(upbeat instrumental music)
- [Narrator] This red-eyed tree frog
really gets the jump on traveling.
One minute it's there,
the next it's soaring into space.
The only way to appreciate this disappearing act
is to look at it in super slow motion.
(upbeat music)
This frog's body is merely two inches.
Its legs take up almost a quarter of its mass
and more than half its length.
Even so, the muscles in its hind limbs
are not nearly strong enough to produce the big leaps
this frog is known for.
So how does it do it?
As the frog readies itself to vault
the leg muscles contract quickly pulling on the tendons
like an archery's bowstring.
As the tendon stretch, they gather elastic energy.
When the frog jumps, the tendons release their energy,
launching the frog, like an arrow from the bow.
The tendons wrap around the frog's ankles.
When they snap back, the pull causes the frog's feet
to extend and lift off the ground.
The extreme and unusual elasticity of the tendons
is the key to this frog's mighty jumps.
They add seven times more power to the hop
enough to cover more than three feet in a single leap.
That's 20 times its body length.
A human would have to volt the length of three buses
from a standing leap to match its skills.
(upbeat music)
For a tree dweller, long jumps have a downside.
If the frog bounces when it lands,
well, it could be a long way down.
Thankfully its feet are made to hold on for dear life.
Soft like rubber they mold to uneven surfaces.
The toe pads are covered with tiny pillar structures
that generate friction to increase the frog's grip.
But the key to their gravity-defying feats
lies between these columns
and adhesive mucus strong enough to hold up to 14 times
the animal's body weight,
a little reassurance for a tiny frog,
taking a leap of faith.
Look at most lists of the Internet's favorite animals.
It's a good bet you'll find red pandas
somewhere near the top.
And it's easy to see why.
Here are a few fun facts,
about the absolutely adorable red panda.
Winning nickname.
The Chinese name for the red panda is
(speaks in foreign language)
which translates to Firefox.
Yup, just like the web browser.
Family ties, if you thought the red panda was a close cousin
of the more familiar black and white panda, think again.
Red pandas and giant pandas shared an ancestor
roughly 40 million years ago,
but today they're far different creatures.
Giant pandas are the distant relatives of bears
while red pandas are more closely related to ferrets.
After much debate are they raccoons?
Are they bears?
The scientific community has assigned red pandas
their own family name, Ailuridae.
Origin story, red pandas were discovered in 1825,
almost half a century
before the first giant pandas were spoted.
They're often referred to as the lesser panda
but now that just doesn't seem fair.
Red and giant pandas do share a couple
unique things in common.
For one, they both have what are known as pseudo-thumb's.
A modified wrist bone they use to grab onto tree branches
and bamboo, which brings us to the other thing
the pandas share, the bamboo diet.
In Nepal, the word panda loosely translates
to eater of bamboo.
While they're technically classified as carnivores
bamboo leaves make up 95% of the red panda's diet.
They need to eat about 20 to 30% of their own body weight
each day so every once in a while,
they might snack on lizards, bird eggs, or fruit.
But for the most part, they're made of bamboo.
Big on nap time.
Red pandas sleep about 55% of the day away for their luxury.
Daredevils, when they're not sleeping
they're actually pretty adventurous.
When climbing down trees, they do so headfirst,
their tails help with balance
and those semi-retractable claws on their paws
grip tight to the trees.
Whoa, fearless on the brink.
We're not exactly sure how many red pandas are left,
but we know there aren't many.
Recent estimates list the population
as high as 10,000 members and as low as 2,500.
Deforestation, illegal trade,
and climate change are threatening to make red pandas
disappear from our world by 2065, if not earlier.
A world without these fluffy firery fribles nope, no thanks.
Red pandas deserve better.
Let's give it to them.
Meet the Red colobus Monkey.
Also known by locals as the poisonous monkey.
Wait, and come again, poisonous monkeys, but how?
Islanders once believed that when these guys feed
in an area, plants and crops die.
So what's the story behind this thinking?
You see locals were finding that trees eaten
by these monkeys were dying out.
And what's worse, having reputation as crop killers
has led to farmers taking these monkeys out.
What's the huge reason why they're critically endangered
with less than 2000 left on this Island.
But are these fun little creatures really
the notorious forest destroyers they've been made out to be.
Let's explore, you see the red colobus monkeys
hold crazy toxic and gassy substances in their stomachs.
Why is that?
Well, they happen to be sugar intolerant, no sweets.
Since their diet won't allow fully riped fruits,
their guts are designed to go through
a predestined fermentation process in the stomach.
They've clearly got a thorough
food processing system at work.
But when they eat from non-native sources
like this breadfruit tree, that system gets irritated.
The alien leaves give them indigestion.
But the older monkeys of the troop have discovered a way
to work with this.
They've learned to eat charcoals.
The remnants of old fires found nearby.
The charcoal works by absorbing toxins called phenolics,
which are found in some leaves.
Doing away with these nasty phenolics
allows digestion to run smoothly.
Yeah, we're not the only ones
who've figured out charcoal's pretty dope.
The monkeys have become great
at bypassing problematic toxins,
but their preference is to eat coconuts.
They crave the ones that aren't yet, ripe,
but still contain some nutrients without the sugars.
See they devour the goods and let go of the not so goods.
It may appear wasteful, but this actually results
in more coconut trees growing, nature at its finest.
So as you can see, the monkeys are not poisonous.
They're not tree killers.
In fact, they are beings that help produce food of plenty.
And because of them, while some trees do get stripped
the forest as a whole thrives.
And over time, the locals have since learned the true nature
of the monkeys.
To the well-informed, they no longer seen as enemies.
But instead as a blessing.
Dear Black Mamba, we all know your name
your reputation proceeds you.
Your legend, all fame.
You slither on rocks.
You hop between trees.
You've got a ton of talent.
That's easy to see, but what do they know of you
really, dear friend?
Behind the external, the reality, no pretend,
let's explore a few cool things that you can do.
Dispel all those fears, maybe win some admiration too.
So why did they call you black mamba, anyway?
Your scales are not black.
They're more dark gray.
Ah, there it is.
When you open your mouth, black is the night.
Why is it black?
Scientists aren't sure.
Mostly to deter opponent, the opposite of the lure.
But how could that be, if you're highly aggressive
or event seeking villain
striking repeatedly when threatened.
Therein lies the key,
you'll fight if you have to.
But if the powers that be and challenge you to a quarrel,
a face-off is necessary.
It's part of the struggle that bite of viewers is awful.
The deadliest of kinds,
just two drops of that venom sends razorblades
through the mind.
And when you get angry, you can unleash 10 times that dose.
In just 45 minutes, a grown man will be toast.
When the toxins take full effect,
the heart attack comes next.
They should have known better than to mess with such a folk.
You're not in a fight, but you'll wreak havoc for shell.
Hey black mamba, can we pause your tail for a sec?
There is someone else to introduce.
You all may not have heard of her yet.
The green Mamba so bright and so green,
she's not as well known, but she to can play mean.
A loaner herself, she doesn't look to tangle,
but when she's in need of a meal,
Hey, y'all get angry.
See these monkeys in trees.
They're totally unaware.
And when it comes to her prey, she specializes in scare,
typically dining on birds, eggs, and rats.
Right now craving a little white monkey is where she's at.
Her bite is fierce.
The venom spreads fast.
In a matter of minutes, taking a breath might be once last.
A tale of two mambas, their mentality the same,
their life just like ours is so much more than a game.
The mythical black mamba,
there's no forgetting that name,
but when you think of them,
don't get it twisted, amaze legend, forever rein.