Episode 1

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0:00:17 > 0:00:20Hello, I'm Kate Humble and this is Curious Creatures,

0:00:20 > 0:00:25a brand-new quiz all about the fascinating fauna of planet Earth.

0:00:25 > 0:00:28Sharing their animal passions with us today are two teams.

0:00:28 > 0:00:31Joining creature polymath Chris Packham

0:00:31 > 0:00:35is wildlife presenter and all-around action girl Lizzy Daily.

0:00:35 > 0:00:38APPLAUSE

0:00:38 > 0:00:41While teaming up with zoologist and writer Lucy Cook

0:00:41 > 0:00:44is Welsh wildlife wiz Iolo Williams.

0:00:44 > 0:00:46APPLAUSE

0:00:49 > 0:00:51Now, the game is very simple.

0:00:51 > 0:00:56Every correct answer wins our teams one part of a Curious Creature -

0:00:56 > 0:00:58a strange mystical beast made up of the parts

0:00:58 > 0:01:01of various different animals,

0:01:01 > 0:01:04like this little fellow, who you might recognise from our titles.

0:01:04 > 0:01:08He has the head of a Komodo dragon, the ears of a fennec fox,

0:01:08 > 0:01:10the body of a puffin, the flippers of a sea turtle,

0:01:10 > 0:01:13and the claws of a Christmas Island red crab.

0:01:13 > 0:01:17So, he's a komo-foxy-puff-turtle-crab

0:01:17 > 0:01:19or, as we call him, Dave.

0:01:19 > 0:01:22Each team will be building up their own Curious Creature

0:01:22 > 0:01:24during the game and the more parts they win,

0:01:24 > 0:01:27the more points they can score at the end of the show.

0:01:27 > 0:01:31Today's carnival of the animals begins with a round called

0:01:31 > 0:01:32Yay Or Neigh.

0:01:36 > 0:01:39I will read each of the teams a statement about the animal kingdom.

0:01:39 > 0:01:43Their job is simply to decide whether it's true -

0:01:43 > 0:01:45that's a yay... ELEPHANT TRUMPETS

0:01:45 > 0:01:47..or false, that's a neigh.

0:01:47 > 0:01:49NEIGHING

0:01:49 > 0:01:52- Chris, we'll start with you.- OK.

0:01:52 > 0:01:56The heart of a shrimp is in its tail.

0:01:56 > 0:01:58My heart's in my mouth at the moment.

0:01:58 > 0:02:03The crustaceal cardiovascular system is not something I've looked at

0:02:03 > 0:02:06since my A-level dissection of the shrimp, to be quite honest with you.

0:02:06 > 0:02:07Quite a long time ago.

0:02:07 > 0:02:09Yeah, but the tail of the shrimp is called the telson.

0:02:09 > 0:02:11Are you into shrimps, Lizzy?

0:02:11 > 0:02:13Hmm. I know a little bit about the old mantis shrimp,

0:02:13 > 0:02:15just because they're pretty.

0:02:15 > 0:02:17- The mantis shrimp?- Yeah, I like a bit of a mantis shrimp, yeah.

0:02:17 > 0:02:20The mantis shrimp are an extraordinary animal, aren't they?

0:02:20 > 0:02:25- They are, yeah.- They can generate light with their claw, can't they?

0:02:25 > 0:02:27Yeah, but why would they have a heart in their tail?

0:02:27 > 0:02:29To generate light with their claw.

0:02:29 > 0:02:30- Right.- There would be no point in that at all.

0:02:30 > 0:02:34They don't have a heart in the way that we do, anyway.

0:02:34 > 0:02:39They basically have a tube which has various sections and constrictions

0:02:39 > 0:02:43in it for pumping haemolymph, their blood, around the body,

0:02:43 > 0:02:48so their cardiovascular system is very different than a mammal anyway.

0:02:48 > 0:02:50So, I don't know what you think.

0:02:50 > 0:02:52- Am I right or am I... - I think you're right.

0:02:52 > 0:02:55..barking up the wrong crustacean?

0:02:55 > 0:03:00My instinct would say no, simply because I wouldn't...

0:03:00 > 0:03:03I don't really see the reason to be a heart in the tail, to be honest.

0:03:03 > 0:03:04No, no.

0:03:04 > 0:03:06- So, should we go for a big neigh? - I'm going to say neigh.

0:03:06 > 0:03:09- We're going to neigh this one. - NEIGHING

0:03:09 > 0:03:10You're absolutely right.

0:03:15 > 0:03:18This gives me a chance to say my favourite word of the day.

0:03:18 > 0:03:19Go on.

0:03:19 > 0:03:23The head and the thorax of a shrimp are actually fused together

0:03:23 > 0:03:28in one external part, which is called the cephalothorax.

0:03:28 > 0:03:30- Cephalothorax. - Cephalothorax!

0:03:30 > 0:03:33I've got a little bit of film that will show you just that.

0:03:33 > 0:03:35So, if you look closely... There you are.

0:03:35 > 0:03:38There's all its organs in its cephalothorax.

0:03:38 > 0:03:39Oh, wow!

0:03:41 > 0:03:43But, well done. As you were correct in your neigh,

0:03:43 > 0:03:48you get your very first part of your Curious Creature, and here it is.

0:03:50 > 0:03:52Oh!

0:03:52 > 0:03:53Beady-eyed little beastie.

0:03:53 > 0:04:00Now then, Lucy, a tiger's roar can be heard as far as two miles away.

0:04:00 > 0:04:02Ooh!

0:04:02 > 0:04:04Now, what do you think about this?

0:04:04 > 0:04:11Well, tigers have large territories, so if they're going to roar,

0:04:11 > 0:04:13they're going to roar for a variety of reasons,

0:04:13 > 0:04:17and you would expect that roar to carry a long, long distance,

0:04:17 > 0:04:23and I would say two miles, on a still morning, is not very far.

0:04:23 > 0:04:24So my inkling would say yes.

0:04:24 > 0:04:26I think so.

0:04:26 > 0:04:29It's your question, so if you get it right or wrong, it's your fault,

0:04:29 > 0:04:31but, erm...

0:04:31 > 0:04:33Are you just setting some ground rules here, Iolo?

0:04:33 > 0:04:35Yeah, er... I'm just washing my hands of this question,

0:04:35 > 0:04:37cos it's far too difficult.

0:04:37 > 0:04:40Do you know what? I roared so hard I stole a lion's girlfriend once,

0:04:40 > 0:04:42which I know is not the same big cat,

0:04:42 > 0:04:46but I did this programme about animal communication

0:04:46 > 0:04:48and we played a lion's roar,

0:04:48 > 0:04:52and I actually ended up attracting a male lion, who...

0:04:52 > 0:04:55Oh, no, sorry, a female lion, who ran away from her current beau,

0:04:55 > 0:04:57and she came from miles away, actually.

0:04:57 > 0:05:03So, I know that the roars can travel a long distance,

0:05:03 > 0:05:06because they're quite bassy, and I know that the bassy noises,

0:05:06 > 0:05:08- I think, travel further. - They do, they do.

0:05:08 > 0:05:12So, I'm pretty sure that a lion's roar can travel that far,

0:05:12 > 0:05:17so I'd hazard a guess that a tiger would be similarly well-equipped.

0:05:17 > 0:05:18So, are you going yay?

0:05:18 > 0:05:20- We're going yay.- You're going yay? - Yeah.

0:05:20 > 0:05:22And you would be right to.

0:05:26 > 0:05:27And Iolo, you were right.

0:05:27 > 0:05:29If it's a clear night on an open plain,

0:05:29 > 0:05:34actually a tiger's roar can be heard as far as five miles away.

0:05:34 > 0:05:35Now, well done.

0:05:35 > 0:05:38So, you were correct and you get your first part

0:05:38 > 0:05:39of your Curious Creature.

0:05:39 > 0:05:41- Good.- Good start, strong start.

0:05:41 > 0:05:43- Ooh!- And there it is.

0:05:43 > 0:05:46Lizzy, it is now your turn.

0:05:46 > 0:05:49Is this animal fact or beastly fiction?

0:05:49 > 0:05:55Hippopotamus produce their own natural sunscreen.

0:05:55 > 0:05:56Okey-coke.

0:05:56 > 0:06:02Well, initial thoughts would be probably yes,

0:06:02 > 0:06:05simply because of where they live and it's extremely hot,

0:06:05 > 0:06:08so they're going to need some kind of protection for the skin.

0:06:08 > 0:06:13- Mm-hm.- I once had the privilege of stroking the back of a pygmy hippo.

0:06:13 > 0:06:16- Oh, my gosh. What a dream.- Yeah.

0:06:16 > 0:06:18And they have very fragile skin.

0:06:18 > 0:06:20- Do they?- Yeah.

0:06:20 > 0:06:22And it splits when it dries in the sun,

0:06:22 > 0:06:26and this fluid oozes from it and froths.

0:06:26 > 0:06:28- Can I add to that?- Yeah. - Isn't it red?

0:06:28 > 0:06:30- Which?- The sunscreen that they produce.

0:06:30 > 0:06:33- I remember it being sort of a creamy white.- Creamy white colour?

0:06:33 > 0:06:36Yeah, yeah. It sounds like a painful ordeal, it's not.

0:06:36 > 0:06:39It's just the very surface of the skin that splits,

0:06:39 > 0:06:43and then this fluid comes out, so it's not like it becomes raw

0:06:43 > 0:06:44and wounded in any way.

0:06:44 > 0:06:46I mean, this is an evolved strategy.

0:06:46 > 0:06:48But, Lizzy, it's your question.

0:06:48 > 0:06:49What are you going to go for?

0:06:49 > 0:06:53I'm going to have to say yay, simply because absolutely necessary

0:06:53 > 0:06:57for a species that lives in such harsh, sunny climates, yeah.

0:06:57 > 0:06:59ELEPHANT TRUMPET

0:06:59 > 0:07:00You are absolutely right.

0:07:02 > 0:07:03I've actually tried it.

0:07:03 > 0:07:05- Hippo sunscreen?- Yeah.- On yourself?

0:07:05 > 0:07:07Yeah, yeah, yeah.

0:07:07 > 0:07:08- IOLO:- Did it work? - Or it came out in a rash?

0:07:08 > 0:07:11No, it's an amazing stuff, actually.

0:07:11 > 0:07:12Shall we have a look at it?

0:07:12 > 0:07:13There we are.

0:07:13 > 0:07:17It comes out clear and then it changes as it reflects the sun.

0:07:17 > 0:07:22Pygmy hippos do produce white sunscreen,

0:07:22 > 0:07:26and larger hippos produce orange or red sunscreen. So, there you are.

0:07:26 > 0:07:27Wow! Everybody's right.

0:07:27 > 0:07:28Everybody's right!

0:07:30 > 0:07:32So, very well done, Lizzy.

0:07:32 > 0:07:35You win your second part of the Curious Creature.

0:07:36 > 0:07:38- Oh!- Oh?

0:07:38 > 0:07:40- There we go.- Crikey.- Difficult.

0:07:40 > 0:07:42Yeah, hang on.

0:07:42 > 0:07:44How easy is that?

0:07:44 > 0:07:46Just wait your turn, Iolo Williams.

0:07:46 > 0:07:48Let's see how you get on with this one.

0:07:48 > 0:07:50This is a perfect question for you.

0:07:50 > 0:07:54The longest recorded snake was over 30 feet long.

0:07:54 > 0:07:58Over 30 foot long? That would make it about nine metres.

0:07:58 > 0:08:02Nine and a bit metres, and everyone thinks that the longest snake

0:08:02 > 0:08:07is an Anaconda in the South American jungles,

0:08:07 > 0:08:09but I don't think it is.

0:08:09 > 0:08:12I think I'm right in saying the longest recorded snake

0:08:12 > 0:08:14is a reticulated python, isn't it?

0:08:14 > 0:08:15Yeah, I think it's a...

0:08:15 > 0:08:18I think we could be quite confident that it's longer than 30 feet.

0:08:18 > 0:08:21Yeah, I think it is longer than 30 feet.

0:08:21 > 0:08:24I think something like 33 feet was the record, and I'm pretty sure it

0:08:24 > 0:08:28was a reticulated python, so I would say yay.

0:08:28 > 0:08:29ELEPHANT TRUMPET

0:08:29 > 0:08:32- I'm afraid you're wrong. - Oh, is it's wrong? Oh, no.

0:08:32 > 0:08:34It is a neigh.

0:08:34 > 0:08:35It is a neigh!

0:08:35 > 0:08:38There have been plenty of claims of snakes being spotted

0:08:38 > 0:08:42that are over 30 foot, but none of them have been verified.

0:08:42 > 0:08:45So, as our Curious Creatures begin to take shape...

0:08:45 > 0:08:47Well, Chris's and Lizzy's take shape,

0:08:47 > 0:08:49yours is a little bit pathetic at the moment.

0:08:49 > 0:08:53..we move on to round two, which today is called 'Who's The Daddy?'.

0:08:56 > 0:08:59Each team will see an adorable baby animal.

0:08:59 > 0:09:02All they have to do is figure out what it is.

0:09:02 > 0:09:05In other words, who the daddy and the mummy are.

0:09:05 > 0:09:07So, Chris and Lizzy, here's your bonny baby.

0:09:09 > 0:09:10- Absolutely adorable.- Yes.

0:09:12 > 0:09:13Well, I don't know about that.

0:09:13 > 0:09:15It looks like it needs a blow-dry at this point.

0:09:15 > 0:09:16Just showered.

0:09:16 > 0:09:19- It's just hatched, hasn't it? Yeah. - Yes.

0:09:19 > 0:09:20You know this one?

0:09:20 > 0:09:22I like to think so, but, er...

0:09:22 > 0:09:24Probably a swan.

0:09:24 > 0:09:30Yeah. This to me looks very much like a freshly-hatched mute swan.

0:09:30 > 0:09:33And we used to have mute swans nesting in the recreation ground

0:09:33 > 0:09:37near the park where I went to school,

0:09:37 > 0:09:40and all the kids in the class used to say you could never go near them

0:09:40 > 0:09:42because they would break your arm.

0:09:42 > 0:09:45Yes. That was a classic bit of swan myth-ery.

0:09:45 > 0:09:46So, yeah, mute swan.

0:09:46 > 0:09:48He's right.

0:09:48 > 0:09:49APPLAUSE

0:09:51 > 0:09:53Let's have a look.

0:09:53 > 0:09:56There we go. Mute swan.

0:09:56 > 0:09:57Are they mute?

0:09:57 > 0:09:58Not when they're flying, no.

0:09:58 > 0:10:01They make a characteristic whirring sound, like a sort of

0:10:01 > 0:10:05mechanical squeaky door, as they power their way through the air.

0:10:05 > 0:10:07Well, Lizzy and Chris, you were absolutely right,

0:10:07 > 0:10:11which means you get another part of your Curious Creature.

0:10:11 > 0:10:12Let's have a look at it.

0:10:12 > 0:10:13- Oh, yeah.- Hmm?

0:10:13 > 0:10:15Nice.

0:10:15 > 0:10:16It's turning out quite nicely.

0:10:16 > 0:10:17It is, isn't it? Yeah.

0:10:17 > 0:10:22Iolo and Lucy, here is your gorgeous little scrap.

0:10:24 > 0:10:28Any idea who's the daddy here?

0:10:28 > 0:10:31- Well, it's obviously some kind of mammal.- Yeah.

0:10:31 > 0:10:32- I would say.- Yeah.

0:10:32 > 0:10:34The mammals that come out very underdeveloped

0:10:34 > 0:10:37are generally bears and marsupials.

0:10:37 > 0:10:39The tail's wrong for a bear, so it's not a bear,

0:10:39 > 0:10:42so it must be a marsupial.

0:10:42 > 0:10:46They don't develop inside, they develop outside in a pouch.

0:10:46 > 0:10:47Could it be a little kangaroo?

0:10:47 > 0:10:50- The legs don't look long enough, do they?- No, I don't think...

0:10:50 > 0:10:52What about some sort of opossum?

0:10:52 > 0:10:54Yeah, opossum is what I was thinking.

0:10:54 > 0:10:58Is that a nipple or a maggot or a carrot right by it?

0:10:58 > 0:11:00- I'm not quite sure. I can't quite make it out.- I know.

0:11:00 > 0:11:03I think it's... And actually, don't opossums have their nipples

0:11:03 > 0:11:06in a weird place as well, I think. Under their armpits.

0:11:06 > 0:11:07So, the clues we've got -

0:11:07 > 0:11:12undercooked, four evenly-lengthed legs and the shape of the head.

0:11:12 > 0:11:15- And a long tail. - And a long tail, yeah.

0:11:15 > 0:11:18And the mother's skin looks vaguely opossum-like.

0:11:18 > 0:11:20Shall we be bold? Shall we go...?

0:11:20 > 0:11:23- I think, yeah, I think opossum would be a good guess.- Yeah.

0:11:23 > 0:11:26I think it's much more difficult than the swan question...

0:11:26 > 0:11:27Yes, exactly!

0:11:27 > 0:11:31..which was very, very easy, but I would go for, yeah, I think opossum.

0:11:31 > 0:11:33You're settling with opossum?

0:11:33 > 0:11:34- Yes, we are.- You are?

0:11:34 > 0:11:36- And you're wrong.- Oh, dear.

0:11:36 > 0:11:40- It is in fact a kangaroo, a red kangaroo.- Oh, it was a kangaroo.

0:11:40 > 0:11:44It was. After a gestation of just 34 days, the jellybean-sized joey

0:11:44 > 0:11:48makes the journey from birth canal to pouch.

0:11:48 > 0:11:51When it's born, it's only two centimetres long

0:11:51 > 0:11:53and weighs less than a lump of sugar.

0:11:53 > 0:11:56And it doesn't have properly formed back legs yet,

0:11:56 > 0:11:59but pulls itself up using its fore legs.

0:11:59 > 0:12:01So there we go.

0:12:01 > 0:12:06So, I'm very sorry. Gosh, your Curious Creature remains...

0:12:06 > 0:12:09- It remains a ugly thing with big ears.- Yeah.- That's all we have.

0:12:09 > 0:12:13So this is the point in the show where we ask the question

0:12:13 > 0:12:15that's on everybody's lips -

0:12:15 > 0:12:17is it bigger than a chicken?

0:12:20 > 0:12:23Yes, we're about to take an in-depth look

0:12:23 > 0:12:25at one particularly fascinating animal.

0:12:25 > 0:12:29The team's first job is to work out what it is.

0:12:29 > 0:12:31They take turns to ask me questions about it,

0:12:31 > 0:12:35to which I must be able to answer yes or no.

0:12:35 > 0:12:39Each time they get a yes, a small part of the animal is revealed on

0:12:39 > 0:12:42the screens, and whoever guesses the animal correctly

0:12:42 > 0:12:46wins another part for their team's Curious Creature.

0:12:46 > 0:12:51But, be warned, if you get it wrong, you will be out of the round.

0:12:51 > 0:12:57And there is one other rule, and that is that the very first question

0:12:57 > 0:13:01that is asked needs to be... Audience?

0:13:01 > 0:13:03- AUDIENCE:- Is it bigger than a chicken?- Thank you very much.

0:13:03 > 0:13:06So, Lizzy, we are going to start with you.

0:13:06 > 0:13:08What would you like to ask me?

0:13:08 > 0:13:09Hmmm.

0:13:09 > 0:13:13OK. I'm going to go with...is it bigger than a chicken?

0:13:14 > 0:13:20Well, that's a very interesting question, and in this case,

0:13:20 > 0:13:23there's sort of parity between this and a chicken.

0:13:23 > 0:13:25- But you get your first clue, and here it is.- OK.

0:13:30 > 0:13:32Wow.

0:13:32 > 0:13:33- There you are.- OK.

0:13:33 > 0:13:36Any thoughts, any initial thoughts?

0:13:36 > 0:13:38- I think we need a bit more, don't we?- Definitely.

0:13:38 > 0:13:39- We need a bit more than that. - Oh, dear.

0:13:39 > 0:13:41Oh, goodness me. That's a tiny part of it as well.

0:13:41 > 0:13:43It is a tiny, tiny part of it.

0:13:43 > 0:13:45It could have been...

0:13:45 > 0:13:46Yeah, do you know what?

0:13:46 > 0:13:48I think I've got a little idea of what that might be.

0:13:48 > 0:13:51Not the species, but what that was a picture of.

0:13:51 > 0:13:52- OK. OK.- Yeah.

0:13:52 > 0:13:58All right. We'll let you hold that thought and go over to Iolo.

0:13:58 > 0:13:59What would you like to ask?

0:14:02 > 0:14:04Erm, is it a mammal?

0:14:04 > 0:14:07No, it's not a mammal, and I'm afraid you can't have a guess.

0:14:07 > 0:14:09You have to have a yes first.

0:14:09 > 0:14:11So, Chris, on to you.

0:14:11 > 0:14:13Is this animal a bird?

0:14:13 > 0:14:15Yes.

0:14:15 > 0:14:19It is. So, you get another clue, and here it is.

0:14:19 > 0:14:20Right.

0:14:20 > 0:14:22- Hmm.- OK.

0:14:23 > 0:14:27That is quite characteristic plumage,

0:14:27 > 0:14:31and the initial photograph appeared to be what we call

0:14:31 > 0:14:33the cere of the animal,

0:14:33 > 0:14:37ie the bird's piece of skin between its nostrils,

0:14:37 > 0:14:39and I think those were two very small nostrils,

0:14:39 > 0:14:44and I think, Lizzy, I know what this is.

0:14:44 > 0:14:45- Do you really?- Yeah, I think so.

0:14:45 > 0:14:47Are you going to hazard a guess?

0:14:47 > 0:14:50I'm going to throw myself on the altar of failure.

0:14:50 > 0:14:51I think it's a kiwi.

0:14:51 > 0:14:54If I'm wrong, you're still in and you must win,

0:14:54 > 0:14:56but I think it's worth a gamble.

0:14:56 > 0:14:58I'm going kiwi. A species of kiwi.

0:14:58 > 0:15:00Is it a kiwi?

0:15:00 > 0:15:01QUACK

0:15:01 > 0:15:02He's wrong.

0:15:02 > 0:15:05- So...- OK.- So...

0:15:05 > 0:15:08- Lizzy.- OK.- Your turn for a question.

0:15:08 > 0:15:09So it's not a kiwi,

0:15:09 > 0:15:12but it is a bird. So what's a good question

0:15:12 > 0:15:16that we can get a yes answer to so we can get another clue?

0:15:16 > 0:15:18Um, does it have a beak?

0:15:18 > 0:15:21I'd love to say no.

0:15:21 > 0:15:24Yes, it does.

0:15:24 > 0:15:27- Brilliant. - And here is your next clue.

0:15:27 > 0:15:29OK.

0:15:30 > 0:15:31- Ooh, OK. - Oh.

0:15:34 > 0:15:38There's no point in making "oh" noises at the back there now.

0:15:38 > 0:15:40- No, I know.- So, what is it?

0:15:40 > 0:15:42Because... You thought it was a kiwi, I thought it was a kiwi.

0:15:42 > 0:15:44What other birds are there that look like kiwis?

0:15:44 > 0:15:47- Is it worth having a guess? - It might be... And he's...

0:15:47 > 0:15:49He's silent! The Packham is silent.

0:15:49 > 0:15:52Although he's... No he's not, he's writing. He's writing.

0:15:52 > 0:15:54I know what I would go with if I had to go...

0:15:54 > 0:15:56What? What would you go with?

0:15:56 > 0:15:57I'm not saying I'm going with it,

0:15:57 > 0:16:00but if I was pushed, I'd go with a cassowary.

0:16:00 > 0:16:04- Cassowary.- Would you? - Cassowary, though...

0:16:04 > 0:16:06Can we see that in relation to...?

0:16:06 > 0:16:07You can, we shall show you in relation...

0:16:07 > 0:16:09- Can we see that clue in relation to...?- That's a foot,

0:16:09 > 0:16:12- so it's going to be at the bottom. - Yeah, so... No, I know,

0:16:12 > 0:16:14but it's all to do with how big the bird is, though.

0:16:14 > 0:16:15No, I know that, Iolo,

0:16:15 > 0:16:18but a cassowary's an enormous bird, you know?

0:16:18 > 0:16:19Yeah. How big's the picture?

0:16:19 > 0:16:21I don't know about cassowary.

0:16:21 > 0:16:23I wonder whether it's a kakapo,

0:16:23 > 0:16:27cos a kakapo is a ground-dwelling parrot...

0:16:27 > 0:16:28Flightless parrot, yeah.

0:16:28 > 0:16:31Flightless parrot, lives in New Zealand also...

0:16:31 > 0:16:33So the birds that we are plumping for

0:16:33 > 0:16:34are all residents of New Zealand,

0:16:34 > 0:16:37where there's a lot of extraordinary flightless birds,

0:16:37 > 0:16:39because there are no predators,

0:16:39 > 0:16:40so the birds evolved...

0:16:40 > 0:16:44They stopped the need for flight

0:16:44 > 0:16:46and they now wander around on their feet

0:16:46 > 0:16:48and don't need to escape from anything much,

0:16:48 > 0:16:50except for the fact that now

0:16:50 > 0:16:53there are invasive rats that they need to escape from.

0:16:53 > 0:16:55And that weird-looking beak with its ears,

0:16:55 > 0:16:57that would fit in with a kakapo as well...

0:16:57 > 0:17:00Yeah. Cos it's got quite a chunky, open beak, hasn't it?

0:17:00 > 0:17:02- Should we take a guess? The feathers look maybe like a kakapo.- Yeah.

0:17:02 > 0:17:06Yeah, it's brown. I think that we will have to make a guess.

0:17:06 > 0:17:07I, like Chris,

0:17:07 > 0:17:11I'm prepared to throw myself on the altar of failure.

0:17:11 > 0:17:16I think we'll go for another flightless New Zealand bird,

0:17:16 > 0:17:19not the kiwi, but the kakapo.

0:17:19 > 0:17:22Well, you end up on the plinth of triumph.

0:17:22 > 0:17:23- You're absolutely right.- Yay!

0:17:25 > 0:17:30- Let's have a look at it. - Ah, they're fantastic creatures. - They are fantastic creatures.

0:17:30 > 0:17:33Anyone seen a kakapo running at full speed?

0:17:33 > 0:17:37No? No, but I bet it's... I bet it's rather amusing.

0:17:37 > 0:17:38It's lovely. Have a look.

0:17:40 > 0:17:42LAUGHTER

0:17:44 > 0:17:45That's fantastic, isn't it?

0:17:45 > 0:17:48- So, congratulations...- Thank you. - ..to both of you.

0:17:48 > 0:17:51You finally add another part to your Curious Creature.

0:17:51 > 0:17:52Ooh.

0:17:55 > 0:17:57- Yep. - It's all right.

0:17:57 > 0:18:02But you two do have a chance to claw back a semblance of dignity

0:18:02 > 0:18:05with a bonus question, which is...

0:18:05 > 0:18:09How does a male kakapo try to attract a mate?

0:18:09 > 0:18:12So, I've got an idea that they go up to the top of a mountain,

0:18:12 > 0:18:16because they live in these sort of cloud forest woods,

0:18:16 > 0:18:20and they produce an extraordinary call which echoes over the mountains

0:18:20 > 0:18:22- to attract their mates.- I feel like that's very much like the...

0:18:22 > 0:18:25Welsh boys, they go to the...

0:18:25 > 0:18:28I don't... Iolo, I mean, is that...? Do you climb...?

0:18:28 > 0:18:30I go up a mountain and sing every morning.

0:18:30 > 0:18:31- Do you?- Every morning.

0:18:31 > 0:18:33But can you imagine being a female, though,

0:18:33 > 0:18:35thinking, "Oh, I've got to go all the way up there?

0:18:35 > 0:18:38"You are joking.

0:18:38 > 0:18:40- "Come down here. Come and sing down the bottom, here."- Yeah.

0:18:40 > 0:18:44And what sort of sound do you think a kakapo makes?

0:18:44 > 0:18:47Again, rather like the tiger, they're covering a large distance.

0:18:47 > 0:18:49These animals occur at low densities.

0:18:49 > 0:18:51They've got to pump some sound out that's going to carry a long way.

0:18:51 > 0:18:53So it's not going to be a fruity little warble,

0:18:53 > 0:18:56it's going to be a, you know, a deep-throated groan.

0:18:56 > 0:18:58And you're absolutely right. That is exactly how...

0:19:00 > 0:19:02..a kakapo attracts its mate -

0:19:02 > 0:19:05puffs out its chest and emits a big sonic boom.

0:19:05 > 0:19:11So there we are, and you get another part of your Curious Creature.

0:19:15 > 0:19:16Well, well done, both teams.

0:19:16 > 0:19:21We're now thoroughly conversant in kakapo.

0:19:21 > 0:19:23APPLAUSE

0:19:26 > 0:19:28Round four today is called Pecking Order.

0:19:32 > 0:19:34COCK CROWS

0:19:34 > 0:19:36As the name suggests, the task for our teams

0:19:36 > 0:19:39is to rank three animals in order, according to a certain attribute.

0:19:39 > 0:19:42Chris and Lizzy, we're going to start with you,

0:19:42 > 0:19:45and I give you the Arctic tern,

0:19:45 > 0:19:50the monarch butterfly, and the grey whale,

0:19:50 > 0:19:53and I want you to rank them in order of the distance of migration

0:19:53 > 0:19:57they cover in a year, starting with the shortest.

0:19:57 > 0:20:02People are often surprised by the fact that butterflies migrate,

0:20:02 > 0:20:06and those monarchs will go from as far north as southern Canada

0:20:06 > 0:20:09all the way down to Mexico in the winter.

0:20:09 > 0:20:10I went down there one January,

0:20:10 > 0:20:12it was one of the most extraordinary spectacles.

0:20:12 > 0:20:17The trees are clotted with hundreds of thousands of these butterflies.

0:20:17 > 0:20:21And they're not torpid. If the sun comes out and there's dew,

0:20:21 > 0:20:25to stop from dehydrating, they come down to the ground.

0:20:25 > 0:20:27But as soon as the sun goes in,

0:20:27 > 0:20:29they fear the fact that they might chill,

0:20:29 > 0:20:31so they all fly back to the trees.

0:20:31 > 0:20:32And there were so many in the air

0:20:32 > 0:20:35that you have to shout above the rustle of their wings.

0:20:35 > 0:20:39Where does it put it, do you think, in comparison with our others?

0:20:39 > 0:20:41Nowhere near. I mean, they're doing about 4,000 miles,

0:20:41 > 0:20:43so I think they're the least travelled.

0:20:43 > 0:20:45- Really? OK.- Yeah, least travelled.

0:20:45 > 0:20:46What about our other two,

0:20:46 > 0:20:48the grey whale and the Arctic tern?

0:20:48 > 0:20:52Cetaceans migrate in... They migrate over vast distances,

0:20:52 > 0:20:56and so, my first instinct would be to put that at the longest.

0:20:56 > 0:21:00Um, but I know the Arctic terns have a pretty good run for their money.

0:21:00 > 0:21:03Yeah. Arctic terns are extraordinary.

0:21:03 > 0:21:07They will fly from the Arctic all the way down to the Antarctic,

0:21:07 > 0:21:10and circumnavigate that continent,

0:21:10 > 0:21:13and then come back again in the same year.

0:21:13 > 0:21:15And there was one Arctic tern that was ringed in...

0:21:15 > 0:21:17I can't remember, it was the north of England or Norway.

0:21:17 > 0:21:19It was on the Farne islands.

0:21:19 > 0:21:22- Was it the Farnes? - It was tagged.- And it was tagged,

0:21:22 > 0:21:24and it went to Australia, didn't it,

0:21:24 > 0:21:26in the space of about a month and a half?

0:21:26 > 0:21:27They are one of the greatest,

0:21:27 > 0:21:30if not THE greatest long-distance travellers.

0:21:30 > 0:21:32I think we go butterflies the least...

0:21:32 > 0:21:34- Yeah.- ..grey whale second,

0:21:34 > 0:21:36Arctic tern the most travelled.

0:21:36 > 0:21:39- Happy with that, Lizzy? - Yes. Yeah, let's go for that.

0:21:39 > 0:21:41Good decision. You're absolutely right.

0:21:41 > 0:21:43APPLAUSE

0:21:43 > 0:21:46The monarch butterflies in North America,

0:21:46 > 0:21:48they migrate roughly 2,500 miles,

0:21:48 > 0:21:50so a little less than you said, Chris.

0:21:50 > 0:21:55Grey whales, they cover about 12,000 miles on their migration,

0:21:55 > 0:22:02but an Arctic tern can indeed travel a staggering 44,000 miles a year.

0:22:02 > 0:22:06So, very well done. You get another part of your Curious Creature.

0:22:08 > 0:22:10There we go.

0:22:10 > 0:22:12Now, Lucy and Iolo,

0:22:12 > 0:22:15your little gang of three are

0:22:15 > 0:22:17a pig,

0:22:17 > 0:22:19a sea horse,

0:22:19 > 0:22:21and a goat,

0:22:21 > 0:22:25and I would like you to rank them in order of the maximum number

0:22:25 > 0:22:28of offspring they can have in a single litter,

0:22:28 > 0:22:29starting with the fewest.

0:22:29 > 0:22:34I made a series about animals giving birth, and I saw a pig giving birth

0:22:34 > 0:22:37and it was the most astonishing thing.

0:22:37 > 0:22:39They shoot out like peas out of a peashooter, don't they?

0:22:39 > 0:22:41It's just... It's amazing.

0:22:41 > 0:22:44And that one shot out about 13 piglets, that I saw.

0:22:44 > 0:22:49Goats, on the other hand, will give birth to relatively few young.

0:22:49 > 0:22:53I mean, I've seen goats, wild goats, I think the most I've seen...

0:22:53 > 0:22:55The most I've seen actually is two, I think.

0:22:55 > 0:22:58- Two young with one goat in Slovenia.- Yeah.- That...

0:22:58 > 0:23:00I mean, that's not the same goat, I know.

0:23:00 > 0:23:02I think you're right. Goats only really have about two,

0:23:02 > 0:23:04because they can't really manage more than that.

0:23:04 > 0:23:06They're living in Alpine conditions,

0:23:06 > 0:23:08they couldn't... They just simply couldn't.

0:23:08 > 0:23:10A mother goat couldn't look after anything more than two young.

0:23:10 > 0:23:13- No.- The pig, we know, has about 13.

0:23:13 > 0:23:15And now, I... The sea horse,

0:23:15 > 0:23:19it's the only animal in which the male gives birth

0:23:19 > 0:23:21and I've seen male sea horses giving birth,

0:23:21 > 0:23:26and there's just plumes of little ones coming out,

0:23:26 > 0:23:29so I'm pretty confident the goat's the least then.

0:23:29 > 0:23:31- Yeah.- Yeah. Then the pig...- Yeah. - ..and then the sea horse.

0:23:31 > 0:23:32Then the sea horse. Yeah.

0:23:32 > 0:23:33Confident with that?

0:23:33 > 0:23:35Very confident, actually.

0:23:35 > 0:23:37And you'd be right to be. Yes.

0:23:40 > 0:23:44It is indeed the male sea horse that gives birth

0:23:44 > 0:23:47to up to 2,000 live young at any one time.

0:23:47 > 0:23:49Have a look at this.

0:23:52 > 0:23:55- That's incredible.- Isn't it just amazing?- And they're so tiny!

0:23:55 > 0:23:58Look... But so perfect, tiny, perfectly-formed

0:23:58 > 0:24:00miniature little sea horses. Yeah.

0:24:00 > 0:24:02Absolutely glorious.

0:24:02 > 0:24:05This footage came in from The Deep aquarium in Hull,

0:24:05 > 0:24:07so thank you very much to our friends there.

0:24:07 > 0:24:09Isn't that just miraculous?

0:24:09 > 0:24:11- Yeah.- And on that note,

0:24:11 > 0:24:13you have won another part of your Curious Creature.

0:24:13 > 0:24:14Congratulations.

0:24:14 > 0:24:16And there it is.

0:24:16 > 0:24:19We're very nearly at the end of the show,

0:24:19 > 0:24:21which means it's time to see how many bits

0:24:21 > 0:24:25of their Curious Creatures our teams can identify.

0:24:28 > 0:24:32Chris and Lizzy have all five parts of their Curious Creature.

0:24:32 > 0:24:35Lucy and Iolo, you just have three.

0:24:35 > 0:24:38So, Lucy and Iolo, we're going to start with you.

0:24:38 > 0:24:40I think you know what it is already.

0:24:40 > 0:24:43The head is one of my favourite animals, actually.

0:24:43 > 0:24:46I think it's very beautiful. I'd say...

0:24:46 > 0:24:47It's an Aardvark, I think.

0:24:47 > 0:24:49- Yeah. It is an Aardvark...- Yeah.

0:24:49 > 0:24:51..and you get two points for a correct answer.

0:24:51 > 0:24:55What about, um, its rather fetching adornment?

0:24:55 > 0:24:56Now, you were feeling confident,

0:24:56 > 0:24:59you were muttering about this, weren't you?

0:24:59 > 0:25:03It's part of a...of a lizard, that it uses to threaten, to display.

0:25:03 > 0:25:05It'll open it out like this.

0:25:05 > 0:25:07It's got various names, actually, this one.

0:25:07 > 0:25:11- Frilled lizard.- Yeah, frilled lizard is what I usually call them.

0:25:11 > 0:25:14And you will get two points for that. Absolutely right.

0:25:14 > 0:25:18Um, your rather magnificent torso...

0:25:18 > 0:25:20- Yes.- ..what does that belong to?

0:25:20 > 0:25:22- This is a difficult one. - I think this is difficult.

0:25:22 > 0:25:23A black and white bird.

0:25:25 > 0:25:28- With frilled edges, as part of a display.- Yeah, exactly.

0:25:28 > 0:25:30Which points me in the direction of...

0:25:30 > 0:25:32One of the... One of the bustards,

0:25:32 > 0:25:35is it one of the bustards looks like this?

0:25:35 > 0:25:36- A bustard?- Actually, it's going to stump me.

0:25:36 > 0:25:39- Should we say bustard?- I would go for one of the bustards, yeah.

0:25:39 > 0:25:40- OK, you're saying bustard.- Yeah.

0:25:40 > 0:25:43You should have stayed closer to home. It's a magpie.

0:25:43 > 0:25:44Oh, you're joking! Is it?

0:25:44 > 0:25:46LAUGHTER

0:25:46 > 0:25:51That leaves you with four points. But, we can offer up the two parts

0:25:51 > 0:25:55that you are missing, and if you can correctly identify them,

0:25:55 > 0:25:59you can get one point per part, so have a look at this one.

0:25:59 > 0:26:04- OK.- It's either a yeti or a polar bear,

0:26:04 > 0:26:05and I'm going for a polar bear.

0:26:05 > 0:26:08You would be right, so one point there.

0:26:08 > 0:26:10Five points, can you make it to six?

0:26:10 > 0:26:13Let's have a look at the final bit.

0:26:13 > 0:26:17Very good. Well, it's obviously another reptile.

0:26:17 > 0:26:19- I would go with iguana. - Yeah.

0:26:19 > 0:26:21- OK. One point.- Thank you.

0:26:21 > 0:26:23APPLAUSE

0:26:23 > 0:26:25So, you have six points.

0:26:25 > 0:26:29Chris and Lizzy, can you do any better?

0:26:29 > 0:26:33Let's have a look at your beady-eyed little head first.

0:26:33 > 0:26:36This is one of the Loris species,

0:26:36 > 0:26:38and they are in trouble at the moment

0:26:38 > 0:26:42because they're being collected for the pet trade in the Far East.

0:26:42 > 0:26:44It is indeed a Loris.

0:26:44 > 0:26:48Let's move on to the breast.

0:26:48 > 0:26:51- I mean...- Come on, Lizzy.

0:26:51 > 0:26:53The one and only robin.

0:26:53 > 0:26:56It is, exactly right. Two points for that.

0:26:56 > 0:26:59How about these lovely appendages?

0:26:59 > 0:27:01- Stunning set of wings. - Any thoughts?- Yeah, beautiful.

0:27:01 > 0:27:07So the size makes me want to say fruit bat.

0:27:07 > 0:27:09- Yeah, absolutely beautiful. - You're going fruit bat?

0:27:09 > 0:27:11And you get two points for that.

0:27:11 > 0:27:14Well done. It's a Madagascan flying fruit bat.

0:27:14 > 0:27:18You now have six points, so you're level pegging with Lucy and Iolo.

0:27:18 > 0:27:20Can you beat them?

0:27:20 > 0:27:22No!

0:27:22 > 0:27:23SHE LAUGHS

0:27:23 > 0:27:26So this animal is a what, do you think?

0:27:26 > 0:27:28We're going to go gorilla on this, I think.

0:27:28 > 0:27:29- Yes.- We're going gorilla.

0:27:29 > 0:27:31You are absolutely right.

0:27:31 > 0:27:32It is indeed a western lowland gorilla.

0:27:32 > 0:27:36And, your final Curious Creature part...

0:27:36 > 0:27:38- Yeah.- Let's have a look at this.

0:27:38 > 0:27:40- Very bushy.- Yeah, it is bushy, isn't it?

0:27:40 > 0:27:43That's... That's the trickiest of them all, really, because

0:27:43 > 0:27:46there are only a number of animals with a piebald tail like that.

0:27:46 > 0:27:49There are skunks, I don't think it's quite stripy enough for a skunk.

0:27:49 > 0:27:50Oh, I would've said skunk.

0:27:50 > 0:27:54What slightly perturbs me are these two white stripes on the top there,

0:27:54 > 0:27:56you see? They seem to suggest it isn't a badger.

0:27:56 > 0:27:59- That's what made me think it was a skunk.- Skunky.- Yeah.

0:27:59 > 0:28:02- Yeah, OK.- Shall we go with skunk? Lizzy, you seem pretty convinced.

0:28:02 > 0:28:04Yeah, go on, then, Lizzy. You go with skunk.

0:28:04 > 0:28:06Oh gosh, I'm taking this one. Yeah, skunk.

0:28:06 > 0:28:09Skunk, good girl. Two points.

0:28:09 > 0:28:15And that means that, Chris and Lizzy, you have the full quota

0:28:15 > 0:28:17of ten points.

0:28:17 > 0:28:18APPLAUSE

0:28:19 > 0:28:22Commiserations to Lucy and Iolo,

0:28:22 > 0:28:27but thanks to all four of you for being our Curious Creatures today,

0:28:27 > 0:28:31and thank you for playing along, you precious primates at home.

0:28:31 > 0:28:33And we'll see you next time. Goodbye.