in this particular bird,

01:50:43it seems to be the only pigment

01:50:45the animal could produce.

01:50:47Talk about standing out from the crowd,

01:50:49am I right?

01:50:51There are some colors, though,

01:50:53you'll rarely find in the animal kingdom.

01:50:55According to some polls,

01:50:57blue is one of, if not

01:50:59the most popular colors

01:51:01amongst people.

01:51:03Most animals, however, have a tough time

01:51:05sporting this shade.

01:51:07Some animals get their pigment from the food

01:51:09they eat, like how flamingos turn

01:51:11pink from eating shrimp,

01:51:13or how goldfish can alter their golden hue

01:51:15based on their diet.

01:51:17But, unfortunately,

01:51:19there's no true blue pigments

01:51:21in plants, so animals can't turn

01:51:23blue through their food.

01:51:25Instead, they have to get creative.

01:51:27For instance, some

01:51:29animals make structures that change the

01:51:31wavelength of light to appear blue.

01:51:33The blue morpho

01:51:35butterfly is a great example

01:51:37of this. Its wing scales

01:51:39are shaped in ridges that cause light

01:51:41to blend in such a way that it

01:51:43reflects only the blue color.

01:51:45If the scales were shaped

01:51:47differently, the butterfly would lose

01:51:49its beautiful blue color.

01:51:53Okay,

01:51:55let's face it, we humans are

01:51:57pretty ordinary. I mean, we're no

01:51:59superheroes with superpowers, right?

01:52:01What, you didn't get the memo?

01:52:03But the animal world has a bunch of

01:52:05superheroes. Some creatures live

01:52:07forever, and those who seem to not

01:52:09care about the laws of gravity,

01:52:11critters that are immune to venom,

01:52:13and those that can run on water.

01:52:15And some of them will send shivers down your

01:52:17spine. So, the first

01:52:19superpower on the list is the ability

01:52:21to live without water.

01:52:23Kangaroo rats can get by without

01:52:25water for years. They actually

01:52:27don't mind living without any water.

01:52:29Humans, on the other hand, can

01:52:31only survive three days without water.

01:52:33Humans, zero. Kangaroo

01:52:35rats, one. These little buddies

01:52:37live in extremely arid desert

01:52:39areas, and have to get water from the

01:52:41seeds and plants they eat. And although

01:52:43it may sound a bit disturbing,

01:52:45kangaroo rats also know how

01:52:47to extract water from their urine

01:52:49before they set off on a bathroom

01:52:51trip. This way, they don't

01:52:53waste a single drop of precious

01:52:55moisture. Well, that would come in

01:52:57handy at sporting events.

01:52:59Now let me introduce you to the Peter

01:53:01Parker of the animal world.

01:53:03Yep, seems like Spider-Man is real,

01:53:05but not human.

01:53:07Meet a gecko lizard, or simply

01:53:09gecko. This critter has a marvelous

01:53:11ability to climb up all kinds

01:53:13of vertical surfaces, and can even

01:53:15go for a walk on the ceiling.

01:53:17This gravity-defying feat is

01:53:19possible thanks to the lizard's

01:53:21unique foot pads covered with

01:53:23tiny hairs. They can cling to

01:53:25almost any kind of surface, no matter

01:53:27whether it's smooth, hard, rough,

01:53:29or soft. One more fun

01:53:31fact about these guys is that they

01:53:33lack eyelids. So they always

01:53:35keep an eye wide open for

01:53:37what's going on around them. If you

01:53:39wonder how they keep their eyes protected,

01:53:41here's the answer. Their eyes

01:53:43are covered with a transparent membrane,

01:53:45the cornea. Sure thing

01:53:47they can't close their eyes, and if they

01:53:49have something in their eye, they simply

01:53:51lick it off. Right, they

01:53:53clean their eyeballs by licking them.

01:53:55I guess that's another superpower.

01:53:57Any supersonic

01:53:59superpowers here? Sure.

01:54:01A 1-inch long

01:54:03subtropical shrimp disorients

01:54:05its prey with a sonic

01:54:07boom. Despite its modest

01:54:09size, the pistol shrimp is

01:54:11one of the loudest marine animals.

01:54:13When the shrimp snaps its claws,

01:54:15it creates a sound as loud as

01:54:17a sonic boom. Naturally,

01:54:19this sound stuns the prey, and the

01:54:21shrimp can catch it without too much effort.

01:54:23Now, in the

01:54:25comic world, there's Venom.

01:54:27In the animal world, there's a guy that can

01:54:29be called Anti-Venom.

01:54:31Opossums are known for their handy

01:54:33trick of pretending to have passed away

01:54:35when a predator attacks them.

01:54:37But that's not the end of the story.

01:54:39These guys are also immune

01:54:41to rattlesnake and pit viper venom.

01:54:43The secret is a peptide that helps

01:54:45opossums neutralize dangerous

01:54:47chemicals. This is the reason why

01:54:49snakes are a favorite treat on opossums'

01:54:51diet. There's one curious

01:54:53thing they have on their diet – ticks.

01:54:55One opossum can hoover

01:54:57up about 5,000 ticks per season,

01:54:59and most of them are picked off their

01:55:01own bodies.

01:55:03Now, imagine a fish that is

01:55:05so notorious that it's called

01:55:07a dangerous fish. It's

01:55:09Mabenga, and it literally translates

01:55:11to dangerous fish in Swahili.

01:55:13This monster lives in freshwater

01:55:15and doesn't mind having a crocodile

01:55:17for lunch. Not a whole

01:55:19crocodile, but Mabenga can

01:55:21take a bite out of them. But to be

01:55:23honest, these guys are intimidated

01:55:25by the crocodiles the same way the

01:55:27crocs are intimidated by them.

01:55:29Now, you're watching this video

01:55:31on some gadget, right? Well,

01:55:33we all owe the gadgets we have

01:55:35to the electric eels in some

01:55:37way. I mean, all gadgets

01:55:39have batteries, and eels contributed

01:55:41a lot to the invention of an

01:55:43electric battery back in 1800.

01:55:45I know, I know, the batteries

01:55:47have unrecognizably changed

01:55:49since then, but still,

01:55:51the first electric battery ever

01:55:53was invented thanks to electric eels.

01:55:55Anyway, if you see one of

01:55:57them and want to thank them for their

01:55:59magnificent invention, don't do that.

01:56:01Thing is, they can deliver shocks

01:56:03up to 860 volts.

01:56:05You don't want to experience

01:56:07that. Now, let's

01:56:09talk about the Count Dracula

01:56:11of the animal kingdom. Nope,

01:56:13I'm not talking about bats.

01:56:15I'm talking about the fanged vampire

01:56:17fish. These fish are known as

01:56:19payara and have two long

01:56:21fangs protruding from their lower jaw.

01:56:23Here's why some people associate

01:56:25them with vampires.

01:56:27Hippos are the beauty

01:56:29gurus since they know how to save

01:56:31a fortune on skincare.

01:56:33Living under the harsh African sun,

01:56:35these animals secrete a sweat-like

01:56:37red oily substance

01:56:39that evaporates and keeps the animal's

01:56:41bodies cool. Besides,

01:56:43the fluid works as a moisturizer,

01:56:45sunscreen, and antibiotic

01:56:47all in one. But they're not

01:56:49the only ones with such a superpower.

01:56:51Mantis shrimp know how to produce

01:56:53natural sunscreen too,

01:56:55but they use it for eye protection.

01:56:57It's all about amino acid pigments,

01:56:59and these pigments act as

01:57:01special filters that contribute to

01:57:03their sharp vision too. That's what

01:57:05I call multitasking.

01:57:07Meerkats have dark

01:57:09patches around their eyes which

01:57:11make them look even cuter. But

01:57:13these black circles aren't there just

01:57:15to make these buddies more adorable.

01:57:17They also function as built-in

01:57:19sunglasses. The dark fur

01:57:21on the patches blocks the blazing

01:57:23sun, and as a result,

01:57:25meerkats can gaze directly at the

01:57:27sky. On top of that,

01:57:29a sentry, a meerkat that watches

01:57:31out for birds and other predators,

01:57:33can easily see danger coming and

01:57:35alert its mates.

01:57:37Wild goats are famous for

01:57:39their climbing skills, but the

01:57:41alpine ibex from northern Italy

01:57:43is the champion. This

01:57:45critter can climb nearly any vertical

01:57:47surface, defying several physical

01:57:49laws in the process. Interestingly,

01:57:51the animals that do walk on

01:57:53the steepest cliff walls are typically

01:57:55mother goats with their little ones.

01:57:57Large males prefer to keep their

01:57:59distance and use flat horizontal

01:58:01surfaces. Smart guys.

01:58:03Some animals

01:58:05protect themselves with venom or

01:58:07nasty bites, while others use

01:58:09chemical tricks for protection.

01:58:11Listen to this. Some

01:58:13species of millipedes produce

01:58:15hydrogen cyanide and exude

01:58:17it when they feel threatened.

01:58:19Hydrogen cyanide is odorless

01:58:21but highly toxic.

01:58:23One little millipede can't seriously

01:58:25hurt you, but you may have burns

01:58:27or even blisters if your skin is

01:58:29sensitive. Plus, to make the

01:58:31picture even scarier, some

01:58:33millipedes glow in the dark.

01:58:35So, watch out, and if you see

01:58:37a crawling spot of light at night,

01:58:39run away as fast as you can.

01:58:41When the

01:58:43bombardier beetle feels threatened, it

01:58:45sprays scorching liquid from the tip

01:58:47of its abdomen with a loud popping

01:58:49sound. As soon as the beetle

01:58:51senses danger, a chemical reaction

01:58:53starts in special reservoirs in

01:58:55its abdomen. The heat from this process

01:58:57nearly reaches the boiling point

01:58:59and also produces special gas

01:59:01that triggers the ejection.

01:59:03This super protection is usually fatal

01:59:05for the attacking insects.

01:59:07I guess so.

01:59:09Plumed basculus lizards

01:59:11have an uncanny ability to run

01:59:13on water. First of all,

01:59:15their hind feet are equipped with long

01:59:17toes which have fringes of skin

01:59:19that can spread out in the water.

01:59:21As a result, a bigger surface

01:59:23of the lizard's foot comes into contact

01:59:25with water. Then, when it

01:59:27runs on water, it pumps its legs

01:59:29incredibly fast. This creates

01:59:31little pockets of air that prevent

01:59:33the animal from drowning by keeping it

01:59:35on the surface.

01:59:37Fleas can be annoying, but it

01:59:39doesn't make them any less amazing.

01:59:41These tiny critters can leap

01:59:43about 50 times their body length.

01:59:45If people could do the same,

01:59:47we would be jumping about a quarter of a

01:59:49mile into the air. Well, let's try it!

01:59:51The most curious

01:59:53thing about fleas' astonishing ability

01:59:55is that they take most of the

01:59:57powerful leaps from their toes,

01:59:59not knees. So,

02:00:01what's your favorite animal superpower?

02:00:03I vote for the kangaroo rat.

02:00:05I don't like standing in lines

02:00:07for the bathroom.

02:00:19Do you know what a dog's hearing is?

02:00:21I mean, it can hear you opening a bag of chips

02:00:23even if you're on a different floor in the house.

02:00:25Even with this amazing

02:00:27ability, most household dogs

02:00:29don't have the best hearing in the animal

02:00:31kingdom. Actually, they're not

02:00:33even in the top five.

02:00:35On that note, let's venture

02:00:37into the world of animal hearing

02:00:39and try to imagine what life sounds

02:00:41like for other creatures.

02:00:43Look,

02:00:45we humans are pretty great.

02:00:47We've got all kinds of talents,

02:00:49but when it comes to the auditory olympics,

02:00:51we're not even in the running.

02:00:53Put us next to a cat or a bat,

02:00:55and our ears look kind of basic.

02:00:57Take elephants, for instance.

02:00:59They are big animals, and so are their ears.

02:01:01Their auditory organs

02:01:03are capable of capturing infrasound

02:01:05waves. Now,

02:01:07these are not your run-of-the-mill sound waves.

02:01:09They're low-frequency,

02:01:11rumbling whispers that we humans can't hear.

02:01:13This means elephants

02:01:15can pick up on things like rain clouds

02:01:17on the move. Not only that,

02:01:19but these massive mammals have

02:01:21a pretty clever way of communicating, too.

02:01:23They stomp the ground,

02:01:25creating vibrations barely noticeable

02:01:27to us. But to

02:01:29elephants, these vibrations are

02:01:31the equivalent of a long-distance phone call.

02:01:33The messages are received

02:01:35through their feet and ear bones,

02:01:37even when they're miles apart.

02:01:39Talk about having a good reception.

02:01:45Moving on to bats.

02:01:47They are the masters of

02:01:49night navigation, thanks to their

02:01:51use of echolocation.

02:01:53These animals emit high-frequency

02:01:55sounds, which bounce back after

02:01:57hitting objects. This echo

02:01:59helps bats create a mental

02:02:01map, allowing them to sway

02:02:03flawlessly in the dark.

02:02:05Just when we thought bats couldn't get any

02:02:07cooler, scientists discovered

02:02:09their hearing capabilities extend

02:02:11to their wings. Special hairs

02:02:13called Merkel hairs sense air

02:02:15movements, helping the bats detect

02:02:17upcoming objects. It's not

02:02:19the traditional hearing we're used to,

02:02:21but it's a fantastic adaptation to

02:02:23their environment.

02:02:27Dolphins, on the other hand,

02:02:29are masters of watery acoustics.

02:02:31For starters, you

02:02:33might think that being underwater would put a

02:02:35damper on hearing. But dolphins

02:02:37have turned this challenge into an advantage.

02:02:39They've got their own version

02:02:41of echolocation, emitting

02:02:43sonic pulses from their foreheads.

02:02:45These sounds bounce off objects

02:02:47and are picked up by the dolphin's

02:02:49jaw before being sent to the brain

02:02:51via highly developed auditory

02:02:53nerves. Their ears,

02:02:55though present, don't play a central

02:02:57role in hearing like ours do.

02:02:59Instead, dolphins have found

02:03:01innovative ways to listen,

02:03:03proving yet again how awesome animals

02:03:05are.

02:03:07Don't let their domestic status

02:03:09fool you. Your pet cats and

02:03:11dogs are auditory champs.

02:03:13Cats' ears are designed to catch high-frequency

02:03:15sounds from up to 160

02:03:17feet away. Handy

02:03:19for catching mice, don't you think?

02:03:21Dogs, on the other hand,

02:03:23are pros at localizing sounds

02:03:25thanks to the muscles around

02:03:27their ears. Ever seen your

02:03:29pooch perk up their ears when they hear

02:03:31something suspicious? That's their

02:03:33sharp hearing at work.

02:03:35Even the

02:03:39tiniest critters buzzing around us,

02:03:41like insects, can actually

02:03:43listen to the world.

02:03:45In fact, some insects have something

02:03:47akin to our human eardrums.

02:03:49It's a delicate little membrane.

02:03:51Given the name tympani,

02:03:53our eardrums jiggle with the sound

02:03:55waves. That shaking is

02:03:57then turned into a signal our brain

02:03:59would understand. Now,

02:04:01you've surely heard the nightly serenade

02:04:03of crickets or the rhythmic

02:04:05song of cicadas in the summer.

02:04:07These little symphony masters

02:04:09use exactly this kind of setup

02:04:11to listen to their world.

02:04:13That's not all, though.

02:04:15Some bugs take a different approach to

02:04:17eavesdropping on their surroundings.

02:04:19They've got these sensory cells right

02:04:21in the middle of their antennae.

02:04:23This structure is called the

02:04:25Johnston's organ. Take mosquitoes,

02:04:27for instance, or bees,

02:04:29or even fruit flies. They use

02:04:31their antennae not just to feel

02:04:33their way around, but to listen in

02:04:35on the world, too.

02:04:37It gets even wilder.

02:04:39Hawk moths, some dusky, nocturnal

02:04:41creatures, have this unique

02:04:43organ nestled right in their mouths.

02:04:45It's like a superpower

02:04:47that lets them hear ultrasonic sounds.

02:04:49With this, they can dodge

02:04:51the dangerous dives of bats

02:04:53out on the hunt.

02:04:57When it comes to the

02:04:59ultimate hearing trophy,

02:05:01the animal kingdom has a completely

02:05:03unique winner. It's actually a moth.

02:05:05Not just any moth,

02:05:07though. It's the greater wax moth,

02:05:09discovered by the scientists

02:05:11based in Glasgow, Scotland.

02:05:13They've got some fascinating

02:05:15insights about these moths that

02:05:17make our ears want to stand up and listen.

02:05:21Just to give you some context,

02:05:23the greater wax moth does not

02:05:25stand out when it comes to its appearance.

02:05:27I mean, it's

02:05:29brown. As for its

02:05:31daily activities, it loves

02:05:33nibbling on honeycomb.

02:05:35Despite blending in seamlessly in the

02:05:37animal kingdom, it's got a serious

02:05:39set of ears. How good

02:05:41is its hearing, you ask?

02:05:43Well, it's been found that

02:05:45this tiny creature can pick up on

02:05:47sounds at frequencies up to 300

02:05:49kilohertz. By comparison,

02:05:51our human ears can only

02:05:53detect sounds up to around 20

02:05:55kilohertz. This already

02:05:57unimpressive ability drops

02:05:59to about 15 kilohertz as we

02:06:01grow older. I mean,

02:06:03not even dolphins can compete.

02:06:05They can only hear sounds up to about

02:06:07160 kilohertz.

02:06:13You're probably wondering, why would a moth

02:06:15need such super hearing?

02:06:17Scientists explain that the reason behind

02:06:19this extraordinary hearing lies

02:06:21in a survival instinct. Predation,

02:06:23to be precise.

02:06:25Bats use high-frequency echolocation

02:06:27calls to find their tasty

02:06:29moth meals, amongst other insects.

02:06:31But these clever little

02:06:33moths have evolved to pick up frequencies

02:06:35even bats might not hit.

02:06:39Despite this reasoning, it was a bit

02:06:41of a mystery as to why these moths would

02:06:43even need to hear such high frequencies.

02:06:45During the research,

02:06:47specialists discovered that their

02:06:49recording at high-frequency ultrasound

02:06:51is tricky business.

02:06:53So there's a chance that bats might

02:06:55actually be capable of emitting

02:06:57calls at these super high frequencies

02:06:59that the moths can hear.

02:07:01To uncover all this, scientists

02:07:03used a specially designed

02:07:05ultrasonic device.

02:07:07It emitted these crazy high frequencies

02:07:09and they then looked at the moths'

02:07:11reactions using electrodes to measure

02:07:13their neural responses.

02:07:15The practical implications

02:07:17of this research could be far-reaching.

02:07:19Understanding the inner workings

02:07:21of the greater wax moth's ear

02:07:23could have a big impact on the world

02:07:25of technology.

02:07:27This knowledge could help researchers

02:07:29build super tiny microphones,

02:07:31for example.

02:07:33We know that all sorts of critters,

02:07:35from the tiny creatures scuttling

02:07:37on the ground to the gigantic ones

02:07:39swimming in the ocean,

02:07:41can pick up on certain sound frequencies

02:07:43that our human ears just can't.

02:07:45However, scientists have made

02:07:47a fascinating discovery.

02:07:49They've shown, for the first time,

02:07:51that our ability to pick up

02:07:53on tiny differences in sound frequencies

02:07:55might just be superior

02:07:57to that of animals,

02:07:59thanks to our individual neurons.

02:08:01How did they prove this, you ask?

02:08:03Well, they took advantage

02:08:05of a unique technique that lets them

02:08:07record what single neurons

02:08:09are up to in the auditory cortex.

02:08:11That's the part of our brain

02:08:13that's a major player in processing sounds

02:08:15when we're exposed to various noises.

02:08:19You see, most of what we know

02:08:21about the auditory cortex

02:08:23was unearthed from past research

02:08:25that studied how animals' neural activity

02:08:27reacts to sound.

02:08:29Those studies were super useful

02:08:31in giving us a peek into how sounds

02:08:33are processed in our auditory system.

02:08:35But they didn't really let us know

02:08:37what sets us humans apart

02:08:39in the way we perceive sounds.

02:08:43When scientists tested

02:08:45how we respond to made-up sounds,

02:08:47they found out that our neurons

02:08:49in the auditory cortex responded

02:08:51with a surprising level of accuracy

02:08:53to specific frequencies.

02:08:55They could even pick up differences

02:08:57as tiny as a quarter of a tone

02:08:59just by looking at the reactions

02:09:01of individual neurons.

02:09:05That's a level of detail

02:09:07that you wouldn't typically find

02:09:09in the auditory cortex of other mammals.

02:09:11The one exception might be bats,

02:09:13who use their hearing

02:09:15in pretty unique ways.

02:09:17But this could explain why we humans

02:09:19can distinguish between frequencies

02:09:21better than animals.

02:09:23It seems like the way our brains

02:09:25process sound frequencies

02:09:27has some special features to it.

02:09:29When they played more natural sounds

02:09:31like conversations, music,

02:09:33and everyday noise,

02:09:35we saw complex activity patterns.

02:09:37These patterns couldn't be fully explained

02:09:39just by the neurons' frequency selectivity.

02:09:41Animal studies have shown

02:09:43similar phenomena,

02:09:45but it's the first time we've seen this in humans.

02:09:47That's it for today.

02:09:49So hey, if you pacified your curiosity,

02:09:51then give the video a like

02:09:53and share it with your friends.

02:09:55Or if you want more, just click on these videos

02:09:57and stay on the Bright Side!

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