Where Scientists Keep the World's Most Endangered Animals

[@ElusiveLion741]

This is why the statement all zoos = bad is so damaging. Without these zoos and conservation centers holding these animals in captivity, these animals would no longer exist at all. It is important to understand that not all zoos are bad. Some are worse than others yes, but the good ones do hold an important role in conservation.

[@RoraxPlays]

It doesn't help that zoos for conservation are (relatively) young and the statement "all zoos are bad" is old. It's one of those things handed down that never gets scrutiny

[@brandonhiraeth4537]

@@RoraxPlays Zoos for conservation have been around longer than you've been alive. They are far from a new concept.

[@sarenbinkerd4162]

There's a pretty commonly kept fish in the aquarium hobby, the white cloud mountain minnow, that is extinct in the wild. But they're surprisingly easy to breed in captivity. I myself even have the fish! I get this bittersweet feeling whenever I watch them. So common you can buy them at any Petstore, but gone in their natural environment. I'm glad people liked them enough to keep them though!

[@feuerling]

Same with axolotls

[@seasorablue]

omg i also have white clouds! They're my favourite fish. i didn't know they were extinct in the wild though.... :( I'm going to upgrade their tank after learning that.

[@anyascelticcreations]

I've had them too. Peaceful little guys if I remember correctly.

[@Chaotic_Pixie]

You see it at fisheries. Farm raised while their wild cousins dwindle in population because countries prefer to bicker over economics rather than understand that none of that matters if we let the earth and its species continue to die.

[@stefanostokatlidis4861]

I am sure that somebody will introduce them somewhere non-native sooner or later. They are reputed to be very hardy fish.

[@1st1anarkissed]

I can't stop marvelling at how many bald eagles and great blue herons just casually hang out all around me here. The city rewilded a creek and they love it. These birds were nearly lost in my childhood. Their success is a human success story too.

[@anyascelticcreations]

@@1st1anarkissed My childhood, too. Now my parents see bald eagles almost every time they go for a drive.

[@Darkflowerchyld718]

I just moved to South Florida and am completely blown away by the Great Blue Herons and Bald Eagles. To go from a big city where the only wildlife we had was pigeons and rodents (no hate, I love my city critters too!) to having a bird as tall as I am just standing in my backyard is incredible.

[@juliamays6203]

Ditto alligators

[@blessedbeauty2293]

- This makes me so happy to hear. 🥹

[@pollyb.4648]

Southern Michigan: Me too! Almost every day

[@lynnefrost7836]

I love hearing success stories because it means that there is hope, that taking action can reverse the damage done to ecosystems

[@DragoniteSpam]

It can also be really interesting hearing how creative people get solving these problems, too.

[@zogar8526]

Sadly, human nature makes it so hard to do these things. We tend to focus mostly on the negative outcomes. Those are what we remember the most. Largely forgetting the positive ones. That is why so many people think weathermen are wrong so often. The reality is the weather is like 95% accurate. But we never think of all the days things go as predicated. While on the rare occasion it is wrong, it sticks out. Same thing with many of these conservation efforts. So lots of people end up against them thinking only bad things can happen. It is sad.

[@Backinblackbunny009]

There's pretty much no problem around today that we can't fix with modern technology. The only problem stopping us is the greed of the elite (john green's bugbear Tuberculosis is a great example of this)

[@Jasonwolf1495]

Are we just gonna gloss over the one random neighbor who showed up to help hold the fire back? I wanna send them a fruit basket

[@somerandomguynumber111]

That's movie material right there. I'm sure the worker and the neighbor became close friends after that.

[@GuyNamedSean]

That neighbor is the kind of person I think we all wish we were. If I'm ever in that situation, I hope I have the courage to be a helper.

[@goldendoqqs7685]

I'm sure that they were properly celebrated for helping save a population of local endangered birds. Communities are very close-knit and people tend to also be passionate about the land and coming together to protect and nurture it

[@AroundTheBlockAgain]

"Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping."

[@JDaimon]

It was me

[@noahberan6498]

I'm glad you mentioned the 'akikiki. The Hawaiian honey creepers are among my favorite animals in the world, and they need all the help and attention they can get

[@jackvos8047]

Tasmanian devils are developing a genetic resistance to the facial tumours. Researchers were amazed it only took around 6 generations to develop the resistance as it's unusual for it to happen that fast in mammals. Some of the breeding programs are looking to increase this resistance.

[@derekstein6193]

Too bad they are such angy little rascals, I would like to safely pet one some day.

[@smalltime0]

@@derekstein6193 According to the researchers it's a myth that they eat people alive, despite it being widely believed and recorded. They just happily eat already dead bodies.

[@metal_pipe9764]

​@@derekstein6193 too bad

[@wnkbp4897]

​@@derekstein6193Yes, they look sooo lovely and cuddly, don't they? 😍 Ouch! 🤕💀

[@markgarin6355]

Still dealing with trichinosis though I assume.

[@Conus426]

This has gotta be one of my favourite scishow videos for a while, wild plants and animals are just so interesting to me

[@katherinevallo2326]

When I was a child I hated zoos believing the animals were put in prison. Now that I am older I understand that sometimes we need to take an animal that is endangered animal and place them in a zoo because this is the only way to keep them from going completely instinct.

[@boxsterman77]

They also have a great value in keeping people involved and invested in the continuation of animals in the wild. That said, there are good ways to run zoos and horrid ways to run them. Personally, I’ve never visited an excellent zoo. I think that is mostly theoretical. But on the whole, they are a net plus. I only worry that people will become less motivated to save endangered species if they think that some zoo is going to safeguard against ultimate instruction.

[@justaman9564]

Zoos ain’t zoos, like oils ain’t oils. Some are good some are terrible. Conservation reserves/parks are better as they are kept alive solely for the sake of the animal, not also for our entertainment. Sure I get that they get more exposure and hence more funding, there are better ways to do it than flipping a coin with a zoos shady practices or not

[@JeffrotheDude]

@@boxsterman77 good rule of thumb is for profit = bad, non-profit are typically animals first. like the san diego zoo and its sister zoo, the safari park, which both have some of the animals on this list like tasmanian devils!

[@rosezy755]

I feel like I'm pretty privileged to live near the Smithsonian zoo, they seem to take conservation seriously there and I've been able to see many rare animals such as the oryx and dama gazelle

[@Chaotic_Pixie]

@@justaman9564agreed. If a traditional zoo or aquarium exists, it should exist to educate the public, raise awareness, & participate in conservation. Conservation can look like so many things. It can be rehabilitation & release of injured wildlife, it can be raising money through events & ticket sales to fund conservation projects (which are expensive) & research (which is always underfunded), and it can be housing an endangered population & participating in breeding efforts. And I want to say that I do like to separate traditional zoo/aquarium set ups from rescue facilities or displayed private collections. Though many will participate in conservation when possible… most serve to provide sanctuary to rescued animals and/or educate the public while raising awareness of various issues impacting the animals. They’ll often call themselves zoos when they really aren’t a zoo in the traditional sense. I’m a big fan of Snake Discovery and they call their location a zoo sometimes or simply “the facility” but it really isn’t a zoo. The story all really started with rescuing an alligator out of miserable living conditions & realizing lots of people get in over their head with exotics. So now, they educate about native species & leaving wild animals in the wild as well as about species that make good pets and that don’t… how to care for them… and how to help their wild counterparts. In the same vein, I think of the petting zoo a friend of a friend operates that’s mostly rescued farm animals. She only charges enough to offset the cost of care… but she teaches about the animals AND their wild counterparts. It’s a great experience. Her farm gets called a zoo… but it’s more of a selective rescue.

[@lovelossgain]

Thank you for making this. As a zookeeper, I appreciate the look into the role of zoos in conservation. While I don’t work with them, my zoo actually has some Panamanian golden frogs and we’re partnered with some colleges to breed and release the critically endangered poweshiek skipperling butterfly that’s native to Michigan. Additionally, I personally work with a pair of critically endangered bali mynahs. It can be rough when something like tiger king is culturally popular because it can cast doubt on zoos as a whole. Sure there are some facilities that are better or worse than others, but by and large us keepers are conservationists and chose to work in zoos because we recognize the importance of connecting society with animals both exotic and in our back yards. Again thank you for sharing the conservation work that zoos can play a part of!

[@gretchenwetzel7313]

You could do a whole episode about the Hawaii bird conservation program facilities and the many species they hold and work on habitat projects for. For instance they don’t breed nene anymore because the population also rebounded thanks to their efforts. I bet an inside scoop video would be fun and possible….

[@trog7986]

I could imagine the bird brains being very excited for the opportunity to talk about their work. You don't become a biologist for the money!

[@ArmchairDeity]

That would be awesome! I love birds and seeing the Hawaiian bird conservation efforts would be amazing!

[@GenaTrius]

It's wild to think the descendants of golden lion tamarins I saw at my local zoo as a kid might be running around out there in the real rainforest right now.

[@jessicahay9305]

The pet trade is keeping cotton top tamerins from going extinct. They're such handsome babies. I'm so glad they won't disappear even though their environment is nearly gone.

[@metal_pipe9764]

Or dead

[@Delekhan]

Mentioning Hawaii's declining birds reminds me of my trip to Guam last winter. I worked in the jungle all day and didn't realize there were no birds singing. Similar situation. Stupid humans introducing the brown tree snake and other predators. When I left and arrived in Japan I heard birds and saw that I hadn't heard any for three months. Thanks for the awesome video SciShow! Love all of ya! All you behind the camera who help make the magic too!

[@anml1969]

The problem with the birds in Guam is due to heart disease; caused by eating too much SPAM.

[@sebastiann.8088]

​@@anml1969I always knew ham in a can was evil

[@Jessica-de2gh]

There is nothing more surreal than driving through the texas desert at night and having your headlights illuminate an African animal taller than your vehicle.

[@IrisGlowingBlue]

I didn't expect to cry about Panamanian golden frogs today but Here We Are

[@rosieposie1760]

Ok Hank, what *IS* the difference between a frog and a toad? You said the Panamanian frog is actually a toad. I was under the impression (I'm pretty sure from some other complexly video) that there is no taxonomical difference.

[@seatbelttruck]

Phylogenetically, toads are a subset of frogs. So it's correct to say that the golden toad is a toad, but not that it isn't a frog.

[@obiwahndagobah9543]

@@seatbelttruck More specifically there is the family of true toads, Bufonidae, to which the panamanian golden frog belongs. That said, there are also multiple other frogs that look toad-like and therefore are called also toads colloquially.

[@YunxiaoChu]

Hmmmmmm

[@rylandvincent6787]

Toads are just land frogs! Thicker skin helps retain moisture. ❤

[@antonenero]

Frogs have smooth, moist skin and long, stripy legs and are likely to be found in damp habitats in the garden. Toads have warty skin, golden eyes and prefer to crawl rather than hop; if threatened a toad can puff itself up to appear bigger. Toads can tolerate drier habitats than frogs and spend less time in water. (Just googled it)😊💡

[@susangrande8142]

I live in Omaha NE, and our zoo used to (maybe still does?) have a population of golden lion tamarins. I always thought they were wonderful little critters! Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo is one of the best zoos in the world.

[@bethannyallain5395]

Wonderful news for conservation and zoos. Thanks Hank.😊

[@michealwestfall8544]

Um, excuse me, but I'm pretty sure scischow even said all toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads.

[@jamesw3746]

Right? I couldn't believe he said that

[@jasperzzzzzzzzz]

nvm i need to go to bed lmfao,,

[@albertnonymous1886]

It's like saying "he's not American, he's from Montana"

[@Echo_the_half_glitch]

No, it's more like the square rectangle thing.

[@mikamekaze]

As a patron of the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, I've been following the breeding and reintroduction efforts of Guam Kingfishers. Love learning about similar efforts elsewhere!

[@pigeonlizard]

This video has given me a dose of much needed hope

[@covertcharisma]

I used to work in Visitor Services at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore and love telling people about the Panamanian Golden Frogs!!!

[@competitionglen]

Werribee Open Range Zoo, near where i live, Melbourne, Australia has scimitar horned oryx, adax, white rhino and other endangered species. Conservation is the key. The Healesville Sanctuary has Australian native animals. Melbourne Zoological Gardens has the rest. Zoos Victoria manages all these amazing venues committed to providing safe environments for all critters.

[@mehere8038]

Taronga is the only zoo that gives the animals views of the Harbour though, so Sydney wins :P

[@allangibson8494]

@@mehere8038And Taronga rotates its animals to the Western Plains Zoo…

[@roberthiltz2741]

There might be some haters out there about saving extinct or endangered animals but open your mind and listen to the stories of the people who have devoted their lives to the protection and understanding humans’ influence on ecological health and consider supporting their endeavors- we can heal some of the wounds caused by our ancestors and restore the grace of beautiful creatures at the same time. Peace

[@zogar8526]

What gets me the most is that protecting species we've cause to go extinct or become endangered, as well as the environment in general, is good for us too. Like even ignoring all the good things for the animals and all that, it makes our lives better and safer. It makes sure we can keep going. Like it is in our self interest to do it. Yet that is more long term. And sadly, humans suck at long term thinking. Short term benefits outweigh long term gains in our eyes most of the time. No matter how unbalanced they may be.

[@roberthiltz2741]

Couldn’t agree more my friend. Besides the benefits of learning more about this beautiful world and possibly gleaning new vaccines and genetic information, the genuine concern I see on my daughter’s face when she learns that an animal is on the brink of extinction shows me that empathy and consideration exists in the youngest of us. I think we as a race are at least teaching the next generation better than our ancestors did

[@blessedbeauty2293]

- Please *make more videos like this !!* 🙏🏽

[@troyhunter5319]

Thanks Hank, thanks to SciShow and all the conservation efforts worldwide!

[@rougnashi]

The nene has such beautiful neck ruffles; what a pretty animal to have as your state bird. I hope their mosquito program goes well, too. Hawaii natives need a win.

[@jeanneferguson7124]

This is very positive news and gives hope for other species. I love watching and learning from you!!

[@prototropo]

I'm so heartened to learn of zoos around the world collaborating for the sake of so many species. The future glimmers!

[@CWorgen5732]

My city- no, my NEIGHBORHOOD now has BEAVERS AND BALD EAGLES. This was unheard of back in the 90s. This isn't even the outside edges, there are expensive houses and a kids' playground 100 ft away.

[@StenoBros]

I remember when the Toronto Zoo had Panamanian golden frogs for breeding to help save them.

[@GiddyThis]

🎵Bow-wo-wow. Guess who's back, back again, Golden Frog. Tell a friend.

[@Caroline1775]

Y’all should cover Zealandia in Aotearoa NZ! South Island Takahē!!! An amazing story of once thought extinct, only recently re- discovered

[@zolacnomiko]

Saw ‘akikiki on the thumbnail, had to click!! JSYK Hank, the "i" in ‘akikiki is the vowel sound in "key", not in "kick".

[@enbybus3840]

I want a movie about that worker and the neighbour fighting the fire to protect the endangered species

[@savagegardenrox]

8:53, genuinely tearing up at the image of two people risking their own lives to protect that conservation facility.

[@FatFrankie42]

Same. It's reassuring to know that not all human beings are gawdawful.

[@chemistrydragon5641]

Here too! 😢

[@Kiradesu415]

As someone who played zoo tycoon their entire life hearing the Oryx story warms my heart since I used to always use them in my zoos since they are labeled as critically endagred and I want their numbers to increase so hearing their comeback just fuels my fire more, I hope the same goes for the Addax as well since it's also a ZT2 animal!!!

[@gatorbait9385]

1:08 I thought toads are frogs, just like tortoises are turtles, and skinks are lizards. Am I wrong?

[@GustavSvard]

6. The Visent aka the European Bison. Went extinct in the wild in 1927. From a breeding population in zoos of just 12, there's now over 7500 alive today with most in a forest on the border of Poland and Belarus. There's even some in the Chernobyl Exclusion zone.

[@MissPersephoneParker]

So all toads are frogs. But not all frogs are toads (for those wondering). Sounds like those who asked the question might be interested in the youtube channel Clint's Reptiles 😁

[@shadebug]

“Pray for the Devil” would be a good album name for a metal band

[@viridiantheforest1037]

My local zoo was involved in a program to breed cloned black footed ferrets to be released in the wild. They are a an endangered species native to Kansas and the zoo had been openly anticipating the release for couple years. Not if the farmers had anything to say about it.

[@antonenero]

Thx to 2 brave souls they don't leave the conservation center until the fire fighter come to stop the fire . and all the Birds safe thank you... that's the good story to features in film ❤❤❤❤

[@pauls5745]

I wonder how many animals were wiped out after some catastrophe because they only lived on 1 chain of islands.

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

So like the opposite of what happened to mammoths? Interesting thought, it was probably a terrifyingly large number of species that it happened to.

[@jaylewis9876]

@@goosenotmaverick1156the last mamoths were on a tiny island so it must be a common final spot

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

@@jaylewis9876 that's kind of what I was thinking. The mammoths thing really blew my mind!

[@paperip1996]

What boggles my mind is to really consider what a miniscule snapshot we have of the history of life. We've identified an estimated 300,000 extinct species from fossils spanning the last billion years. Even if we make the generous assumption that we're living in the most biodiverse period of earth's history, there's still almost certainly tens of millions of species that didn't leave any trace behind for us to find.

[@Nick-Lab]

Almost every species endemic to an island since animals and plants move to land.

[@mackenziearcher7785]

Loving learning more about endangered animals. Thank you for all the interesting content. ❤

[@mackenziearcher7785]

Your curls are curling today, Hank 😍

[@jasonashcroft6388]

People don't understand that hunters... Especially in the United States care about the safe sustainable populations and monitor it closely. Texas started out with like 28 scimitar horned oryx and now estimates are over 10,000. It's funny how these greatly outpace all other conservation efforts. Conservationists sometimes are detrimental to the animals they are trying to protect... For example where I grew up in new Mexico there was a bison herd at an old military facility... As the bison herd grew they decided they needed to keep the population in check so they didn't overpopulate the area and over graze it leading to full herd loss during severe winters from starvation... They were going to allow hunting (which also would add income for maintenance of the herd) but conservationists got wind... Caught it and the state ended up auctioning off the herd many going to slaughter houses for burgers, and others to ranchers.... But now there is no free roaming herd in New Mexico (one of the states that did have populations of them historically.

[@QueenKitty08]

Why did the state auction the animals off? They thought paying for them was worthless? Could they have maybe left them alone to free roam?

[@Thinkin_inkan]

⁠@@QueenKitty08I believe you cannot release a captive animal into the wild.

[@MoonThuli]

You should do a video on the science and ethics behind de-extinction projects. Off the top of my head I know there's currently companies that are actively trying to revive the Australian thylacine and the wooly mammoth using back breeding from surviving related species and surviving DNA from dead specimens.

[@IrinaGreenman]

Also the elephant bird, the moa, and the dodo!

[@mehere8038]

gastric brooding frog is actually further along

[@AnomalousURL]

And yall vote for politicians that support those corporations instead of voting for ones that can actually help society.

[@boxsterman77]

@@MoonThuli I’m conflicted about this. If we just think we can clean up after our mistakes, will there be as much of an earnest effort to keep threatened species extant.

[@mehere8038]

@@boxsterman77 it's not the same people involved. Those reviving are never the same as those who sent extinct, so it has no impact on the latter's attitudes

[@erikesparza685]

Hank, you are the next Bill Nye.

[@loquaciousky]

The video itself is fascinating, but I am also ENTHRALLED by that Sacoglossan slug shirt. The BB store only has that print as a scarf; is the shirt available anywhere?

[@film9491]

1:08 I thought all toads are frogs?

[@JoshWitte]

Toads is toads

[@tams1417]

They are

[@redhotmoon1656]

I can't believe the Panamanian frog is so endangered.. when i lived there in the early 80s, they were all over the place in the right elevations. 😢

[@VincentCastaneda96]

Best science show on YT sorry Neil 😝

[@derekstein6193]

7:38 This little birb looks pretty Kawaii to me.

[@feuerling]

Toads are frogs though, tortoises are turtles, and dolphins are whales.

[@Lutefisk445]

But are frogs toads, turtles tortoises, and dolphins whales?

[@ajmijangos925]

Is a facsimile it’s archetype

[@loganmanweiler4957]

No being the same family is not the same as the same species homie 😂

[@boxsterman77]

No. Frogs have thinner skin able to absorb water Nd oxygen. Toads lay their eggs in long strings on leaves of water plants. Frogs lay them in an unorderly blob in the water. Frogs are athletic and quick. Toads, with far less impressive hind quarters, are not built for incredible leaps, but basic movement, typically on land. Frogs live in or near bodies of water, toads have championed a. variety of environments like near ponds (like frogs), in forests and even arid areas. There is a difference. I’m not going to go through the other differences you so ignorantly dismiss. But they are there. It’s so easy to research before you spout out.

[@placeboobshere5458]

​@loganmanweiler4957 so you think you're not a mammal just because you are human?

[@RokkTheRock]

1:10 toads are frogs tho so its still a frog ): you cant say somethings a square actually and not a rectangle when all squares are rectangles

[@maxluken1909]

Theres a place outside Columbus, Ohio that does conservation breeding. They have Scimitar Horned Orex's there, along with a lot of other really cool animals They had some stories about locals where they've been reintroduced... dealing with poachers in their own special ways

[@Lexthetician]

Wholesome af ❤

[@LogicalThinking-p2s]

Maybe one of Jumba's experiments are harming bird populations

[@QScoobie]

That would be Experiment 967

[@paulgaras2606]

I’ve been saying we need a bunch of connected forest corridors in the US. An interstate forest system.

[@Nonshannonical]

My local zoo has a herd of scimitar horned oryxes which is were I first learned about them and how they were extinct in the wild. The zoo also has some Mexican gray wolves that are used in repopulation and conservation efforts too!

[@spacebadger21]

Hank saying akikika sounds like he's a malfunctioning robot

[@theguildofthetranquilpine5360]

I keep millipedes that I collect from places I worry about being developed. It’s EVERYONES JOB TO ENSURE NATIVE SPECIES SURVIVE

[@boxsterman77]

Well. I leave the millipede saving to you if you don’t mind. God bless ya.

[@641mamaluigi]

5:13 also what dosent help T-Devils conservation is that they have 30 babies but only raise 4

[@autumnarcher]

This video makes me feel less hopeless about the future - we CAN do something.

[@katyngah-ere4942]

I always associate …”swept back mane that Fabio would be jealous of… as that of a Golden Lion Tamarin as that’s what I’ve always heard especially when visiting a zoo

[@anyascelticcreations]

Leave it to Texas ranchers to know how to get their animal populations to grow. There's a lot of money in healthy animals - dead or alive.

[@ashantihenry1110]

Wildly ironic. Uncomfortably hopeful.

[@anyascelticcreations]

@@ashantihenry1110 Yeah. That's kind of how I feel, too.

[@AirwrekaDoesntRead]

I’m surprised you didn’t add the P. Horse or the California Condor

[@nariu7times328]

facinating episode

[@accordiongordon]

All toads are frogs, FYI

[@thegameres816]

Such a wonderful wholesome video ❤

[@ihcfn]

Fantastic work!

[@guy8646]

Aren’t toads a type of frog?

[@cggc9510]

Thanks for mentioning Tasmana and our devils. They are fun little critters. One thing though, Maria is pronounced Ma-rye-a island. They are also on the peninsula. Those devils are free from disease naturally. A tiny strip of land connects the penninsula to the main island and devils don't cross because of the car traffic. Hank if you are ever in Australia, come visit Tassie. No drop bears on the island and you won't grow a second head. 😂

[@matthewlewis4981]

Hunters are some of the biggest proponents of wildlife conservation. Help the land and animals thrive and you can benefit as well. I pay $2k a year to hunt on private land. There are 6 total people allowed to hunt the property. We work year round to care for and protect the exotic wildlife and hunt them in a way that keeps the herds strong and healthy both for profit and out of respect for the land and wildlife.

[@Thinkin_inkan]

People really do not know! Private owners have saved other species before. They have healthy herds with healthy, reasonable harvest to keep them that way. These private owners are critical to keeping genetically diverse assurance populations.

[@Riz2336]

Good work for saving these animals

[@erikm8372]

I feel like Tasmanian devils are only mean to each other, especially during a feeding frenzy, The males are territorial, to each other, for sure, but many of them (especially babies and rescued devils) are actually super sweet and will fall asleep on your lap! I speak from experience! ♥️ Of course they have sharp teeth and are a predatory marsupial, but they’re not inherently vicious, I’ve found. Even in nature, they seem to be more of a cleanup crew, a natural janitor, that clears the environment from wallaby and bird carcasses, though they still will hunt small animals.

[@Beryllahawk]

My understanding is that the ferocity is partly social - Bigger Meaner Devil Wins - and partly scarcity. There's less biting among captive groups, but that's less, not none! Vultures and other scavengers can get much more aggressive when they're on a carcass, too, and to some extent that has to be because there's only so much meat to go around. But even playing with each other as pups in the same litter, devils can get real bitey, hehe - and even at their sweetest they have sharp lil feet as well as sharp teeth. But they're so stinkin' CUTE even at their scariest!

[@allangibson8494]

@@BeryllahawkTasmania doesn’t have vultures… Crows fill that niche in mainland Australia.

[@Beryllahawk]

@@allangibson8494 True - I was referring more to general behaviors among scavengers, though. Specifically I was recalling how Black Vultures here in the US will squabble over a carcass; or how golden eagles will fight each other and do pretty ferocious damage over one. I'm obviously no expert but it just seems to me that the devils have similar instincts. :)

[@darcieclements4880]

Yeah I was surprised how many people were like it's a shame that you can't handle them because they're so aggressive and I'm just sort of like um... You shouldn't handle them because you shouldn't be messing with a critically endangered species at all, but they're actually pretty cool animals and they remind me a lot of badgers or wolverines. Yes they can be quite brutal but they are surprisingly tame and captivity. Please do not keep Badgers or wolverines and captivity unless you are a mamologist or similar. When we talk about nice wild animals that does not mean pet It means relatively nice😂. I can tame and train almost anything but I learned the hard way when I was younger that this skill is not transferable to most of the population 😢

[@SquishySenpai]

3:00I was totally expecting some kind of "all of your eggs in one basket" reference. Like "you shouldn't keep all of your tadpoles on one pond" or something like that.

[@pierreabbat6157]

"ão" in "associacão" and "leão" is a nasal diphthong. Say "brown", but absorb the final /n/ into the vowels.

[@IslamMozaahe]

Poor dodo bird rip 😭

[@DavesChaoticBrain]

WAIT!!!! Where ARE Dingos native to!!!????? Don't just leave us hanging Hank!!!!

[@openbooknutrition]

An important factor to keep in mind with the trophy hunting of Oryx in Texas is that the private ranches that are doing this work are largely unfunded. They are only able to do this conservation work by offering trophy hunting to paying customers. While many don't like this idea, it is the sole reason that these private ranches can operate. It would be nice if people could do so altruistically without needing to make a profit, but the reality is that undertaking a conservation effort like this and caring for a herd of large herbivores that you aren't using for anything is EXTREMELY expensive. Without funding from the public, or the government giving public funds, then hunting has to be offered to ensure the success of the conservation. Society hasn't stepped up to fund them by other means, so naturally a free market opportunity arose to address that need, so we shouldn't demonize trophy hunting. Not only that but part of the point of conserving these animals is so that the populations are healthy enough that humans can utilize them in the same way we have historically done.

[@riannongrubbs4231]

The mental image I had of animals walking to find their kin on the other side of the corridor put tears in my eyes oh gosh😮 The Texas ranch thing is something I, a born and raised Texan, did not learn until I was 19. I don’t know how to feel about it, uneasy at least, but there are quite a few “exotic meat” animals you’re allowed to raise and hunt like kangaroos and ostriches (and similar birds), plus kinds of deer that aren’t the white tailed wild deer out here. Idk how to feel about them being raised to be hunted but 😬

[@solar0wind]

Usually animals are raised to be kept indoors in captivity, just to be slaughtered after a few months. At least those ranches help out with conservation. But yeah, it's not great.

[@TomBuskey]

The best survival method is to become essential to humans in some way. Wild cows died off in the 1600s, but domesticated cows are everywhere. Wild horses also died off. The ones that are in the wild now are "feral"; they're escaped domesticated horses. Because of the hunting, the resources to create a large population of Oryx to bring them back.

[@sunisbest1234]

Aussie here. In reference to kangaroos. There are approx 50 million here in Australia. ( human population is 27 million ) during extended droughts, of which we have many, 'roo's are culled to prevent mass starvation. We also eat kangaroo, not everyone does, but it is available in supermarkets.

[@riannongrubbs4231]

@@sunisbest1234 in a way I get they’re practically deer niche wise, and I eat venison when my family members hunt. Not the same reason, but we also have to kill boars bc they damage farmland. Had family shooting them in the yard as I was in online class calls and my group mates from the city didn’t appreciate that. I’m also a person when my meat tastes too animaly, I see the blood vessels, get like bone or tendon in a bite, it totally grosses me out and won’t eat meat for a while. I didn’t know it was an actual normal thing to eat kangaroos. It just doesn’t feel great to kill a species that’s trying not to die out.

[@sunisbest1234]

@riannongrubbs4231 Yeah, I agree regarding the endangered species thing. At first, I was thinking, "You've got to be kidding me!!!". Then, I mulled it over for a bit. Still can't decide. ( I do overthink things like crazy though.🤯🤣 )

[@lailaarnauth8042]

So proud to watch the Mico-Leão-Dourado in this video, I’ve seen them here in Rio de Janeiro 😍🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@graphite2786]

The craziest story about captive breeding and reintroduction is China's Pere Davids deer. They were only found in the Emperor's garden. Some were smuggled out of China to Europe. Then the ones left in China were eaten in 1900.. None left in China, but a handful in Europe. But the eccentric Duke of Bedford decided he'd save the species and started to assemble a herd on his estate, from all the zoo animals in Europe. By 1985 there were enough deer to start reintroducing them back to China. And so they did , eventually setting up 53 herds , mostly in parks and reserves. Then in 1998 the floods in China broke a heap of fences that kept the deer in place. And a lot of deer escaped into the wild. They started breeding. There are now 3000 wild deer in China and they are causing HAVOC to farmers! Eating crops, breaking fences, muddying water supplies. Not only this but there are another 8000 deer in managed parks and reserves. So the old Duke of Woburn achieved his goal and if it weren't for him the species would be extinct.

[@LongBow-rg3vu]

The oryx if I remember right has actually been in private hands for a good while. But it goes to show that private ownership of animal populations can be beneficial. Owners just have to self regulate so we aren't ending up with rampant inbreeding and poor health.

[@glenngilbert7389]

this is a video that the zoo haters should see - without captive breeding programs, many more species would be extinct

[@avada0]

1:07 What's this nonsense? Toads are frogs, and always were. Arbitrarily called toads because of less appealing leathery appearance.

[@simons3857]

Please forgive me. To clarify I don’t mean bees and animals that are essential. If the animals are not fit for the wild anymore and died off naturally by not being able to adapt what is the point in keeping them around. Why reintroduce them if the chances of them dying again are so high?

[@anat01]

panamanian golden frog mention!! that's my frog!

[@bluexwings]

Genuine question: How long does does it take for an animal to be considered native? Dingoes have existed in Australia for 3,000-4,000 years.

[@glenbe4026]

Dingoes arrived in Australia the same time humans did, 10s of thousands years ago. And both species caused massive changes to the wildlife of Australia. Saying Dingoes are not "native" is suggesting there is no native humans to Australia either.

[@ztlabraptor211]

Dingoes arrived about 3500 years ago, in the relative modern age. Aborigines have been there for 50 000+ years

[@christiaanprinsloo8951]

Humans are native to africa though, they arent native anywhere else

[@tobiasherbst8894]

Totally expected a Policy Genius ad! 😅

[@kevogold6091]

You should do one on the green and gold bell frog of Sydney Australia they to are still threatened brought back from near extinction

[@LordSlag]

Dingos ate my devils.

[@benlu]

6:20 australia introducing animals to an area in the hope of solving an issue but with unintended circumstances? How precedented of them!

[@DanskerneFraDanmark]

You should really change the thumbnail to guess who’s back

[@winterwatson6437]

WAIT WHERE ARE DINGOS FROM

[@malachymoran7884]

They are just dogs that adapted! Its wild

[@bluexwings]

They are closely related to New Guinea Singing Dogs!

[@corlisscrabtree3647]

Thank you 🙏🏼

[@JohnHunterPlayerr]

When i was 5 or 6. I saw the woody wood pecker bird in norcross atlanta. I thought it was a heavy duty drill. Only to look up and see a two an half foot wood pecker brain blasting the phone pole in the yard. I was sad to find out later... Id never see it again.

[@trog7986]

If you're referring to a Pileated woodpecker, we have them up in northern Wisconsin. I've seen at least 4 this year, and heard several more. They are impressive birds

[@JohnHunterPlayerr]

@@trog7986 no the south eastern giant wood picker is considered extinct and the last photo was some time in the 50s or 60s.

[@trog7986]

@@JohnHunterPlayerr I've always seen the Pileated being the inspiration for the Woody the woodpecker cartoon