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Documentary, How Whale Evolution Documentary
Whales evolved from land-dwelling ancestors that lived about 50 million years ago. These ancestors were four-legged, even-toed, hoofed mammals (ungulates) that later moved to the sea and adapted to aquatic life over a period of about 8 million years.
Fossils of ancient whales, such as Basilosaurus, show that they had features similar to land mammals, including hind limbs, which eventually disappeared as they became fully aquatic.
The closest living relatives of whales are hippos, but hippos are not the direct ancestors of whales. Both hippos and whales evolved from a common ancestor that lived on land.
Over time, whales developed adaptations such as blowholes for breathing, streamlined bodies, and flippers for swimming. Some whales, like baleen whales, evolved to filter feed using baleen plates, while others, like dolphins and sperm whales, retained teeth.
The evolution of whales is well-documented through fossil records, which show a gradual transition from land to water. For example, the transition from Pakicetus to Dorudon occurred within 10 million years, which is relatively fast in evolutionary terms.
The earliest whales, such as those from the Indian subcontinent, were part of the Archaeoceti group, and their evolution is closely linked to even-toed ungulates like hippos.
Modern whales are part of the order Cetacea, which includes dolphins and porpoises. Their evolution reflects a remarkable adaptation to life in the ocean, with significant changes in anatomy, behavior, and physiology
Whales evolved from land-dwelling ancestors that lived about 50 million years ago. These ancestors were four-legged, even-toed, hoofed mammals (ungulates) that later moved to the sea and adapted to aquatic life over a period of about 8 million years.
Fossils of ancient whales, such as Basilosaurus, show that they had features similar to land mammals, including hind limbs, which eventually disappeared as they became fully aquatic.
The closest living relatives of whales are hippos, but hippos are not the direct ancestors of whales. Both hippos and whales evolved from a common ancestor that lived on land.
Over time, whales developed adaptations such as blowholes for breathing, streamlined bodies, and flippers for swimming. Some whales, like baleen whales, evolved to filter feed using baleen plates, while others, like dolphins and sperm whales, retained teeth.
The evolution of whales is well-documented through fossil records, which show a gradual transition from land to water. For example, the transition from Pakicetus to Dorudon occurred within 10 million years, which is relatively fast in evolutionary terms.
The earliest whales, such as those from the Indian subcontinent, were part of the Archaeoceti group, and their evolution is closely linked to even-toed ungulates like hippos.
Modern whales are part of the order Cetacea, which includes dolphins and porpoises. Their evolution reflects a remarkable adaptation to life in the ocean, with significant changes in anatomy, behavior, and physiology
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LearningTranscript
00:00Fifty million years ago, a hungry land animal seeks a new source of food.
00:12This sets him on a spectacular evolutionary journey and on a collision course with rivals.
00:22Today, this creature looks like a fish, but it retains key traits from its terrestrial past.
00:30It's warm-blooded, a mammal, and breathes air through its lungs.
00:40So, how did a creature built for land become master of the oceans?
01:01Asia, Pakistan, the Suleiman mountain range.
01:07This rocky terrain was once the bed of the ancient Tethys Sea.
01:21Locked away in this rock are the secrets of ancient marine life and death.
01:31In 1978, a team of fossil hunters from Michigan goes to work.
01:46Paleontologists are time travelers.
01:57They visit the ancient past by digging into the earth.
02:03Each layer of rock is like a time capsule, recording major events in the planet's history.
02:18Astroids, natural disasters, climate change.
02:33It's all recorded in layers of rock, planet Earth's DNA.
02:44A team member cracks open a rock.
02:46Inside is a fossil, unlike anything they've seen before.
03:00This fossil sends one man on a voyage of discovery.
03:04The expedition leader is Philip Gingrich.
03:14In the University of Michigan vaults, he examines his amazing find.
03:22It's the partial skull of a mammal that lived 50 million years ago.
03:26In 1978, Gingrich couldn't figure out which family of animals it belonged to.
03:36When we found it, when we cleaned it, I really wasn't sure what it is.
03:46I was a specialist of land mammals.
03:48And it didn't look like anything I knew.
04:01Gingrich commissions experts in mammal anatomy to reconstruct its skull.
04:18Gives you an idea of what the whole skull might have looked like.
04:24This is real and this is reconstructed.
04:27But it's reconstructed following the plan of a typical mammal.
04:41Later expeditions uncover more crucial pieces of the skeletal jigsaw.
04:48Finally, this enigmatic animal comes to life.
04:58I think it would have four limbs.
05:01I expect probably it had short hair.
05:05They still have hooves.
05:08We think it's a land animal.
05:09We'd expect it to look wolf-like.
05:11But Gingrich still can't identify which order of the animals it belongs to.
05:26Then he spots a tiny S-shaped bone in the ear region.
05:29He finds out that this bone is known as a sigmoid process.
05:37And is unique to one particular order of animals that lives in the water today.
05:43Gingrich finally discovers what this creature is.
05:47It's something primitive, it's something transitional, but nonetheless, with a sigmoid process, a primitive whale.
06:00This can only mean one thing.
06:05The modern whale began life as a land animal.
06:20To find out how a land animal evolved into the modern whale, we must return to ancient Pakistan.
06:26This is the ground the creature walked on 50 million years ago.
06:46The world then is a hotter place.
06:58In this region that is now Pakistan, higher temperatures likely create an arid environment.
07:04The whale's ancient ancestor, named Pachycidas, faces a survival crisis.
07:31It's the shape, size and weight of a modern wolf.
07:38And lives on a diet of plants and small animals.
07:48But climate change is wiping out his food supplies.
07:54He needs to find a new food source.
07:57And quickly.
08:01The ancient whale takes its first tentative steps into walk.
08:06It is an extraordinary gamble.
08:07What rewards do the waters hold for Pachycidas?
08:08It is an extraordinary gamble.
08:09What rewards do the waters hold for Pachycidas?
08:10The answer lies in the earth itself.
08:11It is an extraordinary gamble.
08:12What rewards do the waters hold for Pachycidas?
08:17The answer lies in the earth itself.
08:18It is an extraordinary gamble.
08:19It is an extraordinary gamble.
08:20What rewards do the waters hold for Pachycidas?
08:24It is an extraordinary gamble.
08:25It is an extraordinary gamble.
08:31It is an extraordinary gamble.
08:32It is an extraordinary gamble.
08:33What rewards do the waters hold for Pachycidas?
08:37The answer lies in the earth itself.
08:48Fifty million years ago, the land masses of planet earth drift further apart.
08:53This creates new ocean currents.
09:03These currents convey warm water and air from the equator to the polar regions.
09:11Warmer poles mean a warmer planet.
09:18Hotter temperatures can boost photosynthesis, producing an abundance of marine life.
09:27Pachycidas finds a banquet of food in these shallow waters.
09:34I think they probably started as scavengers, running along a strand line,
09:39feeding on dead fish that washed up on the shore.
09:46And once you are in the water feeding on dying fish,
09:49it is a logical step to try to catch other fish.
09:56Just as Pachycidas solves one crisis, food,
10:02it faces another, predators.
10:09To swim, Pachycidas has to paddle like a dog.
10:16It is a poor design making him a slow and clumsy swimmer.
10:19Então, your coat the fall was leuk 저항 a dopando.
10:24After there is no more offenaging fish that can build him the world,
10:26where he кабineer, offensive upper bay.
10:27That's what he knows!
10:28It is what he does.
10:30But, there could be people who arbeite in time to breathe at night,
10:32доos the CrazyRcht.
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11:08Then, 50 million years ago, Pachycetus disappears from the fossil record.
11:25What happens after Pachycetus?
11:29How does this land animal evolve to become king of the oceans?
11:3850 million years ago, the whale ancestor, a land mammal named Pachycetus, disappears from the fossil record.
11:54In 1994, 16 years after Philip Gingrich discovered the remains of Pachycetus,
12:13one of his former students makes the trip to the same region of Pakistan.
12:22Hans Thewesen is seeking ancient land animals.
12:25In rock dating back 49 million years, he discovers the bones of an unknown creature.
12:41The first day we found a hind limb.
12:51The next day we found some vertebrae and some ribs.
12:58And the third day we finally found a skull.
13:03And I still didn't know what it was.
13:05This creature appears to have legs like a land animal, but feet like a duck.
13:16I got very frustrated with the fossil having this beautiful skeleton and not knowing which animal this was.
13:35Then he spots a bone unique to one order of animals living today.
13:44And then it struck me.
13:47This is an ear bone.
13:50And it's the ear bone of a whale.
13:55That finally made the penny drop.
13:57And I realized that now we finally found this amazing skeleton.
14:06And this transitional whale, a whale with legs.
14:12It struck me that we caught evolution in the egg here.
14:15This is why Pachycetis disappears.
14:31It simply evolves into a new species.
14:36Poor swimming skills make Pachycetis vulnerable.
14:40So it adapts in three key ways to swim better.
14:42His tail develops muscles and flattens like that of an otter.
14:53His back legs shorten and widen to act like flippers.
15:00He becomes more streamlined.
15:02Thuicin names this new species, Ambulocetus natans, which means the walking and swimming whale.
15:17Sometime in the ancient past, a whale ancestor evolves the skills to live permanently in the oceans.
15:24Thuicin's next quest is to find out if Ambulocetus is the ancient whale that adapted to live in the seas full time.
15:43If a land animal drinks seawater, it can be lethal.
15:46To live in the ocean, Ambulocetus needs to adapt to cope with salt water.
15:57This ancient whale's kidney isn't preserved, so scientists look elsewhere for clues.
16:02When you're studying teeth, you really get a good idea of lots of different aspects of the life of the animal,
16:23such as its diet, where they were living in water on land, and which waters they were drinking.
16:30Thuicin expects the teeth to show Ambulocetus lived in the ocean.
16:40But the results are a surprise.
16:44They reveal that Ambulocetus drank fresh water.
16:50It had to stay close to rivers and lakes.
16:52This whale ancestor still lives primarily on land.
17:01We were surprised, because modern whales can drink seawater.
17:08Their ancestors were land mammals and therefore freshwater drinkers.
17:11So somewhere that transition had to happen, moving from fresh to sea.
17:15But it hadn't yet happened 49 million years ago, and this raises an intriguing question.
17:24What prevents Ambulocetus from fulfilling the whale's destiny of life in the ocean?
17:3050 million years ago, the whale is a wolf-like land creature that hunts in shallow waters.
17:46One million years later, it evolves three key features to swim better.
17:55A stronger tail,
17:57legs,
17:59and a more streamlined body.
18:02Despite being more aquatic than its predecessor,
18:10tests show that Ambulocetus, or the walking and swimming whale,
18:15lives mostly on land.
18:22To find out why,
18:26Thuicin returns to the skeleton.
18:27It's a complete Ambulocetus, based on the one he found,
18:36and it gives away a surprising secret.
18:42This species has a large head and body,
18:46but relatively small hind legs.
18:48I think in water Ambulocetus wasn't a very strong swimmer.
18:58It certainly couldn't pursue fish,
19:00because the fish would be much faster than him.
19:03We think that it was a predator,
19:05it'd probably hang out in shallow water,
19:07sort of hidden,
19:08and waited for prey to come up to it,
19:11and then would lunge to catch them.
19:1349 million years ago,
19:17this poor swimmer faces grave danger,
19:20hunting in even shallow seawater.
19:24If you look at the shallow marine fauna of that time,
19:27there are lots of big predators,
19:29such as big sharks,
19:31much bigger than the whales.
19:34They would certainly have been eaten,
19:36and would have competition from crocodiles and sharks,
19:39if they were hunting prey.
19:43Was it safer on land?
20:09I think Ambulocetus would have been pretty clumsy on land.
20:12And it would have been similar to a sea lion,
20:14or maybe a crocodile.
20:16They would have been slow, lumbering,
20:19and mostly with their bellies on the ground,
20:22as they were resting on land.
20:26Poor in both land and marine habitats,
20:3049 million years ago,
20:32Ambulocetus vanishes from the fossil record.
20:35The mystery of whale evolution deepens.
20:51When and how did the ancient whale evolve
20:54to live full-time in salt water?
20:56Scientists work to discover the secret
21:06to its transformation from clumsy land animal
21:08to master of the high seas.
21:17In 1994, Philip Gingrich from the University of Michigan
21:22returns to the Suleiman mountain range in Pakistan.
21:27It was here, 16 years earlier,
21:29that he unearthed the oldest whale ancestor.
21:39His quest now is to find the first ancient whale
21:43that lived permanently in the sea.
21:45They're extraterrestrial in the sense
21:48that they left the earth,
21:50they left the land,
21:51and live in the sea today,
21:52which is a little like outer space, really.
21:55And the change to be able to live there is big.
22:00They get to work,
22:02using only the tools they can carry in a backpack,
22:05hammers, trowels, and brushes.
22:06The team discovers the skeleton
22:13of another ancient whale.
22:16They wonder if this species
22:18could be the elusive missing link
22:20that cut its ties with fresh water.
22:31Back at the University of Michigan,
22:33they carefully begin separating clean bone
22:36from mineral.
22:48Tests on the mineral rock reveal
22:50this creature lived 46 million years ago,
22:53three million years after Ambulocetus.
23:06Ambulocetus was a poor swimmer,
23:09struggling to escape predators
23:10and struggling to hunt.
23:15This species evolves a series of adaptations
23:18to swim better.
23:23He has a shorter, more powerful neck,
23:26better for diving.
23:27His rear legs widen and become more flipper-like.
23:36His tail develops muscles.
23:42However,
23:43the teeth of this ancient whale
23:45reveal something far more significant.
23:47just four million years after
23:56the whale ancestor Pachycetus
23:58first enters fresh water,
24:00this whale lives permanently in the sea.
24:08This is the first whale
24:10that really took to the sea.
24:11And, to be honest,
24:13we didn't believe it.
24:17The secret to its success
24:18and the survival
24:19of the entire whale species
24:21lies in a tiny
24:23but ingenious device
24:25inside its trademark ear.
24:27Paleontologist Philip Gingrich
24:36unearths a whale
24:37that lived 46 million years ago.
24:42He names it
24:44Rhodocetus.
24:51Inside Rhodocetus
24:52is the key
24:53to an age-old mystery.
24:55How did the ancient whale,
24:58a land mammal,
25:00adapt to survive
25:02in the ocean?
25:07There are a few clues
25:09in its skeleton.
25:11It is 10 feet long
25:13and similar to Ambulocetus.
25:16The ancestor
25:17that three million years earlier
25:19had only been able
25:20to drink fresh water.
25:21Now this new species
25:25lives in the oceans
25:27and spreads out
25:28across the globe.
25:34How has it adapted
25:35to this salty new world
25:36and why don't
25:37vicious marine predators
25:39wipe it out?
25:43This becomes
25:44one of the single
25:45greatest mysteries
25:46of whale evolution.
25:47fearsome predators
25:51stalk the Tethi Sea.
25:56For sharks
25:56and crocodiles
25:57ancient whales
25:59are easy prey.
26:05To survive
26:06Rhodocetus
26:07must find a way
26:08to escape predators.
26:09The key
26:14to how this
26:15ancient whale
26:15survives the ocean
26:16is hidden
26:17inside its most
26:18distinctive feature.
26:20The ear.
26:26Professor Fred Spohr
26:27studies a vital organ
26:28that's situated
26:30inside the inner ear
26:31of just about
26:32every creature.
26:36Call the organ
26:37of balance,
26:38it is key
26:39to the survival
26:40of Rhodocetus.
26:43The organal balance
26:44inside the inner ear
26:45is an absolutely
26:46vital,
26:47a key organ
26:47to function
26:49for any animal.
26:52To understand
26:53what saves
26:54the ancient whale
26:55Spohr produces
26:58a model
26:59of a human
27:00inner ear
27:00enlarged
27:0112 times.
27:02Spohr
27:03is a model
27:04of a human
27:05inner ear
27:06enlarged 12 times.
27:07The organ
27:08of balance
27:09consists of
27:10three canals
27:10at right angles
27:11filled with fluid.
27:16The fluid moves
27:17when the head moves.
27:20Nerve cells
27:20register
27:21these fluid movements
27:22and send signals
27:23to the brain.
27:24The brain
27:25instantly decodes
27:26these signals
27:26and adjusts
27:27the body's balance
27:28so it doesn't fall over.
27:29However, acrobatic behavior
27:35causes the liquid
27:36in the inner ear
27:37to slosh around
27:38sending scrambled
27:42messages
27:42to the brain.
27:44This causes
27:44dizziness.
27:48The inner ear
27:49controls balance
27:50of the ancient whale.
27:59Spohr finds
28:00the answer
28:01when he compares
28:02the human ear
28:02to that of the whale.
28:07If we now
28:07for comparison
28:08actually look
28:09at the inner ear
28:10of a whale
28:11that has also
28:12been enlarged
28:1312 times
28:13then we can see
28:15that there's not
28:15that much
28:16overall difference
28:17in size
28:17even though
28:18whales are
28:19of course
28:19much larger
28:20than humans are.
28:22However,
28:22the enormous difference
28:23is that the bit
28:25that deals with balance
28:26here
28:27and here
28:28is enormously reduced
28:30in the whale.
28:34The whale's inner ear
28:35is so small
28:36that the liquid
28:37inside barely moves.
28:43This allows them
28:44to turn and twist
28:45at high speeds
28:46without getting
28:46disoriented.
28:55Some 45 million
28:56years ago
28:57the ancient whale's
28:58organ of balance
28:59was shrinking
29:00and for good reason.
29:13It makes him
29:14agile enough
29:15to outmaneuver
29:18predators.
29:26Rhodocetus
29:27survives
29:28and continues
29:28to evolve
29:29but its descendants
29:34are about to face
29:35dramatic climate change
29:36and a terrifying
29:38new predator.
29:39Egypt, the western desert.
29:57Egypt, the western desert.
30:0093 miles south-west of Cairo,
30:09these parts
30:09sands harbor secrets
30:11more ancient
30:12than the pyramids.
30:13Philip Gingrich has been excavating
30:18this site since 1983.
30:20In that time,
30:22he's unearthed giant whale skeletons.
30:26These ancient whales
30:27are so large
30:28they're named
30:29Basilosaurus
30:30which means
30:31king lizard.
30:32of course the whales
30:40didn't really live in the desert.
30:41This was all a shallow sea before
30:43and one that was full of sunlight,
30:46clear water,
30:48teeming with life
30:49including archaic fossil whales.
30:52It's an 18 meter long,
30:5650 foot long whale
30:57that you simply can't miss.
31:00Being so large,
31:02there's no doubt
31:03that Basilosaurus
31:04was the top carnivore,
31:06the top predator
31:07in this ecosystem.
31:09The equivalent,
31:10if you will,
31:11of T. rex
31:12farther back in the past.
31:1739 million years ago,
31:20this is the bed
31:21of the ancient Tethys Sea.
31:26By now,
31:27Basilosaurus thrives
31:29in oceans and seas
31:30all over the world.
31:40Especially in the food-rich waters
31:42of the Tethys Sea.
31:46Basilosaurus has evolved
31:48a set of impressive tools
31:49for hunting.
31:51exceptional eyesight,
31:56improved underwater hearing,
32:00and a long, thin body shape
32:02to hunt in shallow waters.
32:04And,
32:05from its terrestrial past,
32:07it retains two useless remnants.
32:11The most interesting thing
32:14about Basilosaurus
32:15is the retention of hind limbs
32:18with all the bones
32:19right down to the tips of the toes.
32:22So,
32:23they are a vestige
32:24of a former life on land.
32:31Basilosaurus weighs in
32:33at a massive 13,900 pounds.
32:37Its change in size
32:39turns it from the hunted
32:40into the hunter.
32:43Now,
32:44the tables are turned
32:45on an old foe.
32:51The shark.
32:52sharing the waters of the Tethys Sea
33:11with Basilosaurus
33:12is a smaller,
33:14more vulnerable whale species.
33:15The Duradon whale
33:19most resembles
33:21a modern dolphin.
33:24It has a powerful vertebral column
33:26and short flipper-shaped forelimbs.
33:31And like the modern dolphin,
33:32it has a tail fluke.
33:35However,
33:35at just 16 feet long,
33:37it's much smaller
33:38than Basilosaurus.
33:44There's even some evidence
33:46that Basilosaurus
33:47preyed on
33:49young,
33:50if not adult,
33:51Duradon.
33:53One theory
33:54is that
33:55to protect themselves
33:56from predators,
33:57Duradon whales
33:58swim in pods.
34:02Only one of these
34:03two species
34:04survives
34:05to become
34:05an ancestor
34:06to the modern whale.
34:09But which will it be?
34:11The small,
34:12hunted Duradon?
34:17Or its massive predator,
34:19Basilosaurus?
34:23Whale evolution
34:23spawns its next
34:24great unexpected twist.
34:33Fossil records
34:34show that
34:3536 million years ago,
34:37the mighty Basilosaurus
34:38dies out.
34:42Researchers want
34:43to find out why.
34:48Gingrich has been
34:49trying to solve
34:49this conundrum
34:50for many years.
34:55He looks for clues
34:57to the mystery
34:57beneath the sands
34:58of the western desert.
35:04Gingrich believes
35:05that Basilosaurus
35:06evolved its eel-like body
35:08to hunt in shallow waters.
35:14Its body shape
35:15is perfect for hunting
35:16in bays like this one.
35:20But is it a victim
35:22of its own adaptation?
35:2335 million years ago,
35:38planet Earth
35:39is changing dramatically.
35:43Oceans continue to cool.
35:47Antarctica has split
35:48from South America
35:49and develops
35:50a permanent ice cap.
35:59Water that once
36:01flowed down into the oceans
36:02remains frozen
36:04at the poles.
36:04This causes a dramatic
36:10drop in global sea levels.
36:14Shallow coastal waters
36:15disappear,
36:17forcing Basilosaurus
36:18to hunt in deeper waters.
36:24Its eel-like body
36:26struggles in this deeper water.
36:27It lacks the power
36:30to dive.
36:36Maybe it's only good
36:37for living in surface water.
36:38Maybe once you
36:39need to dive
36:40to get food,
36:41it wasn't so good anymore.
36:46Short and muscular,
36:48the Duradon
36:48has no such problems.
36:52This is the whale species
36:54left to inherit the Earth.
36:57I would think
36:58that the success
36:59of Duradon
37:00depended on its
37:03conservative body proportions.
37:06It's the one
37:06that succeeded,
37:07ultimately.
37:16Duradon survives,
37:18but the future
37:19of the whale species
37:20is in grave danger.
37:24Later, ancient whales
37:26face what many
37:27consider the most terrifying
37:29predator in history.
37:37A predator so big
37:39that each one
37:40of its teeth
37:41is the size
37:42of a man's hand.
37:43A dramatic twist
37:53in the journey
37:54of the modern whale
37:55takes place
37:5530 million years ago.
38:05In the cooler seas
38:07of the mid-Atlantic,
38:08the ancient whale
38:09whale is 16 feet long
38:10and dwarfed
38:12by a terrifying
38:13new predator.
38:18Monster sharks.
38:23Weighing in
38:24at more than
38:24100,000 pounds
38:26and over 52 feet
38:27in length,
38:28the Megalodon shark's
38:29mouth is so large
38:30a human could stand
38:33upright inside it.
38:37Even whales
38:39aren't safe
38:39from such a fearsome predator.
38:41Megalodon stops dead
38:57in its tracks.
39:00Unwittingly,
39:01ancient whales
39:03have stumbled upon
39:04a surefire way
39:05for their species
39:06to flourish
39:07for millions of years.
39:13To escape,
39:15they head away
39:16from the equator
39:17towards the new
39:18chillier polar seas.
39:23Thanks to their
39:24warm blood,
39:26they can handle
39:26the cold water.
39:30But their predator
39:31can't.
39:35Sharks are cold-blooded.
39:37Their body temperature
39:38is the same
39:39as the waters
39:40in which they live.
39:42In colder water,
39:44their bodies shut down.
39:48Megalodon was tied
39:49to a warmer sea
39:50and didn't survive
39:52this new cold world.
39:56These polar waters
39:57are safe from Megalodon
39:59and rich in food supplies.
40:02But the whales' problems
40:03are far from over.
40:07The ancient whale
40:08must develop
40:08the most sophisticated
40:09marine tools
40:10in the natural world.
40:18Evolution arms
40:20predatory-toothed whales
40:21with a high-tech device
40:22to hunt.
40:25Sonar.
40:31They emit a focused beam
40:34of high-frequency clicks.
40:37The sound bounces off
40:39any object in its path.
40:42The whale decodes
40:42the returning echo
40:43and determines the size,
40:45shape,
40:46and speed of the object.
40:47known as echolocation,
40:55the whale uses this
40:56to pinpoint
40:57and then swoop in
40:59on shoals of fish.
41:03And their bodies
41:04automatically adapt
41:05to hunt
41:06in deeper waters.
41:07whales can control
41:14the flow of blood
41:14to their hearts
41:15and brains.
41:18As a result,
41:19they don't suffer
41:20a lack of oxygen
41:21on deep dives.
41:24This leaves them free
41:25to engage
41:26in typical mammal behavior.
41:28like mating,
41:33socializing,
41:34and showing off.
41:38Especially
41:39the most expressive
41:40members of the whale family,
41:42dolphins.
41:46They're big-brained,
41:47dolphins and porpoises,
41:48big-brained relative
41:49to their body size.
41:51They're very personable
41:52if you ever meet them
41:53face-to-face.
41:54You have a sense
41:55that there's a
41:56sentient being there
41:58that reminds us
42:00of ourselves,
42:01I think.
42:03Today,
42:04there are more than
42:0580 whale species.
42:07The largest
42:08is the blue whale.
42:09It has a heart
42:10the size of a
42:11Volkswagen beetle,
42:13and the tongue
42:13the size and weight
42:14of an African elephant.
42:21Other whales
42:22have evolved
42:23incredible survival skills.
42:25The gray whale
42:30can swim
42:31more than 12,000 miles
42:32in an annual migration.
42:38Orcas can reach speeds
42:39of 34 miles per hour.
42:43And bowhead whales
42:44can live
42:45for over 200 years.
42:49The journey
42:50the whale has made
42:51to get this far
42:52is truly amazing.
42:55from its wolf-like
43:00ancestor
43:01its struggles
43:03between land
43:04and water
43:04before finally
43:08adapting to
43:09the ocean.
43:18It's like the
43:19Rosetta Stone
43:19for evolution.
43:20A lot of textbooks
43:23used the whale
43:24as their example
43:25for evolution
43:26because it's now
43:28so well documented.
43:31I like it
43:32because it's big
43:33and I like it
43:35because it's backwards.
43:35the whale
43:37and I like it
43:50and I like it
43:51because it's
43:52not easy
43:53for the
43:54the right
43:54to be
43:54butına
43:55and
43:55the
43:56and
43:56the
43:57the
43:58the
43:58the
43:58the
43:59the
43:59and
43:59the
43:59the
44:00the
44:00the
44:01the
44:01the
44:02the
44:03the
44:03I'll see you next time.
Recommended
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