WEBVTT - Freaky Fads 0:00:07.400 --> 0:00:11.240 Welcome to Creature, future production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:16.800 of Many Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology and evolutionary biology, 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:20.520 and today on this show, we are talking about weird 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:25.080 animal feds. Animals can have culture, but sometimes that culture 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:28.920 is uncultured. From dolphin p to I'm a caque on 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:32.239 your back, these animals are definitely going to ruin your 0:00:32.280 --> 0:00:35.600 fancy dinner party. Discover this and more as we answer 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:39.720 the age old question are cockatoos learning to be the linkuits? 0:00:40.440 --> 0:00:43.160 Joining me today is segment director of The Daily Show, 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:46.240 former Cracked buddy of mine, Carmen Angelico. 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:50.280 Welcome, Hello, Hello, Hello. 0:00:51.600 --> 0:00:55.160 It has been too long, Carmen, too long since I've 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:58.280 had you on the show and told you about disgusting 0:00:58.320 --> 0:00:59.800 animal facts on. 0:00:59.880 --> 0:01:03.200 Ay have nothing to say at dinner parties to you know. 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:08.760 I'm solving that problem for you you. I do want 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:12.720 to note that today's show has some mature themes, like 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:17.080 frank discussions of sex and bodily fluids, So if you 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:20.479 have kids, maybe give it a listen before having them 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:24.600 listen with you. I'm gonna still avoid like knotty words 0:01:24.800 --> 0:01:27.720 or use a duck quack too, you know, so that 0:01:28.040 --> 0:01:30.800 the bad words don't get spoken. But there's gonna be 0:01:31.240 --> 0:01:37.080 scientifically accurate words to describe the fluids that biological creatures 0:01:37.080 --> 0:01:40.280 are constantly letting gush out of them. 0:01:42.560 --> 0:01:45.560 Well, I appreciate there's a duck quack potentially. 0:01:45.160 --> 0:01:48.720 Yes, yes, I you know, I like to have a 0:01:48.760 --> 0:01:52.200 clean show while I'm talking about pee and poop and 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:59.840 uh pus and various other horrible things. Worms, worms that 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:02.400 go up your butt and into your brain. Oh oh, 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:06.520 still gonna, still gonna, still gonna say no, no, no, 0:02:06.520 --> 0:02:10.680 no words though that's like darn. Don't say darn on 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:15.680 this show, all right, So let's just get right into it. 0:02:16.160 --> 0:02:21.040 Amazon River dolphins, also known as photo dolphins, are found, 0:02:21.040 --> 0:02:25.360 of course in the Amazon River. Uh and hey, they're 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:30.160 really magical because they are pink dolphins. They have this 0:02:30.280 --> 0:02:34.120 beautiful pink coloration. They actually grow to be pink as 0:02:34.120 --> 0:02:38.520 they mature into adults. Males are pinker than females. The 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:43.040 reason that they're pink is actually very cool, very masculine. 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:47.120 Their skin is worn down through knocking into things, like 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:50.519 they scar very easily, so when they wrestle with each other, 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:52.960 when they rough house, when they fight with one another. 0:02:53.320 --> 0:02:57.000 The abrasions form this pink scar tissue. So the pinker, 0:02:57.480 --> 0:02:59.079 the manlyer the dolphin. 0:03:00.200 --> 0:03:04.800 Huh. Well, wow, I didn't know bumping one another was 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:06.200 such a good I guess that makes sense. 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:09.880 Yeah, it's like dolphin bumper cars and they turn pink 0:03:10.000 --> 0:03:13.600 and it really it really does it for the ladies, Carmen, 0:03:13.720 --> 0:03:16.880 I have put in the chat here a link to 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:20.520 photos as well. There will be a video in this 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:24.000 article that you may or may not want to look 0:03:24.040 --> 0:03:26.040 at all. 0:03:26.120 --> 0:03:27.720 Right, so just a brief. 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:30.760 Description of these dolphins. They grow to be over eight 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:33.560 feet long, over two and a half meters. They have 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:37.400 very long snouts. They have flexible necks. Their neck vertebrae 0:03:37.440 --> 0:03:40.240 are actually unfused, so they can bend their next at 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:43.800 a ninety degree angle, so they can like nod at you. 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.280 They can be like, hey, what's up, I'm a dolphin 0:03:47.200 --> 0:03:49.440 like kind of look at you, like do the head turn, 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:51.280 like what you talking to me? 0:03:52.360 --> 0:03:55.360 I appreciate that. I appreciate being acknowledged with a good 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:57.760 head nod. Yeah, it's like myself, it's up. 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:01.560 Dolphins gonna go sup to you, which is unusual for 0:04:01.800 --> 0:04:05.800 usually a dolphin's neck does not accommodate the sub motion. 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:10.320 So these ones are similar to belugas in that they 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:13.120 have more neck movement that they can do. 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:18.800 Yeah, it's always good to know. Yeah, I know what 0:04:19.320 --> 0:04:22.720 dolphin depending on how they acknowledge. 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:24.960 Me, right, if you can, like you could probably we 0:04:25.000 --> 0:04:28.520 could probably teach these dolphins how to nod yes or 0:04:28.560 --> 0:04:31.279 shake their heads no. So answer any yes or no 0:04:31.440 --> 0:04:37.240 questions like did we make a mistake not also becoming 0:04:37.520 --> 0:04:42.720 sea mammals and they nod yes. Uh so they are 0:04:43.160 --> 0:04:46.400 really intelligent creatures. They like to drum the water with 0:04:46.520 --> 0:04:50.560 branches or hold up live turtles in order to court females. 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:54.279 So if you've ever dated a drummer or someone who 0:04:54.400 --> 0:04:59.040 owns turtles, you understand how this works, how this this 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.880 wooze woo's a lady or or otherwise. 0:05:03.800 --> 0:05:11.039 Honestly, if more people showed me turtles just to you know, but. 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:16.000 This is dating advice. Everyone have a turtle, I mean, 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.559 first of all, take good care of it, right, don't 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:21.240 just have a nice have a nice space for it. 0:05:21.279 --> 0:05:24.680 Really plan it out, do research on your turtle, but 0:05:24.880 --> 0:05:28.400 do show it to the person you are trying to woo, 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:32.080 and they may be into it, particularly if they're a 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:33.359 female photo dolphin. 0:05:36.760 --> 0:05:40.039 Yeah, I just you know the look of a well kept, 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:45.440 well taken care of turtle is healthy turtle. Turtle, healthy turtle. 0:05:45.160 --> 0:05:48.440 Healthy turtle. Guys, we're not we're not impressed by your 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.479 anemic turtle that you got at the back of a 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:54.400 magazine and that you don't take good care of, that 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:56.200 you don't feed a good diet to you. But the 0:05:56.560 --> 0:06:00.719 healthy ones, the good, robust turtles. And we're like, if 0:06:00.720 --> 0:06:02.960 that man can take care of a turtle, by god, 0:06:02.960 --> 0:06:03.880 he can take care of me. 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:11.400 Oh man, Well, okay, all right. These dolphins, Yeah, they've 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:13.160 got technique. They've got a technique. 0:06:13.360 --> 0:06:17.800 They've got a technique. They drum, they turn pink, they 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:24.680 present turtles, and they do shoot their pee out of 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:30.760 the water like a fountain. So, uh, this is the 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:34.680 new behavior that has been observed by scientists, this fad 0:06:34.920 --> 0:06:39.880 among pink river dolphins where the males will like roll 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:42.720 over on their bellies, stick their penis out of the 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:47.360 water and then urinate in like this sort of glorious 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:51.560 arc like they're a fountain plot twists. Their buddies like 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:55.960 their male buddies have been seen playing in the urine stream, 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.280 like there, it's summer and it's a sprinkler. 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:03.680 Honestly, I could see that they're supporting their friend, you know. 0:07:03.800 --> 0:07:06.080 They're like, this friend is trying to get the attention 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:08.040 of a lady, and all the guys are like, you've 0:07:08.120 --> 0:07:09.080 got this, dude. 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:13.040 Yeah, it's you know, I've never really heard of like 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:17.360 playing in your bro's peace stream as being supportive, but 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:24.200 it feels supportive and a little supportive. It's twenty twenty five. 0:07:24.840 --> 0:07:28.560 Sometimes a bro has to play in another bro's stream. 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:34.800 I guess. I mean, you know, listen, it's I'm not 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:40.400 the dolphins in this situation, but I mean, unless it 0:07:40.520 --> 0:07:45.640 is them trying to stop the dolphin from being successful 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:46.760 with their stream. 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:50.760 No, it's it's not exactly known why they do this. 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:56.680 The theories are that they are doing some kind of 0:07:56.760 --> 0:08:01.880 chemical communication, so like they you're Animals often use urine 0:08:01.880 --> 0:08:04.880 as a form of communication, from giraffes who like taste 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:07.960 each other's urine, to dogs who smell each other's urine. 0:08:08.440 --> 0:08:12.280 A lot of animals will taste or smell urine not 0:08:12.400 --> 0:08:16.400 just to be weird little freaks, but to find out 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.040 information about the animal that has left the urine, so 0:08:19.200 --> 0:08:22.880 like if they're male or female, if they're in estrous, 0:08:22.960 --> 0:08:27.960 meaning if they are reproductively active at the time. And 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:32.520 so it's thought that perhaps this dolphin urine portrays some 0:08:32.760 --> 0:08:35.880 information about the dolphin, and then maybe by spraying it, 0:08:36.200 --> 0:08:38.040 you know, in the air in an arc like a stream, 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:40.320 it makes it much more obvious where the PP is 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:42.880 because if you just pee in the water, like, how 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.800 do you know if you're another dolphin where that PP 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:50.480 is because everything's water except for the warm spot. Right, 0:08:50.960 --> 0:08:58.400 So that's one theory. I think I have an alternative theory. 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:00.720 Since we're at the theory stage and it's not like 0:09:00.800 --> 0:09:05.000 we have proven why dolphins pee on each other. I 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:08.560 wonder if part of it is playfulness, just like having 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:11.880 fun with your bros, play and play, you know, Like 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:15.320 it's not so different from people, is it when guys 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:18.160 like write their names in the snow. 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:23.439 That's true, That's yeah, that's a very good, you know analogy. 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:28.160 I feel like I feel like people that do not 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:35.400 have sort of the stylusts, the urinary stylists that allows 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:37.440 for writing your name in the snow, we need to 0:09:37.520 --> 0:09:40.960 come up with something like an attachment nozzle. So that 0:09:41.720 --> 0:09:46.439 we can also join in on the name writing fun 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:50.760 or just get really good at like crab walking around 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:53.800 while being I don't know, but it seems unfair. 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:57.920 Good Okay, I mean this is a happy learning, I 0:09:57.920 --> 0:09:58.760 guess you know. 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:02.680 Yeah, I uh. It is interesting because this is definitely 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:06.560 a trait in dolphins that is very sex dependent. So 0:10:06.600 --> 0:10:08.960 it seems like it's the males that do it. Uh. 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:13.600 And this could be because it's a male specific behavior. 0:10:13.640 --> 0:10:18.839 Maybe it's being territorial, maybe it's trying to communicate something 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:23.680 about their mating status, or another theory. It's just because 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:26.200 they got they got a nozzle and the females don't, 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:29.240 and so the females can't really do it right. Like again, 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:33.360 like why why do people with penises write their names 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:36.080 in the snow versus people with vaginas. It's that the 0:10:36.160 --> 0:10:40.640 vagina is not really so well designed for writing your 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:43.040 name in the snow. It's very well designed for a 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:46.320 number of things, just not that well. 0:10:47.800 --> 0:10:51.000 So the the arc is like the peeing in the snow, 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.120 showing off right the ability. 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:56.640 Possibly okay, possibly, I don't again, like the researchers are, 0:10:56.800 --> 0:10:59.959 this is a relatively new discovery and so researchers are 0:11:00.080 --> 0:11:05.720 in the theorizing stage, so I feel more entitled to 0:11:05.880 --> 0:11:08.720 just throw out my wild theories that have literally no 0:11:08.840 --> 0:11:12.520 evidence yet. Like maybe it's a political statement. We don't know, 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:18.400 who knows, well, we have to ask, that's the challenge. Yeah, 0:11:18.400 --> 0:11:21.400 this is what I think about your stupid land pee 0:11:21.480 --> 0:11:25.920 in the air, you know. Or maybe they're just recreating 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:28.679 that classic bumper sticker, the Calvin ping on. 0:11:29.000 --> 0:11:31.560 You know. Honestly, I mean, if it was all that, 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:34.280 if it was just that some that they somehow got 0:11:34.320 --> 0:11:37.880 access to that bumper sticker and ever since it's been that, 0:11:37.880 --> 0:11:39.800 that would be hilarious. 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:43.120 I never quite understood the Calvin bumper sticker peeing. Do 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:44.599 you know anything about that? 0:11:44.840 --> 0:11:48.199 Don't believe it or not. I don't know the history 0:11:48.320 --> 0:11:53.200 of that, understand it personally. Yeah, but it feels pertinent 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.120 to the situation that you're describing. 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:57.640 It seems like there's always going to be sort of 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:03.880 a Calvin peeing bumper sticker type situation for every species 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:08.319 of animals, which is, you know, that's that's inspiring in 0:12:08.360 --> 0:12:10.040 a way. Are we so different? 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:14.440 You asked a good question. 0:12:14.640 --> 0:12:18.040 Yeah, so there is a video. If you're wondering of 0:12:18.400 --> 0:12:21.080 one of these dolphins ping. I'll link it in the 0:12:21.120 --> 0:12:27.720 show notes. It's from National Geographic and yeah, it's you. 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:31.079 You just you see everything. You see it all happening. 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:37.199 The dolphin p experts call it aerial urination, and there 0:12:37.200 --> 0:12:41.320 are dolphin p experts. By the way, a study by 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:47.120 Clariana Ruho weang it all observed them and over the 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:53.080 course of nine days, researchers documented aerial urination thirty six times. 0:12:53.480 --> 0:12:59.520 So they do it a lot. The lead researcher said, 0:12:59.520 --> 0:13:02.000 an end of jewel will start to slowly flip belly 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:04.840 up and expose the penis and urinate. When another male 0:13:04.920 --> 0:13:07.760 is present, he may sometimes chase the urine stream with 0:13:07.840 --> 0:13:11.480 his rostrum. Now, the rostrum is like the nose of 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:15.840 the dolphin. Oh that long nose thingy, that's the rostrum. 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:18.640 Yeah, oh, I didn't know that, didn't know the name. 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:21.080 Well, there you go. We're learning a lot of things 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.559 about peeing and rostrums. 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:25.959 I mean, this is I'm definitely gonna have a lot 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:27.560 to talk about at my next dinner party. 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:30.680 You know, it's a I think the fanci or the 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:36.280 dinner party, the more likely I think you should bring 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:40.800 up like this, Like yeah, like if it's if it's 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:45.840 a black suit dinner party, you're gonna really impress people 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:50.440 with your river dolphin golden showers talk. 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:53.920 I mean, I'm ready to impress, is what I'm saying. 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:59.880 It's interesting because a Native Amazonian folklore believes that the 0:14:00.200 --> 0:14:03.920 or river dolphins can transform into humans and come out 0:14:03.960 --> 0:14:06.400 of the water, and that they like wear a hat 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:10.920 to disguise their blowhole, which I guess that they can't, 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:13.600 like they can transform into a human, but they got 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:15.200 to breathe out of the blowhole, so I guess they 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:17.000 got a blowhole on their head, but they put a 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:19.840 little hat over it, which, hey, you know what game is? 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:20.160 Game? 0:14:20.920 --> 0:14:25.440 Ah, And these are called incantato And it's either a 0:14:25.480 --> 0:14:29.360 beautiful man who comes ashore and impregnates maidens or a 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:34.640 beautiful woman who seduces married men and then after a 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:39.760 week of this, she trans kind of like transforms him 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:43.640 into a baby and then transfers him into his own 0:14:43.680 --> 0:14:48.840 wife's womb. It's so a lot of the folklore stories 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.840 about these things, things like changlings, things like these, the 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:57.720 dolphins stories, it's usually a way to explain tragedy. Actually, 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:01.560 so like things like, uh so if a man like 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:05.000 drowns and leaves behind a wife who's pregnant, maybe this 0:15:05.080 --> 0:15:07.640 story came about where it's like, well, actually he was 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:11.720 seduced by a man by a dolphin that turned into 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:14.840 a beautiful lady and then turned him into a baby 0:15:15.240 --> 0:15:18.160 that's now in your womb. So then you know what 0:15:18.160 --> 0:15:20.280 I mean. So it's a it's a very interesting kind 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:23.000 of cultural thing. And of course the other one where 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:25.680 it's like a dolphin transforming into a beautiful man and 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:30.040 getting maiden's pregnant, that's like a way to be like, hey, now, 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.920 why are you pregnant? It's like, well a dolphin did it. 0:15:33.000 --> 0:15:36.440 What am I supposed to do about it? 0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:40.560 Yeah? I mean wow, I you know, I I'd heard 0:15:40.560 --> 0:15:45.200 of like the folklore of the changeling, but this is 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.760 such a fascinating take on that and it's cool to know. 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:51.800 Yeah, I've read about with changelings. What's interesting about that 0:15:51.920 --> 0:15:55.680 is it seems like it was an explanation for people 0:15:55.760 --> 0:16:00.520 who would get sick and die sometimes where it was 0:16:00.640 --> 0:16:04.880 like they would think that maybe the person who's like 0:16:04.960 --> 0:16:07.800 sick and dying, especially if it involved something where they 0:16:07.800 --> 0:16:13.240 would become delirious or have dementia that that person was 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:17.760 exchanged with like a changeling. And so it's kind of 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:20.760 a it's a tragic thing because it's sort of a 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:23.000 way for people to cope with the grief of someone dying, 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.160 especially babies. Right, So, like if a baby suddenly gets 0:16:26.160 --> 0:16:30.480 sick and dies for no kind of observable reason, at 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:32.280 this point of time, it'd be like, well, a change 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:35.680 link came swapped out the baby, So my baby is 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:38.640 alive somewhere living with the fairies, whereas this baby was 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:41.640 like a fake baby who died. So yeah, when you 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.080 look behind a lot of these like kind of seemingly 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:48.680 strange or silly tales of folklore, it is often describing 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.920 either something cultural or something psychological, right, like coping with 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:55.520 grief in these cultures. 0:16:56.400 --> 0:16:58.080 I am actually going to talk about that at it 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:00.280 in your party, because I think that's fascinating. This is 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:01.800 all really interesting. 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:04.040 As long as you also talk about the ping. 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:06.680 Obvious obviously, you know, I mean it would be after 0:17:06.760 --> 0:17:07.720 I have to set it. 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:11.959 Up, right, yeah, right, You you kind of warm them 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:17.040 up with the talk about folklore and cultural grief, and 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:20.560 then you hit them with the dolphin pea fountain and 0:17:20.600 --> 0:17:26.159 then you right, and then they're gonna go through the 0:17:26.200 --> 0:17:33.880 several stages of grief and shock after being told that, Well, uh, 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:38.359 we're gonna we're gonna take a little break here while 0:17:38.400 --> 0:17:41.840 you digest all that information. And when we get back, 0:17:41.880 --> 0:17:46.520 we're gonna talk about macacus and the interesting things they 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:53.719 do with deer. Again, you have children, maybe consider listening 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:56.720 ahead for this part. And it's deciding whether this is 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:01.080 appropriate or not. It's science, though, it's all based in size. 0:18:00.920 --> 0:18:06.120 So we'll be right back. This is fascinating, I mean, 0:18:06.160 --> 0:18:09.080 it really is. I like it. I like it. I 0:18:09.160 --> 0:18:11.600 like knowing this. I like knowing more things about the world. 0:18:11.920 --> 0:18:13.840 You know, and there are a lot of things in 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:16.879 the world, and it's important to don't know them, even 0:18:16.880 --> 0:18:22.359 when it's macaque humping deer. So you we have talked 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:24.960 about the river dolphins and how like the boys were 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:27.120 having all the fun with peeing in the air. Now 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:30.600 we get to talk about something that both sexes can 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:36.680 enjoy in the macaque population, and this is mounting a deer. 0:18:36.960 --> 0:18:39.880 And when I say mounting a deer, I don't mean 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:44.320 sticking it on your wall. I do mean two things though. 0:18:44.400 --> 0:18:49.080 One riding a deer and two wink wink riding a deer. 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:51.080 Wink wink so. 0:18:52.840 --> 0:18:56.600 Yes verbalizing wink wink, wink, wink wink wink. 0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:02.320 Japanese macaques are those fuffy, red faced, very very cute 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:06.680 primates who bathe in hot springs like they're snow monkeys. 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:08.760 You know, if you've ever seen those hot spring monkeys, 0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:11.879 these are what I'm talking about. They are really smart, 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:15.880 they're highly social. They'll throw snowballs at each other. They 0:19:15.920 --> 0:19:18.280 are the These are the monkeys, or these are the 0:19:18.480 --> 0:19:23.119 macaques that learned how to season their yams by dipping 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:27.720 the yams in salt water. They watched this, like ingenious 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:32.199 female macaque many years ago, like decades ago, do this, 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:35.560 and now it's a cultural phenomenon among macacus. They've all 0:19:35.640 --> 0:19:40.120 learned to season their yams with salt water. Uh. And 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:43.240 there's a new fad among the macaques, and this time 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:48.040 it's riding deer in multiple ways. 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:48.359 So. 0:19:49.240 --> 0:19:53.080 Skia deer are small deer that live in Japanese forest. 0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:55.800 They're very cute. They're super super cute. They're like much 0:19:55.880 --> 0:20:01.280 they're like a I would say ponies deer like. They're 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:04.080 much smaller than the large deer that we would have 0:20:04.160 --> 0:20:10.360 like in North America, and they're relatively chill. They live 0:20:10.400 --> 0:20:14.119 in Japanese forests and they have become the object of 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:18.639 affection for Japanese macaques. So it started with one male 0:20:18.880 --> 0:20:23.199 in twenty fifteen. A male started going around hopping on 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:27.399 these deer's backs and you know, trying to mate with 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:30.200 them in a way that was mechanically questionable. 0:20:32.240 --> 0:20:32.920 Oh wow. 0:20:33.200 --> 0:20:36.320 It was thought that maybe he was sexually frustrated or bored, 0:20:36.480 --> 0:20:40.920 we don't know. Then in twenty eighteen, researchers found that 0:20:41.160 --> 0:20:46.880 other macaques, five females, were also jumping onto deer and 0:20:46.960 --> 0:20:49.960 trying to mate with them, again in a situation that 0:20:50.119 --> 0:20:59.000 was mechanically questionable. Yeah. So then the observation has continued 0:20:59.200 --> 0:21:04.800 that these macaques are like this. Basically, this fad of 0:21:05.040 --> 0:21:07.720 jumping on a deer and then humping them has just 0:21:08.040 --> 0:21:12.520 exploded among macaques. Sometimes they'll ride the deer around like 0:21:12.600 --> 0:21:16.160 it's a little pony, and sometimes they'll hump the deer 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:18.320 or both. Sometimes it's both. 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:24.440 And this is recent. This is a new discovery. 0:21:23.880 --> 0:21:26.560 On it It isn't, yes, so it's it's a new 0:21:26.600 --> 0:21:29.520 discovery in terms of like it's the observation started in 0:21:29.600 --> 0:21:33.440 twenty fifteen, and it seems like it's become sort of 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:36.480 a fad among them. We don't know if this behavior 0:21:36.560 --> 0:21:39.680 has happened before, right, it's very plausible that it could 0:21:39.720 --> 0:21:42.960 have happened before, or that maybe there's waves. Just like fads, 0:21:43.000 --> 0:21:45.879 you know, kind of come and go in human society, 0:21:46.160 --> 0:21:50.399 it's possible that this comes and goes in macaque society. 0:21:51.320 --> 0:21:54.800 You know. Deer humping sort of like how you know 0:21:55.600 --> 0:21:58.680 what the sort of Saturday Night Live hip gyration thing 0:21:59.320 --> 0:22:02.240 was a thing and then it wasn't a thing, and 0:22:02.320 --> 0:22:04.840 maybe it's a thing again. I really couldn't tell you 0:22:04.920 --> 0:22:07.240 because I'm not very cool. 0:22:07.760 --> 0:22:11.040 So hey, I think you're very cool. 0:22:11.119 --> 0:22:14.320 That's really nice of you. You've never seen me try 0:22:14.320 --> 0:22:21.639 to dance at a wedding. Oh but you know, I 0:22:21.680 --> 0:22:24.320 look like a ma caque trying to mate with a deer, 0:22:24.800 --> 0:22:25.560 is what I'm saying. 0:22:26.640 --> 0:22:30.200 So yeah, you know, I didn't know that was a 0:22:30.320 --> 0:22:31.520 dance move option. 0:22:31.480 --> 0:22:38.880 But well it's it's acrobatically intense and it does get 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:42.000 you kicked out of some weddings, but you know, I 0:22:42.119 --> 0:22:45.359 stand by it. So they jump on the deer's backs 0:22:46.240 --> 0:22:51.200 and yeah, it's if you're wondering what the deer think 0:22:51.240 --> 0:22:55.399 about it, they actually don't seem to mind it too much. 0:22:55.960 --> 0:22:59.560 They actually like to hang around the macaques because they 0:22:59.560 --> 0:23:03.160 will get groomed by the macaques. The macacus will eat 0:23:03.560 --> 0:23:06.919 little ticks and fleas and things like parasites that are 0:23:06.960 --> 0:23:11.960 on the deer. They also like to eat the fruit 0:23:12.080 --> 0:23:16.040 that the macaques drop, and sometimes they eat their poop 0:23:16.440 --> 0:23:21.760 because you know, it's really a shame that human beings 0:23:21.760 --> 0:23:24.959 are just we're just so darned fussy. We just we 0:23:25.040 --> 0:23:32.320 eliminate so many things from our diet, like poop, dead people, rocks, 0:23:32.560 --> 0:23:35.280 you know, all sorts of things that like animals have 0:23:35.359 --> 0:23:39.200 the have the grit and the culinary courage to really 0:23:39.240 --> 0:23:39.920 go for it. 0:23:40.560 --> 0:23:45.359 Nice. Yeah, yeah, I guess, I'm I guess I'm just 0:23:45.440 --> 0:23:49.560 not there with the macaques. You know, it's just not 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:53.440 you're right, culinarily, No, not there. 0:23:53.520 --> 0:23:59.720 Right, Yeah. I have I have some like texture issues 0:23:59.800 --> 0:24:02.119 with like food and stuff, so I don't think I 0:24:02.359 --> 0:24:08.280 would be down for eating macaque poop either. Also, it's poop, 0:24:08.400 --> 0:24:14.719 so that's not great either, But like generally yeah, uh, 0:24:14.920 --> 0:24:17.359 but yeah, it's the macqu poop will have like a 0:24:17.359 --> 0:24:22.359 lot of sort of quasi digested like vegetable vegetation or 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:24.960 fruit in it, and so the deer will then help 0:24:25.040 --> 0:24:27.440 themselves to their leavings. 0:24:28.200 --> 0:24:31.280 Well at least that it's mutually beneficial in that way. 0:24:31.480 --> 0:24:35.080 Yes, this is actually considered to be a very freaky 0:24:35.119 --> 0:24:36.639 form of symbiosis. 0:24:37.720 --> 0:24:38.200 Wow. 0:24:38.560 --> 0:24:42.480 Yes, because first of all, like if a deer, because 0:24:42.520 --> 0:24:46.040 like often you'll have like uh sad to say, like, 0:24:46.720 --> 0:24:50.040 you know, situations in nature that are not very consensual. 0:24:50.440 --> 0:24:53.800 In this case, if a macaque gets on a deer's 0:24:53.800 --> 0:24:56.480 back and the deer is not really interested in getting 0:24:56.480 --> 0:25:00.640 a very gross back massage, the deer will just sort 0:25:00.640 --> 0:25:04.680 of shake the macaque loose and they'll just fall right off. 0:25:05.560 --> 0:25:07.800 Oh great, well, you know great. 0:25:07.960 --> 0:25:10.560 And then sometimes the deer is just like what you're doing? 0:25:10.560 --> 0:25:14.200 What back there? I don't care, I'm a deer. Maybe 0:25:14.240 --> 0:25:15.440 I'll eat your poop later. 0:25:16.000 --> 0:25:20.200 Maybe, ah, poop. It always comes back to the poop. 0:25:20.119 --> 0:25:24.560 It really doesn't, I'm you know, it happens a lot 0:25:24.600 --> 0:25:27.520 on this show, and I have to, like I swear 0:25:27.600 --> 0:25:31.000