Hey, everyone, fill the engineer here. If you're listening to this, that means you've probably already realized that we are not dropping a Meat Eater Radio live this week, and in lieu of that, we will be dropping two episodes of the meat Eater Kids podcast on the meat Eater feed right here.
Why are we doing this?
Even though we mentioned it a couple of times on social media and in some meat Eater Podcast episodes, we're still getting some questions from parents asking, I saw you put up Meat Eater Kids episode six. Are we getting any more? The answer is, hey, yeah, we've got some more. They're over on a brand new Meat Eater Kids podcast feed, and we'd love if you could go over and subscribe to that brand new feed that's just our kid's content.
Hop on over to the search bar and whatever program you're using, type in meat Eater Kids, hit that follow or subscribe or join or whatever button it is, and that way you'll be in the loop when we drop new kids episodes or whatever new kids content we've got cooking up. So enjoy this episode of meat Eater Kids and be sure to head over to the brand new feed. Hit that follow button, hit that subscribe button, it helps us out and you stay in the loop.
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It's time for Why It's the Way it Is. Today. On Why It's the Way it is, we're going to talk about eyeballs, which seems kind of funny, but we're not gonna talk about how eyeballs work necessarily. We're going to talk about where eyeballs sit on an animal's head, Okay, meaning, why are a rabbit's like picture a rabbit in your mind. Why are a rabbit's eyes kind of buggy and they stick out in their position way out on the sides
of his head, all right? Compared to why are your eyeballs in the front of your head and real close together? The answer to that question is where your eyeballs sit on your head or where an animal's eyeballs sit on its head. Has to do with whether the animal is a predator, meaning it hunts for other animals to eat, or it's a prey animal or a vegetarian or herbivore meaning it eats vegetation and gets hunted by predators. Let's start for a minute with your own head. Okay, let's
think about your own head for a second. Your eyes are a predator's eyes. You have a couple predator things on you. You have eye teeth or like canine teeth, pointy teeth. Okay, that's a predator adaptation. And you have eyes that sit close together on the front of your head. So as a predator, what you're pretty good at is you're good at focusing on something and telling how far away it is. Okay, that's your specialty. Now let's jump to a rabbit. A rabbit has eyes, buggy eyes, way
out on the side of its head. Here's the crazy thing about a rabbit. A rabbit can pretty much see straight behind it. If you imagine a circle. We describe a circle as a three hundred and sixty degree loop. Okay, a rabbit can see most of that three hundred and sixty degree circle around itself. It can't see directly right behind its skull, but it can see behind itself okay, because those eyes that are stuck out to the sides
of its head are looking all around. The right eye is seeing its own world off to the right, and the left eye is seeing its own world way off to the left. The eyes don't do a lot of what we call binocular vision, meaning the eyes don't work together to aim and concentrate on a specific item. A rabbit's eyes or a deer's eyes or a cow's eyes are just surveying all around them. They need to detect
a threat movement, right. So if it's a rabbit, he is looking in an almost complete circle around him while he eats, while he does whatever he does. If he just sits there and rests, he's looking at almost a complete circle around him, and his eyes are really good at picking up on a movement which signifies the approach of a predator. The rabbit doesn't need to stare at the predator. The rabbit doesn't need to tell exactly how
far away the predator is. He just needs to know so it's there and what direction it is so he can run the other way. He's a prey animal and he's watching out for predators. Let's jump to a predator's eyes for a minute. How they sit really close together. So let's jump to say the fox. And if you kind of want to understand the eye placement on a fox, if you have a pet dog, very very similar, they're both canines. Your dog's eyes are really close together on
his head. Now, your dog has okay, peripheral vision, like he can see off to the side pretty good, right, But his specialty is is that he can use both of his closely placed eyes to focus on something. And you'll notice if you watch a dog or watch a cat and they're watching something moving around, both of their eyes are moving to track its motion. They're using binocular vision, meeting their eyes are working together. What that does is
that it gives you something called depth perception. Okay, so let's jump to a cat. For instance, a cat is watching a mouse go across the floor. He's watching it with both of those eyes. He's using his binocular vision, which is giving the cat depth perception, meaning that cat, by using both of its eyes, knows that when it jumps, it knows exactly how far away that mouse is.
Wow.
Because it's using both of his eyes to look at it. It knows exactly how far that mouse is, and he's going to jump on it and grab it. So that explains a little bit about why your eyes are positioned where they are, or why an animal's eyes are positioned where they are on its head. But let's talk for one quick second about their pupils. Now, if you look in the mirror at your own eye, your pupil is the dark spot in the center of your eye. Your pupil could be brown, it could be blue, maybe you
have green eyes. Whatever it is, that's the pupil. That circle thing, it's a circle on you, on a human, but on a lot of predators and prey, the pupils have a different shape. They're like a long slit. They're kind of like a bar. Okay, now on a lot of prey animals. Like if you go look at a let's say a horse or goat, you go look at its pupil. Its pupil is horizontal, so it's like a flat bar that runs horizontally. If you look at a cat, its pupil is a vertical bar that runs up and down.
This is another way that the structure of the eye helps you do what your main job is. That horizontal pupil is meant for looking way around in a circle, all around you. It's meant to have really good peripheral vision. And what's crazy is if you watch, like let's say you're watching a horse and he's got that slit pupil, that horizontal bar pupil. When a horse drops his head down to eat grass, his eyes are not staring at
the ground. His eyes roll almost like roll back into the back of his head so that that horizontal bar stays horizontal. So he's always scanning. So even when his head's down eating grass, he's scanning all around him for predators. These other animals with the vertical slid are animals sometimes that hunt at night, so that vertical slit is good for gathering light, and it also seems to be really
good for determining distance and depth perception. Again, because he's focusing on something he wants to jump on and kill, and that eye, that shape of that pupil and where his eyes sit on his head allows him to focus on it and know how far away it is, so that when it makes its attack, when it makes its leap, it's very accurate. So here's the thing you can do. As you drive around with your parents, or you walk
around or whatever. You look at different pets you might have, or you go and you're at a farm and you look at different farm animals. Take a look at their eyes and think about where those eyes are placed down their head. And take a look at their pupils and see how their pupils are shaped. And see if what I'm telling you makes sense. There are exceptions to these rules i'm giving you, so you might catch me where you think I was wrong, because there are some exceptions.
But what I'm telling you is generally true. Predators have eyes in the front of their head that are close together. Prey animals have eyes off the side of their head that are spread away out, and they look kind of buggy. They're kind of sticking out so they can see all around them real good. So pay attention out there when you're looking at animals, and you tell me if I seem like I'm kind of right or if I seem like I'm kind of wrong. I think I'm kind of right.
What's the shark's favorite?
Say, peanut butter and jellyfish.
Now it's time for how to make a critter. Call Clay, here's going to teach you how to make the sound of a barred owl.
Hey, kids, my name is Clay Nukem, and I want to teach you today about how you can call animals with your own voice. There are some animals that the human voice box is really good at mimicking. And today I want to teach you something that I love to do, and that is to call barred owls b a r r ed barred owls.
The bard owl lives in North.
America and it typically lived in the eastern deciduous forests like the East half of America, but in the last period of time they've migrated and moved and spread into the Spacific northwest all the way up into Alaska. I heard a bard owl in Alaska the other day. The barred owl is an incredible animal and it's a raptor.
It's a predator.
It catches mice and small mammals, and to me, the most unique thing about it is that they are almost completely nocturnal, which means they only come out and hunt at night. That's primarily when they're out and when they hunt, and they have incredible vision. But here it is when they fly, they don't make a sound. The tips of their feathers are built in such a way that when it flows across the air, it doesn't make a noise. I think that's really cool. But the barn owl is
very vocal. They make noises all the time. And my dad taught me how to barred out hoot. And there's a phrase that we can use that will help us remember the sequence and cadence of the noise, and it's this, who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all? Say that with me, say who.
Cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?
And so we're gonna replace each of those words with a hoot. And you make a hoot by making your lips into kind of an o shape and from deep down in your chest go So you make the barred al call by connecting hoots into that specific sequence and cadence of who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all? And it sounds something like this, who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all? I want you to try it. Now,
try that. And the reason that I like the barred ourt hoot is that if you're a turkey hunter, we use the barred our hoot to locate turkeys, which is kind of wild. But a male turkey will gobble at the sound of a barred owl hooting, and we call it a shock gobble. It's almost like they're shocks that they hurt an owl, and so they they gobble.
And so that's the.
Reason a bart our hoot is really important to a turkey hunter, and it's important to a lot of people that like to hunt. Let's try it again one last time, the barred ol hoot?
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you all?
How did the bear feel after he ate the comedian? He felt funny.
It's time for everyone's favorite game show, Trivia. Let's all join in.
I'm joined by May Matthew, Rosie, Hayden, Conley, Sage, Hattie, and Bay. Each player will learn ten dollars for conservation with every question they get right today. There's a potential for this room to earn up to two hundred and forty dollars this week. That donation is going to the National Wild Turkey Federation, which publishes the kids magazine about wildlife conservation called Jake's Country. Let's see how much money our players can raise. Question one, what object in the
night sky is known as URSA major. Is it the north Star, the Big Dipper or full moon? What object in the night sky is known as ursa major? Is it north Star, Big Dipper or full moon? Last week our players were very confident. They declared the questions were too easy, but this one may have stumped them.
You're having three choices.
Your three choices are north Star, Big Dipper or full moon. One of those things is called ursa major. Not so cocky, now, are we kids?
Is everybody ready?
Yes?
Go ahead and reveal your answers.
Bee north Star, Rosie Mabel north Star, Hattie Hayden, Big Dipper, Sage, Conley, Matthew.
The correct answer.
Is the Big Dipper.
About half of you got that right.
Ursa major is Latin for great bear or big bear. And although most look at the constellation and see a ladle for scooping water, the Greeks and Native Americans saw a large bear, while the Egyptians saw an ox pulling a plow. So if ursa major is the Big Dipper, then what do.
You guys think the name for the little Dipper is?
There?
You go?
You got it, Hayden, some minor is.
The little Dipper?
Question? Two.
What's it called when an animal regrows a body part? Photosynthesis, regeneration or fermentation. What's it called when an animal regrows a body part photosynthesis, regeneration or fermentation?
You got this one right, Matthew.
No embarrassing?
And why would it be so embarrassing?
Well, because we talk about like things like grown stuff a lot.
And like.
Mabel, how do you feel about your answer?
I'm pretty pretty happy with it, just because I don't know.
Okay, Sage, you're not You're not real kind.
I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't get it right.
I know.
What's it called when an animal regrows a body part? Photosynthesis, regeneration or fermentation. What do you got Conley? Okay, you've narrowed it down to two of the three. Everybody ready, yes, yeah, and reveal your answers.
Bay regeneration, Rosy, Mabel regeneration, Hattie regeneration, Hayden regeneration, Sage regeneration.
Conley, Matthew, the correct answer is regeneration.
Room did pretty well.
Moto synthesis is when plants turn the carbon dioxide into oxygen. Fermentation is the chemical breakdown of a substance and Regeneration is the process of replacing damaged cells, tissues, or organs. Some animals with regeneration are salamanders who can regrow their tail, starfish who can regrow their arms, and axiltels who can regrow their legs.
You love them.
Now, if you could grow an extra leg or an extra arm, which would you pick?
Leg?
What do you do with the extra leg, Matthew, Well.
If I regrowed my leg, I think it'd be more.
Helpful, more help because I could just I could just get up.
One of those robots.
You're gonna need some extra shoes and think you might to an extra Yeah, now this side of the room wanted an extra arm.
No, I want an extra brain because you could grab more stuff at the same time.
Yeah, scare people, But like extra toe is just cool, like because like you could be like I actually have eleven toes, Like, well, everybody else has ten.
I have eleven.
I can't debate that that's.
The same as like an arm, you have two arms, I have three? Yeah.
I question three.
Which of these states does not touch the Mississippi River? Is it Missouri, Mississippi or New York? Which of these states does not touch the Mississippi River, Missouri, Mississippi or New York.
Okay, but you.
Guys realized that it could actually be what you guys are thinking.
It's not.
Wow, New York is all the way like the top of the U S. I know, I'm not saying. I'm not saying that the Missouri River is in New York. What I'm saying is.
Do you think I tried to trick you?
Yeah?
Okay. Is everybody ready which the states does not touch the Mississippi? Is it Missouri, Mississippi.
Or New York.
Go ahead and reveal your answers. Babe, New York, Rosie.
New York, Mabel, New York, New York.
Hayden, New York, Sage, New York, Conley, New York, Matthew, New York.
Everybody got it right.
The correct answer was New York. New York is about six.
Hundred miles miles away from the Mississippi River. Besides Missouri and Mississippi, the river flows through eight other states. So here's what we're going to do. For every state you guys can name that touches the Mississippi River, We're going to add an extra ten dollars to the donation. But it's three strikes and you're out. So everybody talk it over about what states you think could be and then Mabel will deliver the final answer.
Mississippi, Mississippi, Missouri.
So you know Mississippi and Missouri. There are eight other states, both.
Of the Dakotas.
Maybe what do you think it is?
Think I'm gonna go as North Dakota. It's miss Oh my god, how do you know?
You don't know that North Dakota is not one of the states that.
Give us give us a second stick.
Kentucky exact. Oh gosh, Okay.
Matthew is pretty confident Minnesota.
Do you trust him?
Yes, I don't trust.
I don't really don't trust.
Trust.
It's no no trust me. I swear it's right, it's right.
The good news is if Matthew is wrong, you can he'll hear about it for the rest of his life.
So but if he's right, you guys add ten.
Dollars for trusting. You don't have to do it.
But I'm just saying you could because I think nobody else giving me any help and I have matt White yet, Like, why do you know?
Okay, okay, Minnesota, Minnesota.
What it's correct that is one of them.
That means there are seven more states to go or two strikes.
Mabel, do you want to give us another staying?
I don't really want to, but I don't know.
Do you want to give the responsibility to someone else?
Sure?
Yeah, Okay has a responsibility? Give me a stay at Addie? You strike and seven states to go?
This is kind of scary.
I know it is all all trust stage Kentucky.
Kentucky is correct, you guys, states and one strike?
Who else wants to give us an answer? Hayden, do you want to be in charge.
Of the next day?
Rosie would like to be in charge in the church. Now, do you guys have any input for Rosie on what.
The next stay?
I think maybe the Virginia's is Alabama? Touching? Yes, ta Alabama? I agree with Mabel. Alabama Alaba Alabama?
Alabama is incorrect. You guys, have.
You want and six states to go? Say you're gonna be in charge of the next one? Do you guys have any input for Sage?
I want the next Hio?
No, don't do a high up No say Ohio? Don't wait? Wait wait wait?
Maybe maybe like Georgia episode Wait does Montana No?
Okay, sage, give us a state.
Virginia is incorrect.
That is your time strike. Idaho is incorrect. Back the other six. The other six states are Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. But the good news is you guys added an extra twenty dollars to.
The end, So fill the engineer. How much money did we.
Raise with that additional twenty dollars?
They raised a total of one hundred eighty dollars, one hundred eighty dollars.
Going to the National Wild Turkey Federations. Well done, kids. Join us next week for more.
Meat Eater Kids Trivia, the only other game show where conservation always winds.
Thanks for listening to everyone, See you next week on Meat Eater Kids.