A kakapo, the world’s heaviest and only flightless parrot. Photo credit: ©Shane McInnes
Nature's Animal Misfits airs on WSKG TV December 30th at 8pm.Alongside the fastest, strongest, smartest animals are nature’s misfits, odd, bizarre and unlikely creatures that at first glance seem ill-equipped for survival. Left at the starting line in the race for life, these are the apparent losers in the story of evolution, yet somehow they manage to cling to life and in some cases even thrive.There is great diversity in the animal world, but it seems those species known for their speed, intelligence and strength are often singled out and celebrated, while creatures who may look or act differently are overlooked. Animal Misfits seeks to correct this situation by focusing on these nonconformists that are not accidents of nature, but unconventional solutions to the challenges of survival on earth.The giant panda is certainly a misfit. It may be part of the bear family but unlike the rest of its kind, the panda is a non-meat-eating carnivore. Ninety-nine percent of its diet comes from bamboo, which contains so little energy that it cannot build up enough fat to hibernate like other bears, even eating continuously for 16 hours a day. It’s a full-time job. And reproduction is a very slow process, since female pandas are fertile only once a year for a few days. But that’s actually an advantage for an animal so reliant on just one food source. If the panda population ever increased dramatically, there might not be enough bamboo to go around.Then there’s the big-headed mole rat which only exists in Ethiopia’s Bale Mountains. Of the 37 different species of mole rats in the world, most of which live and feed entirely underground, only the big-headed mole rat breaks with tradition and heads above ground to feed on fresh grass. This dietary preference, coupled with feeble eyesight and poor hearing makes it vulnerable to attacks by wolves. But the big-headed mole rat has a secret weapon, a sentry in the form of a bird called a moorland chat. This expert forager feeds on bugs and worms the mole rat digs up and, in turn, sings out an alarm to announce any approaching wolves.Animal Misfits also includes creatures that may seem distinctly ill-suited to their environment, but thrive nonetheless: a tiny chameleon the size of an ant; the mudskipper, a fish that can live out of water; the ancient deep sea nautilus, whose propulsion thrusts it backwards so it can’t see what’s ahead; and New Zealand’s kakapo, a pudgy flightless parrot whose food source is up in the trees. Possibly most remarkable is the Arctic woolly bear caterpillar that lives for 7 years or more but spends most of its life frozen stiff. The list goes on. Yet these unlikely creatures are not evolutionary dead ends. They’re highly specialized success stories, animals that prove being different can also give you an edge.
Nature is a production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. For Nature, Fred Kaufman is executive producer. Animal Misfits is a co-production of THIRTEEN Productions LLC and BBC for WNET.Support for this Nature program was made possible in part by the Arnhold Family in memory of Clarisse Arnhold, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, the Estate of Elizabeth A. Vernon, the Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, the Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, the Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by the nation’s public television stations.