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Dive into the world of endangered species as we showcase the animals we are working to save from the brink of extinction. Then, unravel the mysteries of snake evolution as we uncover how these fascinating creatures have hit an evolutionary jackpot.
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00:01Every species on Earth, you, me, and that nasty neighbor of yours is destined to go extinct someday.
00:08Just like what happened to the woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers.
00:13Stats aren't bright. Scientists say that 99% of all animals that ever lived are now extinct.
00:20Hey, what's that look on your face? Going extinct is not the end of the story.
00:29Now listen up. Mammoths might make the greatest comeback ever and even be the key to saving humanity.
00:37Nope, they won't give away free money so that we don't have to work anymore, but they can sorta help
00:43the weather situation on our planet.
00:46In the Arctic tundra, there's this ground called permafrost.
00:50It's like soil in the form of ice. Soil turns permafrost when it stays super cold for two years straight.
00:58But now, permafrost is actively thawing out, and it's bad news for, well, everyone.
01:05Because while thawing, it releases a lot of carbon into the air.
01:09But what if we had large animals like mammoths there today?
01:14They would churn up the soil. The ground would freeze more deeply in winter.
01:19And then, in summer, a layer of grass would help keep the ground cool and prevent the permafrost from melting.
01:26Some scientists think that's a great solution.
01:29So now there's a company in the U.S. that's trying to bring mammoths back to life.
01:35Okay, you got me. Not actual mammoths, but a sort of hybrid between an elephant and 1% mammoth DNA.
01:43It would be a northern elephant.
01:45Getting mammoth DNA is easier than you might think.
01:49They actually only went extinct about 10,000 to 14,000 years ago.
01:54Scientists are hoping to have their first elephant-mammoth hybrid by 2027.
02:00Let's hope it doesn't turn into a real-life Jurassic Park.
02:06Ah, Australia. A nightmarish place and a home to the most fascinating creatures on Earth.
02:12But here, the sad fate befell the Tasmanian tiger, also known as thylacine.
02:19Don't mix it up with the Tasmanian devil. That one is living and thriving.
02:23Nope, the thylacine was a marsupial predator that used to chill in Australia, South Tasmania, and New Guinea.
02:31It was a nocturnal who preyed on other marsupials, like kangaroos.
02:36In the 30s, the farmers suddenly claimed that thylacines were eating their livestock.
02:42Looking back at it now, that was probably an exaggeration.
02:46But humans started to hunt poor thylacines until they were all gone.
02:50And then it turned out that hunting away the important predator isn't the brightest idea.
02:56Who would have thought?
02:57You see, thylacines kept things in check by eating bad animals.
03:02So once they disappeared, the Australian wildlife was basically doomed.
03:0835% of total mammal extinctions on Earth happened here.
03:11That's an awful world record.
03:13I know it sounds gloomy, but hey, maybe we can fix this.
03:18Remember that company we mentioned?
03:20It wants to bring back the thylacine too.
03:23Luckily, many thylacine embryos are still preserved in jars, like some creepy pickles.
03:30If we bring them back to Tasmania, this could help revive the entire ecosystem.
03:36Would you be happy to see them back in the wild?
03:39Me too.
03:41We also have some huge dreams about tiny creatures.
03:45Take a trip to Mount Hotham Ski Resort in Victoria, Australia.
03:49And here you can find the mountain pygmy possum.
03:52A tiny bundle of cuteness.
03:55These guys are super rare.
03:57We even thought that they were extinct.
03:59All we had was their fossils.
04:02But then, some skiers spotted a possum in a log pile at the ski lodge in 1966.
04:09Imagine suddenly making a great discovery while chilling on vacation.
04:14These little possums can spend 7 months of the year sleeping under the snow.
04:20They wake up occasionally to eat some stored food,
04:23and then they wake up in the spring to eat even more, find a mate, and go back to sleep
04:28again.
04:28What a relatable fella.
04:31Since they've made it into this video, you can guess they're pretty endangered.
04:36There are less than 2,000 left in the wild.
04:39All because their current homes don't fit them that well.
04:42But, hooray, we can help them too.
04:46You see, their ancestors lived in lowland forests about 20 million years ago.
04:51So maybe mountain possums could live better if we moved them there?
04:56Of course, we can't just take them to the woods and expect them to survive.
05:00Instead, scientists want to slowly release possums into the forest and check up on how they get on with it.
05:07Let's hope these cute creatures will adapt to woodland life.
05:13The southern gastric brooding frog, also called the platypus frog, was quite a unique creature.
05:20It was discovered in 1972 in Queensland, Australia.
05:25Back then, this fella shocked the scientists with its super weird birthing practices.
05:31Check this out.
05:33The mother frog swallows her eggs, turning her stomach into the womb.
05:37Then she doesn't eat at all for six weeks straight.
05:40I could never.
05:42Meanwhile, the tadpoles hatch in her stomach, start to grow, and eventually get so big that the mom literally has
05:49to breathe through her skin.
05:50And then she literally spews out her offspring left and right.
05:55Bleh.
05:57But this insane process is a great evolutionary achievement, which is why it drew everyone's attention.
06:04But the wonder didn't last long.
06:06By the mid-80s, all known species of these frogs vanished from their natural habitats.
06:11Why?
06:12We have no idea.
06:14There are many theories but almost no evidence to back them up.
06:17In any case, over the years, these guys officially became extinct.
06:23But it all changed in 2013.
06:25Scientists started a groundbreaking project named the Lazarus Project.
06:30Now they want to resurrect these frogs to learn cool cloning techniques from them.
06:35Are you guys ready to copy their genetic preservation method?
06:39Yeah, me neither.
06:44But let's dive deeper.
06:46Literally go in the water.
06:48Meet the Coalacanth.
06:49This creature lived in the oceans back when the dinosaurs roamed our planet.
06:54And didn't even notice the asteroids.
06:58These guys are the Methuselahs of the sea.
07:01They can live up to a hundred years and they don't even start thinking about leaving offspring until they're around
07:0755.
07:07At least they've got plenty of time to live for themselves.
07:12We actually thought this creature had gone extinct about 65 million years ago.
07:16But then, the first Latimeria specimen was discovered off the coast of South Africa in 1938.
07:24Now they're known as living fossils.
07:26And these fish are enormous.
07:30They weigh around 200 pounds.
07:32They're also super stylish, with those lobe-fished paddles that make them look like disco balls.
07:39Oh, and they're great aerialists.
07:41Thanks to those versatile fins, they can even do headstands and swim belly up.
07:46The Coalacanth is also a bit of a homebody.
07:50It's not very energetic, and likes to live in underwater caves during the day.
07:55Only coming out at night to snack on smaller fish and squid.
08:00Another animal who's literally me.
08:03Now we're trying our best to preserve this species.
08:06And I won't be surprised if it outlives us all.
08:13And finally, let's talk about the largest and most awkwardly looking flightless bird from New Zealand.
08:19The South Island Takahe.
08:22The tale of the Takahe started way back in the Middle Ages.
08:27Humans accidentally hunted them all away.
08:29And by the late 19th century, it seemed there were none of them left.
08:33But then, they were rediscovered in New Zealand in 1948.
08:38Poor guys did all they could to hide from us in the mountains.
08:41But we still got them.
08:43But it's different now.
08:45Since then, we've been trying our best to save them from extinction.
08:49There's a Takahe recovery program going on, and it shows great results.
08:54They managed to greatly boost the number of birds in the wild.
08:58As of 2023, the Takahe population has grown to around 500 birds.
09:04They're now considered nationally vulnerable, not nationally critical.
09:10It's a little progress, but progress nonetheless.
09:13Let's keep it up.
09:17Around 128 million years ago, give or take, snakes popped up out of nowhere and started thriving on Earth,
09:25eventually branching out into around 4,000 species we have today.
09:29But it's not just because they ditched their limbs and got all long and slithery.
09:34Even though there are 25 groups of limbless lizards, snakes are the ones who really hit the jackpot in terms
09:41of diversity.
09:42To figure out what makes snakes so successful, scientists looked at over 60,000 snake and lizard specimens from museums
09:50all over the world.
09:51According to them, snakes have been evolving faster than lizards in key ways, which gives them the upper hand when
09:59it comes to exploring new opportunities.
10:01So if you think this is creepy, hey, I'm right there with you.
10:04But let's push forward.
10:07One major factor of their success is their feeding habits.
10:10With their flexible skulls and keen sense of smell, snakes can eat animals way bigger than their heads and track
10:18down prey like champs.
10:19When dinosaurs got wiped out around 66 million years ago, snakes were ready to adapt to the changing world and
10:27fill those empty spots.
10:29Now, we're not sure why snakes evolved so quickly.
10:32But it's clear that there's something special in the grand scheme of evolution.
10:36Just like the sudden explosion of flowering plants, these macroevolutionary singularities have shaped life on our planet in unexpected ways.
10:46Now, snakes can be found almost everywhere on Earth, showing off a wide range of traits and habitats.
10:53They can be found in deserts, rainforests, grasslands, and even deep oceans.
10:57All snakes are predators, munching on different prey, including insects, small vertebrates, other snakes, and sometimes even larger mammals or
11:07humans.
11:08Owl!
11:10However, you won't see any snakes in Ireland.
11:14Why?
11:14Well, one of the most famous legends about St. Patrick involves him driving these reptiles out of Ireland.
11:21Still, experts think snakes never lived in Ireland to begin with, so it's more of a symbolic story than anything
11:27else.
11:28There are a few more places in the world where snakes don't exist, like Iceland, Greenland, New Zealand, and Antarctica.
11:35New Zealand's lack of snakes is especially intriguing, considering its proximity to snake-heavy Australia.
11:42The reason for this seems to be the country's ever-changing climate, which makes it difficult for snakes to thrive.
11:49Now, even though New Zealand is snake-free, sea snakes occasionally make an appearance in its waters.
11:55The yellow-bellied sea snake and the yellow-lipped sea crate are known to visit the island every now and
12:02then.
12:05So, when it comes to what country has the most snakes, Brazil takes the prize.
12:10With over 375 species calling it home, Brazil has a mix of harmless and dangerous snakes.
12:17The country's vast rainforests provide a perfect habitat for these reptiles, including famous constrictors like the anaconda, the boa constrictor,
12:27and the emerald tree boa.
12:29Brazil is also home to venomous snakes, such as the fer-de-lands and coral snakes.
12:34However, if you fear going to a Rio carnival just because you're terrified of Brazilian snakes, I've got some news
12:41for you.
12:42Out of 4,000 snake species in the world, only around 600 are venomous, and only about 200 of them
12:50can cause harm to humans.
12:51So, fatal snake bites are less common than people might think.
12:55Chances you stumble upon a bad snake are like 5%.
12:59Now, it's hard to say exactly how many individual snakes there are out there, as they tend to, you know,
13:05keep to themselves.
13:07However, scientists can make estimates about the number of specific species.
13:11For example, they believe that there could be as many as 1 million common garter snakes in the wild.
13:18Cute little guys.
13:21Unlike the super widespread common garter, the St. Lucia racer is one of the rarest snakes in the world.
13:27It had quite a roller coaster of a story.
13:30Thought to be extinct, then found again, then lost, and finally rediscovered in 2012.
13:36The survivors are spending time together on a teeny island called Maria Major after being wiped out on the mainland
13:43by mongooses and other invasive critters that like to snack on these harmless snakes.
13:49Another reason snakes hit an evolutionary jackpot is because they have this cool thing that they're basically solar-powered and
13:56depend on outside sources of heat or light.
13:59People often say they're cold-blooded, but that's not entirely accurate.
14:03Their blood isn't cold.
14:04The right word for them is ectothermic, which means their body temperature can change and is controlled by the environment.
14:12While mammals and birds can keep their temperature steady, reptiles must soak up the sun or find other ways to
14:19warm themselves up.
14:21Now, some snakes do not lay eggs, defying the traditional classification of reptiles as egg layers.
14:28While it may have been taught at school that all reptiles lay eggs, nature has its exceptions.
14:35About 70% of snakes lay eggs.
14:37But those living in colder environments give birth to live young because eggs would not survive in such conditions.
14:44Nature always has a way of challenging our expectations and classifications.
14:49Snakes are a successful group of tetrapods, even though they don't have the four-key-footed feature that tetrapods are
14:57named after.
14:58Despite this, or maybe because of it, snakes are super diverse.
15:03It might seem like this diversity dates way back to the times of dinosaurs, over 100 million years ago.
15:10But modern snakes seem to have emerged more recently.
15:13Fossils and DNA suggest that snakes started to spread out and evolve after the mass extinction event that wiped out
15:22dinosaurs.
15:23They took advantage of the empty habitats and niches left behind by the long-gone species.
15:28In terms of movement, snakes are super flexible and can crawl, burrow, climb, swim, and some can even fly.
15:37The ancient ancestors of snakes were quite different from what we see today, with some species even having well-developed
15:44limbs.
15:45Snakes continued to evolve through the late Cretaceous period, with various species appearing around the world.
15:52Only a handful of modern snake families emerged later, millions of years after the extinction of dinosaurs.
15:59The snake fossil record is patchy, making it hard to piece together their evolutionary history.
16:05To make sense of it all, scientists turned to DNA analysis.
16:09Molecular clock techniques help estimate when various snake lineages split off from each other,
16:16suggesting that most of the modern snake diversity is younger than dinosaurs.
16:21Only a few snake lineages survived the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous.
16:26But these few survivors managed to give rise to the incredible diversity of snakes today.
16:32Some snakes' families persisted for millions of years until they eventually went extinct,
16:38while others thrived and diversified in the aftermath of the mass extinction event.
16:43This pattern of survival and rapid diversification resembles what we see in the bird and mammal fossil records
16:50after the extinction of dinosaurs.
16:52The ability to burrow, hunt in the dark, and go long periods without food helped some snakes survive the chaos
17:00after the mass extinction.
17:01Their flexibility and adaptability allowed them to find shelter and thrive when other species couldn't.
17:09Snakes can be some of the scariest animals around.
17:12Most snake species are harmless and don't bother humans.
17:16Even if they wanted to, most snakes are too small to pose a real threat to people.
17:21But there are some big snakes out there that can eat surprising things.
17:26The largest animal ever eaten by a snake was a 150-pound hyena devoured by an African rock python.
17:34I'll bet that hyena wasn't laughing then, huh?
17:37Before that, the biggest meal on record was a 130-pound impala eaten by a rock python.
17:44That's impressive.
17:45The biggest snakes in the world are constrictors.
17:48They tend to suffocate their prey.
17:50To eat large prey, the snake itself has to be huge.
17:54African rock pythons, green anacondas, reticulated pythons, Burmese pythons, Indian pythons, and amethystine pythons are all contenders for the title
18:05of the largest snake in the world.
18:07They can grow to incredible lengths and weights.
18:10And that's it.
18:11I'm done with snakes now.
18:13Ew!
18:13That's so nasty.
18:13And a few seconds I'll know.
18:13You know, I love it.
18:14I love it.
18:14You're the people.
18:14I love it.
18:14You're all in the world.
18:15I love it.
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