In the wild, the struggle for survival is unrelenting.
But some animals have strange powers -
evolutionary gifts that help them conquer foes,
win mates, and stay alive.
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Buried in the sandy bays and mud lagoons between the islands of
Indonesia, a tiny pair of eyes peak out, watching and waiting.
This is a coconut octopus.
It's no bigger than an index finger, and yet it has powers
that some of us might find a bit unsettling.
An octopus's power of sight is legendary, with monocular vision
that allows it to use each eye independently.
It has venom to help keep predators at bay.
Let's not forget an octopus's breathtaking ability
to change color, patterns and shape.
Beautiful to watch and also a handy disguise.
This multi-limbed crawler has another exceptional skill.
It's what gives the coconut octopus its name.
The coconut octopus uses empty coconut shells
- and clam shells - to accomplish an incredible feat.
It constructs a shelter.
The coconut octopus is the only invertebrate known to collect
and hang on to objects, like building materials,
for future or potential use.
Indeed, there's a method to this madness.
The size of this octopus makes it an easy meal
for sharks, dolphins and seals;
it's venom can't dissuade such big predators.
So for this little guy, building an elaborate fort
out of cast-offs can mean the difference
between life and death.
Researchers believe this ability to use the shells
is an indication of the coconut octopus' high IQ.
And the cunning octopus knows that four walls
work better than three.
This is possibly even a type of tool use;
a sure sign of an animal's cognitive powers.
Intelligence like this is usually found
in long-lived animals,
but these octopus live only 12 months at most.
Why they have such highly evolved intelligence
is still a mystery.
And while this intelligence may be a notch lower
than human smarts, it's not the only thing we have in common.
Coconut octopus are one of only two known octopuses
to use bi-pedal locomotion.
That's another way of saying this little guy can walk!
So for those times when the fort isn't enough protection,
the coconut octopus makes a run for it, shells and all.
It rears up on its stilt-like arms,
and bolts like a drunken sailor across the sea floor.
But wait a minute.
How is this little octopus able to walk at all?
It's because it has sucker-covered arms
that can think.
Believe it or not, each arm acts like a mini brain;
packed inside each limb are millions of neurons
similar to the ones found in human brains.
So when this coconut octopus decides to grab its shells
and go, it sends its arms a message: move it out, fellas.
But the arms themselves figure out
how they should carry out the request.
They've literally got a mind of their own.
Grooved suction cups on the underside of its arms
glom onto the clam shell,
while chemical sensors inside the cups
prevent its arms from getting tangled or stuck to each other.
Now that's smart.
Aside from grabbing a morsel of food or finding a mate,
there's not much reason for this little shape-shifter
to leave its adopted shelter.
And at the end of the day, the little coconut octopus
is smart enough to know there's no place like home.
Deep in the mists of time, long before humans walked,
a peculiar creature waddled into the picture.
An animal like nothing you've ever seen.
Though it vaguely resembles something you have.
A porcupine perhaps?
An anteater, a hedgehog.
It's a short-beaked echidna.
Those who discovered this creature named it the after a
monster in Greek myth: one that was half woman, half snake.
Though the resemblance to either is a stretch.
It has a head and a beak that approximate a bird's.
It also eats worms and insects.
And, it lays eggs.
But it's clearly not a bird.
It's a mammal.
A rather primitive, and entirely unusual, one.
It lives in Australia and New Guinea.
Echidnas' young hatch from eggs
and then live in pouches on their mother's bellies.
They have no nipples.
So the babies - known as puggles -
suck milk from pores in two milk patches.
Yes, they are Australian mammals with pouches;
no, they're not marsupials.
Their closest relative is the duck-billed platypus -
the only other egg-laying mammal in the world.
Unlike platypus, which only live in freshwater systems
in Australia, the echidna has conquered
every part of the country.
Even its cities.
They follow the food.
And their food, in the form of ants and termites,
is everywhere.
Their long tongues can forage pretty much anywhere
they discover a nest.
But, for all its oddities, there's one thing
that makes this curious animal really stand out.
The male has a 4-headed penis.
A rarity indeed.
You'd be right to ask: how?
And why?
It seems echidnas use only two heads at a time
to fit into the female's two reproductive canals.
The next time they mate, they use the other two heads.
Researchers think this technique helps their sperm
stay strong and competitive.
It has clearly worked for these guys.
These waddling pin cushions have survived for 15 million years.
And they live long lives -
up to 50 years in captivity and slightly less in the wild.
That might be because they have a very slow metabolism -
their little bodies don't need much energy.
And they have the lowest body temperature of any mammal.
We humans operate at about 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
On any given day, these guys are at a chilly 89 degrees.
This cool little mammal has a few tricks
to avoid getting eaten.
Its most obvious defense is its quills.
It can roll up into a prickly, unappetizing ball,
shielding its head.
Although, that's a last resort.
The first resort is camouflage.
The echidna can blend in.
But if that's not enough, it can actually become
one with the earth, digging and burrowing in for protection.
In a pinch, these land-loving animals can even swim to safety.
It's a throwback to their aquatic ancestor,
which more closely resembled a platypus.
Like their present-day aquatic cousins,
echidna can pick up electric signals in their environment,
particularly if the ground's moist.
Their snouts can nose out termites and ants
by electric pulse.
They're thought to be one of the few land-living mammals
to have this ability.
Echidnas have unusually big brains.
And the biggest part of their brain is the neocortex.
That's what we use for higher level thinking.
In humans, it's three quarters of our brain.
In echidnas, it's an impressive half.
A big part of their neocortex is devoted to their snout.
And something else is going on in their brains
while they're asleep.
Scientists know the echidna experience rapid eye movement -
REM sleep, which is a surprise in such primitive mammals.
In humans, REM sleep is connected with dreams.
Like so many things about this mammal,
the things they might dream about
would no doubt be just as odd as they are.
Arachnids.
So terrifying, they have a phobia named after them.
You've heard of spiders and scorpions -
they're both household names
in this class of eight-legged arthropods.
But you may not have heard of their lesser known cousin.
This is Mastigoproctus Giganteus.
It's part of a small family -
only 100 known species are in it.
Compare that with the over 40,000 species
of spiders and true scorpions.
They're rare, but if you see one,
you're not likely to forget it.
With its eight eyes, menacing claws, and whip-like tail,
it looks more mythological beast than bug.
Some call it a whip-scorpion.
But it's not a scorpion at all.
It's not a spider either.
It has a common name, and it's as bizarre
as the nightmarish thing itself: the vinegaroon.
It has no stinger to paralyze its prey.
No venomous bite to send unlucky hikers to the hospital.
But underestimating this fiendish beast
would be a mistake.
At first glance,
the long whip-like tail looks threatening.
In reality, it's nothing more than an extra feeler.
But at it's base is one of the most outlandish
defense mechanisms in the animal kingdom.
If threatened by a predator,
the vinegaroon sprays it with, what else, vinegar.
This substance is made of highly concentrated acetic acid.
To humans, it smells like household vinegar.
But to small hungry mammals,
it's pungent and dangerous stuff.
The vinegaroon can actually aim its sour stream
with surprising precision.
It can fire about one foot in any direction.
That's at least 4 times the average length of its body.
It's like a grown man with a 24-foot spit range.
And if a predator gets it in the eye, it will almost certainly
start looking for an easier meal.
That is, once the wicked sting wears off.
Fending off predators is one part of the equation.
Being an adept hunter is another.
Vinegaroons have two eyes on the front of their head,
and three on each side.
But in a cruel twist of evolutionary irony,
these night hunters have terrible eyesight.
Despite this shortcoming, they're formidable hunters
under the cloak of darkness.
Their two front legs are long, deft feelers,
used to locate their prey.
And then their powerful claws take over.
They pinch and cut, squeeze and crush,
until the victim bursts open.
The vinegaroon then feeds on the soft flesh inside.
But the vinegaroons aren't just hunters.
They're fighters.
They compete with each other for food,
and even wrestle before mating.
It's the best way for males and females to judge
if a potential mate has the mettle to be a good breeder.
The vinegaroon may not have the notoriety of some of its
venomous cousins, but this little-known and
under-appreciated arachnid has survived for millions of years,
and can clearly fend for itself.
You are about to embark on a journey into a peculiar world.
One where creatures shimmer like dappled sun
and guard glistening orbs underwater.
It's a world of deception, and your eyes may trick you.
This is the watery home of the delicate
but determined sunburst diving beetle.
They're petite - an inch long at most.
Their legs move in sync, like the oars of a row boat,
making them refined swimmers.
But don't be lured by their beauty.
Those pretty yellow specks are nature's way
of warning predators to stay away.
An awful-tasting surprise awaits if they don't.
These creatures lurk below the surface of warm ponds
and streams in the American Southwest.
The shimmering beads they guard may look like fragile crystal,
but they're many times more valuable to them.
Air bubbles.
Like scuba divers, the beetles need oxygen
to survive underwater, so they carry it down with them.
While at the surface, they trap air bubbles
between their abdomen and wings.
Then, as they dive down, they breathe the air in
through little holes on the sides of their body
that are hidden beneath their wings.
As they dive deeper, the water compresses the oxygen creating
a single, glistening bubble that emerges out of their bottoms.
As they hang out underwater,
they sip from the shimmering air-sack.
The bubble can even draw oxygen from water around it
to top up what the beetles consume.
The beetles can stay submerged for several minutes at a time.
Voila: portable, renewable oxygen tanks.
If you think that's impressive, you should see what they see.
The adults have six eyes.
Just like two heads are better than one,
six eyes are better than two when hunting insects
that make the mistake of dropping by.
These sunburst diving beetles aren't just built to kill.
They're built to make babies.
These little critters caught the attention of Charles Darwin.
He wondered how mating was possible for diving beetles.
Living underwater makes it difficult to hold on,
but this beetle is well equipped.
The male has two large suction cups on his forelegs,
so mates can't wriggle away.
All the better to grip you with, my dear.
This is one of their babies.
The larvae are known as water tigers.
With good reason: they have ferocious appetites.
These babes can breakfast on tadpoles, small fish,
and other insects; even prey larger than themselves.
Having six eyes isn't enough for these killer cutie-pies.
They have twelve.
And with those eyes, they have vision
unlike any other in the animal kingdom.
They're bifocal, which lets the little killers see
both near and far at the same time.
Using their front legs to grab and pincers to bite,
they can latch onto their target.
These little larvae then pump digestive fluids
into their prey and suck out the remains.
Charming.
Once fully grown,
sunburst beetles keep up their carnivorous ways.
Bigger and badder, they won't hesitate to take down prey
larger than themselves like crickets, fish or even frogs.
With such a strenuous routine of predation, seduction
and survival, these bugs need frequent breaks.
So they hang out together on rocks beneath the surface.
Looks innocent enough.
But competition is fierce, even when they're relaxing.
If one beetle sees a great resting spot that's taken,
look out.
Popping bubbles forces competitors
to surface for more air.
The underwater world is full of startling
and sometimes unbelievable life forms.
The sunburst diving beetle, with its portable tank
and air-popping defenses, fits right in.
Extraordinary appendages.
Excellent aim.
And exceptional brainpower.
Evolution has been kind to some animals.
Their strange powers give them advantages
that help them survive the wild.
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