- [Narrator] Animals
are pretty incredible. I mean, humans may be smart, but we're not naturally
able to do things like fly, breathe underwater, or lay an egg. And while we think we
know almost everything about the animals in our world, there are some that seem to defy mother nature herself with the things they can do. From ravens that can talk like humans, to lizards that can walk
on water like Jesus, it's time to take a good look at some of the most unbelievable
things animals are able to do. (logo theme music) (character screams) No Time to Die. There are three certainties in this world. Life, death, and taxes. Although there's a small
exception to that second rule, and its name is Turritopsis dohrnii, a tiny species of jellyfish
with a very special talent. They can't die, I'm being serious. These jellyfish are
one of the only species on earth considered biologically immortal. Unless they get gobbled up by a predator, these aptly nicknamed
Immortal jellyfish will be swimming around till the end of time. Fully grown, they measure in
at less than 0.2-inches across, smaller than a standard pinkie nail but their size doesn't stop them from replenishing any damaged cells through a process called
transdifferentiation. When they get injured or hungry, they take a leap back in
their development process and amazingly regress to
their juvenile polyp state. The adult cells effectively turn back time to a younger form, before budding and releasing baby jellyfish that are genetically identical
to the injured adult, providing they can hang
on to an essential part of their anatomy called the nerve centre, which triggers the
transdifferentiation process, these jellyfish can keep
on swimming forever, and ever, and ever. (logo whooshes) Incredible Camouflage. You've heard of a copycat, but have you heard of a copyoctopus? Okay, that's not its real name. Scientists call it the
Indonesian Mimic Octopus, an intelligent ocean dweller that has the amazing ability to, get this, expertly impersonate other sea creatures, and not just one or two. This amazing cephalopod can mimic up to 15 other marine animals,
including lionfish, sea snakes, and sole fish, as you can see. Now, most octopi hide by blending into their surroundings
when they see danger coming, which scientists call crypsis but the mimic octopus changes its shape, boldly pretending to be the
predator of its predators so that they leave it well alone. Not only that, but when the octopus gets hungry itself, it can use its talents to
sneak up on prey unnoticed. After all, if you saw a
single slithering sea snake, the last thing you'd expect it to be is a hyper-intelligent, eight-legged octopus, wouldn't you? It's like the Octopus
version of Robin Williams. But the Mimic Octopus isn't the only sea creature out there that gets creative with its camouflage. Nicknamed, The Chameleons of the Sea, Cuttlefish can rapidly change the color of their skin in order to blend into any
background they encounter. But they don't just change their color. these swimming marine
molluscs have the ability to mimic the shape and even the texture of what they're copying. Don't believe me? Let's play a game of Spot
the Cuttlefish, ready? (energetic music) Can you see it, nope? That's the diver, well, here it is. (energetic music) Whoa, how did it do that? Well, cuttlefish skin contains millions of specialized pigmented
cells called chromatophores. The cuttlefish can alter them at will, expanding and contracting
to change its color in the fraction of a second. With this flashy skill up their sleeves, cuttlefish can use their
quick color changes to avoid predators, hunt, and even communicate
with other cuttlefish. Man, the only way I can communicate with my skin is going bright red whenever I get embarrassed. Yeah, don't look at me. While I recover from that
embarrassing blushing episode, why don't you help build
my confidence back up by hitting those Like and
Subscribe buttons down below? Right, I think I'm back
to a normal color now. Where were we? (logo snaps) Sky Serpents. Look, up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a snake? Wait, snakes can fly? Well, not all snakes, but the Paradise Tree Snake
found around Western India and Indonesia, certainly tries to. At just 3 feet in length, this species of tree snake
prefers living up high in tree canopies rather
than crawling around on the rainforest floor. Up here, it's easy to
hunt tree-dwelling prey and blend into the branches. But getting from one tree to another is no easy feat. So, instead of slithering
all the way down one tree and up another, paradise
snakes draw up their scales and spread out their ribs to
make their undersides concave. Then, they coil themselves
into a J-shaped bend and launch into the air, gliding into the next tree, or wherever else they wanna go. On a good gliding day, they can travel more than
300 feet in a single leap. Some scientists believe this is helped by that signature snake-like
movement they do in the air. If they just launched from the tree and stayed still as a log, they'd likely crash into the ground. So, the strange ribbon-like
movement they do is believed to help stabilize them in the air and keep them on target. However, it's such a unique trait that scientists aren't sure why these snakes have
taken to flying so much. Some even speculate that they might do it just because they enjoy it. Who knew snakes could be
such adrenaline junkies? (logo snaps) Boss Beetle. Have you ever heard of the Dung Beetle? With a name like that, it's pretty clear this
insect species loves feces. Found all over the world, with the exception of Antarctica, these interesting insects
fly around in search of manure deposits from herbivores. These contain half-digested grass and some super smelly liquids that most dung beetles feed on. To preserve the precious poop soup, many will roll balls of the
dung away and bury them. But to save them making multiple trips, the beetles roll up huge balls and push them around with
their strong back legs. Now, you've probably noticed that, at less than half an inch long, these guys aren't exactly the biggest beetles on the block. But despite their small size, they're, surprisingly, the strongest
animals on the planet. Even though they look
like they're struggling with that big ball of poop, dung beetles have the greatest body weight to lift ratio of any animal on earth, meaning they can happily push more than 1,100 times their own body weight. That'd be like an average human lifting six Double-decker buses. Anyone else's arms hurting
just thinking about that? (logo snaps) The Salmon Run. Salmon have to be one of the tastiest animals on the planet, but weirdly, they're also
one of the creepiest. These fish are born in
freshwater rivers or lakes, and once they've developed into adults, they move to the salty ocean where they can better feed and grow. When it's time for them to spawn offspring of their own, they migrate back to the exact same rivers and lakes they grew up in because they know that they're safe. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be able to find the exact spot I was born without a map. But salmon have tiny iron
particles in their heads that act like compass needles, directing them back to
their birthplace via the earth's magnetic field. But it's a long and difficult journey. The salmon travel hundreds
of miles upstream, crossing waterfalls, braving currents, and dodging predators. Some even swim across flooded roads to get back to their
precious breeding waters. (water sloshing)
(fish flapping) Now, that is what
determination looks like. Once the salmon finally
make it back and spawn, they're so exhausted that they're ready to leave this earth for good. The fish begin a process
called deterioration, where they're dying but not yet dead. Ooh, what's that word for when you're dead but somehow still alive? (chuckles) That's right, Zombie. Yikes, this is the creek
of the living dead. But thankfully, they aren't
hungry for your brains, even though they definitely
look like they are. (logo snaps) Frosty Frogs. When summer starts to fade, and a bitter winter begins to sink in, life gets hard for many animals. Food suddenly becomes scarce and it's harder to stay warm. So, some animals have evolved to conserve their precious
energy by hibernating. After fattening up in summer, they'll instinctively
drop into a torpor state, where their metabolism
and heart rates slow, allowing them to stay inactive and asleep for most of the winter. But the Wood Frog of
Alaska takes hibernation to a god-tier level. Temperatures in Alaska can drop to a frosty -79.8 Fahrenheit, so the body of this tiny amphibious
frog doesn't just slow down, it freezes solid. But when the ice melts, sometimes up to 7 months later, the frog thaws out and,
amazingly hops away. This process is so unbelievable that people have mistaken
garden ornaments like this for fully frozen frogs. Though in reality, they look more like this. Oh, man, that looks cold. As the temperature drops, the wood frog's heart and
lungs gradually stop working, meaning the frog can be
classified as biologically dead. But while this would kill
almost any other creature, the wood frog survives thanks to its blood glucose levels. They're up to 10 times higher than that of your average frog, which helps keep water
locked inside the cells. Frostbite in humans is caused when the water in our blood turns to ice, and our cells get so dehydrated they die. So, by keeping its cells super sweet, wood frogs can retain the
right amount of water even when up to 65% of its body is
frozen from the inside out. I don't know about you, but I find this entire
death-defying process, ribbet-ing. (frog croaks)
(logo snaps) Amazing Mimicry. Okay, this might sound odd, but take a listen to this bird
and tell me what you hear, (bird chirps and chatters) Either I'm going mad, or that bird just made the
same sound as a camera. As it turns out, I'm still kinda sane. This is the Australian Lyrebird, a creature with the
most incredible ability to perfectly mimic almost
any sound it hears. From the calls of an entire
flock of kookaburras- (bird mimics kookaburra chittering) To the noises from a toy gun. (bird mimics gun firing) Lyrebirds use their syrinx, which is a bird's vocal organ, to produce these
incredible complex sounds. Unlike other birds that can mimic noises, lyrebirds tend to learn their sounds from older males of the species. So, these sounds are passed
down through the generations. In captivity, this ability
extends even further, with lyrebirds able to mimic everything from car alarms to flutes, camera shutters, even R2D2 from Star Wars. (bird mimics R2D2) As a huge nerd, I find
this incredibly cool, and so do other lyrebirds. While they sing all year-round, lyrebirds sing with particular gusto between June and August, which is their mating season. So, scientists believe that female lyrebirds
are just as impressed by this mimic ability as we are. And yet, when I try to woo a lady with nothing but R2D2 noises, I end up single. No fair. (logo snaps) Rambling Raven. Now, if you thought mimicry only occurred in tropical or exotic
birds looking for a mate, just listen to this: - Mischief, can you say, "Hello?" - Hello.
- Good bird. - [Narrator] Okay, wait
a second, that's a raven. A raven that just said, "Hello." Now, ravens are a pretty
common species of bird. In fact, I see them all the time. But I've never heard one
talk like this before. - Can you say, "Hi?" - Hi.
- Good job! - [Narrator] Is this some
super good sound editing? Nope, this is Mischief, a white-necked raven who's been trained to mimic human speech. It turns out, ravens can
be trained to mimic speech because of their
sophisticated brain structure, which connects the area
responsible for communication to the section responsible
for memory and language. Maybe you've heard parrots
talking before too? Well, parrots have the
same, marginally stronger, connection in their brains, enabling them to mimic up to 1,000 words. But ravens can only really mimic
up to 100 words on average. The scientific name for this kind of speaking
is lingual articulation. So, the ravens are able to
repeat the sounds they hear but have no idea what the noises they're making actually mean. Perhaps, one day, ravens
could return the favor. I mean, I'd definitely take a lesson from Mischief on how to squawk the squawk. (crow caws)
(logo snaps) No Pain, Good Gains. The horribly named naked
mole-rat is a creature that's just as disturbing as it sounds. It looks like my unmentionables, but with teeth. (shivers) Native to East Africa, it's blind at birth, completely hairless, and thrives in dark, harsh
underground habitats. Not a life I'd choose for
myself, I'll be honest but the naked mole-rat
doesn't seem to mind at all. Not only are naked mole-rats the only mammalian
thermoconformer, which means they can self-regulate
their body temperature, these creepy little creatures also lack the neurotransmitters
responsible for pain sensitivity. In other words, they're
wired to feel no pain. The wrinkled rodents have evolved to survive in areas deep underground that contain so much carbon dioxide, they have seizures if they
don't get enough of it. But living with so little oxygen, means that lactic acid, which is produced by
muscles when they're used, pools dangerously in their body. it's this same acid that makes your muscles feel
sore after a hard workout. So, these mole rats
have evolved not to feel the pain in their own bodies
just to be able to move. Not only that, but the
large quantity of acid in the mole-rat's body tissue, makes them one of the
few species resistant to cancerous tumors. That's right, the naked
mole-rat cannot get cancer. I guess it can smoke all
the cigarettes it wants. (logo snaps) Amazing Eyes. Chameleons are incredibly cool, or hot depending on what color
they're currently sporting. These incredible reptiles are famous for being able to change color and blend into their surroundings, or grab the attention of a mate. Because they're entirely defenseless, they rely heavily on their ability to blend seamlessly into the
background to avoid predators. But while you may not be able to see it, it will be able to see you
no matter where you are. Chameleons have a unique eye
anatomy that enables them to rotate each of their eyes
180 degrees horizontally and 90 degrees vertically, entirely independent of each other. That means, chameleons can
move whichever eye they want in whatever direction they want, whenever they want. When chameleons look out
both eyes simultaneously, just like we humans do, it's called binocular vision. But sometimes they can choose
to look out of just one, like we humans don't, and that's called monocular vision. Monocular vision comes in handy when the chameleon is searching for prey and can point each eye
in a different direction. When the chameleon finds its prey, it switches to binocular vision and locks both eyes in on its target. All these capabilities
mean chameleons can see the whole 360 degrees surrounding them, without ever moving their heads. But chameleons aren't the only animals with 360-degree vision. Dragonflies have the largest eyes of all insects in terms of ratio, and devote a whopping 80% of their brain power to
controlling and processing sight. That's a lot of effort
just to look at something, but what makes it all worthwhile is that dragonflies are able to see the world in ultra-multicolor. What does that even mean? Well, you and I have three teeny-weeny, little things in our eyes called opsins. We have one red opsin, one blue opsin, and one green opsin, meaning every color we
see is some combination of those three colors. Dragonflies, by comparison,
have thirty opsins, meaning they can see polarized
and ultraviolet light on top of those basic reds, greens, and blues. So, while we humans see this, dragonflies see something like this. Do you reckon dragonflies
ever get migraines? Because (chuckles) I'm getting one now just from looking at that. (logo snaps) Lady Lizards. Native to North America, the small Desert Grasslands
Whiptail Lizard is just like any other average reptile, except in this sub-species, there are no males, none, not one. Now, some of you might
already be wondering, "If there are no males, how can these lizards reproduce, or exist, for that matter?" Well, this all-female species reproduces through a complex process called meiosis. Meiosis happens when one of the lizard's cells divides
to form daughter cells, The DNA in those cells
multiplies and multiplies, until there's enough DNA for
the miracle of life to occur and fertilized eggs are laid. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, these lizards
aren't just all-female, they're also all-clones. Since no new DNA gets introduced into the reproduction process, the lizard's offspring
are exact replica clones of themselves. That might sound creepy, but I know that if I could get two or three tiny clones of my own, I'd be able to make way more videos. Despite being an all-female species, some whiptail lizards do
exhibit male-like behavior, like refusing to ask for directions. (chuckles) I'm kidding. They actually take on
masculine characteristics and can even act as a pseudo-mate to other members of their group. Looks like these lizards
don't need no man. The only downside to being
a whiptail lizard is that, due to the cloning process, there is very little genetic
diversity among the population. Any threat, biological or
environmental to an individual, becomes a threat to the entire group because of their genetic similarity. That being said, desert
grasslands whiptail lizards, aren't going anywhere soon. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has
classified them as a species of least concern, so long
may these Amazons thrive. (logo snaps) Head Who? You might have heard that owls are able to
rotate their heads a full, breakneck 360-degree around. I'm sorry to be the one
to break this to you, but that's wrong. It's just an urban legend. However, most owls can
rotate their head 135 degrees in either direction, giving them a total of 270
degrees of rotational space, horizontally, and vertically. You see, instead of spherical eyeballs, owls have eye tubes that go
far back into their skulls. While this gives them
incredible long-range vision, it means their eyes are fixed in place, so they have to turn their heads to see. The way in which the owl's
bone structure works means that they can turn their heads almost all the way around without cutting off the blood flow to their brains. If humans tried that, well, let's just say it wouldn't end well. We don't need to though. Humans do just fine with
our heads facing forwards and our orb-like eyes that can swivel around in their sockets. Owls have had to develop this
neck-breaking ability due to the poor mobility of their eyes, so thank goodness they're so good at it. (logo snaps) Flight of Fancy. There are very few animals
that live up to their name, but the Superb Bird of Paradise
is definitely one of them. Spread throughout the
rainforests of New Guinea, the Superb Bird of Paradise is a small, blue, and black bird with a hidden talent. When a male is courting a female, he releases a large black,
feather cape from his back, revealing his striking blue-green breast and transforming himself
into this unholy vision. Once the male has
captivated a nearby female with this transformation, he begins tapping his
tail against the ground, creating the beat for a dance
he circles the female with. So, a costume change, a
fancy flourish, and a dance? Why go through all this trouble just to impress a potential girlfriend? I mean, if a man in a feather
cape began circling me and banging his backside
on the ground, I'd say, "Listen, I think we should
start seeing other people." Well, when it comes to the
Superb Bird of Paradise, there's a huge gap between the number of females and males, with females typically
rejecting between fifteen and twenty suitors before
settling down with a mate. That's some fierce competition. No wonder this guy's
pulling out all the stops. (logo snaps) The Mudskipper. We all know fish can't
breathe on land, right, right? Well, think again, because this mud-splattered
frog-like thing is, in fact, a fish. It's called a Mudskipper and they can grow up
to 12-inches in length. While technically classified as a fish, this species has developed
air pockets around its gills, giving it the ability to breathe on land for several minutes at a time. When they're wet, mudskippers
can also breathe through the lining of the skin on
their mouth and throat. Scientists call this kind of breathing cutaneous respiration, which means the mudskipper lacks the respiratory structure to
remain on land indefinitely and must, eventually,
return from whence it came. Thank God. While out of the water, the mudskipper uses its fins to propel itself across the ground. Scientists often point
out that the development of this ability is evidence of evolution. That's right, evolution,
happening right before our eyes. (chuckles) What a time to be alive. (logo snaps) Jesus Christ, Lizard? Native to Central and South America, the Green Basilisk Lizard
is no ordinary lizard. In fact, he's the son of
the great lizard in the sky, the lizard who created the lizard world in just six lizard days. And now, this lizard has
come down from lizard heaven to save us from our lizard sins. Praise be to Jesus Lizard. (chuckles) I'm just joking. Jesus Lizard isn't real but the Green Basilisk Lizard
is nicknamed the Jesus Lizard because of its astonishing
ability to walk on water. You heard that right. Don't believe me? Well, see for yourself. (water splashes)
(people laughing) I'm amazed he didn't turn that water into wine as he ran over it. So, biblical powers aside, how does the green basilisk lizard achieve this extraordinary feat? Well, this little reptile is
pretty low on the food chain in its natural habitat, and is frequently preyed
upon by birds and snakes. So, it's developed this
unique ability as a means to evade those predators. To escape over the water so quickly, it relies on its large hind feet. As it slaps its foot down on the water, the web of its toes creates a cavity, almost like an air bubble. Gathering enough speed, it uses the air to push forward. To stop it from sinking, the lizard minimizes downward force by pulling its foot upward
before the cavity collapses. Considering they're mortal, these lizards are
exceptional water-walkers. They can reach a speed of five feet per second
across a watery surface, traveling a maximum of fifteen feet before they have to swim. Well, they may not be the real Jesus, but this is certainly a
religion I could get into. Have you ever seen any of these
amazing creatures in person? If not, which one would you
like to see in action the most? Let me know in the comments below, and as always, thanks for watching. (energetic music)
