50+ Fascinating Animal Facts to Share and Wow Others

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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 that work together

00:02:22to 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.

00:02:29Plus, 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, so 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, so 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, cats 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, but 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, frogs 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, frogs won't even bat an eye.

00:03:41And 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.

00:03:49Chameleons have eyes that can move independently of each other,

00:03:52so 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, one in front and one behind.

00:04:02Pretty impressive, right?

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

00:04:09Share in the comments!

00:04:11Looking for something slimy?

00:04:14Well, many people tend to believe that snails are just slugs with shells,

00:04:18but even though they look so similar, they're completely different species.

00:04:22Slugs don't need any protective shells,

00:04:25as all their internal organs are, well, internal, inside their slimy bodies.

00:04:30They can squish themselves and get into hard-to-reach places,

00:04:34which is why slugs can often be found in the most unlikely spaces,

00:04:38like under tree bark, or inside tiny crevices,

00:04:41or at the library pretending to study for exams.

00:04:45Snails, on the other hand, are tightly connected with their shells

00:04:49and can't survive without one.

00:04:51Unlike hermit crabs, which replace their shells as they grow,

00:04:54snails are born with a shell on their back.

00:04:57Baby snails look adorable with those fragile, translucent bubbles

00:05:01that calcify and become bigger and tougher with age.

00:05:04Cute? Well, you be the judge.

00:05:07Many of the snail's internal organs are inside the shell too,

00:05:10meaning that if it gets crushed or damaged,

00:05:13well, the animal would probably not survive.

00:05:16Still, a snail can repair small scratches and cracks in the shell

00:05:20with the help of proteins and calcium secreted by its mantle.

00:05:23Now, turtles are very close to snails in this regard, by the way,

00:05:27because, contrary to common myth, they can't leave their shell at a whim either.

00:05:32A turtle's shell is an integral part of its body,

00:05:35and despite the reptile being able to hide its head and paws inside

00:05:39to protect itself from predators,

00:05:41its skeleton is fused with the hard shell,

00:05:44and just like any other animal skeleton, it grows with the turtle itself.

00:05:49Now, koalas do only eat eucalyptus leaves,

00:05:52but there are over 600 different kinds of those,

00:05:55and koalas only munch on 30, or just 5% of what's available on the menu.

00:06:01So, it has to be a very specific eucalyptus tree

00:06:04to make a good meal for a picky koala.

00:06:07These adorable creatures also have something in common with domestic cats.

00:06:11They sleep for 18 to 20 hours a day.

00:06:15Polar bears aren't at all white.

00:06:17Their skin is black under the fur.

00:06:19They need the white color to disguise themselves while on the hunt.

00:06:23The color black absorbs the sun better than any other,

00:06:26while white fur doesn't stop sunlight.

00:06:29Rays pass right through it.

00:06:30In a sense, a polar bear has transparent fur.

00:06:34There's a myth that dogs and cats see the world in black and white.

00:06:38In reality, they just can't distinguish some colors.

00:06:42Nobody knows how exactly dogs see.

00:06:44Some think they only distinguish two colors.

00:06:47Could be blue and yellow, for all we know.

00:06:49But they can see shades of other colors better than people,

00:06:53and cats have wonderful night vision.

00:06:55They need about seven times less light than a human to see in the dark.

00:06:59Now, giraffes were thought to be mute,

00:07:02but recently it's been found that they make low-frequency sounds at night

00:07:06to communicate with each other.

00:07:08During the day, they don't say a word

00:07:10and warn each other of danger in a very unusual way,

00:07:13by moving their well-developed eyebrows.

00:07:16It's likely that at night it's difficult to see the eyebrows,

00:07:21so they start talking for real.

00:07:23While we're on the topic of giraffes,

00:07:25these animals sleep much more than 30 minutes a day,

00:07:28but probably not as much as you do.

00:07:30Their sleeping pattern is quite typical.

00:07:33After researchers monitored a herd of giraffes,

00:07:36they found out they slept at night and took short naps in the afternoon.

00:07:40In total, each giraffe had around 5 hours of sleep every day.

00:07:44Oh, and by the way, a herd of these guys is actually known as a tower of giraffes.

00:07:49Makes sense with the long necks.

00:07:52Seagulls can drink seawater.

00:07:54There are salt-secreting glands near their eyes.

00:07:57These glands purify seawater very quickly,

00:08:00and the salty residue comes out through the nostrils.

00:08:03Yep, you guessed it, salty snot.

00:08:06The Adelie penguins are real romantics.

00:08:09They only have one partner for life.

00:08:11The male must give a smooth stone to the female to create a family.

00:08:15You could say that's kind of an engagement ring.

00:08:18Like humans, though, a female penguin may refuse and not accept the ring.

00:08:23Speaking of animal love, foxes are romantic too.

00:08:27Male foxes are good fathers and husbands.

00:08:30They're devoted to their loved ones for life.

00:08:33They look after the females and even pick fleas from their fur.

00:08:37Male foxes improve their whole houses

00:08:40and take an active part in their babies' upbringing.

00:08:43Dolphins can sleep with one eye closed and the other one open.

00:08:47Half of the brain dreams and rests,

00:08:49and the second half closely monitors the environment for signs of danger.

00:08:53The perfect brain for sleeping during boring classes and meetings.

00:08:57Hey, I didn't say that.

00:08:59Besides, dolphins manually control their breathing.

00:09:02They can simply drown if their whole brain is sleeping.

00:09:05Sea otters are the cutest sleepers among all animals.

00:09:09In the summer, because of the heat, sea otters spend all the time in water.

00:09:13They swim on their backs and sleep in that position.

00:09:16Babies are sleeping on their mother's stomach,

00:09:18and two adults hold each other by the paws

00:09:21so that they're not carried apart by water currents.

00:09:24Ostriches don't stick their heads in the sand when threatened.

00:09:27In fact, these guys don't bury their heads at all.

00:09:30This myth has spread thanks to that famous idiom

00:09:33to hide one's head in the sand.

00:09:35In real life, ostriches have to dig holes in the sand for their eggs

00:09:39because they're flightless birds.

00:09:41To make sure they're evenly heated,

00:09:43ostriches put their heads in there to rotate the eggs from time to time.

00:09:47But ostriches still have some escaping mentality.

00:09:50When they face some threat,

00:09:52they can flop to the sand and stay perfectly still,

00:09:55pretending they aren't alive.

00:09:57Now, according to a popular misbelief,

00:10:00sharks can breathe only while moving

00:10:02because swimming helps them push water over their gills.

00:10:05Although many kinds of sharks are designed this way,

00:10:08many others, like bottom-dwelling nurse sharks,

00:10:11don't need swimming to pump oxygen-rich water over their gills.

00:10:15Meanwhile, all sharks do lack swim bladders,

00:10:18so if they stop swimming, they'll probably sink to the bottom.

00:10:22But luckily, a shark's body can't be compressed.

00:10:25That's why rapid descents or ascents are safe for them.

00:10:30Scientists from Japan played audio recordings for cats

00:10:33to prove they're truly dismissive.

00:10:36In those recordings, the owners of the cats called them by their names.

00:10:40Cats' pupils dilated.

00:10:42The animals moved their tails, legs, or ears.

00:10:45Cats heard people but rarely responded.

00:10:48It's all about evolution.

00:10:50Cats came to people because they were attracted by mice that ate grains.

00:10:54They lived close to people but were never tame.

00:10:57And yet, we keep feeding them.

00:11:00Birds are actually the only surviving dinosaurs.

00:11:03They evolved from theropods,

00:11:05the dinosaurs that ran on two legs.

00:11:08Yep, T. rex is a distant relative of chickens, ostriches, and even hummingbirds.

00:11:13In reality, flamingos are white.

00:11:16The bird turns pink due to beta-carotene.

00:11:19This pigment is found in the algae and the shrimp that it feeds on.

00:11:23You can change your color too.

00:11:25If you eat a lot of carrots, your skin will turn slightly orange.

00:11:29This will happen because of the high beta-carotene content in the vegetable.

00:11:33Sailors from all over the world talked about the giant squid they met on their voyages.

00:11:38For many years, scientists considered monsters with long tentacles to be a myth.

00:11:43But in 2004, the first photo of a giant squid was taken.

00:11:48They actually exist.

00:11:50Scientists have registered an animal that has grown to 43 feet.

00:11:54Mosquitoes actually bite some people more than others.

00:11:57The most delicious humans are those with type O blood.

00:12:01Also, these insects have really good eyesight.

00:12:04They're attracted by green, black, and red colors.

00:12:07So, check the color of your clothes before you go camping.

00:12:11You can actually put a shark in a trance for 15 minutes.

00:12:15To do this, you need to stroke the nose of a dangerous animal with your hand.

00:12:20This sort of hypnosis is called tonic immobility that happens thanks to the receptors in the shark's nose.

00:12:26When stroked, the receptors send a lot of signals, and the shark's brain is unable to process them all.

00:12:32Now, what it doesn't say here is exactly how you get close enough to a shark to rub its nose.

00:12:37I'd say that's important information, don't you think?

00:12:40Elephants aren't afraid of mice, per se.

00:12:43But these massive animals have bad vision.

00:12:46They also move fairly slowly.

00:12:48That's why they can get startled by a bird or a small creature, like a mouse darting past them.

00:12:54Just the element of surprise, nothing more.

00:12:57The chameleon can change its color, but this creature doesn't do it to camouflage itself.

00:13:03The color change helps the animal regulate its temperature and communicate with peers.

00:13:08Now, when most dogs pant, their tongues hang out of their mouths.

00:13:12That's why many people think that's how they sweat.

00:13:15In reality, dogs' sweat glands are located on their paw pads.

00:13:19Plus, there are other sweat glands all over their bodies.

00:13:23Dogs pant to evaporate moisture from their nasal passages, tongues, and the lining of their lungs.

00:13:29This also helps to cool them down.

00:13:31You might leave wasps alone, but don't be so sure they'll do the same.

00:13:36Bees do respect human boundaries, and if you don't bother them, they won't hurt you.

00:13:41But wasps are so bad-tempered, they can sting you even if you're just walking by their nest.

00:13:47Well, phooey on them!

00:13:49Wow, look at this cute little cookie cutter!

00:13:52At first glance, it looks like an oversized anchovy, but in reality, it's an undersized shark.

00:13:59This shark never grows bigger than 18 to 20 inches, but it doesn't make it less dangerous than its peers.

00:14:06They got their sweet cookie name because they have a unique feeding strategy.

00:14:10They bite off small chunks from much larger animals and get away with it.

00:14:15These little guys live deep down in the water column, making them quite mysterious and hard to study.

00:14:21We don't know exactly where they hang out, but they've been spotted all over the world,

00:14:26especially in tropical and temperate areas.

00:14:29The cookie cutter shark is a total parasite.

00:14:32It feeds off larger animals while keeping them alive.

00:14:35It uses its sharp upper teeth to latch onto the skin of bigger sharks, fish, or even marine mammals.

00:14:42Then, with its strong lower teeth, it scoops out a mouth-sized chunk of flesh or blubber.

00:14:49So watch out, because even big predators like bluefin tuna, great white sharks, and spinner dolphins

00:14:56can end up with scars from these little sharks.

00:14:59Now, there's one crazy story about a cookie cutter shark biting a person.

00:15:03Picture this – a long-distance athlete swimming between islands in Hawaii at night,

00:15:09surrounded by boats with bright lights attracting prey.

00:15:13Yep, that swimmer got a nasty bite on the cap, leaving a gnarly scar, but luckily, no permanent damage.

00:15:21Lesson learned – don't mess with cookie cutter sharks during their feeding frenzy.

00:15:26To hunt like this, they have a well-equipped mouth.

00:15:29The mouth itself is like a short line that goes across, surrounded by these big fleshy lips that can suck stuff up.

00:15:36It's got a bunch of tooth rows in its jaws, like 30-37 in the top and 25-31 in the bottom, and they increase as it gets bigger.

00:15:46The upper teeth are small and narrow, standing up straight with a single smooth pointy bit.

00:15:52The lower teeth, on the other hand, are way bigger and wider, almost like knives, and they interlock to make a saw-like cutting edge.

00:16:01Just like any other shark, cookie cutters lose their teeth throughout their lives.

00:16:05But here's where they're different – they swallow their lost teeth.

00:16:09Some scientists think they do this because they live in nutrient-poor deep waters and want to recycle important tooth-building materials, like calcium.

00:16:18That's a brand-new approach to diet supplements, huh?

00:16:21Since they feed closer to the surface at night and deeper during the day, they're almost always in the dark.

00:16:28So, this sneaky little shark has these special light-producing organs called photophores that are strategically placed on its belly.

00:16:37These photophores help it blend in with the light coming from above, kind of like camouflage.

00:16:42It's a classic move in the bioluminescent world.

00:16:46The cookie cutter shark also has this cool non-glowing collar around its throat.

00:16:51Some scientists think this collar acts like a fancy lure, making it look like a tasty little fish from below.

00:16:58Imagine how irresistible that would be to a whole gang of hungry sharks.

00:17:03It's like a dinner invitation they can't refuse.

00:17:09Ah, chew? Why, you want me to chew?

00:17:13No problem. I mean, after all, I have molars.

00:17:16I can masticate with the best of them.

00:17:19Oh, I get it. Chew. You're sneezing.

00:17:22Humans do it all. Sneeze, chew.

00:17:25You know who can only do one of those things?

00:17:28Snakes. And if you guessed that the thing snakes can't do is sneeze, sorry.

00:17:32They can't chew, but snakes can sneeze.

00:17:35Yes, beware the sneezing snake.

00:17:38Even though they don't seem to have noses, snakes do have nostrils.

00:17:42However, they only use their nostrils for breathing.

00:17:46Snakes do their smelling with their tongue and a thing called the Jacobson's organ,

00:17:50which is located above their mouth, kind of between the nostril and the eye.

00:17:55The snake picks up hints of whatever there is to be smelled on its tongue

00:17:59and then passes them back to the Jacobson's organ for decoding.

00:18:03To give you an idea of how well this thing works,

00:18:06consider how different nature's best smellers, dogs, are from snakes.

00:18:11Canines are friendly, furry, and warm-blooded.

00:18:14Serpents, not so much.

00:18:16But these two do share the Jacobson's organ.

00:18:19Sneezing is another thing both dogs and snakes do.

00:18:23And we'll get to snake sneezes soon.

00:18:25But for now, I hope you never find a snake in your boots.

00:18:29Unlike a dog, the snake won't chew up your shoes.

00:18:32Because while snakes can bite, they don't have molars, so they don't chew.

00:18:37Instead, snakes swallow their prey whole,

00:18:40even when the thing they're eating is bigger than their mouths.

00:18:43How do they even fit it in?

00:18:45Well, instead of bringing their top and bottom teeth together

00:18:49to grind their prey up into little pieces,

00:18:51snakes unhinge their jaws and bring their teeth apart.

00:18:55The jaw remains connected by muscle and tissue,

00:18:58but once unhinged, it can open as wide as 150 degrees.

00:19:03That's almost a flat line.

00:19:05Snakes wiggle their unhinged jaw all around and under their prey.

00:19:11If that won't work, they twist and flip their heads over,

00:19:14then wiggle the loose jaw over the top of their prey.

00:19:17Naturally, the meal tries to object because, well,

00:19:21it doesn't fancy being this snake's dinner.

00:19:23But the snake is prepared.

00:19:25It uses its fangs not to chew the prey,

00:19:28but to inject it with a venom that either numbs the critter

00:19:31or has a calming effect, allowing it to go down easy.

00:19:36Once our snake swallows whatever its unlucky dinner is,

00:19:40it typically takes about four days to digest it.

00:19:44If you happen to visit with a snake during this time,

00:19:46you'll notice an obvious lump in its otherwise tube-like body.

00:19:50But don't tell him he's looking a little rounder in the midsection.

00:19:54You might hurt his feelings.

00:19:56Maybe you've wondered why, with something so big in their mouths and throats,

00:20:00snakes don't choke.

00:20:02You know as well as I do that you can't breathe and swallow

00:20:05at the same time, right?

00:20:07Otherwise, your macaroni just went down the wrong tube,

00:20:10and you go into a watery-eyed fit of coughing.

00:20:13Well, snakes have evolved with a perfect solution to this dilemma.

00:20:17They have an opening in the bottom of their mouth,

00:20:20right behind their tongue, called a glottis.

00:20:23When necessary, or for a rad party trick,

00:20:26the snake can push its trachea, that's its windpipe,

00:20:29out through the glottis and breathe through it like a snorkel.

00:20:33This way, it can still breathe while its prey obstructs its mouth.

00:20:37Talk about multitasking!

00:20:39But can the snake dance while it does all that?

00:20:42Maybe if there's a snake charmer nearby.

00:20:45By the way, how do snakes hear the music, and how does it transfix them?

00:20:50Even without rabbit ears or antenna, snakes hear just fine.

00:20:54They have a good inner ear.

00:20:56But they're not responding to the hypnotic rhythm of a snake charmer's song.

00:21:00It's the swing.

00:21:02No, not the popular jazz form, though that's nice.

00:21:05I mean the motion.

00:21:07When the snake charmer weaves back and forth,

00:21:10the snake mistakes his pipe for a fellow serpent,

00:21:13a potentially aggressive one.

00:21:15It responds defensively by mimicking the pipe's movement.

00:21:19Knowing that snakes hear, it's natural to presume that they talk to each other.

00:21:24After all, we often catch them whispering.

00:21:28But remember, it's bad manners to tell secrets,

00:21:31and excellent manners are part of a snake's charm.

00:21:34Unlike a whisper, that famous hiss is meant to be heard.

00:21:38It's a warning, one you should heed.

00:21:41But careful where you put your feet.

00:21:43Make sure that hissing snake isn't protecting a nest.

00:21:46If you accidentally stomp on her eggs,

00:21:49well, you better move fast.

00:21:51Speaking of fast,

00:21:53did you know that we sneeze as fast as 100 miles per hour?

00:21:57That means our sneezes travel way faster than the fastest snake,

00:22:01the black mamba, which clocks in at 12 miles per hour.

00:22:05Might not sound that speedy.

00:22:07I mean, it's slow for a car, right?

00:22:09But think of how small snakes are next to people.

00:22:12Then compare the black mamba's speed to that of Usain Bolt.

00:22:16Widely considered the world's fastest human,

00:22:19Bolt set records by running 27.8 miles per hour,

00:22:23a little over twice the mamba's speed.

00:22:26And the mamba does it without feet.

00:22:28Snakes are famous for their hypnotic gaze.

00:22:32But snakes don't blink because they don't have eyelids.

00:22:36So how do they protect those mesmerizing peepers?

00:22:39The same way they protect the rest of their body – with scales.

00:22:43These transparent or see-through eyeball scales are called Brill.

00:22:47In some ways, Brill is even better than an eyelid.

00:22:50It shields and protects the eye while never interfering with sight.

00:22:55Cool!

00:22:56Snakes can climb trees,

00:22:58but they can't climb glaciers because they don't like the cold.

00:23:02Plus, the ice is slippery.

00:23:04And while snakes might cling to warmer climates,

00:23:07I'm sure you know that they do let go of their skin.

00:23:10Salamanders do it too, as well as crabs, lobsters, and scorpions.

00:23:15I've never seen a lobster belt or scorpion shoes,

00:23:18but snakeskin accessories are a thing.

00:23:21Before you wear something made of snakeskin,

00:23:23double-check that the snake is done with it.

00:23:26Then again, if you can get a live snake to hold up your pants,

00:23:29you'd make fashion history!

00:23:32However, even those who want a smaller waist

00:23:35should watch out for the boa constrictors.

00:23:38Incidentally, we humans shed our skin too, just a bit at a time.

00:23:43Human skin is a prime ingredient in house dust and dandruff.

00:23:47Two heads are better than one when conducting research,

00:23:50but not on the same snake.

00:23:52The condition of having two heads is called polycephaly.

00:23:56Though rare, snakes are more prone to it than most animals.

00:24:00And apparently, it's double trouble.

00:24:02Whether food collides in single-throat traffic jams,

00:24:06the body doesn't know which head to follow,

00:24:08or the two can't decide on weekend plans,

00:24:11snakes with polycephaly have trouble in the wild.

00:24:14If you see a two-headed snake,

00:24:16don't think twice before saying hi twice.

00:24:20And if the double-headed serpent sneezes,

00:24:22make that two gesundheits as well.

00:24:25And if that sneezing double-headed snake is your pet,

00:24:28first of all, wow, where did you get one of those?

00:24:31Also, it's probably time to take him to the vet.

00:24:34For snakes, sneezing is often a sign of respiratory infection,

00:24:38especially if he sneezes a lot.

00:24:42When else should your snake see a vet?

00:24:45Anytime he's acting sluggish or lazy.

00:24:48Behind the brill, a healthy snake will be clear-eyed.

00:24:51Also, his tongue should dart frequently.

00:24:55Yes, absolutely, snakes sneeze.

00:24:58They clear their sinuses and mouths of debris

00:25:01by exhaling rapid, vigorous bursts of air.

00:25:04Some people think it's not a real sneeze,

00:25:06because it's not exactly like our sneeze.

00:25:09Sounds a little species-centric to me,

00:25:11and sneeze is the term veterinarians use,

00:25:14so I'm sticking to it.

00:25:19Looks like a normal garden, right?

00:25:22Zoom in just a little.

00:25:24More. A little more.

00:25:26OK, pan to the right.

00:25:28No, you're right. Bingo!

00:25:30What's that you're looking at? A stick?

00:25:32Wait a minute. Ah, there it is!

00:25:35Now that's what I call camouflage.

00:25:37The mantis is a beast in the insect world.

00:25:40Its preferred menu? Other insects.

00:25:43And birds. And frogs. Even mice.

00:25:46These mini-machines come in many sizes and colors

00:25:49and are found in almost every corner of the world.

00:25:53Most of them are green or brown

00:25:55to blend in with their surroundings.

00:25:57But others like to put on something flashy

00:25:59and are always dressed for the occasion.

00:26:02These powerful insects are a farmer's best friend.

00:26:05They chomp up all the vermin and parasites,

00:26:08leaving the fields nice and clean.

00:26:10Ah, good old mantises!

00:26:12And look at that!

00:26:14It's making its way to another branch.

00:26:17Its large front legs act as a grappler and hook

00:26:20to latch onto anything that strikes its fancy.

00:26:23Those legs have sharp spikes on them,

00:26:25and getting caught in that grip

00:26:27would be the last place you'd want to be.

00:26:29And its back legs are powerful enough

00:26:31to lunge itself at anything tasty.

00:26:34There's no chance for escape.

00:26:36And besides looking mean, they're fast.

00:26:39Like blink of an eye fast.

00:26:41They catch their daily meal

00:26:43without breaking a sweat.

00:26:45Pretty flashy.

00:26:46And they don't like to waste time.

00:26:48They start eating their lunch

00:26:50while it's still alive and kicking.

00:26:52But enough about the mantis.

00:26:54Let's go down to ground level.

00:26:56Ooh, check out that snake in the grass.

00:26:58Cunning little thing.

00:27:00It's a small snake, only about a foot long,

00:27:02and it doesn't eat anything outside its strict diet.

00:27:05It feasts on little insects, birds, and mice.

00:27:08It slithers its way onto the tree,

00:27:11not knowing the mantis is there waiting,

00:27:13disguised as a twig.

00:27:16The mantis sees everything.

00:27:18It's able to turn its triangular head

00:27:20a full 180 degrees to get the perfect view.

00:27:24It has two compound eyes

00:27:26and three other simple eyes squeezed in between.

00:27:29Definitely not afraid of a little eye contact.

00:27:33The snake slides its way up the tree trunk

00:27:36and inches its way closer to the mantis.

00:27:38They lock eyes.

00:27:40The snake launches itself

00:27:42and bites into the mantis' leg.

00:27:44The mantis slips and falls down the tree.

00:27:46Just in time, it manages to reach out

00:27:49and hang onto a small tree branch

00:27:51and regain its balance.

00:27:53It sinks into its signature fighting stance.

00:27:55Ooh, that was quick.

00:27:57No preparation, no warm-up, nothing.

00:28:00The snake slithers its way down,

00:28:02and once again, they're face-to-face.

00:28:05They stare at each other.

00:28:07Who's gonna make the first move?

00:28:09The mantis usually lifts its arms in the air

00:28:11and expands its back wings

00:28:13to make it look larger when it's getting threatened.

00:28:15Ah, remember the karate kid?

00:28:17Yeah, just like that.

00:28:19But not today.

00:28:21It's confident enough against this puny grass snake.

00:28:24The snake, meanwhile, doesn't know what to expect.

00:28:27It's never faced such an alien-like creature before.

00:28:30It's like a stick, but also looks delicious.

00:28:33Ah, confusing.

00:28:35After a second, the snake makes another lunge.

00:28:38It grabs its jaws and tries to bite the mantis,

00:28:40but it misses.

00:28:42The mantis dodges easily

00:28:44and grabs hold of the snake's neck.

00:28:46It tries to take a bite,

00:28:48but the snake wiggles free

00:28:50in spite of the mantis' sharp spikes on its legs.

00:28:53The snake's free, but the damage is done.

00:28:56Those spikes penetrated the snake's thick skin.

00:28:59One point for Team Mantis.

00:29:01But the snake isn't quitting anytime soon.

00:29:04It surprises the mantis with a sneak move

00:29:07and catches it off guard.

00:29:09But the mantis manages to do a little hop,

00:29:12a little jump, and grapples the snake to the ground.

00:29:15And this particular mantis is snake-size hungry.

00:29:18TKO, if you know what I mean.

00:29:21The snake never had a chance.

00:29:23But it might not end so quickly

00:29:26if the mantis was facing a hornet.

00:29:28Now we're talking.

00:29:30A flying beast with a beefy stinger

00:29:32versus a quick-footed clawed fighting machine.

00:29:35Okay, we got time. Let's do it.

00:29:37The mantis stands guard, motionless.

00:29:40It turns its head around,

00:29:42and all five eyes scan the sky,

00:29:45the ground, watching, waiting.

00:29:48So far, nothing.

00:29:50The ground is clear, and the sky is a spotless blue.

00:29:53Then a quick shadow-like movement flashes across the sky.

00:29:57The mantis couldn't get a good look at it.

00:29:59Another swoosh, and a flash of color,

00:30:02this time from behind.

00:30:04Something's toying with the mantis,

00:30:06trying to weaken it psychologically.

00:30:08But the insect holds its ground.

00:30:10A true mantis doesn't flinch.

00:30:13This time, the hornet flies right past it.

00:30:16Those buzzing wings make a sound like a mini-helicopter.

00:30:20The mantis is prepared and double-checks its equipment.

00:30:23It looks down at its front legs

00:30:25to make sure they're ready for anything.

00:30:27It's a game of patience.

00:30:29Who's going to show weakness first?

00:30:31The hornet swoops down and tries to sting the mantis.

00:30:34But the mantis is fast,

00:30:36fast enough to move out of the way,

00:30:38but not quite fast enough to grab hold of the flying beast.

00:30:41It'll have to wait for the hornet to come around again.

00:30:44Then it'll be ready.

00:30:47The mantis needs to time this thing just right.

00:30:51If it can get the perfect angle,

00:30:53it can grab hold of the hornet and wrestle it down.

00:30:56But the hornet is too clever.

00:30:58It keeps coming in at different speeds and angles.

00:31:01The mantis is used to ambushing its opponent,

00:31:04so just waiting around to be stung isn't its favorite activity.

00:31:08But it's quick enough to ward off any attacks.

00:31:10Another flash,

00:31:12and the hornet surprises the mantis from behind.

00:31:14It knocks it down.

00:31:16The hornet almost engages its stinger,

00:31:18but just misses.

00:31:20The mantis sees its chance.

00:31:22It gets back up,

00:31:24but one of its back legs is damaged.

00:31:26This could be a huge advantage for the hornet,

00:31:28since the mantis needs both back legs to lunge and pounce.

00:31:32It wobbles around a bit, trying not to appear weak.

00:31:36Speed and counterattacks aren't an option anymore for the mantis.

00:31:40But at least the hornet isn't as quick as a snake.

00:31:43Even without its back legs,

00:31:45the mantis is still powerful.

00:31:47The hornet comes in from another direction

00:31:50and tries to sting the mantis,

00:31:52but the mantis shifts position and manages to escape.

00:31:55But as hard as it tries,

00:31:57it just can't grab hold of the hornet.

00:31:59The hornet flies up higher than ever

00:32:02and uses gravity to build up some serious speed.

00:32:05It misses again,

00:32:07but the impact of the diving hornet

00:32:09damages the mantis' other leg.

00:32:11It can't move.

00:32:13It looks like it's all over.

00:32:15There's no way for the mantis to escape.

00:32:17The hornet decides to go in for one final sting,

00:32:20but this time the mantis actually grabs hold of the hornet.

00:32:24Without the use of its hind legs,

00:32:26the mantis can't seem to pin it down properly.

00:32:29The hornet manages to hover a little,

00:32:31straining to fly away to safety.

00:32:33The mantis' weight pulls it back down.

00:32:36The more they wrestle,

00:32:38the more the mantis' spiky front legs start to dominate.

00:32:41They grip the hornet tighter and tighter,

00:32:44digging their spikes in deeper and deeper.

00:32:47The mantis sees this as an opportunity

00:32:49to start biting the hornet.

00:32:51The hornet also has powerful jaws and bites back.

00:32:54Meanwhile, a small little housefly

00:32:56watches in the background,

00:32:58frozen in fear.

00:33:00Shoo fly, you shouldn't be here.

00:33:02It's dangerous. Buzz off.

00:33:04The scuffle breaks apart

00:33:06as the hornet is somehow able to escape the mantis' grip

00:33:09and crawl away.

00:33:11Crawl, not fly.

00:33:13The mantis was able to damage the hornet's wings.

00:33:16The mantis digs deep and finds a hidden energy reserve.

00:33:20It crawls up to the hornet and manages to grab it again,

00:33:23this time from behind.

00:33:25This way, the hornet won't be able to sting the mantis

00:33:28or even bite it.

00:33:30The hornet can see what's about to happen,

00:33:32and it's helpless.

00:33:34The mantis' claws are locked in way too tight.

00:33:37The mantis begins biting.

00:33:39It may have a smaller jaw than the average hornet,

00:33:42but it's quick and just as powerful.

00:33:44I wouldn't want to be on the other end of those jaws.

00:33:48The hornet tries everything.

00:33:50Crawling, flying, jumping off the branch,

00:33:53but nothing works.

00:33:55It succumbs to the mantis' claws

00:33:57and its never-ending appetite.

00:33:59Another stunning victory for the amazing mantis.

00:34:03Now aren't you glad middle school wasn't like this?

00:34:09Living at depths of up to 5,000 feet,

00:34:12the hagfish is one of the strangest creatures in the ocean.

00:34:15And there's plenty on the list.

00:34:17The goblin shark, sea spiders, red-lipped batfish,

00:34:21and even people swimming during winter.

00:34:23It's freezing, man! Get out!

00:34:26Although it looks like an eel,

00:34:28this fish belongs to the Agnatha species.

00:34:30That's fish without jaws.

00:34:32And the family also includes lampreys,

00:34:35terrifying monsters with disc-shaped suction cup mouths

00:34:39filled with spiraling rows of teeth.

00:34:42Hagfish have two tongues, four hearts,

00:34:45and no eyes or stomach.

00:34:47Like something from another planet.

00:34:49And what sets them apart from anything on this planet

00:34:52is that they have a skull but no spine.

00:34:55They don't have bones either.

00:34:57That unique spineless skull is made entirely out of cartilage.

00:35:01The same stuff in your ears and nose.

00:35:03That's right.

00:35:04Scaleless with skin that seems to fit over them

00:35:07like an oversized holiday sweater.

00:35:09It'd be a mistake to think this frail little creature

00:35:12would be an easy dinner.

00:35:14They've evolved to escape from other fish

00:35:16like Houdini's of the deep.

00:35:18And the trick is slime.

00:35:20Lots of it.

00:35:21When something tries to gobble them up

00:35:23or gets just too close for comfort,

00:35:26hagfish release a protein from the holes lining their sides.

00:35:30When this stuff meets the surrounding water,

00:35:32it balloons dramatically, as in 10,000 times.

00:35:36The more water touches it, the bigger this goo ball gets.

00:35:40A teaspoon of hagfish slime can turn into a bucketful in a second.

00:35:44It instantly clogs the gills of any fish

00:35:47trying to chomp down on our slimy friend.

00:35:49Even sharks.

00:35:51But hagfish have gills too.

00:35:53So why doesn't the slime block their own?

00:35:56Easy peasy.

00:35:57This hagfish will simply tie itself into a knot

00:36:00and scrape the slime off its body.

00:36:03Doesn't mean their slime comes without inconveniences.

00:36:06Sometimes it gets in the hagfish's tiny nose.

00:36:09To get rid of it, they make themselves sneeze.

00:36:12Sort of.

00:36:13Gesundheit.

00:36:14This fish's homemade goo is made of flexible strands

00:36:18that are surprisingly strong.

00:36:20As in, stronger than nylon.

00:36:22Imagine falling into a pool of the stuff.

00:36:25You'd struggle to move your arms and legs to swim.

00:36:28It might feel like rubber bands tying you up.

00:36:31But you'd be perfectly safe

00:36:33as long as the stuff doesn't get in your nose or throat.

00:36:36In that case, you'd be as unfortunate

00:36:39as those gilled creatures trying to bite into the slimy fish.

00:36:43And hey, our own species is eyeballing it

00:36:46for loads of potential uses.

00:36:48From parachutes to cars, and even clothing.

00:36:51Forget about diving in a pool of this goo.

00:36:54You could be wearing a slime suit in the future.

00:36:57But when it comes to landish creatures,

00:37:00the platypus is just as weird.

00:37:03This mammal has a duckbill, a beaver tail,

00:37:06webbed feet, and lays eggs.

00:37:08Like a lot of fish, the platypus,

00:37:11and its relative, the echidna,

00:37:13have no stomach.

00:37:14But they don't need one.

00:37:16They store their food in their cheeks until they surface.

00:37:19Once they've eaten, the food goes straight to their gut.

00:37:22Just when the platypus couldn't get any stranger,

00:37:25they also sweat milk for their platypups.

00:37:28When winter has put bears, bats, snakes,

00:37:31and even myself into hibernation,

00:37:34there's one animal that does things a little differently.

00:37:37During the cold season, the wood frog lets itself freeze,

00:37:41sometimes for up to 7 months.

00:37:44Like a brown popsicle,

00:37:46they fill their body with a syrupy,

00:37:48au naturel antifreeze to stop crystals from forming.

00:37:51And when the right time comes,

00:37:53they can just thaw themselves out,

00:37:55even multiple times a season.

00:37:58These frogs will find a nice, covered area in the forest

00:38:01and wait until spring comes.

00:38:03Once they're thawed,

00:38:04they'll hop away like nothing happened at all.

00:38:07When your name's the boxer crab,

00:38:09you have to live up to it.

00:38:11Ding-ding, round one!

00:38:13This little crab is super smart.

00:38:15It has sea anemones living in its claws,

00:38:18and these DIY boxing gloves pack a punch.

00:38:21Carrying around these little tentacled sea creatures

00:38:25helps this tiny crab defend itself against fish

00:38:28and anything bigger than it.

00:38:30When feeling disturbed,

00:38:31the crab starts swinging,

00:38:33and its gloves start stinging.

00:38:35The tentacles of sea anemones

00:38:37are covered in stinging cells

00:38:39that help the animal capture its lunch.

00:38:41Yep, that's no plant,

00:38:43it's a hungry beast!

00:38:45It's a win-win relationship.

00:38:47For helping the crab protect itself,

00:38:49the gloves get a fun ride around the ocean floor

00:38:52and free meals.

00:38:54Its other names don't sound as tough,

00:38:56but I assure you,

00:38:57the pom-pom or cheerleader crab looks cute

00:39:00but shouldn't be messed with.

00:39:03If you're afraid of spider webs,

00:39:05this is one to avoid.

00:39:07Darwin's bark spider is an orb-weaver type

00:39:10that creates a jaw-droppingly large web

00:39:13for a penny-sized spidey.

00:39:15The silk in its web is 10 times stronger than Kevlar

00:39:18and double the strength of any other spiders on the planet.

00:39:22And the webs themselves can be as big as a king-sized bed.

00:39:25Not that you'd want to sleep in one.

00:39:28Their web bridges are even more impressive.

00:39:30They can be over 80 feet long.

00:39:33The spiders build them across rivers

00:39:35to catch bugs flying over the water.

00:39:37Or you, rafting down the rapids.

00:39:39Watch out!

00:39:41And here I thought I spent too much time on the web.

00:39:45Gone to the beach on a hot sunny day

00:39:47when you realize you're out of sunblock.

00:39:49Hey, just do what hippos do.

00:39:52When they sweat, they create their own sunscreen.

00:39:55Living in the water for most of its life,

00:39:58a hippo's skin must stay wet to keep hydrated.

00:40:01When they do have to venture out of the water,

00:40:04something strange happens.

00:40:06The red or pink color we sometimes see on hippos

00:40:09are little beads of fluid that absorb the sun's UV

00:40:13and protect the skin from burning.

00:40:15They're also highly acidic to help stop bacteria

00:40:18growing on the skin.

00:40:20Hippos might look big and clumsy,

00:40:22but they could easily outrun and out-swim

00:40:25the best Olympic athletes out there.

00:40:27Must be why the ancient Greeks called them hippopotamus,

00:40:31the river horse.

00:40:33Now, when you're a plant, it's hard to defend yourself.

00:40:36But not for the acacia tree.

00:40:38It has built-in bodyguards, ants.

00:40:41When a few of the leaves are getting nibbled on,

00:40:43the vibrations alert the ant brigade

00:40:45to head out and stop the trespasser.

00:40:48Living in the hollow thorns of the branches,

00:40:50the acacia ants come out and shock the hungry animal

00:40:54with their wasp-like stinger.

00:40:56The tree is so grateful to the ants

00:40:58that it feeds them yummy nectar.

00:41:01Not only do the ants stop animals from grazing too much,

00:41:04they also help improve the tree's health

00:41:06by reducing the bacteria that would be on the leaves.

00:41:09Now, never heard of a sea squirt?

00:41:12I don't recommend getting too close,

00:41:14unless you want water in your face.

00:41:16The sea squirt may look like an underwater plant,

00:41:19but it's an animal more closely related to us than a cockroach.

00:41:24These squishy little creatures are in an umbrella category

00:41:27with vertebrates, like you, me, and anyone or anything else

00:41:31with a fancy backbone.

00:41:33That big happy family is called the chordates.

00:41:36Starting as little tadpole-like larvae,

00:41:39sea squirts wiggle around in the ocean for a short time

00:41:42until they find a nice bit of water to call their own.

00:41:46Since they're unable to feed themselves,

00:41:48drastic measures must be taken.

00:41:50And I mean drastic.

00:41:52Like oysters, barnacles, and mussels,

00:41:55the sea squirt has a glue-like substance

00:41:57that cements it to the first place it lands.

00:42:00Once they've picked their forever home,

00:42:02they need to start eating.

00:42:04The first thing to go is their own tail.

00:42:07Then they absorb their gills and even their brain.

00:42:10No longer need the ability to navigate the ocean,

00:42:13it's become unnecessary.

00:42:15They're not heartless, though.

00:42:17The sea squirt's ticker is very similar to a human's.

00:42:20It even looks a little like ours.

00:42:22Now, here's one you won't forget.

00:42:25Lobsters, crayfish, and crabs have teeth in their stomachs.

00:42:29After they gulp something down,

00:42:31the food in their stomach gets ground up by large teeth.

00:42:34This is called gastric milling,

00:42:36and it helps the crustaceans digest it easier.

00:42:39One species of crab had to take it a step further, of course.

00:42:43The ghost crab uses these teeth not only for eating,

00:42:47but also to growl.

00:42:49By grinding their tummy teeth when scared

00:42:52or struggling with another crab,

00:42:54they're warning to get away.

00:42:56Well, when you don't have vocal cords,

00:42:58stomach growling will have to do.

00:43:01They're also the fastest type of crab on the planet.

00:43:04They can move 100 body lengths per second.

00:43:07They'd be like you running 1.5 football fields

00:43:10in the blink of an eye.

00:43:12Whoa, look at that!

00:43:16The sight of its fin in the water

00:43:18nearly stops your heart.

00:43:20It's the reason you feel so uneasy

00:43:22going for a swim at the beach.

00:43:24That massive, razor-toothed hunter

00:43:27that's made its name known,

00:43:29the great white shark.

00:43:31So, if the ultimate terror of the sea

00:43:34is leaving the area,

00:43:36it must be for a good reason.

00:43:38But what could possibly scare the great white away?

00:43:41A giant Lovecraftian monster

00:43:43that makes even Megalodon look tiny?

00:43:46Nah, not even close.

00:43:50Nothing can clear a portion of the ocean

00:43:52as quickly as orcas can.

00:43:54When their powerful paws come looking for food

00:43:57like seals and squids,

00:43:59even the biggest, scariest sharks

00:44:01leave the area without looking back.

00:44:04It's not known if these whales

00:44:06specifically target great whites,

00:44:08or they're just keeping the competition

00:44:10out of the area.

00:44:11But what marine experts do know

00:44:13is that sharks flee,

00:44:15sometimes not even coming back

00:44:17until the following year.

00:44:19Makes sense.

00:44:20Orcas are much larger than great whites in size.

00:44:23They have plenty of teeth,

00:44:25and they'll use them to satisfy

00:44:27their desire for meat.

00:44:29Orcas are also highly intelligent

00:44:31and will work as a team to get what they want,

00:44:34whether that's catching a school of fish,

00:44:36getting seals off the ice,

00:44:38or even chasing down humpback whales.

00:44:41So, if the great white shark itself

00:44:43is scared of the mighty orca,

00:44:45should you be?

00:44:46Well, me personally,

00:44:48I keep my distance from any wild animal.

00:44:51But maybe this will help you sleep better at night.

00:44:54Orcas are known to be picky eaters.

00:44:56Goodness for you,

00:44:57human isn't on the menu.

00:44:59They aren't likely to change their diet

00:45:01just because you're in the water today.

00:45:03Oh, by the way,

00:45:04orcas aren't even whales.

00:45:06They're technically the largest species of dolphin.

00:45:09And sharks are also afraid of their relative,

00:45:12the bottlenose dolphin.

00:45:14Even a single bottlenose

00:45:16is too powerful for a shark,

00:45:18but they're tougher when they travel as a pod.

00:45:21Sharks are easily outmaneuvered

00:45:23by the highly agile marine mammals.

00:45:25They use that blunt snout like a battering ram.

00:45:28This basically annoys the shark so much

00:45:31that it just leaves the area.

00:45:33Now, if you think about other top hunters

00:45:35in the animal kingdom,

00:45:37wolves always come to mind.

00:45:39Packs can take over vast territories.

00:45:41And since they're at the top of the food chain,

00:45:44they get to pick and choose from a large menu

00:45:47with anything they please.

00:45:49They're highly intelligent, fast, and agile.

00:45:52But probably their biggest advantage

00:45:54— numbers.

00:45:56If grizzlies or mountain lions

00:45:58try taking advantage of them,

00:46:00the numbers game always works in the wolves' favor,

00:46:03leading to the hunter becoming the hunted.

00:46:06Even without numbers,

00:46:08they dominate and terrify.

00:46:10It's too hard for any other animal

00:46:12to target a lone wolf,

00:46:14so even they are usually left alone.

00:46:17Imagine being able to pounce a wild boar

00:46:20in below freezing temperatures

00:46:22while dressed in orange

00:46:24against a completely snow-covered white environment.

00:46:27Siberian tigers are clearly not playing around.

00:46:30Over 10 feet long

00:46:32and weighing up to 400 pounds,

00:46:34they're the largest of all wild cats.

00:46:37This kitty could easily jump right over your head

00:46:40while carrying double its body weight.

00:46:42The only animal that can really challenge

00:46:44this king of the forest

00:46:46is a large enough brown bear,

00:46:48and it'd be a close call.

00:46:50However, the Siberian tiger

00:46:52is the top of the food chain

00:46:54in its part of the globe.

00:46:56As for the top boss in the waters of South America,

00:46:59that would be the green anaconda.

00:47:02Not even jaguars and caiman

00:47:04are safe around the biggest snake in the world.

00:47:07The murky waters of riverbanks

00:47:09camouflage the giant snake perfectly.

00:47:12They go unnoticed,

00:47:14sitting there waiting for something

00:47:16to come have a drink.

00:47:18Whoosh, the snake strikes!

00:47:20It uses its sharp curved teeth

00:47:22and 15 feet of pure muscle

00:47:24to hold its lunch in place.

00:47:26Luckily for most animals,

00:47:28after eating their fill,

00:47:30anacondas can go weeks or even months

00:47:32without worrying about their next meal.

00:47:35But the world's biggest snake

00:47:37isn't the most dangerous.

00:47:39That title belongs to the black mamba.

00:47:42Lions, spotted hyenas, giraffes,

00:47:44and even elephants

00:47:46can evade the mamba at all costs.

00:47:48They all know one bite

00:47:50can stop them very quickly.

00:47:52Growing up to 14 feet,

00:47:54it's the second longest venomous snake

00:47:56in the world after the king cobra.

00:47:58The African black mamba

00:48:00does hold the top spot

00:48:02as the world's fastest snake.

00:48:04It slithers along going 12 mph.

00:48:07That's about where most treadmills

00:48:09max out.

00:48:11Not top dog, but worth a mention,

00:48:13is the green anaconda's neighbor,

00:48:15the electric eel.

00:48:17Very few animals are willing

00:48:19to take on such a highly charged creature.

00:48:21Electric eels have around

00:48:236,000 special cells

00:48:25that can produce up to

00:48:27800 volts of electricity.

00:48:29That's more than 6 times

00:48:31the standard US wall socket.

00:48:33That's enough to knock a horse off its feet

00:48:35and to power holiday lights.

00:48:37In 2019,

00:48:39a Tennessee aquarium hooked

00:48:41some tree lights up to their eel tank.

00:48:43Every time the eel

00:48:45shot the water, the trees lit up.

00:48:47It's been said that the electric eel

00:48:49can recycle its volts

00:48:51in a process called

00:48:53revolting.

00:48:55Nah, I made that up.

00:48:57One more truthful eel fact

00:48:59to knock you off your feet.

00:49:01Electric eels are air breathers.

00:49:03They have to surface about every 10 minutes

00:49:05to fill their mouth with air.

00:49:07Yep, their single lung is in their mouth.

00:49:09Does the king of the jungle

00:49:11reign unchallenged?

00:49:13In books and movies, sure.

00:49:15In real life, not so much.

00:49:17For one, their home is

00:49:19on the African plains, not the jungle.

00:49:21A whole

00:49:23assortment of contenders, like hyenas,

00:49:25leopards, and crocodiles

00:49:27are always trying to take the king's crown.

00:49:29Even zebras and giraffes

00:49:31can stop the big cats

00:49:33with a quick kick if they're cornered.

00:49:35If we go by bite force,

00:49:37the African Nile crocodile

00:49:39has the biggest that humanity

00:49:41has ever measured.

00:49:43Its jaws are 5 times more powerful

00:49:45than that of a lion's.

00:49:47Earlier, with the water critters,

00:49:49all you had to do was avoid the water.

00:49:51Good luck avoiding a lion.

00:49:53They can run 50 mph,

00:49:55jump the length of a school bus,

00:49:57and climb trees.

00:49:59The lion's biggest challenger

00:50:01for the apex role

00:50:03is the African wild dog.

00:50:05These two are constantly

00:50:07going at it because they hunt

00:50:09for the same food in the same area.

00:50:11Where there's a big pride of lions,

00:50:13the dogs have no choice

00:50:15but to flee. But they've got one

00:50:17thing against the cats.

00:50:19Endurance.

00:50:21Lions might reach incredible speeds,

00:50:23but that's only in short bursts.

00:50:25It takes too much energy to carry

00:50:27400-plus pounds of muscle over

00:50:29long distances while going

00:50:31as fast as you can.

00:50:33African wild dogs, though, have long,

00:50:35slender legs and big lungs

00:50:37for their body size.

00:50:39Meaning, they can run fast

00:50:41and keep it up for miles.

00:50:43That's how they hunt. Their lunch

00:50:45just gets tired of running.

00:50:47There's one animal brave enough to take

00:50:49on the king if the cat gets too curious.

00:50:51The hippo.

00:50:53They may seem cute and squishy,

00:50:55but hippos are one of the most

00:50:57dangerous animals on the planet.

00:50:59Based on statistics,

00:51:01you should fear them way more

00:51:03than sharks. And there's nothing

00:51:05squishy about them. Hippos are

00:51:07pure muscle and weigh as much as a

00:51:09car. Their pointy

00:51:11canine teeth can grow longer

00:51:13than your forearm.

00:51:15These guys aren't afraid of

00:51:17anything. Even lions and crocodiles

00:51:19prefer to keep their distance.

00:51:21Their name means water

00:51:23horse. And they do spend

00:51:25up to 16 hours a day submerged.

00:51:27Funny thing is, hippos

00:51:29can't really swim.

00:51:31To see when swimming, it's actually

00:51:33pushing itself off the lake or river bottom.

00:51:35It can still be even the best

00:51:37Olympic swimmer's speed, so watch

00:51:39out. Yep, move aside,

00:51:41Leo. Hippos are the true

00:51:43apex animal of Africa.

00:51:45But I wouldn't get close enough

00:51:47to give them the award.

00:51:49As for the ruler of the forest,

00:51:51make way for the grizzly bear.

00:51:53Weighing over

00:51:55half a ton, you'd be mistaken thinking

00:51:57these large fluffballs are

00:51:59slow and bumbling.

00:52:01Being able to maintain a speed of

00:52:0325 mph for long stretches

00:52:05is too easy for the

00:52:07behemoth brown bear.

00:52:09Uphill, downhill, and on every

00:52:11terrain, they're the off-road

00:52:13SUV of the animal world.

00:52:15Without having any natural

00:52:17enemies, this bear is at the top

00:52:19of its local food chain.

00:52:21Good thing they sleep for a third of the year.

00:52:23Just hope you don't run into a

00:52:25grizzly, um, ever.

00:52:27But especially right before

00:52:29it's about to go into hibernation.

00:52:31They spend the autumn months

00:52:33fattening up for winter.

00:52:35And they're even hungrier than usual.

00:52:37Now, being the largest bird of

00:52:39prey in North America,

00:52:41it's no wonder the golden eagle

00:52:43is found all over the continent

00:52:45in woodlands and mountain ranges.

00:52:47Their wingspan is nearly 8 feet.

00:52:49And they don't

00:52:51call it eagle vision for nothing.

00:52:53These birds can spot a

00:52:55rabbit from 3 miles up in the air.

00:52:57It'd be

00:52:59like you seeing an ant while

00:53:01standing on top of a 10-story building.

00:53:03Golden eagles can also make

00:53:05quick dives from a great height.

00:53:07During these dives,

00:53:09they can reach speeds up to 200

00:53:11miles per hour, as fast as a

00:53:13flying arrow.

00:53:17Alright, you're scuba

00:53:19diving in the ocean,

00:53:21watching corals and colorful fish

00:53:23flitting by.

00:53:25When suddenly, an enormous shadow

00:53:27appears above you.

00:53:29You look up and see a massive creature

00:53:31approaching you, its mouth

00:53:33a gaping abyss.

00:53:35Relax, just stay still and you'll be fine.

00:53:37This leviathan is a

00:53:39basking shark, one of the

00:53:41scary sea monsters that isn't

00:53:43really capable of doing harm to anyone.

00:53:45Basking sharks are

00:53:47filter feeders, just like baleen whales.

00:53:49They open their large mouths

00:53:51to swallow plankton and

00:53:53don't even have teeth.

00:53:55It's late night in the

00:53:57Central American jungle.

00:53:59You're out in the wild to watch birds

00:54:01and you hear flapping of wings.

00:54:03Excited, you look intently into

00:54:05your night vision goggles, only

00:54:07to see a face out of your worst

00:54:09nightmares.

00:54:11Don't scream, you'll scare it away.

00:54:13It's a perfectly harmless

00:54:15wrinkle-faced bat, and it isn't

00:54:17interested in you.

00:54:19Bats and wrinkles on their faces

00:54:21allow them to collect fruit pieces

00:54:23and juice for later snacks.

00:54:25By the way, their Latin name

00:54:27Centurocenex was given to

00:54:29them for their semblance to 100

00:54:31year old humans.

00:54:33Walking around a Nepali national

00:54:35park and deciding to wash your face

00:54:37in the river nearby, you

00:54:39freeze in terror. A crocodile

00:54:41is looking straight at you

00:54:43from no more than a few feet's distance.

00:54:45Then, it raises

00:54:47its snout above the water,

00:54:49and you exhale in relief.

00:54:51It's a gharial. These reptiles

00:54:53have long and narrow snouts

00:54:55that allow them to efficiently catch

00:54:57fish, and at the same time

00:54:59prohibiting them from hunting

00:55:01any other prey. While still

00:55:03carnivores, gharials are pretty

00:55:05shy, and will slither away

00:55:07at the sight of humans. Right now,

00:55:09there are no more than a thousand of

00:55:11these crocodilians in the whole world.

00:55:13So, let it go.

00:55:15Especially if it's a girl gharial.

00:55:19You dig your garden in the backyard

00:55:21and notice something moving

00:55:23on your shovel. You take

00:55:25a closer look and drop the tool

00:55:27in horror. A small creature

00:55:29looking like a hostile alien

00:55:31is scurrying away into some burrow

00:55:33in the ground. Eh, no worries.

00:55:35It's just a star-nosed

00:55:37mole. These critters have

00:55:39peculiar snouts that look like they've

00:55:41been blown up from within.

00:55:43Their eyes are small and weak,

00:55:45so the star on their nose helps them

00:55:47a lot to move around and seek food.

00:55:49It's always on the move,

00:55:51touching everything it can reach

00:55:53as if the tendrils were tiny fingers.

00:55:55Oh, you're bathing

00:55:57in the ocean again. Well, look

00:55:59to your right. There's a real toothed

00:56:01shark going right at you.

00:56:03Nah, don't panic.

00:56:05It's just a sand tiger shark.

00:56:07Neither a sand nor a tiger one,

00:56:09it's a vulnerable fish-eating

00:56:11shark that slowly swims in the seas

00:56:13and chases its prey from time

00:56:15to time. There have been no

00:56:17reports of it ever attacking humans,

00:56:19but it still has rows

00:56:21of sharp teeth, so don't try to

00:56:23touch it just in case.

00:56:25It may seem placid, but you

00:56:27don't want it to get a bite out of you, do

00:56:29you? Okay,

00:56:31from ocean to desert,

00:56:33you're in Australia and longing

00:56:35for some water. You see

00:56:37a likely spot and start digging the

00:56:39ground only to stumble upon a creature

00:56:41straight from the depths of neither,

00:56:43all covered in thorns.

00:56:45It eyes you suspiciously

00:56:47and slinks away because

00:56:49it's just a thorny devil.

00:56:51Despite its ominous name,

00:56:53this lizard is harmless to humans.

00:56:55Horn-like bumps on its skin

00:56:57are for protection from predators

00:56:59and birds of prey.

00:57:01The thorns are hard, but as long as you

00:57:03don't touch them, you're fine.

00:57:05Now, if you have

00:57:07arachnophobia, it won't calm you down,

00:57:09but tailless-whipped

00:57:11scorpions you might meet in North and

00:57:13South America, as well as Asia and

00:57:15Africa, are more afraid of you

00:57:17than you are of them.

00:57:19Tell yourself that. These

00:57:21nightmarish creatures don't have stingers

00:57:23and won't even bite when threatened.

00:57:25The worst they could do, and

00:57:27only if you cornered them, why would you do

00:57:29that, is prick you with their

00:57:31front legs, leaving tiny puncture

00:57:33marks on your finger. Many

00:57:35people even keep them as pets, and

00:57:37they're quite affectionate toward their owners.

00:57:39Yeah.

00:57:41If you ever stumble upon a

00:57:43burrow from which a hairless, big-toothed

00:57:45creature is peeking at you,

00:57:47just don't mind it and let it be.

00:57:49Naked mole rats

00:57:51are the sphinx cats among rodents.

00:57:53They're close relatives of

00:57:55mole rats, but, well,

00:57:57naked. And they're fascinating

00:57:59in their own right, too, thanks to

00:58:01living entirely underground.

00:58:03They're almost totally cold-blooded,

00:58:05but can conform to any temperature

00:58:07outside. And their

00:58:09flappy, wrinkled skin doesn't feel

00:58:11any pain at all. So, pins and

00:58:13prickles, as well as sharp teeth,

00:58:15don't scare naked mole rats.

00:58:17You're once again

00:58:19lost in the jungle, this time on

00:58:21Madagascar. Poor you.

00:58:23The night has fallen, and you

00:58:25seek shelter. But when you think

00:58:27you've found a suitable tree to build

00:58:29a lean-to, you freeze

00:58:31in terror. A black,

00:58:33long-fingered hand appears

00:58:35on a tree branch right above you,

00:58:37and two huge yellow eyes

00:58:39are staring you down.

00:58:41Then you see a shaggy face

00:58:43and realize it's just a lemur.

00:58:45An aye-aye, more precisely.

00:58:47This creature is native to

00:58:49Madagascar and only goes

00:58:51out at night, so you're lucky

00:58:53to see it. It fulfills a role of

00:58:55a woodpecker in tropical forests.

00:58:57It knocks on tree trunks to find

00:58:59bugs and uses its long,

00:59:01wizened fingers to reach inside.

00:59:03Tired of being scared,

00:59:05you seek your way home,

00:59:07but your horrors aren't over yet.

00:59:09There's a big red and white

00:59:11snake across your path.

00:59:13It hisses and lies in wait

00:59:15for you to move.

00:59:17You know it's a coral snake,

00:59:19a really dangerous, venomous kind.

00:59:21You stop in your tracks, and only

00:59:23when it finally slithers away,

00:59:25you realize it was actually

00:59:27a milk snake.

00:59:29They often mimic venomous ones,

00:59:31not only coral snakes, to protect

00:59:33themselves from predators.

00:59:35Still, if you're not a snake expert,

00:59:37it's always best to stay away.

00:59:39Okay, this creature

00:59:41will infest your darkest dreams.

00:59:43A giant African

00:59:45millipede. It's big,

00:59:47it's glossy black, and it has

00:59:49hundreds of tiny, crawly legs.

00:59:51And yet, if it had googly eyes,

00:59:53it could even be cute.

00:59:55Perhaps that's why so many people

00:59:57keep them as pets.

00:59:59That, and because they commonly live up to 10 years.

01:00:01Giant millipedes

01:00:03can't really bite. Their only defense

01:00:05is curling into a tight ball

01:00:07and secreting irritating liquid

01:00:09from the pores of its skin.

01:00:11If you dare touch it, don't rub your

01:00:13eyes or nose afterwards.

01:00:15It's quite unpleasant.

01:00:17Goliath birdeater

01:00:19is another popular pet creepy

01:00:21crawler. It isn't dangerous

01:00:23for humans, despite it looking like

01:00:25your worst nightmare. This is

01:00:27one of the largest spiders in the world.

01:00:29And as its name implies,

01:00:31it sometimes hunts small birds

01:00:33for food. But they aren't

01:00:35part of its regular diet.

01:00:37The spider prefers worms and amphibians.

01:00:39Make sure you don't frighten it,

01:00:41though. It can still bite or release

01:00:43hairs in self-defense.

01:00:45The bite is similar to a wasp sting,

01:00:47and hairs can cause severe irritation

01:00:49on your skin.

01:00:51But mostly, this gentle giant is

01:00:53just shy and will crawl away

01:00:55at the sight of you.

01:00:57Oh dear, there's another snake approaching

01:00:59you. And fast! You're about

01:01:01to turn and run when you see a

01:01:03hulking eight-legged form cutting

01:01:05into the snake's path and leaping

01:01:07on it. It's another arachnid,

01:01:09and it looks even more terrifying

01:01:11than the snake. It's a

01:01:13camel spider. Not really

01:01:15a spider, nor a scorpion.

01:01:17These creatures belong to a separate family.

01:01:19They became the stuff of many

01:01:21urban legends, but in fact,

01:01:23they don't even have any venom.

01:01:25Sure, they can bite, and their

01:01:27jaws are pretty powerful, but camel

01:01:29spiders can't do much more to a human

01:01:31than just bite. They hide

01:01:33in the sand and burrow to leap

01:01:35on unsuspecting lizards,

01:01:37invertebrates, and yes, even

01:01:39snakes. And now,

01:01:41picture a pill bug.

01:01:43Not exactly a beauty,

01:01:45but since it's small, it's okay.

01:01:47But what if it were 10

01:01:49times as large? No,

01:01:51definitely not okay. Still,

01:01:53such a creature exists, and

01:01:55it's a giant isopod.

01:01:57Thankfully, it lurks in deep, dark,

01:01:59and cold waters, so

01:02:01it won't ever come up in your backyard.

01:02:03Giant isopods

01:02:05grow to such enormous size because

01:02:07of something called deep-sea gigantism.

01:02:09Deep-dwelling creatures

01:02:11have to endure great pressure of

01:02:13water, extreme cold temperatures,

01:02:15and scarce food, so

01:02:17their metabolism slows down.

01:02:19Isopods don't move much,

01:02:21and more often than not, just

01:02:23lie in wait until some poor

01:02:25small bug or crustacean

01:02:27crawls within their reach, and they can

01:02:29munch on it. And though it looks

01:02:31like a many-legged chaos from

01:02:33below, a giant isopod

01:02:35can't hurt you, even if it wanted to.

01:02:37Just pet it already!

01:02:41So, we all know that Mother

01:02:43Nature is wise. If she

01:02:45blesses some creature with a particular

01:02:47body part, it should make perfect sense,

01:02:49right? Well, yeah,

01:02:51but still, some wildlife shots

01:02:53make you wonder if evolution

01:02:55has gone the wrong way.

01:02:57Snakes' natural design allows

01:02:59them to swallow a whole mouse.

01:03:01But in some cases, this

01:03:03cruel ability can turn against them.

01:03:05Yes, snakes can actually

01:03:07swallow themselves. Scientists

01:03:09believe that they mostly do this

01:03:11because of stress, captivity,

01:03:13temperature regulation, hunger,

01:03:15or illness. The snake is

01:03:17pretty helpless in this situation, you can

01:03:19tell. If it doesn't get help in

01:03:21time, digestive juices may

01:03:23begin to corrode the swallowed tail.

01:03:25So, if you ever catch your pet

01:03:27snake doing this, try to stop it

01:03:29or take it to the vet.

01:03:31Okay, but what about the

01:03:33fangs, I hear you ask? Does

01:03:35a venomous snake have immunity to

01:03:37its own venom? Well, if

01:03:39the snake digests it, it will be

01:03:41okay. It's because protein is

01:03:43a primary component in venom.

01:03:45And besides, the venom is

01:03:47excreted by the gland in the snake's

01:03:49mouth. So, no matter whom

01:03:51the snake bites, chances are

01:03:53that it's going to drink a bit. So

01:03:55the only way a snake can actually

01:03:57suffer from its own venom is by

01:03:59biting itself straight into the blood

01:04:01vessel. In this case, it'll

01:04:03experience the same reaction as

01:04:05any other animal.

01:04:07Now, think you're having a bad hair day?

01:04:09Hey, check this guy out.

01:04:11Chris was an Australian

01:04:13merino ram who became a celebrity

01:04:15in 2015 after being

01:04:17discovered in the wild. Farmers

01:04:19shorn him and gained nearly

01:04:2190 pounds of wool.

01:04:23When the animal was found, he carried over

01:04:255 years worth of fleece on his body.

01:04:27But Chris belonged to the

01:04:29domestic sheep breed that needs to be shorn

01:04:31regularly. Otherwise, the

01:04:33animal is at great risk of injury

01:04:35and infection. So, the lives

01:04:37of these cuties depend directly on

01:04:39going to the hairdresser.

01:04:41Shall we talk about horns?

01:04:43Cattle, goats, and many other species

01:04:45proudly wear this fancy

01:04:47headdress not only for fashion

01:04:49but also as a weapon for brutal

01:04:51battles. If you ask this

01:04:53bighorn sheep ram directly how

01:04:55old he is, you'll probably hear

01:04:57something like, bleh. But, if

01:04:59you want to get a more precise answer,

01:05:01you can count the number of rings on his

01:05:03horns. The biggest and the

01:05:05darkest ring usually marks the

01:05:074th birthday, when the ram matures

01:05:09enough for mating. Although

01:05:11animal horns may look very tough,

01:05:13in fact, most of them are made of

01:05:15keratin. It's the same protein

01:05:17that builds human hair and nails.

01:05:19Horns never stop growing

01:05:21as the animal ages, just like our

01:05:23own hair. And eventually,

01:05:25they can curl into really extravagant

01:05:27shapes, making these weapons

01:05:29turn against their owners.

01:05:31This is what a Wilshire sheep horn looks

01:05:33like when it's young. But, as

01:05:35the years go by, the horns

01:05:37typically curl in front of its face.

01:05:39And while most grow out

01:05:41harmlessly, the inward-growing

01:05:43horns can end up dangerously close

01:05:45to the sheep's head. Like this ram

01:05:47who's having bad luck, to say the least.

01:05:49Its horn has slowly grown

01:05:51into its own skull, and

01:05:53eventually, well, it didn't end

01:05:55well for the sheep. Of course,

01:05:57this would hardly have happened on

01:05:59a farm, because people would have made

01:06:01a preventive horn cut. But,

01:06:03unfortunately, in the wild,

01:06:05animals cannot use hairdresser services.

01:06:07That's why they use rocks

01:06:09and branches to rub and grind

01:06:11away at their horns to keep them safe,

01:06:13just like humans trim their nails.

01:06:15Faulty genetics is not

01:06:17the only reason for the horn distortion.

01:06:19You see, when males of the species

01:06:21want to fight for dominance,

01:06:23they begin to butt heads to show

01:06:25each other who's the alpha male here.

01:06:27Mm-hmm. These battles can

01:06:29break horn plates, making them grow

01:06:31at weird and dangerous angles.

01:06:33The fancier the original shape

01:06:35of the horns is, the more problems

01:06:37their fracture may cause.

01:06:39This poor African kudu is

01:06:41a bright example. Fortunately,

01:06:43in some cases, unlimited

01:06:45body part growth can be good

01:06:47for the animal. Just take a look at these

01:06:49adorable smiles. If you

01:06:51happen to break off your own molar

01:06:53tooth, your dentist would probably say

01:06:55it's irreversible and offer

01:06:57a replacement. But if

01:06:59an alpaca breaks its front teeth,

01:07:01all it has to do is wait

01:07:03a bit. Although these animals

01:07:05don't have upper teeth, their lower

01:07:07teeth constantly grow throughout their

01:07:09lifetime, and they might look pretty creepy

01:07:11when they get too long.

01:07:13That's why some farmers prefer

01:07:15trimming them from time to time,

01:07:17just like pet owners cut the nails

01:07:19of their cats or dogs.

01:07:21Now, llamas look so similar to

01:07:23alpacas that many people

01:07:25confuse these two species.

01:07:27But the significant difference between them

01:07:29is that llamas' front teeth

01:07:31are encased in enamel. That's why,

01:07:33unlike alpacas, they don't

01:07:35possess the superpower of limited

01:07:37growth. Too bad.

01:07:39Unlike the keratin horns,

01:07:41deer antlers are made entirely

01:07:43of bone. Typically,

01:07:45only male deers, called stags,

01:07:47grow antlers. Very

01:07:49rarely, females can grow them too

01:07:51due to a serious hormone imbalance.

01:07:53This is a deer equivalent

01:07:55of a beard on a human female

01:07:57that sometimes can appear due to

01:07:59various diseases. Adult

01:08:01deers grow and shed their antlers

01:08:03annually, which coincides with

01:08:05the breeding season. At first,

01:08:07their antlers are covered in velvet,

01:08:09a protective skin with blood vessels.

01:08:11But once the antler is fully

01:08:13developed, the deer gets rid

01:08:15of the velvet, just like snakes

01:08:17shed their skin. Although this

01:08:19process doesn't harm the deer,

01:08:21it may look pretty spooky.

01:08:23Once the brand new antlers are ready,

01:08:25stags begin to fight with

01:08:27other males over the ladies' attention.

01:08:29Usually, stags

01:08:31barely eat or sleep during this competition.

01:08:33And if you ever question

01:08:35whether the antlers of two deers

01:08:37can get locked together, the answer is

01:08:39yes. Every stag is

01:08:41risking ending up stuck with his own rival

01:08:43instead of having a romantic

01:08:45night out with a female deer.

01:08:47Bummer. Moreover,

01:08:49all the traumas that the deer gets

01:08:51during the mating season can influence

01:08:53further antler growth if specific

01:08:55nerves get damaged. Just like

01:08:57horns, antlers can develop at

01:08:59distorted angles because of genetic

01:09:01failures. Some mutations

01:09:03can even make them grow monstrously

01:09:05large. This unlucky

01:09:07deer can barely move his head without

01:09:09losing balance. Also,

01:09:11if a deer breaks one of its legs,

01:09:13its body can speed up the healing

01:09:15by sacrificing the bone and blood

01:09:17material from one of the antlers.

01:09:19And thus, this antler will get thinner

01:09:21and weaker. And speaking

01:09:23of facial extensions, we cannot

01:09:25skip the tusks. Please

01:09:27meet Babirusa from Indonesia.

01:09:29This ancient boar first emerged

01:09:31over 35,000 years ago.

01:09:33It's easy to confuse these

01:09:35big tusks with horns, but

01:09:37they are actually upper canines.

01:09:39They tend to pierce through the skin of the boar's

01:09:41face as it matures.

01:09:43Scientists believe that these intimidating

01:09:45tusks have evolved as a tool

01:09:47to protect eyes and throat while fighting

01:09:49with other males during mating season.

01:09:51But this design doesn't seem

01:09:53very thoughtful. If a male

01:09:55boar doesn't grind his tusks regularly,

01:09:57they can end up curling back

01:09:59into his own skull, which can

01:10:01blind him or even worse.

01:10:03Now, what if I told you that

01:10:05hooves can grow out of control

01:10:07just like horns and antlers?

01:10:09It took evolution millions of years

01:10:11to turn the middle toe of the animal's

01:10:13foot bone into the hoof.

01:10:15And just like toenails, they tend

01:10:17to grow and curl into creepy shapes

01:10:19if they aren't cut regularly.

01:10:21When donkeys or horses

01:10:23don't have a chance to wear down their

01:10:25hooves naturally by walking on

01:10:27hard surfaces, they tend to overgrow.

01:10:29This makes the animals

01:10:31walk on the balls of their feet

01:10:33and overstretch the tendons, which may

01:10:35result in pain and bone loss.

01:10:37And eventually, they can lose

01:10:39the ability to walk at all.

01:10:41So if you ever come across a horse

01:10:43with curly hooves, consider

01:10:45calling the experts to give it an

01:10:47emergency manicure.

01:10:49Perhaps one of the most obvious questions

01:10:51regarding the undersea world is

01:10:53can a fish drown in the water?

01:10:55Yup, it can.

01:10:57Although gills are an amazing

01:10:59gift of nature, there are still many

01:11:01factors that may deprive a fish

01:11:03of healthy breathing. When the

01:11:05oxygen level in the water is too low,

01:11:07fish begin to suffocate.

01:11:09But it happens very rarely in the

01:11:11wild. Oxygen deficit

01:11:13usually appears in aquariums

01:11:15that are not washed and replenished

01:11:17often enough. Also, parasites,

01:11:19diseases, and an overall

01:11:21imbalance in water components

01:11:23can cause the fish to drown.

01:11:25And on that note,

01:11:27I need to hoof it on out of here!

01:11:29Well, the

01:11:31seahorse is an unusual fish.

01:11:33Normally, female animals

01:11:35carry a child, but seahorses

01:11:37do it the other way around.

01:11:39For 9-45 days, the future

01:11:41father carries the eggs inside

01:11:43a special pouch until the birth

01:11:45process begins. Then,

01:11:47the male opens his brood pouch

01:11:49and squeezes out the children.

01:11:53The female anaconda finds the

01:11:55deepest puddle and spends her pregnancy

01:11:57in it. She will starve

01:11:59for about 7 months while pregnant.

01:12:01Then she will give birth to

01:12:0340 children that make up 30%

01:12:05of her body weight. Her babies

01:12:07are completely independent and will

01:12:09explore the world around them.

01:12:13The Suriname toad looks like

01:12:15a normal toad but is totally

01:12:17flat. Unlike most animals,

01:12:19this one carries its future children

01:12:21not inside but on

01:12:23its back. Female toads

01:12:25have special holes on their backs

01:12:27for each egg where the babies develop.

01:12:29After 3-4 months,

01:12:31the little Suriname toads

01:12:33wake up and crawl out of the

01:12:35pockets on mom's back.

01:12:39Kangaroos are born just one

01:12:41month after conception, but they're

01:12:43not yet ready for life in the outside

01:12:45world. Newborn kangaroos

01:12:47are smaller than an inch.

01:12:49These tiny creatures crawl into

01:12:51their mom's pouch using their front legs.

01:12:53After 195

01:12:55days, the kangaroo grows

01:12:57big and strong enough to leave the

01:12:59pouch.

01:13:01Sea urchins lay

01:13:03more than 2 million eggs, but

01:13:05not all survive. Male

01:13:07and female urchins throw something like

01:13:09a cloud into the water which

01:13:11contains the future offspring.

01:13:13In the next few hours, if the egg

01:13:15cloud is not eaten by other sea

01:13:17creatures, the eggs will turn into a

01:13:19ball with microscopic hairs

01:13:21and then form a skeleton.

01:13:23At this point, they're ready for their own

01:13:25reproduction.

01:13:27Most animals

01:13:29either lay eggs or have a live birth.

01:13:31But the Jackson's chameleon

01:13:33does both and gives birth

01:13:35up to 30 young at a time.

01:13:37The female bears the eggs

01:13:39minus a shell right inside her

01:13:41body, instead of laying them

01:13:43as many other chameleon species do.

01:13:47In the yellowhead

01:13:49jawfish family, a dadfish

01:13:51takes care of the future offspring.

01:13:53The male broods the eggs

01:13:55inside his mouth.

01:13:57After the birth, the male carries his

01:13:59babies in this safe place.

01:14:01The brooding method lets the father

01:14:03keep his children safe because he

01:14:05can swim away from danger with the babies

01:14:07in his mouth.

01:14:09Sloths

01:14:11spend most of their time on the treetops.

01:14:13Their birth process is

01:14:15extravagant. The female

01:14:17lets her hind legs dangle and clings

01:14:19to a branch only by her

01:14:21front ones and gives birth in this

01:14:23position. The baby sloth

01:14:25grabs the mother's fur right after

01:14:27birth and climbs to her chest.

01:14:31The velvet spider

01:14:33builds a special room for giving birth

01:14:35and childcare. Just like weaving

01:14:37a spider web, she constructs

01:14:39a cocoon around her where she

01:14:41lays up to 80 eggs.

01:14:43Then she makes a hole in the cocoon

01:14:45so that the offspring can escape.

01:14:47But this hole is too small for her,

01:14:49so she will never come out.

01:14:51For two weeks, she will

01:14:53feed the hatched spiders until they

01:14:55become independent.

01:14:59Whales, the biggest mammals in the animal

01:15:01kingdom, give birth underwater,

01:15:03so their babies have to rise all

01:15:05the way up to the surface to take their

01:15:07first breath. Mom whale

01:15:09will feed the baby with 54%

01:15:11fat milk for the next

01:15:134 months until it grows enough to

01:15:15eat on its own.

01:15:17Octopuses

01:15:19give birth only once in a lifetime.

01:15:21One of the arms of the male

01:15:23octopus is adapted to fertilize

01:15:25females. Some octopuses

01:15:27separate the arm from their body and

01:15:29give it to the female. After laying

01:15:31eggs, female octopuses circulate

01:15:33water currents over the eggs to

01:15:35clean them and protect them from predators.

01:15:39Now imagine giving

01:15:41birth to a baby the size of a

01:15:434-year-old. Poor mom!

01:15:45But that's what kiwi birds do.

01:15:47Their eggs can weigh up to a quarter

01:15:49of their body mass.

01:15:51To produce such a big egg,

01:15:53female kiwis have to eat 3 times

01:15:55more than usual.

01:15:59Shingleback lizards also have a difficult

01:16:01pregnancy. These animals

01:16:03normally have up to 2 babies,

01:16:05which doesn't seem so bad.

01:16:07But the babies can make up a third of the

01:16:09mother's weight. That's like a human

01:16:11giving birth to a 7-year-old child.

01:16:14Giraffes are some of the

01:16:16tallest terrestrial animals, which

01:16:18has an effect on the birth process.

01:16:20In a giraffe birth,

01:16:22the baby first pokes out the front

01:16:24hooves, then the nose, and the

01:16:26entire head. Within an hour,

01:16:28the baby is born. Before

01:16:30taking the first breath, the baby

01:16:32giraffe falls from the height of 6.5

01:16:34feet to the ground.

01:16:38Hammerhead sharks can give birth

01:16:40without mating with another shark.

01:16:42Basically, they're just making copies

01:16:44of themselves. This was first

01:16:46discovered in 1999 in a

01:16:48Nebraska zoo. There are just

01:16:50a few other animal species,

01:16:52like some geckos and lizards, that

01:16:54can reproduce this way.

01:16:57Porcupines are known for their sharp quills.

01:16:59In the womb, these quills

01:17:01are soft, but right after birth,

01:17:03when coming in contact with air

01:17:05for the first time, they become

01:17:07hard and sharp.

01:17:10Naked mole rats are

01:17:12incredibly reproductive.

01:17:14They live in colonies and have a queen,

01:17:16who is the only female to give

01:17:18birth. First-time moms can

01:17:20have up to 15 babies,

01:17:22but every litter after, the number

01:17:24of babies grows. At her

01:17:26peak, a mole rat queen

01:17:28can have up to 33 babies,

01:17:30which is the largest litter size

01:17:32of any mammal on Earth.

01:17:35Hippopotamus pregnancies

01:17:37last about 8 months, despite

01:17:39the animal's big size. When ready

01:17:41to give birth, hippo moms

01:17:43leave the herd for 2 weeks

01:17:45to establish a strong connection with

01:17:47their babies. Hippo calves are

01:17:49born underwater, so they learn

01:17:51to swim from the very beginning.

01:17:54Zebras have a really hard

01:17:56time after birth, both for mom

01:17:58and the baby. Zebras are

01:18:00an animal who can see a newborn baby

01:18:02as a potential threat in the future.

01:18:04So, when a baby zebra comes

01:18:06out, a male zebra can attack

01:18:08it immediately. The mother protects

01:18:10her offspring, often not having

01:18:12any time to rest.

01:18:16Elephants have the longest

01:18:18gestation period of all mammals,

01:18:20lasting more than 18 months.

01:18:22Though they live up to 70 years,

01:18:24most elephants won't have more

01:18:26than 4 babies. When the

01:18:28elephant mom is ready to give birth,

01:18:30other elephants from the herd form

01:18:32a protective circle around her

01:18:34until she delivers the baby.

01:18:36At birth, they can weigh up to

01:18:38260 pounds.

01:18:40To protect them from predators,

01:18:42barnacle geese lay

01:18:44eggs on a cliff at 400 feet,

01:18:46which is the height of a 36-story

01:18:48building. When the eggs hatch,

01:18:50the little chicks face a problem.

01:18:52There's no food nearby because

01:18:54they're on a rock. So, at

01:18:56just a few days old, they

01:18:58jump off the cliff and try to

01:19:00make a soft landing.

01:19:02Although marine

01:19:04iguanas don't have to leap off a cliff,

01:19:06they're also in a hurry soon after

01:19:08they're born. Female marine

01:19:10iguanas lay eggs in an underground

01:19:12cave that they dig.

01:19:14This is a safe place to hide from predators,

01:19:16but sooner or later, the baby

01:19:18iguanas come out of these caves to eat.

01:19:20And this is the moment when

01:19:22snakes start to hunt them.

01:19:24The fastest and strongest iguanas

01:19:26survive to enjoy the food.

01:19:29Dogs can detect

01:19:31when someone's laughing at them.

01:19:33And since these animals are very

01:19:35empathetic, and when they hear the funny baby

01:19:37laughing, they get attracted and mirror

01:19:39this reaction. You can tell that your dog

01:19:41enjoys baby laughter by its broad

01:19:43mouth, adorable panting nose,

01:19:45and sparkling eyes. Purchase

01:19:47of wind chimes will not only fill your

01:19:49home with pleasant sounds, but also

01:19:51with the cute actions of your pet.

01:19:53Many dogs adore the ringing of wind chimes,

01:19:55bells, and shakers. Some

01:19:57even sing along. Classic

01:19:59car horns or air horns usually make

01:20:01dogs bark, wag their tails, and

01:20:03even playfully jump towards the source

01:20:05of the sound. Some dogs may get stressed

01:20:07out by this sound, though, so be careful.

01:20:11Dogs learn to associate doorbell

01:20:13ringing with the arrival of their parent.

01:20:15That's why they get excited and bark

01:20:17anytime they hear a doorbell, knocking,

01:20:19or jingling of the keys.

01:20:21Goose cackle and duck

01:20:23quacking attract dogs and awaken

01:20:25their chasing instinct, so it's a good

01:20:27option if you want to prank your pet.

01:20:29Many dogs perceive

01:20:31beatboxing as an invitation

01:20:33to jump into the performer's arms and

01:20:35lick their face. Some dog parents

01:20:37even claim that your pet can learn to

01:20:39beatbox, too, if you practice together.

01:20:43Whistle is a good old tool to get a dog's

01:20:45attention. If you use a special

01:20:47dog whistle, make sure you don't blow

01:20:49very loudly and too close to your dog's

01:20:51head. This could cause damage to

01:20:53your dog's sensitive ears.

01:20:55Most dogs love squeaky toys.

01:20:57The noise when dogs bite them stimulates

01:20:59a pleasure center in the dog's brain.

01:21:01The more the toys squeak, the more

01:21:03pleasure the dog gets. Also,

01:21:05dogs like to squeak their toys because

01:21:07this sound usually attracts the owner's

01:21:09attention, and they love your attention

01:21:11more than anything else.

01:21:13When a dog hears

01:21:15another dog barking, it gets attracted

01:21:17and wags its tail. And this isn't

01:21:19surprising. Everyone needs to

01:21:21communicate with their kind. If you

01:21:23play a record with dogs howling, your

01:21:25pet will probably start howling, too.

01:21:27All sorts of cat, horse,

01:21:29cow sounds are helpful if you want

01:21:31to prank your dog. If you turn on

01:21:33a record with animal sounds, your

01:21:35dog will probably stiffen, stare,

01:21:37and start whining or barking. Just

01:21:39be careful with the volume.

01:21:41Your dog can perceive frequencies you

01:21:43aren't even aware of. That's why

01:21:45subtle sounds created by insects

01:21:47such as flies, bees, crickets,

01:21:49leopards, and even spiders can trigger

01:21:51your pet. If your dog suddenly

01:21:53freezes by a bush during a walk

01:21:55for no obvious reason, it's probably

01:21:57listening to the insects.

01:21:59These sounds are the most popular,

01:22:01but your dog may have acquired its own

01:22:03unique preferences depending on its

01:22:05life experience. Humans can only

01:22:07hear frequencies up to 20,000 Hz,

01:22:09while dogs can perceive up to

01:22:1145,000 Hz. High

01:22:13sensitivity means a higher level

01:22:15of stress, so here are some sounds

01:22:17that can frighten your dog.

01:22:19Most dogs freak out when they hear

01:22:21thunderstorms. If you can't isolate

01:22:23your pet from the sound, at least

01:22:25try to stay close, play nice music,

01:22:27and comfort your dog.

01:22:29Like with baby laughter,

01:22:31dogs react very emotionally when the baby

01:22:33is crying. Some dogs just can't

01:22:35stand this high-pitched noise and hide.

01:22:37I know I do. Others

01:22:39get nervous and run from side to side.

01:22:41Dogs usually

01:22:43aren't fond of vacuum cleaners.

01:22:45Not only they're loud, but they also

01:22:47move around the house, which your dog

01:22:49may perceive as a violation of its

01:22:51personal boundaries.

01:22:53Balloon bursts and fireworks are loud

01:22:55and unpredictable and usually scare

01:22:57domestic pets.

01:22:59Dogs don't enjoy buses and garbage trucks

01:23:01because their arrival brings a bunch

01:23:03of random noises like screeching

01:23:05and beeping, and dogs don't like

01:23:07unpredictable sounds.

01:23:09For the same reason, they loathe all

01:23:11sorts of construction sounds.

01:23:13The sound of skateboard wheels on pavement

01:23:15can frighten dogs. It's loud,

01:23:17random, and can also awaken

01:23:19the dog's chase instinct.

01:23:21Dogs get triggered by the sounds of sirens

01:23:23from ambulance and police cars

01:23:25because they usually create high-pitched noises.

01:23:27The sudden turning

01:23:29on of the air conditioner or a furnace

01:23:31can also be scary for your dog.

01:23:33If your pet jumps up and becomes

01:23:35wary when it hears this sound, well,

01:23:37maybe it's time to think about buying quieter

01:23:39household appliances.

01:23:41Dogs also don't like when airplanes

01:23:43or helicopters fly overhead.

01:23:45Try to avoid exposing your pet to

01:23:47scary sounds as much as possible.

01:23:49For example, if your pet is scared

01:23:51of construction or fireworks,

01:23:53it would make sense to go for a walk in a

01:23:55peaceful, quiet place to hide your doggy

01:23:57from unpleasant sounds.

01:23:59But of course, avoidance will not

01:24:01always be an option. Additional training

01:24:03would be useful. You can find a record

01:24:05of the sound that frightens your dog and

01:24:07play it out loud, starting with a very

01:24:09low volume and gradually raising

01:24:11the intensity of the record. With that,

01:24:13your dog will gradually learn to tolerate

01:24:15the sound. This simple technique

01:24:17will make your dog's life in this noisy,

01:24:19unpredictable world a little bit easier.

01:24:21But be careful and use

01:24:23positive reinforcement. Rushing in,

01:24:25pressure, and ignoring your dog's

01:24:27body language can make the fear even

01:24:29worse. Don't forget to reward

01:24:31your pet with food or toys

01:24:33every step of the way when it manages

01:24:35to react calmly to the fearsome sound.

01:24:37Dogs' ears are sensitive

01:24:39not only to noises, but also to

01:24:41voice intonations. In some cases,

01:24:43they can understand the meaning of your words

01:24:45and even detect when you're trying to

01:24:47lie. For example, if you

01:24:49call your dog Bad Boy using a

01:24:51very joyful or excited tone of voice,

01:24:53it will still understand that you're

01:24:55unhappy with it. Dogs can

01:24:57distinguish a word from a pseudoword,

01:24:59but they get way more interested and

01:25:01engaged when they hear new versions of

01:25:03familiar words. So, if you decide

01:25:05to play a trick on your dog and say,

01:25:07let's go for a talk instead of let's go

01:25:09for a walk, your pet will probably

01:25:11get even more excited. And

01:25:13no, it's not nice to tease your dog

01:25:15like that. Some dogs get

01:25:17very anxious when left alone at home,

01:25:19and it's not surprising any sound

01:25:21that seems loud to you is even louder

01:25:23for your dog-o. Turning on

01:25:25some calm music before leaving can

01:25:27help deal with this issue. Calm

01:25:29background jazz or classical music

01:25:31can help your dog to feel less

01:25:33lonely, protect it from possible

01:25:35scary street sounds, and relieve stress.

01:25:37Today, you can find a huge

01:25:39variety of musical selections designed

01:25:41to calm down dogs and cats.

01:25:43The list of sounds liked by cats

01:25:45has a lot in common with dogs.

01:25:47Opening and closing doors,

01:25:49shakers, cookie pan, opening

01:25:51a bag of chips or a can,

01:25:53squeaky toys, doorbells, woodwinds,

01:25:55the sound of food poured into

01:25:57a cat's bowl, and of course,

01:25:59whatever that is.

01:26:01As for other

01:26:03pets, you don't need to guess what's

01:26:05the favorite sound of a parrot, because

01:26:07this bird will learn those sounds and repeat

01:26:09them all day long.

01:26:11The parrot is one of the few animals that can

01:26:13learn and understand human language.

01:26:15Some wild birds can mimic human

01:26:17voices, but parrots are the champions

01:26:19when it comes to imitating human speech.

01:26:21Some professionally trained parrots

01:26:23can even understand what they're saying.

01:26:25If you have a parrot, be

01:26:27careful, because it can easily learn

01:26:29a new phrase but cannot unlearn

01:26:31it. But this phrase

01:26:33can be replaced by another if

01:26:35you repeat it often enough.

01:26:37Lizards are also very

01:26:39sensitive to music and prefer

01:26:41some sounds to others. They usually

01:26:43like calm, soft sounds and

01:26:45despise loud noises.

01:26:47If you have doubts, you can play different

01:26:49genres to your pet and watch its reaction.

01:26:51If your pet enjoys the music,

01:26:53it will turn towards the sound,

01:26:55lie down, and relax.

01:26:57Bearded dragons can even change color

01:26:59if they don't like the sounds around them.

01:27:01Sometimes they can even darken

01:27:03to signify that they're upset with your

01:27:05musical taste. Silence,

01:27:07stroking, and bath will help to relieve

01:27:09this stress.

01:27:11Rabbits can't understand human language,

01:27:13but you can train them to understand you

01:27:15through conscious cues, such as

01:27:17verbal commands and gestures.

01:27:19They also react to the tone of your voice

01:27:21and general body language.

01:27:23Bunnies usually enjoy calm music

01:27:25and songs, especially if they've already

01:27:27created a positive association

01:27:29with this particular music.

01:27:31They don't like sudden loud noises and heavy

01:27:33music.

01:27:35Hamsters also react positively to many

01:27:37genres of music, such as classical,

01:27:39pop, and even rock, maybe

01:27:41even Broadway tunes.

01:27:43Loud noises can cause great stress to hamsters,

01:27:45so be careful. In the beginning,

01:27:47your hamster won't understand any

01:27:49human words and won't even recognize

01:27:51your voice. But if you take some

01:27:53time to bond with your pet, it will

01:27:55get attached to you and even remember

01:27:57the link between some words and actions.

01:27:59The sky

01:28:01suddenly turns orange.

01:28:03All you can see as you look up are millions

01:28:05of butterflies. You just got

01:28:07lucky to witness the spectacular

01:28:09natural show, the annual

01:28:11migration of monarch butterflies.

01:28:13Every

01:28:15fall, as the days get shorter

01:28:17and the temperatures go down in the

01:28:19northeastern US and Canada,

01:28:21these beautiful creatures leave their

01:28:23summer breeding grounds.

01:28:25They travel up to

01:28:273,000 miles to Mexico

01:28:29and never come back.

01:28:31Their perfect overwintering

01:28:33ground is high in the mountains.

01:28:35Millions of monarch butterflies

01:28:37are safe there in the canopy

01:28:39of oyamel fir trees.

01:28:41Once the winter is over, it's time

01:28:43for them to go back up north.

01:28:45They make a stopover around Texas

01:28:47to mate and lay eggs on

01:28:49oakweed plants.

01:28:51A few days later,

01:28:53these eggs turn into

01:28:55caterpillars that feed on the plant

01:28:57until they transform into grown-up

01:28:59butterflies. Now,

01:29:01it's their turn to continue the journey

01:29:03up north until they find a new

01:29:05breeding ground. This way,

01:29:07generations keep changing en route

01:29:09and it may take up to five of them

01:29:11to get to the final destination back

01:29:13in Canada. It's a natural

01:29:15mystery how the butterflies traveling

01:29:17live up to eight months traveling

01:29:19with the air currents.

01:29:21The same species going back completes

01:29:23its life cycle in five to

01:29:25seven weeks.

01:29:27Scientists still don't know why

01:29:29the monarchs migrate and how they

01:29:31find their way. It could be

01:29:33connected with the blooming of milkweed

01:29:35plants, their primary food source.

01:29:37They probably find their

01:29:39way around based on the position

01:29:41of the sun.

01:29:48Humpback whales

01:29:50are real champions when it comes

01:29:52to migration and size among

01:29:54mammals. They cover a distance

01:29:56of up to 5,000

01:29:58miles following their lunch.

01:30:00In the summer, they move towards

01:30:02the poles to colder waters

01:30:04where there's plenty of krill and small

01:30:06fish.

01:30:08In the winter, they go south

01:30:10towards the equator's tropical waters.

01:30:12They also travel to

01:30:14mate. They have specific

01:30:16locations where they gather to do it.

01:30:18During the winter breeding season,

01:30:20you can hear male humpback whales

01:30:22sing, most likely to

01:30:24attract females or mark their

01:30:26territory. They produce

01:30:28a long series of calls and can

01:30:30repeat the same song for several

01:30:32hours. When the song

01:30:34changes, all singers that are currently

01:30:36migrating pick up the new tune.

01:30:38It's amazing how they do it when

01:30:40the distance between groups can be over

01:30:423,000 miles.

01:30:46Sea

01:30:48turtles migrate for more

01:30:50sentimental reasons.

01:30:52For hundreds of

01:30:54millions of years, these cute family

01:30:56guys return to the exact place where

01:30:58they were born to lay their eggs.

01:31:00They can cover up to thousands

01:31:02of miles mostly when the seasons

01:31:04change and the waters are of a comfortable

01:31:06temperature.

01:31:08It could take them

01:31:10years since some of them travel across

01:31:12the Pacific Ocean between Indonesia

01:31:14and the west coast of the United

01:31:16States and Canada, which is a total

01:31:18of 10,000 miles!

01:31:20But how do they find the exact

01:31:22spot they need if their parents can't

01:31:24just send them a geotag?

01:31:26Scientists have found

01:31:28out that they navigate using the invisible

01:31:30lines of the Earth's magnetic

01:31:32field. It turns out

01:31:34that each part of the coastline has

01:31:36its unique magnetic characteristics.

01:31:38The turtles remember theirs

01:31:40and travel using their internal compass.

01:31:42The magnetic field changes

01:31:44slowly but surely, so they

01:31:46have to shift their nesting sites accordingly.

01:31:50Salmon are born

01:31:52in freshwater streams and move to the

01:31:54ocean as juveniles.

01:31:56Atlantic salmon are brown

01:31:58and spotted as they cover hundreds of miles

01:32:00in freshwater and turn silvery

01:32:02in the ocean, where they travel

01:32:04for up to a thousand miles!

01:32:06Adult salmon stay in the ocean

01:32:08for one to five years,

01:32:10feeding mostly on zooplankton.

01:32:12Then it's time for them to go

01:32:14back to freshwater to spawn.

01:32:16On their way back to the breeding grounds,

01:32:18they have to ascend thousands of feet

01:32:20against the current in mountain streams.

01:32:22This challenging

01:32:24journey is called a salmon run.

01:32:26They set on this run

01:32:28because they know the stream they're headed

01:32:30to will be good for spawning, and they'll

01:32:32meet the right species to mate with.

01:32:34Young salmon remember the smell

01:32:36of their home stream and probably even

01:32:38take note of various points along

01:32:40the way to the ocean to find it again.

01:32:42Just like sea turtles,

01:32:44they use the Earth's magnetic field

01:32:46as a compass for their travels.

01:32:48Pacific salmon and most male

01:32:50Atlantic salmon only live for

01:32:52a few weeks after spawning, and some

01:32:54female Atlantic salmon survive

01:32:56and migrate back to the ocean.

01:33:02Caribou, better known as reindeer,

01:33:04are the champs when it comes to migration

01:33:06distance among land mammals.

01:33:08Every spring,

01:33:10they cover a distance of around 400

01:33:12miles in Alaska, from their winter

01:33:14to their summer feeding grounds.

01:33:16Individuals cover up to

01:33:183,000 miles, but herd migration

01:33:20is way more spectacular.

01:33:22The largest herd

01:33:24has at least 260,000

01:33:26members, and its

01:33:28migration territory covers an area

01:33:30larger than California.

01:33:32Scientists put radio

01:33:34tracker collars on some herd members

01:33:36and take thousands of photos to

01:33:38count them all. This census

01:33:40is organized every three years

01:33:42in good weather conditions to see if

01:33:44the population figures are rising or

01:33:46falling and track their migration

01:33:48patterns.

01:33:50Caribou grow through all this migration

01:33:52trouble to safely raise their newborn young.

01:33:54They reach remote grounds

01:33:56where golden eagles, wolves, and

01:33:58grizzly bears won't bother the youngsters

01:34:00during their first, most vulnerable

01:34:02days. Another good

01:34:04excuse to hit the road up north for them

01:34:06is to save themselves from mosquitoes,

01:34:08which would be a huge problem

01:34:10in warmer months. Plus,

01:34:12they get fresh seasonal foods from the

01:34:14areas they stay in. Their migration

01:34:16helps fertilize the grounds they pass

01:34:18by, which means the tundra

01:34:20should thank them for regenerating and

01:34:22protecting its grasslands.

01:34:24Wildebeest,

01:34:26also known as noose,

01:34:28are relatives of antelopes and

01:34:30bells. They

01:34:32spend most of their lives in the Serengeti

01:34:34Plains of southeastern Africa,

01:34:36grazing on the grassy

01:34:38savannas. Every year at

01:34:40the end of the rainy season, normally

01:34:42in May or June, millions of

01:34:44wildebeest head northwest in search

01:34:46of greener pastures, and then back

01:34:48again. This migration

01:34:50is so spectacular that it's considered

01:34:52one of the seven wonders of the natural

01:34:54world. Sadly,

01:34:56not all wildebeest make it to their

01:34:58final destination, as they have to

01:35:00cross rivers full of giant

01:35:02crocodiles and pass by hungry

01:35:04lions and other predators.

01:35:10If you look at

01:35:12dragonfly's migration routes, you

01:35:14can call them real globetrotters.

01:35:16Scientists

01:35:18discovered one such route that spanned

01:35:20from India to the Maldives,

01:35:22Seychelles, Mozambique, Uganda,

01:35:24and back again for at least

01:35:261,700 miles.

01:35:28It's the longest insect migration

01:35:30we know of so far. It looks

01:35:32like they set on this epic journey when

01:35:34the temperature reaches a certain mark

01:35:36and the days start to grow longer.

01:35:38They seem to be following the rains

01:35:40as they start during the monsoon season

01:35:42in India, and arrive

01:35:44for the rainy season in eastern and

01:35:46southern Africa.

01:35:48One fragile insect cannot

01:35:50complete the whole trip, so it turns

01:35:52into a sort of relay race that includes

01:35:54four generations of dragonflies.

01:35:56Each generation

01:35:58plays its role in the journey.

01:36:00Scientists can't put radio trackers

01:36:02on dragonflies as they do with other animals

01:36:04because the insects are too small.

01:36:06So, to put together the migration

01:36:08route puzzle, they analyzed

01:36:1021 years of data from

01:36:12volunteer citizen scientists and also

01:36:14wing samples from museums.

01:36:16Each of the samples had a chemical code

01:36:18that could roughly tell where the insect

01:36:20was from. This data helped

01:36:22the scientists understand how far

01:36:24this or that insect traveled

01:36:26as an adult.

01:36:30Elephants are known

01:36:32to have traveled across Africa

01:36:34for centuries.

01:36:36They rely on their herd leader's memory

01:36:38when it comes to recalling the tricky

01:36:40migratory routes. This big

01:36:42elephant boss leads everyone else

01:36:44to sources of ripe food and water

01:36:46when the seasons change.

01:36:48They also migrate to avoid danger,

01:36:50which is mostly represented by humans.

01:36:52Elephants have developed their own

01:36:54communication methods to pass on

01:36:56information about prospective danger.

01:36:58They use chemical secretions,

01:37:00vibrations, gestures, and

01:37:02touch. Recently,

01:37:04many African countries have restored

01:37:06some of the oldest elephant migration

01:37:08routes. These big-eared guys usually

01:37:10avoid dangerous areas for generations,

01:37:12but once they know the route is safe,

01:37:14they start using it again.

01:37:16Sloths

01:37:18can hold their breath longer than dolphins.

01:37:20Yep, incredible, but

01:37:22true. They slow their heart rate

01:37:24so much, they can stay under the

01:37:26surface for up to 40 minutes.

01:37:28Unlike fish, dolphins and

01:37:30whales are aquatic mammals, which

01:37:32means they can't breathe underwater.

01:37:34When it comes to breathing, they're more

01:37:36similar to us than the fish.

01:37:38Both of them have lungs, and they breathe

01:37:40air through something we know as a

01:37:42blowhole. When they're under the surface,

01:37:44they hold their breath until they

01:37:46come up for some air again.

01:37:48Dolphins can stay under the water for 10

01:37:50minutes. A sperm whale can hold

01:37:52its breath for 90 minutes, while

01:37:54an elephant seal holds the record

01:37:56when it comes to aquatic mammals,

01:37:58and can stay under the water for two

01:38:00hours without having to go up.

01:38:02There's a wasp so tiny,

01:38:04much tinier than its name,

01:38:06it's smaller than an amoeba,

01:38:08even though amoebas are made of

01:38:10one cell only. You can see

01:38:12this wasp has the same body parts as

01:38:14the rest of the bugs – wings, brain,

01:38:16eyes, and the rest – but

01:38:18it's really a tiny version of an insect

01:38:20since it's only

01:38:228 thousandths of an inch long.

01:38:24And the smallest adult insect

01:38:26we know of is a parasitic wasp

01:38:28with a big name, also known

01:38:30as the fairy fly.

01:38:32Their males don't have wings,

01:38:34they're blind, and only 5 thousandths

01:38:36of an inch long.

01:38:38It's no coincidence each animal species

01:38:40has different colors and patterns.

01:38:42One of the reasons for that is

01:38:44to help them stand out when looking for

01:38:46their potential mating partners,

01:38:48or to send a warning to predators

01:38:50they're poisonous and hope they get the message

01:38:52right. Then there are

01:38:54ambush predators, such as tigers.

01:38:56It's very important for them

01:38:58to remain invisible because the

01:39:00difference is huge. If their prey

01:39:02sees them before they get there,

01:39:04no dinner that night. But

01:39:06why exactly are tigers orange?

01:39:08For us, orange is a

01:39:10color used for things that need to be

01:39:12ultra-visible. For example,

01:39:14items such as safety vests,

01:39:16or traffic cones.

01:39:18To the human eye, orange will mostly

01:39:20stand out in the environment.

01:39:22So, if there's a tiger coming for you,

01:39:24you'll spot it relatively easily.

01:39:26But humans have so-called

01:39:28trichromatic color vision.

01:39:30When light from your surroundings enters

01:39:32your eye, it hits the retina,

01:39:34a thin layer located in the back.

01:39:36To process that light, the retina

01:39:38uses two kinds of light receptors.

01:39:40Rods and cones.

01:39:42Rods can only distinguish differences

01:39:44in light and darkness. They can't

01:39:46sense color. Our eyes will

01:39:48mostly rely on rods in dim

01:39:50light. Cones are in charge

01:39:52of color perception. Humans

01:39:54mostly have three types. Cones

01:39:56for green, blue, and red.

01:39:58That's exactly why we call our vision

01:40:00trichromatic. Most humans

01:40:02see three primary colors

01:40:04together with their colorful combinations.

01:40:06Apes and some monkeys

01:40:08also have such a style of vision.

01:40:10But most mammals that

01:40:12live on land, including cats,

01:40:14horses, deer, and dogs,

01:40:16have dichromatic color vision.

01:40:18Retinas in their eyes have cones

01:40:20for two colors only, green and blue.

01:40:22When humans get information

01:40:24from their green and blue cones only,

01:40:26they're considered colorblind

01:40:28since they can't, for example,

01:40:30tell the difference between green and red

01:40:32shades. This is similar with mammals

01:40:34that live on land.

01:40:36Deer are surely tiger's

01:40:38prey way more than humans, and

01:40:40deer don't see tigers as orange

01:40:42but green. Green

01:40:44tigers would surely be more difficult

01:40:46to spot, which would mean more

01:40:48dinner for tigers. But

01:40:50evolution still decided to go with

01:40:52orange because it's simply easier

01:40:54to produce such a color. The only

01:40:56green mammal is a sloth,

01:40:58but its fur is not naturally green.

01:41:00It's because of the algae that

01:41:02grows in it, and they can hold their

01:41:04breath for 40 minutes.

01:41:06The water around the poles can get very

01:41:08cold during certain periods of the year.

01:41:10There's plenty of fish that

01:41:12live there, but when that happens,

01:41:14they need to swim away to survive.

01:41:16But there's a special

01:41:18group of fish native to the southern

01:41:20ocean near Antarctica.

01:41:22The temperatures there are from 28

01:41:24to 39 degrees Fahrenheit.

01:41:26Technically, that's below freezing,

01:41:28but all those dissolved salts

01:41:30in the seawater don't allow it to

01:41:32freeze over. And these fish can

01:41:34survive because they have a special

01:41:36feature called glycoprotein.

01:41:38It helps them stay in their home

01:41:40because it acts as sort of a natural

01:41:42antifreeze. It's a protein

01:41:44that prevents all those ice crystals

01:41:46from forming in their blood and helps

01:41:48it continue to flow normally.

01:41:50Have you ever wondered how tiny

01:41:52animals like ants breathe?

01:41:54Try to open your mouth and throat,

01:41:56but at the same time, hold your

01:41:58chest and diaphragm still.

01:42:00The diaphragm is a muscular

01:42:02structure that separates the chest

01:42:04and abdominal cavities in all mammals.

01:42:06It expands as you breathe.

01:42:08If you can't do this,

01:42:10you can't hold your breath, because

01:42:12oxygen will still find its way into

01:42:14your lungs. At least, enough of

01:42:16it to keep up with your body's demands.

01:42:18But generally, when you

01:42:20breathe, diaphragm is actively

01:42:22pumping air in and out of your

01:42:24body. To survive without the

01:42:26diaphragm doing so, you'd need

01:42:28more than one throat and a way

01:42:30smaller body. Now,

01:42:32ants have 9 or 10 pairs

01:42:34of openings along the sides of their

01:42:36tiny bodies. They're called

01:42:38spiracles, and each is connected

01:42:40to branching series of tubes.

01:42:42It's a system similar to human lungs.

01:42:44Their blood doesn't carry oxygen

01:42:46from those tubes to the rest of the

01:42:48body. Instead, the tubes

01:42:50spread this oxygen. The endings

01:42:52of these branches directly touch

01:42:54the membranes of their cells.

01:42:56This can only work in really

01:42:58small animals. When the body

01:43:00is bigger than 8 tenths of an inch,

01:43:02these tubes are too long, so

01:43:04they can't diffuse air fast enough.

01:43:06There are a couple of

01:43:08reasons why giraffes have long necks,

01:43:10which, by the way, can

01:43:12grow up to be 6 and a half feet

01:43:14long. From first glance,

01:43:16it seems evolution gave them those

01:43:18to reach the sweetest topmost

01:43:20leaves of the trees. It's

01:43:22exclusive access other animals

01:43:24can only dream of, so giraffes

01:43:26don't have to compete for the best

01:43:28bites. But, over time,

01:43:30researchers realized

01:43:32it's not the only reason.

01:43:34They also think the neck could be a good

01:43:36factor when male giraffes go into

01:43:38combat. The same as male

01:43:40antelopes will use their prongs

01:43:42or when a stag uses its

01:43:44antlers. The thicker the neck,

01:43:46the bigger the chances to win the

01:43:48combat. Some insects

01:43:50play possum when there's a predator

01:43:52nearby. For instance, in

01:43:54one research, scientists have observed

01:43:56an antlion larva insect.

01:43:58It played possum for

01:44:0061 minutes. How does this even

01:44:02help? Well, let's

01:44:04say you're in a garden where you see a bunch of

01:44:06identical bushes with soft fruit.

01:44:08You go to the first bush and start

01:44:10collecting and eating fruits. Mmm,

01:44:12yummy! It's so simple!

01:44:14And you're doing it relatively fast.

01:44:16But, as you strip that bush,

01:44:18it's getting harder for you to find

01:44:20more fruits. Plus, it's kind of

01:44:22irritating because it takes way more

01:44:24time now than at the beginning.

01:44:26So, now, you need to decide

01:44:28whether to stay there and try to find

01:44:30more, or simply switch to another

01:44:32bush to have it all easy and

01:44:34fast once again.

01:44:36Assuming you are the predator, and

01:44:38predators are greedy, you'll just look

01:44:40for ways to eat as much fruit as possible

01:44:42in the shortest period of time.

01:44:44This means you'll go on and start

01:44:46collecting fruits from another bush,

01:44:48and the next one, and so on.

01:44:50Researchers use the same

01:44:52logic when it comes to bird and

01:44:54antlion larva. It appears

01:44:56that insects waste the predator's

01:44:58time when playing possum, which

01:45:00has a significant impact on how things

01:45:02go later. That way,

01:45:04they encourage the predator to look for

01:45:06food elsewhere, because the predator

01:45:08doesn't have that much time to waste.

01:45:10So, pretending to be not

01:45:12alive is actually a good way

01:45:14to stay alive. Depending

01:45:16on the species, young birds

01:45:18spend from 10 to 30 days in

01:45:20their eggs. There's no air inside,

01:45:22but Mother Nature created a

01:45:24perfect mechanism for them to still

01:45:26be able to breathe. As a

01:45:28young chick is developing inside the

01:45:30egg, it grows some kind of hollow

01:45:32sac-like structure from the gut.

01:45:34It's like a tiny pouch

01:45:36that fuses with a second membrane

01:45:38that goes around the chick and

01:45:40its yolk. So, one end

01:45:42is attached to the chick, while the

01:45:44other is close to the inner surface of

01:45:46the eggshell. That way,

01:45:48this special membrane acts like lung

01:45:50tissue and connects the outside

01:45:52world with the chick's circulatory system.

01:45:54Most animals have

01:45:56two eyes, but some species

01:45:58need more. For example,

01:46:00some reptiles, amphibians,

01:46:02and fish have a third eye

01:46:04on top of the head. It's not

01:46:06something that improves their vision that much,

01:46:08but it simply helps them navigate

01:46:10via the sunlight and regulate

01:46:12their body temperature.

01:46:14Many invertebrates have more than

01:46:16two eyes. Most spiders have

01:46:18eight of them because that way, they

01:46:20can spot their prey easier.

01:46:24Fail.

01:46:26What a waste of an hour running around

01:46:28with a rolled-up newspaper trying to

01:46:30get that fly that keeps buzzing around

01:46:32your head. Well, three things.

01:46:34Why isn't it afraid of you?

01:46:36And why won't it just fly away?

01:46:38And how is it so

01:46:40incredibly fast? Flies actually

01:46:42have a pretty normal speed for their size.

01:46:44You're just a bit too slow.

01:46:46A tiny

01:46:48fly brain reacts several times faster

01:46:50than yours to what it sees.

01:46:52One second to the fly feels like

01:46:54five or six to you.

01:46:56When a fly looks at you, it sees

01:46:58you as if you're hanging out at the bottom

01:47:00of your local pool, moving around

01:47:02really slowly. What if

01:47:04you dropped a balloon from your bedroom window

01:47:06and watched it fall to the ground?

01:47:08That's how slow a fly

01:47:10sees regular things fall.

01:47:12So it has ninja reaction

01:47:14speeds, but it also has special

01:47:16eyes. They're divided into

01:47:18thousands of receptors that capture

01:47:20light all at the same time.

01:47:22You use small muscles to turn

01:47:24your eyes and head around to look in different

01:47:26directions. Flies don't have these

01:47:28muscles. They don't need them.

01:47:30They can see in every direction at the same

01:47:32time almost. No matter

01:47:34what side you attack from, that

01:47:36fly's almost definitely gonna see

01:47:38it coming.

01:47:40You've probably seen supersonic planes in the

01:47:42movies, turning and flipping around

01:47:44at warp speed. A fly's

01:47:46kinda like that, but with way

01:47:48cooler wings. It can change directions

01:47:50mid-flight, stop, and

01:47:52dodge any obstacles. It can

01:47:54even calculate a flight strategy before

01:47:56it takes off. Well, this

01:47:58time you're really gonna swap that

01:48:00fly. As you raise your rolled-up

01:48:02paper, the insect's brain calculates

01:48:04where it's gonna land.

01:48:06The fly immediately puts its body in

01:48:08the perfect position, ready to perform

01:48:10an evasive maneuver.

01:48:12If your hand moves in front of the insect,

01:48:14its legs immediately tilt backwards

01:48:16to help it fly off in the

01:48:18other direction. Wow, that fly

01:48:20would make a great boxer. Or

01:48:22soccer goalie. So why

01:48:24does that fly even bother sticking

01:48:26around? You're always trying to squish

01:48:28it. Well, because your body

01:48:30is a 5-star feast, and your skin

01:48:32is the buffet table, with row

01:48:34upon row of tasty treats.

01:48:36As you move about

01:48:38your day, your skin releases

01:48:40sweat, proteins, carbs,

01:48:42salt, sugar, and all other

01:48:44chemicals that flies are crazy about.

01:48:46Imagine you're hungry

01:48:48and thirsty, walking through a desert.

01:48:50You come over a tall sand dune

01:48:52and see it. Free food!

01:48:54Tables of fruit, candy,

01:48:56sandwiches, and the world's biggest

01:48:58soda fountain. The bouncer looks

01:49:00big, tough, round.

01:49:02It's a giant slow turtle.

01:49:04Now you know why the fly

01:49:06sticks around. You're the turtle.

01:49:08You actually do have a chance

01:49:10to get that fly. But it's still

01:49:12going to get away 8 times

01:49:14out of 10. Say a fly

01:49:16is sitting on your kitchen table. Here's what you

01:49:18do. You need to aim a few inches

01:49:20in front of where you think it's gonna fly to.

01:49:22The fly brain will think you're

01:49:24aiming right at it, so you can actually

01:49:26outwit the fly and take it by

01:49:28surprise. The problem?

01:49:30It's really hard to predict the fly's

01:49:32escape route. So

01:49:34you're too slow. How about calling

01:49:36in some backup? Meet the

01:49:38tiger beetle. Speed? 8

01:49:40feet per second. It can't fly,

01:49:42but that doesn't matter. This

01:49:44beetle runs so fast, it loses

01:49:46the ability to see while it's moving.

01:49:48It aims itself

01:49:50at a target and then runs.

01:49:52It's not a ninja like the fly,

01:49:54and it can't change directions mid-sprint.

01:49:56It has to stop before

01:49:58each run. You walk it

01:50:00around 4.5 feet per second,

01:50:02so the beetle goes like twice

01:50:04your speed. But for its size,

01:50:06it's incredibly fast.

01:50:08It runs 125 lengths

01:50:10of its body in one second.

01:50:12Now, say you're 6 feet tall.

01:50:14You have to run 750

01:50:16feet in one second.

01:50:18As long as it's on the same surface as

01:50:20that pesky fly, the fly

01:50:22doesn't stand a chance. Or

01:50:24maybe it's time to call in

01:50:26air support. The dragonfly

01:50:28is the fastest flying insect in the world.

01:50:30This little creature can reach

01:50:3235 miles per hour.

01:50:34That's faster than you riding your bike

01:50:36down a steep hill. The dragonfly's

01:50:38wings also allow it to fly

01:50:40back, right, left,

01:50:42up and down, just like a

01:50:44helicopter. Doesn't matter how

01:50:46fast the fly moves, it's pretty

01:50:48much game over.

01:50:50Flies, dragonflies, and

01:50:52tiger beetles are fast because

01:50:54they don't want to spend a lot of extra time

01:50:56out in the open. There are a lot of

01:50:58hungry creatures around.

01:51:00But there's one insect that runs fast

01:51:02because if it's stopped...

01:51:04Ouch! To meet a speedy

01:51:06silver ant, you need to go to the

01:51:08Sahara Desert. The sand here

01:51:10is so hot, you could fry an

01:51:12egg on it. Mmm, sandy!

01:51:14That's why the silver ant

01:51:16speeds at around 2.5 feet per second.

01:51:18It doesn't want to burn its feet.

01:51:20It also has triangle-shaped

01:51:22hair that reflects heat,

01:51:24helping the ant escape the scorching sun.

01:51:26If that

01:51:28ant were human-sized, it could run

01:51:30at 400 miles per hour,

01:51:32faster than the fastest car in the world.

01:51:34There's another ant that holds

01:51:36a speed record. The dracula ant

01:51:38can't run as fast as the silver ant,

01:51:40but it has the fastest mouth

01:51:42in the world, um, other than me.

01:51:44It can open and close its jaws

01:51:465,000 times,

01:51:48all in the blink of an eye. Literally.

01:51:50How about another fast one,

01:51:52this time a bit closer to home,

01:51:54or in it? The American

01:51:56cockroach can hide in the walls

01:51:58behind the stove pretty much

01:52:00anywhere. It's almost impossible

01:52:02to catch. It can run 5

01:52:04feet per second. That's because

01:52:06of its six legs. Each one

01:52:08has three knees. Its legs

01:52:10are covered with small hairs that

01:52:12can't sense any change in the air.

01:52:14That's why it reacts so fast

01:52:16when you walk into the kitchen and turn the light

01:52:18on. And

01:52:20the world record for fastest creature

01:52:22on land is the size of

01:52:24a sesame seed. It's a type of

01:52:26mite, and it can move at

01:52:28322 body lengths per second.

01:52:30If you zap the

01:52:32mite to turn it to human size,

01:52:34it could go almost two times

01:52:36faster than the speed of sound.

01:52:38The mite can even change direction

01:52:40while moving. That makes it the fastest,

01:52:42most elusive creature on the

01:52:44planet. But let's find

01:52:46some animals that actually make us feel

01:52:48good about ourselves. The garden

01:52:50snail. It belongs to the

01:52:52mollusk family, and it likes to take

01:52:54its sweet time. If you

01:52:56were moving at snail speed, you'd

01:52:58take two steps every two

01:53:00hours. But snails

01:53:02don't care. They've been around

01:53:04for hundreds of millions of years.

01:53:06Snails use their shell for

01:53:08protection, but they have other tricks

01:53:10too. Some snails give off a

01:53:12nasty smell so that no one

01:53:14bothers them. If

01:53:16it gets too hot and dry, snails

01:53:18hide in their shells and seal

01:53:20themselves in using that cool

01:53:22slime they make. That slime

01:53:24also helps them climb up trees.

01:53:26Sloths are the slowest

01:53:28mammals on the planet.

01:53:30Thanks to their slow metabolism,

01:53:32food can take up to 16 days

01:53:34to get digested. Wouldn't be

01:53:36that hard to catch up to one of them,

01:53:38but their slowness actually helps them.

01:53:40You know how in the movies they say

01:53:42stop, don't make any sudden

01:53:44movements? Well, a sloth has that

01:53:46part down cold. Other animals

01:53:48simply don't notice them up there

01:53:50among the leaves.

01:53:52Manatees are one of the slowest

01:53:54sea creatures, but they're not too

01:53:56worried about anyone messing with them,

01:53:58except for humans in motorboats.

01:54:00They are huge, and they have thick,

01:54:02thick skin. It's like a sea

01:54:04tank, but way cuter.

01:54:06Another slow swimmer is

01:54:08the Greenland shark. It swims

01:54:10at less than one mile per hour.

01:54:12Like the manatee, it's large

01:54:14and in charge. No one's

01:54:16likely to challenge it face to face,

01:54:18but this all leads to the most

01:54:20hilarious snacking technique ever.

01:54:22The Greenland shark is basically

01:54:24slower than every single fish

01:54:26in the water. The only chance it

01:54:28has is to wait for some of those

01:54:30fish to fall asleep. Then

01:54:32it's snack time.

01:54:34The cool thing is that their easygoing

01:54:36lifestyle actually prolongs their

01:54:38life. The average lifespan

01:54:40of a Greenland shark is

01:54:42300 to 500 years.

01:54:44They live in the North Atlantic and

01:54:46Arctic Oceans.

01:54:48Imagine you're on a cruise, and you

01:54:50see one of these slow-motion giants.

01:54:52It might be 400 years

01:54:54older than you.

01:54:56Now, sloths

01:54:58can hold their breath longer than

01:55:00dolphins. Yep, incredible

01:55:02but true. They slow their heart

01:55:04rate so much, they can stay under

01:55:06the surface for up to 40 minutes.

01:55:08Unlike fish, dolphins

01:55:10and whales are aquatic mammals,

01:55:12which means they can't breathe underwater.

01:55:14When it comes to breathing, they're

01:55:16more similar to us than the fish.

01:55:18Both of them have lungs, and they

01:55:20breathe air through something we know

01:55:22as a blowhole. When they're under

01:55:24the surface, they hold their breath

01:55:26until they come up for some air again.

01:55:28Dolphins can stay under the water for

01:55:3010 minutes. A sperm whale can

01:55:32hold its breath for 90 minutes,

01:55:34while an elephant seal holds the record

01:55:36when it comes to aquatic mammals

01:55:38and can stay under the water for 2

01:55:40hours without having to go up.

01:55:42There's a wasp so

01:55:44tiny, much tinier than its

01:55:46name, it's smaller than an amoeba,

01:55:48even though amoebas are made of

01:55:50one cell only. You can see

01:55:52this wasp has the same body parts

01:55:54as the rest of the bugs – wings,

01:55:56brain, eyes, and the rest – but

01:55:58it's really a tiny version of

01:56:00an insect since it's only

01:56:028 thousandths of an inch long.

01:56:04And the smallest adult insect

01:56:06we know of is a parasitic

01:56:08wasp with a big name, also

01:56:10known as the fairy fly.

01:56:12Their males don't have wings,

01:56:14they're blind, and only 5 thousandths

01:56:16of an inch long.

01:56:18It's no coincidence each animal

01:56:20species has different colors and patterns.

01:56:22One of the reasons for that

01:56:24is to help them stand out when looking

01:56:26for their potential mating partners

01:56:28or to send a warning to predators

01:56:30they're poisonous and hope they get

01:56:32the message right. Then, there

01:56:34are ambush predators, such as

01:56:36tigers. It's very important for them

01:56:38to remain invisible because

01:56:40the difference is huge. If their prey

01:56:42sees them before they get there,

01:56:44no dinner that night.

01:56:46But why exactly are tigers orange?

01:56:48For us, orange is

01:56:50a color used for things that need to be

01:56:52ultra-visible. For example,

01:56:54items such as safety vests

01:56:56or traffic cones.

01:56:58To the human eye, orange will mostly

01:57:00stand out in the environment.

01:57:02So, if there's a tiger coming for you,

01:57:04you'll spot it relatively easily.

01:57:06But humans have so-called

01:57:08trichromatic color vision.

01:57:10When light from your surroundings enters

01:57:12your eye, it hits the retina,

01:57:14a thin layer located in the back.

01:57:16To process that light, the retina

01:57:18uses two kinds of light receptors,

01:57:20rods and cones.

01:57:22Rods can only distinguish differences

01:57:24in light and darkness.

01:57:26They can't sense color.

01:57:28Our eyes will mostly rely on rods

01:57:30in dim light. Cones are

01:57:32in charge of color perception.

01:57:34Humans mostly have three types.

01:57:36Cones for green, blue, and red.

01:57:38That's exactly why we call our vision

01:57:40trichromatic.

01:57:42Most humans see three primary colors

01:57:44together with their colorful combinations.

01:57:46Apes and some monkeys

01:57:48also have such a style of vision.

01:57:50But most mammals

01:57:52that live on land, including cats,

01:57:54horses, deer, and dogs,

01:57:56have dichromatic color vision.

01:57:58Retinas in their eyes have cones

01:58:00for two colors only, green and blue.

01:58:02When humans get information

01:58:04from their green and blue cones only,

01:58:06they're considered colorblind

01:58:08since they can't, for example,

01:58:10tell the difference between green and red

01:58:12shades. This is similar with

01:58:14mammals that live on land.

01:58:16Deer are surely tigers'

01:58:18prey way more than humans,

01:58:20and deer don't see tigers as orange

01:58:22but green. Green

01:58:24tigers would surely be more difficult

01:58:26to spot, which would mean

01:58:28more dinner for tigers.

01:58:30But evolution still decided to go

01:58:32with orange because it's simply easier

01:58:34to produce such a color.

01:58:36The only green mammal is a sloth,

01:58:38but its fur is not naturally green.

01:58:40It's because of the algae

01:58:42that grows in it, and they can hold

01:58:44their breath for 40 minutes.

01:58:46The water around the poles can get

01:58:48very cold during certain periods

01:58:50of the year. There's plenty of fish

01:58:52that live there, but when that happens,

01:58:54they need to swim away to survive.

01:58:56But there's a special

01:58:58group of fish native to the

01:59:00southern ocean near Antarctica.

01:59:02The temperatures there are from

01:59:0428 to 39 degrees Fahrenheit.

01:59:06Technically, that's below freezing,

01:59:08but all those dissolved salts

01:59:10in the seawater don't allow it

01:59:12to freeze over. And these fish

01:59:14can survive because they have a special

01:59:16feature called glycoprotein.

01:59:18It helps them stay in their home

01:59:20because it acts as sort of a natural

01:59:22antifreeze. It's a protein

01:59:24that prevents all those ice crystals

01:59:26from forming in their blood and

01:59:28helps it continue to flow normally.

01:59:30Have you ever wondered how

01:59:32tiny animals like ants breathe?

01:59:34Try to open your mouth and throat,

01:59:36but at the same time, hold

01:59:38your chest and diaphragm still.

01:59:40The diaphragm is a muscular

01:59:42structure that separates the chest

01:59:44and abdominal cavities in all mammals.

01:59:46It expands as you breathe.

01:59:48If you can't do this,

01:59:50you can't hold your breath because

01:59:52oxygen will still find its way

01:59:54into your lungs, at least enough

01:59:56of it to keep up with your body's demands.

01:59:58But generally, when you

02:00:00breathe, diaphragm is actively

02:00:02pumping air in and out of

02:00:04your body. To survive without

02:00:06the diaphragm doing so, you'd need

02:00:08more than one throat and a

02:00:10way smaller body.

02:00:12Now, ants have 9 or 10

02:00:14pairs of openings along the sides of

02:00:16their tiny bodies. They're called

02:00:18spiracles, and each is connected

02:00:20to branching series of tubes.

02:00:22It's a system similar to human

02:00:24lungs. Their blood doesn't carry

02:00:26oxygen from those tubes to the rest

02:00:28of the body. Instead, the tubes

02:00:30spread this oxygen.

02:00:32The endings of these branches directly

02:00:34touch the membranes of their cells.

02:00:36This can only work in really

02:00:38small animals. When the body

02:00:40is bigger than 8 tenths of an inch,

02:00:42these tubes are too long,

02:00:44so they can't diffuse air fast enough.

02:00:46There are a couple

02:00:48of reasons why giraffes have long

02:00:50necks, which, by the way,

02:00:52can grow up to be 6 and a half

02:00:54feet long. From first glance,

02:00:56it seems evolution gave them

02:00:58those to reach the sweetest, topmost

02:01:00leaves of the trees.

02:01:02It's exclusive access other animals

02:01:04can only dream of, so giraffes

02:01:06don't have to compete for the best

02:01:08bites. But, over time,

02:01:10researchers realized

02:01:12it's not the only reason.

02:01:14They also think the neck could be a good

02:01:16factor when male giraffes go into

02:01:18combat. The same as male

02:01:20antelopes will use their prongs

02:01:22or when a stag uses its

02:01:24antlers. The thicker the neck,

02:01:26the bigger the chances to win the

02:01:28combat. Some insects

02:01:30play possum when there's a predator

02:01:32nearby. For instance,

02:01:34in one research, scientists have

02:01:36observed an antlion larva

02:01:38insect. It played possum

02:01:40for 61 minutes. How does this

02:01:42even help? Well,

02:01:44let's say you're in a garden where you see a bunch

02:01:46of identical bushes with soft fruit.

02:01:48You go to the first bush and

02:01:50start collecting and eating fruits.

02:01:52Mmm, yummy! It's so simple!

02:01:54And you're doing it relatively fast.

02:01:56But as you strip that

02:01:58bush, it's getting harder for you to

02:02:00find more fruits. Plus, it's

02:02:02kind of irritating because it takes way

02:02:04more time now than at the beginning.

02:02:06So now, you need to decide

02:02:08whether to stay there and try to

02:02:10find more, or simply switch

02:02:12to another bush to have it all easy

02:02:14and fast once again.

02:02:16Assuming you are the predator,

02:02:18and predators are greedy, you'll just

02:02:20look for ways to eat as much fruit as

02:02:22possible in the shortest period of time.

02:02:24This means you'll go on and start

02:02:26collecting fruits from another bush

02:02:28and the next one, and so on.

02:02:30Researchers use the same

02:02:32logic when it comes to bird and

02:02:34antline larvae. It appears

02:02:36that insects waste the predator's

02:02:38time when playing possum,

02:02:40which has a significant impact on how

02:02:42things go later. That way,

02:02:44they encourage the predator to look

02:02:46for food elsewhere, because the predator

02:02:48doesn't have that much time to waste.

02:02:50So, pretending to be

02:02:52not alive is actually a good way

02:02:54to stay alive.

02:02:56Depending on the species, young birds

02:02:58spend from 10 to 30 days

02:03:00in their eggs. There's no air inside,

02:03:02but Mother Nature created

02:03:04a perfect mechanism for them to still

02:03:06be able to breathe.

02:03:08As a young chick is developing inside

02:03:10the egg, it grows some kind of

02:03:12hollow sac-like structure from

02:03:14the gut. It's like a tiny

02:03:16pouch that fuses with a second

02:03:18membrane that goes around the chick

02:03:20and its yolk. So,

02:03:22one end is attached to the chick,

02:03:24while the other is close to the inner surface

02:03:26of the eggshell. That way,

02:03:28this special membrane acts like

02:03:30lung tissue and connects the outside

02:03:32world with the chick's circulatory

02:03:34system. Most animals

02:03:36have two eyes, but some species

02:03:38need more. For example,

02:03:40some reptiles, amphibians,

02:03:42and fish have a third

02:03:44eye on top of the head.

02:03:46It's not something that improves their vision

02:03:48that much, but it simply helps

02:03:50them navigate via the sunlight

02:03:52and regulate their body temperature.

02:03:54Many invertebrates have more

02:03:56than two eyes. Most spiders

02:03:58have eight of them because that way

02:04:00they can spot their prey easier.

02:04:02Okay, let's

02:04:04face it, we humans are pretty

02:04:06ordinary. I mean, we're no superheroes

02:04:08with superpowers, right?

02:04:10What, you didn't get the memo? But the

02:04:12animal world has a bunch of superheroes.

02:04:14Some creatures live forever,

02:04:16and those who seem to not care

02:04:18about the laws of gravity, critters

02:04:20that are immune to venom, and those

02:04:22that can run on water. And some

02:04:24of them will send shivers down your spine.

02:04:26So the first superpower

02:04:28on the list is the ability to live

02:04:30without water. Kangaroo

02:04:32rats can get by without water

02:04:34for years. They actually don't

02:04:36mind living without any water.

02:04:38Humans, on the other hand, can only

02:04:40survive three days without water.

02:04:42Human zero, kangaroo rats

02:04:44one. These little buddies live

02:04:46in extremely arid desert areas

02:04:48and have to get water from the seeds

02:04:50and plants they eat. And although

02:04:52it may sound a bit disturbing,

02:04:54kangaroo rats also know how to

02:04:56extract water from their urine

02:04:58before they set off on a bathroom

02:05:00trip. This way, they don't waste

02:05:02a single drop of precious moisture.

02:05:04Well, that would come in handy

02:05:06at sporting events.

02:05:08Now let me introduce you to the Peter Parker

02:05:10of the animal world. Yep,

02:05:12seems like Spider-Man is real,

02:05:14but not human. Meet a

02:05:16gecko lizard, or simply gecko.

02:05:18This critter has a marvelous

02:05:20ability to climb up all kinds of

02:05:22vertical surfaces and can even

02:05:24go for a walk on the ceiling.

02:05:26This gravity-defying feat is

02:05:28possible thanks to the lizard's

02:05:30unique foot pads covered with tiny

02:05:32hairs. They can cling to almost

02:05:34any kind of surface, no matter

02:05:36whether it's smooth, hard, rough,

02:05:38or soft. One more fun fact

02:05:40about these guys is that they lack

02:05:42eyelids. So they always

02:05:44keep an eye wide open for what's

02:05:46going on around them. If you wonder

02:05:48how they keep their eyes protected,

02:05:50here's the answer. Their eyes are

02:05:52covered with a transparent membrane,

02:05:54the cornea. Sure thing, they

02:05:56can't close their eyes, and if they have

02:05:58something in their eye, they simply lick

02:06:00it off. Right, they clean

02:06:02their eyeballs by licking them.

02:06:04I guess that's another superpower.

02:06:06Any supersonic

02:06:08superpowers here? Sure.

02:06:10A one-inch long subtropical

02:06:12shrimp disorients its

02:06:14prey with a sonic

02:06:16boom. Despite its modest size,

02:06:18the pistol shrimp is one of

02:06:20the loudest marine animals.

02:06:22When the shrimp snaps its claws,

02:06:24it creates a sound as loud as a

02:06:26sonic boom. Naturally, this

02:06:28sound stuns the prey, and the shrimp

02:06:30can catch it without too much effort.

02:06:32Now, in the comic

02:06:34world, there's Venom. In the

02:06:36animal world, there's a guy that can be

02:06:38called Anti-Venom.

02:06:40Opossums are known for their handy trick

02:06:42of pretending to have passed away

02:06:44when a predator attacks them.

02:06:46But that's not the end of the story.

02:06:48These guys are also immune to

02:06:50rattlesnake and pit viper venom.

02:06:52The secret is a peptide that helps

02:06:54opossums neutralize dangerous chemicals.

02:06:56This is the reason why snakes

02:06:58are a favorite treat on opossums' diet.

02:07:00There's one curious thing

02:07:02they have on their diet – ticks.

02:07:04One opossum can hoover up

02:07:06about 5,000 ticks per season,

02:07:08and most of them are picked off their

02:07:10own bodies.

02:07:12Now, imagine a fish that is

02:07:14so notorious that it's called

02:07:16a dangerous fish. It's Mabenga,

02:07:18and it literally translates

02:07:20to dangerous fish in Swahili.

02:07:22This monster lives in freshwater

02:07:24and doesn't mind having a crocodile

02:07:26for lunch. Not a whole

02:07:28crocodile, but Mabenga can take

02:07:30a bite out of them. But to be honest,

02:07:32these guys are intimidated by

02:07:34the crocodiles the same way the crocs

02:07:36are intimidated by them.

02:07:38Now, you're watching this video on

02:07:40some gadget, right? Well, we

02:07:42all owe the gadgets we have

02:07:44to the electric eels in some way.

02:07:46I mean, all gadgets have

02:07:48batteries, and eels contributed

02:07:50a lot to the invention of an electric

02:07:52battery back in 1800.

02:07:54I know, I know, the batteries

02:07:56have unrecognizably changed since

02:07:58then, but still, the first

02:08:00electric battery ever was

02:08:02invented thanks to electric eels.

02:08:04Anyway, if you see one of them

02:08:06and want to thank them for their magnificent

02:08:08invention, don't do that.

02:08:10Thing is, they can deliver shocks

02:08:12up to 860 volts.

02:08:14You don't want to experience that.

02:08:16Now, let's talk

02:08:18about the Count Dracula of the

02:08:20animal kingdom. Nope, I'm

02:08:22not talking about bats. I'm

02:08:24talking about the fanged vampire fish.

02:08:26These fish are known as payara

02:08:28and have two long fangs

02:08:30protruding from their lower jaw.

02:08:32Here's why some people associate them

02:08:34with vampires.

02:08:36Hippos are the beauty gurus

02:08:38since they know how to save a fortune

02:08:40on skincare. Living under

02:08:42the harsh African sun,

02:08:44these animals secrete a sweat-like

02:08:46red oily substance that

02:08:48evaporates and keeps the animal's

02:08:50bodies cool. Besides,

02:08:52the fluid works as a moisturizer,

02:08:54sunscreen, and antibiotic

02:08:56all in one. But they're not the

02:08:58only ones with such a superpower.

02:09:00Mantis shrimp know how to produce

02:09:02natural sunscreen too, but they

02:09:04use it for eye protection. It's

02:09:06all about amino acid pigments,

02:09:08and these pigments act as special

02:09:10filters that contribute to their

02:09:12sharp vision too. That's what I call

02:09:14multitasking.

02:09:16Meerkats have dark patches

02:09:18around their eyes which make them

02:09:20look even cuter. But these

02:09:22black circles aren't there just to make

02:09:24these buddies more adorable.

02:09:26They also function as built-in sunglasses.

02:09:28The dark fur on the patches

02:09:30blocks the blazing sun,

02:09:32and as a result, meerkats

02:09:34can gaze directly at the sky.

02:09:36On top of that, the sentry,

02:09:38a meerkat that watches out for

02:09:40birds and other predators, can easily

02:09:42see danger coming and alert its

02:09:44mates.

02:09:46Wild goats are famous for their

02:09:48climbing skills, but the alpine

02:09:50ibex from northern Italy is

02:09:52the champion. This critter can

02:09:54climb nearly any vertical surface,

02:09:56defying several physical laws in the

02:09:58process. Interestingly,

02:10:00the animals that do walk on the steepest

02:10:02cliff walls are typically

02:10:04mother goats with their little ones.

02:10:06Large males prefer to keep their distance

02:10:08and use flat horizontal surfaces.

02:10:10Eh, smart guys.

02:10:12Some animals protect

02:10:14themselves with venom or nasty

02:10:16bites, while others use

02:10:18chemical tricks for protection.

02:10:20Listen to this. Some species

02:10:22of millipedes produce hydrogen

02:10:24cyanide and exude it

02:10:26when they feel threatened. Hydrogen

02:10:28cyanide is odorless, but

02:10:30highly toxic. One little

02:10:32millipede can't seriously hurt you,

02:10:34but you may have burns or even

02:10:36blisters if your skin is sensitive.

02:10:38Plus, to make the picture even

02:10:40scarier, some millipedes

02:10:42glow in the dark. So,

02:10:44watch out, and if you see a crawling

02:10:46spot of light at night, run

02:10:48away as fast as you can.

02:10:50When the bombardier beetle

02:10:52feels threatened, it sprays

02:10:54scorching liquid from the tip of its

02:10:56abdomen with a loud popping sound.

02:10:58As soon as the beetle senses

02:11:00danger, a chemical reaction starts

02:11:02in special reservoirs in its

02:11:04abdomen. The heat from this process

02:11:06nearly reaches the boiling point

02:11:08and also produces special gas

02:11:10that triggers the ejection.

02:11:12This super protection is usually fatal

02:11:14for the attacking insects.

02:11:16I guess so.

02:11:18Plumed basculus lizards have

02:11:20an uncanny ability to run

02:11:22on water. First of all,

02:11:24their hind feet are equipped with long

02:11:26toes which have fringes of skin

02:11:28that can spread out in the water.

02:11:30As a result, a bigger surface

02:11:32of the lizard's foot comes into contact

02:11:34with water. Then, when it runs

02:11:36on water, it pumps its legs

02:11:38incredibly fast. This creates

02:11:40little pockets of air that prevent the

02:11:42animal from drowning by keeping it on

02:11:44the surface.

02:11:46Fleas can be annoying, but it doesn't

02:11:48make them any less amazing.

02:11:50These tiny critters can leap about

02:11:5250 times their body length.

02:11:54If people could do the same, we would

02:11:56be jumping about a quarter of a mile

02:11:58into the air. Well, let's try it!

02:12:00The most curious thing

02:12:02about fleas' astonishing ability

02:12:04is that they take most of the power

02:12:06for leaps from their toes, not

02:12:08knees. So, what's

02:12:10your favorite animal superpower?

02:12:12I vote for the kangaroo rat.

02:12:14I don't like standing in lines

02:12:16for the bathroom.

02:12:18That's it for today!

02:12:20So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity,

02:12:22then give the video a like

02:12:24and share it with your friends. Or if you want

02:12:26more, just click on these videos and stay

02:12:28on the Bright Side!

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