Why are Lemurs Terrified of Predators that don't Exist?

[@DoritoDew]

4:59 I mean, I’d be scared of a bird about a 1/3 the size of Madagascar

[@princevegeta9763]

Big feast.

[@southpawcat7468]

lmao

[@anonymousstout4759]

No dummy the birds are 1/3 size of California

[@strikermodel]

You cheeky git lol

[@Xaiff]

At that size, they would be cooked from their insides. 🤣🤣🤣

[@beerussama7093]

“Why are lemurs afraid of predators that don’t exist?” “First let me tell you about Avocados...”

[@bruhsoundeffect1903]

​@LiliEriNySka Vsauce, Michael here. Why do we have 5 fingers? Well first, we need to understand the theory of relativity and what it's like to see in 5-dimensions!

[@dondragmer2412]

He makes the point that the title refers to evolutionary anachronisms which explains the lemurs' persistent fear; so it's a well developed thesis.

[@ob9729]

hahahaha

[@KayentaRojo]

gotta start somewhere..

[@pirig-gal]

"But first C A M E L S ."

[@salemunderfire]

title: lemurs are afraid of things that don't exist first five seconds: the us bought camels and the camels liked a plant literally no one else did one minute in: avocados have a big ole seed i love this

[@RaptorTroll360]

Don't you just love when a sciency channel clickbaits you into learning new things? I thought this video was gonna be mostly about lemurs but I was wrong, and I'm happy about that.

[@mhrn.1309]

@@RaptorTroll360 It was a great thesis and it spoke of 3 topics.

[@pls-shanice]

This is the way I think tho, I enjoy it

[@Dani-Claw]

Creosote are becoming a big problem in the southwest, too, because they POISON the ground around them so very few other plants can grow there. They dominate overgrazed landscapes and keep it barren. BRING BACK THE CAMELS!!!

[@BadGoyz4Life]

I do this when telling a story because the person has to know the entire background before I make my point

[@spencerj4640]

when humans experience derealization during intense anxiety, visual stimuli is intensified. you’ll notice even the smallest movements in your peripheral vision. this helped keep us alive thousands of years ago when we would have needed to see the smallest movements incase of a threat.

[@crazydragy4233]

Reminds me of some of the stuff I read on Depression through the lenses of evolution

[@poozer4113]

@@crazydragy4233 can you please elaborate?

[@crazydragy4233]

@@poozer4113 There's a theory Depression could be an evolutionary tool. Basically not an imbalance in the brain but a state of being purposefully there.

[@fulana_de_tal]

@@crazydragy4233 this sounds very interesting, could you share a link or a name?

[@WoodlouseFairy]

Now, that's where the fear of darkness comes from!

[@donniebooshae3880]

I just want to give a massive shoutout to the absolute legends who kept avocados around. You are real one. .

[@realglutenfree]

I wonder how they knew how to cultivate them this early. Wild avocados are inedible and disgusting.

[@spacewolfcub]

@@realglutenfree -- Consider that perhaps avocados in South America were not just five times larger (they still are) but might have turned out tasting different depending on soil types or sun exposure.

[@dreimann]

Life without guacamole just wouldn't be the same...

[@tjay2586]

@@dreimann how would you know?

[@dreimann]

@@tjay2586 - I wouldn't if avocados went extinct, but it would still be different.

[@FloatingOer]

Avocados when megafauna disappear: :( Humans when they see the Avocados: "Those are some thicc seeds" Avocado: :)

[@sinatraforeign]

Thicccc

[@justiciar1964]

We may not be swallowing them and pooping them out to spread em around (can you imagine passing one) , but chucking their seeds at stuff is fun.

[@jamesperson199]

@@justiciar1964 I did not need that image in my head but now it is.

[@canisarcani]

@@neverendingmathequation6999 huh... *puts some more guac on my taco* is that a fact? edit: damn... a friend pointed out that would have been better if id said " *puts extra avacado slices on my american burger* " and he's right.

[@Jojozilla426]

@@canisarcani why would that have been better? Rolls off the tongue much worse

[@SwordTune]

Camels being brought to the US: "It's a strange land, yet it feels so oddly familiar. Like a dream of a dream. Oh, a plant." *nom*

[@supplesoup9186]

What would be creepy is if we get that feeling when we go to mars

[@ttun100]

Deja vu

[@Marcusjnmc]

could you tell me what this is based on ? It also, is very familiar, but cannae remember where from.

[@beastmaster0934]

Horses would probably also say that.

[@WoodlouseFairy]

@@supplesoup9186 dun dun dun dun dun duuuun iluminati confirmed

[@Xaiff]

Ghosts of evolution. I love the concept.

[@OnyxXThePunch]

Same

[@Anderson-yn4or]

There’s literally a book on the topic

[@BandAid350z]

Celtic Phoenix so shitting on humans will solve the problems you portent to be true? This anti-humanism ideology needs to stop as it leads to very dark paths. You say I’d cry if I knew the damage that’s been done; I weep at where your anti-human sentiment leads.

[@dovahfruit9503]

this comment section is horrible, personally I can't bring myself to defend what we've done in the past. I'm not sure if I believe them or not, but this isn't completely unbelievable, one things for sure and that's none of us know what they do for a living. For all we know they could be completely lying, but you don't have to be such a shitty person about it. Sure you can donate to organisations and the like, but other than that I'm not sure how you'd contribute to that kinda stuff unless you weren't just any normal person. You can help stop deforestation and commit to the making of laws to forbid the hunting of specific animals (if they're near endangered or needed for an ecosystem), but you can't really do anything to bring them back. If what you're saying is true, then why don't you do something? Again, it's the internet, but I don't see how you could be antagonizing people about something you yourself don't attribute to. What both you and ABC did was uncalled for.

[@dovahfruit9503]

@Celtic Phoenix Also I get what you're saying, but im pretty sure this guy was just saying that it's really cool cool interesting seeing that these features and traits live on in these animals, not him saying that what we did was okay.

[@tankinator451]

Imagine dumping all your evolution points into adapting to specific biological pressures, only for the devs to remove said pressures in the next balance patch

[@jaybee8862]

Lol... it's basically like having a hereditary form of PTSD

[@therealdannymullen]

Underrated comment lol

[@hueyfreeman3103]

It’s like investing all of your $ into one basket

[@zillasaiyan1m274]

A fellow tier zoo fan?

[@omiheaddev7090]

Not even the Devs, just some random players from the Humie clan just spawncamping the entire thing you evolved to run from.

[@Dani-Claw]

As a biologist, thank you for sharing this to more people :) Some more awesome Southwestern US Megafauna stuff: Locust trees have spines mostly on the young shoots. Mastodons (related to elephants) would eat the leaves and seed pods, but the plant grew the thorns on the younger shoots to discourage the animals from eating them and letting them grow. Camel Rock, NM is shaped like a camel and the rocks in the area have yielded camelid fossils Elephant Butte in NM resembles an elephant, and very recently a mastodon skull was found there!! 😲

[@soiyavnz]

I like this, showing our present animals have mingled with the extinct ones.

[@bkjeong4302]

Vince Dichoso It really needs to be understood more that extinct Late Pleistocene animals were part of modern ecosystems.

[@brandonchan5387]

Pandas have actually been around for a few million years, and were definitely alive when the mammoths were alive. It's really mind blowing...

[@music4thedeaf]

@@brandonchan5387 would make sense why they are so specialized for one specific thing. Other niches were taken

[@music4thedeaf]

@@brandonchan5387 wonder is other humanoids filled different niches...

[@boo9507]

A lot of animals that are exiting were alive only 100+ years ago were killing off ecosystems. It’s depressing I hate our species :/

[@cameronstanga4873]

Seriously great work. I wish more people knew of your channel because its obvious you put alot of work into it. I'll try to spread your name around a bit because I know so many people would enjoy your content.

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Thank you, appreciate it

[@baalsbastards6341]

Only now has KZbin decided to bring your work to my awareness...

[@bighongus4243]

The same phenomenon also occurs with the native birds of New Zealand, where the Haast's Eagle used to live as well, not only just preying on the moas alone.

[@bighongus4243]

Should've said behaviour

[@phoeix940]

Yeah, like the kakapos that stay still when threatened, 'cause they're camouflaged from above, but now decimated by rats. :(

[@bighongus4243]

@@phoeix940 very tragic :'(

[@greengreens6347]

And than humans had to ruin the fun. Like always

[@grinningchicken]

Humans still have a lot of carryover from the early days. We think the best environment is warm but not to wet low grass with climbable trees about 10-20 yards apart Dense Jungles look frightening as do completely open area as those environments leave humans open to attacks from large cats or large birds Creeks streams are relaxing presumably because they don't have alligators but rivers and swamps look threatening. We're convinced that there are only about about 100 people that we know and about 3-4 other tribes our tribe is always right we see diversity in its members and the other tribe all look the same.

[@raven9519]

Very interesting

[@bunniifangz]

not only that, human stomachs have extremely strong acid compared to other mammals because of our ancestors from millions of years ago being scavengers, thus necessitating strong acid to kill any harmful microbes on decomposing flesh human stomach pH is actually very similar to that of vultures, sharks, buzzards, ferrets, and owls, and much stronger than other primates

[@joebrunton2682]

@OrangeGreenRed No he is right. We have inherent evolutionary biases which we subconsciously act on. His point about identification makes complete sense. That’s why we stereotype things because categorisation and pattern recognition were essential to our survival in the past.

[@musaran2]

There WERE monsters under the bed when we slept in trees. Dragons could be the amalgamation of our predators: python, bird of prey, great cat... Children like to climb, as they should when it was the refuge of choice. Human newborns look ugly because they are premature, because upright posture narrowed the birth canal. And A LOT of signs point at our ancestors jumping branches.

[@legrandliseurtri7495]

I'm not a big fan of warm environnements and I prefer rainy or snowy days.

[@JordanBeagle]

0:56 Love the images of ancient animals that no longer exist, I feel kinda like I miss them even though I've never seen them in real life

[@flightlesslord2688]

just watched a documentary about lemurs and i was thinking during it, they seem oddly on edge for animals with only one predator that is pretty much only arboreal

[@isaacflett1321]

Unbelievably well made video considering sub count, I feel like it's only a matter of time before this channel blows up.

[@anacletwilliams8315]

I tend to disagree. The narrator does not pronounce the words clearly, what makes understanding particularly difficult, specially considering that it is a scientific video. Too bad.

[@anacletwilliams8315]

@General William T. Sherman I did not say I can't hear hear him. I said his pronunciation (diction) is not good. And I sustain it. Go check your reading comprehension, Gal Sherman.

[@dindinprivate3477]

@@anacletwilliams8315 I suspect that the problem is not his diction but his pronunciation IF you are more accustomed to British English rather than to American English.

[@Amiro12338]

same lol

[@Amiro12338]

General William T. Sherman What is your problem? Please get your IQ checked.

[@1fishmob]

There's also pleistocene rewilding, where you introduce a close ecological proxy to an extinct animal in the modern food chain. An example would be the tortoises introduced to hawaii which plays a similar role to the extinct giant ducks of prehistoric times or the mustang which now fills the role of the extinct native horses. Heck, there's also a huge pleistocene rewilding project going on up north of siberia called 'Pleistocene Park' which saw the reintroduction of horses, musk ox, bison, yak, cattle, deer, sheep and more to the ancient mammoth steppe.

[@joluoto]

Oh that thing with a crazy Russian scientist in a tank?

[@wormwoodbecomedelphinus4131]

Indeed. People have been floating the idea of introducing elephants to north america, but no serious efforts so far.

[@baneofthebread]

@@wormwoodbecomedelphinus4131 that's not a good idea Elephants are not suited for the cold winter of the North, they may enjoy playing in the snow for a while, but that's it I think it would be better to wait until we can actually clone Mammoths or make discount mammoths by messing with Indian Elephants DNA

[@maxtech226]

@@baneofthebread then again it gets extremely cold in the desert at night so its entirely possible for african elephants to do alright with frost and a few weeks of snow

[@mr_JackSchwarze]

@@maxtech226 yeah but not quite to what the extinct mammoths would have been capable of

[@vividdaydream1516]

Finally, a scientific phrase to sum up the saying, "there's a primal part of your brain that thinks you're still a hunter-gatherer living on the savannah."

[@cheapshotfishing9239]

We must go back

[@LazyLoonz]

Cool

[@eldron29-a54]

That part is the one which causes deaths on Black Friday.

[@metaphorpritam]

@@cheapshotfishing9239 Embrace Tradition, return to Monke

[@VioletMilks]

@@metaphorpritam reject tradition, reject monkey Turn into more evolved human

[@whereiswilloww]

"Why are Lemurs Terrified of Predators that don't exist?" "In the 19th century, the United States army acquired 30 dromedary camels…" "Avocados have a very large stone that can't really be eaten & dispersed by any animal in the Americas." i love this video

[@cerberus6654]

I can remember avocados in the supermarkets in Canada from the 70's and I always wondered why they had such a big 'stone' in them. Then, when I lived in Mexico I came across a fruit from the tropical south called the mamey. Imagine a sweet, musky avocado with orange flesh and a fuzzy, soft skin - but also a huge stone. The theory of these being from the Pleistocene and of having evolved not to be cracked and eaten but to pass whole through the digestive systems of the vanished mega-fauna makes sense. Interesting too that the Aztecs and their modern-day descendants thought of the avocado, or aguacate, as the 'male' of the species and the soft mamey as the 'female'. Much as to this day rural Mexicans often see the toad as the male and the frog as the female of one species.

[@SladetheBlade..]

Your not helping the equality argument

[@deusexmachinareznov4975]

@@SladetheBlade.. ???????

[@Toomuchbullshitt]

Large ground sloths that lived during the Pleistocene helped disbursed the stones of many plants, from Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert to the paw paws in the Eastern U.S.

[@strangeclaims]

Last part your just confused See, everything is gendered in the spanish language (that mexicans speak) Toad is "sapo" which is a male noun and frog is "rana" which is female noun Not that they are the same species but that you say "EL sapo" and "LA rana" Another example is with table, they are female, "la mesa" Phone is male "el teléfono" And so and so

[@cerberus6654]

@@strangeclaims I should have been more precise - I was not referring to the Spanish language, which I do speak, but to rural Mexicans - those who speak Nahuatl in particular. I don't speak Nahuatl but I have studied it and did know people who spoke it.

[@stefanostokatlidis4861]

Do also adult araucaria trees have such razor sharp foliage to deter sauropod dinosaurs? No mammal can reach such heights to eat it them.

[@sohopedeco]

Good point. They certainly didn't account for some naked Old World apes poking them with large sticks.

[@beatrixthegreat1138]

Giraffes?

[@stefanostokatlidis4861]

beatrix the great they were never in the same geographical area.

[@sohopedeco]

@@beatrixthegreat1138 No giraffes in Southern Brazil.

[@j.copache4788]

I've also wondered about that. Araucarias are closely related to conifers that indeed co-existed with dinosaurs, but I'd say it's more likely an adaptation to the heavy rainfall and seasonal snowfall here in southern Chile and the andean forests.

[@AnyoneCanSee]

I remember watching a program years ago where they argued that a certain animal, acted this way while travelling through grasslands in Africa. They said in the program that they had evolved to run through the grass like running through a river because of crocodiles. To avoid a predator. But the predator wasn't there any more in those grasslands. In the programme, they stated that they believed the grassland predator they evolved to avoid was us. I wish I could remember more as it was maybe 30 years ago. It just blew my mind that we had moved onto build civilisations and land on the moon but this animal still though we were hunting in the grasslands of Africa and was still programmed to avoid us.

[@aapfades9781]

I mean some people aré still

[@dinostorion]

I think I heard this story was about zebras

[@Titancameraman64]

What is the program name

[@smartacus88]

Makes one wonder why humans fear the kinds of things that appear absurd when viewed with naked logic. "There are no faceless 9 foot tall humanoid demons in your room at night little Johnny!"

[@RandoMandoDando]

The humanoid is probs coz criminals and murderers exist lol.

[@alienkidable]

I remember a discussion about this There was the question what in history could have scared humans so much that we have a fear of pail , tall , hairless and mostly humanoid creatures Wish i can remember where the discussion was from But the mentioned how those seem to be the things that work best with scaring people in horror movies

[@NoName-ls6jn]

Miguel Clemendore it was a tumblr post

[@madisenkornele3227]

@@alienkidable its probably a fear of disease. If someone is skinny, pale and hairless they're probably either sick or dead. Either way it's in the best interest of health to stay away.

[@adamkaris]

@@madisenkornele3227 Agreed, if something looks kind of like a human, it might have been a human that got fucked up by something. So stay away from it.

[@fiddleriddlediddlediddle]

For me, "they're neat" is enough reason to bring back mammoths.

[@Get_Splooshed]

Honestly this makes me really sad. it’s like their greatest rival, or the thing that gave them purpose is now gone And now they just go on to live normal lives. Especially with the California condor thing, it’s almost like they lost all their old friends, or the things that they used to rely on, but are now just alone and flying around in the desert waiting for them to come back, but are only greeted by a dead washed up whale every once in awhile. I know it seems overdramatized, but yk it really makes a man cry to see this type of shit :’(

[@pendlera2959]

That's like being sad when serial killers are imprisoned or stalkers get a restraining order. Being hunted isn't fun for the prey; they don't miss their predators.

[@Get_Splooshed]

Pendlera, dude what are you some kind of power top? Being prey is totally rad. And if it wasn’t then why do you think there’s still prey in the first place? Obviously they would’ve evolved to be predators if they didn’t want to be prey, nature is just kinky like that ;)

[@cerdic6867]

Eh, i sort of see it more as they cant escape their fears which i find sad, they dont miss being killed. Being out of place i do find sad though, like the condor.

[@walidahan9873]

Can I drink you ? Plz

[@samuelwilliams5161]

TheReal CloroxBleach shitttt nigga maybe they would’ve evolved to be predators if they felt pressure

[@iaminyourwalls2211]

Video title and thumbnail: *lemurs* The first half of the video: *pretty much every other animal* Unexpected but appreciated information 👌

[@amaro7489]

First half of video: avocado

[@davidamajako961]

Look at the bearded dragons. Even when you have them for years they still watch the skies(ceiling) for predatory birds.

[@madisenkornele3227]

I turned on my ceiling fan once and scared the crap out of my bearded dragon. Poor guy.

[@muzankibutsuji622]

@@madisenkornele3227 you monster.... you accidentally triggered it’s fight or flight instincts

[@whiteox8903]

Still plenty of modern day birds that can kill a bearded dragon lol..

[@kuriboh635]

Also I do want to add some of the camels from the camel corps ended up in the civil war. The South even had a Camel used by one unit and they loved him, so much when he was killed in battle by a sharpshooter their commander was said to order his death at all costs. That Camel is even buried along with his friends and has a tombstone like them

[@leilatumbleston8966]

10/10. From the high quality images, breadth of focus for a 7 minute video, to the chip-synth-tune bgm. I was totally mesmerised from start to finish.

[@72vince27]

Small bird: * flies by * Giant Lemurs: Aaaaaaaaaaaaagh!! Watch out!!! Small bird: * confidence boost * 😏😎

[@arandomguywithagreenprofil5075]

Lol

[@Ashaweshk]

Lemur: "Im climin'eeerrreee!!!"

[@piggypiggypig1746]

There is a good case for rewilding certain environments with living and / or extinct animals which could reverse the decline in other critically endangered species that once relied on them.

[@skeletalbassman1028]

@The Martial Lord of Loyalty And despite every warning the human obeys that irresistible call: "maybe *this* time will be different"

[@dondragmer2412]

@The Martial Lord of Loyalty Not really. It's not laughable at all and makes some sense. They'd just be re-inserting a few missing elements. Unfortunately for too long we have been willingly and unwittingly engineering ecosystems to their detriment without thinking about the consequences of these "re-designs."

[@CrimsonReapa]

@The Martial Lord of Loyalty it worked in yellow stone after humans wiped out american grey wolfs 100+ years ago which resulted in the deer/elk/moose populations exploding out of control which greatly reduced the diversity of plants growing and the amount of new trees growing dropped by oer 90% bc new sprouts were getting eaten and with the wolfs gone coytoe populations also exploded which caused small/medium animals (most notably beaers) to go extinct in Yellowstone and in the areas around it and it was also preenting bison from being successfully introduced back into the park bc they had nothing to eat bc the deer/elk/moose herds had eaten all the food bison eat but after they went and captured some packs of Canadian timber wolfs and reintroduced them back into the park it only took a few years before the park started returning to its naturally state as the wolfs quickly reduced deer/elk/moose and coytoe numbers back to healthy numbers which allowed bison to be successfully reintroduced to the park and small/medium mammals also returned and as of now the park is flourishing like it was before wolfs went extinct.

[@CrimsonReapa]

​@The Martial Lord of Loyalty but humans hae been wiping out species of animals at a rate far faster and more frequently then any other species before us in earths history and we are killing off more species faster then new ones can adapt to take that ones place.

[@CrimsonReapa]

we can use the pronghorn sheep as a example as no predator has adapted to be able to hunt it despite the american cheetah going extinct 10,000-12,000 years ago.

[@camreyes1819]

Sounds like my ocd rituals, ‘if I don’t step on every leaf in order, the (redacted) will kill me.’

[@And-lj5gb]

I've been thinking about it for a long time and I've came to conclusion that human behaviour is full of evolutionary anachronisms and perhaps even more so than most other animals because of how quickly we've been changing our way of life in the last 10 000 years. These evolutionary anachronism make existence in modern society literally a pain in the *** for people who think about stuff a lot like me. Have you ever seen two people arguing over some small issues like their life literally depended on it? I've seen this a lot. And I believe that's because in the past it actually did. Murder rates were so much higher in the prehistoric times (I think I've read some data that in some cultures you had as high as 30% chance for your cause of death to be murder- in an era where you would be much more likely to die of illness, starvation or wild animal attack than nowadays- crazy to think about it!) and one could easily imagine people getting killed by their own tribe for doing something that enraged the gods or spirits of nature they believed in for example. That's why our first instinct when accused of doing something wrong is often denial, no matter how stupid it makes us look like and how upset this refusal to admit and address our own faults makes those around us. The only explanation I can think of why this happens so often is that our subconscious fear of murder or exile. How much easier to get along with each other it would be for us if not for this. There are many more of these of course I won't write about here because there's no point. I remember how in my childhood it drove me crazy that my family expected me to do certain things in certain way for no rational reason, only out of fear for me being "rejected from a tribe", even if consequences of slightly upsetting some random people nowadays are fairly minimal. My fear of this has always been on a much lower level so it led to some clashes between us about some really stupid and irrelevant things because I don't like to conform when I see no rational reason for it.

[@yoosherbthekid464]

Go peep out stoic law!!

[@anyascelticcreations]

I've thought so, too. I've also thought that a lot of the qualities that are now called "nurodivergent" were once extremely valuable for survival. Like being hypersensitive to movement, sounds, light, smells, etc. And like each person in a tribe having a different skill that they were naturally highly specialize in. And the ability to hyperfocus on one thing without tiring of doing so. And so many more examples. These would have been very valuable back in the hunter gatherer days. I don't think that those skills "diverged" from the "normal" way of being. I think that those were the normal way of being. And the divergence away from those natural skills is now what is considered "nurotypical".

[@taistelusammakko5088]

@@anyascelticcreations i disagree heavily. You dont need to be extremely sensitive or extremely interested in something to be good at it. Even more, better social skills have been always better than being sensitive to sounds or omething like that

[@JorgeTorrespluspage]

I remember reading somewhere we humans have a similar Ghost of Evolution behavior: Dragons. They embody the very predators our species and ancestors had to deal with: Large felines, snakes and prey birds. And the stories told for centuries about knights slaying dragons are "modern" representations of such struggles for survival.

[@rutgerbruinsma2426]

Feel like dragons come from Dinosaur fossils

[@TheSilverwing999]

@@rutgerbruinsma2426 That wouldn't make sense because dinosaurs and humans never coexisted on earth so how could that be coded into our dna or culture to fear them? Like we literally have never met dinosaurs as a species. And way back in the day when the first dragon stories appeared we didn't even know dinosaurs were even a thing! Like you think the oldest human species ran around escavating fossils lol

[@taomasterwaka6287]

Humans have been digging up minerals pretty much as long as civilization has existed, so no it isn't a huge leap that Humans have been finding dinosaur fossils for thousands of years

[@samuelbekele3601]

Humans too. Some dragons speak, use fire, and kidnap women.

[@kormannn1]

@@TheSilverwing999 maybe ppl in ancient - medieval times found the reamainings of dinosaurs and they decided to describe dragons? And plus, our ancenstors that were before humans were some mammalian rodent-like creatures. They could experience and survive the times when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

[@mahna_mahna]

My first experience with this was the Kentucky Coffeetree. It has incredibly tough seed pods that are also poisonous. They sink in the water and are too heavy to blow in the wind. The theory is that the megafauna like mammoths used to eat them. They range in about half a dozen midwestern states, but they are rare unless cultivated by humans. It only has modern success in wetlands, where the seed pots can rot away.

[@tylerslagel5485]

This has terrifying implications for why we’re universally afraid of tall, pale, across Uncanny-Valley things.

[@Alizudo]

This implies that The Hide-Behind was an actual creature that the Ancient Native Americans had to deal with, and they still believed it existed even long after it had died.

[@mr_JackSchwarze]

@@Alizudo can you give Like a link to a video related to that.

[@Alizudo]

@@mr_JackSchwarze I actually can't, unfortunately. Not many videos have been made on Hide-Behinds in general, and I haven't seen any theory videos on them before.

[@bluefox5331]

There's a video on that too. They theorize that when sicknesses such as rabies were common for us, the sick humans looked uncanny, almost fine but not quite. And it was best to avoid them to not get sick as well.

[@william4996]

@@bluefox5331 that's an interesting theory honestly.

[@aaronmarks9366]

As an American, this always makes me sad. We used to have megafauna that rivaled anything you could see in the Serengeti. Our lush environments should be full of these amazing creatures. Hopefully someday science will allow them to be brought back.

[@CharliMorganMusic]

Probably won't happen on earth; I see us making space habitats into zoos, though.

[@playafly1776]

I think I’ll be fine walking around without the fear of being mauled by a giant ladybug monkey

[@ishrendon6435]

​@@playafly1776youre going way back

[@ishrendon6435]

Why woukd you bring back animals that naturally died of natural causes?? Its sad but its dumb . Heres a fun stat. 99 percent of life that has ever lived has gone extinct . Are we going to being them back too???( not to mention science hasnt even come close to brining back extinct species. ( DNA is alot harder to understand then once believed ) . Life is brutal and someday we humans will go exticnt as well no doubt maybe in millions of years but extinction is a part of nature and is as normal as giving birth . I understand the emotional argument but lets leave nature alone as best as we can unless it truly benefits humanity. Like vaccines and so on

[@DannieKamete]

Eurasia and Australia had all kinds of megafauna too. Really all the continents did. Only Africa has a wide array of animals now. So sad!

[@GMPranav]

Let me get this straight - the Pronghorn species really invested in a dex build and thus caused their predators to go extinct? That's impressive.

[@5peciesunkn0wn]

Humans probably caused them to go extinct.

[@jr1648]

@@5peciesunkn0wn dramatic climate change at the termination of the last ice age is what caused the extinction of majority of earth's megafauna over a thousand year period. Climate change => habitat loss => lack of prey => inability to adapt because of hyper specialization => starvation and eventual death.

[@5peciesunkn0wn]

@@jr1648 Let me readjust my statement lol. Humans helped them go extinct lol

[@jr1648]

@@5peciesunkn0wn Unlikely. Humans hunted a lot of plesitocene megafauna but they had little to do with their extinction. Thats an outdated theory that has been disproven on many fronts. Hunter-gathers or nomadic tribes of the pleistocene were reliant upon animal populations as a source of food in areas where vegetation was minimal . Their numbers and coordination would not have been sufficient to cause the continental extinction of a single species, nor would they have been incentivised to hunt the species to extinction, because then their source of food would decline. In relation to the great cat species of the last ice age, mayybbee humans would have hunted them to lower their population because of the threat they posed to humans, however large cats are regularly solitary and are often time undetectable or at the least, difficult to track, so I find it hard to believe that humans tracked and killed all large cats in NA. It's all highly unlikely. Now when we take this idea and apply it to the extinction of other great megafauna like the wooly mammoth, it becomes even more clear that humans were not even partially responsible for their extinction, considering millions of mammoths from nearly every continent went extinct over a period of 1000 +/- years. Firstly, how would disparate tribes from separate continents even be able to coordinate that kind of transcontinental effort. Why would any culture put all that effort and resources towards killing off large species of mammals at the time, when they wouldn't even be able to consume the huge quantities of meat before it spoils. It would be equivalent to modern humans preparing dinner, but instead of making a regular plate of food, you empty the fridge, freezer and cupboards, head to the store to spend all your money and available recourses, cook everything you have and then only eat a small portion. This illogical fallacy of humans being responsible or even partially responsible for the extinction at the termination of the last ice age is further compounded by the fact that not just 1 species of animal went extinct. 50-60% of all megafauna went extinct within this time period. At a time when the earth was undergoing dramatic climate changes and cataclysmic water-level rise, its unlikely that tribal populations or even organized civilizations would have been capable of such feats. Territory loss through climate change and an inability for the species at the time to adapt to the changes is a much more logical answer.

[@jr1648]

@@5peciesunkn0wn sorry, long response haha. I know humans suck, but they definitely were not in any way responsible for majority of the extinctions at the end of the last ice age.

[@lochshiel]

I've read that bison are very timid when drinking at the water's edge as they associate it with predator threats. That always struck me as curious; what kinds of predators were lurking in or near the water that could threaten a huge bison?

[@ScouserLegend]

Crocodiles?

[@lochshiel]

@@ScouserLegend Were there crocodiles in North America though?

[@absollum]

@@lochshiel Maybe alligators then? Just spitballing

[@samuelbekele3601]

@@absollum Bison have only been in North America for about 100 thousand years, they most likely migrated from the land bridge and adapted to the land. Maybe 100 thousand years isn't enough to forget millions of years of getting snatched by crocs In Asia and Africa.

[@alastair9446]

Lions maybe waited for ambush at the waters.

[@AethernaLuxen]

_"Why are Lemurs Terrified of predators that don't exist"_ Everybody watching this video: 🗿 The *man* under your bed: 🗿

[@clayz1]

Luxurious 03 The feeling of being watched. Sitting out in the woods at night and getting a shiver up your back.

[@rugalbernstein5913]

Yo angelo

[@ssip7339]

@@rugalbernstein5913 yes

[@AethernaLuxen]

@Jerry Gonzales What did you want it to be?

[@thebookless3381]

@@rugalbernstein5913 yo, Angelo

[@jaystreet46]

I’ve heard that short faced bears were most likely primarily scavengers as they were unable to turn well on the fly due to their long legs, which would snap if they turned sharply whilst running. But those same long legs combined with a phenomenal sense of smell would be used to find carrion where they could easily scare off predators from their kills.

[@dondragmer2412]

I think the speculation that their legs would snap on fast turns is absurd. Where is that from? I am sure they could run down some prey quite easily. Cheetahs are fast and have slender legs but theirs don't snap. I know the bear is far more massive so more stress on its limbs but I think its anatomy would be adapted to enable it to run safely without much danger from injury; certainly not from snapping legs.

[@iksarguards]

Sounds like the pronghorn’s running ability is indeed still needed. What with the bears and puma chasing them about.

[@beatrixthegreat1138]

And wolves

[@jossypoo]

You'd be wrong. He said that bears and puma are strictly ambushing or scavenging. They wouldnt need high sprint speed to escape, certainly not the specialized muscles they have. On flat ground, a quick jog will outpace everything a bear can throw at you. There's no sustain there. It's a matter of understanding the difference between a lengthy sprint and a leap or lunge from around a corner.

[@fizzlewick]

but not nearly the speed they can achieve. Its like using a forklift to lift a chair

[@tyronejones4245]

@Grungus Khan black bears can climb straight up a tree at really startling speed. It almost looks like they're running vertically.

[@JamesWillmus]

A pronghorn can sustain 50+ mph speeds for several miles. Nothing else on the continent can catch them, can't even come close.

[@_peepee_]

this is why we so often struggle in this life. we evolved to have simple, fulfilling hunter/gatherer life and yet we’ve been thrust in a confusing and fast pace modern world

[@stephencarmickle]

Does this also explain why Non-life threatening things cause panic attacks in humans? Since the fight or flight urge isn’t exactly necessary in the same way it once was when predatory animals were an actual threat to us so anxiety finds a different outlet to be “useful”.

[@anyascelticcreations]

I suspect you're right.

[@NotSomeJustinWithoutAMoustache]

Maybe, but there's also likely some evolutionary bias towards being more cowardly/faint of heart. Braver or even people with average frightfulness are usually less cautious than more frightful people, and usually take greater risks more often, meaning more of them die sooner than frightful people, thus, people with extreme and seemingly irrational fears are more plentiful, not because (or at least not just because) of some long gone predator or evolutionary pressure, but simply because more fearfulness usually equals more cautiousness usually equals higher chances of living longer than brave people, long enough to bear offspring and potentially spread cowardliness genes or traits to their young.

[@davidmccarthy4206]

There is something so beautiful and nostalgic about all this but I don't know why

[@baron3904]

Deep time is more vast than our deepest oceans, and we only have a glimpse of it

[@monokhromerainbow]

so when we eat avocado we know the taste of 100 million year old snack

[@denmichaelmalayo9716]

as far as I know, there were no flowers during that time so, there are no fruits as we need flowers to make fruits. IDK Man, thats what our school taught me.

[@Eli-akad]

Den Michael Malayo u never know what species could’ve existed. There could’ve not only been flowers before the first known flower, there could’ve also been species of plants that produce fruits that reproduce differently

[@denmichaelmalayo9716]

@@Eli-akad so true

[@dondragmer2412]

I don't think avocados go back that far. Maybe only back to about 40 million years when the first huge megafauna appeared that would have been capable of eating them. I'm not clear on when the first really big elephantoids, rhinos ("giraffe-rhino" Indricotherium) and ground sloths appeared.

[@dondragmer2412]

@@Eli-akad That's why Den said "as far as I know."

[@thejurassicman661]

This is one of my favorite videos on your channel. I rewatch it every week or so

[@angelnolasco3577]

Jesus. I feel like a kid again... that feeling of joy and curiosity is brought back alive by you. I feel like when I used to watch The Future is Wild and other documentaries. The way you make your videos is amazing, I'm addicted to your channel

[@bloodymary7651]

I was once walking in a desolate place I found by accident and it felt so cut off from civilization! I saw a hawk circling miles above me and I actually had the urge to hide, I wonder if that's some kind of ancient fear response that was activated because of my solitude! Lemurs and humans shared a common ancestor

[@bobsmith2637]

I think you're right, I and everyone I know focuses on hawks, eagles and other large birds when we see them. And even today the African Crowned Eagle still occasionally attacks small children.

[@thepinkestpigglet7529]

I got attacked by a large bird as a kid so there still some reason to be weary there

[@bloodymary7651]

Or what about overhead planes in wide open spaces or is that just me 😅💁‍♀️

[@nothere5378]

@@bloodymary7651 a fear of or sense of disorientation in open spaces is common, and when people hear a plane they focus on it, so I think there's credibility to your theory.

[@jalchi8367]

babies go quiet if they see movrmeny in the sky, probably because of predatory birds

[@6666Imperator]

why are reaction videos on youtube so popular? Because we like to see other people experience/react to what we like/hate and we want to see our own opinion reflected by them as a long distance "group feeling"

[@missamae34]

Wow! Very interesting and informative.

[@mothlightmedia1936]

Thank you

[@amniote69]

The avocado story is certainly interesting, but would also imply that the avocado became a human food source very early on - before the megafauna went extinct. I also read somewhere that some smaller wild avocados have their seeds spread by the quetzal. So maybe it's not entirely due to humans. Great video.

[@rottenredhead6009]

A behavioral anachronism that we have is called "the uncanny valley effect" where we find *ALMOST* human things unsettling for instance; zombies, robots, and mannequins. This behavior comes from prehistoric times where we had to fight off other humanoids such as Neanderthals.

[@RViND]

I've been binge watching your videos over the past week and I've certainly enjoyed them, but this is by far the most interesting. You did a very good job with the structure and explanation, thank you for teaching me something I was completely unaware of before this.

[@deadpool1dude413]

I love the music used in this video... it feels right. Reminds of when I was young and watch old documentaries from the late 80’s early 90’s. I like these videos and have subscribed

[@estuardochoc]

I love your channel, it should have more views!

[@saif1002]

You explained how modern food can be a supernormal stimulus, I found that very interesting thanks.

[@fernandosimon5621]

The Ice Age extinction took out some of the most beautiful, amazing mammals.

[@purplehaze2358]

“I know not what I’ve lost, but I still feel the effects of its disappearance. A deep emotional phantom pain that will weave its way into the fabric of my seed for generations to come.” -Some California condor

[@roxyshow123]

I want to go on a safari in Alaska and take pictures of the musk ox, the woolly mammoths, the woolly rhino and the mastodons.

[@dondragmer2412]

Would be nice but you'd have to travel back in time too, except for the musk ox. And woolly mammoths and mastodons did not live only in Alaska. The woolly rhino, so far as we know, lived only in Eurasia.

[@Koraxus]

@@dondragmer2412 there were many other cool rhino like animals in the americas tho

[@donovanclark1057]

Wonderful content! Very informative and put together professionally!

[@wargriffin5]

Is it possible that Lemurs develop this fear of predatory birds early in life? While the ADULT lemur might be too large, I don't think the same thing would apply to their young.

[@dondragmer2412]

But then why wouldn't the adults lose their fear as they grew too large to be preyed on. It may be they retain this fear to protect their young.

[@offmymeds2994]

No

[@matthewcoyle4131]

4:52 Oh my goodness! I'd develop an evolutionary fear of an eagle a tenth the size of Madagascar too!

[@jamesporter6288]

I live in the Mojave and the creosote bush is one of my favorite plants. The smell it gives when it rains, the toughness of the plant itself ( can exists without water for VERY long periods of time), and all of the uses it has as far as ancient medicine and modern survival techniques. It's cool to learn this about them

[@thezanzibarbarian5729]

"Why are Lemurs Terrified of Predators that don't Exist?" It's in built evolutionary fear. And if that Madagascan Crowned Eagle had only been extinct for 500 years, then the fear of eagles for lemurs is still relevant today, regardless of size. It's for the same reason that an animal who has never, ever seen fire, will be scared of fire when it comes across it. I have cats. They had never seen fire before so I held a lit match near to them (About 2 foot away.) and they backed away from it. Why? It's just evolution. Similar evolutionary development of my missus being completely and utterly terrified of spiders regardless how small they might be. She'll even back away from me if I have a money spider in my hand :-))...

[@thespookyvaginosisnut5984]

I'm not scared of spides

[@Robert-ln8ct]

Fear of spiders is learned, not innate

[@thezanzibarbarian5729]

@@Robert-ln8ct - My missus has been scared of spiders since she can remember... Innit... Bruv...? Pssstt....Shhh... T h e b i t a b o u t s p i d e r s w a s a j o k e . N o t r e a l . B u t s h e ' s s t i l l s c a r e d o f t h e m ... Innit..? :-))...

[@thespookyvaginosisnut5984]

@@Robert-ln8ct true

[@robcohen7678]

Hold a match in front of a baby, let us know how that works out

[@BluJean6692]

you buried the lead very skillfully, bravo! I could watch a whole video on the first two examples but they serve to set up the point excellently.

[@Jaws10214]

I just recently found you thanks to youtube algorithms, keep up the great work and the subs will come!

[@b.f.2461]

Human fear of heights and snakes can, I think, be traced back to our ancestors who lived in trees, and had to avoid falls and cryptic snakes lurking among the foliage.

[@musaran2]

And IMO the "call of the void" is because we used to jump branches.

[@jamieolson9260]

Or maybe it’s just fear because they can both kill you? Cmon man!!

[@raymondhachmishvili2483]

Caves and trees.....

[@leeham6230]

@@jamieolson9260 That's rational fear. We're talking about primal fear.

[@BltchErica]

I've always thought that the fear of the dark is something we've evolved.

[@yawcty6478]

Imagine if avocados went extinct then seeing how weird a small fruit that can rarely be mostly seed would’ve been seen today

[@CreateCleverKids]

interesting bit on the avocado

[@dakedres]

4:50 "The bird's wingspan was twice as wide as the island itself"

[@eschwarz1003]

what a great vid. Introduces a seemingly anecdotal situation that then reveals the residual processes echoing over our immediate perceptions.

[@sissywizard1764]

That illustration with the Eagle attacking the Lemur is absolutely stunning and I LOVE it

[@pudgeboyardee32]

In Missouri, more central US, we have vultures that can nearly rival the size of California condors. And i feel like theyre suffering from the same issues. I see so many birds circling every carcass near the roads, most dont appear to be vultures anymore. Other birds have begun to fill in vacancies that i never saw as a kid. I watched a vulture get driven off a kill by a crow. 20 years ago there wouldve always been 5 or 6 vultures per deer carcass. Now theyre the ones that get bullied off roadkill. The oldest buzzards look huge, like flighted turkeys or little ostriches but they just cant seem to compete with all the smaller hawks, eagles and various corvids. And im pretty sure theres more traffic besides that but its hard to tell now. 6 buzzards are easy to see and count; they dont flit or flutter. Im getting worried about them. I dont know what their loss would affect but that doesnt mean there wont be one. We already missed one cicada brood, and we missed the same one last time. Its dead. And now theres even fewer lightning bugs. They used to fill and light up fields and meadows when i was a boy, sparkling with bioluminescence. This spring ive seen maybe half a dozen. Most are alone in fields. The same animals that would cast light enough to read by when i was a boy reduced to single specimens wandering darkened glades. I begin to wonder what is really being done to this one home we have and what it will yet cost us. It wont end with bugs and birds.

[@arannyasaha8912]

I am all the way across the world in South Asia and I have also noticed a massive drop in numbers of fireflies in the last 20 years or so. I saw one or two this year in total while I used to see hundreds if not thousands as a kid. I don't know what's going on across the world to impact their numbers like this.

[@Titancameraman64]

​@@arannyasaha8912I would guess it's probably pestasides

[@akiraqil9902]

okay but the smirk on that cat tho 2:37

[@MacStoker]

lol, its cool as fook.

[@dystrophic]

2:15 "The pronghorn is the second fastest animal in the world" Once again, we land-dwellers forget about birds.

[@a-bird-lover]

truly sad u_u

[@astick5249]

@Celtic Phoenix Ok then how about the horsefly which can fly up to 144.8 km an hour?

[@astick5249]

@@tastybritches6644 close enough

[@astick5249]

@@tastybritches6644 Ah i see you're one of those people who rage about a minor inconvenience such as sightly wrong spelling.

[@astick5249]

@@tastybritches6644 ok fine but i don't see how its a major problem.

[@OwainFezHead]

I have no idea why KZbin decided now was the time to recommend me a nearly three year old video on a topic I've never looked up on the site before, but I'm glad it did. Great video and a really interesting channel.

[@Cold_As_It_Gets]

Man this guy's voice was so calming I almost fell asleep at work just now. 💀

[@PunkyBoyGWiz]

I spaced out for a second and got completely lost half way through this

[@biancamusial8632]

Maybe the lemurs just have a higher insight level than us, and they know something we could never hope to fathom because it's far too horrifying.

[@tsunamio7750]

4:04 Well, human intelligence is an evolutionary anachronism. We don't need to be super-duper smart to have babies and eat burgers. Nor to work easy peasy jobs. Dumb is the new meta! I'm dead!

[@ryanbonner25]

You're a beast, such a densely-packed video, covering some of my fave subjects.

[@Curry-tan-]

That last bit though - I love the idea of bringing back species, but if that is ethical then we should be adapting and preserving endangered species at least half as much as ancient ones would need to be altered.

[@tayodanz8767]

Great video! I've always wondered if trypophobia can be explained by an evolutionary anachronism related to dangerous or poisonous ex-predators of humanity.

[@teresafinch7790]

I would welcome back Wooly Mammoths. On a completely different note, I wonder why I react to spiders as if they are the most dangerous creature on the planet. I live in the UK where they are harmless, unless of course it scares me to death.

[@teresafinch7790]

@John James I might have nightmares!

[@RocketHarry865]

@John EL Blame your shrew size tree dwelling ancestors

[@christopherfitch7705]

Maybe the lemurs are reacting to the raptors because they threatened the lemur young

[@dondragmer2412]

Probably you're right.

[@basedimperialism]

Me, terrified of the Lovecraftian horror that will consume me if I'm in the dark too long after turning off the lights: "Haha stupid lemurs."

[@abbyc9474]

4:41 OH GOD WHY IS HIS FACE LIKE THAT IVE BEEN LAUGHING FOR A SOLID 10 MINS

[@swordsimkid23]

same reason I'm afraid of the tooth fairy, beetle juice and my self worth. they are all legends passed down from parent to child

[@reeyees50]

Biggest evolutionary anachronism: the fear of spiders and insects

[@ConfyLizard]

I mean insects can potentialy be venomous and cant realy be considered food becouse they carry diessese.So its better to be safe than sorry.Being afraid of them is the most logical action

[@fuckaduck5748]

@@ConfyLizard insects are used as food all over the world Wdym?

[@ConfyLizard]

@@fuckaduck5748 ok but is your first instinct when you feel a coackroach crawling on your leg to eat it?Moust of the places where they eat insects they do it out of necesity or tradition.The fear of a poetntial venomous insect crawling on you is valid even in our modern day

[@JenniferMcMahonhawaii78]

Have you heard of the AVOZILLA? It's avocado as big as a modern-day human head, which still exists today in some parts of coastal South America and costs about $12 US dollar on average.

[@DocFlareon]

Possibly insane idea: Introduce a population of harpy eagles to Madagascar. Give the birds a second home, and remind the lemurs just why big predatory birds are to be feared.

[@Savage3OO6]

Human's fear of the dark would fit into this as well. It's understandable to be afraid of the dark in more tribal times, because bears, wolves, lions, hyenas, etc lurked in the shadows. So that explains why my six year old son is afraid to go into our basement, however there is no rational reason to fear it.

[@prototropo]

Very beautifully explained! Thank you. Evolutionary anachronisms are almost inherently sad, given the contingency in most cases that one participant in a dynamic, or factor in a phenomenon of anatomy or physiology, is now extinct. And we can often look in a mirror for exterminators under suspicion. So, yes! Let’s bring back the recently departed megafauna-the North American lion, cheetah and mastodon, the Eurasian mammoth, woolly rhinoceros and Irish elk, the dodo and passenger pigeon, the giant sloth and armadillo, and, my personal favorite, the most intriguing and elegant of marsupials-the thalacine.

[@user-ft3jq5vi2l]

Ever felt stressed out of your mind because of an exam, feeling physically ready to fight a tiger but psychologically unable to solve 2+2=x? Yeah, thanks adrenaline and cortisol...

[@secretobvious6033]

yeah bro it feels so much better to run and climb from a predator than solving a function f(x) you get stress in exam because you cant run or fight it which makes you more stress.....

[@favoriteheartfelt7401]

Lemurs got generational trauma I thought that was only in humans 😂😂

[@LezlyLikesYuri]

I don't know why, put this video made me tear up. There's so much that's been lost to time and so much that has been lost to carelessness. There are so many answers staring us in the face every single day but we either refuse to acknowledge them or have lost the context that would give the answers meaning. It makes me feel empty inside...

[@casparvoncampenhausen5249]

This is the perfect type of KZbin Video. Enticing Thumbnail and title, great opening, interesting topic