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(dramatic music)

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How do you decide nature's weirdest animals,

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is it the sloth that hangs upside down and move so slowly

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that moss grows in its fur,

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is it a sea pen

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that sits rooted to the seabed in endless darkness

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and emitting its own glow,

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could it be carnivorous snails that leave the ocean

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to digest dead creatures on the beach,

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finches that drink blood,

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or the tarantula that keeps a frog as it's pet,

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or are adaptations to help animals survive

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the challenges of life in the wild?

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They might be neat solutions,

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but that doesn't stop them from odd.

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(birds chirping)

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But with nature's endless variety,

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which is the weirdest?

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We can't decide.

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Can you?

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(peacock squawking)

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We love nature and all its glorious diversity.

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Some creatures we admire for their deadly beauty,

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(alligator hissing)

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others because they are cute,

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but for some it's hard to figure out exactly

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why we like them so much,

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perhaps it's a quirk.

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(dramatic music)

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Everyone loves sloths,

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but have you ever stopped

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to think about just how weird they are?

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Hanging upside down is pretty odd.

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They have adapted to eat rainforest foliage,

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but it's not very nutritious.

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To get by on the few calories they consume,

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they barely do anything.

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Their metabolism is so slow

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that it take a month for a leaf

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to pass through their digestive system.

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They typically sleep for 20 hours a day.

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The only time they leave the tree tops is once a week

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when they descend for a bathroom break.

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The hair of most mammals grows neatly to life flat

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top to bottom, and nose to tail,

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but slots have turned that on its head.

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The hair pointing from belly to back to help rain runoff.

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Thanks to their lack of movement in the moist habitat,

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their fur is quickly colonized by algae,

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giving them a greenish tint

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that might help camouflage them from predators.

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(dramatic music)

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There's no doubt that slots are odd,

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and it's hardly surprising

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they come from a whole family tree of weirdos.

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Their closest cousins are the hard shelled armadillo.

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And long snotted anteaters, all creatures confined

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to south and central America.

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But another weird quirk of nature

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is the way some unique traits are replicated in animals

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that are not related.

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Something known as convergent evolution,

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two animal families following different parts,

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but arriving at similar destinations.

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The pangolin is one of the weirdest,

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but most wonderful creatures.

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Often called the scaly anteater

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because it too uses its long snout and tongue

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to hoover up termites and ants.

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But though it lives like an anteater

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and with its scaly body, it looks a bit like an armadillo,

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it's not related to either.

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In its own unique family, this Cape pangolin

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is one of eight species found across Africa and Asia.

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Though he might look a bit dinosaur,

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he harmlessly plods between termite mountains

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or ant nests to feed.

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His armor, which is just modified hair

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keeping him safe from predators.

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As sweet and innocent as pangolin are

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these bizarre animals are hunted for meat and medicine

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and are threatened with extinction.

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So while anteaters got the ant eating job in the Americas,

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pangolin has filled the position in Europe and Asia,

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but what about down under?

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This appears half anteater, half hedgehog,

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but the echidna is neither.

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Australia has been separated

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from the rest of the world for so long

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that the creatures on it had evolved in isolation.

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(birds chirping)

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There are three kinds of mammals, the placentals like us,

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marsupials that raise their babies in a pouch,

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and then monotremes like the echidna,

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a true mammal, but one that has a beak and lays eggs.

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That's pretty weird.

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Perhaps beaten only by its cousin

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and the only other kind of monotreme.

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(dramatic music)

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The duck-billed platypus.

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(water bubbling)

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Not only do these curious little mammals lay eggs,

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but they raise their young in pouches.

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They don't have nipples,

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but produce milk from sweat glands

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that the babies can lap up.

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And their beaks have electro receptors

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like the snouts of sharks to help them locate their prey.

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Ideal for the platypus,

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as he swims around with his eyes kindly shut using his beak

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to locate little creatures.

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(water bubbling)

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As far as mammals go, it doesn't get much weirder.

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(platypus growling)

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(dramatic music)

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But explore the animal kingdom, and after a while,

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nothing will surprise you.

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Did you know the octopus is basically a snail

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with problem solving intelligence?

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(water bubbling)

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This one has learned that boiling rocks tossed to the sea

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by an active volcano will cook fish.

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When the danger passes, it sneaks out to feast.

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(dramatic music)

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But knows to retreat before the next rain of rocks.

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Octopus have the biggest brains of any invertebrates.

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They've been seen to build shelters, mimic prey

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and use tools,

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something only thought possible among the smartest

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of the smart like primates, pirates, and people.

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(dramatic music)

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They have nine brains.

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In addition to the main brain,

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there are many ones at the end of each tentacle,

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helping each one's coordination.

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And with poison ink and three hearts,

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the clever mollusks are weird through and through.

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(water bubbling)

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Though imagine being able

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to wriggle each of your eyes independently.

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Now that would be pretty odd,

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but there's a creature that does it.

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(dramatic music)

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Chameleons are famed for color changing abilities,

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though not so much for camouflage is often believed,

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but more subtle shifts in their tone to communicate

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with one another.

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The nano crystals of color in several thin layers of skin,

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the chameleon can shift the skin layers over each other

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to adjust the light,

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reflecting on the crystals, changing the tone.

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Useful if it wants to be darker to absorb more

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of the warming sun or light to reflect too much heat.

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But importantly, chameleons can convey moods like anger

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or fear, dominance or submission,

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which is useful when they meet.

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Chameleons fight fiercely and it might even turn cannibal,

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so it's good to communicate, to avoid awkward interactions.

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Those weird eyes are bulging behemoths encased in a sleeve

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of fused eyelid with only the pupil showing through the tip.

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They can swing each one through 190 degrees

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and because they can move them independently,

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they can look at different things at the same time.

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They have a 360 degree field of vision.

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But when the two lock onto the same target,

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usually an insect, the bug better beware.

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Their tongues are like sticky, ballistic missiles.

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Though, it's twice the length of the lizard,

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the tongue can fully extend in a fraction of a second

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hitting its prey with 40 times the force of gravity.

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That is one weird weapon,

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making the chameleon a contender as oddest among reptiles.

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But it's not the only one.

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(birds chirping)

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(water bubbling)
(dramatic music)

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Turtles are pretty strange things when you think about it.

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Their rib cage fused into a shell on the outside

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of their bodies,

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a rib cage into which they can pull their heads

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to avoid danger.

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And they are reptiles that evolved on land,

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but have gone back to a life in the water.

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But one kind the matter matter gets stranger still

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by growing fleshy fingers all around its shell.

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(water bubbling)

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Like shapes to help disguise it in leaf litter

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on the river bed.

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Here it can lie and wait

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until unsuspecting fish drift too close,

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perhaps looking for shelter from the leaves,

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not the sanctuary they were hoping for.

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But perhaps the weirdest turtles of all

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are soft shelled turtles

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(water bubbling)

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who have a less complete carp face

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that's coated in rubbery skin.

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Though they have snorkel like nostrils

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and fully functional lungs,

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they can also breathe through the skin of their throats.

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And here's the fact you may not want to hear

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if you were having dinner,

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they can excrete urea from their mouth.

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Ever been called potty mouth before,

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these bizarre turtles literally pee through their mouths.

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(water bubbling)

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Underwater there is no shortage of weird and wonderful.

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Every kid knows how to draw a starfish,

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but these much loved sea creatures are pretty freaky

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when you get to know them.

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Related to sea urchins,

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their tough bodies don't have much inside them,

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no brain, heart, or blood.

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Instead, sea water is pumped through their bodies

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and into the 100s of tiny hydraulic feet

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that help them move.

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Though cherished as cute and cuddly critters,

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starfish are predators,

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(dramatic music)

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tigers of the invertebrate community.

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Their sucker like feet and powerful arms can lock onto

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and pry open shell fish.

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And once they are on a meal,

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they squish their stomachs out through their mouths

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and into the meat to start digesting it.

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(dramatic suspenseful music)

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When they reproduce starfish release eggs and sperm

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into the water.

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The fertilized eggs hatch in the plankton

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and look like tiny star ended jellyfish.

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When they are old enough, they settle on the seabed,

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and the jelly drops off.

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A true starfish is born.

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But these odd animals have another way

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to produce new starfish.

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They are well-known for being able to regenerate.

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If its leg is bitten off by a predator, it can regrow it.

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But sometimes even the broken leg can grow a new body,

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a second starfish clone,

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just one of the seas many surprises.

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(water bubbling)

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Fish come in every conceivable size, shape, and color,

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many spot bizarre structures and markings.

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From goat fish with wiggling tentacles on their chins

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to probe the sand,

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to trumpet fish, living tubes to suck in prey.

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(dramatic music)

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But these oddities might take the prize.

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(dramatic music continues)

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Similar in weight to a rhinoceros or large car,

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they are giants of the fish world,

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ocean sunfish.

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Their bizarre appearance

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has earned them names around the world that translate

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as the wheel fish, head only, or the swimming head.

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The name sunfish comes from it's habit of floundering about

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on its side at the surface to sunbathe.

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Amazingly, their huge bulk comes from a diet of jellyfish.

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Like all sunfish features, their mouths are weird

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with jaws that don't completely close,

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but they simply suck the jellies down.

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(water bubbling)
(dramatic music)

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The giants are mindblowing from the day they hatch.

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Females release eggs into the water column, a lot of eggs.

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In fact, one fish can produce 300 million in a season.

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When they hatch, the babies are minute,

266
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weighing about the same as a matchstick.

267
00:21:23,710 --> 00:21:27,410
They'll have to increase their mass by 60 million

268
00:21:27,410 --> 00:21:28,633
to reach adulthood.

269
00:21:28,633 --> 00:21:33,633
(water bubbling)
(dramatic music)

270
00:21:36,300 --> 00:21:39,150
The oceans are full of mysterious beings,

271
00:21:39,150 --> 00:21:41,673
surely contenders for the World's Weirdest.

272
00:21:49,360 --> 00:21:52,713
The sea cucumber barely looks like an animal at all.

273
00:21:54,490 --> 00:21:56,760
Dragging itself along the sea floor,

274
00:21:56,760 --> 00:21:59,950
tiny arms draw plankton and other little particles

275
00:21:59,950 --> 00:22:00,853
to its mouth.

276
00:22:03,580 --> 00:22:06,820
They do the same job that earthworms do on land,

277
00:22:06,820 --> 00:22:08,730
taking in large pieces at one end

278
00:22:08,730 --> 00:22:11,650
and passing finer particles out of the other,

279
00:22:11,650 --> 00:22:14,343
fertilizer that enriches the seabed.

280
00:22:18,180 --> 00:22:21,040
They breathe through their backsides.

281
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:23,230
And if that wasn't enough,

282
00:22:23,230 --> 00:22:27,510
when frightened a sea cucumber can eject its own organs out

283
00:22:27,510 --> 00:22:29,923
of its bottom, to try and scare off the threat.

284
00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:35,543
But the underwater world gets weirder.

285
00:22:47,920 --> 00:22:51,160
When a dead porpoise sinks to the sea floor,

286
00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,790
it's a dinner gong drawing some of the strangest creatures

287
00:22:54,790 --> 00:22:55,640
from the mark

288
00:22:58,750 --> 00:23:01,890
Eel like hagfish are fish without scales,

289
00:23:01,890 --> 00:23:04,253
or jaws, or backbone.

290
00:23:06,580 --> 00:23:09,720
Two cerated plates, wrap together in the mouth

291
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:11,520
to draw in food

292
00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:13,800
and their bodies tie themselves in knots

293
00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:15,129
to better their grip.

294
00:23:15,129 --> 00:23:17,879
(dramatic music)

295
00:23:18,930 --> 00:23:22,600
To avoid predators like weird deep sea sharks,

296
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,370
they constantly ooze a viscous slime

297
00:23:25,370 --> 00:23:27,283
that can clog predator's gills.

298
00:23:36,490 --> 00:23:39,220
Another odd bot swims overhead,

299
00:23:39,220 --> 00:23:41,293
the aptly named chimera.

300
00:23:50,480 --> 00:23:52,050
Chimeras haven't changed much

301
00:23:52,050 --> 00:23:53,810
since their ancestors separated

302
00:23:53,810 --> 00:23:57,417
from the shark and ray family 400 million years ago.

303
00:24:03,850 --> 00:24:06,110
The name comes from a mythical beast

304
00:24:06,110 --> 00:24:08,883
made up of other animals, which is fitting.

305
00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,960
Chimera fish have many shark like features,

306
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,000
but their jaws are attached to their skulls

307
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:19,330
and they have gill coverings,

308
00:24:19,330 --> 00:24:20,743
more like bony fish.

309
00:24:26,350 --> 00:24:29,933
They don't have sharp teeth, just grinding plates.

310
00:24:31,950 --> 00:24:35,010
Like sharks, they use electro receptors

311
00:24:35,010 --> 00:24:39,540
to locate their prey, and to avoid becoming prey themselves,

312
00:24:39,540 --> 00:24:41,690
they have a poisonous spine on their backs.

313
00:24:48,250 --> 00:24:50,740
They prefer to live at great depths

314
00:24:50,740 --> 00:24:52,930
where some of the most extraordinary,

315
00:24:52,930 --> 00:24:54,993
alien-like life forms exist.

316
00:24:56,836 --> 00:24:59,586
(water bubbling)

317
00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:14,573
Like sea pens,

318
00:25:23,650 --> 00:25:25,470
named for their appearance,

319
00:25:25,470 --> 00:25:28,010
somewhat like the old fashioned quill pens made

320
00:25:28,010 --> 00:25:29,570
from large feathers,

321
00:25:29,570 --> 00:25:34,083
each sea pen isn't one, but a whole community of animals.

322
00:25:37,610 --> 00:25:39,090
A type of coral,

323
00:25:39,090 --> 00:25:43,200
each pen is made up of a colony of individual polyps,

324
00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,630
each has a mouth and a ring of stinging tentacles

325
00:25:46,630 --> 00:25:48,023
to capture its prey.

326
00:25:50,750 --> 00:25:54,203
Apart from the primary polyp who takes one for the team,

327
00:25:56,455 --> 00:25:58,400
it burrows into the ground,

328
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,883
becoming a stem to anchor the colony.

329
00:26:02,030 --> 00:26:03,870
In the inky darkness,

330
00:26:03,870 --> 00:26:06,603
it has a surprising defense when disturbed,

331
00:26:09,810 --> 00:26:10,973
it can glow.

332
00:26:20,730 --> 00:26:24,173
The flash of colors are thought to deter attackers.

333
00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:32,660
The primary polyp can pull the pen into the ground

334
00:26:32,660 --> 00:26:34,650
if danger threatens,

335
00:26:34,650 --> 00:26:38,049
but the colony has another defense when disturbed.

336
00:26:38,049 --> 00:26:40,799
(dramatic music)

337
00:26:43,704 --> 00:26:46,454
(water bubbling)

338
00:26:47,460 --> 00:26:50,083
Jellyfish are ocean weirdos too.

339
00:26:53,660 --> 00:26:57,157
You could call these species spineless, they are,

340
00:26:59,300 --> 00:27:01,893
also brainless, and heartless.

341
00:27:05,750 --> 00:27:09,773
They are gelatinous blobs, 96% water.

342
00:27:10,750 --> 00:27:13,500
(dramatic music)

343
00:27:22,670 --> 00:27:24,980
They do have a basic nervous system

344
00:27:24,980 --> 00:27:26,853
and can control their movements.

345
00:27:30,430 --> 00:27:32,770
(water bubbling)

346
00:27:32,770 --> 00:27:34,940
And they don't have many organs,

347
00:27:34,940 --> 00:27:36,750
so make the most of what they have.

348
00:27:41,859 --> 00:27:43,890
The mouths take in food,

349
00:27:43,890 --> 00:27:48,123
but also excrete waste and propel them by siphoning water.

350
00:27:52,470 --> 00:27:56,120
And they're more than capable of taking care of themselves,

351
00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:58,980
their tentacles are covered in stinging cells,

352
00:27:58,980 --> 00:28:01,940
and in some species carry deadly toxins

353
00:28:01,940 --> 00:28:03,453
to harpoon their prey.

354
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,750
The oldest multiorganed animals,

355
00:28:12,750 --> 00:28:15,010
jellies were drifting in the oceans,

356
00:28:15,010 --> 00:28:17,283
long before dinosaurs walked the earth.

357
00:28:19,530 --> 00:28:22,500
They evolved 600 million years ago,

358
00:28:22,500 --> 00:28:25,920
pre-dating insects, trees, and fungi.

359
00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:28,980
They have survived five mass extinctions

360
00:28:28,980 --> 00:28:32,080
and conquered all the oceans of the world.

361
00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,467
So they are obviously doing something right.

362
00:28:34,467 --> 00:28:37,217
(water bubbling)

363
00:28:45,530 --> 00:28:48,810
But for all their success, they are powerless

364
00:28:48,810 --> 00:28:50,223
if they get stuck on land.

365
00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:54,200
And when this one washes up dead

366
00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,430
on the coast of South Africa,

367
00:28:56,430 --> 00:28:58,879
even stranger creatures emerge

368
00:28:58,879 --> 00:29:01,629
(dramatic music)

369
00:29:05,060 --> 00:29:07,243
like a scene from a monster movie.

370
00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,590
Using it splayed foot to surf catching the tide

371
00:29:30,590 --> 00:29:32,600
to follow the jelly ashore,

372
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,193
this plow snail storms the beach.

373
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:38,963
And it's not alone.

374
00:29:38,963 --> 00:29:42,713
(dramatic suspenseful music)

375
00:29:46,204 --> 00:29:48,954
(water bubbling)

376
00:30:10,150 --> 00:30:13,000
The snails locate food with smell,

377
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:15,523
and then excrete digestive enzymes,

378
00:30:17,060 --> 00:30:19,100
and suck up the jelly smoothie

379
00:30:19,100 --> 00:30:21,106
through their straw-like mouths.

380
00:30:21,106 --> 00:30:24,856
(dramatic suspenseful music)

381
00:30:40,270 --> 00:30:42,000
It looks gruesome,

382
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:45,363
but the snails are doing a beach clean, removing debris.

383
00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:52,040
When the tide retreats and the temperatures rise,

384
00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:55,490
the slimy mollusks dig their way into the damp sand

385
00:30:55,490 --> 00:30:58,619
until the next call for a cleanup crew.

386
00:30:58,619 --> 00:31:02,369
(dramatic suspenseful music)

387
00:31:07,100 --> 00:31:09,600
While some creatures vanish into the sand,

388
00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:12,517
(thunder rumbling)

389
00:31:14,370 --> 00:31:17,263
others seem to magically emerge from it.

390
00:31:21,583 --> 00:31:24,360
(water bubbling)

391
00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:27,870
African deserts don't seem like obvious places to look

392
00:31:27,870 --> 00:31:30,464
for thin, moist, skinned amphibians.

393
00:31:30,464 --> 00:31:34,038
(dramatic music)

394
00:31:34,038 --> 00:31:36,450
But a few drops of rain is all it takes

395
00:31:36,450 --> 00:31:38,913
to bring a desert frog from its sandy bunker.

396
00:31:43,950 --> 00:31:45,630
The bushveld rain frog

397
00:31:45,630 --> 00:31:48,540
can lie dormant in the ground during winter,

398
00:31:48,540 --> 00:31:51,203
but the spring rains cool it to the surface.

399
00:31:53,720 --> 00:31:56,070
It's hard to tell if it's in a rush,

400
00:31:56,070 --> 00:31:58,270
looking more like a marshmallow than a frog,

401
00:32:00,730 --> 00:32:03,691
but it gets to work catching up on misdemeanors.

402
00:32:03,691 --> 00:32:06,441
(dramatic music)

403
00:32:08,490 --> 00:32:11,773
It's tiny legs are an adaptation to digging,

404
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:14,590
but they make it hard for the males

405
00:32:14,590 --> 00:32:17,490
to grip the larger females during mating.

406
00:32:17,490 --> 00:32:19,540
So when the time comes,

407
00:32:19,540 --> 00:32:22,653
the female will secret a glue to stick him to her back.

408
00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:26,920
When she's done with him,

409
00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:29,000
she'll secrete a reversing agent

410
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:30,850
and they can go about their business.

411
00:32:36,100 --> 00:32:37,397
Now that's weird.

412
00:32:37,397 --> 00:32:41,870
(dramatic suspenseful music)

413
00:32:41,870 --> 00:32:45,740
It's extraordinary that this frog can live in the desert,

414
00:32:45,740 --> 00:32:48,203
but some are not put off by the cold either.

415
00:32:49,767 --> 00:32:52,100
(birds chirping)

416
00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:55,876
The wood frog has conquered the far north of Alaska,

417
00:32:55,876 --> 00:32:59,110
(dramatic music)

418
00:32:59,110 --> 00:33:01,510
but to cope with the brutal seasons here,

419
00:33:01,510 --> 00:33:04,763
he provides a scene worthy of weird science fiction,

420
00:33:06,140 --> 00:33:08,943
allowing his entire body to freeze.

421
00:33:11,610 --> 00:33:14,750
No heartbeat, no breath,

422
00:33:14,750 --> 00:33:16,883
an apparently lifeless frog sickle.

423
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,030
But when spring returns,

424
00:33:29,030 --> 00:33:31,283
he performs a miraculous resurrection.

425
00:33:36,430 --> 00:33:39,900
A natural anti-freeze kept his cells just above freezing

426
00:33:39,900 --> 00:33:42,143
to avoid ice damage to his organs.

427
00:33:44,950 --> 00:33:46,550
After eight months,

428
00:33:46,550 --> 00:33:49,243
he can gradually wiggle his body back to life,

429
00:33:52,130 --> 00:33:53,883
and resume his business.

430
00:33:57,280 --> 00:33:58,908
(dramatic music)

431
00:33:58,908 --> 00:34:01,658
(water bubbling)

432
00:34:07,140 --> 00:34:09,790
Amphibians, like all groups of animals

433
00:34:09,790 --> 00:34:12,230
have made some extraordinary adaptations

434
00:34:12,230 --> 00:34:15,700
to help them carve out niches in the natural world.

435
00:34:15,700 --> 00:34:18,440
But to see what's perhaps the most peculiar,

436
00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:20,307
you need to head underground.

437
00:34:20,307 --> 00:34:23,760
(dramatic music)

438
00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:26,530
Limestone caves are not the richest places

439
00:34:26,530 --> 00:34:27,813
to look for wildlife,

440
00:34:28,720 --> 00:34:32,393
but the olm lives here and nowhere else.

441
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:36,240
They might've looked like transparent worms,

442
00:34:36,240 --> 00:34:38,913
but olm are cave salamanders.

443
00:34:41,010 --> 00:34:43,000
They are blind and colorless

444
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,023
because they live in total darkness,

445
00:34:47,300 --> 00:34:49,100
but have adaptations,

446
00:34:49,100 --> 00:34:53,420
including a well-developed smell, taste, hearing,

447
00:34:53,420 --> 00:34:57,023
and a high sensitivity to electronic signals of prey.

448
00:34:58,010 --> 00:35:00,810
With limited resources in a cave,

449
00:35:00,810 --> 00:35:04,100
olms can survive for a decade without food

450
00:35:04,100 --> 00:35:05,913
and live for a century.

451
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:09,490
They are so odd

452
00:35:09,490 --> 00:35:12,730
that our ancestors thought they were baby dragons

453
00:35:12,730 --> 00:35:15,580
waiting to grow and emerge from the mountains

454
00:35:15,580 --> 00:35:16,593
to wreak havoc.

455
00:35:18,451 --> 00:35:23,451
(dramatic music)
(birds chirping)

456
00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:27,073
Some of the weirdest creepy crawlies live underground.

457
00:35:30,710 --> 00:35:33,803
A tarantula layer is the stuff of nightmares.

458
00:35:34,900 --> 00:35:38,793
The last place, any sane creature might want to wonder,

459
00:35:41,055 --> 00:35:41,888
(frog whistling)

460
00:35:41,888 --> 00:35:44,838
unless you are a narrow mouthed frog.

461
00:35:44,838 --> 00:35:47,588
(dramatic music)

462
00:35:50,220 --> 00:35:53,300
Little amphibians, like this one are ideal pray

463
00:35:53,300 --> 00:35:55,120
for the huge spiders,

464
00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:57,180
which can kill them with a lethal injection

465
00:35:57,180 --> 00:35:58,166
from their fangs.

466
00:35:58,166 --> 00:36:00,916
(dramatic music)

467
00:36:04,170 --> 00:36:07,063
But this one seems to be a welcome house guest.

468
00:36:10,670 --> 00:36:14,530
Some even suggest the frog is the tarantula pet,

469
00:36:14,530 --> 00:36:17,690
though it's probably more of a two way relationship in that.

470
00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:24,680
The giant arachnids have been seen to pick up

471
00:36:24,680 --> 00:36:28,010
and inspect frogs to figure out which is pet

472
00:36:28,010 --> 00:36:29,571
and which is prey.

473
00:36:29,571 --> 00:36:32,321
(dramatic music)

474
00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:01,970
The narrow mouth clearly has a unique chemical signature

475
00:37:01,970 --> 00:37:03,853
that meets with a spider's approval.

476
00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:07,980
Being the living frog

477
00:37:07,980 --> 00:37:10,260
keeps the vulnerable little animals safe

478
00:37:10,260 --> 00:37:11,657
from other predators,

479
00:37:14,140 --> 00:37:16,850
and the spider benefits from keeping a frog

480
00:37:16,850 --> 00:37:19,540
because the tiny amphibian will eat insects

481
00:37:19,540 --> 00:37:20,970
and other parasites

482
00:37:20,970 --> 00:37:23,573
that might threaten the spider's eggs and babies.

483
00:37:26,520 --> 00:37:28,620
The frogs might not be pets,

484
00:37:28,620 --> 00:37:31,283
but they are certainly friends with benefits,

485
00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:36,200
unusual relationships between species and weirdness

486
00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:37,553
to the natural world.

487
00:37:38,430 --> 00:37:41,970
(birds chirping)

488
00:37:41,970 --> 00:37:45,060
The associations can be mutually beneficial,

489
00:37:45,060 --> 00:37:47,052
but most are one sided.

490
00:37:47,052 --> 00:37:49,802
(water bubbling)

491
00:37:57,020 --> 00:38:00,203
This mother mollusk is looking for babysitters.

492
00:38:02,530 --> 00:38:05,320
She has been nurturing eggs inside her body,

493
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,570
but now they are ready to hatch,

494
00:38:07,570 --> 00:38:08,693
time to leave home.

495
00:38:12,060 --> 00:38:15,730
Willing foster parents are hard to find,

496
00:38:15,730 --> 00:38:17,693
but she lures them in through deceit.

497
00:38:19,790 --> 00:38:21,710
Her mantle is perfectly colored

498
00:38:21,710 --> 00:38:23,872
to look like a little mineral.

499
00:38:23,872 --> 00:38:26,622
(dramatic music)

500
00:38:28,710 --> 00:38:31,460
She even animates it to look like a little fish

501
00:38:31,460 --> 00:38:32,510
battling the current.

502
00:38:34,550 --> 00:38:36,570
Bass are drawn in

503
00:38:36,570 --> 00:38:38,983
thinking they have spotted their perfect prey.

504
00:38:40,750 --> 00:38:43,150
But as they lunge for the snack,

505
00:38:43,150 --> 00:38:45,463
the mussel releases a tiny lava.

506
00:38:47,500 --> 00:38:51,530
The baby molluscs will attach themselves to the fish's gills

507
00:38:51,530 --> 00:38:53,050
and absorb nutrients from it

508
00:38:55,170 --> 00:38:57,770
until they are big enough to fend for themselves

509
00:38:57,770 --> 00:38:58,603
and drop off.

510
00:39:00,849 --> 00:39:03,599
(water bubbling)

511
00:39:07,100 --> 00:39:10,630
Exploiting other animals is not that uncommon,

512
00:39:10,630 --> 00:39:13,400
but you might be surprised by this one,

513
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:15,570
the devious plans of a tree.

514
00:39:15,570 --> 00:39:18,570
(vulture screaming)

515
00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:21,473
(indistinct)

516
00:39:21,473 --> 00:39:23,540
grow in the tropical islands of the Pacific

517
00:39:23,540 --> 00:39:27,653
and Indian oceans, colonizing beautiful island beaches.

518
00:39:29,890 --> 00:39:33,593
They produce unusually sticky, barb seed pods.

519
00:39:35,470 --> 00:39:37,140
On tropical islands,

520
00:39:37,140 --> 00:39:39,860
sea birds that need rest or breeding places

521
00:39:39,860 --> 00:39:42,973
have little choice other than to land on the trees.

522
00:39:50,008 --> 00:39:51,850
(songbird chirping)

523
00:39:51,850 --> 00:39:56,210
And when they do the seed pods glue themselves on

524
00:39:56,210 --> 00:39:58,323
and are extremely difficult to remove.

525
00:40:02,170 --> 00:40:04,450
The adaptation might've started

526
00:40:04,450 --> 00:40:07,210
so that trees could harness the flying power of the birds

527
00:40:07,210 --> 00:40:09,913
to ship their seeds from one island to another.

528
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:15,810
But the seeds are so abundant and sticky

529
00:40:15,810 --> 00:40:18,703
that there is sometimes a more sinister outcome.

530
00:40:22,800 --> 00:40:25,240
Once a number of pods have adhered themselves,

531
00:40:25,240 --> 00:40:28,723
they cloak the birds feathers, weighing it down.

532
00:40:40,829 --> 00:40:43,000
Having to drop to the ground,

533
00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,423
it can't avoid accumulating even more.

534
00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:55,763
Many birds become hopelessly stuck.

535
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:03,430
The tree doesn't get it seeks delivered,

536
00:41:03,430 --> 00:41:05,560
but at least when they germinate

537
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:07,600
they'll have a bundle of fertilizer

538
00:41:07,600 --> 00:41:09,055
in the form of a dead bird.

539
00:41:09,055 --> 00:41:11,555
(fly buzzing)

540
00:41:16,550 --> 00:41:19,700
Complex behaviors can make the seemingly ordinary

541
00:41:19,700 --> 00:41:20,963
into something weird.

542
00:41:22,773 --> 00:41:25,310
(bird chirping)

543
00:41:25,310 --> 00:41:27,280
Take this family of shrikes,

544
00:41:28,730 --> 00:41:30,903
perfectly normal, looking songbirds,

545
00:41:33,580 --> 00:41:35,521
cute if a little drab.

546
00:41:35,521 --> 00:41:38,271
(birds chirping)

547
00:41:43,060 --> 00:41:44,870
Like any other songbirds,

548
00:41:44,870 --> 00:41:47,812
they ferry back food to their nest of hungry youngsters.

549
00:41:47,812 --> 00:41:48,645
(songbirds chirping)

550
00:41:48,645 --> 00:41:51,395
(dramatic music)

551
00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:56,574
Nothing weird here

552
00:41:56,574 --> 00:41:59,657
(songbirds chirping)

553
00:42:14,220 --> 00:42:17,975
until you look closely at the branches in their territory.

554
00:42:17,975 --> 00:42:20,725
(dramatic music)

555
00:42:22,340 --> 00:42:25,063
It looks like there is a serial killer on the loose.

556
00:42:28,550 --> 00:42:31,720
Shrikes are sometimes known as butcher birds

557
00:42:31,720 --> 00:42:33,410
because they use natural thorns

558
00:42:33,410 --> 00:42:35,640
and other spikes as butcher's hooks

559
00:42:35,640 --> 00:42:38,393
to anchor their prey while they dismember it.

560
00:42:41,940 --> 00:42:45,693
Leftovers remain hanging like a scene from a horror film,

561
00:42:46,700 --> 00:42:49,050
but as a larder for the birds,

562
00:42:49,050 --> 00:42:50,633
next time they get hungry,

563
00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:55,760
ghoulish behavior, the seemingly normal

564
00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:57,503
revealing its weird side.

565
00:43:02,580 --> 00:43:04,823
These lizards pretty normal looking.

566
00:43:09,930 --> 00:43:13,900
A toad-headed agama, a specialist at scurrying over

567
00:43:13,900 --> 00:43:17,359
and digging into the ever shifting sands of the desert.

568
00:43:17,359 --> 00:43:20,109
(dramatic music)

569
00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:39,623
He doesn't seem particularly odd,

570
00:43:44,650 --> 00:43:47,443
until he's spooked by a hungry snake.

571
00:43:52,270 --> 00:43:54,453
Friend to freak in an instant,

572
00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:57,658
the lizard opens

573
00:43:57,658 --> 00:43:58,600
(indistinct)

574
00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:00,910
flaps of skin at the sides of its mouth

575
00:44:00,910 --> 00:44:03,053
to make itself look big and scary.

576
00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:11,728
It works as anyone who watches alien movies will testify.

577
00:44:11,728 --> 00:44:14,395
(air whooshing)

578
00:44:17,980 --> 00:44:18,813
Our love of

579
00:44:18,813 --> 00:44:19,880
(indistinct)

580
00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:22,785
can play into our assessment of other animals.

581
00:44:22,785 --> 00:44:25,535
(dramatic music)

582
00:44:32,750 --> 00:44:36,823
Dear, cute and cuddly woodland creatures we all love, right?

583
00:44:40,190 --> 00:44:42,273
Not that they've got vampire fangs.

584
00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:49,030
Long before dear revolt antlers,

585
00:44:49,030 --> 00:44:52,780
they developed exaggerated teeth instead for the same reason

586
00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:57,053
so that the males can compete with each other for mates.

587
00:44:58,358 --> 00:44:59,450
(raven cawing)

588
00:44:59,450 --> 00:45:02,170
Several species like the musk deer

589
00:45:02,170 --> 00:45:06,283
still have tusks, throwbacks to their evolutionary past.

590
00:45:08,300 --> 00:45:11,100
Their bizarre tusks are tucked safely backwards

591
00:45:11,100 --> 00:45:12,770
when not needed,

592
00:45:12,770 --> 00:45:14,480
but muscles can pull them forward

593
00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:16,480
to reveal their full length,

594
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:19,203
making them effective weapons when needed.

595
00:45:25,980 --> 00:45:28,550
Though they are pretty harmless herbivores,

596
00:45:28,550 --> 00:45:30,930
their ability to scare is enhanced

597
00:45:30,930 --> 00:45:33,663
by a hiss or scream when they feel threatened.

598
00:45:36,827 --> 00:45:39,960
(raven cawing)

599
00:45:39,960 --> 00:45:42,845
The deer munch on lichen, not necks.

600
00:45:42,845 --> 00:45:46,390
(dramatic music)

601
00:45:46,390 --> 00:45:50,273
But there are true vampires out there and not just bats.

602
00:45:52,084 --> 00:45:55,130
(raven cawing)

603
00:45:55,130 --> 00:45:58,853
The Galapagos islands are a hotspot for weirdos.

604
00:46:02,220 --> 00:46:06,170
From supersized tortoises to see birds with blue feet

605
00:46:06,170 --> 00:46:08,413
that they flash to try and attract a mate,

606
00:46:13,310 --> 00:46:15,750
to flightless cormorants who have to clamber

607
00:46:15,750 --> 00:46:17,530
and pop their way to the ocean

608
00:46:17,530 --> 00:46:21,703
where they swim with other oddities, diving marine iguanas.

609
00:46:21,703 --> 00:46:24,370
(air whooshing)

610
00:46:30,298 --> 00:46:33,240
These are the only lizards to enter the sea

611
00:46:33,240 --> 00:46:34,433
and feed on sea weed.

612
00:46:37,780 --> 00:46:39,920
As species colonized and spread

613
00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:42,170
through the volcanic island chain,

614
00:46:42,170 --> 00:46:45,243
they evolve quickly to adapt to the quirks of each island.

615
00:46:50,250 --> 00:46:54,090
It was the staggering diversity in such a small area

616
00:46:54,090 --> 00:46:57,623
that helped shape Darwin's theory on the origin of species.

617
00:47:01,720 --> 00:47:04,360
The volcanic islands are hot and dry

618
00:47:04,360 --> 00:47:06,713
and food is in short supply.

619
00:47:10,100 --> 00:47:11,490
(birds chirping)

620
00:47:11,490 --> 00:47:13,570
With one of the new arrivals discovered a way

621
00:47:13,570 --> 00:47:15,143
to exploit its neighbors.

622
00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:23,060
There are 13 kinds of Galapagos finch

623
00:47:23,060 --> 00:47:26,220
all evolved from a single species that made it

624
00:47:26,220 --> 00:47:28,023
to the islands and diversified.

625
00:47:29,256 --> 00:47:31,890
(seabird quacking)

626
00:47:31,890 --> 00:47:33,673
Some became fruit heaters,

627
00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:35,913
or seed eaters,

628
00:47:36,870 --> 00:47:38,363
or insect eaters,

629
00:47:39,620 --> 00:47:40,613
but not this one.

630
00:47:44,510 --> 00:47:48,510
During the dry season, there is nothing to eat on land,

631
00:47:48,510 --> 00:47:50,916
but the seas remain rich.

632
00:47:50,916 --> 00:47:53,666
(dramatic music)

633
00:47:56,350 --> 00:47:59,000
Seabirds make their living fishing,

634
00:47:59,000 --> 00:48:01,400
but the colonies where they rest and breed

635
00:48:01,400 --> 00:48:02,383
are on the island.

636
00:48:08,370 --> 00:48:10,480
These finches may have started out grooming

637
00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:11,570
the largest seabirds

638
00:48:11,570 --> 00:48:14,363
to pick off parasites like fleas and ticks,

639
00:48:18,800 --> 00:48:22,920
but the blood engorge bugs refining the finches taste

640
00:48:22,920 --> 00:48:23,753
for blood.

641
00:48:23,753 --> 00:48:26,440
(dramatic music)

642
00:48:32,970 --> 00:48:36,183
Now the little terrors go straight to the source.

643
00:48:38,220 --> 00:48:40,920
A quick peck with their sharp beaks

644
00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:43,183
and their cravings can be satisfied.

645
00:48:45,564 --> 00:48:48,314
(birds chirping)

646
00:48:55,750 --> 00:48:57,830
The larger birds barely notice

647
00:48:57,830 --> 00:49:00,800
perhaps because they have no reason to fear the finches,

648
00:49:00,800 --> 00:49:03,350
or just assume the little birds are doing them a favor

649
00:49:03,350 --> 00:49:05,123
and are busy picking off ticks.

650
00:49:28,690 --> 00:49:32,630
It might be gruesome, but the blood is a neat solution,

651
00:49:32,630 --> 00:49:36,169
getting the finches food and water when there is none.

652
00:49:36,169 --> 00:49:38,919
(dramatic music)

653
00:49:50,978 --> 00:49:54,060
(raven cawing)

654
00:49:54,060 --> 00:49:55,610
They are a reminder

655
00:49:55,610 --> 00:49:58,510
that though animals might seem weird to us,

656
00:49:58,510 --> 00:50:02,370
their quirks are always adaptations that have enabled them

657
00:50:02,370 --> 00:50:03,680
to carve out niches,

658
00:50:03,680 --> 00:50:07,763
to find food and adapt to the challenges of a landscape.

659
00:50:08,896 --> 00:50:11,479
(raven cawing)

660
00:50:13,076 --> 00:50:15,210
(dramatic music)

661
00:50:15,210 --> 00:50:18,393
And that weirdness is in the eye of the beholder.

662
00:50:20,090 --> 00:50:23,323
Those hairless upright apes are pretty weird too.

663
00:50:26,130 --> 00:50:28,230
They build elaborate houses,

664
00:50:28,230 --> 00:50:31,200
change the landscape around them to grow food,

665
00:50:31,200 --> 00:50:34,500
live in vast numbers and concrete jungles.

666
00:50:34,500 --> 00:50:37,143
They seem to break all the ways of nature,

667
00:50:40,120 --> 00:50:42,860
but each to their own, let's face it,

668
00:50:42,860 --> 00:50:44,330
we are all a bit weird

669
00:50:46,520 --> 00:50:50,760
and a world without weird would be a poorer place.

670
00:50:50,760 --> 00:50:52,760
We should embrace our quirks

671
00:50:52,760 --> 00:50:54,480
and gratefully enjoy the weird

672
00:50:54,480 --> 00:50:57,546
and wonderful diversity of the natural world.

673
00:50:57,546 --> 00:51:00,296
(dramatic music)