Nature's Strangest Mysteries: Solved (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 24 - Hot Cheetah - full transcript

Narrator: We know a leopard
can't change it's spots,

But what about giraffes?

Midcap: It really does look like
a mythical creature,

Where did this come from?

Narrator: Why are millions
of birds creating

Crazy patterns in the sky?

But if that was a group of
humans, it would be chaos.

Narrator: And if cheetahs
are the worlds

Fastest land animals...

Everything about these
animals is built for speed.

Narrator: ...How come they some
time give up the chase?



What the heck is going on?

Nature is awe inspiring,

But sometimes it just
doesn't make sense.

I have never seen
anything like this.

Our team of experts investigates
the weirdest animal behavior.

It's amazing.

Narrator:
And a most unexpected events...

What is causing that?

Narrator:
...Ever caught on camera.

Man: My god.

Narrator: These are...

August 2017.

Ishaqbini hirola conservancy,
kenya.

Rangers come across
an unusual sight.



A giraffe and her calf
but neither have any

Of their signature markings.

Baker:
Well, this clip is phenomenal,

I mean to see
a pure white version

Of anything
that shouldn't be white

Is always incredible.

Midcap: So this isn't just a
giraffe with faded

Coat coloration,
this thing is white.

Tall, beautiful, looks like
it's in perfect health.

It really does look like
a mythical creature,

Where did this come from?

Narrator:
To find out what's going on,

We need to know more
about the regular giraffes

We're used to seeing.

Burke: Giraffes are famous for
being these long=necked,

Long-legged, graceful animals.

And more than anything
their pattern as well,

Is very, very distinctive.

Narrator: Giraffe species
have varied markings

But the reason
for these patterns

Has been puzzling
scientists for some time.

Burke: The darker patches
actually have more blood vessels

Than the lighter patches.

And we think this might
have something to do

With dissipating heat.

But it could also have to
do with releasing pheromones

As well to attract
mates for example.

But there's other theories

That the reticulated
pattern breaks up

The outline of the
animal, it just breaks up

Any lines and possibly
works as camouflage.

Narrator:
As with other animal patterns

It's slightly a combination
of all these things

That give the giraffe
their unique markings.

But how is it these ones
have no color at all?

Midcap: Could it be that this
giraffe is albino?

Albinism is a condition
where one or more traits

Are handed down to an
animal that prevents melanin

From being produced
in the organs.

Narrator: Melanin is the pigment
that gives skin,

Hair, and eyes their color

But with albinism
hair and skin is white

And the eyes are pink as the
blood vessels in the iris

Have no pigment to mask them.

So the coat of a giraffe
would depend on the production

Of melanin
if you were to see all

Those beautiful colorations

But in this case
there aren't any.

Albino creatures can be found

Across a vast spectrum
of the animal kingdom.

From white moose,

To white wallabys,

To white barracuda.

So it's quite prevalent,
although it is

A fairly rare condition,
it does affect the majority

Of the animal kingdom.

So I guess the simply
conclusion would be,

Oh, it's an albino giraffe,
isn't that exciting,

End of story.

But actually if you look
closely, this giraffe

Doesn't have the pink eyes,
it actually has dark eyes,

So it's not an albino.

Narrator:
An albino giraffe is ruled out

So what else could have
created this ghostly giant?

Burke: There's another
explanation as to why

This white giraffe exists,

And it's a skin disorder
called vitiligo.

And it's a condition
whereby over time,

The skin is unable
to produce melanin.

Narrator: With vitiligo the
bodies immune system

Attack it's own melanin
cells by mistake,

Gradually creating white skin.

Midcap: It is very rare in
the human population,

Only about 1% to 2%
of humans have this.

But in the animal kingdom
it's even more rare.

Narrator: Rare, yes,

But it has been seen
in giraffes before.

A giraffe that was filmed
in sunburu in kenya

Had this skin
disorder, vitiligo.

Midcap: So could it be possible
that this giraffe

Also has vitiligo just
like it's kenyan cousin?

Narrator: Her offspring's white
coat makes it unlikely.

If it was vitiligo you
would expect that youngster

To start off normal
and get slowly paler.

Narrator: The fact that this
young calf is white

Just like it's mother,
rules out vitiligo.

But if the giraffes
are not albino

And don't have vitiligo,
what is the reason

For their white color?

There's only one real
thing that it could be

That's left and it's a
beautiful and striking thing

When it happens, but
it is incredibly rare,

Which is leucism.

So what you've got here
is a leucistic individual.

Narrator:
Leucism is a genetic condition

Where animals are born
with the loss of some

But not all pigment.

Eyes and hair can
still have color,

But the skin is often very pale.

The condition effects as
few as one in a thousand

And when you do
see these animals,

They are unmistakable.

I've seen it in deer
population, near where I live.

A lot of zoos famously
have white tigers,

Those are leucistic tigers.

And they're still rare
and it still produces

The most peculiarly
beautiful mutations.

Narrator: Zoos often adopt
leucistic animals

As being without pigment
means their chances

Of survival in the
wild are pretty slim.

Imagine being a white bird in
a wood full of sparrow hawks

You're gonna stand out,

You're gonna be
the target number one.

Narrator: But coloration isn't
only used for camouflage.

Burke: Pigments have
multiple functions,

The pigments will
sometimes impress mates

But really fundamentally
pigments also help

To protect from uv
radiation from the sun.

So albino snakes for example,
they don't fare very well,

Partly because they
can't thermo regulate,

But partly because they're
really exposed to uv radiation.

Any animal that
relies on pigmentation

Is quite unusual for them
to survive into adulthood.

Narrator: So this sighting
of white giraffes

Is particularly special.

Midcap: White giraffes are
exceedingly rare.

We don't know how
many exist in the wild

And this is only the
second one ever spotted

In this national park.

So that's the real
magic in this footage

Is not only
has this animal survived,

It's actually got offspring
as well, so it's managed

To successfully breed.

Narrator: While the deck may be
stacked against this

Beautiful and unusual
pair of giraffes,

So far, they're
beating the odds.

Burke: For now at least,
this female and her calf

Are doing really really well.

♪

Narrator:
The oxfordshire countryside, uk,

February 2016.

Tens of thousands of starlings
have flocked together

And are flying
in elegant patterns.

Nelson:
Its like a symphony in the sky.

It's almost like flowing water.

It's unlike anything
that you've seen before.

Aryee: Oh, that's cool.

It does look like one
entity, one organism.

I've always amazed at how
intricate and how much

Of a dance
a murmuration really is.

I absolutely love them.

Narrator:
Murmurations, the term used

To describe this phenomenon,

Are seen all over the world.

But we still don't know
the bigger question

Which is why?

Narrator: Around the world, bird
watchers are capturing footage

Of murmurations, the
gatherings of immense numbers

Of starlings that fly in
intricate patterns in the sky.

So the question remains,
why do starlings

Murmurate in the first place?

Narrator: To unravel the mystery
of murmurations,

We need to figure
out how so many birds

Up to six million,
can move together.

If that was a group of
humans it would be chaos.

Narrator: But it's one starling
mirroring the movements

Of the surrounding birds

That keeps the
murmuration on course.

All you have to do is keep
track of who's in front of you

Who's to your right,
who's to your left,

Maybe who's above you.

And if those seven
individuals are coordinated

The whole group moves in unison.

It's fascinating.

♪

Narrator: And that's not all,

The staggering speed with which
they respond to each other

Has also only recently
been discovered.

Aryee: A team in rome found that
starlings are able to respond

To the movement of another
starling next to it

Within a hundred milliseconds,
so that quickly.

Nelson: So now we know the
intricacies of a murmuration,

But we still don't know
the bigger question,

Which is why are so many
birds doing this formation?

Narrator: One clue might be
the fact that we often

See these formations at dusk,
when the temperatures drop.

♪

Daly: So some researchers
believe that murmurations

Are a signal to other birds
so they can all gather

In bigger numbers and be warmer.

Aryee: Temperature to me seems
like a very plausible reason.

You know, if you're a tiny
bird, you want to recruit

Loads of other starlings
to come and roost with you,

So you can share that body heat.

Narrator:
But murmurations happen

At all times of the year,

Putting the temperature
theory in doubt.

Nelson: The problem is that it's
not that they're murmurating

Only on cold days,

They're actually murmurating
more on warmer days.

So it makes sense that
they're not necessarily

Communicating, hey, it's
cold, join their group.

But maybe they are
communicating something else.

Narrator: Could this instead be
a sophisticated way

Of spreading a message
through the flock?

Nelson: If you've ever stopped
and looked at one

Of these murmurations,
you would also hear it,

It's very loud.

[ Birds chirping ]

So potentially, they're
tweeting to each other

Where the food is.

Aryee: We see this behavior in
the blue footed booty,

You have a leader as it were,

That let's out a loud
squawk and that then signals

To the other blue footed boobies

That it's time to feast,

And they all dive
simultaneously into the water.

♪

It's thought that this
increases the chances

That each bird is
gonna catch a fish.

♪

Narrator: But for starlings,
sharing food information

On such a massive scale
just doesn't add up.

Nelson: In a group this size,
if you found food,

You might not want the
entire group to know

Where it was.

I mean, we're talking thousands
and thousands of birds

Because then
you'd be out of food.

Narrator:
Communication is ruled out,

So what is the reason
starlings murmurate?

Daly: When we analyze
a starling murmuration

There's often one thing
that's fairly evident,

That's the presence
of a predator.

Narrator: For years, scientists
have been trying to get

To the bottom of why
starlings murmurate.

They then noticed the
gatherings of these starlings

Often had one thing in common...
A bird of prey.

So are the starlings
murmurating to avoid predators.

Narrator: To find out,
we visited anne goodenough,

A biologist who's been
studying starlings for years.

To ask her if predators
could be the cause.

There's a link between
size of the murmuration

And the number of predators
present and their activity.

We found that when you got
predators that were flying in

And around the flock you tended
to get bigger murmurations

And the birds stayed
up a lot longer.

Narrator: Anne thinks
murmurations are likely to be

A strategy that starlings
use against predators

Like falcons, eagles, and hawks.

Goodenough: So when a predator
flies into a starling flock,

It will try and get focus lock
on one specific individual

And go in after that
one specific individual,

Exactly in the way that
a targeted missile would work.

If that individual is part
of a swirling 3d mass,

It's much more difficult to
get and maintain focus lock

And ultimately
hunt successfully.

Narrator: Footage of a predator
attacking the murmuration

Show this defensive
technique in action.

Goodenough: That looks like
a peregrine falcon,

And you can see that as it's
diving in and through the flock

The birds are reacting
to it's presence.

The birds are repelling
away from that,

Just like iron fillings
when they're exposed

To the wrong end of a magnet.

And this is one of
those key ideas for why

Murmurations occur
in the first place.

And actually this falcon
isn't doing terribly well,

It's flying in and
through the flock,

But it's actually
not being successful

In catching it's dinner.

Aryee: For these starlings
are gathering

In these huge murmurations,

They are trying to
deliberately confuse

A potential predator
and this is called

Predator confusion theory.

Narrator:
But during murmurations,

It's not just predator
confusion that's at play,

The sheer numbers involved in it

Means the starlings
are also employing

What scientists call,
the dilution effect.

The dilution effect, essentially
is safety in numbers.

Nelson: It's simple math.

If you're one lone individual,

And you see a predator,
you're chances are pretty high

That you're gonna get chomped.

But if there's a thousand
more of ya out there,

You decrease your
chances by a thousand.

Narrator:
So for starlings, a murmuration

Isn't just a dance in the sky,

It's an effective
aid in survival.

♪

August 7, 2015,
hwange national park, zimbabwe.

A tourist is recording
his safari adventure,

When his tracker spots
a hunt in progress.

And the hunter
isn't just any predator,

It's the cheetah, the fastest
land animal on the planet.

♪

This cat goes from
zero to 60 miles and hour

In just three seconds.

Burke: Everything about these
animals are built for speed,

They have this
lightweight skeleton,

Really long legs,

Which allows them to
take these huge strides.

They even have a
specialized inner ear canal,

Which helps to keep their
head completely fixed

On their prey.

And then a really long tail
which acts like a rudder.

Galante: Cheetah have
incredible flexibility

That allow them to pivot on
a dime and they can withstand

G forces that would
break a human beings leg.

Narrator: Their prey doesn't
stand a chance.

But hang on a second,
the cheetah's given up.

Why?

Cheetahs often
throw in the towel

Even when it seems
their prey is in range.

Burke: So with all these
incredible adaptations

Begs the question,
why are only 58%

Of their hunts successful.

How is that possible?

Narrator:
Footage shows that the cheetah,

The world's fastest land
animal, giving up the chase.

Again and again

And again.

Why do they give up so often?

Burke:
Are they easily distracted?

Narrator: Mother cheetahs
usually have three

Or four major distractions,
their cubs.

Cheetah cubs are at great risk
from lions, leopards,

And hyenas, especially
when their mothers

Leave them to hunt.

Galante: A mother cheetah is
particularly stressed,

Because only 40% of cubs
make it to adulthood

In the kalahari and 5%
percent in the sahara.

Daly: So all cheetahs
abandoning the hunt

Because of having to be alert

And be on the look-out
for predators

In order for them to
keep their cubs safe?

Narrator: There is one problem
with this idea,

Male cheetahs also
give up the chase

And they don't play
a role in caring for cubs.

So could it instead
be physical stress,

That causes the
cheetahs to burn out.

In an effort
to avoid competition

From other predators,

Cheetahs hunt during the daytime

When other big cats
are sleeping.

However, this can make
hunting even more exhausting.

Burke: One of the downsides
of hunting in the middle

Of the day is that it's also
the hottest part of the day.

Once they decide to give chase,

They only have
a limited amount of time

Before their bodies
start to overheat.

Narrator:
In polokwane, south africa

Dr. Robyn hetem, who studies
cheetahs living in sanctuaries,

Put the overheating
theory to the test

Using the latest
heat monitoring technology.

Hetem: We were able to attach
small biologging devices

Which could remotely
assess body temperature

Off free-living cheetah
in real hunting experiences.

♪

Narrator:
So what did she discover?

Hetem: Surprisingly we found
no temperature increase

When cheetah were hunting.

The cat is able to dissipate
that heat effectively

Through evaporative cooling.

Narrator:
Overheating is ruled out,

So what is causing cheetahs
to give up the chase?

Professor alan wilson from
the royal veterinary college

In the uk analyzes the footage,

He reveals that its he
direction of the chase

That can foil cheetahs.

Hunts don't happen
in a straight line,

It involves turning, it
involves ducking and diving

As the antelope tries to
escape and the cheetah tries

To follow those movements.

Very rarely do cheetahs even
approach half their top speed

Hunting, it's not
about absolute speed,

It's about maneuverability.

Narrator:
And it's the zig-zagging course

That prey, such as antelope,
go on

That sometimes gives
them the upper hand.

Wilson: This is because the
antelope defines the hunt

By setting course
that is challenging

For the cheetah to follow.

And that is where the
antelope gains it's advantage.

Narrator: Meaning cheetahs
don't just need speed,

They need agility to get a meal.

When a cheetah is hunting prey,
it's the first one

To make a mistake that loses.

The cheetah makes a mistake,
the prey is going to win.

Narrator: So, while cheetahs
remain the fastest land animals

On the planet, sometimes even
they have to admit defeat.

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