Original subtitles

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NARRATOR: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL, YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT IS EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: HI, EVERYONE, I'M DYLAN DREYER.

IT'S TIME FOR A JOURNEY INTO THE WILD TO SEE SOME OF THE PLANET'S

MOST INCREDIBLE ANIMALS.

THIS IS "EARTH ODYSSEY".

TODAY, WE'RE HEADED OUT ON A SAFARI FOR A CLOSE-UP LOOK AT

SOME OF AFRICA'S MAGNIFICENTLY MASSIVE

VEGETARIAN MAMMALS, LIKE THIS ICONIC GIANT

WITH THE PERFECT HEADWEAR FOR

BEATING THE HEAT.

WE'LL SEE A HORN-CLAD HULK THAT HAS A PREHISTORIC PAST.

AND LATER, WHAT MAKES THIS HYDRATED HEAVYWEIGHT SO

MYSTERIOUS?

BUT OUR JOURNEY BEGINS IN THE SUN-SOAKED SAVANNAH, WHERE THESE

ELEPHANTS ARE PUTTING IN OVERTIME TO KEEP UP

WITH THEIR DIETS.

ALL OF THIS AND MORE ON TODAY'S "EARTH ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]

AFRICA IS HOME TO THE LARGEST LAND ANIMALS ON EARTH.

THIS LUSH AND DIVERSE LANDSCAPE OFFERS ENOUGH FOOD, WATER, AND

SPACE FOR EVEN THE MOST COLOSSAL CREATURES TO THRIVE.

WHILE THEIR SIZE MAY MEAN THEY AREN'T THREATENED BY PREDATORS,

BEING THE BIGGEST AROUND COMES WITH ITS OWN DIFFICULTIES.

ONE HERD OF TUSK-WIELDING TITANS MUST WORK AROUND THE CLOCK TO

STAY FIT FOR FORAGING.

EVERY DAY WHEN THE SUN IS AT ITS HIGHEST POINT, THE GROUND SHAKES

WITH THE MOVEMENT OF GIANTS...

...ELEPHANTS.

A LARGE FEMALE LEADS THE PROCESSION.

THE SMALL HERD SHE LEADS IS MADE UP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE ALL

PART OF THE SAME FAMILY.

HERE WE HAVE THE MOTHER, HER DAUGHTERS, AND THEIR OFFSPRING,

JUST A FEW SPECIMENS OF AN EXTRAORDINARY SPECIES, A

REMINDER OF THE MAMMAL GIANTS WHICH DOMINATED THE EARTH DURING

THE EARLY CENOZOIC ERA MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO.

GREAT SIZE MEANS A GREAT THIRST, DRINKING 25 TO 50 GALLONS OF

WATER PER DAY.

USUALLY, THEY ONLY DRINK ONCE A DAY.

THIS IS ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A SECOND ACTIVITY DEDICATED TO

PERSONAL GROOMING.

ELEPHANTS ARE A SPECIES WITHOUT SUDORIFEROUS GLANDS, OR SWEAT

GLANDS, BUT THEY HAVE FOUND MUD TO BE THE PERFECT SUBSTITUTE.

IT SOFTENS THE ELEPHANT'S HIDE.

THE MUD DRIES ON THEIR SKIN AND FORMS A CRUST WHICH WILL PROTECT

THEM FROM INSECTS AND THE HEAT OF THE SUN.

WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DRY SEASON.

THE FOOD IS LESS NUTRITIOUS, AND IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO FUEL

THIS ENORMOUS BULK, TAKING UP TO 16 HOURS OF

THE ELEPHANT'S DAY.

THEY NEED TO EAT THE EQUIVALENT OF FOUR TO SIX PERCENT OF THEIR

BODY WEIGHT.

FOR AN ADULT MALE THIS BIG, THIS MEANS AROUND 650 POUNDS OF FOOD

EVERY DAY.

ELEPHANTS NEED FOOD WHICH IS EASILY AVAILABLE IN LARGE

QUANTITIES, SO IT'S NO COINCIDENCE THAT THE WORLD'S

LARGEST LAND MAMMAL IS A VEGETARIAN.

IN ORDER TO SATISFY THIS NEED, BEING FUSSY IS NOT AN OPTION.

ACCORDING TO THE LOCATION AND THE SEASON, AN ELEPHANT WILL EAT

ANYTHING IT FINDS AS LONG AS IT'S A PLANT.

IN THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES, DRY FOLIAGE FITS THE BILL.

NEVERTHELESS, THESE CREATURES HAVE A REFINED PALATE AND HAVE

CERTAIN FAVORITE FOODS.

THEY PARTICULARLY LIKE THESE BUTTERFLY-SHAPED TURPENTINE TREE

LEAVES AND BAOBAB WOOD.

IT'S ALWAYS SURPRISING TO SEE THESE CREATURES, WHICH MUST

INGEST VAST AMOUNTS OF FOOD, TAKE TIME AND GREAT CARE OVER

THEIR MEAL.

IF ANY PROOF WERE NEEDED OF THEIR GARGANTUAN APPETITE, ONE

JUST HAS TO LOOK AROUND.

THE ELEPHANT SHARES AN UNUSUAL PRIVILEGE WITH MAN.

THEIR BEHAVIOR CAN ALTER THE LANDSCAPE, CHANGING A LUSH

SAVANNAH INTO AN ARID ONE.

HUMANS AND ELEPHANTS ALSO SHARE ANOTHER COMMON TRAIT.

BOTH CAN SURVIVE IN ANY HABITAT AS LONG AS THEY CAN FIND WATER

AND FOOD.

ELEPHANTS ARE VERSATILE CREATURES.

THEY'RE NOT SPECIALISTS.

THEY'VE COLONIZED ALL AVAILABLE ENVIRONMENTS WITH THEIR

ADAPTABILITY, MAKING THEIR SURVIVAL SENSE AS IMPRESSIVE AS

THEIR UNMATCHED SIZE.

COMING UP, WE GET A LOOK AT THE MOST INTIMIDATING HERBIVORE ICON

IN AFRICA.

AND LATER, A DEEP DIVE INTO THE INTERNATIONAL MAMMAL OF MYSTERY

WHEN "EARTH ODYSSEY" RETURNS.

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: SOME CREATURES HAVE CONNECTIONS FAR BACK BEYOND

HUMAN HISTORY, BUT WE CAN STILL SEE THEIR ANCIENT PAST TODAY AS

A SPECIAL FEW HAVE KEPT THEIR PREHISTORIC APPEARANCE.

THE BLACK RHINO IS ONE OF THE LAST EXAMPLES OF A FAMILY OF

ANIMALS WHICH APPEARED ON THE PLANET 35 MILLION YEARS AGO.

AT THAT TIME, THEY HAD NO HORN, BUT WERE NONETHELESS REAL RHINOS

WITH HUGE BODIES, SHORT LEGS, AND A LONG HEAD WITH A

PREHENSILE UPPER LIP RESEMBLING A TURTLE'S BEAK.

ONE OTHER SPECIES OF RHINO HAS SURVIVED,

THE WHITE RHINO.

TWICE THE SIZE OF ITS BLACK COUSIN, IT APPEARED MILLIONS OF

YEARS LATER DURING THE QUATERNARY ERA.

IN BOTH SPECIES, THE EYES ARE SMALL AND SET VERY LOW ON THEIR

CHEEKS.

TO COMPENSATE FOR THEIR POOR SIGHT, THEY RELY ON THEIR EARS.

WHILE THE BLACK RHINO WILL EAT UP TO 200 VARIETIES OF PLANT,

WHITE RHINOS EAT ONLY GRASS.

RHINOS HAVE NEITHER CANINES NOR INCISORS; THEREFORE, THEY USE

THEIR LIPS TO GRAB AND TEAR THEIR FOOD.

THE WHITE RHINO'S LIPS ARE WHITE AND STRAIGHT TO PROVIDE A BIGGER

CUTTING EDGE.

RHINOS EAT MAINLY IN THE MORNING AND THE EVENING, IN THIS CASE,

JUST AFTER A MUD BATH.

THEY CAN GET BY ON 40 TO 70 POUNDS OF GRASS A DAY, A

SURPRISINGLY SMALL AMOUNT FOR ANIMALS THIS BIG.

[CROW CAWING]

THE REASON FOR THIS LIMITED NEED FOR FOOD IS THEIR SLOW

METABOLISM AND THAT THEY EXERT THEMSELVES SO LITTLE, THEY CAN

SEEM APATHETIC.

RHINOS HAVE THE REPUTATION OF BEING SOLITARY CREATURES, WHICH

IS TRUE OF THE TERRITORIAL MALES.

FEMALES, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE RARELY ALONE.

IF THEY HAVE NO YOUNG, THEY JOIN UP WITH OTHER FEMALES IN THE

SAME SITUATION AND LIVE TOGETHER IN SMALL, STABLE GROUPS.

THE STRONGEST AND MOST ENDURING SOCIAL BOND AMONG RHINOS IS THAT

BETWEEN A MOTHER AND ITS BABY.

THEY STAY TOGETHER FOR TWO TO THREE YEARS, WAY PAST WEANING

AND BEYOND THE STAGE WHEN THEIR SIZE LEAVES THEM VULNERABLE TO

PREDATORS.

BARELY AN HOUR AFTER IT'S BORN, THE BABY RHINO CAN ALREADY STAND

ALONGSIDE ITS MOTHER.

THIS ONE IS NOW TWO MONTHS OLD AND HAS ALREADY BEGUN GRAZING.

DESPITE THIS PRECOCIOUSNESS, THE RHINO'S LIFE WILL NOT LIVE UP TO

ITS EARLY PROMISE.

THIS COSSETED CHILDHOOD SPENT EXCLUSIVELY WITH ITS MOTHER

MERELY PREPARES IT FOR A LIFE WITHOUT ANY SIGNIFICANT SOCIAL

RELATIONS.

WHILE A SOLITARY EXISTENCE MAY SEEM HARSH, IT HAS PROVEN TO BE

THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY FOR THESE GRASSLAND GIANTS TO THRIVE

THROUGH THE GENERATIONS.

WHEN WE COME BACK, A WATERY WONDER THAT INSPIRES CURIOSITY

AROUND THE WORLD.

THEN WE'LL SEE THE ELEPHANT'S UNIQUE COOLING SYSTEM YOU HAVE

TO HEAR ABOUT.

ALL OF THIS AND MORE COMING UP ON "EARTH ODYSSEY".

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: BEING ONE OF THE BIGGEST MAMMALS ON EARTH MEANS GETTING

PLENTY OF ATTENTION.

SUCH AN IMPOSING ICON OF THE WILD ATTRACTS ALL KINDS OF STUDY

AND OBSERVATION, AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES IT EVEN MORE SURPRISING

THAT THE HIPPO IS SUCH A MYSTERY.

THIS WATER-LOVING GIANT IS AS ELUSIVE AS IT IS UNIQUE, SO

GETTING A CLOSER LOOK ISN'T ALWAYS SO EASY.

BUT WHEN THEY DO MAKE AN APPEARANCE, THEY ALWAYS LEAVE AN

IMPRESSION.

IT'S NOT OFTEN WE GET A GOOD LOOK AT THEM, BUT WHEN THEY

SURFACE, THE HIPPO IS HARD TO MISS.

WE KNOW RELATIVELY LITTLE ABOUT THIS MASSIVE MAMMAL, BECAUSE ITS

WAY OF LIFE MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO STUDY.

IT SPENDS MOST OF ITS LIFE IN THE WATER AND IS USUALLY

SUBMERGED SO THAT ONLY A FEW OF THE HAIRS ON ITS SNOUT ARE

VISIBLE.

IN THE MORNING, HAVING SPENT ALL NIGHT GRAZING ON THE RIVERBANKS,

THE HIPPO FINALLY REVEALS ITSELF IN ALL ITS

MEGA HERBIVORE GLORY.

ITS BODY IS SHAPED LIKE A HUGE BARREL RAISED UP ON FOUR SHORT

PILLARS WHICH SUPPORT ITS TWO TO THREE-TON MASS.

WE KNOW THAT HIPPOS AND PIGS HAVE THE SAME ANCESTRY AND

DIVERGED ABOUT 50 MILLION YEARS AGO, BUT WE STILL DO NOT KNOW

WHO THEIR COMMON ANCESTOR WAS.

THE SUN IS STARTING TO RISE, AND THIS HIPPO IS EAGER TO GET INTO

THE WATER.

ITS EPIDERMIS IS VERY DELICATE AND HAS NO SWEAT GLANDS, WHICH

MEANS IT QUICKLY BECOMES DEHYDRATED, FAR MORE SO THAN ANY

OTHER MAMMAL.

THE HIPPO IS AN ANIMAL UNLIKE ANY OTHER IN ITS MORPHOLOGY, ITS

AMPHIBIOUS NATURE, BUT ALSO ITS PARADOXICAL AND STILL LARGELY

MYSTERIOUS LIFESTYLE.

WHILE IT SPENDS THE NIGHT GRAZING ALONE ALONG THE

RIVERBANKS, BY DAY, IT SEEKS OUT THE COMPANY OF ITS FELLOW

HIPPOS.

HIPPOS STILL HAVE THEIR MYSTERIOUS SIDE, AND SOME OF

THEIR BEHAVIOR IS STILL UNEXPLAINED, ESPECIALLY WHEN

THEY CAN BE FOUND IN UNLIKELY SITUATIONS, SUCH AS THIS, OR AT

LEAST THAT ARE TOTALLY THE OPPOSITE OF THE

HABITS WE EXPECT OF THEM.

HIPPOS GENERALLY MAKE A POINT OF AVOIDING FAST-MOVING WATERS AS

MUCH AS THEY CAN,

BUT THIS ONE HAS NOT FOUND ITSELF HERE BY

ACCIDENT, AS IT RETURNS HERE TO THE HEART OF THE RAPIDS

EVERY DAY.

IT'S CLEARLY RELAXING AND ENJOYING ITSELF.

WHO CARES WHAT DIFFICULTIES HAVE TO BE OVERCOME TO SPEND SOME

TIME IN THE BUBBLE BATH.

THE TRUTH IS THAT FOR ALL THE GENERALIZATIONS APPLIED TO ANY

SPECIES, THERE ARE ALWAYS INDIVIDUALS WITH THEIR OWN

CHARACTER AND CHOICES STANDING OUT AMONG ANY CROWD IN THE WILD.

COMING UP, THE ELEPHANT TRICK FOR BEATING THE HEAT THAT SOUNDS

AS WEIRD AS IT IS WORTHWHILE WHEN WE RETURN ON

"EARTH ODYSSEY".

.

NARRATOR: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: AS THE SUN SHIFTS, THE ELEPHANTS ARE ON THE MOVE AGAIN,

STILL SEARCHING FOR FOOD AND STEPPING OUT INTO FOCUS FOR ALL

IN THE SAVANNAH TO SEE.

UNLIKE MOST ANIMALS, FEMALE ELEPHANTS HAVE THEIR UDDERS ON

THE FRONT PART OF THEIR BODIES.

THIS MAKES SUCKLING EASIER FOR THE CALVES, WHO CAN USE THEIR

MOUTHS DIRECTLY RATHER THAN THEIR TRUNKS, WHICH THEY HAVEN'T

YET REALLY LEARNED TO USE PROPERLY.

THE ELEPHANT HAS MANY ANATOMICAL PECULIARITIES,

BUT EACH OF THEM IS PART OF A

REMARKABLY COHERENT WHOLE.

ANY PROBLEM IS LINKED TO A SOLUTION TO HELP GET AROUND IT.

BARE SKIN EXPOSED TO THE HEAT OF THE SUN, NO PROBLEM.

IT HAS ITS THREE-FOOT-LONG EARS TO HELP COOL IT DOWN.

AND SINCE THEY ARE FULL OF BLOOD VESSELS, THE ANIMAL CAN REGULATE

THE BLOOD TEMPERATURE FOR ITS WHOLE BODY.

ONE REAL PROBLEM WAS ITS WEIGHT, 200 POUNDS OF TRUNK PLUS THE

WEIGHT OF THE TUSKS.

BUT THE TUSKS CAN HELP TO SUPPORT SOME OF THE WEIGHT OF

ITS TRUNK...

...ADDED TO WHICH THE ELEPHANT HAS UNIQUE FEET WITH WHICH TO

SUPPORT ITS ENORMOUS MASS.

EACH HAS FIVE INSET FINGERS WHICH CANNOT BE SEEN.

THEY ARE VERTICAL WHEN THERE IS NO PRESSURE ON THE FOOT, BUT

WHEN THE FOOT IS PUT DOWN, THEY SPREAD OUT TO PROVIDE A DE FACTO

SHOCK ABSORBER.

ELEPHANTS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM HIPPOS AND RHINOS.

THEY DO NOT BELONG TO THE SAME FAMILY, HAVE VERY DIFFERENT

SOCIAL STRUCTURES, AND LEAD VERY DIFFERENT LIVES.

NEVERTHELESS, SOMETHING OTHER THAN THEIR BARE SKIN, MASSIVE

SIZE, AND A VEGETARIAN DIET UNITES THEM.

THEY HAVE SURVIVED THROUGHOUT THE AGES TO LIVE ALONGSIDE US,

PROOF THAT THESE ARE TRIED AND TESTED WAYS OF LIFE THAT HAVE

PROSPERED HERE FOR CENTURIES AND SHOW NO SIGNS OF STOPPING.

ALL OF THE INCREDIBLE WILDLIFE AROUND THE WORLD CAN INTRIGUE

AND IMPRESS, BUT THE STAGGERING SIZES OF EARTH'S GIANT MAMMALS

ARE AWE-INSPIRING.

THE ABILITY OF THESE BEHEMOTHS TO ADAPT AND THRIVE ARE JUST

SOME OF THE REASONS WHY THEY'RE TRUE ICONS OF THE WILD.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON OUR ADVENTURE INTO THE LAND OF THE

LARGEST ANIMALS.

I HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME FOR ANOTHER EPISODE OF

"EARTH ODYSSEY".

[MUSIC]