Listener Q's: Boulder Throwing Bears & More!

fun research for this. Always love getting your questions because it often sends me down rabbit holes that I didn't even think to go down. Uh. And if you have questions, you can always email me at Creature Feature pot at gmail dot com and maybe I will answer your question on another one of these listener Questions episodes. So let's get right into it. Hi, my boyfriend and I heard

an interesting scenario while watching YouTube. Quote a fully grown polar bear versus a fully grown great white in Analympic sized swimming pool that is seven ft deep and seventy five degrees fahrenheit. Who wins. We had a fun speculating, but wanted to get an expert opinion. Love the show Bird's Rights Emaretta Ce. So this is an interesting question. As you may already know, polar bears and great white sharks don't inhabit the same range, so we can only

imagine the clashes between them. There are sharks that exist in the Arctic, including the greenland shark, who can live for hundreds of years and can grow up to twenty one ft long, which is about six point five meters. There was a case where a young polar bears jawbone was found in a greenland shark's stomach, but it's unknown of the shark actively preyed upon a swimming polar bear or merely eight a drowned carcass. But onto this fantasy

fight between a great white shark and a polar bear. First, let's do the way in In one corner we have the polar bear. Let's go with the adult male polar bear, because they are the largest. They can weigh up to one thousand, five hundred pounds or seven hundred ms. They can be over nine ft long or three meters, and on its hind legs it can stand at eleven feet

tall or three point four meters. At the shoulders they stand about three point five to five ft or one to one point five meters, so they would only be able to stand in your seven foot deep battle pool by standing on their hind legs. They are proficient swimmers and can swim for days at a time, the longest recorded time being nine days and four hundred miles or

seven hundred kilometers. They can swim at six miles per hour ten kilometers an hour, and the temperature of the water they typically swim in is around thirty degrees fahrenheit or point seven degrees celsius, so they are used to it being a bit chillier than the battle pool that is at seventy five degrees fahrenheit. So in the other corner of our imaginary battle pool is the great white shark. So females are larger than the males, so let's have

a female. She can weigh around two thousand, four hundred and fifty pounds over one thousand one ks, and grow up to sixteen feet or five meters long. The largest great whites can grow over twenty feet in length and

weigh over four thousand pounds. They can swim at thirty five miles per hour or fifty nine kilometers per hour, and they tend to live in water temperatures from fifty four to seventy five degrees fahrenheit or twelve to twenty four degrees celsius, so they'd be very comfortable in that

seventy five degree fahrenheit battle pool you've created. So again, to compare, the large adult male polar bear is up to one thousand, five hundred pounds and nine feet long, whereas the largest Great whites can weigh over four thousand pounds and grow over twenty feet. So great whites are much larger than the polar bears, and they can also take down prey larger than themselves. So great whites can take down whale sharks, but they do prefer to take

on prey that is smaller than themselves. They can easily take on sea lions or elephant seals. Meanwhile, polar bears tend to hunt smaller seals uh, and they can only take down larger prey like walruses by actually using tools. So polar bears have been known to toss chunks of ice or rocks at walruses. It sounds too incredible to be true, but this has been noted by Inuit observers for centuries, and also by contemporary researchers who have videotaped

polar bears throwing ice at seals. So who would win between the great white shark and the polar bear? Purely based on their physical strength ability maneuverability under the water, I think that the large adult female great white shark would handily win against the largest adult male polar bear. But if you gave the polar bear the opportunity to get out of the pool and grab some boulders, maybe he'd have a fighting chance. Next listener email next listener email. Okay,

hi kitty. The other day, I came home from work to find my cats and dogs at the sliding door, very interested in something. I walk over and find this aggressive turkey challenging them through the glass door. I thought this was very odd, as I have a fenced yard and wild turkeys don't normally come to my patio, and if they do, upon seeing the dog, they will back up. Well. Upon further investigation, I come to find it's a mama

turkey and she's just protecting her little ones. I got the pets away from the door, and she calmed down and rested while the babies explored and eventually they wandered away. Anyways, I thought you'd like the picks from Katie. Thank you fellow Katie. Yes I did. I loved the pictures and I love this story. So turkeys are actually really good

parents and they are highly protective of their babies. Mother turkeys will sometimes even feign injury like a broken wing, by holding their wing out to their side to lead a predator away from her young. Did you know that young turkeys are called poults, which I think is really cute. So unlike a lot of birds who lay their eggs in nests in a tree and must make frequent trips away from the nest to get food, turkeys are ground dwelling birds and they are constantly carry for their offspring.

So turkey mothers will care for their pulse basically seven, and the little little pulse will take shelter under her wings. It's very cute, and they will call out to each other. It is adorable to see them out there pecking and foraging together as a little family. Onto another question, So, hey Katie, what about an episode about those dangerous hours animals have to get some shut I or do they

all shut their eyes? I found it surprising just now that turtles sleep underwater, and wonder how long they could sustain. This seems like it would have to be more like a short cat nap. This is from p K, so yeah, maybe I will do an episode about sleep sometime in the future. But to answer your question about turtles, turtles must breathe oxygen like marine mammals. Of course, turtles are not mammals, but they still have lungs and they must

breathe oxygen. To turtles can still survive underwater for long periods of time, even though they do have to surface to breathe, especially when they are at rest, they can actually go a long time without oxygen. When they sleep, their bodies consume less oxygen and they can stay underwater

for longer. So, for example, sea turtles while swimming must surface to get oxygen about every few minutes, but when at rest they can actually last for a couple hours underwater, and older, older sea turtles are the best at this. So when they are mature, they can sleep deep in the water, and they seem to actually prefer to sleep deep down in the water, maybe under a reef um, whereas hatchlings like to sleep closer to the service, floating with their front flippers tucked over their backs, so how

do sea turtles survive without oxygen for so long. Well, their heart rate and other metabolic processes slow way down during rest, So while floating but not asleep, their heart rate is around fourteen beats per minute, which is very low compared to a human's resting heart rate of sixty beats per minute. UH. The sea turtle's heart rate can increase to around forty to eighty beats per minute with increased activity, but while sleeping, sea turtle heart rates slow

way way down to about six beats per minute. That's like one beat every ten seconds. For comparison, typical human heart rate while sleeping is about forty to fifty beats per minute. So in fact, human divers often train themselves to slow their heart rate down immensely. Their heart rates have been recorded to dip as low as eleven beats

per minute. This is right on the edge of human capability, and free divers that push themselves to this human limit are often at risk of blacking out and drown things. So it's a very dangerous hobby and it's very important to have a spot ter. The most experienced free divers can last around four minutes underwater, and of course a reminder, never try this in a pool, I guess without professional guidance. I mean personally, I would not try it at all.

But people have actually drowned trying to hold their breath for too long in a pool, especially when they do it alone, because you can hold your breath for a while and then kind of not realize that you are getting close to the blackout zone, and then before you know what, you've lost consciousness. And if you're alone, there's no one to pick you up out of the water.

So do not do that. But still, with these experienced human free divers, they can last around four minutes, but that is a long way away from two hours that sea turtles can manage at rest. So sea turtles really have us beat when it comes to slowing down their metabolism to a all, yes, so the turtle really does a beat. Well, I guess it's tortoise, but we are talking about turtles. The turtle beats the hair when it comes to slowing down their metabolism so they can survive

underwater for incredible amounts of time while sleeping. Next listener question. Here it goes Hi, Katie, I'm thinking about these baby formula shortages. If I remember correctly, one of the earliest domesticated animals was the goat, and their milk was one of the reasons that they were domesticated. I've heard that while seventy of the world is lactose intolerant to cow's milk, zero percent of people are lactose intolerant to goat milk.

Is goat's milk a good enough substitute for human breast milk will h So first I will preface this with the extremely important note I am not a doctor. I am not a pediatrician, nor am I a goat. I cannot give you medical advice on how to feed your baby. Babies are extreme rereamely sensitive to changes in diet and nutrition, so you should always, always, always talk to your pediatrician. If you have questions about what you should or shouldn't

feed your baby. It is extremely important do not take my advice, don't take random internet people's advice or random podcasters. Talk to your pediatricition. So that said, let me tackle this question from a non medical advised standpoint. So, goat's milk does contain lactose. Therefore, if you're lactose intolerant, you will also be intolerant to goat's milk. Now here's the caveat.

Goat's milk does contain somewhat smaller amounts of lactose than cow's milk, so if you're only mildly lactose intolerant, it is possible that goat's milk would have less of an effect on you. Goat's milk is also more easily digested by humans than cow's milk due to smaller fat molecules that are easier for us to break down. So it's possible that if you have only a mild lactose intolerance, you might find goat's milk easier to drink than cow's milk.

But it is not a guarantee because it contains lactose and your lactose intolerant. Technically, you would still probably have a reaction if you drink enough of it. I mean, it's kind of like, I mean, I'm lactose intolerant, and some things I can tolerate better than others. Certain cheeses have less lactose in it than milk, and I can have cheese, But if I have anything milk based, I have to take a lactaid pill and it works really well, um, if you have a cow milk allergy, be really careful

because it's very likely you are also allergic to goat's milk. Again, talk to your doctor about those kinds of things, because you know your body is important. So, unfortunately, there's no animals milk that is a suitable obstitute for human breast milk or formula. From what I can tell from the research that I did into this, the problem is that human breast milk is specifically tailored to human baby nutrition needs and digestion. So animal milk is designed for the

baby animals that will drink it. So cow milk is designed for a baby cow's nutritional needs. Goat milk is designed for a baby goats nutritional needs, not for a baby humans. So the composition of these animals milk is going to be different than what is suitable for a baby human um. So, for example, animal milk may contain too much or too little of certain vitamins and nutrients or salts or proteins or fat, or the proteins maybe

too complex for a human infant to digest. I looked up a study that showed serious medical issues when goats ink was used as a substitute for breast milk and infants, resulting in things like anemia, allergic reaction, electrolyte and balance, and metabolic acid doosis, which is an imbalance of the body's acid and base levels. Uh. So, you know, not something really to mess around with for an infant. Who are they are very They're very delicate. Their digestion is very,

very delicate. And yeah, don't take my word for it. If you are wondering what to feed your baby, talk to your pediatrician. Um and uh, you know, good luck out there for everyone with babies. So uh, moving on to the next question, I think you forgot to answer another question about camels. There's an old saying about the

straw that broke the camel's back. It would not literally break the camel's back, but our camels really that picky and sensitive about how much they will carry, thank you, Stephen m. So camels aren't so sensitive that they can distinguish a straw. When it comes to weight, they can actually carry quite a hefty weight as well, but if they are overburdened, they can suffer saddle sores, fatigue, or injury.

So what's interesting is there's actually been research done on the maximum weight for horses to carry to avoid injury, uh, roughly twenty of their body weight. But I haven't been able to find any comparable research for camels. Seems like how much a camel can carry depends on a number of factors, like the camel species. So like as a reminder, there are three species of camel, the Dromedary, the Bactrian and then the wild Bactrian camel on the Dramedarian bactory

in which are the two domesticated camels. Uh, they're carrying abilities are going to differ. It's gonna also differ based on the ammal's size, their age. Uh, It'll depend on the ambient temperature, uh, the amount of distance that the camel has to cover, and what the camel can forage in that distance. So UH, ethical camel owners should make sure that if they're ever using a camel to carry a load or to carry riders, the camel never shows any signs of the stress or fatigue. So a fatigued

distressed camel will actually get sweat patches. UH, it will start to crouch whenever, like you come to a stop to try to get some rest. It can start to tear up and get a running nose. So you know, just kind of like a person, like if you are over exerting yourself, you you know, might get sweaty, you might want to like crouch down, get a ruddy nose, get ready eyes. So if a camel is doing those

things as well, it is overworked, overburdened, and that's not good. Um. The range of weight that they can carry, uh is I mean it's around two hundred to six hundred pounds or maybe hundred seventy two seventy but you know, again it's like it there's it really depends on the context. And a good camel steward will make sure that the camel is not showing signs of distress, uh, you know,

and not overworking the camel. So instead of actually seeing how many straws that we can add to a camel until it breaks its back, what about whether the camel would like a straw and it's camel margarita. So what makes for a happy camel? I'm talking about domesticated camels of course, for the rare wild bactory and camels their happiest in their natural environment and left alone. But the two most populous species of camels are both domesticated. So

how do you keep a domestic a camel happy? Well, even though there's not that much emphasis put on camel enrichment, they really do enjoy enrichment. Uh. They like scratching posts where they can rub their coats on. So camels actually grow these thick winter coats which shed like crazy in the summer because they have to endure these big, big shifts in temperature from winter to summer, and so having a scratching post to rub off that coat is really important.

It'd be like if you had a scratchy wool sweater that you couldn't get off in summer, and so having something where they can rip off that winter coat will make them really happy. They also love sand, which is great because they have to spend a lot of time in it. But if they're in an enclosure with like hard ground surfaces, they're not going to be as happy as if they have the soft sand in it. So they like the softness of sand for sleeping and walking.

They also like to roll around in sand, and camels enjoy toys. Uh. They will enjoy enrichment activities like playing soccer with giant balls. There's a really really cute YouTube video. I'll put in the show notes of a camel playing soccer with a giant bouncy ball, and it is so cute. And I think it's important to like these beasts of burden, these animals that sometimes are just like in the background,

like camels and donkeys. You know, they they have personalities, they have feelings, and they can have fun and they can suffer. And I think if we have a choice,

we should make sure that they have nice lives. Uh So, you know, I don't necessarily think it is always wrong to like ride a camel or use a camel as a beast of burden, but I think it is important to take care of them, be nice to them, and you know, just like, hey, they've given us so much, let's give back, even if that means giant soccer balls and scratch ease for their big old coats. So now onto the Mystery Animal Sound Game. Da da da da bo um. I think I have a song now for

the Mystery Animal Game. Wait a minute, let me put it in right now. Yes, welcome to the Mystery Animal Sound Game. Every week I play a mystery animal sound and you, the listener, try to guess who is making that sound. Guess who is squawking? So last week's mry animal sound hint was this. This monster can devour entire hills, but it's still just a baby. Can you guess who is squawking? Well only Joey p rode in and got

this one right. It is a baby giant ant eater, so babies will make these calls to its parents so it doesn't get lost. Adult ant eaters are a little less noisy. Um. So. The giant ant eaters live in Central and South America, and like their name implies, they get quite big and they also eat ants. I love

it when an animal name just makes sense. They can grow over seven ft long or two hundred and seventeen centimeters and weigh over a hundred and ten pounds or fifty They do eat ants, but they'll also eat termites. Usually it's a seasonal thing, so when ants are in season, uh, they'll eat them, and when termites are more in season, they'll eat them. They use their formidable claws to gouge open ant hills or termite mounds, and a two foot

long sticky tongue to slurp up the tasty treats. They'll also dig holes to uncover drinking water, which other animals will happily use as well. Now onto this week's mystery animal sound. You won't be surprised to learn this is called the Screaming Party. But who are the party goers? Another hint, I actually can hear these guys right outside my window. Well, if you think you know who's squawking, you can write to me at Creature feature Pod at

gmail dot com. All also, take your questions. Maybe I will answer them next time I do one of these listener question episodes. And hey, thank you so much for listening. I sure do appreciate it. And uh, if you are enjoying the show and you leave me a rating and a review, I really really really appreciate it. I appreciate it so much. Seriously, seriously, I really really do. I mean, I'm at a level with you. I read all the reviews. They really mean a lot to me. I'm making a

very very sincere expression right now. You can't see it, but I am. And I you know, like, when I read it a nice review, it makes me feel good. It makes me feel like, hey, I should keep doing what I'm doing, and it cheers me up, makes me happy, motivates me to make more episodes. So when you guys write that in, I really love it. And you know, if you write in like what kinds of aspects to the show you want to see more of or less of, that's also really helpful. So I really appreciate everyone who's

given feedback. It means so much to me. It means a lot to me too, that you're just listening. It's so fun for me to do this and talk to you guys, and I enjoy our little chats. Sometimes when I do do the listener questions, it makes you feel more like I'm talking directly to you guys. So I hope you like it when I do these. Uh, it's not just for me to do a shorter episode, although it helps when I'm maybe need to recover a little

bit from an illness. But regardless, I like answering your questions, so I hope I hope you like me answering them as well. Um and Hey thanks to the Space Costics for their super awesome song. Ex Alumina. Creature features a production of I Heart Radio. For more pot cats like the one you just heard, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast or Hey guess what wherever you visit your favorite shows. You want visit your favorite shows, I guess

you listen to them. I don't know if you visit your favorite you know what I actually do like that, visit your favorite shows. Knock on your show's door. I guess maybe your ears the door in this situation, and I'm knocking on that door anyways. Whatever, I'm still a little delirious for being apparently all right. Keep it easy, take it easy. What the heck is wrong with me? Take it easy? Guys, See you next Wednesday.