When a giant asteroid hit Earth around 66 million years ago, it created a massive disaster that wiped out the dinosaurs. But somehow, many mammals survived, and scientists have some ideas why. Unlike the dinosaurs, early mammals were small and could burrow underground or hide in small spaces, which helped them escape the intense heat and fires. They were also able to eat a variety of foods, like seeds and insects, which made it easier for them to survive when plant life was scarce. Dinosaurs, on the other hand, mostly needed specific plants or prey, which disappeared after the impact. Plus, mammals could regulate their body temperature better, helping them survive in the extreme cold that followed. All these survival skills meant mammals had a better chance to make it through—and eventually thrive—while dinosaurs sadly didn’t. Credit: Prehistoric Planet / Apple TV+ CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/: Velociraptor meeting 02: By KaiserKaijin3DX, https://prehistoric-planet.fandom.com/wiki/File:Velociraptor_meeting_02.png Imperobators leap 03: By KaiserKaijin3DX, https://prehistoric-planet.fandom.com/wiki/File:Imperobators_leap_03.png Juramaia NT: By Nobu Tamura, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19459893 CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0: Horseshoe crab righting: By Rhododendrites, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horseshoe_crab_righting_itself_on_Plumb_Beach_(57349).webm Chel1000: By Jon Houseman, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chel1000.webm Wild Platypus 4: By Klaus - https://flic.kr/p/iFn9PW, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=116649429 Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.shutterstock.com Animation is created by Bright Side. #brightside ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/ Listen to Bright Side on: Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/ Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960 Stock materials (photos, footages and other): https://www.depositphotos.com https://www.shutterstock.com https://www.eastnews.ru ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
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00:00Let's go with the widely accepted theory that a massive asteroid hitting our planet
00:05wiped out the dinosaurs.
00:08It does make you wonder why mammals made it though.
00:11One idea is that mammals were better prepared.
00:14Back then, they weren't the most popular creatures on Earth, but they were pretty diverse.
00:19They bred themselves into a huge range of species, and it might have saved them.
00:25Some said mammals survived because they were smaller, so they needed fewer resources.
00:31As they had to constantly hide from dinosaurs, they managed to survive in difficult environments
00:36way before the hit.
00:38But let's say the asteroid never came, and it never damaged the environment the dinosaurs
00:43thrived in.
00:44It's safe to say our fauna would look different today.
00:48Take the mighty titanosaur.
00:50It's considered the biggest land animal to ever exist, some reaching lengths of about
00:55seven standard cars lined up.
00:59It had a neck so long that it would have needed a two-story home just to fit.
01:04It also had a plant-based diet, so it ate from the ground, but from very tall trees
01:09too.
01:10There was nothing much left to eat for, say, the little juramaya, a mammal that lived roughly
01:16at the same time, but was as small as a popsicle stick!
01:21Let's take this thought experiment a bit further and imagine we have a time machine
01:26that could transport today's mammals to the time of the dinosaurs.
01:30Some scientists say they have gotten bigger, so there's a chance they could survive,
01:35right?
01:36They're also much more evolved in terms of their diets and skills.
01:40Others say definitely not, they couldn't survive, mostly because they're too small
01:45to compete with dinosaurs.
01:47An adult T-Rex was just about the size of a bus.
01:51It probably wouldn't waste its time trying to capture food that's human-sized, for
01:56instance.
01:57They'd probably be on the lookout for prey the size of a car, or even bigger, like an
02:01elephant.
02:03And it most likely wouldn't take them long to win the fight.
02:06Sure, a T-Rex might munch on something smaller too, but only if it's really hungry and
02:12has no other alternative.
02:15If we had no choice but to send some mammals back in hopes they could survive, what would
02:21be our best bet?
02:23Some say the chimpanzee could be a good candidate, as these primates build their sleeping nests
02:29higher up in trees.
02:31This might have kept them safe from the carnivore dinosaurs living on land.
02:35There's no real evidence of dinosaurs being able to fly, but we do know there might have
02:41been some reptiles that took to the sky for transportation, like pterosaurs, the flying
02:47lizard.
02:48These ones like to eat fish and smaller animals, but who's to say they wouldn't pick up
02:53a chimpanzee given the opportunity?
02:56Another good candidate might be the hyena.
02:59Today, the spotted hyena is the most common big carnivore in Africa, and it's highly
03:05adaptable.
03:06They can snatch up all sorts of prey by themselves or even in larger units.
03:11They can digest most parts of their prey, including the skin and bones.
03:17These animals aren't picky eaters and they wouldn't mind chewing on parts that other
03:21creatures would gladly skip on.
03:23Not to mention, they'll eat fruits too, if needed.
03:28Hyenas are overall healthy and sturdy animals, with some studies showing they hardly ever
03:33get health problems.
03:35Like any other animal on this planet, the hyenas also have their weaknesses.
03:41We still don't know why these creatures can't be found in Europe anymore, but some
03:46research suggests they found it hard to coexist with humans and wolves.
03:50Also, they're not very adapted to living in forests.
03:56Orcas might have been able to rub elbows with the dinosaurs too.
04:00These creatures also don't have any natural predators, which earned them the nickname
04:04the wolves of the sea.
04:06That's because they go out looking for prey the same way wolves do, in groups.
04:12Orcas may be related to dolphins, but we can hardly call them friendly, as there have been
04:17cases of them sinking ships, on purpose.
04:22They're highly intelligent animals that spend time together and are very organized.
04:27They also do this thing where they often take down more prey than they're prepared
04:32to eat.
04:33It may be because they see this experience as training.
04:37Other theories suggest orcas are so intelligent that they look for food in advance, even though
04:43they're not hungry yet.
04:45It might also be because whenever they want something to munch on, they're looking for
04:50the best quality food there is.
04:53The reason why they might not survive in the dinosaur era, though, is the global temperature.
04:59Back in the Mesozoic era, our planet was seriously hotter, several degrees warmer than it is
05:05today.
05:06Orcas prefer living in colder waters, but you'll find them in all oceans and most seas.
05:14Ostriches are the no-brainer answer.
05:16Look at them!
05:17They're practically dinosaurs!
05:19They even have a long-lost dino cousin that lived in the Cretaceous era, called the Struthiomimus.
05:26Its name translates to, ostrich-like, because of its similar powerful and speedy legs, agility,
05:33and even feathers.
05:35On the downside, they might not be able to take down larger dinosaurs.
05:39The vegetation back in the Mesozoic era would have been different, too.
05:44Conifers used to dominate land, and ostriches are known to be pretty picky eaters, so they
05:49might have had a difficult time finding food back then.
05:54There are plenty of reasons to send felines through that time machine, too.
05:59In the Jurassic period, for example, there were plenty of slow-moving prey to eat and
06:04tons of hiding spots in the thick bushes.
06:08Lions are sneaky animals, have precise vision, and are extremely good at climbing.
06:15Some pack a punch for their size, making them fierce fighters.
06:19Lions are good contenders because of their speed and teamwork.
06:22They might be able to take down some decent-sized dinosaurs, like the Europasaurus, when working
06:28together.
06:30Leopards are really good at climbing trees, so they could snatch prey and enjoy it above
06:35the ground, where they might be safe from bigger predators.
06:39What might be their downfall is, again, the temperature difference.
06:43It was considerably hotter back then.
06:46Today's large mammals aren't equipped to deal with that extreme heat.
06:51Lions might be the kings of the savannah now, but it would be too hot even for them.
06:56If they ever want to grab a spiky-tailed herbivore for lunch, like the Tugiandrosaurus or Stegosaurus,
07:02they might be in for a surprise.
07:05One hit from their extremely powerful tail could cause some serious damage.
07:10Not to mention run-ins with raptors, like the frightening Saurophaganax.
07:16The single most likely animal that might survive being roommates with the dinosaurs is the
07:22platypus.
07:24This quirky Aussie creature is one of those rare egg-laying mammals.
07:29It's a fan of freshwater and as close to a living relic as an animal can be.
07:35Scientists were able to trace its origin back as far as 120 million years ago.
07:41For food, it wields its sensitive beak to catch shrimp and worms underwater.
07:47When it dives, skin flaps cover its eyes and ears, so it becomes blind and deaf.
07:53But it still uses that beak like a high-tech radar.
07:57A grown platypus can even feast on half its body weight in a single night.
08:02Scientists have known for a while it shares many traits with reptiles, like its shoulder
08:07bones or the fact that it lays eggs.
08:11Other creatures that coexisted with the dinosaurs still exist today, just not mammals.
08:17Snakes made their way into our fauna in those prehistoric times too, as well as cockroaches
08:22and bees.
08:24Some species of sharks are even considered to predate the dinosaurs.
08:28And if we look at our entire planetary history, we'll see they survived four out of five
08:33periods of mass extinction.
08:37Horseshoe crabs have the nickname living fossils because their evolution was much slower than
08:42any other animal that we know of.
08:45Not because they're not smart, but simply because they found their perfect form much
08:50sooner.
08:51So they didn't need to make a lot of changes.
08:53They have a very rudimentary immune system, but it seems to work wonders.
08:58No wonder they stayed pretty much the same for over 400 million years!
09:03That's it for today!
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