- Oh, beetles right here!
Oh, it's a double rollover.
Hercules, back up on top of the turd ball,
checking his line of sight.
Arnold is down on his back,
and Hercules has regained position,
but he's going a different direction than he was before.
What is the thinking behind this beetle's strategy?
(drum beats)
(big cat snarling)
(jungle music)
- [Crew] We got trouble coming, guys.
- Uh oh. - So who's this?
- Now, it's possible that this is either
a female or what we call a stealer
and a stealer will let this beetle do all of the work
and then once he gets close to a burrow,
actually steal the turd ball away from it.
- [Crew] Man, it's determined.
Now, where is this ball going, like,
do we know where it's headed?
- You know, I have no clue where the burrow is located
and you can see it's trying to get it up this hillside
and it's not making much progress,
but you'll notice we moved from this pathway,
now up to this ridge line and it's slowly figuring out
that this direction, I can move in.
And I'm trying not to interfere with the movement at all,
I feel like, man, I wanna help you out buddy,
lemme just pick up this turd, walk around
and try and find a burrow for you,
but you have to let the animal figure it out on its own.
Oh, and it lost some ground there.
- Hang on a second, here, step back for a second,
I just wanna give people some reference,
so that's where we started, where your backpack is.
- There's my backpack, we came all this distance
to this mark and this little following beetle is up,
here's the turd, oh look, the stealer may be
coming in to try and get the turd away.
And you notice those little antennae up front,
those are chemical receptors
that help them. - Oh, you thief.
- [Coyote] I know, right?
Oh, he's made the move at this point.
Wow, we've got a switch-over right there.
That's a perfect example of a stealer coming in
and theifing a turd ball away from one beetle
that has done an incredible amount of work.
- [Crew] Did this one quit?
- [Coyote] No, it didn't quit, what it's using are
those little antennae up front, they kinda look like
little mittens and those are chemical receptors,
which allow them to sense the environment,
which help them find the turds.
And in this case, find his turd ball,
which has been stolen away by this stealer beetle.
- [Crew] Look it, it's taking it in a different direction.
- [Coyote] It is, it is now going this direction.
Oh, and look at that, it stumbled over this stick,
so now this little guy has got the opportunity
to get this turd ball back.
You can do it buddy, this is your chance,
make a break, oh no, the stealer's back up on top
and watch, he's gonna climb up on top of the turd ball,
get its bearings and there's a good chance,
you see it's moving this direction,
it's possible, then, that this beetle
has a burrow that's elsewhere.
- [Crew] Competing for the same ball of poop.
- That's right, so my theory that maybe
one is a male, one is a female has now been disproven.
It is definitely two males and this one's likely
taking this turd ball back to his lady friend
in a burrow somewhere.
That is, unless this one, who's coming in for the fight.
Look at that, using those front grappling legs
to battle down the beetle, nope,
didn't get it that time.
- [Crew] Man, this is intense.
You could almost like, do a play-by-play.
- [Coyote] You could call play-by-play with this.
Maybe we should try that, should we go into a
this is the narration, live in the field
of dung beetles duking it out?
- [Crew] Yeah, let's do that.
- [Coyote] For freshly rolled ball of turds?
- [Crew] Okay, we gotta name em though.
- [Coyote] Okay, I say we name em Hercules and Arnold.
- [Crew] Okay, go for it.
- So, we're gonna call this one Hercules
and this one Arnold.
And these beetles are tough folks,
they are strong and the race is on.
Who is going to win the right to
this giant ball of herbivore turd?
And every time they fall off the ball,
they have to regain their line of sight,
and continue trekking on.
- [Crew] Now, what happened to Arnold?
He looks tuckered out.
- Arnold may have exhausted himself,
because Hercules has regained the turd ball
and is continuing to head in that direction,
yet here comes Arnold, back into the race.
Thinking oh, oh, where you going?
Arnold, wrong direction, the turd's in the other direction.
It's possible that he may have given up.
There does come a point when a beetle exhausts itself
and says, okay, I'm not going to be able to take
this turd ball away from my competitor
and I'm just gonna call it a day,
and maybe make my own turd ball, at that point.
But as you can see, Hercules over here,
has got a long trek up this hillside
and he's not gonna make it with all these acacia spikes,
there's no way he's getting through that.
- [Crew] How do you know?
- Because-- - You can do it.
You can do it, I'm routing for Arnold.
- [Coyote] You're routing for Arnold?
Because Arnold was the original, that's right.
Hercules has taken over at this point.
- [Crew] Ooh, Hercules. Arnold, come on, turn around, buddy.
Not looking good.
He's doing it, he's turning around.
I think he got the scent.
- [Coyote] You're back in the race, buddy,
you can do it.
- [Crew] He heard Hercules was having some troubles.
Oh man, look at that, he's ready to go.
- [Coyote] He sees his opportunity.
Well, Hercules is clearly struggling by that stick.
Now, I wonder what would happen if,
I'm gonna remove this stick and see how it changes the game.
Alright, and they're off, oh, it's a double roll-over.
Hercules back up on top of the turd ball,
checking his line of sight.
Arnold is down, on his back.
And Hercules has regained position,
but he's going a different direction than he was before.
What is the thinking behind this beetle's strategy?
Arnold, getting back in the game
and he is making his move forward,
see's that Hercules is struggling
and he's thinking to himself,
this could be my chance, I need that ball of turd
so I can take it back to my burrow
and impress my lady friend.
Nothing says impressive like a giant ball of poop.
Come on, Hercules, you got this one, buddy.
(both exclaim)
- [Crew] Anyone's game, now.
(both exclaiming)
- [Coyote] Arnold is about to make his move.
- [Crew] Look at that.
- [Coyote] They're gonna duke it out.
- [Crew] Arnold's got the inside track.
- Oh, but he lost it
in the weeds. - Oh, here comes Hercules.
- [Coyote] Oh, Arnold's making the move, over the top.
Oh man, Hercules is off the trail.
Here comes Arnold, he's gonna get the turd ball.
- [Crew] Arnold, go, go, go.
- [Coyote] Arnold is about to make his move.
You can see him looking for it.
It's literally right there, it's right there, dude.
Look at Hercules, Hercules is just like,
he's completely lost at this point.
- [Crew] Ope, he's coming back.
Uh oh. - It's like,
where is that ball of poop?
- Arnold! - Arnold, you better hurry,
buddy, here comes Hercules.
Aw, Hercules has got his sight on it.
Here he goes, you got it, oh, so close.
Hercules is about to take control.
Oh, and Hercules has reclaimed the giant ball of poop.
Well, I would say we clearly have a winner, folks.
Hercules is the dominant beetle in this situation
and has reclaimed his throne as king of the turd ball.
[Coyote Voiceover] If you thought the dung beetle battle
was bonkers, make sure to go back
and watch the full episode.
And if you love dung beetles as much as we do,
make sure to visit the Brave Wilderness store,
to pick up the official They See Me Rollin' t-shirt.
Hey Coyote Pack, I have some exciting news.
I am proud to announce that the crew and I
are headed back on tour with Brave Wilderness Live.
Our next shows take place in the Midwest.
Tickets can be purchased at the Brave Wilderness website
and these shows are certain to sell out,
so make sure that you reserve your seats today.
And don't forget, subscribe, so you can join me
and the crew on our next big adventure.
(audience applauding and cheering)
I'm Coyote Peterson, be brave.
(audience cheering)
(animals calling)