It's amazing to think about the animals we've managed to save from the brink of extinction. Thanks to conservation efforts, species like the California condor, black-footed ferret, and the Arabian oryx are still around today. These rescues often involve breeding programs, habitat restoration, and laws protecting endangered species. It’s a team effort, with scientists, governments, and everyday people pitching in to make a difference. Seeing these animals thrive again gives us hope and shows that with dedication, we can make a positive impact on our planet’s biodiversity. Credit:
Coelacanth off Pumula: by Bruce A.S. Henderson, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coelacanth_off_Pumula_on_the_KwaZulu-Natal_South_Coast,_South_Africa,_on_22_November_2019.png
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Coelacanth off Pumula: by Bruce A.S. Henderson, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coelacanth_off_Pumula_on_the_KwaZulu-Natal_South_Coast,_South_Africa,_on_22_November_2019.png
Animation is created by Bright Side.
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https://www.eastnews.ru
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For more videos and articles visit:
http://www.brightside.me
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
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FunTranscript
00:00Every species on Earth, you, me, and that nasty neighbor of yours, is destined to go
00:07extinct someday.
00:09Just like what happened to the woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers.
00:13Stats aren't bright.
00:15Scientists say that 99% of all animals that ever lived are now extinct.
00:20Hey, what's that look on your face?
00:24Going extinct is not the end of the story.
00:30Now listen up.
00:31Mammoths might make the greatest comeback ever and even be the key to saving humanity.
00:37Nope, they won't give away free money so that we don't have to work anymore, but they can
00:42sort of help the weather situation on our planet.
00:46In the Arctic tundra, there's this ground called permafrost.
00:50It's like soil in the form of ice.
00:53Soil turns permafrost when it stays super cold for two years straight.
00:59But now, permafrost is actively thawing out, and it's bad news for, well, everyone.
01:05Because while thawing, it releases a lot of carbon into the air.
01:10But what if we had large animals like mammoths there today?
01:14They would churn up the soil.
01:16The ground would freeze more deeply in winter.
01:19And then, in summer, a layer of grass would help keep the ground cool and prevent the
01:24permafrost from melting.
01:27Some scientists think that's a great solution.
01:30So now there's a company in the US that's trying to bring mammoths back to life.
01:35Ok, you got me.
01:37Not actual mammoths, but a sort of hybrid between an elephant and 1% mammoth DNA.
01:43It would be a northern elephant.
01:46Getting mammoth DNA is easier than you might think.
01:49They actually only went extinct about 10,000 to 14,000 years ago.
01:55Scientists are hoping to have their first elephant-mammoth hybrid by 2027.
02:00Let's hope it doesn't turn into a real-life Jurassic Park.
02:06Ah, Australia.
02:08A nightmarish place, and a home to the most fascinating creatures on Earth.
02:13But here, the sad fate befell the Tasmanian tiger, also known as thylacine.
02:19Don't mix it up with the Tasmanian devil.
02:22That one is living and thriving.
02:23Nope, the thylacine was a marsupial predator that used to chill in Australia, South Tasmania,
02:30and New Guinea.
02:31It was a nocturnal who preyed on other marsupials, like kangaroos.
02:37In the 30s, the farmers suddenly claimed that thylacines were eating their livestock.
02:42Looking back at it now, that was probably an exaggeration.
02:47But humans started to hunt poor thylacines until they were all gone.
02:51And then it turned out that hunting away the important predator isn't the brightest idea.
02:56Who would have thought?
02:58You see, thylacines kept things in check by eating bad animals.
03:03So once they disappeared, the Australian wildlife was basically doomed.
03:0835% of total mammal extinctions on Earth happened here.
03:12That's an awful world record.
03:14I know it sounds gloomy, but hey, maybe we can fix this.
03:18Remember that company we mentioned?
03:20It wants to bring back the thylacine too.
03:23Luckily, many thylacine embryos are still preserved in jars, like some creepy pickles.
03:30If we bring them back to Tasmania, this could help revive the entire ecosystem.
03:37Would you be happy to see them back in the wild?
03:40Me too, and I would also be happy to see you hitting those like and subscribe buttons so
03:44you can keep up with amazing facts all year round.
03:51We also have some huge dreams about tiny creatures.
03:55Take a trip to Mount Hotham Ski Resort in Victoria, Australia, and here you can find
04:00the mountain pygmy possum, a tiny bundle of cuteness.
04:05These guys are super rare, we even thought that they were extinct.
04:09All we had was their fossils.
04:12But then some skier spotted a possum in a log pile at the ski lodge in 1966.
04:19Imagine suddenly making a great discovery while chilling on vacation.
04:24These little possums can spend seven months of the year sleeping under the snow.
04:29They wake up occasionally to eat some stored food, and then they wake up in the spring
04:34to eat even more, find a mate, and go back to sleep again.
04:38What a relatable fella!
04:41Once they've made it into this video, you can guess they're pretty endangered.
04:45There are less than 2,000 left in the wild, all because their current homes don't fit
04:51them that well.
04:52But hooray, we can help them too!
04:56You see, their ancestors lived in lowland forests about 20 million years ago, so maybe
05:02mountain possums could live better if we moved them there.
05:06Of course, we can't just take them to the woods and expect them to survive.
05:10Instead, scientists want to slowly release possums into the forest and check up on how
05:15they get on with it.
05:17Let's hope these cute creatures will adapt to woodland life!
05:23The southern gastric brooding frog, also called the platypus frog, was quite a unique creature.
05:30It was discovered in 1972 in Queensland, Australia.
05:35Back then, this fella shocked the scientists with its super weird birthing practices.
05:41Check this out.
05:42The mother frog swallows her eggs, turning her stomach into the womb.
05:47Then she doesn't eat at all for six weeks straight.
05:49I could never!
05:51Meanwhile, the tadpoles hatch in her stomach, start to grow, and eventually get so big that
05:56the mom literally has to breathe through her skin.
06:00And then she literally spews out her offspring left and right.
06:05Bleh!
06:07But this insane process is a great evolutionary achievement, which is why it drew everyone's
06:12attention.
06:14But the wonder didn't last long.
06:16By the mid-80s, all known species of these frogs vanished from their natural habitats.
06:21Why?
06:22We have no idea.
06:23There are many theories but almost no evidence to back them up.
06:27In any case, over the years, these guys officially became extinct.
06:33But it all changed in 2013.
06:36Scientists started a groundbreaking project named the Lazarus Project.
06:40Now they want to resurrect these frogs to learn cool cloning techniques from them.
06:45Are you guys ready to copy their genetic preservation method?
06:49Yeah, me neither.
06:54But let's dive deeper.
06:56First, let's actually go in the water.
06:58Meet the Coelacanth.
06:59This creature lived in the oceans back when the dinosaurs roamed our planet and didn't
07:04even notice the asteroids.
07:08These guys are the Methuselahs of the sea.
07:10They can live up to 100 years and they don't even start thinking about leaving offspring
07:15until they're around 55.
07:18At least they've got plenty of time to live for themselves.
07:21We actually thought this creature had gone extinct about 65 million years ago.
07:26But then, the first Latimeria specimen was discovered off the coast of South Africa in
07:311938.
07:33Now they're known as living fossils.
07:37And these fish are enormous.
07:39They weigh around 200 pounds.
07:42They're also super stylish, with those lobe-fished paddles that make them look like disco balls.
07:48Oh, and they're great aerialists.
07:50Thanks to those versatile fins, they can even do headstands and swim belly up.
07:56The Coelacanth is also a bit of a homebody.
08:00It's not very energetic and likes to live in underwater caves during the day, only coming
08:05out at night to snack on smaller fish and squid.
08:10Another animal who's literally me.
08:13Now we're trying our best to preserve this species, and I won't be surprised if it
08:18outlives us all.
08:23And finally, let's talk about the largest and most awkwardly looking flightless bird
08:28from New Zealand, the South Island Takahe.
08:32The tale of the Takahe started way back in the Middle Ages.
08:36Humans accidentally hunted them all away, and by the late 19th century, it seemed there
08:41were none of them left.
08:43But then, they were rediscovered in New Zealand in 1948.
08:48Poor guys did all they could to hide from us in the mountains, but we still got them.
08:53But it's different now.
08:55Since then, we've been trying our best to save them from extinction.
08:59There's a Takahe recovery program going on, and it shows great results.
09:03They manage to greatly boost the number of birds in the wild.
09:08As of 2023, the Takahe population has grown to around 500 birds.
09:14They're now considered nationally vulnerable, not nationally critical.
09:20It's a little progress, but progress nonetheless.
09:23Let's keep it up!