Welcome to Creature future production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host of Many Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology and evolutionary biology, and today on the show, it's Hot Sharks Summer. We're talking about some of the hottest, most amazing, most cooked up sharks out there in nature. I love sharks. I love you know. I think that a lot of times, Like with Shark Week, it's like, man, look at this killing machine with all its teeth. It can smell blood
in the water, so scary. Now we're gonna look at the lighter side of sharks. How cute and cuddly and possibly high on cocaine. They are discover this and more as we answer the age old question if you have a tummy ache, why not just get rid of your tummy? Right? Am? I? Right? Am? I? Right? Everyone all right joining me to day is friend of the Podcast online poet podcaster. We love them, Chris crafton Welcome.
Hi, Hi Katie, thanks for having.
Me, Happy to be here, Happy to have you back. I feel like I tend to I don't know this is kind of coincidence, but maybe it's my subconscious I tend to have you on when I'm talking about like weird sea creatures.
It's true. It seems like that to me because I don't know anything about like my weird creature awareness goes like through the floor when I'm not on this show. So like, like the only weird creatures I'm really aware of besides politicians is the these ones that you show me. So yeah, this is like I've done a lot of like I think we did frogs one time. We did frogs, right, like amphibians, and I mean I feel like, yeah, I feel like, uh, we've done a lot of sea creatures.
But this is a really good one for me because I used to do cocaine.
Oh yeah, well maybe you can help us get into sort of the mental the mind space of these sharks.
I'm so interested. Yeah, I have no idea, Like I'm ready to go because this is like, you know, I rarely, rarely like have a have a podcast that combines biology with my sort of recovery.
Yeah, and this, you know, you know this topic isn't this is interesting because like there, this is definitely one of those news stories that goes viral. Right, Cocaine sharks. It's like cocaine, yeah, combine some kind of cool animal with cocaine and everyone gets excited. Oh yeah, Joe Rogan talked about it. Of course, let's get into the actual details about it, because it is actually quite interesting what this signifies. So first the story, which is Brazilian sharp.
Those sharks are these little pointy sharks. They only grow to be around thirty inches or seventy seven centimeters long. I think they're pretty cute. I sent you a picture of.
Yeah, I saw it. They're quite small. Yeah. Yeah, they're like a cigar sized shark.
Right, like a pocket shark that you could bring around, you know, or purse shark. It's like something that Paris Hilton would have in her purse. That's topical, right, Paris Hilton.
Totally.
She's new, she's new, she's free, she's new.
Yeah, she's a brand new celebrity.
So they have these cute little sharks off the coast of Brazil have been found with cocaine in their systems. So researchers tested the bodies of thirteen sharks that had been caught off the coast of Rio, and all of them were found to have cocaine in their livers and muscle tissue. So the amount of cocaine in their systems indicated that cocaine had been directly dumped into the ocean. So cocaine exposure to fish can occur potentially from sewage.
So if you take cocaine and then you poop, like, some of the cocaine could get in the sewage and then that could contaminate the ocean. But most of the contamination is probably from dumping or from cocaine lab waste, because they had a good amount of just raw cocaine in there.
Now wait a minute, though, so so like, why what were these scientists looking for when they found the cocaine?
So that's that. Yeah, that's very interesting because these sharks are often tested by researchers to check the levels of pollution. I think they may have specifically been looking into cocaine because you know, that is that there had been some speculation that maybe because of either drug dumping or drug glabs, that local fish were getting this pollutant in their systems.
But yeah, in general, these sharp nose sharks are really like they're kind of like canaries in the coal mine because they live so close to the shore and they eat a lot of fish and a lot of bottom feeders. So like they are kind of like not on the very top of the food chain, but yeah, they're predators.
They eat fish, they'll eat also like small gastropods, you know, they'll they'll eat enough of these other these other fish such that they are actually kind of like being higher on the food chain means that you might actually get more of these pollutants because they're they're eating the animals that have been eating and collecting these pollutants, and then they're you know, getting all of that.
Sure, they're getting a pretty wide sample of lots of different animals in that one shark in a.
Way, yeah, in a way exactly.
So you say shark, Did you say shark nose shark.
Sharp nose shark? Oh?
Okay, okay, I was okay, I was wondering that.
Would that sounds the thing that you said kind of sounds like a weird insult, like your shark nose shark, like you with your dumb shark nose.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't even know what. Yeah, that wouldn't make any sense.
That's why I was asking, no, shark nose, shark, because it does look a little bit like you could throw it at a dart board and it would stick.
It looks like a toy shark. Looks like a toy shark.
It does it does? I think they're so cute.
If I were naming it, I would call it a toy shark.
Ye, cigar shark, cigar shark shark.
But yeah, something like that, like a pocket shark you've said, you know.
Like a yeah shark mini.
So it's a very like cute. I also wonder, like, you know, like probably I wonder, well, I wonder about getting bitten by that shark's pie is still not that much fun.
Yeah, it probably wouldn't bite you because it's probably pretty shy, but if it did bite you'd probably be it probably hurt, you know. I don't think it's gonna I don't think it's gonna take a finger off. I don't even think it's gonna trim a fingernail. I think it's just it might just hurt a bit there.
Yeah, I just that's small.
I just didn't know that.
So now I'm like afraid of those two.
That they're gonna come up in just whatever. It's something like it seems like, yeah, bite your butt.
They might be more yeah, harder to see coming.
I think I think it'll be okay. I don't I don't think you have to worry about.
These, Like, but Katie, what about if they're on cocaine, then the.
Right exactly, this is the this is the concern. Right, once they're on cocaine, all bets are off. They could be swimming up these toilets and thinking thinking that a butt looks like a nice snack. Exact. Yeah, So like the impacts of the cocaine on these sharks is not known. Unfortunately, so sharp nose sharks, these little sharks minis, these cigar sharks are vulnerable species due to fishermen both intentionally and accidentally catching them in their nets, and so adding cocaine
to the mix is probably not helping. The specific effects of cocaine on these sharks is not known. It's likely to interfere with their indocurren system, which regulates their hormones. It may also interfere with egg production. It could threaten their population, so like sadly.
Probably also make it probably also makes their taste and music really bad.
What's what's the worst band? Do you think that these sharks would like?
Well, I just think they're probably listening to you know, a lot of.
M mmm yeah.
Yeah, like you know body music, right, that's what I call it em.
You know.
It's like like they have a playlist of twenty edium songs that are basically indistinguishable, but they're like, no, you gotta see this one now, yeah, now, this one.
Yeah. And they used to listen to like, I don't know, I can't think of anybody current. They used to listen to somebody of substance.
Everyone's about her now sure so some of the la we're listening to Chappelle whoever you said, And now they're listening to just uh, you knowechno.
Technically the exact same what seems like the exact same techno track, but they swear like a lot of them. Now the beat's a little different.
Yeah, And they stay up late and smoke cigarettes and stuff.
Yeah. Their houses are very clean.
Mm hmm. They won't shut up, and they have no friends.
Yeah, well so it is u Also, because they are eaten as a food source, there's some concern that this cocaine contamination could hurt the people eating them.
People eat those little sharks, huh.
Yeah, I mean they are snack sized, I suppose.
Yeah, I mean, yeah, you could fry up a bunch of basket of them.
Yeah, you could put them all on a stick and bred it and you basically got a corn dog.
But with in Brazil.
This is in Brazil, yes.
Yeah, Brazil like comedy clubs, got like a two shark yeah minimum. But so this reminds me of the trout that have zoloft in them, or you know, there's also like fish, Yeah, regular fish that are I mean some huge number of fish have antidepressants in them.
Really yeah, I mean that kind of makes sense if you're getting if they're getting condamn, if it's condamneh from wastewater. Yeah.
Yeah, so we're putting fish through a lot.
Although I feel like zoloft maybe they're just happier, right like with the cocaine. I worry about these sharks. But if if the fish gets a little bit of zoloft, maybe it's just like you know what, just takes the edge off a little bit.
I mean yeah, maybe, I mean who knows, though, you know, cocaine could be what makes them feel. I mean because a fish, you know, or a shark you know, who knows what sol off might make them go, make them go crazy, and then cocaine maybe makes them feel like calm. Yeah, I don't know what Their systems are so different or maybe they're not that different than ours. I don't even know. You would know better than me.
I mean, I don't know what happens if you give a shark cocaine, Like what that does to their little brains. But I feel like it's probably not great. Maybe it, I mean there could be like on low doses, maybe it makes them better at hunting. I don't know. I don't think there's any ethical way to study that.
No, No, you're no, Well, it's insane. I mean, it's also like a side effect of a human civilization that's gone bonkers. There's no way there should be enough cocaine in the ocean too that you should be able to measure it measure it?
Isn't that just a waste of product. Look, I'm not saying I'm not saying that it's good to sell drugs, But if you're going to sell drugs, why are you wasting it by dumping it in the ocean.
I don't know, Yeah, I don't. I mean, I just can't believe that there's there's a Oh gosh, I mean, it just is this.
I'm just wondering, like, is this like intentional? Get the sharks hooked on cocaine. The first taste is free. Now you've got all these new customers, right, but.
They got no money, they got no arms.
Got sand dollars, they can't get Uh?
Did you.
So that this remind is so stupid? But gone?
This discussion reminds me of the Are you familiar with the band Silver Juice? No, or the or the songwriter David Berman.
Not really Silver Juice like juice or Juice.
Jews Jews like people. Okay, yes, silver Jews And it's the singer is deceased, but he really good songwriter, very deep lyrics. He has a song called sometimes a Pony Gets Depressed. One of the lyrics in it what kind
of animal needs to smoke a cigar wrette. That reminds me of like what we're doing to the fish, like we have We've created such a complicated life for ourselves on land that we need all these we need zoloft and cocaine and all these mood manipulators and yeah, and we're all completely miserable still, as you can just see from looking at the news. And I just feel bad for these fish that have to be a victim of
our self seeking unenlightened lifestyles that we now now we've got. Yeah, I mean cocaine is like just such a waste of time, and you know, it does have its fun, I guess if you're just doing it when I mean now you can't even do it safely at all because it might have ventanyl.
Yeah.
So back in the when I was younger, you know, it didn't seem so dangerous, like I was afraid it doesn't have a heart attack. But then my friends just kind of bullied me into it, and I was like, okay, you know what I mean. I was like, didn't take long for me to be like, all right, I'm you know, I'll chance it.
But but are you you're worried about your heart stopping, you're worried about dying.
Yeah, and that's all too but because I still I want to try it anyway, because I was, you know, kind of a person who wanted to do anything because I was kind of dumb.
So uh so yeah, because wait, also, when you're young, you just don't feel mortal. You're like, sure I could, like I could make this jump.
Yeah, and and and so like yeah, but it's just Yeah. Cocaine though, in the end, is like one of the least enlightened drugs. It doesn't teach you anything. It just makes you into, you know, a person who's overconfident for no reason and and and has all these ideas that they're never gonna do. You temporarily have all these great ideas that you're never gonna do because you're not even gonna wake up the next days. You're so tired and feel horrible. So it's like this easy drug. It's not helpful.
And so I just feel like it's funny that it's the perfect capitalism drug. I guess I'll bring that way. It has nothing to offer other than just energy and like distraction, yeah, delusional grandiosity. And so I just feel bad for fish because it seems like to me, they probably have a pretty level headed existence. And that's one of the benefits of I think being an animal is that you really are, like we're hoping. I mean, we don't know. Maybe inside their heads they're insecure and stuff,
but I doubt it. I bet they're just doing their thing, you know, And like throwing cocaine into the mix is just just such a rotten thing to do to a fish. Or to any animal. I mean, like it's just not necessary. Animals have exactly the right amount of energy that they need. They get good exercise, they're already swimming. They don't have to make an appointment to swim like a like a humans do. Yeah, you know, it's not on their to do list. They just do it. So they're a fit.
You know, you never see a flabby shark. I mean, like, you know nothing. I mean, they're just like they got it all together and then we're gonna throw in something that ruins everything.
Yeah, no, it is. It is sad because the ecosystem is delicate balance. I think we can all agree on that, and pollution is not great, especially something like cocaine, which is definitely something we know. It has a big effect on the brain and on the body. And so the fact that these sharks are, through no fault of their own, just having it by yeah, I mean like party, Yeah, forced to party. That's it is unfair. Parties should be completely consensual or Yeah, if.
We're going to do this, then we should at least get them leather jackets.
Yeah, well, tiny level, Okay, I think regardless of whether we do this to them, we should we just owe them little leather jackets, because these guys are so cute. And I think that also they like you were asking, do animals have insecurities? Maybe they do feel some insecurity about being like tiny sharks, being tiny and cute. They want to be so like if we get them like
metal jacks or if we get them leather jackets. It's it's killing two birds with one stone, because it's it's payback for the fact that we've been dosing them against their will. And also maybe it'll help them feel confident in themselves without the cocaine.
Killing two birds on cocaine with one stone.
Right, getting two stone birds some cocaine with one cocaine. I don't know, but yeah, there's been studies on these sharks before, finding other pollutants in their poor little bodies. Uh. And one study found metalant pollutants metal pollutants within the jelly of their ampulae of lorenzini. I will explain what that means.
So, so what do I.
Mean by the jelly of their ampulae of lorenzini. These aren't random words and it's not Italian these this is
actual stuff. So these are small structures located in their snout and rows like these pores, and they are these pockets which are filled with jelly just like a kind of viscous fluid and connected to nerves and these ampulae, which is basically like it's just a little pocket, a little poor has this jelly like substance in it, and tiny electrical signals from like say, other fish, flow through the water, travel in hit that the those pores and
travel through this jelly which is conductive wo and then that will trigger the nerve, the electro receptive nerves inside of that poor and then that's how they can't that's how sharks, including these sharp nosed sharks, can detect prey or even predators, right, so that this is what allows them to hunt down fish. And these electroceptors, these ampulae of Lorenzini are common in sharks, rays, and some other
species of fish actually. And so the thing is that because this metal pollutant has been found inside of the jelly, that might compromise the conductivity of the jelly, right Like, it might interrupt that electrical signal, so it might make it harder for these sharks to detect prey. So if metal has that effect, right, like, we don't know what cocaine, what effect cocaine has. And I don't mind at all when these stories go viral because it's a funny or
interesting headline. But I think it is really good to like look at into what this actually means, right, because like it's it is, it goes beyond it just being like a funny meme, which it's fine for it to be a funny meme too. I took a there's a screenshot here of like a news story where it's like cocaine found in thirteen sharks, and it just shows this little shark on the beach looking like he's trying to play it cool, like no, man, I was just holding it for a friend. But but yeah, no, it is.
It is good to like look into like what does this actually mean? Because it's it's a It does show that there's a good amount of pollution in these coastal waters and that is probably impacting these species. Right.
The person who found that out, like the marine biologist who found that, must have been extremely upset.
I don't I don't think they're I don't think they're happy about it.
No, because it's like the guy who you know on my podcast, we cole Brew got me like we would. For a while, we had it. Sometimes we have weird news stories on it. And one of the stories was
not a weird news story. It was like horrifying. But it's like, on its face, it's sort of a weird news story, but it's about another one about animals, and it's about fish that are I'm sure you know about this, or maybe you do, about those fish that are turning into like whirling dervishes and then dying, the ones in the in Florida.
No, I haven't heard about this.
Well, it's just the water temperature. They can't figure out what it is. But the water temperature is way higher than it used to be. And uh, this biologist they interviewed them and they're like, he's like, yeah, all these fish are like spinning. They're called they're just spinning. And I've seen it. They had video of it. They spin and spin and spin and then they die. And he's like, I've never seen this ever, Like in all my career. I've been doing this for thirty years. This is a
totally unknow known territory. I have no idea why this is happening. But these fish are spinning and spinning, you know, for days and days and then they die and that kind of thing, you know, and it just becomes like this news story. For two seconds when me and my father were kind of like, this is the end.
Of the world.
I mean, if you have fish that are spinning, you know that no biologist has ever seen them spinning, that's pretty significant. But it becomes like just another you know, another story, like oh, well, well back to Donald Trump. Yeah, you know, it's very funny.
Yeah, I know, it's it is concerning. I mean, for that, I wonder if it's something to do with like theirs swim bladder being compromised, unless it's like a neurological thing, but yeah, I mean it is. I think that there are many cases of these, these like huge red sirens going off with these animals, and unless it happens to like pandas or koala bears or something, these really charismatic species, right Like, if it's having happening to fish, people maybe
don't care as much because they're just fish. But you know, not only are fish just value because they are living creatures. It's also like this is this is really important to care about because they are They're canaries in the coal mine right now, and the coal mine is getting hotter and more full of cocaine. Apparently.
I just think I can't imagine. I just don't don't how much cocaine that how much cocaine that must have taken to it, or if maybe the scientists just came by right after they dumped some on them.
Yeah not Yeah, I know it's crazy because like that there must be a significant amount getting in there.
Yeah, but like I would assume every fish is drunk based on based on human activity, but I did not have any idea. Yeah, I thought people were more careful with their cocain.
Part of that is part of the drunk thing is my bad. Like whenever I whenever I'm on the beach, I have a beer, but then I pour one out for my ocean buddies, like the ocean, you know how it h h.
And next thing, you know, some scientists is like, why is there so much peanut colada and these fishes?
Why are these orcas ramming these boats?
Yeah? Oh wait they're full of snops.
Oh so yeah, so now I'm not allowed to give orcas pina coladas. Okay, thanks thought police, thank you. Any state let me what to do?
What are we supposed what are you supposed to do?
All right?
Do?
Yeah, there's there's literally nothing left, nothing to do, nothing to do on the beach. All right, We're going to take a quick break and when we come back, we're going to talk about a pretty cool shark superpower. Uh that is managed by the most smallest and most baby of sharks. All right, Chris, So we're going to talk about embryonic shark superpowers. We know how cool adults sharks are.
They have all these teeth, they can detect electrical signals, they can smell blood, and they can bite pretty good. But before sharks are born, they're very vulnerable. And so what are they supposed to do? Well, they come with a very sophisticated set of senses and they are able to use these superpowered senses from within the womb, well the external womb. These are sharks that will be in an egg sack. So there are both sharks that give live birth and then there are sharks that will lay
like an egg sack. It's like it kind of looks like a leather purse, but with a shark embryo in it. Okay, And so embryonic sharks who carry out their fetal development in egg sacks seem to be able to detect predators and alter their behavior accordingly. So, researchers found that the embryos of bamboo sharks can detect electrical signals coming from predators, and then in response, they halt their breathing and their movement inside the egg sack.
Oh my gosh.
Yeah, So they're like, like, we think that we're so smart, right because like when but when we're born, we spend months just sitting there poopin ye uh. These you know, like a lot of animals they come out of like there's a lot of amazing feats that come out.
Already already traumatized. I thought we had corner of the market on trauma. But it sounds like, God, damn, if you if you were, if you were in having to halt your breathing as an embryo because you're scared, That's that's pretty deep. Like I wonder if I wonder if human babies do that and they just don't know if they did. My parents, my parents argued so much, I must not have breathed the whole time I was in the damn.
Oh no, oh no, I mean totally.
There comes dad, I can't breathe, probably most the whole nine months.
Yeah, pre natal aniety.
Yeah, I mean they were just arguing about the check book and stuff. Yeah, I would have stopped breathing. I mean as soon as I was out of the womb, I stop breathing, as soon as they talked about the check book. And I can guarantee you they were talking about it while I was in there.
Yeah. No, I know. You either play Baby's Mozart and help their development or you scare them and so they come out already battle hardened.
Yes, that's crazy.
You know, I don't think it answered your question. I kind of doubt that embryos inside a womb would respond this way as much, because I think this has been found in these sharks that are in egg sacks. Not necessarily because like I said, there are sharks. There are because they are very vulnerable because they're basically they're like a little shark and panada. So if a if a predator knows they're there, they can just scoop them on
up and eat them. And shark embryos actually they reach a stage in their development where they start to undulate their tails to circulate water through the permeable seals of the egg case. Like as they get bigger, the egg case, which was once fully sealed, actually starts to lit a bit of water in the Sharks at this point need to be able to breathe the oxygenated water, and so they move their tails. They wave their tails, which helps
get the oxygenated water inside the egg sac. The downside is that this movement and also the flow of water from the eggsac outside allows predators to both see and detect through chemoreceptors like basically like smell the water and find these shark embryos, so anything from like other sharks, large fish octopuses can then find these shark embryos and try to eat them because again it's like a little shark impanada. That sounds delicious, right, And so the shark
will go into this lockdown. It stops its movement, it stops breathing. Obviously, it can only stop breathing for so long, so then it has to breathe again. It tries to breathe like very sort of slowly. But yeah, it's this is kind of a later yeah crazy, yeah, and it's instinctive, right, like this is this is an instinct It's interesting because
human babies are actually born with some instincts. Like I'm not saying you should do any of this to a baby, not a good idea, but if you dunk them in water, they'll instinctively close their eyes and sort of close off, like stop breathing, so they don't inhale water if they if they're they are actually born with a grip strong enough to like hang on to say, like a rope or to essentially like what used to be the cases that with our ancestors, these primates, like the babies would
have to be born and like hang on to their mother's fur, and so babies actually have this very like strong grip even with their feet where they can like instinctively hang onto things. So yeah, so like newborn human babies do come with some instincts that are meant to help them survive, these sharks are just doing sort of like what's that guy's name, Matt Damon. You know who's Matt. He's in that movie where Matt Damon gets a bunch of passports and he's in the water and they're like
they think he's dead. Matt Damon. Matt Damon, and he's a spy and they're like, look.
It's not Jack Reacher.
It's not Jack Reacher. I kept thinking Jack Reacher. But it's not Jack Reachcher. It's the other guy, Matt Damon.
I think he's just named his regular name. It's just it's just.
Called Matt Damon, Matt Damon, the super spy, Matt.
Damon with a bunch of passports, right right.
And they're like, oh, wow, are you Matt Damon And he's like, don't shut up, no, I'm.
Born Matthew Bourne.
Isn't that Matthew the born Ultimate. It's born Ultimatum. His name is mister Ultimatum and mister or identity more an identity born Ultimatum Penultimate born.
Yeah, okay, yeah. So anyway, so that guy who was called that guy who's called Fast and the Furious, right.
It's like these baby sharks, like these sharks because like you remember how mister Bourne was. He was in the water and it's like, oh, he's dead, don't worry about it because he's not breathing, and then the camera lingers and it's like nope, he swims away. That's what these embryonic sharks are doing.
That's crazy. I mean, that is really I mean the amount of mystery that we ignore on a day to day basis to to you know, post on Instagram is unbelievable. I mean, that is unbelievable. There's some shark, Like it's crazy enough that the shark, baby shark knows how to stop breathing for a little bit, but then when it restarts, it breathes more shallowly. I mean that is so such
deep programming. Yeah, and really I just think it's kind of amazing how uh we tune out like on a regular basis pretty much the whole ocean.
Just go about our put down your phones and just go into the ocean and take a look around. But don't drop your cocaine in there.
Plus, the ocean is full of free cocaine. That would be like a selling point.
Down your phone, people, get out like a sieve, right and start we got to get a gold rush, but for cocaine.
Yeah, panning for cocaine.
Help the fish and yourself, right, make a tidy little profit. Don't sell drugs. My lawyers advise me to say.
But put on some techno on some water in.
The medium will sound actually like music. It's amazing. It's a miracle.
Yeah, so so yeah, yeah, this is like pretty incredible, and I think it's probably healthy to think about how complicated and interesting things are besides us.
Yes, absolutely. I feel like sometimes it's just like it's animals. They're simple because they don't they can't speak English or any other language really, and you know that's just not the case. They've got their whole little systems going on. Here. I picture a bowling bag, a bowling bag with a little shark in it. Yeah, but it's kind of see through m yeah.
Yeah, well the animal comes, animal comes up or whatever, the shark. Yeah, so the shark. It's like, is this a bowling bag? I must be, because it's not breathing right exactly?
Yeah? Is it go gurt? Or is it a bowling bag? Only one of these I can slurp up.
I'm going to say the dumbest thing ever. So this is just as this is easily you can cut this out. But but so imagine that the also, the predator is going to be less patient because it's on cocaine and is not gonna give the right amount of inspection. Not it's not gonna inspect this exact nearly as carefully as it normally would.
Yeah, it's gonna be Yeah, it's gonna be hard to have that attention spam.
So good news for shark embryos.
Right, maybe the cocaine will help the shark embryos. Who's to say, right, nobody knows.
Who knows what's gonna happen. You give cocaine to a walrus, what's gonna happen. He's probably trying to go to town and put pants on and meet.
That's just doctor Phil at that point.
Oh, I wish I had a bell, the ring or something.
Spam take that got him, got him, that doctor Phil got him. He will not be able to recover from that. We're gonna take a quick break and when we get back, we're gonna talk about sharks who do this one cool trick that doctors. Hey, all right, so sharks have a cool party trick, which is that they can throw up their own stomach.
Wow.
Yeah, so sharks. Yeah, it's kind of gross.
That's disgusting.
Listen, man, we don't need your judgments on these sharks averting their stomachs.
Well, others think it's hot.
Yeah, right, exactly. This is like, this is you know, perhaps a form of flirtation. It's definitely like showing your what's inside of you, right, which is what happens when you get to know someone.
Yeah, it's like shar.
Shark torking exactly. So sharks can eject their stomachs and dump out their food and then swallow their stomachs back in.
Wow.
So you know how like I don't know, you can push a balloon inside out or there are those toys sometimes where they have like like it's a little squeezy toy, right, and they have like a little little balloon inside and you squeeze it and the balloon kind of like pops out of their mouth but then sucks it back in when you stop squeezing them.
Oh yeah, yes I do, I know exactly what we're talking.
Yeah, a little squezy toys. It's just like that. So they can like push their stomach out of their mouth and then suck it back in, uh with seemingly no ill effects. So in Caribbean reef sharks, uh that aversion and retraction of the stomach. Uh, they are able to do in less than a second. In a fraction of a second, just like basically like beebooph Yeah, just real. Why, Well, the idea is that it may be a way to clean their stomach of parasites, indigestible particles, or excess mucus.
So you know, essentially, like they got a stomach ache, well they're just going to rinse their stomachs out right, like, well, this stomach needs a little bit of a rense mm hmm.
Sometimes yeah sounds nice.
Yeah, you know, I have stomach issues sometimes, like gastc reflux, and if I could just, you know, I don't know, just like real quick, like give that stomach just a little rinse off, you know, rinse it out, second back in, and then have everything be fine again, that'd be nice.
I don't want to be nice.
I don't want to do that because I'm not a shark and I would possibly die trying that.
Yeah, and it would be yeah, I mean that would be Then you'd have to do it on your own because if you try to do that around other people, they'd yeah, I'm set.
But imagine if it was normal, right and you're just at the restaurant someone just basically has a little hiccup where their whole stomach comes out, some risotto plops back on the table. You know, it'd be a whole different society that we'd be living in.
Yeah be uh yeah, be like that would be really rough.
I don't know, maybe maybe it would be good used to it, it wouldn't matter.
Yeah, but as the first when that evolved, like the first couple of people who did it would probably be shun shunned.
Yeah, they'd be but posthumously being be remembered as innovators. Right but yeah, so so uh this is I mean within you know, relatively recently that where this has actually been documented. Well, but like because often there have been a lot of cases of sharks like pushing their stomachs out of their mouths, but usually it's sharks that get caught by fishermen. So clearly this is like a stress response.
I know the fact that they do this when they're not obviously distressed, but just do it really quickly, seemingly to just cure maybe a tummy ache or to clean like maybe it's just routine cleaning, right, Like maybe it's like brushing their teeth. I don't know, because like they do the really quickly. You can do it in like a fraction of a second. I have included some photos of sharks doing this, but yeah, it's essentially just like a little balloon comes out of their mouth and then
goes back in. You can barely see it.
I'm looking right now, Oh I see, yeah, oh yeah.
Just kind of just like blowing a bubble with some kind of gray bubblegum.
I never had heard of that. I never would have known that in a million years. Really crazy.
Yeah, to be honest, like researchers don't know one hundred percent why they do it, but the leading theory is just like the stomach cleaning thing, and the reason they do it so quickly is probably just for safety, right, Like you don't want someone to come up and take a bite out of your stomach while it's dangling out.
Oh my god, no, yeah, that'd be bad.
But yeah, so because they do it so quickly fraction of a second, that seems to make it, you know, like a safe activity for them to just give everything a good rent out.
Unbelievable.
Have you ever like maybe this is just me, but like, have you ever had something where it's like you have some pain in some organ, maybe it's spine pain or like stomach hurts or whatever, And I just think about how nice it would be if I could just like pluck out that body part just kind of like get it in shape, Like especially when I have a back ache.
It's like I think, like, what if there was a device I could just pull my spine out completely, you know, put everything back into place, and then put it right back in my back.
That would be nice.
That would be so nice.
Yeah, we have to deal with external everything's external with us, so we have to like we're stuck putting cream on I guess the closest we god is like a Vapo rub.
Vapo rub. Yeah, it's not very good. You know what I've been I think I already brought this up on another episode, but sorry, guys, I'm bringing it up again. I've been drinking essentially glorified pond scum for my tummy eggs because it's like sodium aalgenate, which is like an algae derived substance which is supposed to help with gastric reflux. But yeah, it really is like vanilla flavored pond scum. So you know, look, am I so different from these sharks?
Apparently not? Where did you get this pond scum? Who told you about that? Because I'm down with, like, I like that kind of stuff, Like I just don't know what you know, Like anytime anyone introduces me into into some kind of thing that tastes really bad that's supposed to be good for me, Like I get pretty into it. Like I don't mind if it's pond scum, if it's supposed to be the good for you.
This tastes fine. It's not literal pond scum, and I would encourage you not to drink literal pond scum. It's just that it is sodium alginate, which is like a goo derived from algae, and then you know, they process it so it's it's essentially it's god. Yeah, it's a viscus goo.
They take all the cocaine and zolof Yeah, you don't want to just have straight days now, No, there's way too You'll end you'll end up at a rave.
All right. Well, before we go, we got to play a little game called Guests Who Squawk in the Mystery Antal Sound game. Every week I play Mystery Antal Sound. I remember, Yeah, you the listener and you the guests try to get remember who is who is making that sound? Chris? I know you remember, But what if someone else out there? What if this is the first time someone is listening to this podcast. First of all, welcome, Hello. I'm sorry you started on the Sharks are doing cocaine episode. Or
maybe I'm not sorry. Maybe it's a good thing. Anyways, this week's hint was this, You're not gonna find this hen on the farm, and it'll make this call till it's red in the face. All right, did you hear the little clucking sound?
I heard it.
Well, any got any guesses as to what is making the sound?
I think it's a chihuahua.
You know that is a very good guess. This is essentially the chihuahua of fresh water bodies of fresh water. This is the more hen, also known as a swamp hen. It is actually not related to chickens as well. It is a an aquatic bird. They are a member of the rail family. They are related to coots. Have you ever seen a coot?
I don't think so.
Well, these more hens kind of look like a coot, and if you've never seen a they're like a well you could also just look up more hen, but either way that's true.
Why am I looking for the secondary more hen?
M oh oh r h e n okay more han? And uh yeah, so like oh, Yeah, look at them.
I've seen these.
You heard of these, You've seen these.
I've never seen them, but they're pretty.
Yeah, they are pretty beak. Yeah, they've got like a red bill with a yellow tip. They've got black feathers with white tips. Instead of having webbed feet like a duck would have, more hens actually have disconnected toes. Each toe is pretty thick and long, which allows it to both paddle and to walk on marshy, bumpy terrain with ease. Yeah. And they are not at all related to hens. Uh.
Their name originally meant bird of the marshes more hen. Yes, not not a hen, not a chicken, but a chicken of the swamp.
So they've tested them. They're loaded loaded.
With d just constantly on ecstasy.
Yeah, that's a pretty bird.
It's very pretty.
Yes, I never seen that.
I actually saw a couple. We have a few of them, quite a few of them up here in northern Italy. They are even though there are different species that are found all over the world, we have have some that are here. Uh. And they had some babies. It was very cute. The babies were sitting on there was like a paddle boat, you know, one of these like tiny boats and no one was in it. But then the babies were kind of sitting on it, and the babies
were very cute. They're very scru scrungely looking. I know that's not quite a word, but you know what a scrungely looking little bird is, right, like those babies where not all the feathers are in, so they're just kind of scruffy. Yeah, they're very cute. I like them, all right. Onto this week's mister animal sound. The hints is this don't talk with your mouth full, m all right, any guesses dressed?
Oh my god, that sounds like sounds like Mitch McConnell.
Uh uh, how you get it?
I think that's Mitch McConnell in a a in shallow water.
Yeah.
I don't know what the heck that is. That's amazing sounding, though. It reminds me of I don't know if you heard about this, Katie, but this is something you This is along the lines of like novelty animal stories like cocaine and sharks. But uh, that that duc that's supposed to have said you bloody fool? Heard about that.
There's a duck that said you bloody fool.
Yes, And then and they've recorded this duck and it says it sounds just like it sounds just it's a musk duck, and it sounds just like that thing you just played, except this person. I mean, I don't think this duck is saying you bloody fool.
Oh there it is, is that it?
Oh, No, as.
I'm about to I'm about to play this sound though it's an Australian duck, so.
It goes you bluddy. Yeah, it just goes you boody fool, who bloody fool? And and and and and it does sort of look sound like that, but but it's like, uh, and they said it's because the caretaker says that a lot who lives near the pond. Anyway, it's just it's a great story. It was like it was like, it's it's really fun to listen.
I found it. I found it good.
Oh it's so great.
Oh my god, that's incredible. Oh my god, that's still so bad. I don't think I mean, this is from the Telegraph. I don't think this is. I'm I'm credulous, right, or yeah, I'm credulous because I think that. I mean, birds do learn calls by listening to their their parents or two other birds. So if you have a bird who is capable of learning and mimicking certain sounds, I yeah, I did not realize that you said that. Yeah, it's a musk duck. Yeah, that's so interesting.
It's like.
It's so weird.
I also just am like, I want to know how often? First of all, I want to know who this caretaker is. I want to know why upon how a caretaker? And I also want to know how often does this guy say you bloody fool that a musk duck would start saying. He was saying it because.
People like me go to these ponds trying to get the pond scum to make our tommies feel better, and they're always chasing us off, going like, you bloody fool. You can't just be pond scum. You gotta get it from your pharmacy. Okay, I'm gonna see musk duck call Katie.
There's a There's a hidden part of this story too, which is which really kind of to me made it less believable, is that they said that the musk duck, in addition to saying you bloody fool, can make a slamming sound that sounds like a door slamming, and that's included in some news reports about that story. They'll play that, they play that recording and then there's this bang bang bang sound that you're like, which.
Is like, I mean, there are there are certain birds that can mimic sounds, right, Like I guess.
A door closing though it was like a slamming door sound's a musk duck.
There are there are birds that can mimic like say chainsaw or camera shutters. So it's all right, I'm not saying it's I have not had time to completely fact check this. I will. I'll look into it and report.
My question for you as an expert, Why aren't musk ducks then more famous than they are, Like musk dust ducks should have a great career going he talks about, I've never even heard of them.
People don't even know that. Like crows and ravens can talk, but they can.
Do you have any crows that hang out with you?
No, sadly, we've got hooded crows here. I don't. I haven't made any friends with any of them. I should probably leave you. I haven't. I haven't feed I have not been feeding them because I'm worried that if I start leaving out peanuts. The pigeons who are already here are just gonna descend it all like every morning, wake up to a bunch of pigeons. People are very Here's like a regular Here is what I think is a normal musk duck call see different? Right?
Oh that thing?
Well, they have like a really interesting wattle too. These are these are wild, Chris. I've got to do an episode on these now. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Sure, it's one of my favorite things I love. I love cryptos zoology stuff just because I like the I love how the quality the recordings are too. I just like I like when people get like bad, you know, like they had to like sneak up and like the sound is kind of bad, and I like, uh, yeah, I like that whole mystery aspect of it. But yeah, it's an interesting story.
Yeah, well, I guess we got we gotta I gotta investigate because I actually think this, This seems like this is real and that's amazing and add add it to the list of birds that can, in very creepy ways imitate us and mock us.
Also, I want to say, like that is so interesting to bring up the pigeon crow thing because people are very happy to have to be friends with a crow, but they are not nearly as happy to be friends with like I don't know twenty five pigeons.
Yeah, it's the number of them, right, Like I like, if it was one pigeon, I would be like, yeah, we're cool. When it's twenty five of them, all greedily staring at me, it's like, I'm now, this is no longer a sort of like friendship. This is a shakedown.
Pigeons are just crows on cocaine.
Wise are words never spoken. So Chris, thank you so much for coming on. Where can people find you?
You can find me on my podcast Cold Brew Got Me like, or you can find me in my book, The Advice King Anthology that's available everywhere, and I don't care where you get it. You can get it from evil empires like Amazon. It's fine with me. And I have a record called Hello It's Me that came out in twenty eighteen that got a seven point four from Pitchfork and you can listen to that on all the
streaming services and things. And I got a new one coming out this fall or winter and then and then you can watch me on them, watch me on at the at the Crafted Show on Instagram.
Or Twitter, or you can be perceived upon these platforms. Yes, well, thank you so much for coming on, and thank you guys for listening. And thank you to the Space Classics for their super awesome song XO Lumina, and thank you for them to the musk Duck for uh learning to speak people very exciting exetting news there. Uh. Creature Feature is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts like the one you just heard, visit the iHeartRadio app Apple podcast.
Wait before I do that? Oh yeah, I gotta tell you, you gotta, you gotta send me email if you know what you think the mystery animal sound is right, the one that was going like, Send me an email at Creature Feature Pod at gmail dot com. You can also send me your questions. I will try my best to answer all the questions I get, sometimes just through email, and sometimes I do a listener questions episode, All right, where was I? Hi? Heard a radio app? Apple podcast?
Or hey guess what? Where have you listened to your favorite shows? I don't care. I'm not your mother and I can't tell you what to do. You gotta go live your own life. Don't drink pondscum, though not directly from a pond. Get it from a pharmacy. Ah, just go up to that pharmacist and say, miss your give me your finest podcast, your finest pond scum man. That says a lot about what I think about my own Give me your finest podcast about ponsgum, which I guess
is this one. All right, guys, see you next Wednesday.
Thanks Katie,