All language subtitles for Natures.Strangest.Mysteries.Solved.Series.1.07of10.Octopus.Houdini

Narrator:
Songbirds are famous

For their calls,

But one makes a sound

That's had scientists
baffled for centuries.

[ beep ]

I'm like,
"oh, my gosh."

[ beep ]

How the heck
does it do that?

And, in new zealand,
inky the octopus

Has made headlines
around the world

By going missing from his tank.

He's there one day.

The next day, he's not.

[chuckling]
the question is,

Where did inky go?

[ suspenseful music plays ]

Nature is awe-inspiring,

But sometimes it just
doesn't make sense.

Man: I have never, ever
seen anything like this.

Strange animal behavior,

Unexpected events
captured on camera.

[ animals screeching ]

The truth behind them
is astonishing.

Woman: My god!

Nature's greatest
mysteries solved.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Deep in the heart
of the ecuadorian jungle,

One small songbird
is the stuff of legend.

[ beep ]

It makes a call

With a truly
mystifying technique.

[ beeping ]

This is one of my favorite
studies that I know about.

So it's ecuador, beautiful.

[ beep ]

And scientists are baffled
by this bird.

♪

So manakins come
from south america.

There are
60 different species

And, as you would expect,

Most of them sing
from their beaks.

[ chirping ]

Narrator: But one,
the club-winged manakin,

Has a call that's different.

It makes this
extraordinary sound

Without even opening its beak.

Narrator: Hold on. What?!
[ beep ]

It makes a call without
opening it's beak?

It's a sound that
you couldn't imagine

Would be produced
by anything but his mouth.

[ beep ]

And so there was
something going on there.

Narrator: About 20 years ago,
dr. Kim bostwick

Journeyed deep into the jungle
to see it firsthand.

[ beep ]

I'd woken up pre-dawn,
hiked up 1,000 meters

Of tropical forest
to see this bird

That I've thought about
and looked at,

Listened to the sounds of,
for many months.

[ beep ]
narrator: Kim had heard
the club-winged manakin song

On recordings, but had
never seen it in action.

Bostwick:
So I get up to the ravine.

I lift up my binoculars
and then

"bink-bink-biiink."
[ beep ]

He does his thing and it's just
like, "flash-flash-flash!"

[ beep ]
and I'm like,

"oh, my gosh."

[ beep ]

What did he do?
How did he do that?

[ suspenseful music plays ]

Riskin:
So one obvious place to look
for the sound is the wings.

[ beep ]

He just did something
that looked impossible.

Here, this is at quarter speed.

[ honk ]

And there's a wall of sound
that just hits you,

This "mehh!" sound,
like a foghorn.

[ honk ]

What is he doing in the
speed that I can't see?

It was a perfect mystery.

♪

Narrator:
If the manakin was making
a sound with its wings,

Its secret might be revealed
with high-speed filming.

♪

Kim returned to the jungle
with a camera

That could shoot
1,000 frames a second.

And the bird comes
and he does it,

"tick-tick-tiiing!"

[ click-click beep ]

And, right there
in the field, we play it

And what we see is
the male's sitting there

And he throws his wings up.

What we see is
boom, boom, boom, boom.

Narrator: You're about to see
how many movements

The club-winged manakin can make
in just a third of a second.

That's one, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight,

Nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 --

He just keeps going.

He pulls his wings
together 37 times,

All that in just
a third of a second.

So, when he does that sound,
the "meeep!",

[ beep ]
in that time, he's goin',

Bomp bomp bomp bomp bomp bomp
bomp bomp bomp bomp bomp

Bomp bomp,
beatin' his wings together.

♪

To give some perspective
on that speed,

If you see a hummingbird come up
and flutter in your face,

His wings are typically going

Between 60 and 75 cycles
a second.

This was 107 cycles a second.

Narrator:
So was the manakin beating
its wings together so fast

That they created this song?

When you watch that
high-speed video,

You can see the wings coming
together and clapping

And so, if you look
at how fast they clap,

That should explain the sound.

[ triumphant chorale climbs ]

Mystery solved!
Right?

[ musical powerdown ]
no! No!

That doesn't
solve the mystery.

It's like a piece,
but it's not there.

Narrator: Kim realized this
couldn't be her answer

When she analyzed the
manakin's song further.

Kim decided to do some audio
analysis on a manakin call

And what she discovered was
something really bizarre.

[ beep ]

A club-winged manakin's pitch

Operates at a frequency
of 1,500 hertz.

[ chiming ]
narrator: Sound is produced
by vibrating an object

And the speed of that vibration
is what dictates the pitch.

The manakin's pitch of almost
1,500 must be created

By around 1,500
individual vibrations.

But, we just figured out
that the bird

Only knocks its wings
together 107 times a second,

Which would create
107 vibrations,

A frequency of 107.

That's still really fast,
but obviously, it's not 1,500,

So something else
is going on there.

[ beep ]
so now there's this mystery.

If they're hitting
107 times a second,

How can the noise
possibly be coming out

At a higher frequency?

If it's not the wings clapping
against one another,

Is it something
about the feathers

That's making the noise?

Narrator:
It's an idea that brought kim
to her next hypothesis.

Cooke: Are the feathers
rubbing together

And producing sound
in a similar way

To how singing insects do?

♪

I delved. I peeked [laughs]
into the literature on insects

And went, "oh, my gosh!"

They do so much stuff.

[ chirping ]

What I came away with
was that most sounds

Are produced at speeds
way faster than anybody moves,

Even insects.

Narrator: Many insects make
high-pitched noises

To communicate,
often called chirrups.

[ whimsical tune plays ]

They create them by getting
body parts to vibrate

Much faster than simple
muscular movements would allow.

But how?

Insect body parts are
both elastic and rigid,

So they are perfectly
evolved to vibrate.

[ chirping ]

Everybody knows
about grasshoppers.

Grasshoppers sing
by rubbing their hind legs

Against their closed wings.

Narrator:
Crickets also create a noise

By rubbing their
body parts together.

In their case, it's one
wing against the other.

And often, one side is
serrated, it's ridged,

So, one part of the body
is rubbed

Over this ridged part
of the body.

Narrator: The ridged body parts
are too small to see,

But it's akin to rubbing
your fingernail

Across a comb;

Or looking at a frog,

A wooden one.

When I was looking
at the literature,

I happened to come across this

And, with one [chirp]
rub of my stick,

I get knock, knock,
knock, knock,

Knock, knock, knock.
[chirp ]

But the sound you get
isn't knock, knock.

[tapping] you get that
same little [chirp] tune.

Hear it in there?
[ chirp ]

Narrator: Moving back and forth
quickly over these ridges

Produces a huge number
of vibrations

In that part of the body.

This creates a high
frequency of sound waves

And, therefore
a high-pitched song.

And, boom, you have
this sound that's up here,

Even though the cricket's
doing this down here.

[ chirping ]

The question is -- can a bird
do something similar?

[ beep ]

♪

♪

[ whimsical-suspenseful
tune plays ]

Narrator:
The club-winged manakin
makes a song with its wings.

[ beep ]
the question is --

Does it use the same
technique as an insect?

[ whimsical outro plays ]
[ chirps ]

♪

The idea that this bird
is producing the sound

In the same way
is really unlikely

Because insects are able

To contract their muscles
at much faster rates

Than a bird's wing muscle,
for example,

And also they have these
much more rigid body parts.

Narrator: Birds don't have hard
bodies, like insects.

They just have feathers,
which are soft.

Could the club-winged manakin's
feathers be different?

[ beep ]

It is well-known for having
some that look unusual.

Now, wings are made up
of primary feathers,

Around here;

And secondary feathers,
around here.

The manakin's funny-looking
ones are secondary feathers,

On the inside edge
of each wing.

Here they are close-up.

The spines
of feathers 6 and 7

Are much bigger and harder
than those of normal feathers.

They look like a club,

Hence the name
club-winged manakin.

♪

But kim noticed something
new about feather 6.

Bostwick: There's a bunch
of ridges right here

In the surface of the feather.

Narrator:
Ridges on hard surface,

Just like insects use
to chirrup.

If these ridges are being
used in a similar way,

What could be rubbing
against them?

What I had overlooked
for a long time

Was that this feather, number 5,

Is weird in its own way.

It's super-straight
and then it kinks over,

Choot!,
just a little kink,

And it's got kind of
a blade on the underside.

And, suddenly,
what it looked like I had

Was teeth on a comb
and a plectrum

And, together,
they form an instrument.

[ chirp ]

Narrator: Each time the manakin
beats its wings together,

The plectrum moves down

And then up, against the
hard-ridged feather,

Strumming each
of those bumps as it goes

And causing the feather
to vibrate.

Kim had found
the first bird in the world

That chirrups like an insect.
[ beep ]

Not only has it evolved
special feathers,

It has also evolved
stronger muscles

[ beep ]
with which to power them.

Narrator:
But does it vibrate fast enough

To get us to our magic number
of just under 1,500,

Which is the bird's
frequency of pitch?

Remember, the manakin makes

107 wing beats a second,

But produces a sound
that's made

By almost 1,500
vibrations a second.

Here's the really cool thing.

There are seven bumps
on that feather,

Which means that, every time
the wings smack together,

It gets rubbed on the way in
seven bumps

And then rubbed on the
way out with seven bumps.

So there are 14 bumps
every time the wings hit

And that perfectly
explains the sound.

♪

Narrator: For every wing beat
in and back,

That's 14 ridges
and 14 more sound vibrations.

If it's bouncing
at 107 times a second,

You would expect
the frequency of the sound

To be exactly 14 times higher,

And that's exactly
what it is.

It's a beautiful
scientific experiment.

Narrator: It's a huge feather
in the cap

For this manakin,
[ beep ]

But why has it evolved
such a complicated system

Just to play a song?

The club-winged manakin
may not be

The highest flier
or the best flier,

But he is a high flier
when it comes to the ladies.

He's turned his wings
into a musical instrument

And the females love
a musician.

[ click-click beep ]

♪

[ suspenseful chord strikes ]
[ crickets chirping ]

[ whimsical-suspenseful
tune plays ]

Narrator: April 2016.

The national aquarium
of new zealand has been home

To inky the octopus
for two years.

[ squawking ]

He was donated by fishermen

Who caught him
off the nearby coast.

♪

He was identified
as a new zealand common octopus,

But there was nothing
common about this guy.

He became a favorite
with visitors

For his friendly nature
and stunning colors.

But then, something
bizarre happened.

Conley:
One morning they came in.

He was missing.
He was gone.

He was not in his
enclosure anymore.

Inky, beloved octopus.

He's there one day.

The next day, he's not.

The question [laughs] is --
where did inky go?

[ suspenseful music plays ]

Narrator: The mystery of inky's
disappearance

Captured the world's attention.

Newspapers couldn't get
enough of the story.

♪

Now, octopuses do have
some special talents.

Could inky have just
made himself invisible?

♪

The amazing nervous system
of the octopus

Allows it to change color,
to change texture,

To camouflage and blend in
with its surroundings.

Narrator: They're master
body sculptors,

Creating shape and color
changes in a flash.

And it can do this with these
amazing, color-changing cells

Called chromatophores

And each one of these operates
like a pupil of an eye.

It can dilate.
It can constrict.

Narrator: These cells are like
water balloons

Filled with color pigment.

They can expand
and contract in unison,

Altering the octopus'
appearance dramatically.

And so this allows
the octopus to blend in

With its surroundings,
to hide itself from predators,

Maybe even to hide itself
from oncoming prey.

[ whimsical tune plays ]

Narrator: Staff check the tank
carefully

To see if inky was actually
masquerading as some sand

Or another creature,
but he was nowhere to be seen.

So, he must have planned
his own escape.

Narrator:
The question is -- how?

♪

♪

[ whimsical tune plays ]
narrator: Inky the octopus

Has disappeared from the
new zealand aquarium.

He's definitely not camouflaged,
so he must've escaped.

[ suspenseful music plays ]

But how could an octopus
escape from a tank,

Let alone an aquarium?

They're invertebrates,
which mean they have no bones,

And that allows them
to pretty much squeeze through

Almost any size space that
they wanna squeeze through.

Now inky's tank did
have a lid on it,

But this might not have stopped
our houdini-like friend.

Connecting this
all back to inky,

Even if he didn't have
to open the tank all the way,

He could probably
open it a sliver

And push his body through.

Narrator: Finding an escape
route through some pipes

Or a gap in the lid wouldn't
be impossible for this guy.

Octopuses are really
well-known for being able

To problem-solve
and figure out puzzles

And be able to open things

That you wouldn't expect
an animal to be able to open.

[ tranquil tune plays ]

Narrator:
Kaelie sivihok is a handler
at birch aquarium in san diego.

She knows not
to underestimate them.

♪

She's a very
intelligent animal,

So I try and come over
and say hello

And interact and give special
treats here and there.

[baby voice] you found me.
[laughs] yeah.

She can recognize my face,

After being the hand that
fed her for a couple years,

And then she can also
recognize my smell.

Narrator:
Octopuses pick up smell
through floating molecules,

Like we do,
it's just that theirs are

In seawater,
rather than the air.

♪

Kaelie keeps this one regularly
entertained with challenges.

We are going to use
this puzzle.

So I have prepared a little
octo-pop, I like to call them.

This is made of clam juice.

I'm gonna put that in here
and, as you can see,

It looks very similar to all
the different plastic pieces

That are in here,
so she'll have to differentiate

Which is an octo-pop
and which is plastic.

[ whimsical tune plays ]

Narrator: The octo-pop
is the shape of an ice cube.

It won't fit back
through every hole,

So the octopus will have
to problem-solve to get it out.

Sivihok: So, as soon as that
octo-pop hit the water,

It started to release all
of its yummy smells.

Narrator:
Each arm of the octopus

Is operated by its
own nervous system,

So each one basically
has a mind of its own.

So they actually have
nine brains.

It gives them advantage
when it comes

To this problem-solving because
they can manipulate things

On multiple levels
without havin' to think about it

Through a central brain.

Sivihok: So, right here is
a little piece of clam

That she's got in her
suction cup right here,

So, she's found it.

You can see her arm
inside of it, though.

See it coming
out the other end?

Narrator: Clever stuff,

But what does this intelligence
mean for inky's escape?

So an octopus might escape
because all those nine brains

Are workin' overtime
and they're super-curious,

So they're gonna
see what's new.

Narrator: But if inky did escape
on his own, where did he go?

♪

♪

[ whimsical tune plays ]
narrator: Inky the octopus

Has escaped from
a new zealand aquarium,

Sparking fascination
around the world.

[ whimsical outro plays ]

[ suspenseful music plays ]
one question being asked

Is -- why?

Could he had seen some sort
of food that he wanted?

♪

Narrator:
Jennifer hofmeister,

From the university
of california,

Knows all about octopuses'
huge appetites.

They find their food

And determine what food is

Based on tasting and touching

Everything around them.

All of their suckers
are covered in taste buds.

It would be like me
having taste buds

All over the bottom of my feet

And being able to taste every
single thing that I walked on.

Narrator: And they don't
just hunt underwater.

[ suspenseful music plays ]

In some habitats,
for example, in tide pools,

We know that they can
leave the water,

Actually walk on land,

And go into another tide pool
to find additional food.

Narrator:
Octopuses have gills,

So they're dependent
on water to breathe

And, as long as their
skin stays moist,

They can breathe out of water
for several minutes.

But, when they do venture out,
they make sure it counts.

♪

Speaker:
[gasp] shorty!

There's an octopus
eating a crab!

Hofmeister: Octopus have
very high metabolisms

And so we think a lot of what's
driving their movement is food.

They see that crab.
It's out of the water.

Doesn't bother them.

They're gonna jump
right out and get it.

So, because they can crawl,
it gives them some

Of that freedom to explore
these new habitats.

[ sinister chord strikes ]

Narrator: But would a well-fed
octopus in an aquarium

Really be hungry enough
to go in search of food?

♪

It's weird in aquaria
because they are fed a lot.

You can feed an octopus
crabs and crabs and crabs

And I don't think an octopus
at an aquarium is hungry.

♪

Narrator:
If inky was well-fed,

Why else would he escape?

♪

It seems likely that inky
tried to escape,

Not because he didn't
like it where he was,

But because he could.

Some have argued that octopuses
are as intelligent as dogs.

I mean, my dogs love trying
to get out of our yard.

It's a great yard, but they
wanna dig their way out.

They wanna eat
through the fence.

♪

They see something new.
They see something exciting

And they just wanna
check it out.

Narrator: But where could inky
have gone?

Well, staff believe that,
in the middle of the night,

He decided to explore

And photos reveal
a possible escape route.

Behind this wooden panel

Is an overflow pipe
from the tank,

Which leads to a pipe
that goes across the room,

Underneath these floorboards,

And to a 50-meter drainpipe

That leads right
to the open sea.

Many staff are convinced

That this is exactly
where inky ended up.

Given everything we know
about octopuses,

It's not that surprising
that inky would be able

To sneak out of his tank,
find a drain,

And find his way back
into the open ocean.

Narrator:
Inky now has twitter accounts
and his own children's book,

On top of dozens of headlines.

Everyone loves
an octopus houdini.

♪

[ crickets chirping ]