WEBVTT - Creature Classic: Kissable T-Rex & Talking Belugas 0:00:07.040 --> 0:00:11.000 Welcome to Creature feature production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host 0:00:11.039 --> 0:00:15.360 of Mini Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology and evolutionary biology, 0:00:15.360 --> 0:00:19.160 and today on the show Lips the lovely luscious lips 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:22.760 of living and extinct animals. Who has the best pout 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:26.840 the most perfect kissable lips, from smoochable dinosaurs to some 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:29.680 of the toughest lips on the planet, or letting these 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:33.120 critters get lippy with us? Discover this more as we 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:36.400 answer the angel question if you have a real long tongue, 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:39.360 pretty keep it. Joining me today to rate these lips 0:00:39.400 --> 0:00:42.519 is producer at iHeartRadio and friend of the show, co 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.880 host of Ethnically Ambiguous, Anna Hosy. 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:51.000 Welcome, Hi, thank you for having me Always always fun. 0:00:51.680 --> 0:00:56.320 I am so so excited for this one because there's 0:00:56.360 --> 0:00:58.360 big news. Anna. I don't know if you've heard about this. 0:00:59.280 --> 0:00:59.920 The t rex. 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:05.240 You can kiss t rex. It's it's canon, now, scientifically canon. 0:01:05.959 --> 0:01:08.040 I'm gonna need you to convince me on this one. 0:01:08.840 --> 0:01:11.399 I'm not saying you won't die. I'm just saying that they. 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:11.840 Have all. 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:22.160 Anced the most dangerous kiss. So our understanding of how 0:01:22.240 --> 0:01:26.440 dinosaurs look like has changed. Over the years, we once 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:30.160 thought they were scaly, brown or green kind of gaunt creatures. 0:01:30.920 --> 0:01:33.760 They are sometimes scaly. We still think that a lot 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:37.800 of them were sort of had tough, leathery skin, but 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:42.560 we also think that they may have been feathery or 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:46.479 colorful and maybe not as gaunt as they were once depicted. 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.240 This habit of reconstructing an animal from fossil records and 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:54.600 not including enough fat, muscle, or other soft tissue masks 0:01:54.800 --> 0:01:59.120 is called shrink wrapping, like you've seen you've seen Jurassic Park. 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:03.840 Yeah, that's where most of my dinosaur knowledge comes from. 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:05.960 Really, that in Land Before Time. 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:10.480 Yeah, both very scientifically accurate movies. Land Before Time. You 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:12.720 know what, Actually I feel like in Land Before Time 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:16.720 the dinosaurs are They've got a certain heft to them 0:02:16.760 --> 0:02:19.120 and a certain chubbiness that I appreciate. 0:02:20.160 --> 0:02:23.000 They're like children. They're like young kids who haven't lost 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:24.840 their baby weight yet exactly. 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:27.120 They are cute and I like that. I mean, I 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:31.200 do think that it is an interesting depiction of dinosaurs 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:35.119 visually now, of course, like they probably couldn't talk, they 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:40.079 probably couldn't go on adventures together among many different species. 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:42.560 I would love if that were the case, but yeah, 0:02:42.600 --> 0:02:45.320 they might have been more plump than we sort of 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.239 envisioned them. Like in Jurassic Park, t Rex is sort 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:54.360 of this like very angular, very gaunt creature, very scary looking, 0:02:54.960 --> 0:02:57.720 and its teeth kind of jet out of it, Like 0:02:57.840 --> 0:03:00.000 even when its mouth is closed, you can still see 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:02.800 it's teeth jetting out of it. And of course there's 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:04.800 not a feather to be seen in any of the 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:08.280 Jurassic parks. I don't believe so, right, I haven't actually 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:11.160 seen the most recent Jurassic parks, but they didn't put 0:03:11.200 --> 0:03:12.400 any feathers in there, did they? 0:03:14.080 --> 0:03:14.920 I don't think so. 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:17.320 I mean I've seen them all, even the ones that 0:03:17.400 --> 0:03:22.200 get like the very bad ratings from the most recent franchises, and. 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:25.280 Yeah, no, no feathers. 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:29.160 No feathers. That probably would have made them better. I 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.000 think it would have been very important plot points. You know, 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.240 Feathery dinosaurs could have been a thing. You could have 0:03:35.320 --> 0:03:39.440 been bold and done feathery dinosaurs. But they didn't, and 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:41.400 that's why they missed out on an Oscar. 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:43.080 Yeah, that's what I always say, as well. 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:47.160 More feathers, Yeah, more feathers. 0:03:47.240 --> 0:03:50.320 I mean, think about it, like recent Oscar winners what 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:55.600 do they all have in common? Feathers? So yeah, often 0:03:55.640 --> 0:04:00.320 t rex is depicted with these menacing teeth, similar to 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:03.720 like the crocodile, where you know, when the crocodile's mouth 0:04:03.800 --> 0:04:06.280 is closed, you can still see its teeth jutting out. 0:04:06.640 --> 0:04:08.240 Wow, t rexes are kind of ugly. 0:04:08.840 --> 0:04:10.720 It almost looks like they have hair on them, But 0:04:11.000 --> 0:04:12.640 I think that's just texture, right. 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:15.560 I think that's just texture. I don't know about the 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:19.760 evidence for t rexes having like it wouldn't be hair, 0:04:19.839 --> 0:04:24.240 it would be like fine feathery down. Potentially there may 0:04:24.320 --> 0:04:27.799 have been some species of t rex like dinosaurs, large 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:33.000 dinosaurs that had some sort of like basically feathery coating, 0:04:33.160 --> 0:04:37.360 maybe for warmth, and certainly perhaps their offspring had some 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:42.159 downy fluff on them as well. Maybe when they're younger, 0:04:42.160 --> 0:04:44.320 when they have less body fat, that might have been useful. 0:04:45.000 --> 0:04:48.479 But yeah, I don't know if it is a really 0:04:48.520 --> 0:04:52.440 settled thing about whether adult t rexes had any kind 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.640 of feathers or not. But they do think that they 0:04:55.720 --> 0:05:02.720 had lips, which means that technically they could wear lipstick, 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:06.320 which I think. You know, you said they're ugly, but 0:05:06.480 --> 0:05:08.360 I feel like you put a little bit of lipstick 0:05:08.440 --> 0:05:12.960 on a little bit of highlighter and you know that's 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.800 a little bit of rouge. Maybe some falsies. Then you're 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:22.360 you know, look you're working resulting. Yeah, high cheek bones, 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:24.359 they've got the bone structure. 0:05:23.960 --> 0:05:25.640 Yeah, they do. 0:05:26.040 --> 0:05:28.320 But it's also unfortunate they have to, you know, sort 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:31.920 of succumb to like societal beauty standards in order to 0:05:31.960 --> 0:05:34.159 be considered beautiful. It's actually quite sad. 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:35.600 I think what we're seeing here. 0:05:35.720 --> 0:05:40.960 I think the unrealistic standards for t rexes is a 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:46.120 shame because I think that they are beautiful even when 0:05:46.160 --> 0:05:50.880 they aren't wearing false eyelashes, and like, you know, I 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:55.200 think that there should be a whole revamp of the 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:57.320 whole dinosaur Instagram culture. 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:02.479 Yeah, yeah, I will say, you know, looking at these photos, 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:05.440 it's interesting that they have lips. But it's like something 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:07.800 I would have never really thought about, Like I would 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:11.840 just assume the area around their their mouth where it opens. 0:06:11.600 --> 0:06:12.520 Is their lips. 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:16.480 Yeah, So is like. 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:24.440 What different differentiates that sort of I guess lip area 0:06:24.680 --> 0:06:29.240 from the rest of their I guess exoskeleton, if you will, 0:06:30.120 --> 0:06:32.960 Like what made them be like, no, no, they are lips. 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:38.560 That's a really good question. I mean, lips are sort 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:44.000 of a they like. The interesting thing with lips, right, 0:06:44.160 --> 0:06:47.080 is that it is something that in humans and some 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:51.919 other animals are malleable, right, Like, our lips have this 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:56.920 fine muscle control and we can move them in this way. 0:06:56.960 --> 0:06:59.320 But this that doesn't have to be the case. There 0:06:59.320 --> 0:07:02.359 are plenty of animal that have lips but do not 0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:06.280 have that kind of fine muscle control over them. I 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:11.320 think that the sort of general definition of lips is 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:15.640 just like a fleshy projection that covers the teeth. I 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:18.200 don't know if it needs to be much more than that. 0:07:18.200 --> 0:07:18.880 That's interesting. 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:24.320 The way that researchers determined that t rex may have 0:07:24.440 --> 0:07:28.000 had these lips covering their teeth is that they actually 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:31.200 took a tooth from a close relative of the t rex, 0:07:31.720 --> 0:07:36.760 this Plotosaurus, another giant frightening predator that looks very similar 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:40.080 to the t rex, and they bisected the tooth and 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:43.600 examined the enamel from the fossil and found that it 0:07:43.680 --> 0:07:48.080 had shockingly little wear and tear. So enamel, when exposed 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:52.720 to the elements or to coffee, can dissolve and wear overtime, 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:57.040 and so crocodiles and alligators, the modern day examples of 0:07:57.240 --> 0:07:59.520 an animal who don't got lips and have their teeth 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:02.880 all sticky out cope with this by replacing their teeth. 0:08:02.960 --> 0:08:06.680 Often they go through thousands of teeth over their lifetime. 0:08:06.720 --> 0:08:09.080 And that's a lot of money from the tooth fairy. 0:08:10.440 --> 0:08:13.920 Yeah, that's a lot of money. And I did not 0:08:14.040 --> 0:08:15.520 know they were losing teeth left and right. 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:19.120 They yeah, it's it's a lot of teeth that they 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:23.480 go through. But t rex teeth likely took too long 0:08:23.560 --> 0:08:27.600 to grow to be so easily replaceable. That, plus the 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:32.000 evidence from the t rex's close relative indicates to scientists 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:36.000 that t rex could have had lips covering their teeth, 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:39.320 which would have served the purpose of protecting their teeth 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:41.959 from the elements. I mean, it's an interesting thing, right, 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:45.360 like why do we have lips? One of the reasons, 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:48.480 perhaps the key reason originally is that it helped protect 0:08:48.480 --> 0:08:48.960 our teeth. 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:54.240 Okay, I thought it was for kissing. 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:57.640 Grow up anna geez, or for talking. 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:00.360 Don't lips do us the tongue as well? But I 0:09:00.440 --> 0:09:04.200 guess like lips help enunciate certain words. 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:08.920 But absolutely, they absolutely do they help us talk. They 0:09:08.920 --> 0:09:12.360 help us enunciate kissing, all of these sort of social things. 0:09:12.400 --> 0:09:19.040 But we didn't originally evolve lips to talk. Perhaps lips 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:21.960 did help, but like we started to evolve much more 0:09:22.040 --> 0:09:26.480 flexible lips in order to be able to have more 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:32.240 unique vocalizations, right like our primate ancestors, But you know, 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:35.400 using our lips to really shape sound and stuff. That 0:09:35.480 --> 0:09:39.680 came quite a bit later in our evolutionary history. Okay, 0:09:39.960 --> 0:09:44.120 So yeah, for the t rex that probably the lips 0:09:44.160 --> 0:09:48.320 that they had were unlikely to be as poudy and 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:53.040 flexible as human lips are. It was probably just sort 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:58.480 of a tough, sort of fleshy protuberance that as part 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:02.439 of their face, probably quite leather that covered their teeth 0:10:02.480 --> 0:10:07.840 and protected them from the disintegration of their enamel when 0:10:07.880 --> 0:10:12.240 exposed to the elements. So, I looking honestly at the 0:10:12.320 --> 0:10:15.840 illustration of te rex with lips versus without lips, I 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:19.720 think with lips it looks like a more serious animal 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:22.120 for some reason. Without lips with its teeth kind of 0:10:22.120 --> 0:10:26.920 sticking out to me, now that looks goofy hmm. 0:10:28.520 --> 0:10:33.680 Okay, I feel like the classic look is teeth out. 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:36.120 Yeah, but I feel like it looks now that I 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:39.120 see them with the lips on, it looks wrong. Without 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:40.360 the lips it looks silly. 0:10:40.679 --> 0:10:42.800 It looks like they don't have teeth like them. That 0:10:42.960 --> 0:10:47.040 be like like they lost all their teeth basically, is 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:50.480 what it looks like with the lips on. Yeah, lips 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:51.439 on just looks weird. 0:10:51.760 --> 0:10:55.760 Huh No for me, like the lips on makes sense 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:59.160 to me, And with the with the teeth sticking out 0:10:59.520 --> 0:11:02.400 the teeth, it makes me feel It makes me think 0:11:02.480 --> 0:11:05.160 this has sort of like an overbite, and I'm just 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:08.440 imagining it with braces on and being kind of silly looking. 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:12.320 But yeah, I mean, yeah, I don't know, because like 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.400 with the with the lips over it, there's a mystery 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:17.360 to it, right, like how many teeth do you have? 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:19.840 I don't know. It's being coys, it's a it's a 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.800 mystery until I'm in that mouth getting eaten. To me, 0:11:22.960 --> 0:11:26.680 that's intimidating, Okay. 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:29.120 I you know, personally, I need to see the teeth 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:32.560 before I get scared, because I'm like, well, what are 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:35.079 we working with here? You might just be a nice guy, right, 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:38.600 Teeth always is like if you're showing teeth, oh I'm 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:42.200 out of here. Yeah, I'm not interested in seeing your teeth. Okay, 0:11:42.400 --> 0:11:43.840 then I know you mean business. 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:46.560 This is how we know you wouldn't make a good dentist, 0:11:46.720 --> 0:11:49.280 because as soon as someone comes in your office and 0:11:49.320 --> 0:11:52.120 they show you their teeth, it's like, well, I don't 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:52.400 want to. 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:54.600 See your teeth. I'm out of there. 0:11:54.760 --> 0:12:07.960 You're out of there, right, So Anna, earlier, we were 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:12.960 talking about how lips are not just used for protecting teeth. 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:17.480 They can also be flexible and used to shape sounds. 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:21.600 And so I want to talk about the beluga whales. 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:25.640 So are you familiar with belugas? Uh? 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:26.280 Yes, I am. 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.959 Uh you sound very like it sounds like your best 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:32.280 friend is like a beluga you were. 0:12:32.280 --> 0:12:35.079 You kid. I mean, they're they're just they're very viral animals. 0:12:36.920 --> 0:12:39.240 I've come across a beluga in my day. 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:43.160 You know you've dealt with a beluga, believe me. 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:45.160 I mean like they're out here. People will be like, 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:50.280 look at this beluga whale playing soccer and you're like, whoa, 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:52.840 you know, they got like the perfect little head that's 0:12:52.880 --> 0:12:53.880 like I'm here to play. 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:54.320 Yeah. 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:55.640 Yeah, sound like fun guys. 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:58.920 They are fun guys. They're actually very interesting because they 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:01.560 are of the whales sort of the most expressive and 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:06.680 like human like whale. One reason is that their neck 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:09.120 can turn, so they can turn their neck and actually 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:12.280 look at you in a way that is unusual, Yeah, 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:16.840 unusual for whales. They also have highly flexible lips, so 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:20.840 their facial expressions I think are a little more like 0:13:21.280 --> 0:13:25.880 uncannily maybe not exactly human, but they are more human likes. 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:29.559 So they actually have that curve, Yeah, that little sort 0:13:29.559 --> 0:13:33.520 of like lip curve that makes them being like, oh why, Yeah, 0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:37.400 they definitely really yeah, they definitely have the why kind 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:41.040 of look. They are very cute, very kind of goofy looking, 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:45.400 but quite intelligent. So they use those highly flexible lips 0:13:45.400 --> 0:13:49.360 on their face to suck in prey, which is unlike 0:13:49.400 --> 0:13:53.600 both to the whales. So they kind of use their 0:13:53.640 --> 0:13:57.040 lips as a vacuum, which is really interesting. Oh really 0:13:57.160 --> 0:14:01.920 like yep, yep, they can suck and suck their prayer writeing. Uh, 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:05.920 just like they're eating spaghetti. Uh. They also use their 0:14:05.960 --> 0:14:08.400 lips in social ways, so we were earlier, we were 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:09.400 talking about kissing. 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:10.440 Uh. 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:14.000 They will make mouth to mouth contact with other Belugas 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:17.280 in a friendly gesture. Now this doesn't necessarily connote any 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.280 kind of like romantic intention. It is just sort of 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:23.120 a friendly like almost like a handshake, but with. 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:31.440 Lips, right, they're kind of like, oh exactly, They're they're 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:35.160 very European tree European, you know, like hello, and just 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:38.960 like greeting you with a little little kiss, which, trust me, 0:14:39.120 --> 0:14:40.960 is taking me a little bit to get used to. 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:45.680 Uh so with all that kiss and you're doing over 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:46.200 there with. 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:48.960 All the belugas I have to kiss in Europe so 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:54.040 many so. But one of the reasons I wanted to 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:57.680 talk about belugas is they have a secret set of lips. 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:03.920 They have phone located below their blowhole in their air 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:07.160 passage so you cannot really see these from the outside. 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:12.240 These lips are located next to the beluga's flexible melon. 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:17.119 So the melon is this fatty ball in their forehead 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:20.520 that the beluga can change the shape of using muscles, 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:24.960 which can change the shape of sounds that the beluga makes. 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:27.160 So you know how that beluga has that kind of 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:31.880 like lumpy, fatty forehead. It looks cute, it looks squishy. 0:15:31.920 --> 0:15:35.520 It is cute and squishy, and then these phonic lips 0:15:35.640 --> 0:15:39.040 that are in its air passage way can kind of 0:15:39.480 --> 0:15:44.840 work similar to human lips and shape the sound that 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:48.640 the beluga makes, and in fact, it is so good 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:53.400 at doing this that it can somewhat mimic human sound. 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:59.800 And it is so there is this really wild story 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:05.320 from the seventies about a beluga oil that seemed to 0:16:05.360 --> 0:16:10.960 be able to mimic human speech. Okay, as most animal 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:14.440 stories start off, it happened with a Navy kidnapping. So 0:16:15.280 --> 0:16:20.000 in the nineteen seventies, the navies, the Navy kidnapped belugas 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:21.080 from the Arctic. 0:16:21.680 --> 0:16:21.800 Uh. 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:24.520 Some were so young that they spent most of their 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:27.840 life in the Navy's care, which was the case for 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:33.160 a calf named Knock. So the Navy had this whole 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:37.000 like pipe dream where they were training Belugas for surveillance. 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:41.360 So they kidnapped a bit I do recall this. Yeah, 0:16:41.400 --> 0:16:44.400 so they like kidnapped a bunch of like baby Belugas 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:47.880 and then we're training them for military purposes. I think 0:16:47.880 --> 0:16:54.160 belugas are still used by various countries for military usage, which. 0:16:54.360 --> 0:16:56.280 For me is like a Russian thing. 0:16:56.600 --> 0:17:00.880 Yeah, yeah, exactly for me as a pacifist and someone 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:05.359 who cares for belugas, not a big fan. But Knock 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:09.199 spent so much time with trainers that he may have 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:12.720 started to see them as his family. There is a 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:17.600 recording made of Knock seemingly trying to mimic human speech. 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:21.959 So there are no real words being spoken, just a 0:17:22.400 --> 0:17:25.840 mimicry of the general sound and cadence of a human 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:29.600 conversation happening. So I'm gonna play this for you, Okay, 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:34.960 here is the sound of Knock the beluga seemingly mimicking 0:17:35.320 --> 0:18:07.120 human speech. So why do you think Anna does that 0:18:07.200 --> 0:18:14.000 sound like a person? Isn't that crazy? Yeah? 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:14.760 Crazy? 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:18.720 Yeah? So there's no words there, right, but his cadence, 0:18:18.800 --> 0:18:22.479 frequency and patterns seem to match human speech. And they 0:18:22.480 --> 0:18:24.720 actually sort of tried to break it down and like 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:27.720 break down the timing of it and make sure that 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:30.240 it's not just that we kind of think it sounds 0:18:30.240 --> 0:18:33.720 like human speech, but that it's the frequency, these patterns 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:35.760 that it has certain like vocal patterns that are very 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:42.600 similar to human speech. So obviously it's really hard with 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:46.359 like a sample size of one traumatized beluga to like 0:18:46.640 --> 0:18:49.080 really do a study of like, is this bluga actually 0:18:49.080 --> 0:18:51.480 trying to mimic human sounds? It's it's hard to know, 0:18:53.280 --> 0:18:57.160 but yeah, I mean it's such a it is a 0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:01.439 really strange sound. I don't know how we could study 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:04.280 this without being highly unethical, because then you would what 0:19:04.320 --> 0:19:07.040 would you do, like kidnap war baby whales, Like I 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:08.640 wouldn't want that to happen. 0:19:09.160 --> 0:19:14.600 So then put a room together and be like talk. Yeah. 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:20.199 And so it seems like the Navy gave this beluga. 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:23.439 I mean, if this is really this beluga trying to 0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:28.160 mimic human speech, maybe this beluga basically had like Stockholm syndrome, 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:32.560 identified with its captors, loved its human captors. In fact, 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:36.600 there's evidence of this. Uh Knock was once released from 0:19:36.640 --> 0:19:40.800 captivity by animal rights activists and he swam outside for 0:19:40.840 --> 0:19:43.280 a bit, but then just of his own volition like 0:19:43.440 --> 0:19:46.880 returned to his captors because he just you know, it's 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:50.440 like his human family. He's never known anything else. He's 0:19:50.480 --> 0:19:54.320 never like gotten the experience of living with other belugas. 0:19:54.920 --> 0:19:58.320 So the I don't know the fact that he may 0:19:58.320 --> 0:20:01.000 have been trying to mimic the sound of his captors 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:05.639 is like, this is a really disturbing story to me 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:10.280 because it's like he's trying to communicate with people who 0:20:10.359 --> 0:20:12.359 he can never really communicate with. 0:20:13.440 --> 0:20:15.240 No, and he's trying to be like, eh, did I go. 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:20.240 They didn't mind if I get out of here? Yeah, 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:23.080 no big deal, I'll stay. I'll stay. But I just yeah, 0:20:23.119 --> 0:20:29.400 I'm a family of friends. Yeah, they're like shut up, bluga, but. 0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:32.840 Yeah, Like, imagine if you were kidnapped by aliens and 0:20:32.880 --> 0:20:36.639 they are making sounds, right, like weird sounds, and so 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:39.320 you try to like mimic the sounds that the aliens 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:41.440 are making to try to communicate with them, and they're 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:44.160 just like, wow, look at that cute human. I'm sure 0:20:44.320 --> 0:20:48.320 that they don't crave other human interaction anyways. 0:20:51.080 --> 0:20:51.600 I mean. 0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:55.639 I have like no, I mean, it's just so sad 0:20:56.440 --> 0:21:01.360 when it's what it's put trade and like a lie 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:06.000 where you're like the Buluca's like alp lp, Like it's 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:07.000 just so sad. 0:21:07.160 --> 0:21:11.200 I know, I know, it's sad, and it's like haunting 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:14.159 kind of. It's like seems like he's like desperate to 0:21:14.280 --> 0:21:15.680 bridge this communication. 0:21:16.080 --> 0:21:18.800 Yes, but he's yeah, it's like why is he Why 0:21:18.880 --> 0:21:20.560 is he trying to talk to us? Probably because he's 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:23.080 trying to be like, get me the heck out of here. 0:21:23.160 --> 0:21:24.320 I'm not who you think I am. 0:21:24.480 --> 0:21:28.439 I mean, I almost think it's something almost sadder, like, 0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:31.320 I don't think he can even imagine a life outside 0:21:31.320 --> 0:21:35.399 of captivity. I think he's just desperate for communication, because 0:21:35.480 --> 0:21:39.640 Blucas can communicate with each other and understand each other, 0:21:39.760 --> 0:21:43.560 right like. They it's not it's a you know, it's 0:21:43.600 --> 0:21:46.920 not like a human language, right like where words have 0:21:47.119 --> 0:21:50.520 specific meanings. But Wales often have like calls that kind 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.000 of identify themselves, and they can certainly like they can 0:21:54.119 --> 0:21:57.640 understand sort of the calls and the meaning of these calls. 0:21:58.200 --> 0:22:02.639 And so for this very intelligent creature to be in 0:22:02.640 --> 0:22:07.000 this situation where it's like all it's ever known is humans. 0:22:07.240 --> 0:22:11.600 And sure there were other belugas, like maybe one other 0:22:11.640 --> 0:22:14.560 beluga that it would interact with, but it's another captive Belugas. 0:22:14.640 --> 0:22:18.840 So neither of them have any experience with beluga culture. 0:22:18.880 --> 0:22:21.320 Because I feel like animals do have culture. They can 0:22:21.359 --> 0:22:25.720 teach and pass on knowledge to each other, and so 0:22:25.760 --> 0:22:28.000 it's it's a form of culture, and so they don't 0:22:28.359 --> 0:22:31.639 have any of that. And so with Nak, he's just 0:22:31.760 --> 0:22:36.800 trying to communicate to the only family that he's ever known. 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:41.000 But he can never he can never fully make himself 0:22:41.080 --> 0:22:45.080 understood or understand what the people are saying. It's really tragic. 0:22:46.200 --> 0:22:46.960 That's so sad. 0:22:47.160 --> 0:22:54.399 It's really sad. Well boy, Okay, so a little upper 0:22:54.440 --> 0:23:00.240 here is talking about camels getting lip fillers, So. 0:23:00.240 --> 0:23:02.280 Okay, go on, I'm intrigued. 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:06.560 So camel's camel lips are really interesting. They have three 0:23:07.119 --> 0:23:10.120 lips sort of, so they have this flexible lower lip 0:23:10.160 --> 0:23:12.800 and a cleft upper lip. So I don't know, I 0:23:12.840 --> 0:23:15.560 feel like it's it's kind of a technicality of them 0:23:15.600 --> 0:23:17.320 having sort of three lips. But yeah, they have the 0:23:17.359 --> 0:23:20.719 lower lip this upper lip, and they're highly flexible. But 0:23:20.760 --> 0:23:24.760 they are also very thick and strong, and they use 0:23:24.880 --> 0:23:28.760 this to eat anything from thorny bushes to cactuses, Like 0:23:29.320 --> 0:23:33.280 camel can literally chow down on a cactus like it's 0:23:33.359 --> 0:23:34.160 no problem. 0:23:36.040 --> 0:23:37.879 Yeah, I feel like I have a very clear vision 0:23:38.040 --> 0:23:43.879 of camel's chewing their lives. Yes, I'm sorry for all 0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:46.800 the people who have mesophonia, this is not the episode 0:23:46.840 --> 0:23:47.639 for you now. 0:23:48.040 --> 0:23:51.320 I also am sorry that nobody got to see you 0:23:51.400 --> 0:23:53.480 doing the camel chew because it. 0:23:53.400 --> 0:23:56.360 Wasn't like that. 0:23:56.480 --> 0:23:58.800 It is very much like that, and there's there's some 0:23:58.840 --> 0:24:00.480 like side to side job motion to. 0:24:00.600 --> 0:24:06.119 Like yeah wow wow, and you're like, wow, it is 0:24:06.359 --> 0:24:07.800 that camel is chewing. 0:24:08.119 --> 0:24:12.320 Yes, yes, And if you don't have missophonia, the sort 0:24:12.359 --> 0:24:16.200 of high displeasure at hearing mouth sounds. You can check 0:24:16.200 --> 0:24:21.240 out videos of camels eating cactuses and it's not gory 0:24:21.359 --> 0:24:26.680 or anything because they're fine. Inside the camel mouth, they have, uh, 0:24:27.119 --> 0:24:31.920 these conical papillae. So papilla are these rigid bumps, uh. 0:24:31.960 --> 0:24:36.080 And these bumps actually protect their mouth from thorns by 0:24:36.800 --> 0:24:41.399 redirecting the thorns so that they're pointing down in parallel 0:24:41.560 --> 0:24:47.160 to the camel's uh esophagus. So like uh, like if 0:24:47.160 --> 0:24:49.280 you have imagine you have like a bunch of like 0:24:49.880 --> 0:24:51.960 you know, thorns or sticks or something, and if you 0:24:52.080 --> 0:24:55.920