Can We Outsmart The Smartest Bird?

[@BizarreBeasts]

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[@Hextraordinary13]

I want the narrator's pendant!

[@BizarreBeasts]

@@Hextraordinary13 It is by Marisa Rand! This is her website: skullery.rocks/

[@Adeith]

"Granpa, what weapons did you use in the great raven wars" "Mostly laser rifles and grape juice"

[@askthebubble28]

💀

[@darthmeowry]

Sooo... you have to train ravens much like you train cats. It's not a punishment, it's a "this is too annoying to bother with".

[@lucretius8050]

I wonder if they will figure out which are fake and get even better at spotting the real tortoises.

[@TheGundamGirl17]

+

[@gabriellesmith7453]

Chances are they won't want to risk it, if you ordered a burger from McDonalds, went for a bite got skunk sprayed, even if it's a one-off you're probably not going there anymore 😂

[@jonathan0225]

​@@gabriellesmith7453honestly decent odds of working.

[@ACuriousTanuki]

​​@@gabriellesmith7453 If that McDonald's was the only food you'd seen all day you might be more keen on adapting vs avoiding. Definitely makes any other options seem more appealing though.

[@MySmileStillStaysOn]

Ravens are so smart. They will definitely start to figure it out. We do have tools that can learn along with the ravens, though - AI can adjust what it does in response to different raven behavior. So we would just need the funding to add AI to this battle :P

[@douglasboyle6544]

I can't be the only one who shouted "GRAPE FLAVORING!" when they brought up methyl anthranilate because of NileRed?

[@ChefChris223]

thank you for this comment thought I was the only one!

[@StonedtotheBones13]

Imma be honest I only thought it was familiar until they said grape and then shouted "bird stop!" 😂

[@jobriq5]

NileGreen

[@FairMiles]

Raven: pecks "tortoise" Techno-tort: sprays grapejuice Raven: "Nevermore"

[@YamiChip]

Have the researchers observed any real tortoises interacting with the fake tortoises? I just wonder how many have come across one and gone "Friend? ...Ahhh grape spitting friend!!"

[@ACuriousTanuki]

Would the grape spray be off-putting to the actual tortoises or make the fakes even more appealing?

[@claraclear5665]

It could also reduce the number of successful matings. I'm excited to see what their results will be

[@bethn2836]

​@@claraclear5665 they're fake juvenile tortoises. So I don't think it would mess with matings encounters.

[@claraclear5665]

@@bethn2836 If they are mating with plastic they aren't using the time and energy to mate with real ones 😅

[@bethn2836]

@@claraclear5665 but they're plastic JUVENILE tortoises, so they wouldn't be trying to make with them, because they don't resemble a sexually mature tortoise.

[@Aaaaaaarrrpirate]

Ravens now think tortoises have evolved grape skunk spray

[@sohopedeco]

A person with a mask carrying a corpse might be one of the scariest things those ravens have ever seen.

[@adamant5381]

Bro think of a giant using a mask carrying a human corpse, he doesn't attack you, just stares at you, i would be traumatized

[@Treeplanter73]

In areas where hunting is allowed, ravens will even take on bald eagles for gut piles. They're a large bold bird.

[@jonathan0225]

They aint unkindness for nothing lol

[@YunxiaoChu]

@@jonathan0225lol

[@victory8928]

They are family animals they stick together and rarely tolerate larger birds that can threaten them doesn’t mean they wouldn’t flee from a hawk or the like though

[@achristiananarchist2509]

When I was a kid I saw a group of crows drive a falcon into the side of a concrete ditch just by harrassing it and flying away over and over again. It broke a wing and we called a rescue out to get it. I always wondered what all that was even about. It's like a bunch of humans going "Hey let's screw with that tiger and see if we can get it to run off a cliff chasing us" and it actually ending with a wile e tiger moment instead of a mauling.

[@Algorithmicgeneratedwordsalad]

I know exactly what that chemical was when I watched Nile Reds video on the grape flavored Apple the other day if it's safe enough for him to eat I'm sure it's safe enough to be sprayed on the birds

[@Caterfree10]

I have never desired a rare version of the monthly pin as much as I have for this month’s pin

[@rkozakand]

Home alone? It seems obvious that a more appropriate comparison would be roadrunner and coyote.

[@BizarreBeasts]

We had such a debate behind the scenes of which reference to go with and that was the other option!

[@kiro9291]

that would imply humans are being foiled constantly though

[@tiffanysandmeier4753]

I am sad to say that my kids are not so familiar with Looney Tunes, so they wouldn't get the Coyote vs. Roadrunner reference. They are, however, familiar with Home Alone.

[@thomashaapalainen4108]

​@kiro9291 I mean one only has to look at the emu war.

[@Tser]

I saw the massive raven flocks and laser dispersal techniques on Extraordinary Birder... as a birder, seeing so many ravens congregating in one place is mind boggling! We've certainly made the habitats ideal for them. I love the fake tortoises that startle them to train them to stay away. Ravens are so smart, it seems like an excellent strategy. I live in Oregon so another battle is being waged here -- the range expansion of barred owls, helped by humans modifying habitat, and putting the spotted owls, suffering from the same habitat modifications, at further risk through interbreeding and out-competing. Unfortunately, culling may be the only option when it comes to barred owls.

[@KxNOxUTA]

Glad they're fighting for the lives of tortoises while not killing offs ravens but rather making them uncomfortable enough to eat sth. else or migrate to places where food is less of a problem, all while regulating the population back to more "normal"..... after messing up the habitat

[@kellyroper5256]

Next logical step in tortoise raven warfare is obviously laser armed tortoises. Laser tortoise tank, god I love the future.

[@torreywhiting5402]

Next evolution of this is Sheer Heart Attack from Jojo

[@danielrockett4434]

I saw both these guys in the Mojave Desert in the mid 2010s. I saw only two Desert Tortoises, (both beautiful) but I saw dozens of the massive desert ravens. Me and the other soldiers called them "Crowdactyles" and they's straight up eat our MRE's.

[@Rararawr]

How long until they learn and share that lasers mean food? Would certainly make open air raves in the region more fun

[@evolancer211]

Ravens are smart, they'll figure out that the tortoise is not real after awhile lol

[@kultur-vultur]

Not the ones that get blinded by a laser tho.

[@tiffanysandmeier4753]

The laser was protecting facilities, not the tortoises. Also, the laser is not blinding the ravens. I believe it is of a safe frequency. Not all lasers are the same.

[@turkeytrac1]

Raven, racoons, coyotes all animals that have followed people and seemingly prospered. Great vid.

[@hughmongus6191]

Patrolling the Mojave makes you wish for a nuclear winner.

[@DeathsGarden-oz9gg]

Me and the ravens and crows have an agreement on my garden. You eat fresh not ready or ready fruits or vegetables you lose the bird bath and bird feeder. There only allowed to pick bugs off and only eat the food that has ben eaten or infested with bugs. Oh ya any fruits above 20 feet there allowed to have regardless of bugs. Ps i never topped my trees so the smallest one is 43 feet tall. I do climb my trees up to 20 feet so the birds learned to deal with me and moved up to the lowest branch there ok with me getting up to is like 27 feet up. Yes i will have baby birds moms and dad birds at a minimum of 7 feet above my head.

[@Dokushin1989]

I worry they’ll just learn to avoid turtles that aren’t moving…

[@dragonharris5465]

Maybe the fake tortoises could be rigged with wheels or legs to “walk” occasionally!

[@Dokushin1989]

@@dragonharris5465 that would be good!

[@sp00n]

There are already "drones" for documentary shows that look and (somewhat) move like the original animals, to get shots that wouldn't be possible otherwise. A slowly moving mechanical tortoise shouldn't be too hard to engineer.

[@Dokushin1989]

@@sp00n true but those are expensive I think, usually deployed individually whereas these are deployed en masse. But yeah the tech exists.

[@DasAntiNaziBroetchen]

@@sp00n Those tortoises had a gas canister buried under them. This makes this much harder.

[@brendanhoffmann8402]

Growing up I often thought of the ravens as powerful spirit animals. I still love to leave out food for them. My cats sit there chattering away.

[@archionblu]

I'm sure it's been an idea that's been suggested before, but I would love it if bizarre beasts could switch to to the scishow pin-of-the-month style format! i.e. Where you can preorder throughout the month (I'm personally happy with the random colorway staying!), but you can pick month-to-month what to get rather than committing to a continuing subscription. The art style and my interest in the various animals just varies too much for me to be able to justify blind buying.

[@AyameFyuu]

I love this pin! Also Raven's really are smart so getting them to just associate tortoise with being sprayed at should discourage them. I can't wait for this pin, this is an interesting case of Native invasive. Where a native species invades ecosystem they wouldn't naturally invade so trying to discourage them to leave is definitely interesting method of combating. Especially since it kinda human fault that they even came to these ecosystem.

[@hunterG60k]

I'm sorry if someone else has already said this but....These scientists are literally going to be selecting for the smartest birds and thinking they're getting rid of them? How could this possibly go wrong? lol They'll learn to ignore the laser at some point, they're smarter than 7 year olds!

[@whiterabbit47]

Literally didn't know there were ravens down here, I really need to go outside more often LOL

[@NewMessage]

But if they finally get together to take us down, man... We're in trouble!

[@marvinsandmann9441]

I know this is my first comment and it seems I'm only joined your members recently but I'm using most of the time my PC to watch KZbin and I'm not logged in. I really love your videos and you still manage to astound me despite my vast knowledge as a taxidermist and animal freak. And I want to submit one little idea for a video: The really bizarre bests known as velvet worms, the onchychophora. These little creatures are beautiful and weird and have some incredible abilities which I won't spoil here. They're so cool they deserve their own video and - most importantly - their own pin.

[@karenscigliano9787]

We live here in the Mojave and food habits aside, I've witnessed their extensive conversations they have with their mate, with hawks and one injured female that hung around all day close by the house-- and even closer once she knew there was going to be food when she saw me-- or even heard my voice. Once she healed I didn't see her without her mate for a while. But she would still stop briefly--to "chat"😅 or swing back for a quick hello--or her version of an acknowledgement of me. Watch out if they don 't like you, though......... So, long story even longer, the raven is smarter 😢than most people these days and will figure this scheme out😂

[@chrisprescott2273]

Awesome video. I used to live 8n Las Vegas and my neighbors had a tortoise dig under their fence into their yard and stayed there for 16 years until one day it dug a new fence hole and was gone.

[@charlesdye8367]

I do believe that they will soon develop their own carbonated water. Grape flavored.

[@paurushbhatnagar8100]

Waiting until ravens call this bluff

[@alexroselle]

For anyone interested in this subject, I highly recommend the book “Fuzz” by Mary Roach. She included a few chapters on how humans have tried to alter bird behavior (with mixed results)

[@askthebubble28]

Why did the ravens go away, dad? “We sprayed ‘‘em with grape juice

[@capybaraswacreatures1428]

Raven during the bizarre beasts pin reveal: Food Desert Tortoise: n0-

[@Coral_skies]

I love everything about this story so much. It's so much funnier than it should be hahaha

[@Alice_Walker]

I love corvids, it's cool to see such creative ways of managing them

[@chelseawhite7117]

I love that one of the main methods basically comes down to the spray bottle technique

[@takenname8053]

Crows fear the purple flavor

[@liriodendronlasianthus]

Grimace Shake Challenge

[@jimmygarza8896]

Ravens don't pay taxes. Humans do. I think we know who's really smarter. ;)

[@juliabuzzbezio3989]

I really liked this one! and the pin design is so cool!

[@amiekp]

Good information to know, woah. I had no idea. Thank you for the video

[@jim4859]

I hope you follow up on this. I'll bet on the ravens.

[@ntm4]

"Will I ever feast again, upon the tortoise I adore?" Quoth the Human: "Nevermore."

[@limalicious]

It's like the suggestion to put painted rocks in your strawberries beds before the plants fruit.

[@ericarichardson2983]

Jackson Galaxy always says for every “no” you have to provide two “yes”

[@franciscorosa1498]

Ravens are too smart, they'll take over

[@cuddlepaws4423]

Terminator Tortoise. " I want your shell, your lettuce, and your motorcycle. Give them to me ".

[@othergeorgea]

but how will we deal with the deathclaws

[@kiro9291]

this video would read like a children's book in the funnest way possible

[@ThatJaymsWisdom]

STILL the best series on the internet.

[@Youtube221B]

I imagine bird laser is something you'll see in a remake of The Birds.

[@huldu]

I'm very skeptical, we have ravens up here in the north and like they say they're quite smart. It's an interesting approach to the problem but in the end I get the feeling we'll be culling them to extinction(in the vulnerable areas) sooner or later since that is proven to work. If anything we humans are very good at creating lethal traps.

[@justaregularguy115]

Yeah, but if we can find efficient ways to control animal populations without killing, then that is a laudable aspiration (especially since us humans are causing the majority of these wildlife imbalances).

[@starberst79]

Could we get a video about the Sabe? I find it fitting as you've designed a hankfoot pin.

[@daqq]

Ravens are going to steal a laser pointer and scare the other ravens off... and the raven quoth, "friggin' lasers." 😂

[@Bekindallways]

Here in Fairbanks Alaska they've started stealing groceries from ppls carts while they're loading up their vehicles. They'll work in groups and try to distract the human while another snags meat steaks out of the cart. They also kick snow on ppl from the roof when they come and go in and out of the store, and then... they all laugh at us! No joke. Jerks I love them.

[@atheryne]

I love the bandana but I can't find it in the store. Is it sold out already?

[@BizarreBeasts]

It should be back up now! We were having some website issues at first! store.dftba.com/collections/bizarrebeasts/products/raven-and-desert-tortoise-bandana

[@Wingedshadowwolf]

At work, we run a small landfill. In winter we mostly have ravens and in summer the seagulls return and chase away the ravens. Unfortunately they do the same thing as the ravens; dig up trash and poo on the landfill vehicles! 🤦‍♀

[@ghostcat5303]

It seems harsh to deny them the baby tortoises *and* the trash dump

[@mecahhannah]

❤ Awesome as always thanks

[@mellissadalby1402]

Hankfoot! Now there is a concept I can embrace.

[@AlbertWolfe-p9v]

bro i leave walnuts out for them but they seem to prefer a flat burrito on the road someone ran over

[@nolaprevost8912]

Ok the Techno-Tort looks like something Mark Rober would come up with and I kinda want to see that collab video

[@bp5257]

A Raven walks into the a saloon and asks the bartender "Hey, got any grapes?" And the bartender says "No! This is a bar!, we don't sell grapes here!" So the raven says "Great!" and eats a tortoise.

[@lorenzo8495]

haha, that's really cool! Save the Desert Tortoise! 🌵🐢 ❤

[@amiekp]

Seems all like a bit of a wild raven chase...

[@TheGolden_A]

Nice all sources listed!

[@askthebubble28]

Honestly the raven is the bizzare beast in this story

[@DragoniteSpam]

missed a golden opportunity to call this "conservation through irritation"

[@clandeszipp4564]

She's so brave!

[@childofpluto3994]

Humans are hilarious, paying taxes for ravens to learn to differentiate between fake and real, good job !

[@kidmohair8151]

in answer to the thumbnail question. no. ravens aren't collectively destroying their only home. and they've *not* been doing that for f.a.r. longer than we've been at that task.

[@annvaughan4091]

Loving bizarre beasts, I live in England I wish there was a way to get your merchandise.

[@leongliyang6946]

Raven: mmmhhhh... yummy !!!, fresh baked cookies, let's fly down and grab some cookie 🍪🍪🍪 *Scientists make another type of cookie* Raven: woah , this tough cookie smell's like raisin. Wait !, a raisin cookie ? cool

[@bobs2809]

I would bet they will figure out how to tell the difference.

[@spencerevans8719]

I’m thinking the ravens will figure this out.

[@leviholt4557]

Is the bandana not dropped yet? I'd LOVE to get one

[@BizarreBeasts]

Yes! It is up! store.dftba.com/collections/bizarrebeasts/products/raven-and-desert-tortoise-bandana

[@Dornul]

I'm pretty sure some of the ravens in this video are crows

[@kultur-vultur]

You know come to think of it, I am not usually worried about lasers hurting my arm its the eyes. 👁🎯

[@TragoudistrosMPH]

This seems nicely ethical

[@Catastropheshe]

Imagine momma raven telling nesttime story to chicks about how tortoises are bad and should avoid them or you get grapes farted 😂😂😂

[@Roughling]

THEY SEE LASERS AS A SOLID OBJECT? DO YOU KNOW HOW FAST YOUR EYES HAVE TO BE TO SEE LASERS AS A SOLID OBJECT?!

[@marcustulliuscicero5443]

Mammal eyes are objectively terrible

[@YunxiaoChu]

Won’t the ravens just learn to identify fake tortoises

[@greentoad-g8k]

Poor tortoises😢

[@sainjawoof3506]

Corvids and chelonians 🐦‍⬛🐢❤️

[@nickrider5220]

Wherever we go we change the environment, only the most adaptable species that can live along side us can do well.

[@CalanReichel]

I don't doubt anyone who thinks a raven is smarter than themselves. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@lutilda]

If the mask-threat research is the study done at University of Washington: they actually extended the trail by having someone wear the mask about a decade later (past most of the birds' lifespan) and they still attacked! Which is evidence towards language among the birds!

[@MandieKearns-Moore]

Hey, I live in the Mojave Desert. Victorville to be precise

[@CephalopodaCentral14]

The new title is kinda over exaggerated because the title of the “smartest bird” was giving to the Kea. So smart that they can vandalize and destroy cars.

[@YunxiaoChu]

The lasers seem great though

[@nazzkid23]

omggggg the albino pin 🤩

[@King_Kristof]

NileRed just used that on some apples, then ate it. Yum.

[@michaeladams5332]

Smart and compassionate

[@Nevermore101]

Raven proxy wars! It's almost like we've developed a defense mechanism for the tortoises. It's only a matter of time before the tortoises use their superior numbers to take up arms against the ravens. I hope we will be able to live with ourselves, once the raven enslavement beings and the tortoise empire rises.

[@FrankBoston]

I was drinking a grape sports drink while watching, but it doesn't have that methyl whatever stuff in it. I'm a grape freak Love me some turtles too.

[@Hootymchootsifer]

Im all too familiar with using a laser rifle to ward off highly intelligent creatures in the Mohave ☢️☢️

[@coreysimmons4519]

they just need to attach little green laser disco ball things to each tortoise, problem solved

[@pattheplanter]

Same problem with ravens eating Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoises in Morocco.