How Nature Protects Animals (1959)

[Music] throughout all the animal world the struggle to survive goes on without end not only our animals eaten by one another for food but their survival is constantly threatened by many other hazards fire destroys animals their food and their homes floods claim countless victims annually as do the frigid blasts of winter and disease plays an important role in this drama of survival man 2 is a destroyer of nature and takes a large toll of wildlife with all these enemies and dangers confronting them how do animal species manage to survive well many of them don't extinct through great changes in the Earth's climate in 19th century America there were billions of passenger pigeons but reckless slaughter by hunters wiped this handsome species from existence in spite of the many hazards to their existence numerous species of animals like the salvo blue crab have survived over long periods of the Earth's history the species that survived the longest are those which are able to withstand the harsh elements and escape the hungry enemies of their environments this film will show us how nature protects animals from being caught and killed by other animals here are moth escapes being eaten because it is distasteful to the Frog most often in nature animals which prey upon others attack those which are smaller than themselves but whatever advantages the enemy may have a wide variety of defensive adaptations gives each kind of animal a chance to survive keen senses of sight smell and hearing help some animals escape from their enemies the smaller animals like insects which are preyed upon by many alert and ever hungry foes have the ability to reproduce rapidly and in large numbers on the other hand large animals have few young in their lifetime their young take a lot longer to grow to the adults but once they do their larger size is an aid to survival since they then have few enemies to challenge them a pair for their young until they get a good start in life young scorpions ride about clinging to the mother for protection until able to take care of themselves from these few examples we can begin to see how great is the variety of defensive adaptations but however great the variety most defensive adaptations may be grouped under these three main headings hiding from enemies fleeing from enemies or discouraging the attack of enemies there are many different ways to hide besides crawling under a board as this little frog is doing in nature animals hide behind many kinds of disguise hoax and fakery can you see a butterfly in this picture when resting its folded wings make it look just like another dead leaf on the branch where are the two toads in this scene which stalk of grass is really a praying mantis the markings of this rattlesnake blend well with its habitat patterns colors and shapes are common types of camouflage in nature some animals are all but invisible when they remain motionless in their various surroundings this he laconian butterfly has a pattern of black and yellow which makes it less visible in flight its markings blend with the sun splotches and shadows of its habitat animals may also hide by burying themselves from sight the blue-crab of our ocean waters is that expert at this trick its eyes are on long stalks they can be left above the surface to see what is going on while the crabs body is invisible open areas like prairies do not provide good hiding places for some animals but these prairie dogs flee to their underground homes when danger approaches another prairie animal the antelope has horns and hoofs which it can use in defending itself but animals can escape from most enemies by their Swift running even a baby antelope can run with speed soon after it is born besides running as a means of fleeing there is hopping swimming crawling and climbing if the opossum can't outrun its enemies it can climb a tree with ease to escape them most birds have keen eyesight to help find their food and to watch out for their enemies but this Egret demonstrates how important flying is to birds as a means of escape owls and some other birds like woodpeckers make or find holes in trees here they have shelter for themselves as well as their eggs and young most animals attempt to hide or flee from a known enemy but sometimes they are forced to face their enemies let's see a few of the ways in which they discourage their attackers the porcupine can't move very fast but its body is covered with needle sharp quills the quills stick easily and painfully into any enemy that attacks it they can also be forced into the attacker by a sudden slap of the porcupines tail the points of the quills are rough this makes it even more painful to pull them out after they pierce an animals flesh like the porcupines quill the stinger of a bee can also inflict great pain this is a bee stinger greatly magnified here is an example of a defensive adaptation called mimicry this Viceroy butterfly looks very much like another butterfly the monarch the monarch is not attacked by Birds it is believed to be distasteful to them birds don't attack the Viceroy either it looks like or mimics the monarch so well that the birds can't tell one from the other another animal relationship is called commensalism in commensalism one kind of animal finds an advantage in living with another kind for example the Remora fish has a suction disc on its head for attaching itself to larger sea animals like the shark thus the Remora enjoys free rides part of the Sharks food and protection from its enemies which fear the shot the nauseating spray of a frightened skunk is a very effective defensive weapon it really discourages most would-be attackers here a sphinx moth larvae is well camouflaged among the leaves by its color and shape but it also has a special marking like a large eye concealed in the folds of its skin when disturbed it displays this marking seemingly and an attempt to divert would-be attackers the armadillo isn't much of a fighter but tough horny plates cover its body like a suit of armor its armor affords good protection against the teeth and claws of some enemies the harmless hog nose snake has no real means of defense so it tries to bluff its enemies by actions which make it resemble a venomous snake but this fellow is no buffer the diamondback rattlesnake has needle sharp fangs for injecting of powerful venom into its victims it strikes with lightning like speed and can bring painful death to an enemy that dares to attack it all of these defensive adaptations which we have seen point up the simple fact that to survive in nature an animal must eat and escape being eaten but this means that some must be eaten that others may live and that is why in a pattern of survival some animals are adapted to hide safely some to flee quickly and others to discourage their attackers or in this way some of each species live long enough to produce a new generation of their kind by these and many other amazing adaptations Nature has protected fed and kept alive an endless variety of animal species through countless ages of the history of the earth [Music]