02x07 - The How Show

[bunniefuu]

Uh!

Hua!

Waaa!

Hua!

Uh!

Food sources!

Aquatic habitats!

Oh!

We're just having
a friendly argument

About why crocodiles
survived

And dinosaurs
and other creatures
didn't.

I say it's because
their food supply

Was plentiful
and constant.

And I say
it's because

Their
aquatic habitat

Acted as a buffer
to climatic change.

How does any creature
survive?

That's what we've
got to find out...

On this episode of...

Kratts' creatures.

Iarriba! Iarriba! Iandale!

[Martin]
wow! Look at them go!

These sheep
are wicked climbers.

How do they do it?

Humans need
a ton of equipment

To climb cliffs like these.

For bighorn sheep,
it's no problem.

But how?

[Chris]
you're not the only one
who wants to know.

Did you ever wonder

How bighorn sheep
are able to run

Over this
treacherous terrain?

How can they charge
down these steep cliffs

Without falling
to their death?

They don't even have
ropes or harnesses.

But they do have
their own natural
equipment.

The bighorn sheep
question--

It's just one
of many questions
we're asking

About how
animals survive.

Many people
have creature questions

They've always
wondered about

But never got answers to.

I figure
there must be tons.

Hey!

Uh...

You o.k.?

I can't sleep.
I can't work.

It's driving me crazy.

Somebody's
got to know.

Got to know what?

How do reptiles
survive so well
in the desert?

If someone
could just tell me...

[Martin]
how reptiles survive
in the desert

Is a great question

Because deserts
are so hot and dry.

You know
what a hot oven

Does to a pizza,
right?

Well, imagine
being a creature

That lives in a place
a lot like a hot oven.

How would you survive?

It's all
in how you're built

And how you get
and hold on to water.

[Martin]
believe it or not,
every time you breathe,

You lose moisture
from your body.

That's why in the winter,
you can see your breath.

[Chris]
totally different story
for reptiles.

One of their secrets
to hot-weather success

Is their low
metabolic rate.

[Martin]
what that means

Is they need less oxygen,
so they breathe less,

And therefore,
they don't lose much water.

Sounds complicated,
but it works.

[Chris]
another trick
some reptiles use

Is absorbing water
from what they eat.

It's like eating and drinking
at the same time.

[Martin]
the thorny devil
gets water off his back.

Moisture collects there,

Then runs down channels
into his mouth.

It's like a reptilian
water fountain.

Finding food
and finding water

Are two of themost
important factors

In creature survival.

In times of plenty,

Creatures don't
have to worry

About getting
enough to eat.

When food is abundant,
life is relatively easy.

The zebra and wildebeest
have plenty of grass,

And the hyenas
have plenty of game.

[Chris]
out on the african savanna,

The survival of zebra
and wildebeest

Depends on the availability
of grass for them to eat.

[Martin]
and hyenas depend
on the availability

Of a lot of zebras, wildebeests,
and other animals to eat.

[Chris]
if there's not enough grass
for the prey to eat,

It affects not only
their survival,

But the survival
of their predators, too.

[Martin]
as long as food's out there
in abundance,

These creatures
can all dine happily,

But when food
is scarce,

Life gets
a lot tougher.

However, many creatures
have plans

To deal
with the hard times.

Some creatures
find food...

Grab it...

Stash it...

And save it.

Saving food is one
ingenious way to survive.

[Chris]
foxes are famous for it,
and it's called caching.

[Martin]
they do it whenever they have
an excess of food.

[Chris]
foxes will hide food
in several different caches

Under soft dirt, leaves.

In the winter,
they hide it in snow.

[Martin]
they're able
to keep a running tally

Of which cache is full
and which is empty.

This is
one of the reasons

Foxes are considered
pretty smart animals.

[Chris]
caching is a great
survival trick.

It's storing food
for when the hard times hit.

[Martin]
when food gets scarce,

The fox just has to
dig up her cache.

Then it's chowtime
for the fox and her kits.

When a dog
buries a bone,

It's doing exactly
what foxes do--

Saving food
for later.

It's the wild
canine instinct
coming through.

All right.

Our food
is safely cached.

[Martin]
the arctic fox
knows all about caching.

He lives
in the arctic tundra,

Where winter
can last nine months.

[Chris]
that's rough!

[Martin]
that's why they cache,
cache, and cache again.

One fox cached 40 birds.

That's a lot
of birds,

And it's what I call
planning ahead.

Foxes aren't
the only ones.

Other creatures are
great planners, too.

Squirrels, rats,
and mice

All stash away
nuts and berries

For the winter.

[Martin]
some rodents,
like this chipmunk,

Carry their stash with them
in their cheeks.

[Chris]
their cheeks
have special pouches

That expand to carry food.

Talk about food to go.

How many seeds
can they carry at once?

[Martin]
almost 100!

It's like
using your cheeks

As a lunch bag
to carry acorns.

I don't know
how they do it.

It's something I just
can't stop thinking about.

I mean,
it's worrying me,

And I know it's worrying
my whole family.

But how do snakes eat things
bigger than their heads?

The answer
is in the way

Different animals
eat.

Some animals
take a bite of food

Chew, and swallow,
like this llama.

[Chris]
they're not alone
in the chewing department.

Creatures use their chompers
in different ways.

Some slice, some clip,
some tear, and some grind.

Not all creatures
need teeth to eat their food.

Snakes take
a totally different
approach to eating.

They don't chew
or tear their food,

So they don't
have teeth

That chew or tear.

Snakes are designed
to swallow things whole--

Things that are even
bigger than their head.

[Chris]
a snake's jaws
are loosely hinged

So they can expand
to take in food.

That lets them
eat stuff that's--

You guessed it--
bigger than their heads.

[Martin]
and to swallow it,

The snake spreads its ribs
and stretches its scales,

Letting the food go down.

[Chris]
its digestive enzymes
do the rest of the work,

Digesting the food and providing
this yellow rat snake

With enough food for days.

If you think that's amazing,
check this out.

See how small this
burmese python's head is?

Would you believe
he can swallow a cat?

[Martin]
hard to believe, but true.

A python with a head
the size of a shoe box

Could swallow a small deer.

Talk about having eyes
bigger than your stomach.

Let me get this straight.

Some animals survive

By finding food
and eating it right away,

And some survive
by storing it.

And there are other ways
creatures survive.

[Man]
that's not how.

I'm a-crazy?
Listen to you.

That is so a-how.

I'm a-not crazy.
That's a-how.

That is not how.

That's a-not how.

They flap-a
the wings.

They spin-a
the tail.

You don't know.

I had no idea
so many people

Were so
into creature
questions.

Hey,
what's going on?

What's going on?

It's a-breaking up
our business.

We got to know
how squirrels a-fly.

He don't know.

How squirrels fly?

That doesn't have
anything to do

With how creatures
survive, does it?

I'm going
to talk to papa.

Oh, go talk
to papa.

I've had enough
of you!

You talk to papa!

Oh, don't!

[Glass shatters]

I talk no--

It has
everything to do
with survival.

Flying helps
flying squirrels
escape predators

So they don't
get eaten.

And by flying,
these squirrels

Can get
from tree to tree

To find
their own food.

But how do
flying squirrels
fly?

They have skin

Stretched between
their forearms
and their hind legs.

It does
the same thing
a parachute does.

It catches the air,
and they glide!

Wow.

[Chris]
the north american
flying squirrel

Doesn't really fly,
but, man, can he glide--

Up to 250 feet.

And to accurately
measure those distances,

He needs
a great sense of sight.

[Martin]
no kidding!

Creatures
can sense things

That humans aren't
even aware of.

[Martin]
some birds can actually
pick up sounds

Too low
for humans to hear

Called infrasounds.

[Chris]
infrasounds are made by winds,
thunderstorms, weather fronts,

Ocean waves, and earthquakes.

[Martin]
these sounds travel
thousands of miles,

And they help guide birds
on their migratory flights.

Some creatures depend
on sight for survival,

But did you ever
ask yourself,

How does a creature
see in the dark?

[Martin]
at night, a lot happens
in the creature world

That we just don't see

Because most animals
see at night,

Some better than others.

[Chris]
some nocturnal creatures

Have big eyes
with large pupils,

Which lets them
catch more light.

Some even have
a reflective layer

That helps them concentrate
the low light.

[Martin]
night vision is
a great survival trick.

It lets hunters,
like the leopard,

Catch prey
under cover of darkness.

[Chris]
but for some creatures,
two eyes aren't enough.

These insects
have compound eyes,

Which are really made up
of thousands of little eyes

Called facets.

Houseflies have
about 5,000 facets,

But dragonflies
have more than 50,000.

Compound eyes
let insects detect movement

In all directions at once.

Other creatures depend heavily
on their sense of smell

For survival.

[Dogs barking]

[Allison]
foxhounds have
an amazing sense of smell--

One million times stronger
than humans.

These canines
are using their sense of smell

To track the guys.

In the wild,
dogs and other animals

Use their sense of smell in ways
crucial to their survival.

Take carnivores like wolves.

These pack hunters
use their keen sense of smell

To pinpoint good grub.

Or how about omnivores
like bears?

They follow their snouts
to beehives.

Ocelots sniff out monkeys
high above them.

Sharks can track prey for miles
using sound and smell.

It works
the other way, too.

The hunted
use their sense of smell

As an early-warning system.

They can sniff predators
coming their way

And then get out of there.

Avoiding predators is definitely
crucial to survival.

And then some creatures survive
using their sense of touch.

Hey, kitty, kitty.
Nice kitty.

The difference
between us

And lots
of other creatures

Is that
their sense of touch

Is so sensitive.

Some creatures
can feel

Even the tiniest
vibrations.

[Martin]
ant lions are insects
who catch ants

In a really cool way.

[Chris]
they build traps in the sand.

The ant lion feels a vibration
when an ant walks in

And then starts flinging sand

To knock the ant
down into his waiting jaws.

[Martin]
wow! And talk
about sensitive.

If you're walking
towards a snake,

He can feel your footsteps
through the ground.

That's why snakes
are usually taking off

By the time
you get to them.

In other words,

Creatures use
all of their senses to survive--

Their eyes, their nose,
their ears,

Their sense of touch.

What's going on?

Was ist denn los?

[Yelling in german]

There's got to be
an answer here.

King kong didn't
have a tail,

And yet he made it
to the top

Of the empire
state building.

You got
a creature question?

Yeah. How do creatures
use their tails to survive?

How do creatures
use their tails
to survive?

Tails?

Tails are
really important
for survival.

And many creatures
have very special tails

That they use
in amazing ways.

[Chris]
kangaroos have tails

Strong enough
to use as a fifth leg.

[Martin]
their tails help them walk,

And tails
also help them

Keep their balance
when they hop.

[Chris]
considering kangaroos use

Their hop power
to escape predators,

That tail is critical
to survival.

[Martin]
when they're fighting for mates,
that tail offers support.

[Chris]
their tails give them

A leg to stand on

So they can give
their competitors strong kicks!

A kangaroo
uses its tail

The same way
that we use a chair,

And if a kangaroo
didn't have its tail...

It would lose
its balance.

In fact,
it might not be able
to survive. Agh!

[Allison]
and now chris has

A different tale
to tell.

Prehensile tails are great
for climbing.

It's like having
three hands.

[Allison]
talk about a fifth limb.

A prehensile tail
is one

That can be used
like a spare arm.

It's strong enough to grab
on to stuff like branches,

Which comes in handy

For these tree-living
creatures.

It helps get at food,
avoid predators,

And, even more key
to survival,

Prevents them
from falling out of the tree,

Which would not be good.

Tails are also
used to communicate.

Deer use their tails to signal
the group, telling them,

"Follow me! It's time
to get out of here!"

Beavers use their tail
as a warning.

When danger's around,
beavers slap the water,

Telling other beavers
to watch out,

And their tail slaps
can be pretty intense.

When a warthog holds his tail
straight in the air,

It can warn other hogs
that it's time to leave.

Completely different
from a rattlesnake,

Who uses his tail as a warning--
"keep away."

[Rattling]

Some animals use their tail
for balance.

Have you ever seen
a squirrel

Trying to walk
along a telephone wire?

Next time you do,

Watch and see how he whips
his tail back and forth

To act
as a counterbalance.

Uh, whoa!

[Chris]
nice one.

Tree kangaroos and squirrels
are a little better

At counterbalancing
than martin.

Their tails keep them balanced
while they perch.

[Martin]
check out the cheetah's tail!

It keeps him balanced
while he's running down prey

At a blistering


[Chris]
tails can be used as weapons.

This takedown is risky
for the coati

Because the scorpion packs
painful poison in his tail.

Al, tell the ticket guy
tails are crucial to survival.

Now for another
question.

Where do animals live?

In some of the most
surprising places.

Along with eating, drinking,
and avoiding predators,

Another key
to creature survival

Is finding shelter--

A safe haven, a place
to raise your young.

The brush turkey builds
an incredible nest

To incubate its eggs.

When this nest decomposes,
it warms the eggs,

And believe it or not,

The nest
of a brush turkey

Can be 15 feet high
and 35 feet wide.

That's bigger
than my bedroom!

And neater.

It's just one of the great
creature homesteads.

[Martin]
humans aren't the only builders.

Animals need
shelter, too--

For protection from predators
and the elements.

Look around
the creature world,

And you'll see
some amazing builders.

[Chris]
like groundhogs,

Prairie dogs,
and ground squirrels.

These subterranean
squirrels

Build amazing
underground burrows.

[Martin]
beavers build dams and lodges

For protection
and food access.

[Chris]
one of the coolest builders

Is the african
buffalo weaver.

These birds knit grasses
together to form a nest.

It's kind of
the same technique

Humans use
to knit sweaters,

But these birds
did it first.

[Martin]
another avian architect,

The woodpecker hollows out
holes in trees for shelter.

[Chris]
the master builders

Of the insect world
are the termites.

In africa, their mounds
can reach 26 feet

And house 200 million members.
Amazing.

[Martin]
not everybody builds a home.

Some find one.

Tasmanian devils
live in dens

Or rock crevices.

Bats hole up in caves
during the day.

And some creatures
don't have a home

Because
they don't need one.

Many creatures
don't use homes.

They just sleep
wherever they feel
like it,

Finding shelter
under a tree

Or out
in the open.

These creatures may live
in the same territory

Throughout
their lives,

But they never settle down
in one specific spot.

[Chris]
because they don't need to.

When it comes to sleep,

These creatures just find a spot
and flop down.

[Martin]
some of these creatures

Do stick to a certain area,
but they're flexible

About where
they catch their zs.

[Chris]
some keep on the move,

Moving from one food and water
source to another.

[Martin]
that's because they never know

Where their next meal is.

I knew that!
Everybody knows that.

What I really
need to know is,

How do animals know
what to eat?

[Mooing]

That's
a great question.

How do animals
know what to eat?

And how do animals know
what not to eat?

Mammals have
a great head start

Because
the first food
they eat

Comes from their
mother.

[Allison]
mammals produce milk

To feed their babies.

Milk is a nutritious blend
of protein and fat,

Which mammal babies need
to grow healthy and strong.

When it comes
to mother's milk,

Scientists have
this totally cool theory.

They think that a mother's milk
is flavored

By the things
she eats.

If a mom ate
a lot of grass,

The milk may have
that flavor.

When the baby can find
his own meals,

He'll seek food that tastes
like his mother's milk.

He's got a head start on knowing
what to eat.

These baby birds are fed
directly by mom,

So they learn
right away

About what kinds of food
are good to eat.

In this case,
they're learning

That big, juicy worms
make a great meal.

As a matter of fact,

Lots of creatures
use this strategy,

Not just birds.

These african wild dog pups
have waited hours

For the pack to come home
from hunting

And feed them
the fresh catch of the day,

Chunky style. Mmm.

This kangaroo baby,
called a joey,

Is learning what grasses
are good to eat

Just by watching
and imitating mom.

Same for this gorilla baby.

He's curious about what food
mom's found in the log.

Now he's going to try it
and find out for himself.

Predators like cheetahs
need to learn

How to catch
their food.

These cubs
are going to learn

How to do it
by watching mom.

Hunting class is now
in session.

These cubs benefit

From the close care and teaching
of their mom,

But what about creatures
who don't get that care?

Creatures like lizards,
insects,

And some fish aren't taught
about food by their parents,

But they do fine
using instinct.

Instinct
tells them things

Like what they need to eat
to survive.

[Moo]

As far as knowing
what not to eat,

A lot of that is
trial and error,

Like the first time

I tried
brussels sprouts.

Yuck!
I didn't have to
do that again.

That's like
the possum.

[Chris]
there are all sorts
of eucalyptus

In australia--some fine to eat,
some toxic.

The brush-tailed possum
has learned which ones to eat

And which ones to avoid.

[Martin]
sort of like how

Creatures learn to avoid
porcupines.

If you run
into a porcupine,

You'll never run
into one again.

Those quills
hurt going in,

But, man, do they really hurt
coming out.

It's a lesson
you won't forget.

What bugs me
the most is,

How do creatures
depend on one another?

Hear that, guys?

[Martin]
we sure do.

Here's a great example

Of two creatures
who depend on one another.

Remoras are fish
who hang on to sharks,

Eating the shark's scraps
and getting a free ride.

[Chris]
the remora returns the favor

By eating parasites
off the shark's body.

It's like saying,"if you eat
the parasites off my back,

I'll let you
ride on it."

Back on land,
there are more creatures

Who depend
on each other.

[Chris]
like the oxpeckers

And the cape buffalo!

[Martin]
the oxpeckers eat

The bloodsucking ticks
that latch on to the buffalo.

[Chris]
the birds become fed,

And the buffaloes
become tick-free.

They're not the only ones
getting cleaned.

Oxpeckers help out
many creatures.

[Allison]
this is cool--

A real creature-helping-creature
partnership.

[Martin]
there's plenty more examples,

Like the wild ponies
and cattle egrets.

And don't forget

About flowers,
hummingbirds, and bees.

[Buzzing]

To reproduce,
flowering plants

Have to spread
their pollen.

Pollen's that yellow stuff.

But plants can't exactly
walk around

And do it themselves,

So how does pollen

Get from one plant
to another?

[Martin]
the answer is flying insects,

Like bees--

[Chris]
and birds like the hummingbird.

These are creatures

Who really help out
the flower and--

Who fly from flower to flower,
eating nectar.

In the process,
they pick up pollen

And spread it around.

This helps plants
reproduce,

So there's more food
for animals,

Who then spread
more pollen,

And then more plants grow,
providing more food...

And so on
and so on
and so on.

There's another,
broader way

Of looking
at how creatures
depend on one another.

They all eat
each other

In a complex system
called the food web.

Say what?

A food web
represents who eats who.

Check this out.

A mosquito
is eaten by a frog,

And that frog
is eaten by a snake.

The snake is eaten
by a raccoon,

Which had
its blood sucked

By the mosquito
that the frog ate.

Every species
of creature is
one of these knots,

And their
relationship
to another species

Is the rope.

The whole
wildlife community

Can be represented
by the web.

[Martin]
what happens

If the food web
is broken?

Just like
if you lose
too many ropes--

Just like
if you lose
too many ropes--

If you lose
too many creatures,

The whole food web...

Collapses!

So no matter
how you look at it,

All creatures
are linked together--

Reptiles, amphibians,
insects, plants,

Even microorganisms.

If you ask me,
the answer

That all creatures depend
on each other--

It's the coolest answer

To the greatest creature
question of all time.

There you have it,
creature-clubbers.

Kratt, baldwin, and kratt
have answered

All your questions
about how animals survive.

[Martin]
all their questions?

No way!

We've hardly scratched
the surface!

Who has
the biggest paw print?

How old do
different animals get?

How does a warthog escape
from a leopard?

How do
endangered species
make a comeback?

How do creatures
reproduce?

How do animals heal
without medicine?

And we still
haven't answered

How crocodiles survived
when dinosaurs didn't.

It's because
of their aquatic
habitat.

It's food sources.

Crocodiles can eat
almost anything

And go a long time
without eating.

But their aquatic
habitats

Acted as a buffer
when the meteor hit.

Let's take this
to the volleyball court.

Let's go.