WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.840 --> 00:00:04.240 Welcome. This is Marsha for Radio I, and today I 2 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:09.160 will be reading National Geographic Magazine dated May twenty twenty five, 3 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:13.199 which is donated by the publisher. As a reminder. RADIOI 4 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:16.199 is a reading service intended for people who are blind 5 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:19.480 or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read 6 00:00:19.559 --> 00:00:23.760 printed material. Please join me now for the continuation of 7 00:00:23.800 --> 00:00:28.800 the article I began last time, entitled Paddling America's Grandest 8 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:35.759 Water Trail by Freddie Wilkinson. As the river wound through 9 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:38.759 farm country and the smell of manure filled the air, 10 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:43.320 the effects of the summer's drought became obvious. Water levels plunged, 11 00:00:43.719 --> 00:00:48.479 and river bottom rocks covered in slippery algai were exposed 12 00:00:48.640 --> 00:00:52.399 to foot and canoe alike. Just before the border with Canada, 13 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:55.880 I said farewell to Francis and then quit the river myself. 14 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.200 After several weeks at home, I thought I would return 15 00:00:59.240 --> 00:01:03.079 to the NFCA refreshed, ready to take on the last 16 00:01:03.119 --> 00:01:06.040 three hundred some miles that awaited me in Maine. But 17 00:01:06.120 --> 00:01:09.439 the trail's final miles hold hurdles that have been doubled 18 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:13.400 paddlers for centuries. One morning in the summer of eighteen 19 00:01:13.439 --> 00:01:18.000 fifty seven, Joe Polis set out across the Mud Pond Carrie, 20 00:01:18.439 --> 00:01:24.599 a nearly two mile stretch of land connecting mainz Umbazukous 21 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:28.879 Lake to Mud Pond. A guide from the Panabscat nation, 22 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:32.079 Polis was leading the row and his friend ed Hor 23 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:36.079 As immortalized in the main woods. At some point, Polis, 24 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:39.680 hauling the group's canoe, hustled ahead while the pair of 25 00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:43.879 Americans dawdled through the forest guideless. The Roe and hor 26 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:47.200 missed a turn and soon found themselves wandering a maze 27 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:51.560 of overgrown logging roads. After reaching Mud Pond, Polis, guessing 28 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:54.439 at what must have happened, doubled back and saved the 29 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:57.640 men from an uncomfortable night lost in the woods. The 30 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:00.920 Mud Pond Carrie is no less humbling today. It's far 31 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:04.719 too narrow for portage wheels, so I had to relay 32 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:08.840 my equipment in two loads, turning almost two miles in 33 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:11.759 two more than five. It was a theme of the 34 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:15.439 main stretch of the NFCT, which took me two trips 35 00:02:15.439 --> 00:02:19.400 to complete. On my second, frustrated and a little desperate, 36 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:23.159 I enlisted the company of someone with as intimate a 37 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:27.479 knowledge of these waters as there is. Jason Pardia is 38 00:02:27.520 --> 00:02:31.120 a river guide and elected Panobscot Council member. He is 39 00:02:31.159 --> 00:02:36.120 also Polus's great grandnephew. As I set out on the 40 00:02:36.479 --> 00:02:40.960 a Lagosh River with Pardia, I found he would rather 41 00:02:41.039 --> 00:02:44.080 talk about currents than his ancestors. I'm related to a 42 00:02:44.120 --> 00:02:47.639 bunch of cool Panobscots, but I always feel weird telling 43 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:50.280 their stories, he said. I don't mind being recognized for 44 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:52.639 my skills, but I don't want to be out there 45 00:02:52.719 --> 00:02:56.800 being that guy. Yet, for Pardia, reading rivers has always 46 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.759 been second nature. I didn't realize how much I knew 47 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:02.960 til I started guiding, and other people just didn't see 48 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:06.240 the things that I saw. Mardia and I were joined 49 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:10.759 by James Eric Francis Senior, the Panobscot historian, and river 50 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:15.919 guides Jennifer Neptune and Ryan Ranco Kelly, also members of 51 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:20.879 the Panobscot nation. Where many times faced removal and disconnection 52 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:24.360 from their lands and waters, the Panobscot have held on 53 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:27.840 to their place along their namesake river and continued their 54 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.199 legacy of canoe guiding. Water is freedom. Neptune said, we 55 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:35.159 weren't removed, we were just pushed onto the islands. In 56 00:03:35.240 --> 00:03:38.800 our river as our territory shrunk down. But in a 57 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:41.240 way it was perfect because it allowed us that freedom 58 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:44.199 to still have our culture, to get in a canoe 59 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:46.560 and take off. That's what our people did. We just 60 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:50.599 took off that summer. The Alagasha's water table had been 61 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:53.719 reduced to a trickle by the month's long drought, and 62 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:58.199 in shallow water a paddle loses its efficiency. To compensate, 63 00:03:58.240 --> 00:04:01.680 the river people of the Northeast use long spruce poles 64 00:04:02.039 --> 00:04:06.599 to guide themselves through skinny water. Poling makes upstream travel 65 00:04:06.719 --> 00:04:10.280 vastly more efficient, a necessary scale for a community that 66 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:13.520 had to think in terms of round trip canoe journeys, 67 00:04:13.879 --> 00:04:18.240 not simply downstream travel. Soon after we started down the river, 68 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:22.680 Pardia stowed his paddle, picked up a fourteen foot spruce pole, 69 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:26.319 skinned free of bark and fitted with a copper end cap, 70 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:30.439 stood up and began easing his canoe around rocks and strainers, 71 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:34.199 downed trees that can be assert us to boaters. It's 72 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:36.879 the original stand up paddle board, he said, with a chuckle. 73 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:41.600 We later portage around Olagash Falls and the landscape started 74 00:04:41.639 --> 00:04:45.720 to change once again. The frisky brook trout disappeared, the 75 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:49.120 spruce thinned, and then quite suddenly there was a paved 76 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:52.920 road running alongside the river, the first we had seen 77 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:56.839 in one hundred miles. As we pushed on, the Allagash 78 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:01.079 unceremoniously emptied us into the Saint John River that night. 79 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:04.879 Finally it rained the next morning, with Pardia Francis Signior 80 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:08.480 and Neptune bowing out due to the weather. Rank O'Kelly 81 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:10.759 and I put down an extra cup of coffee before 82 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:14.399 departing for my final day on the water. The end 83 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:18.120 of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail can feel strangely abrupt, 84 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:20.439 for all the effort one puts in to get there. 85 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:24.480 We glided down riffles of swift water, the current rushing 86 00:05:24.600 --> 00:05:28.639 us against great gravel bars. Then we round, did a 87 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:31.680 corner and spy the Friendship Bridge between Maine and Quebec, 88 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:34.720 and just beyond at the boat ramp at Fort Kent, 89 00:05:35.199 --> 00:05:38.360 the eastern terminus of the trail. I might have missed 90 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:42.040 the cobblestone landing altogether if not for our friends standing 91 00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:44.959 in the rain waiting for us to complete our journey. 92 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:49.839 The cumulative fatigue from days spent canoeing against gravity and 93 00:05:49.959 --> 00:05:53.319 hauling my boat and gear sometimes for miles, had taken 94 00:05:53.399 --> 00:05:56.879 its toll most evenings. I fell asleep shortly after nightfall, 95 00:05:57.240 --> 00:05:59.759 and I'd come to savor peanut butter by the spoonful 96 00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:02.959 direct from the jar. At some point during my many 97 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:05.399 trips that summer, I had begun to think of the 98 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:08.480 trail not as a series of twists and turns one 99 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:11.560 might expect from a river, but a series of steps, 100 00:06:12.040 --> 00:06:15.519 some long and smooth, some short and steep, but always 101 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:19.160 either rising or falling, fighting the current upstream or flowing 102 00:06:19.199 --> 00:06:22.759 down hill. Our path on the NFC Tee followed the water, 103 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:25.839 and the water flowed according to the shape of the land. 104 00:06:26.519 --> 00:06:29.519 As the row wrote in the main Woods, wherever there 105 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:32.040 is a channel for water, there is a road for 106 00:06:32.120 --> 00:06:35.560 the canoe. On the beach, Rank O'Kelly and I paused 107 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:38.560 for a couple of quick photos, then pulled our canoe 108 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.920 ashore and drained the rain water from its belly. We 109 00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:45.079 slashed up the muddy track past the old Fort Kent 110 00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:49.879 blockhouse to the parking lot beyond, carrying our canoe together. 111 00:06:50.920 --> 00:06:54.360 Paddling the Northern Forest. Two plus decades ago, a group 112 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.600 of paddlers and hikers hatched a bold plan to create 113 00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:01.639 the Appalachian Trail of canoeing. Backed by federal grants, they 114 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:05.199 mapped the seven hundred forty mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail, 115 00:07:05.800 --> 00:07:08.839 which runs from New York to Maine. Inspired by waterways 116 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:13.399 long used by indigenous communities for trade, the route flows 117 00:07:13.720 --> 00:07:19.639 through small towns and rugged back country. Next unbeatable beetles, 118 00:07:19.720 --> 00:07:23.759 These resilient, soil dwelling flesh eaters might have a few 119 00:07:23.759 --> 00:07:29.279 things to teach humans. The American bur burying beetle is 120 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:33.800 much like an underground undertaker, typically feasting on small rodents 121 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:38.240 and birds. North America's largest carrion eating beetles usually work 122 00:07:38.279 --> 00:07:41.279 in pairs to sniff out a carcass, remove its fur 123 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:44.639 or feathers, tunnel under it to draw it into the dirt, 124 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:49.160 and coat it in oral and anal secretions, preserving the 125 00:07:49.199 --> 00:07:53.480 meal for later. In January, scientists reported something else surprising 126 00:07:53.560 --> 00:07:57.279 about the nocturnal insects, which have received protections under the 127 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:02.279 Endangered Species Act since nineteen eighty nine. They're strangely resilient 128 00:08:02.360 --> 00:08:10.439 to insecticides called neo nononicotinoids. Despite appearing near death after exposure, 129 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:14.199 many bounced back within twenty four hours, suggesting a remarkable 130 00:08:14.199 --> 00:08:20.120 ability to detox. The team of researchers suspects that exposure 131 00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:24.160 to bacteria and fungi of decaying animals keeps the beetles hearty. 132 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:27.600 They're now studying the beetles and their secretions for potential 133 00:08:27.959 --> 00:08:33.720 human benefits, ranging from new antibiotics to food preservatives. This 134 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:39.960 article by Kelsey Noahkowski. Next holp Penguins push the limits 135 00:08:39.960 --> 00:08:47.639 of their capabilities by Renee eversol Oh my god, this 136 00:08:47.639 --> 00:08:50.200 thing's going to die. That was the thought running through 137 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:53.720 the mind of wildlife filmmaker Bertie Gregory when he saw 138 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:57.480 the first juvenile Emperor penguin jump off a fifty foot cliff. 139 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:02.279 The bird plummeted downwards, split into the frigid Southern Ocean. 140 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:06.440 After a few suspendful seconds, it bobbed to the surface 141 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.799 and then swam off toward the horizon. The National Geographic 142 00:09:09.879 --> 00:09:13.759 Explorer couldn't believe it. What came next was even more shocking. 143 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:17.159 More penguins from the crowd of several hundred huddled at 144 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:20.200 the edge of the towering ice shelf, plunged one by 145 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:22.840 one into the sea. There was a moment when it 146 00:09:22.879 --> 00:09:26.519 was just raining penguins off this cliff, says Gregory, who 147 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:29.840 captured rare footage of the event with a drone camera 148 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:34.720 in Antarctica's at Kabay last year while filming Secrets of 149 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:39.080 the Penguins, a new national geographic documentary series. It was 150 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:42.039 one of the most extraordinary things I've ever seen. Some 151 00:09:42.120 --> 00:09:45.519 did graceful swan dives, others slipped and tumbled headlong into 152 00:09:45.559 --> 00:09:50.360 the waves. Miraculously, nearly all survived the leap. Normally, young 153 00:09:50.399 --> 00:09:53.120 penguins jump only a couple of feet from floating sea 154 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:56.960 ice into the water when they fledge, says Michel LaRue, 155 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:01.279 a conservation biologist at the University of cantab in Christchurch, 156 00:10:01.440 --> 00:10:05.480 New Zealand. The cliff diving chicks that Gregory observed may 157 00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:08.720 have been raised on the permanent ice shelf and likely 158 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:11.799 took a wrong turn finding themselves in a tricky location 159 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:16.440 for a water entry, while simultaneously motivated by hunger and 160 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:20.360 an ocean brimming with fish beckoning below. The scene was 161 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:24.440 the true demonstration of the penguin's fortitude. These fascinating birds 162 00:10:24.440 --> 00:10:28.480 have evolved over millions of years to survive on the coldest, windiest, 163 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:34.000 driest continent on Earth. Across these pages, their exceptional adaptations 164 00:10:34.279 --> 00:10:38.120 and specialized behaviors that make them uniquely equipped for this 165 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:42.039 desolate environment are on full display. Many of their most 166 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:45.679 incredible traits can be seen during nesting season, which runs 167 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:49.679 through the most challenging time of year. Female emperor penguins 168 00:10:49.759 --> 00:10:53.639 lay a single pear shaped egg early in the Antarctic winter, 169 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:57.720 when temperatures can dip to minus fifty fifty degrees fahrenheit 170 00:10:58.159 --> 00:11:02.080 and winds can reach a hurricane. Needing to replenish their 171 00:11:02.200 --> 00:11:05.519 energy reserves, they quickly shuffle the eggs to their mates 172 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:08.639 to assume caretaking while they trek out to the ocean 173 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:12.559 to feed. Male emperor penguins spend the next two months 174 00:11:12.559 --> 00:11:16.799 incubating the eggs, balanced atop their webbed feet and shielded 175 00:11:16.799 --> 00:11:19.559 from the cold by a flap of the penguins abdominal 176 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:23.559 skin that forms a pocket or rude pouch. The soon 177 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:26.480 to be fathers will go nearly four months without food, 178 00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:31.000 losing roughly half their weight. During breeding season, eggs typically 179 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:34.399 hatch by August, just as the females are returning to 180 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:37.120 provide their young with a first meal. Then the chicks 181 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:39.200 will be fed and warmed by their parents over the 182 00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:43.519 next five months. By mid December, as the Antarctic summer approaches, 183 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:46.399 the chicks have started to shed their fluffy down for 184 00:11:46.480 --> 00:11:50.159 waterproof plumage. Soon they leave their colony and find food 185 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:53.679 on their own. Juveniles like those Gregory film take a 186 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:56.679 literal leap of faith into the sea. It is a 187 00:11:56.679 --> 00:11:59.279 pivotal moment when they begin their life in the ocean, 188 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:02.799 where they'll spend an average of five years before returning 189 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:06.360 to breed. Scientists do not think the cliff jumping incident 190 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.639 was directly related to climate change, but at least one 191 00:12:09.720 --> 00:12:14.080 expert speculates that warming temperatures may force more emperors to 192 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:17.799 breed on permanent ice shelves instead of sea ice, increasing 193 00:12:17.840 --> 00:12:22.759 the chances of juvenile's fledging from tall heights. This incident 194 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:27.360 underscores a stark reality under some climate scenarios. Scientists predict 195 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:32.320 eighty percent of Antarctica's emperor penguin colonies will disappear by 196 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:36.120 the turn of the century. But LaRue remains hopeful about 197 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:39.240 the emperor's ability to adapt, and she considers the recent 198 00:12:39.399 --> 00:12:44.600 high dive a testament to the penguin's hardiness. They're incredibly resilient. 199 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:47.679 She says. They have been around for millions of years. 200 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:51.080 They've seen lots of different changes in their environment. It's 201 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:53.440 a question of how rapidly they're able to deal with 202 00:12:53.480 --> 00:12:56.399 the changes that are happening and how far they can 203 00:12:56.440 --> 00:13:02.120 be pushed, call her id. Emperor penguins can distinguished by 204 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:05.639 their vocalizations. Each bird has a unique call that allows 205 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:09.279 mates and chicks to recognize one another amid the noise 206 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:13.840 of a bustling colony. Identifying their chicks whistles parents trumpet 207 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:19.919 back until they find one another. Tuxedo torpedoes in the ocean, 208 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:23.759 Emperor penguins can dive deeper than any other species, reaching 209 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:27.080 depths of more than sixteen hundred feet. They also can 210 00:13:27.159 --> 00:13:33.000 remain submerged for over twenty minutes hard landing. When it's 211 00:13:33.039 --> 00:13:35.159 time for the penguins to return to the sea ice, 212 00:13:35.240 --> 00:13:38.879 they release air bubbles from their feathers. This reduces drag 213 00:13:38.919 --> 00:13:41.879 and allows them to accelerate out of the water. The 214 00:13:42.120 --> 00:13:45.519 icy impact can knock the wind out of them, sometimes 215 00:13:45.559 --> 00:13:51.360 producing a squeak. Cold brood, dense overlapping feathers, and a 216 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:55.440 thick layer of insulating body fat shield. Emperor penguins from 217 00:13:55.480 --> 00:13:59.159 the biting and arctic cold. To defend against the extreme 218 00:13:59.200 --> 00:14:04.039 conditions while incubating eggs, hundreds of males huddle tightly together, 219 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:09.600 slip and slide on land where their wabbling slows them 220 00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:13.759 down and for penguins often resort to tobogganing, sliding on 221 00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:17.240 their bellies while pushing with their flippers and feet. This 222 00:14:17.360 --> 00:14:20.799 efficient mode of transport allows them to cover vast distances 223 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:24.720 across the icy expanse as they travel to and from 224 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:31.840 the sea. How penguins superpowers really work specialized wings. Unlike 225 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:35.919 flying birds, penguins create a strong thrust on both upstroke 226 00:14:35.960 --> 00:14:39.360 and downstroke. The chest muscle lifting the wing is more 227 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:44.360 developed hips for swimming, penguins hip bones are elongated compared 228 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:47.960 with flying birds. The sleek shape allows their muscles to 229 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:51.759 pull back their feet like rudders from sky to sea. 230 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:56.279 Around sixty million years ago, prehistoric flying birds evolved into 231 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:00.759 today's remarkable penguins. The seabird's anatomy adapted to support an 232 00:15:00.799 --> 00:15:04.799 amazing dexterity for swimming so they could flourish in the ocean. 233 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:10.440 Rigid flippers. Penguin's inflexible joints are optimized for the force 234 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:14.600 of swimming. In contrast, flying birds wings bend at the 235 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:19.960 elbow and wrist for agile flying compact bones. When penguins 236 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:23.440 traded flying for swimming, their bones evolved from hollow to 237 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:27.320 very dense, helping withstand the stress of moving through water. 238 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:32.279 Underwater vision. Compared with humans, penguins have flatter corneas and 239 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:35.960 rounded lenses, which assist their ability to see above and 240 00:15:36.039 --> 00:15:41.440 below water. Salt filters, law large glands above their eyes 241 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:46.559 help excrete excess salt from prey through their nostrils. S 242 00:15:46.559 --> 00:15:50.679 shaped neck. The neck retracts during diving, keeping the birds 243 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:57.240 shape streamlined anti frostbite veins. Blood vessels in penguin's wings, 244 00:15:57.600 --> 00:16:00.919 especially close to their shoulders, exchange heat between the arteries 245 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:05.240 and veins. Constricted blood vessels lower feathers to the body 246 00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:10.440 and insulate ice proof feathers. Penguins feathers have barbs and 247 00:16:10.519 --> 00:16:14.840 tiny hooks that break up accumulating ice. These features also 248 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:18.120 allow penguins to easily shed water by keeping it in 249 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:23.919 droplet form. Water result water repellant feathers. Penguins have a 250 00:16:24.559 --> 00:16:30.279 eurobigial gland that continuously secretes oil. The birds spread it 251 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:34.559 to waterproof their feathers so they stay warm thermal grit. 252 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:38.440 Some penguin species prosper in cold climates, while others do 253 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:41.679 well in warmer environments. It all comes down to specially 254 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:46.919 adaptations by habitat that help penguins maintain their optimal internal 255 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:51.399 body temperature two sets of feathers. Once a year, most 256 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:54.759 penguins lose and replace all their feathers in a process 257 00:16:54.799 --> 00:17:00.639 called molting, but Galopagus penguins can molt twice a year posture. 258 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:04.440 Galopicus penguins are the only species to live on the equator. 259 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:08.319 To combat the heat, they spread their wings and hunch over, 260 00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:13.680 shading their feet and other exposed skin. Molting phase. When 261 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:17.119 holding onto new and old feathers, penguins can't hunt, so 262 00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:21.359 they lose almost half their body weight. Pre molt phase. 263 00:17:21.559 --> 00:17:24.599 This is a time of weight gain. Some species add 264 00:17:24.680 --> 00:17:27.599 a third to their body mass. They also grow new 265 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:32.480 feathers heat release spots. Living in warmer climates, Humboldt and 266 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:36.799 Galopicus penguins adapted to have bare patches on their faces 267 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:42.799 to help regulate their temperature. Remarkable voice calls thanks to 268 00:17:42.839 --> 00:17:47.920 separated sets of vocal tissues in the shrings. King penguins 269 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:51.079 create a noise on two frequency bands, which is crucial 270 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:55.680 for helping them identify each other in loud colonies. One 271 00:17:55.680 --> 00:17:59.039 of a kind coloring ten species, including those in the 272 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:02.359 crested group, have a yellow pigment that is produced by 273 00:18:02.400 --> 00:18:06.720 an internal chemical process and signals good health, helping them 274 00:18:06.759 --> 00:18:11.400 attract mates. Breeding mastery. When it's time to settle down, 275 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:14.440 these birds have interesting ways to signal their interest in 276 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.759 courtship and whence they nest and raise young, They have 277 00:18:17.920 --> 00:18:20.759 useful trades to care for them. All these features help 278 00:18:20.839 --> 00:18:27.240 secure a future for the species. Four second naps. Chin 279 00:18:27.319 --> 00:18:30.400 straps take thousands of power naps a day to avoid 280 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:35.079 egg predation and protect themselves against aggression from peers. They 281 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:38.720 still get a total of eleven hours of sleep. Unique 282 00:18:38.759 --> 00:18:43.079 belly designs. African penguins rely on distinctive dot patterns on 283 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:48.440 their bellies to recognize lifelong partners and colony members. Chin 284 00:18:48.519 --> 00:18:52.279 straps use rock piles to protect their eggs and chicks 285 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:58.039 against getting wet from melting snow. Sensitive beaks, a newly 286 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.880 discovered bill tip organ found in some penguin species, is 287 00:19:01.920 --> 00:19:05.599 made up of pits filled with touch sensitive receptors and 288 00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:13.599 likely helps with foraging and courtship. Next Secrets of the penguins, 289 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.240 there are evolutionary marbles that survive some of the most 290 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:22.200 inhospitable conditions on our planet. Now researchers are discovering new 291 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:26.559 explanations for why, and finding that the incredible penguin has 292 00:19:26.599 --> 00:19:30.759 allowed to teach us about resilience in an ever changing world. 293 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:36.960 Paw Penguins embrace their urge to explore by Hannah Nordhaus. 294 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:43.799 When Pablo Poppy Borboro Glue first visited a remote stretch 295 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:47.279 of shoreline along the eastern coast of Patagonia in two 296 00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:51.000 thousand and eight, the National Geographic Explorer was surprised to 297 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:54.720 find penguins making a home there. The Argentine biologist was 298 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:57.599 responding to a call from a nearby rancher who had 299 00:19:57.640 --> 00:20:00.880 seen several of the flightless birds in his proper. When 300 00:20:00.920 --> 00:20:06.359 he arrived, Booglue found trash, broken glass, abandoned cars, and 301 00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.519 burned out camphires on the ground. The place was a disaster, 302 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:13.960 he recalls. It was full of garbage amid the squalor. However, 303 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:17.359 under bushes and in small cave like burrows, he discovered 304 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:23.640 something astonishing twelve Magellanic penguins living among the debris. Each 305 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:25.960 sea bird was about one and a half feet tall, 306 00:20:26.279 --> 00:20:29.279 with a distinctive white band encircling its eyes and neck. 307 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:33.559 While Magellanic penguins are known to breed in and around 308 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:37.599 South America on rocky sandy beaches before migrating each winter 309 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:40.559 to the open oceans as far north as Brazil and Peru, 310 00:20:41.200 --> 00:20:44.720 the nearest established colony was located more than eighty miles south. 311 00:20:45.319 --> 00:20:48.680 Yet these intrepid travelers had arrived and coupled up, a 312 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:51.640 sign that they were breeding on a beach teeming with hazards. 313 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:56.440 Borbooglue worked quickly assessing the condition of the colony and 314 00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.680 freeing one bird that was entangled in plastic, and began 315 00:20:59.720 --> 00:21:03.839 the law longer process of painstakingly cleaning and securing the area. 316 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:07.839 The emerging colony not only survived, but raised chicks returning 317 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:11.279 the next spring. Scientists have various theories as to why 318 00:21:11.640 --> 00:21:15.359 a so called founder group like this ventures beyond familiar 319 00:21:15.640 --> 00:21:19.880 nesting grounds. But for borbo Glue, who went on to 320 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:24.400 create the Global Penguin Society, an international conservation group, the 321 00:21:24.480 --> 00:21:28.880 new colony exemplifies the adaptability and resilience of all eighteen 322 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:33.519 penguin species, which inhabit some of nature's harshest environments, even 323 00:21:33.559 --> 00:21:37.559 as they continue to face new challenges in our changing world. 324 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:40.599 They are so brave and determined, he says of penguins 325 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:45.079 as a whole, They're amazing. Penguins are indeed amazing creatures. 326 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:50.519 They're comical, waddle, tuxedo like appearance and endearing parental instincts 327 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:55.319 make them quintessential conservation icons. But these same characteristics also 328 00:21:55.359 --> 00:21:58.319 point to some of the ways they've evolved to confront 329 00:21:58.359 --> 00:22:03.400 extreme conditions with remarkable adaptability and grit. The first penguins 330 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:06.599 appeared roughly sixty million years ago on what is now 331 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:11.000 New Zealand. Some scientists believe the absence of natural predators 332 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:13.920 allowed the birds to evolve away from flight and toward 333 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.759 more agility in the ocean. Over time, they developed ample 334 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:21.559 sources of fat and a dense, impermeable layer of feathers 335 00:22:21.599 --> 00:22:25.720 to withstrand the cold, stunted wings serving as flippers to 336 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:29.640 propel them under water with stunning speed and efficiency, and 337 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:34.839 distinctive black and white feather patterns to confuse predators. Early 338 00:22:34.880 --> 00:22:38.720 penguins rode the currents across oceans, adapting to the new 339 00:22:38.759 --> 00:22:43.160 places where they landed. Emperor and a daily penguins, for instance, 340 00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:46.519 settled in the unforgiving climate of Antarctica, and they have 341 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:49.640 a thicker layer of body fat, scale like feathers, and 342 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:54.440 claw like feet, especially suited to gain traction on the ice. 343 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:58.039 Galapagus penguins ended up on a chain of islands off 344 00:22:58.079 --> 00:23:01.079 the coast of Ecuador, becoming the only species found at 345 00:23:01.079 --> 00:23:04.400 the equator. They now have smaller frames and thinner layers 346 00:23:04.400 --> 00:23:08.720 of plumage, which serve them well in the warmer climate. Historically, 347 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:13.759 Magellanic penguins lived on islands off the coast of South America, 348 00:23:14.200 --> 00:23:18.640 but after sheep ranchers eradicated mainland predators such as pumas 349 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:23.160 and foxes, the birds established colonies there too. Penguins vote 350 00:23:23.160 --> 00:23:27.400 with their feats, as National Geographic Explorer D. Boorsma, a 351 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:30.759 renowned penguin expert at the University of Washington, they go 352 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:33.839 where the food is, but no matter how far they roam, 353 00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:36.839 many of the animals now face the same issues. About 354 00:23:36.880 --> 00:23:40.279 half the world's penguins are threatened with extinction, and last 355 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:43.359 year the African penguin became the first to be classified 356 00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:47.160 as critically endangered. Today, the threats come from sea and 357 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:50.839 land alike. In the ocean, penguins must run a gauntlet 358 00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:55.319 of oil spills, algal blooms, fishing nets, and plastic pollution. 359 00:23:55.759 --> 00:24:01.000 While warming waters and overfishing deplete their prey on penguins 360 00:24:01.039 --> 00:24:04.400 mate and raise their chicks, they encounter hazards ranging from 361 00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:09.240 declining Antarctic sea ice to coastal development and introduced or 362 00:24:09.319 --> 00:24:13.480 resurgent predators. Over the past century, as penguin numbers faltered, 363 00:24:13.759 --> 00:24:18.440 the global conservation community and individual nations moved to safeguard 364 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:23.400 the birds, banning egg harvesting and creating protected areas, allowing 365 00:24:23.480 --> 00:24:28.559 embattled populations a chance at continued survival. In the years since, 366 00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:33.559 conservationists like Borbora, Glue and Bourisma have lobbied to create 367 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:37.599 more protected areas for nesting and regulate shipping routes to 368 00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:42.720 reduce penguin's potential exposure to oil spills. One startling finding 369 00:24:42.839 --> 00:24:46.799 among scientists is that penguins are no longer evolving as fast, 370 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:50.640 limiting their ability to keep pace with the world around them. 371 00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:54.279 A recent study showed the penguins now have the slowest 372 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:58.720 evolutionary rates of all birds. Still, some appear adept at 373 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:02.599 leveraging their best trade and behaviors to continue pressing into 374 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:09.039 new territory. Researchers have discovered that Emperor penguin colonies relocate 375 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:11.960 when sea ice in one area is no longer reliable, 376 00:25:12.400 --> 00:25:18.319 and satellite imagery recently revealed previously unknown colonies in Antarctica. Meanwhile, 377 00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:22.440 king penguins, smaller cousins to the emperors, are in decline 378 00:25:22.519 --> 00:25:27.839 in Antarctica but growing in the sub Antarctic region, rebounding 379 00:25:27.920 --> 00:25:32.319 after decades of being harvested for oil, and gentoos closely 380 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:35.720 related to a dailies are following available food as the 381 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:39.799 southern ocean worms and sea ice clears, allowing them to 382 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:43.920 move more easily and hunt and nest in new areas 383 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:48.359 of the Antarctic peninsula. We're seeing new colonies established further 384 00:25:48.400 --> 00:25:52.160 and further south, says Gemma Glucos, a researcher with the 385 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:57.720 Cornell Labor Lab of Ornithology. The handful of magellanic penguins 386 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:01.519 that once popped up on the trash strewn beach in 387 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:04.920 Patagonia appear to have inspired others to settle in the 388 00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.240 colony as Borborig. Glue worked with landowners and the local 389 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:13.279 government to create a thirty five thousand acre wildlife refuge. 390 00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:16.640 More and more penguins arrived each year. Over eight thousand 391 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:20.240 penguins now nest here. Its growth has been remarkable. He says, 392 00:26:20.279 --> 00:26:23.279 it shows that nature can thrive if given a chance. 393 00:26:24.039 --> 00:26:28.079 How penguins spread out from the icy shores of Antarctica 394 00:26:28.119 --> 00:26:31.519 to the warm coasts of Wicklopagus Islands, Penguins have shown 395 00:26:31.559 --> 00:26:35.440 an exceptional ability to breed in surprising places. Their secret 396 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:39.960 they are superbly a climatate, acclimated to the marine cold, 397 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:43.839 living feeding and breeding near branching currents that flow out 398 00:26:43.920 --> 00:26:47.440 of the southern Ocean. The eighteen species are uniquely adapted 399 00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:52.759 to their particular habitat Penguins on thin ice. Several penguins 400 00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:55.799 species depend on the annual cycle of freezing and thawing 401 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:59.319