Evolution happens all the time, even if we don't notice it. It s necessary for any living organism
to exist in this world and to keep up with its changes. But there s one "BUT"! Today you re
gonnalearn why herbivores grow fangs, why animals are afraid of evolution, and how nature can rob
anyone of their uniqueness! Let's go!
Yes, if there s any powerful, yet completely indifferent force in the world,
it s nature. Nature can take from any living creature whatever it wants:
home, behavioral features, even body parts... But if it all seems to make no sense to you,
look closely. In fact, nature has its own logic. Take this bird as an example:
the Galapagos flightless cormorant, which lives on only two islands in the world. Actually,
there are 21 species of cormorants on the planet, but it s these poor creatures that nature has
deprived of the ability to fly. Just compare those two different species. See these wings? They don't
work. At all. If the wings help penguins somehow, then for flightless cormorants, they are like an
unnecessary accessory, which is a pity to throw away. The explanation is quite simple: when you
live where there are no predators, why do you need to be able to fly? Instead, Galapagos cormorants
have learned to swim very well so they can hunt for fish, shellfish, and other seafood.
But if everything is clear and logical with cormorants, then some other animals can't be
called anything but strange. Cyclops shark. What is that?It s even better: an albino cyclops shark.
It was caught off the coast of Mexico, and the very appearance of such a shark in the
world is a bug of nature, and it s rather rare. The blobfish is a different story. It s sometimes
called the ugliest creature on the planet. But how can something that looks like spoiled jelly
even exist? The species is poorly studied, but scientists have figured out the real shape of the
blob fish after all. The fish lives at depths of up to 4000feet, where it s subjected to tremendous
pressure, and it looks like... an ordinary fish. It only looks like a meme at the surface when
the pressure suddenly decreases. Alas, the blob fish can t survive outside its usual conditions.
Apparently, that's why it's so hard to study. But let's get out of the water, I found a couple
more examples of nature's intervention:snub-nosed monkeys and Ankole-Watusi cows. Why did it take
away the former's noses, and put such huge horns on the latter? They re obviously very heavy,
how is it possible to walk at all with such a construction on the head... Well,
sometimes nature does really cool things. Snub-nosed monkeyslook like Voldemortnot
because they experimented with Horcrux. They live in mountain forests at high altitudes and
often face extremely low temperatures. So to keep the poor primates from freezing their noses off,
nature just took them. Except it didn't think about how they would look like.
Especially the infants. It's a good thing animals don't have the concept of beauty.
It worked out the other way around with the Angole-Watusi:
they live in the hot regions of Africa, and they use their huge horns for thermoregulation. These
horns are permeated by a system of vessels, and blood circulating back and forth is cooled by
air currents. Then it returns to the body and lowers its temperature. Generally, you know,
it's a good thing that cows need to be cooled and monkeys need to be warmed. Poor snub-nosed monkeys
would have a hard time with those horns. Most animals have it easier. You won't
encounter a white shark whose teeth have grown so big that they no longer fit in its mouth.
You're unlikely to see an owl with a pelican-sized beak that grows endlessly, because all of these
things are clearly written into the genes of each species. Some variation is possible only
in the case of a serious deviation... But not in donkeys: nature really screwed up there.
Has it ever occurred to you that hooves are, in fact, modified fingernails? And,
like any nails, sometimes they grow long enough and they need trimming. In the wild,
animals do this on their own by just moving around a lot and sharpening their hooves naturally. But
donkeys really have a problem with that. The fact is that they originated in the desert, where the
ground is hard, dry, and often rocky... Somehow after that, evolution decided that donkeys' hooves
didn't need any upgrades. They turned out to be able to absorb moisture effectively,
remain flexible, and avoid splitting and chipping. How cool is that? Yeah, let's get
them into production. Unfortunately, in a typical horse pasture, this ability causes problems.
The hooves don't wear out from walking, and there s also fungus with various bacteria in them. Five
years without a manicure becomes a nightmare. Now imagine for a moment that a few donkeys found
themselves on an island with a mild, humid climate and no predators. Would they still walk around
with their hooves bent? Or would they have stopped walking altogether? If you want to feel like
evolution, post your guesses in the comments! But while donkeys can still end well without human
intervention, it's a different story with sheep. Here, nature s in full swing! Not only can some of
the sheep literally overgrow their wool to death, losing mobility and overheating, they also...
fall. They fall to their deaths, and it's not just because of the height. Sometimes, while walking
in the countryside, you might notice a sheep lying on its back with its legs up. Now, it s
NOT sunbathing, and it had no intention of taking that position at all. The sheep s in trouble...and
I don't believe I said it. There could be several reasons for the sudden fall: either
the animal has too heavy, wet hair, or it's a pregnant female, or the sheep just got fat. Yeah,
so much so that it can't roll over by accidentally losing its balance. Don't you think this feature
would be worth fixing, eh, nature? If nobody helps a fallen sheep, it suffocates. Wait, what?
The fermentation of grass in the stomach produces gas, and if the sheep lies on its back,
the gas can't escape. As it builds up, the pressure on the lungs increases and the animal
just suffocates. You know that feeling when you've eaten so much that you can't breathe?
That's not a metaphor for sheep. And don't forget about predators:
wolves, crows or even... parrots. New Zealand kea are happy to feed on dead sheep, but live sheep
will do too. They're not very picky. What happened to the kea is called
exaptation: due to the lack of other food, the parrots had to start hunting
sheep. They already had powerful beaks and claws, so they didn't even have to evolve. Another
similar example is the vampire ground finches. I'm not kidding now. They live only on the
Galapagos Islands and are similarto hundreds of other species of small birds on our planet.
Except that there weren t a lot of food on the islands, and even less fresh water,
so the finches have started drinking blood. Most of their menu includes blue-footed and Nazka
boobies, and no one minds that the finches making them to bleedwith their sharp beaks. Scientists
speculate that the finches once did this to rid the boobies of parasites, and got their own food,
and then... well, they seem to have developed a taste for it. Hey, Steve. Steve. I think you got
a little carried away. Steve. Okay, well... I'll just... yeah, I guess I'll wait.
But nature doesn't just know how to take away some features or give animals extra
problems. Sometimes it will be like: okay, vampire bats,check, vampire birds, check... that's right,
vampire deer! Here are your fangs! The water deer is a completely unique animal. It eats grass,
doesn't wear antlers, and has freaking enormous fangs! Strictly speaking, not every carnivore
can boast such fangs, and here it is, a harmless ungulate! Why would a deer need something like
that? Well... like I said, it doesn't seem to make much sense. Vampire teeth are only used by animals
during fights over females, the rest of the time they just dangle in their mouths and shift when a
deer needs to eat. Nature, you're weird. Okay, now a word about the obvious stuff.
Everyone knows what crocodiles look like. Even a young child will easily draw you something green,
elongated, with paws... In short, a toothy wiener. But if at some point you think the drawing isn't
realistic enough, think again: maybe the kid was just drawing a gavial. This crocodile looks
like nature decided to do something unusual in the character editor, but didn't come up with anything
worthwhile and just squeezed the face of the poor. Squeezed it, and then pulled it forward... The
gavial's mouth is about five times as long as it was wide. Probably, if the world of crocodiles had
human laws, the gavial would have been simply laughed at in its neighborhood. But luckily,
the elongated snout isn t just a whim of nature, but an actually useful thing. Most of a gavial's
diet consists of fish, and that's what the funny face is for, as well as about a hundred small
teeth. Add to that a relatively small weight for a crocodile, and you have the perfect angler. So,
nature's got it all figured out here. I don't think the gavials are offended.
But imagine what would have happened if someone small got the huge face of a gavial. A deer! No,
it has vampire fangs. A hare? Doesn't really suit it. Oh, hummingbirds! Just take away the teeth
and here you have a sword-billed hummingbird. This is a unique creature among the birds. This
tiny bird weighs not more than 0.5 oz and its beak, slightly turned up, is half the length of
its body. Sometimes even more! Seems like someone ACTUALLY lied a lot... Okay, such an unusual organ
helps them get nectar from the long funnel-shaped flowers that other hummingbirds can't penetrate.
In this way, the hummingbirds occupy their niche without competing with others,
and at the same time provide pollination to a specific group of plants. Everyone is happy.
But imagine, for a second, having such a huge stick constantly dangling in front of your face...
It's uncomfortable! Yeah, hummingbirds don't like it either. For example, in the sitting position,
the long beak pulls the bird down, and it has to sit with its head held high for balance.
Otherwise, the neck simply can t stand it. One can t clean feathers with such a beak;
one has to use its legs, and during the flight it s necessary to keep it in a certain position
in order not to fall down. I guess it takes a hellalotta time for a sword-billed hummingbird
to just learn how to LIVE. See you later!