04x52 - Animal Flight

[bunniefuu]

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welcome to the world of amazing animal

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flight

welcome aboard right this way glad you

could make it

thanks henry i wouldn't miss this for

the world have you thought of a name for

your new airline yet

yep it's called lizard air

the amazing animal airline

first class ladies right up front there

vips very important pussycats

any more carry-on luggage traveling

alone

or is there someone in your pouch

stinking sections in the back

see you welcome to lizard air

cat flaps are located there there and

there

please make sure all poisonous snakes

are stored in the overhead compartments

in the unlikely event you're a turkey

your seat can be used as a nesting

device

i hope you enjoy your flight on lizard

air the only way to travel

now please pay attention to the

following safety demonstration

oops i think maybe you could learn a

thing or two by watching this henry

question one what is flying

going here to there in the air but

sometimes

that's just jumping okay flying is what

birds do

but have you ever heard of a flying frog

who can glide 50 meters on its big

webbed feet

that's what i call hip-hop but it's not

really flying this flying squirrel maybe

should have been called the gliding

squirrel

gliding isn't like real flying because

they have to keep stopping

there are all sorts of ways to take to

the air whether it's floating on the

breeze or flying south for the winter

air travel is an amazing adaptation

animals use for survival plants too some

trees even make seeds with wings

just because you've got wings doesn't

mean you can fly

look at that ostrich the only flying

he's gonna do is on a 747.

flying's much easier when you're light

and small insects were the first animals

ever to wing it

being able to fly is a great way to

escape your enemies or to get a bird's

eye view when looking for something you

need

like your teddy bear like your dinner

or a place to nest or a mate i don't see

any volunteers

thanks to the huge numbers of insects

around there are more animals alive that

can fly than can't

that's amazing

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wow

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hello passengers this is your captain

speaking

don't tell me you're the pilot too

somebody's got to fly this thing

how do you turn it on uh oh you better

make sure all your equipment is in

working order before takeoff

roger aye aye and check

visibility check wings

check ready for takeoff wait what about

your landing gear

got it right here everything i need for

landing shorts sunglasses

flaps flapping

uh wiggle this

twiddle that pull one of these

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no careful henry watch out

here we go you don't know the first

thing about aerodynamics do you henry

of course i do it's that exercise mom

does to music

that's aerobics aerodynamics is the

science of moving through

air it tells us exactly how long an

animal's wings need to be

and how quickly they need to move them

roger will call dung beetle

prepare flying apparatus extend wings

right

left comments flapping you're clear for

tickle

insects have to spend a lot of energy

flying due to the weight of their outer

skeleton

birds have it easy relatively speaking i

didn't know you had birds for relatives

i mean they have their skeletons on the

inside and their bones are light

some are even hollow making it easier

for them to get off the ground

and stay up there

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because insects are heavy for their size

they have to keep those wings beating at

a very high rate all the time

it's still not getting him very far

that's because he's hovering

this bird is soaring hey no snoring on

the job

not snoring soaring flight without

flapping

see how this black kite uses its tail

feathers to steer

i do that with my plane's rudder us

pilots have to be in complete control

all the time

the experts can even refuel or take on

cargo without landing

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i could do that

but i don't think all my passengers are

having a fish

landing is tricky too a soft landing

takes agility and precise control

especially for a large bird this condor

needs to slow down gradually for a safe

descent

control tower to condor steady as she

goes

control tower to swan pond one clear for

landing

or maybe i should say watering soft

landings aren't quite as soft on the

ground

in the same way that there are different

kinds of aircraft each species of flying

animal is adapted to the kind of flying

and landing it needs to do like aircraft

animals need regular maintenance clean

feathers are light feathers and the most

efficient for in-flight maneuvers

which means a good wash for these turns

at least for the bathtub that size no

one has to wake their turn do they

oh brother

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your attention please our in-flight

movie today

will be that old favorite the lizard of

us

passengers are asked please not to eat

each other

i'll be bringing around a selection of

tasty snacks shortly

henry if you're out here who's flying

the plane in there

oh don't worry i put her on utter pilot

lucky we had an otter on board

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do something henry and quick

oh sorry buddy you haven't had enough

lessons yet

it took me a whole day to learn how to

fly this thing

sorry about the disturbance passengers

we had a beginner at the control

all right otter back to your seat don't

be too rough on him henry

even the experts have to face a steep

learning curve

curve that's more like a learning cliff

cliffs are safe nesting places for mers

but their food all comes from the sea

below

so it's a long way down for your fish

supper

right mom and dad myrrh would rather not

spend

energy carrying fish all the way back to

their chicks so today

is flying lessons for the young mers

i'd rather take the stairs this chick is

warmed up and ready to go

there's his dad going all right son

ready

go for it help i'm falling

use the wings on the wings how's this

that's it son you got it once the merch

chick has made his first flight

he'll spend several weeks floating at

sea before his wings are developed

enough to take off again

but first he's got to learn how to land

oh splash down

that's one mur safely at sea

but this little guy has been separated

from his father

and his flying instructor

oh that's gotta hurt the murr seems to

have escaped any serious injury

its main problem now is how to get out

to sea and join its father

i know row row row your merc

get me down the stream

this is fun where'd he go

last one on the beach is a rotten

shorebird

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i made it where are you her fathers do

all the babysitting for their

children's first few weeks at sea and

even in a big noisy colony

a father can recognize his child's cry

yeah

daddy buy me an ice cream with herring

sauce on top

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henry it's time for your report on

flying mammals

what now yes now

out of my way journal lizard coming

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through

tonight owl develops winking problem

and caterpillar learns to choke

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but now our top story

top tipsters confirmed twisted tales of

cuddles the flying mouse

amazingly born with the wings of a wasp

and the lips of a love god

cuddles flew around the world planting

great big smoocheroonies

throughout the animal queendom making

feline faint

chickens cheer and blow fish blush

cuddles hung up his wings after falling

in love with gloria the

hug hungry gorilla after a smooch-tastic

honeymoon in hawaii

they bought a motorhome a ton of bananas

and drove off sweetly into the sunset

i think they bought it you couldn't even

give it away henry

let's

i think you'll find henry

there's only one true kind of flying

mammal

what's that big eared thing well it's

just one of many types of

wait let me guess is it furry yes

does it rhyme with cat yes is it

a rat on a hang glider henry

just kidding they're pets that's right

and bats are truly amazing

there are hundreds of species most never

touch the ground their whole lives

they hang upside down and fly mainly at

night

with a face like that i can see why

if you look at a bat skeleton through

the wonders of x-ray vision

you can see how their wings have

developed from what used to be a normal

animal paw

the fingers got longer and covered in

leathery skin

giving bats the power of flight

magic another great trick is the bats

ability to get around in the dark

they rely on their ears more than their

eyes which give them access to the night

kitchen

when it's time to eat there are bats

that fish

that's amazing bats that drink nectar

from flowers

that's incredible in fact many plant

species couldn't reproduce without bats

just one bat can scatter 60 000 seeds in

a single night through their

droppings that's

charming insect feeding bats even help

control pests like mosquitoes

in austin texas a colony of over one

million bats

lives under a single bridge once feared

by people

bats here have now become a tourist

attraction cool

so it's hats off to bats unless there's

one hanging right above you that is

Alligator

okay uh this is the stick shift

oh these were the flaps and i don't know

what this is yet

that's navigation equipment don't you at

least have a navigator

an alligator they sit in the tail

section no

navigator somebody has to keep track of

where we are

don't be ridiculous we're in the sky but

henry

where are we going

let's have a look the fish have tickets

to finland cats to kathmandu

polar bears to the uh oh

i knew i should have taken that right at

albuquerque you better ask for

directions henry

excuse me can you tell me

where are we going what does that mean

uh it means into that mountain

Geese

huh thank goodness for air brakes

now where are we going the wrong way

maybe you can get your bearings off

these geese they fly

thousands of miles each year and never

get lost so what's their secret

well they can read their position from

the path of the sun

or familiar landmarks night flyers read

the moon and star patterns in the sky

and many are highly sensitive to the

earth's magnetic field to tell them

where they are

like a kind of built-in compass they

must go to goose school for years

amazingly they're born with these skills

well if they went to school they might

learn some letters besides v

actually henry the v formation makes

flying easier

each goose breaks the air for the bird

behind it excuse me

but if a goose was breaking wind in

front of me i wouldn't follow that close

would you well it can save the geese up

to 20

of their energy and their survival

depends on their ability to keep up with

the others

and to return to the same breeding

grounds every year

the same is true for monarch butterflies

every winter they leave mexico heading

north again to feed

don't they like mexican food afraid not

these little flyers travel thousands of

miles for just one plant

milkweed i'd walk a mile for a pizza but

that's ridiculous

it takes several monarch generations to

make the journey the grandchildren

finish the trip their grandparents

started

no individual makes the whole journey

alive so how do they know where they're

going

it's a mystery henry nobody knows hmm

maybe those wings are really road maps

yes

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uh

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Hummingbird

and now ladies and gentle lizards it's

time for henry's amazing golden gecko

awards

the winners of my all-time best amazing

animal flyer

are

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in third place for taking a long hop off

a short ledge at a young age

the burr

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in second place for knowing the way does

san jose

and just about everywhere else the

canada goose

but tonight's golden gecko award for the

most amazing animal flyer goes to

flommingbird

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they're the smallest birds on earth and

lay the smallest eggs

they have the fastest wind beat and

heartbeat of any bird

for their weight they burn more energy

flying than a jet fighter

they inhabit every continent on the

planet except for antarctica

and sport a wild range of colors and

styles

isn't that a lovely little green number

he's sporting today but where the

hummingbird really shines

is in the flying sweepstakes of all the

birds on earth

only the hummingbird can fly backwards

forwards

and hover on the spot which makes life a

lot easier for our cameraman let me tell

you

and talk about your picky eaters they

mainly live on a diet of sweet flower

nectar

and they've come up with some cool ways

to get that nectar down their necks

hummingbirds have long beaks and tongues

shaped like drinking straws for those

quick slurps on the go

a human would have to eat about 200

chocolate bars a day to get the same

amount of energy

hmm i think i could handle that so

here's tonight's golden gecko winner

taking a moment

out to paper itself in the bath

Golden Gecko

nothing like a bit of free advertising

yes but do you know where we're going

yet henry

no but i'm really getting the hang of

this flying thing

let's see what this baby can do anything

boats can do

i can do better henry the passengers

won't like this

they love it think of the fish tanks

how about a bit of barnstorming no

bad idea

that was fun i don't think your

passengers agree

what come back did somebody shut the

door

i was just doing a bit of in-flight

entertainment

i told you to leave the aerial

Booby

acrobatics to be experts henry

like this stunt pilot the booby is that

his real name or did you just make it up

i'm not kidding it's one of the great

dive bombers of all time

oh 9.2 perform and no splash

where's the fish already swallowed fish

with no chips

what a waste in the mating season

boobies come together from far and wide

it's like my local pool in there all

right no rough housing and no running on

the side

just don't say no diving that's what

these birds do best

but this bird means bad news for boobies

no

is this a booby trap it's called the

frigate bird the pirate of the high seas

pirates

ahoy meet parties pirates ahoy

the frigate's plan is to harass the poor

booby until it spits up the dinner in

its gullet

the best far she blows

the frigate bird wins but

that's what i call the movie prize

moving swiftly along in texas there's a

colony of some 30 million

cave-dwelling bats and they all come out

at twilight

excuse me but that's amazing

yeah and it's like a bat buffet for one

stunt flying hunter

a red-tailed hawk to be precise well if

he doesn't catch one

i'll eat my bat it's not as easy as

you'd think henry

oh really thanks to their radar and

quick reflexes

the bats are as good at escaping as the

hawk is at hunting

the hawk dives to pick up speed this

wily hunter has to use every trick in

the book

which book 30 million ways to catch your

back

there did you see he got one welcome to

batman texas population 30 million

oops make that 29 million 999 thousand

900

uh yeah thank you henry

[Laughter]

wildebeest

captain henry the ground control i

haven't spotted any new customers yet

wait a minute hey wildebeestees

hi there wanna lift careful henry

you're flying too low watch out for

those

trees oh all aboard

sorry to tell you this but i think we've

lost our wings

what so what are you gonna do now

if at first you don't succeed you can

always take the bus

go lizard lines there's so much more to

see

on the ground and you can leave the air

travel to the real

amazing flying animals please

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you