In the comments to one of my previous lists someone suggested that I should submit a list of videos about animals. Fortunately, as the avid animal lover I am, I had saved the links to several interesting videos and it was only a matter of putting the best all together. I hope you enjoy them! WARNING- Some of these videos may be disturbing for very sensitive people, although I doubt it; also, for some reason, You Tube users often edit videos and put music tracks instead of the original audio; often, the result is abysmal. I apologize about that.
1. Orcas hunt seal as “training”, then let it go.
Adult orcas in Antarctica causes a crab-eating seal to fall off the ice by throwing giant waves at it, then return the seal to the ice instead of killing it. They were seemingly teaching their young how to hunt seals, but saw no need to kill the seal at the moment.
2. Warthog fights lioness off.
A young warthog defends itself against a much bigger lioness. Warthogs are known to kill hyenas and even lions in self defense; their tusks sharpen against each other every time the animal closes its mouth.
3. “Birth” of a stalk eyed fly
Amazing footage of a stalk eyed fly hatching from its cocoon and “shaping” into its adult appearance.
This incredible insect is found in south eastern Asia.
4. Sumatran rhino caught on camera for the first time in the wild
One of the rarest mammals in the world is filmed in the wild for the first time.
5. Young horn shark survives angel shark attack
Check out the amazingly fast attack of the angel shark.
6. Coconut carrying octopus
A clever octopus carries an empty coconut shell around.
7. Mimic octopus in action
The amazing mimic octopus changing its appearance to resemble other marine animals.
8. Octopus camouflage
A common octopus changes its skin’s color and texture to match its surroundings.
9. Crocodile bites man’s arm
A man teases a crocodile and obviously gets bitten; the croc then does the infamous “death roll” trying to tear the arm off. More than admiring the “bravery” of the guy, I admire the crocodile’s patience…
10. Christian the lion’s story
A very touching story of a lion raised by humans and then succesfully reintroduced into the wild. Rather famous story by now…
11. Gibbon taunts tiger cubs
An irreverent gibbon has fun by messing with two young tigers.
12. African crowned eagle in action
A majestic African crowned eagle hunts a vervet monkey to feed its family.
13. Megamouth shark caught on video
Extremely rare footage of a live megamouth shark, a species usually found in deep waters.
14. Superb bird of paradise
The spectacular and bizarre mating dance of the superb bird of paradise.
15. Battle at Kruger
A tourist captures a lengthy but fascinating scene involving a herd of buffalo, a pride of lions and a crocodile.
16. Transforming owl
The incredible defense mechanism of the African white faced owl when presented with enemies of different sizes.
17. Blanket octopus
A little known and seldom seen sea creature displays its defense mechanism.
18. Leopard catches impala in mid air
Amazing footage of a female leopard catching a fleeing impala.
19. Tiger attacks tourists on elephant
A tiger attacks an elephant carrying several men.
20. Leopard cuddles baby baboon
A leopardess kills a female baboon, and then realizes there is a baby baboon clinging to the body. Amazingly, instead of killing the baby, the leopardess seems to adopt a maternal attitude towards it.
21. Great white shark hunting sea lions
Footage from an excellent BBC documentary; great white shark in South Africa breaches to catch sea lions
22. Chito & Pocho
After curing and feeding a wounded American crocodile he found, a Costa Rican man nicknamed Chito develops a close bond with the enormous reptile, which according to him, is still aggressive and dangerous to everyone but him.
23. Female cougar protects cub from grizzly bear
A cougar risks her life to protect her cub against a much bigger and stronger grizzly bear.
24. Galloping crocodile
An Australian freshwater crocodile runs for the safety of water at full speed.
25. Giant squid caught on video for the first time
Not a particularly big specimen, but this is an important video; no wild giant squid had ever been filmed before.
A funny video of a house cat stalking its owner.
Hey – Fantastic list, very cool, animals rock
Cool list
The owl looks so cool when it narrows itself and squints.
see a lot of them but it’s nice they are here in one list
#8 is the best
Great list, but #24 looks sped up, the ripples and splashes in the water move and fall too fast.
brilliant list, best in a long while, the videos were facinating especialy the leopard with the baby baboon
I enjoyed the list, especially the fact that the videos were short so i dont need to spend 2h checking them out, but i would advice you to steer away from anthropomorphic remarks like “clever octopus” so you will achieve a really great list.
Very good list.
i got distracted at #10 and never saw the whole list. i love that story.
7 animal lists in 25 days, nice work rate TyB! The mimic octopus was amazing I didn’t think it would mimic behavior as well. That Gibbon = Ninja. Lol, the look on the face of the owl when it saw enemies was hilarious. Also, I think we have discovered the true identity behind Aquaman. The Blanket Octopus, he senses danger, steps out of his normal clothes and into his cloak to fight all evil
.
This video is awesome when you are havin a few drinks or stoned. I am someone living in a not so exotic part of the world, Nova Scotia. Wish we could see amazing wild life such as this…
Saw the story of Christian the Lion on Oprah. I wept!!
Awesome list. Great work & of course, keeps you occupied for a long time.
The mid air jump was simply amazing but the bonus ‘Ninja Cat’ was the best. Such skills, wow.
In video nr. 9 If I was the croc I would’ve done the same thing. It must be very irritating having someone slap your nose the whole time.
#19 is the best. Paws down.
Cool list i love that monkey that taunts the tigers cracks me up everytime . Told you battle of kruger was awesom
. I dig the momma puma giving the bear ***** . Yussus the power of mom is always dangerous and hectic esapecially in the wild .
Sir David Attenborough (speaking in clip #12) is without question the greatest presenter of natural history programmes.
Great list TyB, particularly the killer whales and the Battle at Kruger.
Here’s another great octopus one
Octopus steals video camera while still recording
thanks for making, and sharing such an amazing list, the tears were streaming for my wife and i while watching no 10 “Christian the lion’s story”. fantastic list.
Isn’t nature amazing?
@Arsnl [8]:
There is nothing “anthropomorphic” about a phrase like “clever octopus.” The word clever merely denotes a certain level of intellectual ability–it in no way pertains only to humans, nor has it ever.
TyB – Looking fwd to finishing these vids, ran out of time this morning & my idiotic browser is acting sluggish. So far, so good (as always with your posts). Keep up the great work!
Omg, TyB, you just keep getting better and better! Watched a few videos, thus far, throughout the day I’ll keep watching the others…
That transforming African whited faced owl is off the chain! Amazing!
The megamouth shark is pretty majestic and gentle looking…
@Julius [11]: (Off topic) – Your mention of Aquaman here suddenly had me thinking about that SouthPark episode with the parody hero they named “Sea-Man” and his little pet bird called “Swallows” (goofy thoughts in the morning but if you haven’t seen this particular show or episode it was just too funny).
Just an FYI…video #1 isn’t shown in it’s entirety…I saw it when it was on tv and they do in fact end up eating the seal after doing more of the “training exercises” for the calf.
Awesome! Just love the choices. The Gibbon playing with the tigers was hilarious! Whales scare me and so did the big mouth shark and squid so I skipped those videos. Too damn big!
Saw the tiger hunt before. Talk about scary…one minute you see grass, the next a tiger is leaping at you. That was fast!
Glad you included ninja cat! My cat does that one and plays hide and seek with me too. (actually I think he’s really stalking me and if he were bigger, jfrater would need a new admin)
Great choices.
I love watching shows like ‘Planet Earth’ and ‘Life’.
Great List!
Especially the leapordess and baby baboon
@Randall [22]: if he wasnt being anthropomorphic you surely are. I wouldnt have pointed this out if it had not read an article from the ny times -can animals be gay- and a biologist just said that the octopus wasnt doing anything special in the animal kingdom and the fact that we consider them to be intelligent is just out view cuz “they have big eyes”.
For me intellect is a human caracteristic but maybe i am too strict. I am not a biologist but i do agree with the fact that assigning a human capability or atleast assuming that the animal has a special caracteristict based solely on our experience is wrong.
Personality, emotion, and intelligence are by no means human characteristics. There is no line that separates humans from other species. Think of each trait as a gradient rather than a staircase.
It probably boils down to survival and instinct and all, and I feel silly but I am SO proud of the female cougar protecting her cub..
@MChris [25]: “Tom Cruise has got Sea-man on his back”
. All the censoring put in by Comedy Central really *****ed me off though. Terrorists win.
@oouchan [27]: Why would you be scared of whales?
Man there is this one video, I think Russian that I used to have in my inbox. It has these hawks or eagles flying down a cliff side knocking mountain goats off the cliffs so they fall to their deaths and then they go and eat them. Pretty amazing.
Ok…this was one of the BEST lists I’ve read in a long time.(Which isn’t to say the others weren’t good, this one was just exceptionally awesome.)
#7 = smarter than me
#8 = “I like to think of Jesus like a shapeshifter, or changeling, like that guy–You ever see that TV show Manimal?”….-Talladega Nights
@Julius [32]: I have megalophobia….fear of big things….like whales, ships, buildings, even machinery.
Stupid, I know, but there you have it.
@oouchan [35]: do you also have a fear of dictators and big parades? Ive never heard of megalophobia before
@oouchan [35]: fair enough.
awwwww… The one with the Gibbon and the Leopard was soo sweet
Hi there, this looks like it’s going to be a good list. I’ve just about max’d out my download limit this month so I only got to play two clips – the Crocodile Death Roll and the Mimic Octopus.
@Randall [22]: Good to see you again, and I agree – animals CAN put two-and-two together, and learn from their mistakes (it would be a pretty sorry animal kingdom if they didn’t). And lets not forget we are animals too. I have no idea if this common ability extends to logic and reason (I doubt it) – but at the same time, I feel animals are more than just stimulus/response mechanisms like robots.
Further: do animals have an imagination? I don’t know – but has anyone ever witnessed a dog having a dream? – they bark and yelp, make all kinds of noises and twich about like they are ‘somewhere else’. Is this an active imagination or is it simply memory recall? Even basic memory recall can be ‘clever’ in the same way as we might praise a toddler for remembering things.
I remember seeing a show (perhaps 20 years ago) called Bird Brain of Britain; in which a bird would try to get to a peanut feeder by ‘working out’ puzzles and mechanisms. By the end of the shows run, the bird could ‘remember’ and negotiate a whole assault course of traps and tricks designed to test some kind of ability. (NO clips of this show are available on the web, although I noticed Amazon has it on VHS.) Here’s a clip of a squirrel doing something vaguely similar (this is a linear course and does not require much physical input from the animal to solve puzzles).
@Arsnl [30]:
arsnl, you quite simply have no idea what you’re talking about, and I suggest you quit while you’re behind.
You have a habit of sticking your nose into topics for which you clearly have no expertise, and worse yet, a habit of attempting to render judgments on–or based on–a language (English) which if I remember correctly, you have admitted is NOT your first language. You have stumbled into both of these bad habits here yet again.
Worse still, you’ve had the absurd gall to think that you can correct ME on a point which you were wrong about in the first place.
SO I REPEAT: the word “clever” is not and NEVER HAS BEEN an anthropomorphization, nor does its use connote an anthropomorphization. It is, if you will, a “species-neutral” word which describes any actions, behaviors, or abilities which at least *appear* to be assignable to a certain level of intelligence. Its LOOSE use by a laymen, such as in this list, is NOT tantamount to anthropomorphizing; it is simply a good use of a good word to describe a behavior which appears to be of a higher order, possibly relating to a higher degree of intelligence. PERIOD.
Yes, marine biologists could argue about whether the behavior and unique talents of cephalopods can be put down to actual higher intelligence or not. But the FACT is that marine biologists almost universally accept that octopuses, at least, ARE possessed of a higher intelligence than other invertebrates—this is clearly so. Of course, this MAY beg the question as to what intelligence IS, but then you’re just coming at the opposite end of that question—YOU don’t know what intelligence is either—certainly not any more than a qualified biologist does—and so it is not for you to say whether the use of the word “clever” in describing an octopus is correct or not, or constitutes an invalid anthropomorphization or not.
Octopuses exhibit MANY behaviors which appear to signal a degree of higher intelligence. Without a reliable and sure method of measuring intelligence for ALL species, across the board, biologists rely on cues of various natures to determine, however loosely, the intelligence of various animals. In the context of that practice–which again is nearly universal–octopuses show a clear degree of what we would call “skill” and intelligence-driven abilities at problem solving and manipulation of their environment. Can we point to an iron-clad “test” that unambiguously proves that their behavior DOES equal a degree of higher intelligence? No, because no such test exists. We don’t even have such a test for species much closer to us on the evolutionary family tree, like primates or even dolphins. But what science lacks in DIRECT evidence, it compiles via connotating and/or convergent evidence. And that is MORE THAN ADEQUATE to suggest–strongly suggest–that some species of octopus are HIGHLY intelligent–at least as invertebrates go.
But all this ought to be a totally unnecessary argument. You were throwing around an opinion which was ill-founded and off the mark, and it’s unfortunate that I have to waste my time going through all this to explain what really ought to be the obvious.
Giving human reasons WHY an animal does certain things can constitute anthropomorphization. But rendering an opinion–albeit loosely–that HOW they do things DOES relate to a certain degree of intelligence—is NOT an anthropomorphization, but is simply the attempt to describe a behavior using the tools and knowledge we have on hand.
The evidence is that octopuses are intelligent, to a certain degree. Period.
@Arsnl [30]: Intellect and cleverness seem to be different things – so in that sense you may be right.
Oh, I see somebody got there before me
– off to save my download resources for the moment – see you tomorrow maybe.
@Lifeschool [39]: Interesting, your thoughts on if animals have imagination, etc… I believe as long as a being has a brain, it can think (to some extent) and most likely imagine.
Thanks for the inclusion of that adorable squirrel video. The owls at the end looked shocked.
Am I the only one who read “Tiger attacks tourists on elephant” and pictured a tiger riding an elephant?
@Randall [40]: Haha dude you always crack me up.
This list is awesome and officially General Tits approved!
@John [44]: Lol! I didn’t picture that in my mind, but that would be one heck of a video!
@Randall [40]: so i guess you are a biologist now? I think NOT. So lets listen to what a biologist says (extract from the ny times- english newspaper so you will be able to understand). <>
Did i say that octopuses dont have a specific behaviour that denotes that they are superior to other marine animals? No. I just said that the video doesnt show me they are “clever”. It just shows me an animal looking for shelter.
Hell ive seen fish do that. This biologist has seen larvae doing that. So yes you can use nice phrases like “convergent evidence”(god you love that expression i must have read it 5 times already from you) but the fact is that biologist doesnt care much.
Ps: ive been quite nice till now but i have to draw the line i suppose. I didnt ask you to reply or to explain stuff to me. I do not seek your opinion because you are a rude and megalomaniac person and im not so sure you have a biology degree either. Please avoid reading my comments again. This is me saying in a polite way va te faire foutre espece de branleur. Have a nice day.
@Arsnl [47]: darn thing didnt paste. (gotta hate iphones)
When I visited Zuk at her lab at the University of California at Riverside last December, an online video clip of an octopus carrying a coconut shell around the seafloor, and
periodically hiding under it, was starting to go viral. For a few days, people everywhere were flipping out about how intelligent and wily this
octopus was. Not Zuk, though. “Oh, spare me,” she said. To us, Zuk explained, that octopus’s behavior reads as proof that “octopuses are at one with humans” because it just happens to look like something we do -how a toddler plays peekaboo under a blanket, say, or a bandit ducks into an alleyway dumpster to avoid the cops. But the octopus doesn’t know that. Nor is it doing something so uncommon in the animal world. Zuk explained that caddis-fly larvae collect rocks and loom them together into intricate shelters. “But for some reason we don’t think that’s cool,” she said, “because the caddis-fly larvae don’t have big eyes like us.”
This is the coolest, most awesome list on the site! TyB, you’re the frickin man! Or woman!
Bet you didn’t know that octopus was the anonymous author of the book, “101 Uses for an Empty Coconut Shell.”
Sorry, just had to come back and post these – and of course there are many similar ones:
Elephant learning to paint:
‘http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy9kKxJJpug
Elephants painting:
‘http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz4CFAOY0R8
‘http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79BA5TJro8s
@ Nicoleredz – Even better squirrel:
‘http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4Eb1Nt6WIE
Wow, that octopus is clever!
Fantastic list a job well done – Thanks.
Nice to see you back Randall !
Nice list,but I am getting bored with too many animal lists.What about a list of the Meanest African dictators seeing there are so many.
@Lifeschool [51]: Omg, these squirrels are too cute and smart; especially the candy bar one.
Too bad I could never bring myself to having one as a pet; got bitten by one when I was little…
Besides, my mum wouldn’t let me have it anyway. Opposums as pets were bad enough.
@samanthaf63 [50]: Lol!
I was freaked out at that “Coconut carrying octopus” video, the part when it came to the camera!
ninjacat was the best.
Has anyone ever seen the impala in africa taken by a croc, then a hippo comes out of nowhere trying to take it. And then! the hippo tries to give the impala mouth to mouth? its like the krugar one, pretty amazing
@Arsnl [47]:
And NEITHER ARE YOU a biologist, therefore you are CERTAINLY no more qualified to throw around your opinions here.
HOWEVER, I will GUARANTEE you that I personally know more actual biologists than YOU do, and I even know–yes, personally–a couple marine biologists.
THE POINT here is that the behavior exhibited in the video of the octopus using the coconut shell is NOT the only evidence of their comparatively high intelligence. There are MANY other examples, which I’d be happy to enumerate for you.
Quoting ONE marine biologist–taken out of context, in actuality–does not lend you any expertise on this matter and certainly does not lend you the gravitas to make statements about the “anthropomorphization” of a subject within a list.
Yes, Zuk is right—this SINGLE example would not be enough to signal any particular intelligence in the octopus, but Zuk probably could have gone to say–and I assume would have–that OTHER abilities exhibited by octopuses DO seem to signal a higher intelligence.
As for you “being nice,” get off it and get over yourself. I don’t give a damn if you’re “nice” or not, nor do I care what your opinion of me is. My opinion of YOU is that you’re a pompous blowhard and know-it-all, who like all such people, can’t stand it when they’re shown up for how wrong they are.
@FlameHorse [49]:
Hear, hear.
TyB, keep up the good work.
Wow. Normally from the lists I’ve read here I have no issue with nitpicking points but I guess there’s always a first time.
Do we really have to bring up the issue of whether intelligence is anthropomorphic or not in this topic?
This isn’t an expertise issue.
It’s like we’re back to the bell curve debate all over again.
Experts or not. Biologists or not. Loose usage of intelligence will always be too vague to be either proper or improper.
This includes human intelligence.
It’s not even relevant to the theme of the list. It’s called Top 25 “Amazing” Animal Videos not Top 25 “Intelligent” Animals.
The reason I say this, even though I hold no credentials and English isn’t my first language, is because it doesn’t matter IN THIS CASE whether you’re being anthropomorphic for remarking something as intelligent or not.
It’s like starting a racism debate around the subject of whether a white person who was surprised to see a black person because it was their first time seeing a black person is racist or not.
Really? Does debating and defending your side really inform and make your usage valid?
I say no. It doesn’t. It’s irrelevant. No one’s being correct for defending or opposing the usage of an adjective.
On one hand it’s anthropomorphic because no expert’s first reaction/recurring conclusion of seeing an animal adapt in a unique way is being a dumb animal.
It’s often smart/clever/intelligent regardless of the foreknowledge that humanity may have a better way of doing something.
It’s an entirely human-based conclusion that borderlines on being politically correct towards something you’re in awe of and are mystified at. (No different from thinking a magician is great after seeing a trick for the first time or wondering how the trick is done but then later after you discovered the trick, being all “it’s not so special” or “x magician could do better! that’s just a parlor trick”)
On the other hand, it’s not anthropomorphism because the longevity and focus isn’t focused on intelligence for so long that the only way it can produce a certain cultural thinking is if it’s insisted in conventional wisdom and not based around awe. Something this list isn’t particularly arguing for.
No one’s arguing for how their cat is so intelligent and in touch with them that said cat saved them from a burning house.
No one in this list is arguing for animals being intelligent due to getting a high IQ score.
Usage of intelligence related adjectives here are based on awe and respect and cool.
It’s really silly for this issue to go further than a single line of comment.
Anyways great list. Great choices. Didn’t feel like a Discovery channel “trying to be anthropomorphic”.
Gave me the same enjoyment of watching Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Two Brothers.
Can’t even complain about the ranking. It’s not purely quality based.
It’s really a list where even if you’re not in the mood for viewing some animal videos, is awesome just because it feels like you gave a video for everyone. I just watched a few videos and not the entirety and I still think this was a great list even if I’ve only seen one video on the list just because of your picks.
I want to see a discussion between Randall and Sluiq. Longest comment section EVER