This prehistoric bird
looks like it wants to murder you in your sleep.
That's probably why its gaze is affectionately nicknamed
the "death stare."
Known as a shoebill,
this bizarre bird found meme fame because of it's
bone-chilling stare.
Even Joe Rogan gave the shoebill a
social media shoutout.
Craziest animal of all time.
But this bird has other
captivating attributes.
And if a shoebill gives you the death stare,
Long before the shoebill found itself on social media,
it appeared in ancient Egyptian artwork
because it's so common in the Nile's watershed areas.
Now, these creatures primarily call the wetlands of
Southern Uganda and Sudan their homes.
And because shoebills don't migrate,
they've inhabited these regions
for eons.
Scientists often refer to shoebills
as "living dinosaurs".
They evolved from carnivorous dinosaurs
called theropods,
the same group as the colossal
Tyrannosaurus rex.
Over time,
shoebills traded their sharp teeth and snouts
for their large, distinctive beaks.
These oddly-shaped beaks
are the bird's most striking feature
and remind us of a
Dutch clog shoe.
It measures up to 30 cm (12 in) long and 12.7 cm (5 in) wide.
Their bills are large, and they're so strong
that an adult shoebill can decapitate a baby crocodile.
Oh that is whack.
Shoebills are considered ambush predators.
They stand completely still in the water,
sometimes for hours, waiting for prey to approach.
When a snack finally swims by, like a tasty lungfish,
their favorite meal, by the way,
they plunge bill-first
into the water, cleaving their victim
in two.
Another striking feature
is the shoebill's intimidating size.
On an expedition to Africa in 1840,
German explorers were told by an indigenous guide
about an unusual bird
as big as a camel
but with a bill like a pelican's.
They were the first Europeans to hear of the shoebill.
They get a gold star.
While the shoebill is shorter than a camel,
it's still a big bird.
They grow up to 1.5 m (5 ft) tall
with a wingspan of up to 2.4 m (8 ft)
but only weigh around 6.8 kg (15 lbs),
about as much as a turkey.
In addition to being able to cut their prey in half,
the shoebills engage in bill-clattering,
which they use as a greeting and during nesting.
This is what creates the startling,
machine-gun-like sounds they are known for.
Shoebills are also known for
their strange ways of cooling down.
Gular fluttering
vibrates the throat muscles to dissipate heat.
A much more unseemly cool-down technique
is urohidrosis,
or pooping on their legs to regulate body temperature.
As one does.
You'd think standing in water all day would be enough
to cool them, but to each their own.
I'm not judging. I kind of am.
On a less disgusting note,
you hopeless romantics out there might be happy to know
that these birds,
like swans and
emperor penguins, are monogamous.
And although you might be scared stiff
if a shoebill gives you its famous death stare,
you needn't worry.
Humans are predators rather than prey to the shoebill,
a vulnerable species that is becoming rare.
The shoebill's dwindling population
is mainly due to poaching,
livestock farming,
and oil drilling.
These big birds are also targets of the exotic pet trade.
Some private collectors reportedly pay
over $10,000 USD
to add a live shoebill to their menagerie.
Alright, I want names and addresses.
One last oddity about shoebills
is that they invert the pouches beneath their beaks
over their necks and chests
when they yawn. It's called glottis exposure.
And while this is a strange trait, their pelican relatives
do it too.
Check out our episode on pelicans to learn all about it.
Making machine-gun noises
and scaring people with their death stares
is what shoebills do.
And that's what makes them Crazy Creatures.