Nature's Strangest Mysteries: Solved (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 8 - Critter Culprit - full transcript

Narrator: Ever wonder
what could make an animal

Vanish into thin air...

It's as if the animals
just teleported out of there.

♪

Narrator: ...What could cause
this sea to take on an eerie glow?

There is actually
something in the water.

Narrator: ...Or why
killer whales would gather

In their hundreds?

Man #1: I've never seen
anything like this, never!

Narrator:
Nature is awe-inspiring,

But, sometimes,
it just doesn't make sense.



I have never seen
anything like this!

Our team of experts investigate

The weirdest animal behavior...

That's amazing.

...And the most
unexpected events...

What is causing that?

...Ever caught on camera.

Man #2: My god!

These are nature's
strangest mysteries, solved.

♪

The great basin desert, utah.

♪

Field biologist,
evan buechley, is on a mission

To discover
how scavengers behave.



♪

I've always been
really attracted to deserts.

Deserts are one of
the less-studied ecosystems.

It's a very tough
environment to survive.

For animals, it all comes down

To whether
you're able to find food.

Narrator: And evan has
a trunk full of bait.

I have one calf carcass
in the back of the car.

♪

This was a stillborn calf.

It had died of natural causes.

Narrator: A 60-pound dead calf
is not your usual cargo,

But it's a regular load
for a scavenger scientist.

Evan's plan is to leave
the carcass in the wild,

Stake it out
with motion-sensitive cameras,

Then come back later to find out

What animals have fed on it.

It's up on this little ridge,

So if birds are flying over
they'll be able to see it.

♪

Narrator:
Evan sets up the experiment.

Scavengers keep
our landscapes healthy

By cleaning up
disease-ridden carcasses.

♪

Understanding what they need
will help us

Protect these species
in the future.

Every time a animal
will come and visit the carcass,

It'll automatically sense that
and take a photo.

♪

Narrator: As usual, he leaves
the bait for two full weeks,

But when he returns
to his desert stakeout,

Something strange has happened.

Buechley: I come up
to the carcass and...

It's totally gone.

Narrator: The carcass
has vanished without a trace.

It's as if the animal has just
teleported out of there.

I searched all around to see
if there might be some bones

Or parts of the carcass
that are left,

And I couldn't find anything.

Narrator: Something like this
has never happened before

In evan's experiments

And he's been running them
for years.

Carcasses don't just disappear
without leaving anything behind.

So who, or what,
could have taken it?

My first thought was coyotes.

[ Coyotes crying ]

There the most common
predatory mammal out here.

They work in packs sometimes,

So they could conceivably
have drug away a big carcass.

They're intelligent
and they work in groups,

They work together as
a team, just like wolves do.

They'll go for
big things like deer

Or something
as small as a raccoon,

But they do also go
for already killed dead meat

Waiting and decaying.

Narrator:
But, coyotes are messy eaters.

They would have left
plenty of evidence.

Buechley: They could
have eaten part of it,

But there still would have been,
you know, big chunks of bone

And other parts left.

Schreiber: You would see little
bits of shrapnel along of the way

Of the animal.

We've seen nothing of that.

So, it's unlikely
that they were responsible

For this missing calf.

♪

Narrator: It looks like
coyotes are no longer

In the frame.

♪

The plot thickens.

If the carcass
wasn't dragged away,

Could it have been
lifted up and carried off?

Could the carcass have
disappeared because of vultures?

♪

Narrator: Vultures are
purpose-built to find dead animals.

♪

Turkey vultures' nostrils
are so brilliantly designed

That they can smell the unique
sulfurous chemical compounds

Of decaying meat
from a mile away,

Which means they can then
circle around in the air

Until they pinpoint it
exactly...

...And then swoop down on it.

[ Vultures squawking ]

Narrator: There are 23 different
species of vulture worldwide,

Including six
in just the serengeti

Where they feast on zebras

And pretty much any other
carcass they come across.

In ecosystems around the world,

Vultures will be
the first vertebrate animal

That will find and
start feeding on a carcass

Within minutes.

Vultures are
incredible scavengers

And it's a result of
the ability for them

To take in toxins
that most animals can't

And digest them
in their stomachs.

They're effectively
the cleaning crew of nature.

You know, if you've got
a spillage, bring in a vulture.

They will deal
with the situation.

♪

Narrator: But there's a problem
with this line of investigation.

Turkey vultures don't eat bones.

There were no bones
found at this location.

Where did they go?

Could the turkey vultures
have picked up the bones

And carried them somewhere else?

Vultures don't have
those powerful talons

And powerful leg muscles
and wings

That would enable them
to carry something

As heavy as a carcass,
even in pieces,

Away from
the scene of the crime.

♪

Narrator:
Evan is running out of suspects,

And our experts are stumped.

♪

After finding no evidence
at the scene of the crime,

Evan hopes the camera
will offer up some answers.

♪

Buechley: We did not have
any photos of coyotes.

There's no photos
of mountain lions.

There's very little other
activity at the site,

Except for a solitary bobcat.

As I continued
to flip through the photos,

I was very surprised.

There was a picture of...

This guy,

A north american badger.

♪

He showed up,
seemed to just kind of

Sniff around the carcass,
and then left.

The next morning he came back

And started to dig.

♪

He was digging all around
the edge of the carcass,

And he just kept at it.

Very fastidiously,
the carcass just slowly sunk

Into a massive hole
that this badger was excavating.

He continued into the night.

It was snowing, he kept
digging through the snow.

♪

Third day after
we had placed the carcass,

He started to backfill
over the top of the carcass.

So started to push all
the dirt he had excavated

Out from under the cow,
back over the top of it,

And then the badger dug a hole,
disappeared into the hole,

And presumably fed
on that carcass.

♪

Badgers, what a plot twist!

♪

The american badger
is the culprit in this case.

Narrator: The badger
stayed in its new den,

Feeding on the calf carcass
for weeks.

♪

Badgers have been filmed
burying small snacks,

Like mice or squirrels,

But this is
the first video evidence

That they can bury
something as big as a calf,

Four times their own size.

Schreiber: Badgers are
the ultimate digging machine.

They have the ability to go
through tightly-packed ground

Like a drill
would go through concrete.

[ Badger sniffing ]

They have a third eyelid,
and it's transparent.

So it means while the other
eyelids are blinking away

And doing their job
of getting rid of dirt,

They can still see
what they're doing

As they're digging
into the ground.

Buechley: By placing
the carcass underground,

They're keeping
the carcass cool.

They're essentially, like,
putting it in the refrigerator.

It's an extraordinary way
of consuming your meals

In utter privacy.

It's the ultimate v.I.P. Meal.

Narrator:
So far, this is the only badger

To have ever been caught on film

Pulling off
such an ambitious stunt.

♪

[ Insects chirping ]

♪

Norway, December 2017.

♪

Hundreds of killer whales
gather off skjervoy island.

It's really amazing to see.

Narrator: A guide catches
the bizarre event on film.

Man #1:
Oh, my god!

And this is incredible.

♪

I've never seen anything
like this. Never, never!

Narrator: This could be
the biggest single gathering

Of killer whales
ever caught on camera.

♪

Why are they here?

And what do they want?

♪

Narrator: In norway,
hundreds of killer whales

Gather off skjervoy island.

It could be the biggest killer
whale gathering ever filmed,

But what have
they come here for?

♪

Why are they doing this?

Man #1: My god!

We think of killer whales,
the pods that they form

We think of
as usually being smaller,

Maybe a few dozen individuals.

We have to stop and ask,

"why are there so many
killer whales all together?"

♪

Conley: What we're seeing
in this video

Is way more than that.

So, up to 200 orcas,

And we're calling this
a megapod.

The question is
why are they congregating

In such a large number?

Narrator:
Could this huge gathering

Be one, big extended family?

♪

The kardashians
of the killer whales.

Well, there's a surprising
way to find out...

♪

...By listening
to their wailing.

♪

Conley:
Whales and dolphins do have

What we would think of
as a language,

And if you hear the chattering
of one orca, or dolphin,

You can tell approximately
what pod it came from.

Narrator: Each female family
line has their own dialect,

Their own version
of local slang.

[ Whales crying ]

And in a pod full of cousins,

Everyone speaks
in a similar way.

So, are they chatting like
locals in this megapod?

♪

We think there are
several different dialects

Within this group,
so we know that

This is not just one big pod.

This is
actually a conglomeration

Of several pods coming
together in this area.

Narrator: This is pretty unusual
in killer whale society.

Normally, we don't
see them socializing

Between different pods.

It's not something
that's very common.

Narrator: If it's not
a big family gathering,

What else is going on?

Could love be in the air,

Or rather in the water?

One possibility this pod
of killer whales formed

Was for mating purposes.

Narrator:
Orcas are fairly secretive

About their mating habits.

We don't know much
about what they get up to,

But we do know they seem
to wait for warmer waters

Before they heat things up.

And they also tend
to breed more in the spring,

Whereas this footage
was captured in the winter.

♪

Narrator: It's the wrong
time of year for romance.

They weren't mating, and
they're not all close relatives.

What other clues
are there in the video?

There are also tons and tons
of birds flying up above head,

Which is indicative of
some sort of feeding frenzy,

Because wherever there's food
the birds are gonna show up.

Narrator: A frenzy of birds above
could mean a feast down below.

Are the bird after fish
that the orcas are catching?

♪

The fish in this part of norway
are most likely herring,

Famous for being pickled
by the scandinavians

Into a fairly-niche dish
of fermented fish.

Delicious.

But herring is also
an orca favorite.

Is that what the whales
in the video are after?

Fish-eating orcas work together

By flashing their white bellies
and blowing bubbles

To drive fish into a ball
close to the surface.

The whales will corral
a school of fish

By blowing a wall of bubbles.

The fish are too scared
to go through the bubbles.

Conley: Fish won't go through
the bubbles

Because they're afraid,
and they'll just get closer

And closer and closer.

Nosal: Narrower and narrower
until they're all corralled

And they can actually
go and eat those fish.

Narrator:
It's called carousel feeding,

And it's a nightmare
merry-go-round for the herring.

Once they've chased
the fish into a ball,

The orcas bring out
their signature move.

♪

Tail slapping, which is
sometimes used to stun fish

Before going to eat them.

♪

Narrator: One tail slap
on the edge of a school

Can stun up to 16 fish
rendering them helpless

And ready to scoop up.

♪

Now that's fast food.

So could this invasion of orcas
be a massive feeding frenzy?

♪

Narrator: Hundreds of
killer whales gather in norway.

Man #1: I've never seen anything
like this, never! Never!

Are they there to hunt?

There would be telltale signs
in their behavior...

Tail slapping and herding.

But we don't see that here.

♪

Narrator: In the video,
it looks like more of a free-for-all.

What are they doing?

Is there a different food source
these orcas could be after?

♪

In the background of the video,

Norwegian fishing boats
are bringing in their catch.

When the fishers are hauling
in their nets full of fish,

Many fish will escape,
there could be bycatch

That are thrown back in.

There's a lot of easy food
for these orcas,

And it makes sense
that they would all gather there

For the easy meal.

Conley: They sometimes
will actually break the nets

And take the fish
out of the nets.

I mean, these guys
can eat tons of fish a day.

You know they're in
direct competition

With these fishermen.

Narrator:
If that is what's happening,

How did so many orcas know
where to come for a free meal?

These intelligent animals
have actually learned

What these fishing
vessels sound like,

Their motors sound like,
what the gears grinding,

Lifting nets up
out the water sound like.

Narrator: Just like
when your dog hears you

Open a bag of chips
from upstairs.

And it could be that
these distinct sounds

Are what attracted all of these
killer whales from so far way.

Narrator: Killer whale hearing
is super-sensitive.

They use clicks to hunt

And can hear them bouncing
off herring 100 meters away.

So these fishing boat noises

Are like ringing the dinner bell

For the all-you-can-eat
scandinavian smorgasbord.

♪

Anglesey, u.K., summer 2018.

In the dead of night,
the ocean appears to glow.

Nosal:
When the waves were breaking,

They were glowing
a brilliant blue color.

So the question is, why?

Narrator: Glowing blue water
is a well-known phenomenon,

But it usually appears
3,000 miles south of here.

So, typically we see glowing
blue water in the tropics,

Places like vietnam,
the maldives, puerto rico.

Narrator: So what could be
causing these waters to glow?

♪

Narrator: In anglesey, u.K.,

The ocean started to glow

3,000 miles further north

Than this phenomenon
is usually seen.

What is causing
this bright, blue light?

Could it be a reflection?

Well, one could argue that

With higher, northerly
latitudes of wales,

Oh, it might
have been a reflection

Of an aurora borealis.

Narrator: Bit of a mouthful.

It's also called
the northern lights

When amazing patterns in the sky

Are caused
by solar weather from space.

♪

But, there were no northern
lights at this time.

Narrator:
In fact, the whole of 2018

Was pretty quiet
in space weather reports.

So, it can't be
a reflection of the aurora.

Nosal: It seems more likely
that there is actually

Something in the water
creating this glow.

Narrator: There's one main
cause of glowing blue water

Near the equator.

Could anglesey's glow
have this same explanation?

What's actually
happening here is there are

Bioluminescent phytoplankton
in the water.

Narrator: Apparently so.

These are these tiny,
single-celled organisms

That photosynthesize
just like plants do.

Narrator:
Phytoplankton can be tiny...

Less than
a tenth of a millimeter.

They'd fit on a pinpoint,

But together they produce
more than half

Of the oxygen on earth.

We owe them a lot.

♪

And what's amazing is that
when they are disturbed,

They glow.

Narrator:
These tiny guys would be useful

At a diy beach party.

Just throwing a rock
in the water

Makes a dazzling display.

Moser: But this still begs
the question

Of why there are so many here
in a part of the world

Where this phenomenon
really is very rare.

It's very unusual that in
the more temperate to cold water

That we see off of the u.K.

That we would see
a bloom like this.

Narrator: But 2018 was
the u.K.'s joint hottest summer

On record.

Those temperatures
helped lend themselves

To warming the waters locally,

And as those local
waters warmed, well,

Those plankton found
themselves right at home.

Part of the reason we think
that this is happening

Is that the oceans
are warming 60% faster

Than what models have indicated.

Nosal: As the climate
continues to change

And we see the average
temperature getting warmer

And warmer, we're likely
to see this more and more.

Narrator: So these living
lightbulbs came to the u.K.

After a super-hot summer.

But why do they light up
in the first place?

♪

They could be acting as their
own natural intruder alert.

They're emitting
that bioluminescence

As a form of self-defense.

So when they're disturbed
or they're agitated,

These tiny, little
creatures flash!

Narrator: Their light draws
attention to their would-be attacker,

And in theory, scares them off.

They can't tell the difference

Between a fish
that wants to eat them,

A kayak paddle in san diego,

Or someone splashing
through the shallows

In anglesey, u.K.

So they create
the light-up displays.

Captions paid for by
discovery communications