70 Rare Animal Facts That Will Make You Go 'Really'?

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Transcript

00:00:00Lions, elephants, and bears, oh my!

00:00:03Three of the most beautiful, yet intimidating members of the animal kingdom.

00:00:07But what intimidates these creatures, if anything?

00:00:11You might be surprised. Let's take a look.

00:00:14How about we start with the universally recognized king of the jungle, the lion.

00:00:19We'll get to the elephants in a moment, but there's actually one in the room.

00:00:24You know, the one that claims that a certain jungle cat

00:00:27is afraid of the most vital substance known to man.

00:00:30A small hint, it covers 70% of Earth's surface.

00:00:34So, is it true? Is the ferocious lion afraid of water?

00:00:38It's actually a myth.

00:00:40Lions enjoy taking a dip in the water because it allows them to cool off.

00:00:45This makes sense if you think about the climates the creatures have to face.

00:00:49Temperatures in a savanna climate range from 68 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

00:00:55You know all of us humans hit the beach whenever the weather is like that.

00:00:59So, why should we expect anything different from the lion?

00:01:02Especially given that the creatures typically carry around between 280 and 420 pounds of weight,

00:01:08as well as a thick coat of fur.

00:01:11The ironic thing about this whole lions are afraid of water myth,

00:01:15is that they're actually fantastic swimmers.

00:01:18The same goes for all of your other favorite large cats from these warm weather climates,

00:01:22such as tigers, leopards, jaguars, and ocelots.

00:01:27It's actually large cats from cold climates that do their best to avoid water.

00:01:31This applies to such felines as bobcats, lynxes, and snow leopards.

00:01:36The latter lives in places like the cold alpine tundra biome.

00:01:40That's a rocky mountainous area.

00:01:42Temperatures there, on average, get as low as 33 degrees Fahrenheit.

00:01:48Again, it makes perfect sense that these big cold weather cats despise water.

00:01:53Getting their fur coats wet would dampen their chances of staying warm, pun intended.

00:01:59I don't think you have to look too far to piece together where this lions are afraid of water myth comes from.

00:02:05In fact, there's a good chance for some of you watching this video,

00:02:09that the reason is near your computer screen right now.

00:02:12Jumping around and causing mischief.

00:02:14That's right, we may have jumped ourselves to a conclusion

00:02:18that certain behavioral aspects of our own pet cats would match that of a lion.

00:02:24House cats, though related to all the previously mentioned big cats,

00:02:28are not actually directly descended from them.

00:02:31They instead have developed over millions of years from a single wild ancestor

00:02:35that still exists in the wild today, the Near Eastern Wildcat.

00:02:40As water is not plentiful in the Middle East,

00:02:43these cats were not exposed to it to any great degree.

00:02:46Like their descendants, they only appreciate it as a food source.

00:02:51As you likely see with your pet, they hardly bathe, swim, or interact with water in general.

00:02:57Lucky for them, they don't even need to.

00:03:00These domestic felines use their tongues to clean themselves.

00:03:03They can do this because their tongues have tiny hook-shaped papillae.

00:03:08They assist cats in grooming out knots,

00:03:10and keeping the coat clean, sweet-smelling, and in overall immaculate shape.

00:03:16Cats, in general, are individualistic creatures.

00:03:19And you may be screaming at your screen right now

00:03:22proclaiming that your cat, in fact, loves water.

00:03:25And this is definitely possible.

00:03:27Some cats even like to play with water.

00:03:30For example, drips from the tap or bubbles in the bath.

00:03:34There are specific breeds of house cats that are known to enjoy the aqua life more than others.

00:03:40The Turkish Van, for example, which is also appropriately known as the swimming cat.

00:03:46It's believed that the breed developed an affinity for water

00:03:49by swimming in Lake Van to cool down.

00:03:52This lake is in the area the animals evolved from.

00:03:56Moving on to a problem a cat definitely doesn't have to deal with.

00:04:00Have you ever heard of Musophobia, also known as Suriphobia?

00:04:05Both words are valid names for a fear of mice and rats.

00:04:10There is a common belief that one particular animal that has this fear is the beautiful elephant.

00:04:16That's right, the same animal that, depending on the species,

00:04:19stands at the height of roughly 10 feet and weighs about 9,000 pounds.

00:04:24It's supposedly afraid of a creature that is a mere 4 inches in length

00:04:28and weighs less than 1 pound.

00:04:31But why did this belief appear?

00:04:33Well, the reasoning for this rumor is based on the possibility

00:04:37that elephants are paranoid about mice climbing inside their trunks.

00:04:42If a mouse succeeded in doing this,

00:04:44there would be a potential that it could cause irritation and blockage within the trunk.

00:04:49Now, I'm not trying to be the guy who spoils parties,

00:04:52but it looks like this belief is also a myth.

00:04:55Researchers claim that there's no concrete evidence that suggests elephants are afraid of mice.

00:05:01The most they'll concede is that the giant animal may sometimes take fright

00:05:06by the sudden appearance of the tiny rodent, which is the exact same for ourselves.

00:05:10Experts also claim that even if a mouse did get inside an elephant's trunk,

00:05:15the latter could effortlessly blow it back out with a puff of air.

00:05:19There's also some evidence that, in most cases,

00:05:22the animal remains unbothered by rodents

00:05:24and even allows mice to climb on their heads and trunks.

00:05:28Researchers are sure that as long as an elephant is healthy,

00:05:32there's no other animal that it fears simply because of its size.

00:05:36So, lions aren't afraid of water, elephants don't seem to be afraid of mice,

00:05:41then are any of these animal fear rumors real?

00:05:44Hmm, we're probably going to be left just as disappointed

00:05:48by asking if a bear has any legit fear, right?

00:05:52Well, ladies and gentlemen, please give a round of applause for none other than people's best friend.

00:05:58That's right, bears do feel quite uncomfortable whenever they are around dogs,

00:06:03and all this despite a very distant genetic link to them.

00:06:07When the two creatures encounter each other, the dog has the ability to chase,

00:06:11intimidate, corner, or antagonize the bear.

00:06:15As for the powerful animal, it will instead try to avoid any run-ins with the dog.

00:06:21There's even a type of Finnish dog breed known as the Karelian bear dog.

00:06:26This dog species is specifically used for standing up to large animals, such as bears.

00:06:31This dog has a great sense of direction, body flexibility and control,

00:06:36courage, sense of smell, and persistence.

00:06:39So, does this mean you can walk with your dog through an area known to have bears

00:06:44and feel absolutely calm and confident because of the presence of your loyal companion?

00:06:49Not really.

00:06:50Despite the fact that bears may be nervous around dogs, we can't forget their size and power.

00:06:56The American black bear can reach a height of nearly 7 feet and weigh up to 660 pounds.

00:07:02If a mother bear has nowhere to run or feels that her cubs might be in danger,

00:07:07it's extremely possible that she will lash out, which can only mean big trouble for you or your dog.

00:07:14So, nobody should ever test this theory.

00:07:17Instead, if you're ever planning to visit an unknown area with your dog,

00:07:21you should first plan ahead and familiarize yourself with the wildlife you may encounter there.

00:07:27Because you never know what a bear will do when it notices you and your pooch,

00:07:31especially given their mild case of Cynophobia, which is the name given to a fear of dogs.

00:07:38At least we were able to find one genuine fear of another animal out of these three tough members of the animal kingdom.

00:07:45Weird that a dog, something that gives so many of us such joy and comfort in our own homes,

00:07:50is still the creature that's brave enough to take on a bear if need be.

00:07:55Well, not all heroes wear capes. Some just wear fur and a dog collar.

00:08:00Why don't we take a look at what frightens these great companions of ours?

00:08:04Ever wondered why your own dog becomes uncomfortable when it hears loud noises?

00:08:09The degree of fear differs in each dog.

00:08:12But it's the simple unpredictability of thunder and flashing lightning,

00:08:16or loud bangs that accompany firework displays, that causes your dog uneasiness.

00:08:21The inability to understand what's causing this deafening noise may cause your dog to tremble,

00:08:27tuck its tail between its legs, or even run away from home.

00:08:32Another thing that can really frighten our loyal pets is when we leave them all alone by themselves.

00:08:37This can, unfortunately, lead to being a nightmare for your next-door neighbors,

00:08:42because a common symptom of this fear is excessive barking.

00:08:46This fear may also cause problems closer to home.

00:08:50Ever asked yourself why your dog chewed up your sofa?

00:08:53Housebreaking accidents are typical when a dog has separation anxiety.

00:08:58You can't stay mad at your dog for long though, right?

00:09:01Your pooch will make it up to you when you guys run into a bear.

00:09:08In the US, people experience 250,000 human bites, 400,000 cat bites, and 4.5 million dog bites each year.

00:09:18Yes, adorable animals can still attack you unexpectedly.

00:09:22Let's take a look at the cutest and fiercest examples.

00:09:26Forget about these viral videos of people hugging pandas.

00:09:30These cuddly-looking cuties can be surprisingly dangerous.

00:09:33Despite cartoonish looks, they're still wild, and they will attack a human when they feel threatened.

00:09:40Even a snow leopard is scared to mess with an adult panda.

00:09:44So, if you ever meet this animal in person, keep a healthy distance, especially if it has cubs.

00:09:51Pandas switched from omnivorous to a vegetarian diet a couple of million years ago.

00:09:55But they still have these carnivorous teeth and retractable claws in their paws that can easily cut your skin.

00:10:02Today, scientists speculate that pandas' strict bamboo diet may be contributing to their extinction.

00:10:07So, it makes sense to plant some more bamboo.

00:10:10To prevent these fluffy monsters from returning to their carnivorous habits, huh?

00:10:17But let's say you're hiking in the woods in China, and suddenly a ferocious panda jumps out of nowhere.

00:10:23First of all, make sure to carry bear spray and be ready to use it.

00:10:28You can pretend you're not alive, especially if the panda is too big to fight with.

00:10:32Don't rush to run away, though. Instead, try talking to the animal while backing away slowly.

00:10:38If a panda follows you while you're hiking, make loud noises along the trail to scare it away.

00:10:44The smell of food can attract pandas, as well as snow leopards.

00:10:47So, avoid cooking if you know you're being stalked.

00:10:51And speaking of deceptive fluffballs, koalas and wombats can't be trusted either.

00:10:57These Australian animals are closest relatives, so they share some common traits.

00:11:03Koalas are territorial creatures, and they don't hesitate to use their sharp claws and teeth to prove it.

00:11:09If a koala starts biting you, it won't let go easily. You'll have to pull it away.

00:11:14So, it would be wise to wear long trousers and a jacket to provide additional protection to your skin.

00:11:20Also, make sure to protect your pets, because koalas definitely won't do that.

00:11:27Now, don't be tricked by those cuddly videos of people with koalas, too.

00:11:31These are zoo animals that have gone through a long bonding journey before becoming human-friendly.

00:11:36If you ever come across these creatures in the wild, don't try to take a selfie and avoid triggering them with loud noises.

00:11:44Although koalas are known for sleeping 22 hours a day, it doesn't mean you can't trigger them.

00:11:51Koalas tend to get more alarmed when they detect strangers within a 16-foot radius.

00:11:56By the way, spraying urine on enemies is one of the koalas' favorite defense mechanisms.

00:12:02The majority of koalas in the wild can spread unpleasant conditions, so that's another huge reason to stay away from them.

00:12:10Now, wombats may look like innocent friendly hamsters,

00:12:13but these nocturnal marsupials are known for attacking people, dogs, and even wild dingoes.

00:12:19Yep, they bit several people so badly that they needed hospitalization.

00:12:24So, the safety rules are the same as with koalas – no hugs, no selfies.

00:12:29By the way, if you dare to run away from a wombat, keep in mind it can run up to 25 miles per hour.

00:12:35What about you?

00:12:37Now, take swans. When it comes to personal boundaries, these fancy birds can show some sinister traits too.

00:12:44Swans can defend their mates and nests very aggressively, which includes biting and even taking your life.

00:12:52Their nesting season between April and June is especially dangerous.

00:12:56So, if you're swimming or even walking near a body of water in spring,

00:13:00and you spot a sneaky swan coming your way, make sure to keep a respectful distance.

00:13:05You don't want to try to touch or feed them.

00:13:07Don't do anything that can provoke the birds, and heaven forbid you to approach their nests.

00:13:16Beware of the mute swan. It's one of the biggest hooligans in the bird world.

00:13:20These guys are less vocal compared to other swan species,

00:13:24so they can skip warning shouts and simply attack you in total silence.

00:13:29If it happens, don't rush to run away.

00:13:32Instead, try to stay calm, keep on facing the swan, and slowly back away.

00:13:37Using a barrier such as a fence or a tree can be helpful too.

00:13:41You can also trick the swan into believing that you're a bigger bird.

00:13:45Just show them an open umbrella or a wide piece of clothing that imitates wings.

00:13:49If you happen to have it handy.

00:13:53Sometimes you can come across a swan that looks like it needs your help.

00:13:56Even if it breaks your heart, safety rules don't recommend trying to save the bird on your own.

00:14:01That's because the swan may perceive your help as a threat.

00:14:05Instead, you should notify local wildlife authorities, and they'll take proper care of the animal.

00:14:12There are many stories of dolphins saving people and being cute and playful,

00:14:16but their games can be surprisingly dangerous, especially in the wild.

00:14:20Even sharks can lose their lives if they mess with the wrong willie.

00:14:25Swimming with these smiley creatures is riskier than you might think.

00:14:29Dolphins can start pushing you with their powerful noses and bodies.

00:14:34In some cases, they can pull you underwater and bite you with their sharp teeth.

00:14:38Unfortunately, not everyone survives such an encounter.

00:14:43So, how do you tell a good dolphin from a sinister one?

00:14:46Well, first of all, if the dolphin is wild, never attempt to feed, pet, or play with it.

00:14:52If you see them flapping their jaws, chasing, slapping their tails in the water,

00:14:56or even releasing clouds of bubbles from their blowholes, take this as a sign of aggression.

00:15:02If you ever find yourself kayaking or swimming in the water with an aggressive dolphin,

00:15:06leave the area as soon as possible.

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

00:15:13Well, here you go!

00:15:14It's hard to resist putting this colorful guy on your palm to take a cute picture.

00:15:19But this could be your last photoshoot.

00:15:22The 2-inch long golden poison dart frog has enough venom to take the lives of 10 healthy adult men.

00:15:28This toxin is meant to attack the predator's nervous system

00:15:32and cause muscle contractions, respiratory paralysis, and even worse.

00:15:38Unlike snakes and scorpions, dart frogs don't need to bite to transfer their venom.

00:15:42They excrete it through their skin glands.

00:15:45So, if you ever happen to touch this cutie by mistake,

00:15:48don't rub your eyes and wash your hands immediately.

00:15:51The toxin has to get into your bloodstream to affect you.

00:15:55So, if you have any cuts on your skin, it makes sense to go to the hospital as soon as possible.

00:16:01Keep in mind that dart frog's skin tends to poison everything it touches,

00:16:05and the toxin can remain on those objects for up to a year.

00:16:11Aw, look at this cute Shrek-eyed toy!

00:16:14Wait a second, it's alive!

00:16:16Say hello to one of the few venomous mammals on the planet, the slow loris.

00:16:22It's no wonder that this furry creature is the star of the shadow pet market.

00:16:26But you should read the directions before purchasing it since a refund is unlikely to be possible.

00:16:32You may have seen this animal raising its hands as if surrendering to the police.

00:16:37You wish!

00:16:39Slow loris has a toxin released from its bronchial gland on the sides of its elbows.

00:16:46This innocent-looking fluffy takes the venom into its mouth to mix it with its saliva.

00:16:51After that, it can rub its hair with the toxin to scare away its rivals.

00:16:56Or give you a fierce venomous bite that you'll never forget.

00:17:02This toxin causes anaphylactic shock, so it's dangerous to human life.

00:17:07Do you still want to bring this cutie home?

00:17:09Nah, I didn't think so.

00:17:12Just because the platypus looks like an ancient Pokemon, it doesn't mean you can let your guard down.

00:17:18Male platypuses have a special tool to fight for mates – hidden sharp spurs on their hind feet.

00:17:24They contain a dose of venom that's fatal to a dog-sized animal.

00:17:28But it doesn't mean you're safe.

00:17:30They can attack humans too.

00:17:33And the sensation caused by the platypus' venom is described as

00:17:37long-lasting intense ache that cannot be relieved with conventional medicines.

00:17:43So, never try to pet this cutie. It's not worth it.

00:17:48There are many more cute but vicious animals on the planet,

00:17:51so remember that looks can be deceiving.

00:17:53And stay safe!

00:18:02It's summer and the sun is shining on the seabed.

00:18:05You take a few selfies and a fish swimming by when suddenly, the ocean goes pitch black.

00:18:13You look up and…

00:18:14Oh my, what is that gigantic animal?

00:18:18It's definitely not a shark, not a whale.

00:18:21Is it… a turtle?

00:18:24Yup, but fear not, it's not gonna hurt you.

00:18:27If you had lived on this same earth about 72 million years ago,

00:18:31then maybe this could have really happened to you.

00:18:36Scientists have recently found the fossils of a gigantic marine turtle

00:18:40that could have grown as big as 12 feet.

00:18:44If you don't have any idea of how big that is, let's see some examples.

00:18:48That's the average length of a hippopotamus.

00:18:52Six golden retrievers.

00:18:54Or two Michael Jordans stacked on top of each other.

00:18:59The turtle's scientific name is an homage to that old school sea monster called Leviathan.

00:19:04Maybe you remember this from old school history lessons.

00:19:09The Leviathan is supposedly a mythical creature that would swallow entire ships

00:19:14or people that were deemed too greedy by the creature.

00:19:18Can you imagine being swallowed by this humongous sea turtle?

00:19:23No, thank you.

00:19:26The fossils of this gigantic creature began to be excavated between 2016 and 2021

00:19:32all the way in northeastern Spain.

00:19:35The first fossil was located by a hiker in the Spanish Pyrenees

00:19:39and it was around 8 inches long.

00:19:41The pelvis of this turtle alone measured around 35 inches.

00:19:47It would definitely be one of the biggest turtles today if it hadn't gone extinct.

00:19:53FYI, the largest living sea turtles today can reach up to 6 feet in length

00:19:59which is already pretty big.

00:20:04Now, how about a gigantic prehistoric scorpion?

00:20:08I bet most people here are not huge fans of these creatures

00:20:12especially since they're poisonous.

00:20:14Which is why the thought of a 9 foot long aquatic scorpion might be the stuff of nightmares.

00:20:20Let's just say that if they hadn't gone extinct some 400 million years ago

00:20:24lakes and rivers would be much more dangerous places for humans today.

00:20:30These gigantic insects were considered to be apex predators in their time

00:20:34hunting everything from fish to other animals, even of their own kind.

00:20:40Yikes, I got goosebumps just imagining these creatures.

00:20:44Should we thank the asteroid that hit our planet now or later on in this video?

00:20:50Another prehistoric animal that would shock humans if it were still alive

00:20:54is the so-called megatherium, a gigantic sloth.

00:20:59This huge sloth is believed to have grown up to 20 feet long

00:21:03and its weight could be up to 8,000 pounds.

00:21:08It was found in the woodlands and grasslands of South America.

00:21:12The creature used to stand on its two feet in order to reach leaves on high branches.

00:21:17These giant sloths had huge claws.

00:21:21They helped them climb trees.

00:21:23I gotta say, I feel uncomfortable imagining these elephant-sized sloths climbing trees.

00:21:29Oh, of course.

00:21:31Some dinosaurs will make our super-sized creatures list.

00:21:34But before that, here's a fun fact.

00:21:37Did you know some dinosaurs are still alive today?

00:21:41Scientists have proven that birds are classified as theropod dinosaurs.

00:21:46Such infamous creatures as the T-Rex and Velociraptor belonged to this group.

00:21:52I'm sure you've heard these names even before you watched Jurassic Park.

00:21:56The Velociraptor is that scary dino that breaks into the kitchen.

00:22:00Well, they evolved, gained some feathers and turned into various species of birds we know today.

00:22:07That means that any bird from chickens to those little blue ones is a direct descendant of dinosaurs.

00:22:16Now, does the name Spinosaurus ring a bell?

00:22:20You can see this huge dinosaur in some museums today.

00:22:24It's fossils, I mean.

00:22:26The Spinosaurus was one of the biggest land predators to walk Earth.

00:22:31Actually, to walk its land and water.

00:22:34Since scientists believe that this dino was semi-aquatic.

00:22:39It fed mostly on meat, which means humans would be its natural prey if it lived today.

00:22:46This meat-eating dino lived around 90 to 100 million years ago.

00:22:50It was about 60 feet long, 12 feet high and weighed up to 22 tons.

00:22:57Its head was around the size of 8 bowling balls and was shaped like a crocodile's face.

00:23:03Basically, the Spinosaurus was a big African elephant with the face of a crocodile.

00:23:10Just kidding, but that would look funny though, wouldn't it?

00:23:14A much more attractive dino was this guy.

00:23:17It's considered to be the largest dinosaur that has ever lived on our planet.

00:23:22What made it so big was its extremely long neck and very long tail.

00:23:29You wouldn't want to stand behind this creature, believe me.

00:23:32If it decided to swish its tail, you'd get catapulted very far away.

00:23:37This creature lived around 100 million years ago and its fossils were first found in Argentina around 2012.

00:23:44The dino measured 120 feet from head to tail, which made it almost as big as an American football field in width.

00:23:53Hmm, and have I mentioned it weighed almost as much as a space shuttle?

00:23:58A staggering 75 tons!

00:24:00If it had been a carnivore, it would have probably been the greatest predator.

00:24:05But this big guy was a peaceful herbivore that had such a long neck that it could eat leaves from high trees.

00:24:11Cute, right?

00:24:14We must also talk about the Shastasaurus.

00:24:18As the name suggests, this animal is popularly known as the Mount Shasta lizard.

00:24:23Even though it was a marine reptile and probably never set foot on the mountain itself,

00:24:28this dino was usually around 23 feet long,

00:24:33but there was a specific strand of this species that could get as big as 69 feet long,

00:24:39about the size of the Great Blue Whale.

00:24:43This made it the biggest marine reptile to have ever lived.

00:24:47A fun fact about the Shastasaurus is that scientists believe it didn't even have teeth,

00:24:53which means it could only feed on soft-bodied prey such as squid, for example.

00:25:00The next animal on our list is the Blue Whale.

00:25:04Believe it or not, the biggest living animal on Earth actually started small.

00:25:09These days, the average mature Blue Whale can reach up to 100 feet in length and weigh up to 200 tons.

00:25:17That's more or less the weight of 40 elephants put together,

00:25:20or 30 Tyrannosaurus rexes, or 2,670 average-sized people.

00:25:28Blue Whales have to eat up to 50 million calories per day to support that body.

00:25:34That's the equivalent of 30,000 Big Macs, just FYI.

00:25:41But Blue Whales weren't always this big.

00:25:44They actually evolved from a four-legged mammal that lived on Earth around 48 million years ago.

00:25:51Their ancestor was called Pakicetus, and it was only 6 feet long.

00:25:56Here's a fun fact.

00:25:58To be able to live in the water as one does today, the Blue Whale had to go through some intense adaptations.

00:26:05A Blue Whale can replace up to 80 to 90% of oxygen in its lungs each time it takes a breath.

00:26:10A human replaces only up to 15% for comparison.

00:26:15It allows these animals to dive for up to one hour at a time, down to a staggering depth of 330 feet.

00:26:24Elephants were bound to make the list.

00:26:27Elephants are currently the largest land animals on Earth.

00:26:30They can grow to be about 13 feet tall and weigh up to 7 tons.

00:26:34That's pretty small if we compare it to the other animals that once lived on Earth, right?

00:26:39But if we placed a 6-foot tall human next to an elephant, we'll see it's not at all that small.

00:26:47African Elephants are bigger than their close relatives, Asian Elephants, and they have a similar lifespan to humans, up to 70 years.

00:26:57Pokemon might have made us collectively wish that Salamanders were real-life dragons.

00:27:01Although, they're not.

00:27:03They can still be pretty cool, though.

00:27:06There's a giant species of Salamander that is known to be the largest living amphibian.

00:27:11They can grow to be as long as a regular-sized human, reaching up to 6 feet.

00:27:17I bet that wouldn't be a pleasant underwater encounter.

00:27:23There are sharks that glow in the dark, for example, Swell Sharks.

00:27:27They live in the dark ocean depths, almost 1,700 feet under the surface.

00:27:32No one knows why exactly, but they emit a fluorescent glow only other Swell Sharks can see.

00:27:38Scientists detected the glow because they used filters that blocked out yellow light.

00:27:43They think that could be the way for these big fish to communicate with their buddies.

00:27:48This glow helps sharks fight infections on a microbial level.

00:27:51Cowbirds have secret passwords they use to recognize each other.

00:27:55They're a specific type of parasite bird since they lay their eggs in other bird species' nests.

00:28:01The young cowbirds have an inner mechanism where they recognize their species singing,

00:28:06like some sort of secret password only they know.

00:28:09That's how they manage to find others of their kind.

00:28:12A grizzly bear has an incredibly strong bite.

00:28:15It may look cute, but if you're close to this big guy,

00:28:18you better stay out of reach of its sharp claws, and especially its mouth.

00:28:22Its bite force is more than 8 million pascals, which means it can crush a bowling ball.

00:28:28Some animals have skin-deep stripes, and others have more superficial ones.

00:28:34Tigers are in the first group.

00:28:36Not only is their fur striped, but their jaws are also sharp.

00:28:40It's the same with some other furry big cats, like snow leopards.

00:28:44Giraffes and zebras are in the second group, since they have patterns only on their coats.

00:28:50Speaking of zebras, do you think they're black with white stripes or white with black stripes?

00:28:55At first, it really looks like the second option is correct.

00:28:58Their black stripes mostly end towards the inside of their legs and on the back of their heads.

00:29:03At first, it really looks like the second option is correct.

00:29:06Their black stripes mostly end towards the inside of their legs and on the back of their heads.

00:29:11And the rest of it is white.

00:29:13But that's not true. Surprisingly, they're black with white stripes.

00:29:17All of their fur, both white and black, grows from follicles that have something called melanocyte cells.

00:29:24All animals have these cells.

00:29:27They produce a pigment called melanin, and it gives color to their hair and skin.

00:29:32When it comes to zebras, chemical messengers tell which melanocytes send pigment to which area of fur.

00:29:39That's why zebras have a black and white pattern.

00:29:42But white is not actually its own pigment. It's an absence of melanin.

00:29:47So, black is their default color.

00:29:50Koalas have fingerprints that are so close to ours that they could even taint crime scenes.

00:29:56It doesn't seem like they have a lot in common with humans, but take a closer look at their hands.

00:30:01They have distinctive loops and arches.

00:30:04So if any koalas want to do something illegal, it would be a good idea for them to wear gloves.

00:30:10Ghost crabs growl when they're around creatures they don't like or find threatening.

00:30:15They do it using teeth in their stomachs.

00:30:18First, they'll let you know they'll defend themselves if you try anything by showing you their claws.

00:30:24If that doesn't work, they'll go for fearsome growling noises like dogs.

00:30:28But the noise is coming from rubbing their three elongated hard teeth inside their stomach.

00:30:34Ghost crabs produce the same noise when they're grinding up food.

00:30:38Speaking of teeth, did you know narwhal tusks are actually some sort of an inside-out tooth?

00:30:45Unlike the majority of other whales, narwhals are the ones that come with a large tusk, or tooth, that grows from the inside of their jaw.

00:30:53It has up to 10 million nerve endings.

00:30:56And they're unprotected, which means its tusk is very sensitive to any type of contact.

00:31:01It's almost like a piece of skin, because tusks usually don't have many nerve endings.

00:31:07Up to 95% of humans are right-handed, and it's the same with bottlenose dolphins.

00:31:13There are even more right-handed ones among them than among humans.

00:31:18During one study, scientists found that bottlenose dolphins turn to their left side over 99% of the time, which means they're right-handed.

00:31:27They place their right side and right eye closer to the ocean floor as they go for prey, such as squids, shrimps, or smaller fish.

00:31:36More cool facts from the ocean.

00:31:38Did you know humpback whales use bubbles when they go after their prey?

00:31:42You might think they don't need any special method considering how large they are.

00:31:45But when they're lurking for prey in the open waters, these whales team up and use something called a bubble net technique.

00:31:54While swimming in an upward spiral, they blow bubbles underwater.

00:31:58These bubbles make it difficult for fish to escape.

00:32:02The oldest evidence we have of domesticated cats dates up to 12,000 years ago.

00:32:08Researchers discovered this almost 20 years ago when they were digging through an ancient village in Cyprus.

00:32:15They found cat bones right next to human ones, which suggested they were close even when their lives came to an end.

00:32:22Humans were hunters, so they domesticated dogs first, somewhere up to 29,000 years ago.

00:32:28Dogs helped them catch other animals, but they didn't think they needed cats until they started to settle down and store surplus crops.

00:32:36Mice became frequent guests in grain stores, so cats came in handy in those times.

00:32:42Puffins are quite innovative when they want to scratch their bodies.

00:32:46They can surely be proud of their stunning beaks, but they obviously think it's not enough for scratching.

00:32:52Researchers noticed they tend to spontaneously take a small wooden stick to scratch an itchy spot.

00:32:59There's a special type of ant that only lives in a small part of Manhattan.

00:33:04The Broadway Medians at the 63rd and 76th Street is the area these crawling critters decided was the best spot for them.

00:33:12The Manhattan ant looks like it's from Europe, but no European species can actually match it.

00:33:25New Guinea and Australia weren't always separated.

00:33:28They spent millions of years together until about 12,000 years ago, rising sea levels divided them.

00:33:34Since they were together for so long, some animals and plants still inhabit both areas, including green tree frogs.

00:33:42These frogs have spread really far and wide, and some of them, who live in hot, swampy regions surrounded by plenty of crocodiles, actually look like they're made of chocolate.

00:33:53We all know flamingos for their specific color, but they're not actually pink.

00:33:58They're born gray, and that's how they would stay if it weren't for their diet of blue-green algae and shrimp.

00:34:05These foods have a specific natural dye, which is why flamingo feathers turn pink over time.

00:34:12These little Tasmanian devils grow up and leave their moms. They socialize together, forming bonds that last for the rest of their lives.

00:34:20Not only them, cows also have stronger social ties than we think.

00:34:24They like to socialize, and they make long-lasting friendships.

00:34:28One research even discovered their heart rates significantly increase as a sign of stress when they're separated from their BFFs.

00:34:36Imagine you could simply freeze yourself solid during the cold winter days instead of listening to your teeth chatter and trying to tighten your jacket.

00:34:44That's what frogs can do.

00:34:46Aquatic frogs mostly hibernate underwater and spend most of the winter at the bottom of a pond, lake, or some other body of water.

00:34:54Toads and frogs are generally cold-blooded, which means the temperature of their body takes on the temperature of their surroundings.

00:35:02So, frogs can freeze during the winter because of a high concentration of sugar or glucose in their vital organs.

00:35:09Once they unfreeze, they continue as if nothing happened.

00:35:13Octopuses have three hearts and blue blood.

00:35:17They can move at speeds of 25 miles per hour, and they spray ink that not only blurs the predator's visual field but actually harms them.

00:35:26Also, they have nine brains, the central one and eight smaller brains located in their arms.

00:35:32That's why their arms can open a shellfish while the central brain is busy doing something else.

00:35:37An octopus even tastes with its arms.

00:35:40They have cells in their suckers that enable the arms to touch and taste in a way that they detect chemicals marine creatures produce.

00:35:48That way, an octopus can distinguish prey from rocks.

00:35:52Well, meet the tiny terrors of our world.

00:35:56Fire ants.

00:35:58When they sting, they inject venom that can cause serious trouble.

00:36:02For most people, it's just a fiery sensation in raised bumps.

00:36:06But for others, especially those who are allergic to it, it's life-threatening.

00:36:10These ants set up their camps right under your feet.

00:36:14They're quick to swarm and are fiercely protective of their colonies.

00:36:17They show no mercy to intruders.

00:36:20Their stings are rated about 1.2 on the Schmidt Insect Sting Index, where 4 is the maximum.

00:36:26It feels like a sudden jolt, but the sensations are less burning than when a bee stings you.

00:36:33They originated in tropical regions like Central and South America.

00:36:37But now you can find them even in some temperate zones like North America.

00:36:42In their colonies, fire ants have a strict hierarchy of queen, winged males and females, and different types of workers.

00:36:50They communicate through chemicals and sounds.

00:36:53The most famous member of this genus is the red imported fire ant.

00:36:58They've come from South America and invaded the southern U.S.

00:37:02They build large mounds, making farming difficult and damaging crops.

00:37:05It's almost impossible to control them.

00:37:09And on top of that, there's now the rise of another invasive species, the tawny crazy ant.

00:37:15This one poses a threat to native ecosystems.

00:37:18Turns out ants can be dangerously unfriendly.

00:37:21Colorful blister beetles are among the 10 most dangerous insects in the world.

00:37:27Luckily, they're not lethal to humans unless they go for you in a big pack.

00:37:32However, they pose a serious threat to large animals such as horses.

00:37:36Blister beetles produce a toxin called cantharidin, which causes skin blistering in humans.

00:37:42In the past, people believed it could treat warts and even rabies.

00:37:46And some even used it in love potions.

00:37:49However, it's a risky game.

00:37:51In the 1950s, a man was jailed for giving cantharidin-laced candies to two women, resulting in a tragic outcome.

00:37:58These beetles are not to be messed with.

00:38:01Handling them or ingesting them is very dangerous.

00:38:04They're attracted to alfalfa and hay.

00:38:07If a horse eats either of those, even a few beetles can release enough cantharidin to end it.

00:38:14This cute caterpillar from South America is called Linomia obliqua.

00:38:19And it's the most dangerous caterpillar on Earth.

00:38:22It's responsible for several fatalities due to its potent venom.

00:38:26It's the larval stage of the giant silkworm moth.

00:38:29When it grows up, it becomes a beautiful and harmless silkworm.

00:38:33But if you see them as youngsters, it's better to stay away.

00:38:37Its toxicity stems from venom-injecting bristles.

00:38:41They serve as a defense mechanism against predators.

00:38:44The poison messes up how your blood clots and can cause really bad symptoms like burning feelings, throwing up, kidney problems, and sometimes even lethal outcomes.

00:38:54A single bite probably won't lead to anything horrifying.

00:38:56It delivers only a tiny amount of venom.

00:38:59But these caterpillars tend to congregate, and they're quite good at camouflage.

00:39:04This increases the risk of multiple stings.

00:39:08Locusts themselves aren't dangerous to humans.

00:39:11They're ordinary, loud grasshoppers.

00:39:14But they're infamous for their swarming behavior.

00:39:17These swarms often happen when there's a dry period with no rain.

00:39:21And then suddenly, a lot of rain falls, and plants start growing fast.

00:39:24Once it begins, it's nearly impossible to stop.

00:39:27They can become a destructive force within minutes.

00:39:30Throughout history, locust plagues have been devastating, wreaking havoc on crops and farmland.

00:39:36What's interesting is that the term locust can mean different things depending on where you're from.

00:39:42In some places, we're talking about cicadas, which are also known for their loud sounds.

00:39:47But true locusts are ancient creatures, relatively unchanged since the Triassic.

00:39:51They're among the oldest insects on Earth.

00:39:56Wasps, hornets, and even bees can be extremely dangerous, especially to those allergic to their stings.

00:40:02The Asian giant hornet is the largest of the wasps.

00:40:06It can reach up to 2 inches in size.

00:40:09It packs a powerful venom that can cause serious discomfort and even spray into people's eyes.

00:40:14There's an even more venomous species in the Philippines called Vespa hornets.

00:40:18Not to be confused with Expecto Patronum. Any Harry Potter fans?

00:40:22Anyway, fatalities because of wasps or bees are rare, but not unheard of.

00:40:27In the UK, about 10 people pass away each year from bee or wasp sting reactions.

00:40:33Always stay cautious.

00:40:36All these insects are very territorial and will fiercely defend their hives.

00:40:40When provoked, they signal danger to nearby bees and even kill them.

00:40:45When provoked, they signal danger to nearby bees and instigate a mass defense effort.

00:40:50If you need to handle them, it's best to call professionals.

00:40:56A flea is tiny and humble, but it left a colossal impact on human history and health.

00:41:02They're not just annoying pests, they're notorious carriers of various human conditions,

00:41:07and are responsible for some of the worst outbreaks in history.

00:41:11Back in the 14th century, I forget where I was,

00:41:15but the bubonic plague wiped out over 25 million people in Europe,

00:41:19and fleas were a big part of spreading it.

00:41:22Fleas spend their lives searching for warm-blooded hosts to feed on,

00:41:26whether it's reptiles, mammals, pets, or humans.

00:41:30Despite their tiny size and absence of wings, they make up for it with impressive jumping abilities.

00:41:35They can leap 6 feet and jump over 1,200 feet in the air.

00:41:40A flea bite might seem like a minor annoyance, causing itching and inflammation,

00:41:45but a lot of them can lead to anemia in their hosts.

00:41:49Of course, the most dangerous part about them is the viruses, bacteria, and worms they transmit.

00:41:55Kissing bugs mostly live in both Americas, with smaller populations in Africa and Asia.

00:42:01Despite the friendly name, they're great at passing on bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

00:42:07One of the parasites they carry is trypanosoma cruzi.

00:42:11It's the culprit behind illnesses that affect millions globally and claim thousands of lives each year.

00:42:17What's interesting is that symptoms don't often appear until 10 or 30 years after being bitten.

00:42:23They typically manifest as heart failure, digestive issues, or nervous system problems.

00:42:29They don't actually kiss you. They suck on you and are attracted to their prey by breath.

00:42:34If you breathe through your mouth, you're a target.

00:42:37They're messy biters, often biting chaotically and almost uncontrollably,

00:42:42which only adds to their unsettling nature.

00:42:47Many have heard of the tsetse fly, an unusual and scary insect from tropical Africa.

00:42:52These flies are carriers of one of the most devastating human diseases, sleeping sickness.

00:42:58Similar to the kissing bug, the tsetse fly transmits trypanosomes,

00:43:03which are parasites that cause sleeping sickness.

00:43:06They acquire this parasite from an infected host or from within the fly's own body.

00:43:11Sleeping sickness doesn't strike immediately.

00:43:13After a bite, it takes 1-3 weeks for symptoms to appear.

00:43:17Fever, headaches, joint pains, and itchiness.

00:43:20As the illness progresses, it can invade the nervous system,

00:43:24leading to confusion, insomnia, and loss of balance.

00:43:28Without treatment, it can result in a coma and then a fatal outcome.

00:43:31Luckily, sleeping sickness can be treated, and the number of losses is declining.

00:43:37The tsetse fly holds historical significance too.

00:43:40Its presence has hindered European colonial expansion in Africa.

00:43:46And the crown of the most dangerous insect in the world goes to the mosquito.

00:43:52It's no surprise why.

00:43:54Despite their small size, they wield a massive impact.

00:43:57They're not only responsible for more human losses annually than any other animal,

00:44:02but they've also left an indelible mark on history.

00:44:05These little insects influence the rise and fall of entire civilizations.

00:44:10For example, malaria significantly weakened ancient civilizations such as in Rome and Greece.

00:44:16What's interesting is that it's not just the mosquitoes themselves that are dangerous, but the parasites.

00:44:22Bacteria and viruses carry and transmit through their bites.

00:44:26These tiny horrors spread a buffet of diseases.

00:44:30Despite malaria, there's also yellow fever, which, just like with the tsetse fly,

00:44:35hindered European colonization efforts in tropical regions.

00:44:38The scariest one of them is the Anopheles mosquito.

00:44:42It's the apex predator of the insect world.

00:44:45It's responsible for more fatal outcomes and illnesses than any other insect.

00:44:50So how do we combat these tiny yet mighty foes?

00:44:54With prevention.

00:44:56We must avoid standing water in our surroundings and practice mosquito control measures.

00:45:01We must always stay one step ahead to protect ourselves and our communities from dangerous insects.

00:45:13So the most famous survival rule when it comes to encounters with bears

00:45:18is to stay still and pretend you aren't a living thing.

00:45:21But this rule won't work with all bears, only with grizzlies and brown ones.

00:45:26If you're in North America, you'll find those in Alaska, Washington, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming.

00:45:33Black bears, the ones you need to run away from, live in a larger territory.

00:45:38You can find them in 40 states, much of Canada, and even part of northern Mexico.

00:45:43So if you're hiking in Yellowstone, you could run into either a black bear or a grizzly.

00:45:49But let's say you're in California.

00:45:51The bear you accidentally meet is most likely a black one.

00:45:54And no, you can't just tell the difference by the color of its fur.

00:45:59Black bears can be black, brown, cinnamon, blonde, blue-gray, or even white.

00:46:05It's getting complicated, isn't it?

00:46:07If you notice a hump at the shoulders of your unexpected date, it's a grizzly.

00:46:13Black bears don't have those.

00:46:15A grizzly will also have a dished face, round ears, and long, light-colored claws.

00:46:21A black bear has a straight, dog-like muzzle, pointed ears, and dark claws.

00:46:26We'll have a quiz on this later.

00:46:28Maybe.

00:46:32So if you're sure it's a grizzly or a brown bear, lie down.

00:46:36Take a fetal position, tuck your knees to your chest, and cover your head to show the bear you won't hurt them.

00:46:42These big guys mostly attack if they feel there's a threat to them.

00:46:46You can never outrun them, so don't even try.

00:46:48If they see you're a harmless little human, in 99% of cases, the bear will pass by.

00:46:55Wait for 2 or 3 minutes until you can't hear the bear anywhere near.

00:46:59It might hang out in the area to make sure you didn't stand up and, if you did, get into attack mode.

00:47:05If you pack well for emergencies and have bear spray on you,

00:47:09take off the safety clip when the bear is around 60 feet away and spray the bear.

00:47:14Aim slightly below its face.

00:47:16It's more effective than just assuming the fetal position.

00:47:20When the bear leaves, run away for safety in the opposite direction from the predator.

00:47:25Got all that? Good.

00:47:29If you're dealing with a black bear, it won't stop if it sees you in a fetal position on the ground.

00:47:35If you don't have bear spray on you, and the bear is clearly interested in you, show it who's boss.

00:47:40Throw rocks or your stuff at it.

00:47:43Shout, hey bear, loudly.

00:47:45Clap, make yourself look bigger by raising your arms and jacket.

00:47:49Climb on a rock or a stump.

00:47:51Do whatever it takes to scare it.

00:47:53Black bears are a lot like those bad guys at school who want to steal your lunch.

00:47:58They'll often give up if they see you can stand up for yourself.

00:48:01If the bear gets dangerously close to you, hit it in the eyes or nose

00:48:06and try to shock or stun it to make your unwanted hiking partner flee in fear.

00:48:12If the bear, no matter which type, is just sitting in the distance and staring at you,

00:48:17try to shuffle away super slowly.

00:48:20Move sideways at a slight angle so you don't trip as you backpedal away from this guy.

00:48:25This way, the bear won't think that you're trying to run away and won't be triggered to chase you.

00:48:31Talk calmly to yourself to show the bear that you're a human.

00:48:35Hiking also helps.

00:48:37Hey, maybe she'll know the tune.

00:48:39Avoid direct eye contact with the animal and never stand between the cubs and their mother.

00:48:44Don't freak out if the bear stands on its hind legs.

00:48:47It's not an aggressive move.

00:48:49Says right here.

00:48:51In case you ever plan to visit an area populated with polar bears,

00:48:55don't go without a bear deterrent, like a tank.

00:48:58Healthy polar bear males weigh half a ton,

00:49:00stand 8 feet tall on its hind legs,

00:49:03and can chase prey at 25 mph.

00:49:06So don't go out alone.

00:49:08Hike with others and talk while you hike to indicate you're a group of humans.

00:49:12Remember, not all polar bears are mean predators who want to have you for lunch.

00:49:17Some of them are just going somewhere.

00:49:19If you spot one with your head down, stalking in,

00:49:23not trying to go somewhere but definitely trying to focus on people,

00:49:27that's when you should be alarmed.

00:49:28Move away from the bear slowly, don't run.

00:49:31Only if the bear gets close to you, use your deterrents.

00:49:37Some people claim that ammonia is a great bear repellent.

00:49:41Bears really don't like it,

00:49:43so if you soak some rags in it and throw them in your garbage,

00:49:46the brown guests shouldn't bother you.

00:49:49And if you meet a bear in the wild and it's not that into you,

00:49:53ammonia could help you repel it.

00:49:55But it also destroys the nasal passages,

00:49:58leaving the animal without its sense of smell,

00:50:01which means it won't be able to sniff out food.

00:50:04It can also annoy a bear who wasn't planning to charge after you

00:50:07and provoke it to do so.

00:50:09Anything that smells interesting to bears,

00:50:12like food and stinky garbage,

00:50:14will make them notice you and come to check your camp out.

00:50:17So cook away from the camp and don't litter.

00:50:20If you put bear spray on your tent,

00:50:22you might attract unwanted fluffy guests.

00:50:25The pepper products in it smell like food,

00:50:28so it could be one way to attract bears.

00:50:32If you notice a bear standing along the road,

00:50:35resist the urge to stop and take photos.

00:50:38Move at least 100 yards away and pull over to a safe location.

00:50:42Roadside bears quickly get used to humans and traffic noise,

00:50:46which can become dangerous for their lives.

00:50:49And they're more likely to approach campgrounds and picnic areas

00:50:52in search of human food.

00:50:54People who live close to the wilderness and on the mountains

00:50:58are used to bear visitors and don't fear them.

00:51:01Douglas Harder spotted a mother black bear and her two cubs

00:51:05emptying the bird feeder on his second-story deck.

00:51:08Once he returned home after a while

00:51:10and found that a bear had broken into his kitchen

00:51:13through a partially open sliding door.

00:51:15The uninvited guest had scratched up a wall

00:51:18and stolen some junk food before running away.

00:51:20Harder just finished cleaning up after the bear

00:51:23when a cub shoved its face through the cat door.

00:51:26Its photos went viral online.

00:51:30Then there's Kristen Jones.

00:51:32She was visiting her parents in North Carolina

00:51:35and decided to do some yoga on the bank of a nearby lake.

00:51:38She was using earbuds

00:51:40and didn't hear the bear approach her from the back.

00:51:43Suddenly, she felt someone sniffing and licking her neck.

00:51:47She thought it was her neighbor's dog

00:51:48and stretched her arm to pet it,

00:51:51and that scared away the animal.

00:51:53Kristen managed to snap a couple of photos of the bear moving away,

00:51:56although no one believed the licking story.

00:51:59She remembers this as the scariest moment of her life

00:52:02and hopes it will never repeat.

00:52:04As for the bear, he was most likely spotted in the area

00:52:07looking for food in trash cans and on other people's decks.

00:52:13Scientists who observe polar bears

00:52:15note how incredibly smart these animals are.

00:52:18Members of Polar Bears International

00:52:21have captured hundreds of photos to better study these animals.

00:52:24Before they started using a special cage,

00:52:27they would take photos using a camera

00:52:29that was on the end of a long pole

00:52:31that would be lowered from a height.

00:52:33One day, the camera's flash went off

00:52:35right in front of a bear's face.

00:52:37He didn't appreciate the paparazzi move,

00:52:40but instead of ruining the camera,

00:52:42the bear calmly extended one arm.

00:52:44Then it stretched one claw

00:52:46and touched the lip of the camera's lens.

00:52:49The animal kept the claw inside

00:52:51and wouldn't let go of the camera.

00:52:53The photographer was trying to move the pole,

00:52:55but it was pointless.

00:52:57After 15 minutes, the bear looked up at him

00:53:00and finally let go of the equipment.

00:53:02It looked like it was trying to send a message

00:53:04never to use a flash on it again.

00:53:07It's just a regular day.

00:53:09As usual, you're taking a shower

00:53:11before starting to get ready for work.

00:53:13Everything is going as planned.

00:53:15Until it isn't.

00:53:17One clumsy move,

00:53:19some water spilled on the floor,

00:53:21and you're flapping your arms in the air,

00:53:23your body nearing the floor with frightening speed.

00:53:26Everything goes black.

00:53:28First thing you hear is a loud thud.

00:53:31Then you hear a loud thud again.

00:53:33Then you hear a loud thud again.

00:53:34And you look.

00:53:36First thing you hear

00:53:38is a high-pitched whining in your head.

00:53:40Ouch! Your head!

00:53:42Ugh.

00:53:44You carefully get up.

00:53:46There's no blood, and that's good.

00:53:48An even better thing

00:53:50is that the annoying noise stops abruptly.

00:53:52Holding your head,

00:53:54you leave the bathroom

00:53:56and almost stumble over your cat Milo!

00:53:58He hisses,

00:54:00and then a voice in your head says,

00:54:02Clumsy loser!

00:54:04and fear, but you see no one.

00:54:07It's just you and Milo?

00:54:10You've probably hit your head more than you thought.

00:54:13You shrug and make your way to the kitchen.

00:54:16Milo follows you.

00:54:17You hear ceaseless grumbling.

00:54:19Why can't he sleep in the bedroom?

00:54:21And I'm banned from there.

00:54:23Why haven't I gotten my meal yet?

00:54:25This leather creature's too lazy.

00:54:27Shall I scratch the sofa or leave a mouse on his pillow?

00:54:32The first thought that comes to your mind is,

00:54:34we have mice in the house?

00:54:36The second is more relevant.

00:54:38I'm losing my marbles, great!

00:54:41Acting on autopilot, you pour some milk into Milo's bowl

00:54:45and fill another one up with some dry food.

00:54:48The cat doesn't seem to be satisfied with how fast you are,

00:54:51if his, oh for goodness sake, move it man,

00:54:54is anything to go by.

00:54:57Okay, now you'll have to live with the knowledge

00:55:00that your beloved cat Milo

00:55:02actually has the personality of a grumpy old man, duh.

00:55:07You decide to lock yourself in the bathroom again

00:55:09because you're starting to get overwhelmed.

00:55:12You sit down heavily on the toilet lid

00:55:14and almost jump a foot in the air

00:55:16when you hear someone arguing loudly.

00:55:20After looking around, you find out that apparently,

00:55:23there are not only mice,

00:55:25but also cockroaches in your house, just great.

00:55:29At the moment, you're staring at a couple of these insects,

00:55:33which seem to be having a fight.

00:55:35At least, one of them is accusing the other of,

00:55:38wait, what?

00:55:39Cheating?

00:55:40You've heard enough.

00:55:42You're about to dash out of the bathroom

00:55:44when you hear a bang.

00:55:47In the living room, you find your cat on the floor

00:55:50under a smashed flower pot.

00:55:52The worst thing, he seems to be really hurt.

00:55:55He won't stop whimpering and meowing.

00:55:58Ugh, it hurts, it hurts.

00:56:00My paw, ouch, ouch.

00:56:03But the sofa can't remain unscratched today.

00:56:07You grab Milo, shove him into the carrier.

00:56:10Hey, watch out, you leather bag.

00:56:13And head for the clinic.

00:56:14On the way, you have to concentrate hard

00:56:17to block out the noise of countless voices assaulting you.

00:56:21The waiting area at the vet is full.

00:56:23Uh-oh, you're in for a long wait.

00:56:26Half an hour later, your head is ready to explode.

00:56:31You found out that that yellow python

00:56:33is suspiciously interested in the hamster

00:56:36a girl in the corner is clutching to her chest.

00:56:39So fat, so pretty.

00:56:43The hamster's worried about his stash of nuts.

00:56:46Where did I hide them?

00:56:47Where, where, where?

00:56:49A tiny dog that has come with an elderly lady

00:56:52is anxious about needles.

00:56:54If that shop thingy comes near me once again,

00:56:56they'll regret it.

00:56:57I'll destroy everyone on my way.

00:57:00Finally, it's your turn.

00:57:02The vet invites you to her office

00:57:04and you bend to pick up Milo

00:57:06when a desperate-looking young man bursts into the room.

00:57:10My puppy, what's wrong with him?

00:57:12The vet looks at you apologetically,

00:57:14but you're focused on the puppy.

00:57:17It looks weak, but you manage to figure out the words,

00:57:20chocolate, yum.

00:57:22When you tell the vet and the anxious owner

00:57:25that the pooch has eaten some chocolate,

00:57:27which is basically poison for dogs,

00:57:29they give you a funny look

00:57:31and disappear into the doctor's office.

00:57:34Sometime later, the guy exits,

00:57:36holding the dog that looks better than before.

00:57:39When they leave, the vet turns to you.

00:57:42How did you figure out the dog had eaten chocolate?

00:57:46Uh-oh, here it comes.

00:57:48You decide that honesty is the best strategy

00:57:52and tell the vet that you can understand what animals say.

00:57:56Of course, she doesn't believe you.

00:57:58You have to try hard to persuade her,

00:58:00but with the help of two other dogs,

00:58:02Milo and an elderly squirrel,

00:58:05you manage to make her believe you.

00:58:09When you get back home,

00:58:10your head is spinning and you're pretty hungry.

00:58:13All you can think about is some fried eggs and bacon.

00:58:17Yum, wait, bacon?

00:58:20But it's, uh-oh.

00:58:23Apparently, starting today, you're a vegan.

00:58:27Anyway, that's when it starts.

00:58:30You don't know how it happens,

00:58:31but you become famous overnight.

00:58:34The next morning, a loud noise wakes you up

00:58:37and it doesn't sound like animals talking to you.

00:58:40You look out of the window

00:58:41and see crowds of people gathered around your house.

00:58:44Some of them are reporters,

00:58:46but others are pet owners

00:58:48that have come to ask you for help.

00:58:51Milo is not happy.

00:58:53While grumbling nonstop and calling your names,

00:58:56he bites your leg and retreats under the stairs.

00:58:59And you go out of your house to talk to people

00:59:02and answer the reporters' questions.

00:59:05In the evening, you're exhausted, but also happy.

00:59:09You've saved several animals today.

00:59:11They had serious health and psychological problems

00:59:14their owners couldn't figure out on their own.

00:59:17Lying in bed in the dark,

00:59:18you think of how you can use your ability.

00:59:21That's when your plan takes shape.

00:59:24Soon, you become the most renowned

00:59:27animal care specialist in the world.

00:59:30You listen to animals talking about their problems,

00:59:33talk them out of depression,

00:59:34and help them resolve misunderstandings with their owners.

00:59:39TV shows invite you for interviews.

00:59:41Your YouTube channel is growing every day.

00:59:44People recognize you on the street

00:59:46and ask you to take pictures with them.

00:59:48You travel the world,

00:59:49help endangered species, and give lectures.

00:59:52You open vet clinics all over the globe

00:59:55and invite the best professionals to work there.

00:59:59You never feel lonely.

01:00:00There's always someone to talk to or listen to,

01:00:03at least some birds when you're walking in the park

01:00:06or some fish when you're having

01:00:08a rare moment of rest on the beach.

01:00:11At the same time, you've come to realize

01:00:14how many animals are begging for help,

01:00:16but no one can hear them.

01:00:19You decide to take up the role of their speaker.

01:00:22It turns out you're now famous

01:00:23not only in the human world,

01:00:25but also in the world of animals.

01:00:28They're grateful, and in return,

01:00:30they start informing you of different natural disasters

01:00:33that are about to happen on the planet.

01:00:36You've heard that animals can predict

01:00:38earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

01:00:41And if before, people had to try hard

01:00:44to notice some unusual behavior of certain species,

01:00:47now animals just pass you information

01:00:50about what's going to happen and where.

01:00:53With time, you notice that you spend less time

01:00:57among people and more time with animals.

01:01:00Together, you plan campaigns against zoos,

01:01:03circuses, and other places where animals

01:01:06are kept against their will.

01:01:08And then, one day, the unthinkable happens.

01:01:12You're returning home when a black van stops next to you.

01:01:16A few big masked guys grab you and push you inside.

01:01:20The doors close behind your back.

01:01:23Inside, you find out that several influential people

01:01:26aren't happy with your activity.

01:01:29You realize that this trip isn't going to end well.

01:01:33The guys blindfold you and lead you somewhere.

01:01:36But at one moment, you lose your footing

01:01:39and hit your head on something hard.

01:01:44You open your eyes.

01:01:45Milo is standing over you,

01:01:47looking at your lying body rather indifferently.

01:01:50And then, the most terrible thing happens.

01:01:53He meows what sounds like a whole sentence,

01:01:56turns away, and walks out of the bathroom.

01:01:59And you don't understand a meow of what he's saying.

01:02:04Was it all just a dream?

01:02:08Lions, dogs, cats, all these mammals

01:02:11sleep in pretty comfortable positions, but not whales.

01:02:14They look like giant floating loaves of bread,

01:02:17which is a scene one diver accidentally came across

01:02:20in the Caribbean Sea.

01:02:22Six whales were just standing upright

01:02:24with their tails pointed down

01:02:25at a depth of about 65 feet below the surface.

01:02:29Scientists discovered that when sperm whales take a nap,

01:02:32they stay in this position for 10 to 15 minutes.

01:02:35They don't move or breathe.

01:02:37But these creatures spend only 7% of their time asleep,

01:02:41far less than other mammals.

01:02:43Usually, they either rest peacefully in the water

01:02:46or relax, slowly swimming next to other marine animals.

01:02:50When they're moving and sleeping at the same time,

01:02:52they're actually taking a nap.

01:02:54These animals can't go too deep

01:02:56and need to stay close to the surface.

01:02:59Great white sharks sleep and hunt at greater depths,

01:03:02which means one less thing to worry about

01:03:04when taking a quick nap.

01:03:05Plus, it gets pretty cold the deeper you go,

01:03:08and whales need warmer environments

01:03:10that can help them maintain the temperature

01:03:12of their large bodies.

01:03:14When alone, dolphins enter a stage of deep sleep.

01:03:18It usually happens at night

01:03:20and lasts for only a few hours at a time.

01:03:22While sleeping, the animal floats at the surface.

01:03:26It shuts down half of its brain, I can relate,

01:03:29together with the opposite eye.

01:03:31The other half is at a low alert level,

01:03:33awake and ready to react

01:03:35if some unwanted visitor comes closer.

01:03:38The part of the brain that is awake also sends signals

01:03:41when it's time to go up to the surface

01:03:43to take a breath of fresh air.

01:03:45Marine mammals have the blowhole.

01:03:47That's a flap of skin they can open and close

01:03:49whenever they want.

01:03:51People breathe automatically.

01:03:53Your body knows what it needs to do

01:03:54even when you're sleeping.

01:03:56But whales and dolphins have a voluntary breathing system.

01:04:00It means they need to consciously go to the surface

01:04:02to get some air.

01:04:04And one part of their brain needs to always be awake

01:04:07to inform the animal it's time to go up.

01:04:10Whales and dolphins can hold their breath way longer

01:04:13than other species.

01:04:14They also have a higher tolerance for carbon dioxide

01:04:17and can take in more air.

01:04:19Their red blood cells store more oxygen too.

01:04:23Whales' and dolphins' blood goes only to those body parts

01:04:26that really need oxygen.

01:04:28If a whale only uses its brain, heart, fins,

01:04:31and some other muscles needed for swimming at the moment,

01:04:34those will also be the only body parts

01:04:36that will get the oxygen.

01:04:38Digestion or other functions can wait.

01:04:41The ocean is not a place where you can relax

01:04:43and peacefully fall asleep.

01:04:45While sleeping, fish reduce their activity.

01:04:48Their metabolism becomes slow.

01:04:50Some of them keep floating in the same spot.

01:04:53Others find a safer place among corals or in the mud.

01:04:57Early in life, dolphins learn to make a unique whistle

01:05:00that helps others from their pod to identify them.

01:05:03That means these specific whistles are their names

01:05:07and dolphins do respond to them.

01:05:09Clams have feet.

01:05:11It looks like a large tongue

01:05:12that sometimes protrudes from the shell,

01:05:15but that's actually the foot.

01:05:17And it's relatively long compared

01:05:19to the length of the animal.

01:05:20Clams use this limb to dig themselves in the sand.

01:05:24The blue whale is the largest living animal

01:05:27and it's also larger than the majority

01:05:29of dinosaurs used to be.

01:05:31They can grow to more than 100 feet long

01:05:33and have a weight of almost 200 tons.

01:05:36That's like 50 adult elephants.

01:05:38A blue whale's tongue alone can weigh more than one elephant.

01:05:42Such a giant surely needs to eat a lot,

01:05:44half a million calories in just one mouthful.

01:05:48The blue whale's heart is the size of a small car

01:05:51and weighs 1,300 pounds.

01:05:54To move the blood through such a giant body,

01:05:56the heartbeats are so strong,

01:05:58you can hear them even from two miles away.

01:06:01The heart of a whale beats only 8 to 10 times per minute.

01:06:05The whale is one of the loudest creatures out there.

01:06:08Its call can go up to 180 decibels,

01:06:10which is as loud as a jet plane.

01:06:13Almost 95% of jellyfish's body is made of water.

01:06:17For comparison, the human body is 60% water.

01:06:21It's probably not a surprise

01:06:23since jellyfish don't have a heart, blood, eyes, or brain.

01:06:27The other 5% of their body weight

01:06:29is proteins, muscles, and nerve cells.

01:06:32Jellyfish have been around for more than 500 million years.

01:06:36This makes them older than dinosaurs.

01:06:38These creatures haven't changed much,

01:06:40and today's jellyfish are pretty much like their ancestors.

01:06:44These creatures live in the ocean,

01:06:46but in 1991, more than 2,000 jellyfish polyps

01:06:50were taken into space.

01:06:52Scientists wanted to see how they would react

01:06:54in the environment with no gravity.

01:06:56The jellyfish reproduced and created 60,000 new polyps,

01:07:01but unfortunately, those couldn't function normally

01:07:04after getting back to Earth.

01:07:06One species of jellyfish can literally live forever.

01:07:09As it grows older, the critter goes down to the seafloor

01:07:12to become a polyp again,

01:07:14and that polyp turns into a new jellyfish

01:07:16with the same genetics.

01:07:19Greenland sharks can live 500 years.

01:07:22This is an animal with almost the longest lifespan

01:07:25among vertebrates.

01:07:27Sperm whales are sociable creatures.

01:07:29They spend their life surrounded by their family.

01:07:32These animals support one another

01:07:33and have close friends they remember well,

01:07:36even if they don't see each other for a long time.

01:07:39Electric eels have small eyes that are not so effective

01:07:43in environments with no light,

01:07:45so they mostly rely on their electric organs.

01:07:48Those consist of 6,000 cells.

01:07:51Eels use them to stow power, similar to batteries.

01:07:54These creatures use electricity

01:07:56like bats use their radars or dolphins their sonar.

01:08:00An eel can also produce enough electricity

01:08:03to power a panel of light bulbs.

01:08:06There's a small tropical archerfish

01:08:08that can learn to recognize human faces.

01:08:11This fish has an interesting ability

01:08:13to spit small jets of water from its mouth.

01:08:16Researchers showed the fish the image

01:08:18of two different faces placed side-by-side.

01:08:21One was unknown and the other was familiar.

01:08:24The fish was supposed to spit water at the familiar one.

01:08:28The creature took the right guess

01:08:29more than 80% of the time.

01:08:32Every year in the winter,

01:08:33great white sharks that live

01:08:35along the California coastline disappear.

01:08:38It feels as if they take a vacation for 30 to 40 days.

01:08:42The animals go to a point halfway

01:08:44between Hawaii and Mexico.

01:08:46They might do it to get some food, relax,

01:08:48or hang out with their buddies from other areas.

01:08:51The spot is now called the Whale Shark Cafe.

01:08:55Some types of sharks, like makos, whale sharks,

01:08:57or white sharks, breathe in a very specific way.

01:09:01It requires them to swim all the time.

01:09:04They also need to move quickly and with their mouth open.

01:09:07This way, the oxygen can enter and reach their gills.

01:09:11Sea sponges are some of the most primitive animals.

01:09:14They're immobile, don't have a mouth, eyes, bones,

01:09:17brain, heart, lungs, or any other organ whatsoever.

01:09:21And still, they're alive.

01:09:23There's such a thing as a sea unicorn.

01:09:26That's an animal called the narwhal.

01:09:28Its horn is actually a tooth

01:09:30that can grow up to 10 feet long.

01:09:32Manatees, also known as sea cows,

01:09:35are distant relatives of elephants.

01:09:37Their weight can go up to 1,000 pounds.

01:09:40These creatures are vegetarian and need to eat

01:09:42around 10% of their total weight on a daily basis.

01:09:46That's lots of sea salad.

01:09:48In some cases, manatees share space with alligators,

01:09:52but they get along pretty well.

01:09:54You can even find a photo from Florida

01:09:56where an alligator rides a manatee's back.

01:10:00Frogfish have special fins

01:10:02that help these creatures walk along the sand.

01:10:05They're very useful in shallow waters.

01:10:08A ghost pipefish is hard to see,

01:10:10but once you spot it, you're bound to get really surprised.

01:10:14Its head makes up over 40% of its body.

01:10:18Crabs don't feel like wasting time on such formalities

01:10:21as putting foods in their mouth.

01:10:23That's why they taste it with their feet,

01:10:25which is where their taste buds are.

01:10:28Marine iguanas are the only lizards on our planet

01:10:30that like spending time in the ocean,

01:10:32even though they mainly live on land.

01:10:35They're herbivores that feed in shallow waters

01:10:37and swim like snakes.

01:10:39Iguanas use their long claws to hold onto the bottom

01:10:42when they need to graze.

01:10:44Green turtles can cross over 1,400 miles when migrating.

01:10:49They try to find the perfect spot to lay their eggs.

01:10:52Penguins sort of fly when they're underwater,

01:10:55reaching a speed of 25 miles per hour.

01:10:59More than 5 million years ago, I've heard,

01:11:01I wasn't around then,

01:11:03deep sea worms and humans had a common ancestor.

01:11:06So we still share 70% of our genes with these creatures

01:11:10and with sea stars, squid, and octopuses.

01:11:15The ocean covers over 70% of our planet

01:11:18and over 80% of it is unexplored.

01:11:21More than 1 million species live there,

01:11:23but there are not only animals,

01:11:253 million shipwrecks are lying all over the ocean floor,

01:11:29hiding mysterious stories.

01:11:31Many of them are yet to be discovered.

01:11:39I have news for you.

01:11:41Rats are ticklish.

01:11:43Well, I thought it was news.

01:11:45Anyway, they have a so-called laugh center

01:11:47in their mid-brain,

01:11:48and it activates when someone tickles the animals

01:11:51or when they engage in some fun and playful activities.

01:11:54Scientists discovered this in 2016

01:11:57after tickling the rodents on their bellies

01:11:59and listening to their squeaky giggles.

01:12:02Now, hummingbirds are the only birds we know about

01:12:04that can fly backward.

01:12:06They mostly do it when they want to move away from flowers.

01:12:09And here's an animal that can't go backward, a kangaroo.

01:12:13They can hop around and cross great distances,

01:12:16but the structure of their strong rear feet and big tails

01:12:19prevent them from walking backwards.

01:12:24Narwhals are those weird creatures

01:12:26that look like some sort of sea unicorns.

01:12:29That horn on their head is not a tusk.

01:12:32It's a giant tooth that sticks out

01:12:34through the upper lip of male narwhals.

01:12:37This tooth is probably one of the tools

01:12:39that plays a role in attracting ladies.

01:12:43Now, flamingos are not actually pink.

01:12:45They're born gray, but throughout their life,

01:12:48they eat lots of algae and other foods

01:12:50that contain a red-orange pigment

01:12:52we know as beta-carotene, like in carrots.

01:12:55This pigment gets broken down

01:12:57and ends up in their skin and feathers,

01:12:59which is what makes them pink.

01:13:01They need to eat a lot of such food

01:13:03to stay like that, though.

01:13:04If we humans wanted to change our skin color,

01:13:07we wouldn't be able to eat enough food

01:13:09rich in beta-carotene to really turn pink,

01:13:12or in our case, maybe even orange.

01:13:17Sloths are really slow.

01:13:20All the jokes and memes about them are true,

01:13:22but they're also very skilled swimmers,

01:13:26and they move in the water

01:13:26around three to four times quicker than on land.

01:13:29They can do breaststroke just like people,

01:13:31and it's an important skill for them to have

01:13:33because they're tropical animals

01:13:35that mostly live in jungles,

01:13:37and those areas are often flooded.

01:13:40Tigers are the biggest members of the feline family.

01:13:42Yup, even bigger than lions.

01:13:45And no tiger has the same set of stripes.

01:13:47Their coat is actually a camouflage

01:13:49that comes in handy when they need to find a good spot

01:13:52where their prey won't see them.

01:13:55Their skin is striped too, not just the coat.

01:13:58Their stripes are as unique as our fingerprints.

01:14:03Now, even though they look kind of funny and innocent,

01:14:06you wouldn't want to bother a platypus.

01:14:08These wild animals are some of the few mammal species

01:14:11that can poison you.

01:14:13They have spurs on the tips of their back feet

01:14:15that can release venom.

01:14:17It's not potent enough to pose a life threat,

01:14:19but the stain can still be very painful

01:14:22and can cause swelling and other issues.

01:14:25When a ladybug needs to defend itself

01:14:27against potential predators,

01:14:29it starts bleeding from its knees.

01:14:31Now, it's not actual blood coming out of its joints.

01:14:34It's a certain chemical that smells bad

01:14:36and therefore repels predators.

01:14:39They have another mechanism that helps them survive

01:14:42in the harsh animal kingdom, their specific color.

01:14:45Predators really don't like the combinations

01:14:47of bright colors, such as red, orange, and black,

01:14:50because they know that creatures colored this way

01:14:53can taste awful.

01:14:57Roosters can get extremely noisy in the morning,

01:15:00but they don't go deaf because they don't even hear

01:15:02how loud their crowing can be.

01:15:05What keeps them safe

01:15:06is special built-in noise protection plugs.

01:15:09Hens have the same system

01:15:10that reduces the risk of hearing loss too.

01:15:13Not only do they have this protection,

01:15:15but they can also regrow cochlear hair ears

01:15:17if they get damaged in only a couple of days.

01:15:21Owls don't have eyeballs.

01:15:23They have something that's more like eye tubes,

01:15:26and they can't move them back and forth

01:15:28like we do with our eyeballs,

01:15:30which is why these birds have incredibly flexible necks.

01:15:33They're able to rotate their heads 270 degrees.

01:15:37For comparison, humans can only manage 180.

01:15:41That's why owls have a specific system

01:15:43of blood vessels in their heads.

01:15:45It delivers fresh blood to the brain

01:15:47if the bird turns its head too quickly

01:15:49and cuts off circulation.

01:15:52Just keep swimming.

01:15:55You may remember how Dory the Blue Tang

01:15:57sang this in Finding Nemo.

01:15:59Dory wasn't a shark,

01:16:00but that's a message some shark species

01:16:03need to take literally.

01:16:04Mako sharks, great whites, whale sharks,

01:16:07and some other kinds need to keep swimming.

01:16:10Otherwise, they'll stop breathing.

01:16:12We use our lungs for breathing,

01:16:14and some sharks use a method called buko pumping.

01:16:17This means they swim with their mouths open.

01:16:20That way, they allow water to flow through their gills

01:16:23and thus extract oxygen.

01:16:27The most dangerous animal on our planet

01:16:30isn't a bear, a shark, or some toothy tiger.

01:16:33It's something way smaller, the mosquito.

01:16:36Not only is it extremely irritating,

01:16:38but it also transfers serious diseases

01:16:41such as yellow fever, malaria, or dengue fever.

01:16:44Annually, hundreds of thousands of people

01:16:47don't survive the battle with those diseases.

01:16:49Mosquitoes also outnumber every other creature

01:16:52across the globe, apart from termites and ants.

01:16:58Grizzly bears are incredibly strong animals

01:17:00with a bite powerful enough to crush a bowling ball.

01:17:03That's why you won't see them allowed in bowling alleys.

01:17:06Despite that, they're mostly light eaters.

01:17:09They're strong enough to make a meal

01:17:10out of whatever they come across,

01:17:12including a bison, moose, or elk.

01:17:15But they still like to munch on their fruits, nuts, berries,

01:17:18and even a small unfortunate mouse that gets lost

01:17:22and ends up in the predator's mouth.

01:17:25The inland taipan is the most venomous snake on the planet.

01:17:29We know it as the Western taipan.

01:17:31It lives in Australia.

01:17:33Just one bite has enough venom to turn out fatal

01:17:36for at least 100 fully grown humans.

01:17:38And it can also do the job within only half an hour

01:17:41if you don't have anything to treat the bite right away.

01:17:45They say these snakes are mostly shy

01:17:46and they mind their own business.

01:17:48But like other animals, they will attack

01:17:51if they feel threatened or provoked.

01:17:56There's a kind of turtle that can stay alive

01:17:58for months under the ice by breathing through its behind.

01:18:01When it gets colder,

01:18:02some animals can't find safe places to stay,

01:18:05so they must survive harsh winter conditions

01:18:08wherever they are.

01:18:09And while bees get cozy in their nests

01:18:12and bears sleep in caves,

01:18:13painted turtles stay in their ponds that freeze over.

01:18:17Since the ice limits their access to air,

01:18:19they extract oxygen directly from the water

01:18:22and breathe through their behinds.

01:18:24Yes, that would be handy.

01:18:27It's well known that ravens

01:18:28are incredibly intelligent animals.

01:18:30They're excellent at solving problems,

01:18:33but it seems they also have impressive social intelligence.

01:18:36They're very in tune with their feelings

01:18:38as well as the emotions of their mates.

01:18:41If one raven in the group feels pessimistic,

01:18:43it's likely to bring the others down too.

01:18:46A real buzzkill.

01:18:48When they see a bird that doesn't like certain food

01:18:50and expresses it in a very vivid way,

01:18:53they lose interest in their own food as well.

01:18:58The pistol shrimp is one of the loudest animals

01:19:00in the world, even though it's tiny,

01:19:02only about 3 quarters of an inch long.

01:19:05When it senses food, it opens its large claw

01:19:08that can grow as long as half its body length

01:19:11and lets some water in.

01:19:12Then it snaps the claw shut extremely fast,

01:19:15which shoots out a very strong jet of bubbles.

01:19:18These bubbles can stun or even finish the prey

01:19:21the shrimp is trying to catch.

01:19:22And when the bubbles pop, it produces a snapping sound,

01:19:26louder than anyone would expect.

01:19:29Crocodiles are even scarier than we thought

01:19:31because many of them can gallop like horses.

01:19:34They probably inherited this ability

01:19:36from their ancient ancestors who were as small as cats,

01:19:39had long legs, and could run at speeds

01:19:42of about 11 miles per hour.

01:19:44Smaller crocodiles probably gallop

01:19:46when something's after them,

01:19:47but caimans and alligators obviously don't need

01:19:50to use this skill.

01:19:51It's you who's more likely to gallop away

01:19:53when you see them.

01:19:56So, Megalodon was one of the biggest

01:19:58and most ferocious monsters on our planet.

01:20:01Powerful jaws, razor-sharp teeth, gigantic size.

01:20:04But what do you know about how it sounded?

01:20:07Imagine how loudly it growled,

01:20:10permeating the underwater world with sound vibrations.

01:20:13This sound resembled, eh, nothing.

01:20:15Megalodon didn't have a voice.

01:20:17It was a voice that sounded like a human voice.

01:20:20It was a voice that sounded like a human voice.

01:20:23Megalodon didn't have a voice.

01:20:25It was a shark, and sharks don't have sound-producing organs.

01:20:28It was a quiet danger.

01:20:30But despite its muteness, yes, that is a word,

01:20:34you could have still heard it.

01:20:36Come with me.

01:20:37Now you're underwater, clenching your fist,

01:20:39raising your hand, and quickly bringing it down.

01:20:43Now imagine that you have a big submarine

01:20:45instead of a fist, and hear the water flowing

01:20:47around the smooth surface of the hull.

01:20:50That's what a Megalodon sounded like.

01:20:52When this monster was swimming out to the surface

01:20:54and opening its jaws, it sounded like a waterfall.

01:20:58The giant shark swam at high speed.

01:21:01When the water was passing through its mouth and gills,

01:21:03it sounded like a flowing river, a fast, powerful river.

01:21:07Megalodon had no voice,

01:21:09only the scary sound of flowing water.

01:21:12Other ancient fish could make sounds,

01:21:14but you would hardly hear them.

01:21:16Whales, dolphins, and their distant ancestors

01:21:18are not counted because they're mammals.

01:21:21Fish communicated at frequencies elusive to human ears.

01:21:25They still have this ability.

01:21:27But in most, the ocean was and is a pretty quiet place.

01:21:31So let's get out on ancient lands

01:21:33and check what was going on with the sounds there.

01:21:36Thanks to modern technologies,

01:21:38scientists can analyze the sounds of many ancient animals.

01:21:42Using CT scans, they found that some dinosaurs

01:21:45had complex systems of small open pockets in their skulls.

01:21:49They used these winding cranial mazes

01:21:52to reproduce a wide range of sounds

01:21:54and regulate body temperature.

01:21:56And people have managed to hear them.

01:21:58An ancient bird that lived 79 to 140 million years ago,

01:22:03Vegasus, sounded similar to some farm birds

01:22:06like duck and geese.

01:22:08But the ancient creature probably screamed in a scarier way.

01:22:12Scientists found this out thanks to the syrinx fossil

01:22:15they discovered in 2016 in Antarctica.

01:22:17It's the oldest known vocal organ in the world.

01:22:20It helped Vegasus make a double humming sound

01:22:23coming from the left and right sides of the syrinx.

01:22:26Imagine a duck and goose screaming.

01:22:28Increase the volume several times.

01:22:31Perhaps that's what its distant ancestors sound like.

01:22:34As for other flying reptiles like the pterodactyl,

01:22:38it couldn't scream like Vegasus

01:22:40because it didn't have a syrinx.

01:22:42These winged monsters could growl, hiss, and snap their beaks.

01:22:46And this was their most effective sound.

01:22:48Remember any tall basketball player.

01:22:51The skull of the pterodactyl was slightly longer than their height.

01:22:55Just imagine what a noise the dinosaur created

01:22:57when it was snapping its powerful beak.

01:23:00The clicking sound could deafen and frighten

01:23:02other ancient creatures nearby.

01:23:04Now, you probably know what a tyrannosaurus sounds like

01:23:08thanks to the movies.

01:23:09Among thousands of others,

01:23:11you'll recognize this prolonged roar

01:23:13similar to a chainsaw, vacuum cleaner, and horn.

01:23:16And, honestly, its roar has a lot in common

01:23:19with the natural sounds this monster could make.

01:23:22Thanks to modern technologies and well-preserved remains,

01:23:26scientists managed to simulate the voice of these ancient animals.

01:23:29Imagine you're uploading data about a T. rex into a program

01:23:33and preparing to hear an intimidating roar.

01:23:36You press play and...

01:23:38it sounds like a bee.

01:23:40Tyrannosaurus rex's scream was similar to birds, not mammals.

01:23:44But it wasn't just a bee.

01:23:46It used nostrils to scream, not a mouth.

01:23:49The hum came from the chest and resembled a siren with low bass.

01:23:53Maybe it sounded a lot more intimidating than what we saw in the movies.

01:23:57It was louder than all the trumpets of the symphony orchestra.

01:24:00And it did it only with the help of its nose.

01:24:03It's not known for sure whether it could growl through the mouth.

01:24:07You could also hear how long-necked dinosaurs sounded in the movies.

01:24:12Their calls were similar to those of elephants.

01:24:14Something between a saxophone and a car horn.

01:24:17But, in fact, these tall creatures whispered.

01:24:21Almost all mammals make sounds thanks to the laryngeal nerve.

01:24:25This nerve runs down along the neck,

01:24:27then goes around the blood vessels of the chest,

01:24:30and comes back to the larynx.

01:24:32In short, the brain gives a signal,

01:24:34and it passes twice the distance along the body

01:24:37before the sound is released from the mouth.

01:24:39And now, remember those long necks of dinosaurs?

01:24:43This was the height of a five-story building.

01:24:45But the voice signal had to run a distance of ten floors.

01:24:49It took too long to make this long trip.

01:24:51And this affected the dinosaurs' roar.

01:24:54So, when they wanted to make a sound, they just hissed.

01:24:58And it was probably similar to the sound of a giant viper.

01:25:02But the most detailed sounds scientists have managed to get

01:25:05belongs to the Parasaurolophus.

01:25:08You know this herbivorous dinosaur

01:25:10thanks to the long crest on the back of its head.

01:25:13We saw the dinosaur using it in movies and documentaries

01:25:16to fight opponents and enemies.

01:25:18Some scientists believed it also used the comb

01:25:21to drop fruits and leaves from trees.

01:25:23Others thought the dinosaur used it to improve its sense of smell.

01:25:27But it turned out that, in addition to self-defense and fighting,

01:25:31they used the comb to make loud and scary sounds in different keys.

01:25:35Scientists replicated this with fantastic accuracy

01:25:39thanks to the structure of its hard tissues.

01:25:41Almost all living beings with a voice use soft organs to make sounds.

01:25:46And these soft tissues decompose quickly.

01:25:49Parasaurolophus had solid ones.

01:25:51They noticed tubes leading from the nostrils to the crest

01:25:55and back to the nostrils when they found the skull.

01:25:57It was like a crumhorn, a curved musical wind instrument.

01:26:02This proved the dinosaur used the crest on the back of its head

01:26:05to make the sounds louder.

01:26:07The comb allowed it to trumpet

01:26:09so its relatives could hear it in the forest.

01:26:11They made humming sounds with low and high notes.

01:26:14Mix a saxophone and trumpet with a goose hum,

01:26:17car horns and low frequencies,

01:26:19then increase the volume several times.

01:26:22That's what Parasaurolophus sounded like.

01:26:25That's also what my 4th grade band sounded like.

01:26:28But I digress.

01:26:29You can listen to different shades and timbres of this dinosaur on the Internet.

01:26:33It used noises with different tones to create complex social connections.

01:26:38They could communicate, identify each other,

01:26:40trumpet danger, or conversely, signal their friendly intentions.

01:26:45Alright, we've just heard how some ancient reptiles sounded.

01:26:48But what about ancient insects?

01:26:51They didn't have vocal cords, of course.

01:26:53Instead, they used friction between body parts.

01:26:56Look at modern crickets chirping with their wings.

01:26:59One wing has tiny notches.

01:27:01The second has the shape of a mediator.

01:27:04Take a simple plastic comb and run your fingertip over its teeth.

01:27:07Crickets make their sounds by the same principle.

01:27:10Their wings vibrate and release a series of sound waves into the air.

01:27:14But the clicking of an ancient bush cricket was very different from modern insects

01:27:19since they were much noisier.

01:27:21The sounds of these clicks were like a whistle.

01:27:24With the help of high-frequency waves,

01:27:26they could also communicate secretly as if they were doing it through a closed radio channel.

01:27:31If you heard this, you would hardly be able to fall asleep to it.

01:27:35Now, modern crickets are not so loud

01:27:38as they began to add more high frequencies to their sounds.

01:27:41Higher pitch waves don't spread as far,

01:27:44reducing the risk that a bat will hear the insects.

01:27:47Just imagine how the jungle of that time sounded.

01:27:50The loud chirping of crickets hurts the ears.

01:27:54Then you hear a Brachiosaurus hissing.

01:27:57The clicks of Pterodactyls shake the sky like thunderclaps.

01:28:01Then you hear the trumpet sounds of different tones somewhere in the jungle.

01:28:05These are Parasaurolophus communicating with each other.

01:28:08And then you get scared by a loud Tyrannosaurus siren.

01:28:12What a racket!

01:28:14You'd probably not find peace in such conditions.

01:28:17Fortunately, humans appeared millions of years later.

01:28:20And, by the way,

01:28:21scientists have managed to find out and understand what our distant ancestors sounded like.

01:28:27They carefully examined the insert function of the mouth, nose and throat on the Neanderthal skeleton.

01:28:33Their voices were similar to ours,

01:28:35but the phonetic range of an adult Neanderthal was the same as if they were 2 to 3 years old.

01:28:41It was like mumbling without consonant sounds.

01:28:44The study of the skull couldn't recreate precisely the sound of Neanderthals.

01:28:48But in 2007, scientists extracted DNA samples from their bones.

01:28:53They found a variation of the gene that responds to human speech.

01:28:57Scientists believe that Neanderthals fought with Homo sapiens.

01:29:01You know, our family tree.

01:29:03As a result of this conflict, their kind became extinct.

01:29:07But the found gene points they could have had other connections with each other.

01:29:12Perhaps Neanderthals could understand their language and even pronounce some words.

01:29:18Take a look at these animals.

01:29:21There's a deer,

01:29:22a dolphin,

01:29:23a squirrel,

01:29:24and a dinosaur?

01:29:26You've already figured out. I'm about to ask you what they all have in common, right?

01:29:31The boring answer is they've all lived on this planet at a certain point in time, blah blah blah, sure.

01:29:38What's even more surprising about their common features is their coloration.

01:29:43On that note, let me tell you about Abbott Thayer and his amazing theories on animal coloration.

01:29:50He was a portrait painter extraordinaire, but he also had a thing for the colors of the natural world.

01:29:57He came up with some pretty cool ideas about how animals can stay hidden from predators or prey,

01:30:04and they're still relevant today.

01:30:07One of his most famous theories is called countershading.

01:30:11Basically, animals are painted by nature so that the parts that get the most light from the sky are the darkest, and vice versa.

01:30:20It's like they're wearing the perfect outfit to match their environment.

01:30:24And let me tell you, this technique is not just for fashion-savvy animals.

01:30:29It's also used by ships to avoid detection.

01:30:33Thayer and his friend even got a patent for it.

01:30:38Thayer also came up with the idea of background blending,

01:30:41which is when an animal or object is painted to match the colors of its surroundings.

01:30:47Think of it as a natural camouflage suit.

01:30:50Thayer didn't stop there, though.

01:30:52He also proposed a theory on something called disruptive or dazzle camouflage.

01:30:58This is when an object is painted with a crazy pattern to make it harder to judge its distance or speed.

01:31:05It's like when you're trying to hit a piñata that's moving all over the place,

01:31:08and you can't quite get your timing right.

01:31:12Think about it.

01:31:13If you're a shark swimming beneath the surface of the ocean,

01:31:16and you look up, you're going to see the bright sky and the lighter-colored ocean surface.

01:31:22If you're a prey animal swimming on the surface,

01:31:25your lighter belly will blend in with the bright sky,

01:31:28while your darker back will blend in with the deeper water.

01:31:32It's not just aquatic animals that use countershading to their advantage.

01:31:37Land animals like deer and rabbits have lighter bellies and darker backs,

01:31:42which helps them blend in with the dappled light of the forest floor.

01:31:46And let's not forget about birds.

01:31:49Many birds have countershading on their feathers,

01:31:52which helps them blend in with the sky when seen from below,

01:31:55and the ground when seen from above.

01:31:58Some creatures out there have a way of warning others that they're not to be messed with.

01:32:03Yeah, it's called opposematism,

01:32:06a fancy word for using bright colors or markings to let predators know that they're toxic,

01:32:11or just downright unappetizing.

01:32:15Take the skunk, for example.

01:32:18That broad white stripe on its back is like a neon sign that says,

01:32:22don't get too close or else you'll regret it.

01:32:26And those yellow-banded poison dart frogs?

01:32:29They're walking billboards for their own poison with their bright and graphic colors,

01:32:34letting everyone know that they're not to be fooled with.

01:32:38Even wasps use the power of bright colors to signal to potential threats that they're packing a sting.

01:32:45And you know those cute little ladybugs?

01:32:47The brighter they are, the more toxic they can be.

01:32:51Who knew that something so adorable could be so deadly?

01:32:56It turns out that white, yellow, red, and black are the most effective warning colors in the animal kingdom.

01:33:04Just like how traffic signs caution drivers,

01:33:07these bright markings are nature's way of saying, watch out, buddy!

01:33:11If you ever come across a critter with some serious bling,

01:33:15just remember they're not trying to be fashionable.

01:33:19How come some animals have evolved to use bright colors and others didn't?

01:33:24It's a question that's been baffling scientists for a long time.

01:33:29Thankfully, one theory coming from a team of researchers at the University of Arizona

01:33:34has uncovered some interesting insights into this colorful mystery.

01:33:40It turns out that the function of an animal's vibrant coloring

01:33:44is strongly linked to the activity patterns of its evolutionary ancestors.

01:33:49So species that use their bright colors to attract mates

01:33:53are usually descended from ancestors that were active during the day.

01:33:58Meanwhile, those that use their colors to ward off predators

01:34:02usually had ancestors that were active at night.

01:34:06It seems that animals have evolved to use their colors in the most advantageous way possible.

01:34:13Now, you may be wondering how vivid coloration even came to be in the first place.

01:34:20Well, it seems that early in their evolution, most species started out pretty plain and drab.

01:34:26But over time, bright colors evolved across many different lineages

01:34:31because they helped animals survive and reproduce.

01:34:35But not all bright colors are created equal.

01:34:40Researchers found that vividly colored lizards and birds

01:34:43usually use their coloring as a mating signal to attract partners,

01:34:48while colorful amphibians and snakes often wear their colors as a warning sign for predators.

01:34:54And get this.

01:34:55Many of these amphibians and snakes are diurnal now or active during the day,

01:35:00but their ancestors were actually nocturnal, active at night.

01:35:05So, there's no clear connection between warning colors and present-day activity patterns.

01:35:12Mother Nature sure is creative when it comes to helping animals adapt and survive in the wild.

01:35:19But there are some creatures out there that could take the award for the weirdest animals any day.

01:35:25Have you ever stopped to think about what it would be like

01:35:28if we could see through all the layers that protect our internal organs?

01:35:32Because that's exactly what has happened with the glass frog.

01:35:38Imagine you're strolling through the lush rainforest of Central and South America

01:35:43and you come across a tiny little frog perched on a leaf.

01:35:47From above, it looks like your average run-of-the-mill frog,

01:35:51but if you flip it over, you'll see all its organs on display, heart, intestines, and all.

01:35:58You might be wondering why on Earth these frogs have evolved to be see-through.

01:36:03It turns out that their super-thin translucent skin actually helps them blend in with their surroundings too.

01:36:10When light shines on them from above,

01:36:12their silhouette becomes all jumbled up and difficult for predators to decipher.

01:36:18And let's face it, when you're surrounded by vibrant greenery,

01:36:21a green topcoat is a perfect camouflage.

01:36:26But what about those transparent legs?

01:36:28Well, they help to blur the outlines of the frog's body,

01:36:32making it even tougher for predators to recognize their shape.

01:36:37I, for one, had no idea penguins also came in yellow!

01:36:43One wildlife photographer stumbled upon a sight

01:36:46that left him gobsmacked on a remote island in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

01:36:52He captured some amazing images of a yellow king penguin

01:36:56that had everyone on the beach flapping with excitement.

01:37:00There were 120,000 birds on that beach and this was the only yellow one there.

01:37:07Scientists are scratching their heads as to how this coloration happened naturally.

01:37:13They think it's a form of leucism,

01:37:15which is basically an animal's inability to produce the proper pigments for its natural coloration.

01:37:21But they're not entirely sure.

01:37:23All king penguins produce small amounts of this yellow pigment naturally,

01:37:27but in this particular bird, it seems to be the only pigment the animal could produce.

01:37:33Talk about standing out from the crowd, am I right?

01:37:37There are some colors, though, you'll rarely find in the animal kingdom.

01:37:42According to some polls, blue is one of, if not the most popular colors amongst people.

01:37:49Most animals, however, have a tough time sporting this shade.

01:37:53Some animals get their pigment from the food they eat,

01:37:56like how flamingos turn pink from eating shrimp,

01:37:59or how goldfish can alter their golden hue based on their diet.

01:38:04But unfortunately, there's no true blue pigments in plants,

01:38:08so animals can't turn blue through their food.

01:38:11Instead, they have to get creative.

01:38:14For instance, some animals make structures that change the wavelength of light to appear blue.

01:38:20The blue morpho butterfly is a great example of this.

01:38:24Its wing scales are shaped in ridges that cause light to blend in such a way that it reflects only the blue color.

01:38:32If the scales were shaped differently, the butterfly would lose its beautiful blue color.

01:38:45Ever marveled at how keen your dog's hearing is?

01:38:50I mean, it can hear you opening a bag of chips even if you're on a different floor in the house.

01:38:56Even with this amazing ability, most household dogs don't have the best hearing in the animal kingdom.

01:39:02Actually, they're not even in the top five.

01:39:05On that note, let's venture into the world of animal hearing

01:39:09and try to imagine what life sounds like for other creatures.

01:39:14Look, we humans are pretty great.

01:39:17We've got all kinds of talents.

01:39:19But when it comes to the auditory olympics, we're not even in the running.

01:39:22Put us next to a cat or a bat, and our ears look kind of basic.

01:39:26Take elephants, for instance.

01:39:28They are big animals, and so are their ears.

01:39:31Their auditory organs are capable of capturing infrasound waves.

01:39:36Now, these are not your run-of-the-mill sound waves.

01:39:39They're low-frequency, rumbling whispers that we humans can't hear.

01:39:43This means elephants can pick up on things like rain clouds on the move.

01:39:48Not only that, but these massive mammals have a pretty clever way of communicating, too.

01:39:53They stomp the ground, creating vibrations barely noticeable to us.

01:39:58But to elephants, these vibrations are the equivalent of a long-distance phone call.

01:40:03The messages are received through their feet and ear bones,

01:40:07even when they're miles apart.

01:40:09Talk about having a good reception.

01:40:16Moving on to bats.

01:40:18They are the masters of night navigation, thanks to their use of echolocation.

01:40:23These animals emit high-frequency sounds, which bounce back after hitting objects.

01:40:28This echo helps bats create a mental map, allowing them to sway flawlessly in the dark.

01:40:35Just when we thought bats couldn't get any cooler,

01:40:38scientists discovered their hearing capabilities extend to their wings.

01:40:43Special hairs called Merkel hairs sense air movements,

01:40:46helping the bats detect upcoming objects.

01:40:49It's not the traditional hearing we're used to,

01:40:51but it's a fantastic adaptation to their environment.

01:40:58Dolphins, on the other hand, are masters of watery acoustics.

01:41:02For starters, you might think that being underwater would put a damper on hearing.

01:41:06But dolphins have turned this challenge into an advantage.

01:41:10They've got their own version of echolocation, emitting sonic pulses from their foreheads.

01:41:16These sounds bounce off objects and are picked up by the dolphin's jaw

01:41:20before being sent to the brain via highly developed auditory nerves.

01:41:24Their ears, though present, don't play a central role in hearing like ours do.

01:41:30Instead, dolphins have found innovative ways to listen,

01:41:33proving yet again how awesome animals are.

01:41:38Don't let their domestic status fool you.

01:41:40Your pet cats and dogs are auditory champs.

01:41:43Cats' ears are designed to catch high-frequency sounds from up to 160 feet away.

01:41:49Handy for catching mice, don't you think?

01:41:52Dogs, on the other hand, are pros at localizing sounds,

01:41:56thanks to the muscles around their ears.

01:41:59Ever seen your pooch perk up their ears when they hear something suspicious?

01:42:03That's their sharp hearing at work.

01:42:09Even the tiniest critters buzzing around us, like insects, can actually listen to the world.

01:42:15In fact, some insects have something akin to our human eardrums.

01:42:20It's a delicate little membrane.

01:42:22Given the name tympani, our eardrums jiggle with the sound waves.

01:42:26That shaking is then turned into a signal our brain would understand.

01:42:30Now, you've surely heard the nightly serenade of crickets or the rhythmic song of cicadas in the summer.

01:42:37These little symphony masters use exactly this kind of setup to listen to their world.

01:42:43That's not all, though.

01:42:45Some bugs take a different approach to eavesdropping on their surroundings.

01:42:49They've got these sensory cells right in the middle of their antennae.

01:42:53This structure is called the Johnston's organ.

01:42:56Take mosquitoes, for instance, or bees, or even fruit flies.

01:43:00They use their antennae not just to feel their way around, but to listen in on the world, too.

01:43:06It gets even wilder.

01:43:08Hawk moths, some dusky, nocturnal creatures, have this unique organ nestled right in their mouths.

01:43:15It's like a superpower that lets them hear ultrasonic sounds.

01:43:20With this, they can dodge the dangerous dives of bats out on the hunt.

01:43:28When it comes to the ultimate hearing trophy, the animal kingdom has a completely unique winner.

01:43:34It's actually a moth.

01:43:36Not just any moth, though.

01:43:38It's the greater wax moth, discovered by the scientists based in Glasgow, Scotland.

01:43:44They've got some fascinating insights about these moths that make our ears want to stand up and listen.

01:43:51Just to give you some context, the greater wax moth does not stand out when it comes to its appearance.

01:43:57I mean, it's... brown.

01:44:00As for its daily activities, it loves nibbling on honeycomb.

01:44:05Despite blending in seamlessly in the animal kingdom, it's got a serious set of ears.

01:44:10How good is its hearing, you ask?

01:44:13Well, it's been found that this tiny creature can pick up on sounds at frequencies up to 300 kHz.

01:44:20By comparison, our human ears can only detect sounds up to around 20 kHz.

01:44:26This already unimpressive ability drops to about 15 kHz as we grow older.

01:44:32I mean, not even dolphins can compete.

01:44:35They can only hear sounds up to about 160 kHz.

01:44:43You're probably wondering, why would a moth need such super hearing?

01:44:47Scientists explain that the reason behind this extraordinary hearing lies in a survival instinct.

01:44:53Predation, to be precise.

01:44:55Bats use high-frequency echolocation calls to find their tasty moth meals, amongst other insects.

01:45:02But these clever little moths have evolved to pick up frequencies even bats might not hit.

01:45:09Despite this reasoning, it was a bit of a mystery as to why these moths would even need to hear such high frequencies.

01:45:16During the research, specialists discovered that their recording at high-frequency ultrasound is tricky business.

01:45:23So there's a chance that bats might actually be capable of emitting calls at these super high frequencies that the moths can hear.

01:45:31To uncover all this, scientists used a specially designed ultrasonic device.

01:45:37It emitted these crazy high frequencies, and they then looked at the moths' reactions using electrodes to measure their neural responses.

01:45:49The practical implications of this research could be far-reaching.

01:45:52Understanding the inner workings of the greater wax moth's ear could have a big impact on the world of technology.

01:45:59This knowledge could help researchers build super tiny microphones, for example.

01:46:05We know that all sorts of critters, from the tiny creatures scuttling on the ground to the gigantic ones swimming in the ocean,

01:46:12can pick up on certain sound frequencies that our human ears just can't.

01:46:17However, scientists have made a fascinating discovery.

01:46:21They've shown, for the first time, that our ability to pick up on tiny differences in sound frequencies might just be superior to that of animals, thanks to our individual neurons.

01:46:34How did they prove this, you ask?

01:46:36Well, they took advantage of a unique technique that lets them record what single neurons are up to in the auditory cortex.

01:46:43That's the part of our brain that's a major player in processing sounds, when we're exposed to various noises.

01:46:52You see, most of what we know about the auditory cortex was unearthed from past research that studied how animals' neural activity reacts to sound.

01:47:01Those studies were super useful in giving us a peek into how sounds are processed in our auditory system.

01:47:07But they didn't really let us know what sets us humans apart in the way we perceive sounds.

01:47:15When scientists tested how we respond to made-up sounds, they found out that our neurons in the auditory cortex responded with a surprising level of accuracy to specific frequencies.

01:47:26They could even pick up differences as tiny as a quarter of a tone just by looking at the reactions of individual neurons.

01:47:36That's a level of detail that you wouldn't typically find in the auditory cortex of other mammals.

01:47:41The one exception might be bats, who use their hearing in pretty unique ways.

01:47:46But this could explain why we humans can distinguish between frequencies better than animals.

01:47:52It seems like the way our brains process sound frequencies has some special features to it.

01:47:58When they played more natural sounds like conversations, music, and everyday noise, the neurons showed complex activity patterns.

01:48:07These patterns couldn't be fully explained just by the neurons' frequency selectivity.

01:48:12Animal studies have shown similar phenomena, but it's the first time we've seen this in humans.

01:48:19It turns out, starfish don't have a head. They are the head.

01:48:23When you first look at a starfish, you think it's got five arms.

01:48:27Scientists have always been curious about why starfish look like this, and in particular, where their heads are.

01:48:34Most animals, including us, have bodies that are bilaterally symmetrical, meaning you can split them down the middle and get two matching sides.

01:48:41But starfish, along with sand dollars and sea anemones, are different.

01:48:46They're radially symmetrical, meaning their bodies have identical parts spread out from the center.

01:48:51Starfish, or sea stars, are special because they have this five-way symmetry, and you can divide them into five equal parts.

01:49:00To make this discovery, scientists used a technique called RNA tomography, which helps study genes.

01:49:06They focused on the genes controlling the outer layer, including the nervous system.

01:49:10Surprisingly, the genes associated with the head were active in the starfish's head and its arms.

01:49:16Yet, genes linked to the body trunk were hardly active.

01:49:21This suggests that starfish have a unique separation between their head and body.

01:49:25The study sparked new questions about how these creatures evolved and what their ancestors with trunks might have been like, based on their fossil records.

01:49:34It also showed that genes active in the head of an acorn worm were also active in a starfish's skin, covering its entire body.

01:49:43These genes are the most active at the center of each arm, changing towards the arm's end to resemble genes found in the rear of other animals.

01:49:52Starfish lack genes for a torso. All this challenges traditional views on starfish anatomy.

01:50:00There's a rumor about Paul McCartney recording an ultrasonic whistle for his Shetland sheepdog at the end of the Beatles song, A Day in the Life.

01:50:10Dogs can hear ultrasonic sounds since their hearing ability is incredible.

01:50:15To move just one of their ears, dogs need to involve 18 muscles.

01:50:19It allows them to swiftly locate the origin of sounds, and it's another skill where they outshine us.

01:50:25Their awesome ears sometimes shadow their noses.

01:50:28Dogs' sense of smell is up to 100,000 times more acute than that of humans.

01:50:33While humans have around 5 million scent receptors, a bloodhound boasts up to 300 million!

01:50:43Another study proves that dogs and bottlenose dolphins may share a fascinating similarity with humans.

01:50:49They call out the names of loved ones when they become separated.

01:50:53This makes them the first non-human animals to do so.

01:50:58The research has uncovered that dolphins copy one another's signature whistles when they're separated from close pals.

01:51:04In the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program recordings, pairs of dolphins were held in separate nets, but they could still communicate with each other.

01:51:12Turns out, some of their chit-chats were mimicking the unique whistles of their dolphin buddies.

01:51:20Next up, we have flamingos with their peculiar dining habits.

01:51:24You often see them feeding with their heads positioned upside down.

01:51:27This distinctive behavior is linked to the anatomy of their mouths and the mechanics of maneuvering their long, elegant necks into the water.

01:51:35These birds are skilled filter feeders, employing their tongues as effective sieves to capture food.

01:51:41When a flamingo lowers its neck beneath the water, it positions its mouth essentially upside down.

01:51:47Then, the bird closes its mouth and skillfully propels water through comb-like extensions on its beak.

01:51:53It also utilizes its tongue to expel the water while retaining all the gathered food.

01:52:01If you've watched the movie My Octopus Teacher on Netflix, you might already know that octopuses can bond with humans.

01:52:08But this time, we'll only focus on the anatomy of this creature.

01:52:11Octopuses have three hearts.

01:52:14One heart pumps blood throughout the body, and the other two tag-teams send that blood to the animal's gills.

01:52:20Octopuses also have nine brains.

01:52:23Each of their eight tentacles has its very own mini-brain.

01:52:26These mini-brains allow each tentacle to move independently at lightning speed.

01:52:31There's a ninth brain in the mix, and this one oversees the entire octonervous system.

01:52:39Opossums are intelligent, in a way, too.

01:52:42They're known for pretending to pass away when their life is threatened.

01:52:46When they face predators, opossums attempt to intimidate their foes by showing their teeth, hissing, and growling.

01:52:52Yet, when these tactics fall short, opossums resort to shutting their eyes, collapsing onto their side and pretending to have passed away.

01:53:01To look more convincing, an opossum might drool, let its tongue hang out, and even excrete waste to enhance the illusion of a sudden demise.

01:53:09Remarkably, opossums can uphold this state for several hours, waiting until they're confident that the threat is gone.

01:53:17Monkeys can be loud when calling one another, but a howler monkey's shout can travel approximately three miles in specific situations.

01:53:25Males are usually louder than females.

01:53:27The thing is, the sound is created by pulling air through a space in an enlarged bone in the animal's throat.

01:53:33This bone is larger in males compared to females, and that's why males sound louder.

01:53:39Polar bears have black skin beneath all that fur.

01:53:45Their fluffy white coat is actually translucent.

01:53:48It only seems white because it bounces back visible light.

01:53:52The skin itself is jet black.

01:53:55These creatures are also impressive when it comes to swimming.

01:53:58They can hit speeds of up to six miles per hour in the water, which is pretty fast for such big creatures.

01:54:05They can swim for miles and keep going for hours.

01:54:08Their big paws are designed for swimming.

01:54:11They use them to paddle through the water while their back legs stay straight and act like a rudder, helping them steer.

01:54:18Since we visited polar bears, we might as well add a romantic fact about penguins here.

01:54:23Male Gentoo and Adelie penguins put themselves out there with proposals.

01:54:28They offer their potential mates precious pebbles, essential for building nests in the harsh Antarctic landscape.

01:54:35If the lady penguin accepts the pebble, they're in it for life, bonded and ready to mate.

01:54:41Another study has found that our adorable house cats share more than 95% of their genetic makeup with tigers.

01:54:48These little furballs also mimic many behaviors of their wild relatives, like marking territory with scents and the classic

01:54:56stalking and pouncing during playtime.

01:54:59Biologically though, a cat's brain is kind of similar to a human's.

01:55:03We share identical emotional regions in our brains.

01:55:07Cats can also make up to a hundred different sounds.

01:55:14Owls have eye tubes or cylinders.

01:55:17Their rod-shaped eyes don't do the eyeball moving.

01:55:20Our eyes can move in almost all directions.

01:55:23Owls have to make a full body or full head turn to look around, all because of night vision.

01:55:30To master the art of seeing in the dark, they need large corneas that can scoop up every bit of light.

01:55:37Most nighttime critters, like slow lorises or tarsiers, have enormous eyes to get the job done.

01:55:43But owls have small skulls on their agenda, so those big eyes couldn't swell out.

01:55:50Cockroaches are notorious for their survival skills, and a key reason is their unique brain structure.

01:55:57They have two brains, one in their head and a more basic one near their abdomen.

01:56:01They're so hard to get because these critters are incredibly quick to react.

01:56:06They have tiny hairs on their rear end that can feel the slightest breeze.

01:56:10When these hairs twitch, the cockroach doesn't waste time.

01:56:13It instantly switches to escape mode.

01:56:16Research shows that a cockroach can react in just one twentieth of a second.

01:56:20So by the time we turn on the light or grab something to target it, the cockroach is already speeding off.

01:56:27Cats can have dreams.

01:56:29Sometimes you can see your cat's whiskers twitching or its legs kicking while it's sleeping.

01:56:34This doesn't necessarily mean your pet is having a nightmare.

01:56:37We can look at human sleep to get a clue about what's happening with our feline friends.

01:56:42During REM sleep, our brains get super active, almost like when we're awake.

01:56:47That's also the prime time for dreaming.

01:56:49REM sleep is named this way because of the quick movements the eyes make under the eyelids.

01:56:54But while our eyes might be moving, the rest of our body stays still.

01:56:59The focus is on what's going on in our minds.

01:57:02This is true for cats too.

01:57:04Besides an occasional twitch, cats usually don't move much when they're asleep.

01:57:09Okay, let's face it.

01:57:11We humans are pretty ordinary.

01:57:13I mean, we're no superheroes with superpowers, right?

01:57:16What, you didn't get the memo?

01:57:18But the animal world has a bunch of superheroes.

01:57:21Some creatures live forever, and those who seem to not care about the laws of gravity.

01:57:26Critters that are immune to venom, and those that can run on water.

01:57:30And some of them will send shivers down your spine.

01:57:33So the first superpower is a cat.

01:57:37So the first superpower on the list is the ability to live without water.

01:57:42Kangaroo rats can get by without water for years.

01:57:46They actually don't mind living without any water.

01:57:49Humans, on the other hand, can only survive 3 days without water.

01:57:53Humans 0, kangaroo rats 1.

01:57:56These little buddies live in extremely arid desert areas,

01:57:59and have to get water from the seeds and plants they eat.

01:58:02And although it may sound a bit disturbing,

01:58:04kangaroo rats also know how to extract water from their urine

01:58:08before they set off on a bathroom trip.

01:58:11This way, they don't waste a single drop of precious moisture.

01:58:15Well, that would come in handy at sporting events.

01:58:18Now let me introduce you to the Peter Parker of the animal world.

01:58:22Yep, seems like Spider-Man is real, but not human.

01:58:26Meet a gecko lizard, or simply gecko.

01:58:29This critter has a marvelous ability to climb up all kinds of vertical surfaces,

01:58:34and can even go for a walk on the ceiling.

01:58:37This gravity-defying feat is possible thanks to the lizard's unique foot pads

01:58:42covered with tiny hairs.

01:58:44They can cling to almost any kind of surface,

01:58:46no matter whether it's smooth, hard, rough, or soft.

01:58:50One more fun fact about these guys is that they lack eyelids.

01:58:54So they always keep an eye wide open for what's going on around them.

01:58:58If you wonder how they keep their eyes protected, here's the answer.

01:59:02Their eyes are covered with a transparent membrane, the cornea.

01:59:06Sure thing they can't close their eyes,

01:59:08and if they have something in their eye, they simply lick it off.

01:59:12Right, they clean their eyeballs by licking them.

01:59:15I guess that's another superpower.

01:59:18Any supersonic superpowers here?

01:59:20Sure.

01:59:21A 1-inch long subtropical shrimp disorients its prey with a sonic boom.

01:59:27Despite its modest size, the pistil shrimp is one of the loudest marine animals.

01:59:32When the shrimp snaps its claws, it creates a sound as loud as a sonic boom.

01:59:37Naturally, this sound stuns the prey, and the shrimp can catch it without too much effort.

01:59:43Now in the comic world, there's Venom.

01:59:46In the animal world, there's a guy that can be called Anti-Venom.

01:59:50Opossums are known for their handy trick of pretending to have passed away

01:59:54when a predator attacks them.

01:59:56But that's not the end of the story.

01:59:58These guys are also immune to rattlesnake and pit viper venom.

02:00:02The secret is a peptide that helps opossums neutralize dangerous chemicals.

02:00:07This is the reason why snakes are a favorite treat on opossums' diet.

02:00:11There's one curious thing they have on their diet – ticks.

02:00:15One opossum can hoover up about 5,000 ticks per season,

02:00:19and most of them are picked off their own bodies.

02:00:22Now, imagine a fish that is so notorious that it's called a dangerous fish.

02:00:28It's Mabenga, and it literally translates to dangerous fish in Swahili.

02:00:33This monster lives in freshwater and doesn't mind having a crocodile for lunch.

02:00:38Not a whole crocodile, but Mabenga can take a bite out of them.

02:00:42But to be honest, these guys are intimidated by the crocodiles,

02:00:46the same way the crocs are intimidated by them.

02:00:49Now, you're watching this video on some gadget, right?

02:00:52Well, we all owe the gadgets we have to the electric eels in some way.

02:00:57I mean, all gadgets have batteries,

02:00:59and eels contributed a lot to the invention of an electric battery back in 1800.

02:01:05I know, I know, the batteries have unrecognizably changed since then,

02:01:09but still, the first electric battery ever was invented thanks to electric eels.

02:01:15Anyway, if you see one of them and want to thank them for their magnificent invention,

02:01:20don't do that.

02:01:21Thing is, they can deliver shocks up to 860 volts.

02:01:25You don't want to experience that.

02:01:28Now, let's talk about the Count Dracula of the animal kingdom.

02:01:32Nope, I'm not talking about bats.

02:01:34I'm talking about the fanged vampire fish.

02:01:37These fish are known as payara and have two long fangs protruding from their lower jaw.

02:01:43Here's why some people associate them with vampires.

02:01:47Hippos are the beauty gurus since they know how to save a fortune on skincare.

02:01:52Living under the harsh African sun,

02:01:55these animals secrete a sweat-like red oily substance that evaporates and keeps the animals' bodies cool.

02:02:02Besides, the fluid works as a moisturizer, sunscreen, and antibiotic all in one.

02:02:08But they're not the only ones with such a superpower.

02:02:11Atlantis shrimp know how to produce natural sunscreen too, but they use it for eye protection.

02:02:16It's all about amino acid pigments,

02:02:19and these pigments act as special filters that contribute to their sharp vision too.

02:02:24That's what I call multitasking.

02:02:27Meerkats have dark patches around their eyes which make them look even cuter.

02:02:32But these black circles aren't there just to make these buddies more adorable.

02:02:36They also function as built-in sunglasses.

02:02:39The dark fur on the patches blocks the blazing sun,

02:02:42and as a result, meerkats can gaze directly at the sky.

02:02:47On top of that, the sentry, a meerkat that watches out for birds and other predators,

02:02:52can easily see danger coming and alert its mates.

02:02:56Wild goats are famous for their climbing skills,

02:02:59but the alpine ibex from northern Italy is the champion.

02:03:03This critter can climb nearly any vertical surface,

02:03:06defying several physical laws in the process.

02:03:09Interestingly, the animals that do walk on the steepest cliff walls

02:03:13are typically mother goats with their little ones.

02:03:16Large males prefer to keep their distance and use flat horizontal surfaces.

02:03:21Smart guys.

02:03:23Some animals protect themselves with venom or nasty bites,

02:03:27while others use chemical tricks for protection.

02:03:30Listen to this.

02:03:32Some species of millipedes produce hydrogen cyanide

02:03:36and exude it when they feel threatened.

02:03:38Hydrogen cyanide is odorless but highly toxic.

02:03:42One little millipede can't seriously hurt you,

02:03:45but you may have burns or even blisters if your skin is sensitive.

02:03:49Plus, to make the picture even scarier,

02:03:52some millipedes glow in the dark.

02:03:54So watch out, and if you see a crawling spot of light at night,

02:03:58run away as fast as you can.

02:04:01When the bombardier beetle feels threatened,

02:04:04it sprays scorching liquid from the tip of its abdomen

02:04:07with a loud popping sound.

02:04:09As soon as the beetle senses danger,

02:04:11a chemical reaction starts in special reservoirs in its abdomen.

02:04:15The heat from this process nearly reaches the boiling point

02:04:18and also produces special gas that triggers the ejection.

02:04:22This super protection is usually fatal for the attacking insects.

02:04:26I guess so.

02:04:28Plumed basculus lizards have an uncanny ability to run on water.

02:04:33First of all, their hind feet are equipped with long toes

02:04:36which have fringes of skin that can spread out in the water.

02:04:40As a result, a bigger surface of the lizard's foot

02:04:43comes into contact with water.

02:04:45Then, when it runs on water, it pumps its legs incredibly fast.

02:04:49This creates little pockets of air

02:04:51that prevent the animal from drowning by keeping it on the surface.

02:04:56Now, fleas can be annoying,

02:04:58but it doesn't make them any less amazing.

02:05:01These tiny critters can leap about 50 times their body length.

02:05:05If people could do the same,

02:05:07we would be jumping about a quarter of a mile into the air.

02:05:10Well, let's try it!

02:05:12The most curious thing about fleas' astonishing ability

02:05:15is that they take most of the power for leaps from their toes, not knees.

02:05:20So, what's your favorite animal superpower?

02:05:23I vote for the kangaroo rat.

02:05:25I don't like standing in lines for the bathroom.

02:05:30That's it for today!

02:05:31So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity,

02:05:33then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

02:05:36Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

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