Evolution happens all the time, even if we don't
notice it. It s necessary for any living organism to exist in this world and to keep up with its
changes. But there s one "BUT"! Today you re gonnalearn why herbivores grow fangs, why animals
are afraid of evolution, and how nature can rob anyone of their uniqueness!
Let's go!
Yes, if there s any powerful, yet
completely indifferent force in the world, it s nature. Nature can take from any
living creature whatever it wants: home, behavioral features, even body parts...
But if it all seems to make no sense to you, look closely. In fact, nature has its
own logic. Take this bird as an example: the Galapagos flightless cormorant, which lives
on only two islands in the world. Actually, there are 21 species of cormorants on the planet,
but it s these poor creatures that nature has deprived of the ability to fly. Just compare those
two different species. See these wings? They don't work. At all. If the wings help penguins somehow,
then for flightless cormorants, they are like an unnecessary accessory, which is a pity to throw
away. The explanation is quite simple: when you live where there are no predators, why do you need
to be able to fly? Instead, Galapagos cormorants have learned to swim very well so they can hunt
for fish, shellfish, and other seafood.
But if everything is clear and logical with
cormorants, then some other animals can't be called anything but strange. Cyclops shark. What
is that?It s even better: an albino cyclops shark. It was caught off the coast of Mexico, and
the very appearance of such a shark in the world is a bug of nature, and it s rather rare.
The blobfish is a different story. It s sometimes called the ugliest creature on the planet. But
how can something that looks like spoiled jelly even exist? The species is poorly studied, but
scientists have figured out the real shape of the blob fish after all. The fish lives at depths of
up to 4000feet, where it s subjected to tremendous pressure, and it looks like... an ordinary fish.
It only looks like a meme at the surface when the pressure suddenly decreases. Alas, the blob
fish can t survive outside its usual conditions. Apparently, that's why it's so hard to study.
But let's get out of the water, I found a couple more examples of nature's intervention:snub-nosed
monkeys and Ankole-Watusi cows. Why did it take away the former's noses, and put such huge horns
on the latter? They re obviously very heavy, how is it possible to walk at all with
such a construction on the head... Well, sometimes nature does really cool things.
Snub-nosed monkeyslook like Voldemortnot because they experimented with Horcrux. They
live in mountain forests at high altitudes and often face extremely low temperatures. So to keep
the poor primates from freezing their noses off, nature just took them. Except it didn't
think about how they would look like. Especially the infants. It's a good thing
animals don't have the concept of beauty.
It worked out the other way
around with the Angole-Watusi: they live in the hot regions of Africa, and they
use their huge horns for thermoregulation. These horns are permeated by a system of vessels, and
blood circulating back and forth is cooled by air currents. Then it returns to the body and
lowers its temperature. Generally, you know, it's a good thing that cows need to be cooled and
monkeys need to be warmed. Poor snub-nosed monkeys would have a hard time with those horns.
Most animals have it easier. You won't encounter a white shark whose teeth have grown
so big that they no longer fit in its mouth. You're unlikely to see an owl with a pelican-sized
beak that grows endlessly, because all of these things are clearly written into the genes of
each species. Some variation is possible only in the case of a serious deviation... But not
in donkeys: nature really screwed up there. Has it ever occurred to you that hooves
are, in fact, modified fingernails? And, like any nails, sometimes they grow long
enough and they need trimming. In the wild, animals do this on their own by just moving around
a lot and sharpening their hooves naturally. But donkeys really have a problem with that. The fact
is that they originated in the desert, where the ground is hard, dry, and often rocky... Somehow
after that, evolution decided that donkeys' hooves didn't need any upgrades. They turned out
to be able to absorb moisture effectively, remain flexible, and avoid splitting and
chipping. How cool is that? Yeah, let's get them into production. Unfortunately, in a typical
horse pasture, this ability causes problems. The hooves don't wear out from walking, and there
s also fungus with various bacteria in them. Five years without a manicure becomes a nightmare.
Now imagine for a moment that a few donkeys found themselves on an island with a mild, humid climate
and no predators. Would they still walk around with their hooves bent? Or would they have stopped
walking altogether? If you want to feel like evolution, post your guesses in the comments!
But while donkeys can still end well without human intervention, it's a different story with sheep.
Here, nature s in full swing! Not only can some of the sheep literally overgrow their wool to death,
losing mobility and overheating, they also... fall. They fall to their deaths, and it's not just
because of the height. Sometimes, while walking in the countryside, you might notice a sheep
lying on its back with its legs up. Now, it s NOT sunbathing, and it had no intention of taking
that position at all. The sheep s in trouble...and I don't believe I said it. There could be
several reasons for the sudden fall: either the animal has too heavy, wet hair, or it's a
pregnant female, or the sheep just got fat. Yeah, so much so that it can't roll over by accidentally
losing its balance. Don't you think this feature would be worth fixing, eh, nature? If nobody
helps a fallen sheep, it suffocates. Wait, what? The fermentation of grass in the stomach
produces gas, and if the sheep lies on its back, the gas can't escape. As it builds up, the
pressure on the lungs increases and the animal just suffocates. You know that feeling when
you've eaten so much that you can't breathe? That's not a metaphor for sheep.
And don't forget about predators: wolves, crows or even... parrots. New Zealand kea
are happy to feed on dead sheep, but live sheep will do too. They're not very picky.
What happened to the kea is called exaptation: due to the lack of other
food, the parrots had to start hunting sheep. They already had powerful beaks and claws,
so they didn't even have to evolve. Another similar example is the vampire ground finches.
I'm not kidding now. They live only on the Galapagos Islands and are similarto hundreds
of other species of small birds on our planet. Except that there weren t a lot of food
on the islands, and even less fresh water, so the finches have started drinking blood. Most
of their menu includes blue-footed and Nazka boobies, and no one minds that the finches making
them to bleedwith their sharp beaks. Scientists speculate that the finches once did this to rid
the boobies of parasites, and got their own food, and then... well, they seem to have developed a
taste for it. Hey, Steve. Steve. I think you got a little carried away. Steve. Okay, well...
I'll just... yeah, I guess I'll wait.
But nature doesn't just know how to take
away some features or give animals extra problems. Sometimes it will be like: okay, vampire
bats,check, vampire birds, check... that's right, vampire deer! Here are your fangs! The water deer
is a completely unique animal. It eats grass, doesn't wear antlers, and has freaking enormous
fangs! Strictly speaking, not every carnivore can boast such fangs, and here it is, a harmless
ungulate! Why would a deer need something like that? Well... like I said, it doesn't seem to make
much sense. Vampire teeth are only used by animals during fights over females, the rest of the time
they just dangle in their mouths and shift when a deer needs to eat. Nature, you're weird.
Okay, now a word about the obvious stuff. Everyone knows what crocodiles look like. Even a
young child will easily draw you something green, elongated, with paws... In short, a toothy wiener.
But if at some point you think the drawing isn't realistic enough, think again: maybe the kid
was just drawing a gavial. This crocodile looks like nature decided to do something unusual in the
character editor, but didn't come up with anything worthwhile and just squeezed the face of the poor.
Squeezed it, and then pulled it forward... The gavial's mouth is about five times as long as it
was wide. Probably, if the world of crocodiles had human laws, the gavial would have been simply
laughed at in its neighborhood. But luckily, the elongated snout isn t just a whim of nature,
but an actually useful thing. Most of a gavial's diet consists of fish, and that's what the funny
face is for, as well as about a hundred small teeth. Add to that a relatively small weight for
a crocodile, and you have the perfect angler. So, nature's got it all figured out here. I
don't think the gavials are offended.
But imagine what would have happened if someone
small got the huge face of a gavial. A deer! No, it has vampire fangs. A hare? Doesn't really suit
it. Oh, hummingbirds! Just take away the teeth and here you have a sword-billed hummingbird.
This is a unique creature among the birds. This tiny bird weighs not more than 0.5 oz and its
beak, slightly turned up, is half the length of its body. Sometimes even more! Seems like someone
ACTUALLY lied a lot... Okay, such an unusual organ helps them get nectar from the long funnel-shaped
flowers that other hummingbirds can't penetrate. In this way, the hummingbirds occupy
their niche without competing with others, and at the same time provide pollination to a
specific group of plants. Everyone is happy. But imagine, for a second, having such a huge
stick constantly dangling in front of your face... It's uncomfortable! Yeah, hummingbirds don't like
it either. For example, in the sitting position, the long beak pulls the bird down, and it has
to sit with its head held high for balance. Otherwise, the neck simply can t stand it.
One can t clean feathers with such a beak; one has to use its legs, and during the flight
it s necessary to keep it in a certain position in order not to fall down. I guess it takes a
hellalotta time for a sword-billed hummingbird to just learn how to LIVE.
See you later!
Ugh! The birds drinking blood are so revolting. Interesting video, though. It's remarkable how quickly animals will adapt their behavior and evolution then follows suit. Life on Earth is a lot more dynamic than you'd think.