1 00:00:05,405 --> 00:00:07,941 And now for an animal joke. 2 00:00:07,941 --> 00:00:10,744 Why did the whale cross the ocean? 3 00:00:10,744 --> 00:00:14,414 Why did the whale cross the ocean? 4 00:00:14,848 --> 00:00:17,851 The answer is. 5 00:00:18,351 --> 00:00:21,821 Going to be revealed at the end of the episode. 6 00:00:21,988 --> 00:00:25,025 But first, get your ears ready, it’s 7 00:00:25,025 --> 00:00:29,929 the Happiest Animal Show on Planet Earth. 8 00:00:29,929 --> 00:00:32,465 The Happiest Animal Show on Planet Earth. You want to be sad? No! 9 00:00:32,465 --> 00:00:34,034 Do you want to be glad? No. 10 00:00:34,034 --> 00:00:35,235 Wait. Yes. 11 00:00:35,235 --> 00:00:42,475 Well, it’s the Happiest Animal Show on Planet Earth. . 12 00:00:42,475 --> 00:00:46,846 Hello and welcome to the Happiest Animal 13 00:00:46,846 --> 00:00:50,884 Show on Planet Earth, the podcast that asks the very important question. 14 00:00:50,884 --> 00:00:53,887 What animal is making you happy today? 15 00:00:55,055 --> 00:00:56,589 Not yesterday, 16 00:00:56,589 --> 00:00:59,192 not even last night, but today. 17 00:00:59,192 --> 00:01:01,528 I'm Rob and I'm Laura. 18 00:01:01,528 --> 00:01:06,699 And we are a sister brother pair of zoologists, filmmakers and songwriters. 19 00:01:06,733 --> 00:01:10,537 We are here to explore the wonderful world of wildlife and discover 20 00:01:10,537 --> 00:01:12,338 why animals make us happy. 21 00:01:12,338 --> 00:01:16,176 On this episode, we are celebrating World Oceans Day with some of our favorite 22 00:01:16,176 --> 00:01:17,477 big ocean animals. 23 00:01:17,477 --> 00:01:20,313 You'll hear a song about an animal that looks like a giant dinner 24 00:01:20,313 --> 00:01:23,650 plate with wings, and we'll talk to a very special guest, Tierney 25 00:01:23,650 --> 00:01:26,653 Thies about a bizarro fish that is making her happy. 26 00:01:26,686 --> 00:01:27,420 Here we go. 27 00:01:27,420 --> 00:01:31,891 What animal is making you happy today? 28 00:01:32,358 --> 00:01:33,760 I want to know. 29 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,063 On today's episode, we are celebrating World Oceans Day. 30 00:01:37,063 --> 00:01:39,332 So happy World Oceans Day, everybody. 31 00:01:39,332 --> 00:01:42,902 And the theme we gave ourselves is Big ocean animals. 32 00:01:43,269 --> 00:01:45,572 Yelling really narrows it down. 33 00:01:46,639 --> 00:01:48,541 Laura, why don't you go first? 34 00:01:48,541 --> 00:01:52,011 What big ocean animal is making you happy today? 35 00:01:52,312 --> 00:01:55,315 Here we go. Clues. 36 00:01:55,682 --> 00:01:58,051 Okay, first it's a whale. 37 00:01:58,051 --> 00:02:00,153 Clue number one. It's a whale. 38 00:02:00,153 --> 00:02:00,453 All right. 39 00:02:00,453 --> 00:02:03,089 You got to figure out the kind of whale. 40 00:02:03,089 --> 00:02:03,556 Great. 41 00:02:03,556 --> 00:02:08,695 So, number two, it lives in all the oceans all over the world. 42 00:02:09,963 --> 00:02:11,831 Okay? It's all over the place. 43 00:02:11,831 --> 00:02:14,033 Great. Clue three. 44 00:02:14,033 --> 00:02:17,537 It has the tallest dorsal fin of any of the whales. 45 00:02:17,537 --> 00:02:21,975 And the dorsal fin is the fin that's on its back and sticks up out of the water. 46 00:02:22,175 --> 00:02:25,178 If you're wondering what a dorsal fin is, it's the tallest. 47 00:02:25,979 --> 00:02:28,381 All right, so I already already know what it is. 48 00:02:28,381 --> 00:02:32,852 And the other clue I have is that it is black and white. 49 00:02:33,453 --> 00:02:35,255 The ocean panda. 50 00:02:35,255 --> 00:02:37,891 Yeah. You nailed it. No. 51 00:02:37,891 --> 00:02:42,262 So you chose the orca, also known as a killer whale. 52 00:02:42,428 --> 00:02:45,231 Yes. I picked a killer whale. 53 00:02:46,799 --> 00:02:48,668 Killer whale? 54 00:02:48,668 --> 00:02:50,970 That is an awesome pick for World Oceans Day. 55 00:02:50,970 --> 00:02:53,006 Why are killer whales making you happy? 56 00:02:53,006 --> 00:02:55,708 They're making me happy because I think it's so cool 57 00:02:55,708 --> 00:02:58,344 that they are the top predator in the ocean. 58 00:02:58,344 --> 00:03:01,648 Meaning great white sharks are afraid of them. 59 00:03:01,648 --> 00:03:02,949 And I love that so much. 60 00:03:02,949 --> 00:03:06,052 I love the idea that a killer whale 61 00:03:06,052 --> 00:03:09,722 just swimming into an area that has great white sharks, the great white shark. 62 00:03:09,722 --> 00:03:13,359 So just be like, nah, I'm getting out of here. 63 00:03:14,627 --> 00:03:16,396 We're going to go somewhere else for a while. 64 00:03:16,396 --> 00:03:19,199 Yeah, it commands respect wherever it goes. 65 00:03:19,199 --> 00:03:21,467 Yeah. The great white sharks leave. 66 00:03:21,467 --> 00:03:24,470 Orcas are the ultimate force to be reckoned with. 67 00:03:24,737 --> 00:03:28,208 Let's let's list some of their animal awesomeness. 68 00:03:28,741 --> 00:03:31,144 Okay. Animal awesomeness. Here we go. 69 00:03:31,144 --> 00:03:32,545 They are big. 70 00:03:32,545 --> 00:03:34,881 I think they get up to around 30ft. 71 00:03:34,881 --> 00:03:38,451 They have giant dorsal fins on their backs. 72 00:03:38,451 --> 00:03:40,620 They can get up to, like, six feet tall. 73 00:03:40,620 --> 00:03:42,121 That's taller than you. 74 00:03:42,121 --> 00:03:44,857 That's a hilarious thing to be sticking out of your back. 75 00:03:44,857 --> 00:03:46,159 Yeah, they're bigger than me. 76 00:03:46,159 --> 00:03:48,828 Yeah. They're fast, they're smart. 77 00:03:48,828 --> 00:03:52,398 They communicate with each other with language. 78 00:03:52,632 --> 00:03:54,300 They use sonar. 79 00:03:54,300 --> 00:03:57,270 They've got a lot of, as you said, animal awesomeness. 80 00:03:57,303 --> 00:03:59,138 A true icon of the ocean. 81 00:03:59,138 --> 00:04:03,243 And there are also specialized orca family 82 00:04:03,243 --> 00:04:07,146 groups around the world, even some that live in the open ocean. 83 00:04:07,146 --> 00:04:07,547 Right. 84 00:04:07,547 --> 00:04:11,618 But here in the Pacific Northwest we tend to think of two kinds. 85 00:04:11,684 --> 00:04:12,118 Right. 86 00:04:12,118 --> 00:04:18,024 So we have the residents which eat fish they live in big family groups are loud, 87 00:04:18,024 --> 00:04:21,227 they're chatty, they're social, and then they're the other ones 88 00:04:21,227 --> 00:04:24,264 that are the transients or the big killer whales. 89 00:04:24,264 --> 00:04:29,402 And they live in smaller groups and they eat mammals like seals and sea lions. 90 00:04:29,402 --> 00:04:30,470 They even eat other whales. 91 00:04:30,470 --> 00:04:32,872 So they're sneaky and they're quiet. 92 00:04:32,872 --> 00:04:34,974 Yeah. Quick question for you, Rob. 93 00:04:34,974 --> 00:04:37,310 And for all of you listening at home, 94 00:04:37,310 --> 00:04:38,978 what kind of killer whale would you want to be? 95 00:04:38,978 --> 00:04:43,082 Would you like to be a residence or living in a big group eating fish? 96 00:04:43,549 --> 00:04:47,220 Or would you rather be one of the transients that just kind of hangs out 97 00:04:47,220 --> 00:04:49,622 with a couple other killer whales and super sneaky 98 00:04:49,622 --> 00:04:52,625 while you try to eat mammals like seals and sea lions? 99 00:04:53,159 --> 00:04:55,194 I think I'd like to be a resident. 100 00:04:55,194 --> 00:04:58,831 I want to be in a big family group and be like, 101 00:04:58,831 --> 00:05:02,602 super playful and noisy, jumping around and having a good time. 102 00:05:02,869 --> 00:05:04,337 Yeah, it's hard to have somebody to be like, 103 00:05:05,571 --> 00:05:06,773 we're going to go hunting. 104 00:05:06,773 --> 00:05:10,243 Yeah, I think I pick a family to be more fun, to be loud. 105 00:05:11,010 --> 00:05:14,380 One of the few times in my life that I've ever gotten chills 106 00:05:14,380 --> 00:05:17,417 all over my body from seeing an animal 107 00:05:17,550 --> 00:05:22,221 was when we saw killer whales in Alaska, and it was a total surprise. 108 00:05:22,522 --> 00:05:25,591 Yeah, it was the big killer whales, the mammal eaters. 109 00:05:25,658 --> 00:05:28,594 I remember it was really eerie because 110 00:05:28,594 --> 00:05:31,631 just like suddenly three dorsal fins were cruising by. 111 00:05:31,664 --> 00:05:34,767 Yes. They just came out silently out of the water. 112 00:05:34,834 --> 00:05:38,738 These super tall, black, pointy dorsal fins. 113 00:05:38,738 --> 00:05:41,741 And there were three of them, which meant there were three killer whales. 114 00:05:41,841 --> 00:05:44,610 And then they just swam right by the boat. 115 00:05:44,610 --> 00:05:46,479 It felt like they were out hunting. 116 00:05:46,479 --> 00:05:47,914 You know, that was one of those 117 00:05:47,914 --> 00:05:51,818 really special encounters because we weren't out looking for them. 118 00:05:51,818 --> 00:05:56,589 Orcas are definitely one of those animals that I would travel long distances. 119 00:05:56,589 --> 00:05:59,726 I would go to other parts of the world on an expedition 120 00:05:59,726 --> 00:06:03,363 just to see orcas, because they're that majestic. 121 00:06:03,496 --> 00:06:06,132 It's worth it's worth it to go see them. 122 00:06:06,132 --> 00:06:08,901 Yeah. So that's my pick. Killer whales. 123 00:06:08,901 --> 00:06:09,569 Great pick. 124 00:06:09,569 --> 00:06:12,271 We'll find out what I picked right after this. 125 00:06:14,173 --> 00:06:17,443 It's time for everybody's favorite game show, 126 00:06:17,910 --> 00:06:20,880 Rainbow Sound. 127 00:06:23,883 --> 00:06:27,787 What is making this sound? I'm. 128 00:06:30,256 --> 00:06:32,925 Andy, 129 00:06:32,925 --> 00:06:35,928 who are you? 130 00:06:36,362 --> 00:06:38,097 What is it? 131 00:06:38,097 --> 00:06:43,536 Hey, a humpback whale be an elephant seal. 132 00:06:43,803 --> 00:06:47,073 Or see your uncle moaning 133 00:06:47,073 --> 00:06:50,042 when he realizes the cookie jar is empty. 134 00:06:50,710 --> 00:06:53,713 And the answer is a. 135 00:06:53,746 --> 00:06:56,749 It's the song of a male humpback whale. 136 00:06:56,983 --> 00:06:59,252 Hold on. I need to talk to the judges. 137 00:06:59,252 --> 00:07:01,621 Yeah. Could you check my cookie jar? 138 00:07:01,621 --> 00:07:02,355 It is empty. 139 00:07:02,355 --> 00:07:05,258 Looks like I need to stop at the store on the way home. 140 00:07:05,258 --> 00:07:06,292 Until next time. 141 00:07:06,292 --> 00:07:09,729 Thanks for playing everybody's favorite game show. Ray. 142 00:07:09,796 --> 00:07:12,799 That sound. 143 00:07:12,965 --> 00:07:14,500 And we are back. 144 00:07:14,500 --> 00:07:17,503 Rob, I'm on pins and needles. 145 00:07:17,537 --> 00:07:20,540 I'm on sea urchins and needle fish. 146 00:07:20,573 --> 00:07:24,811 Wondering what big animal did you pick for World Oceans Day? 147 00:07:24,944 --> 00:07:29,081 Well, my animal, interestingly enough, is also black and white. 148 00:07:29,582 --> 00:07:30,683 What? 149 00:07:30,683 --> 00:07:34,887 Yeah, and my animal also 150 00:07:34,921 --> 00:07:38,424 has been measured up to nearly 30ft long. 151 00:07:38,691 --> 00:07:39,992 Whoa. 152 00:07:39,992 --> 00:07:42,962 Yeah. Well, I should say, really 30ft wide. 153 00:07:43,629 --> 00:07:45,832 What? Yeah. 154 00:07:45,832 --> 00:07:49,502 My animal has more of a diamond shaped to its body, 155 00:07:50,069 --> 00:07:54,740 and it has a skeleton made of cartilage. 156 00:07:54,874 --> 00:07:57,310 Okay, this is a good clue for me. 157 00:07:58,711 --> 00:08:01,747 So is it a type of shark? 158 00:08:02,281 --> 00:08:03,583 It is not a shark. 159 00:08:03,583 --> 00:08:06,986 Is it a type of ray? 160 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:10,656 It is a ray. Yeah, okay. 161 00:08:10,656 --> 00:08:12,992 It's a fish and it's a ray. 162 00:08:12,992 --> 00:08:16,762 And it's shaped like a diamond and 30ft wide 163 00:08:17,430 --> 00:08:20,600 with his big gaping mouth. 164 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,135 Is it a giant manta ray? 165 00:08:23,135 --> 00:08:24,036 Ding ding ding. 166 00:08:24,036 --> 00:08:27,039 Yes, it is a giant manta. 167 00:08:28,441 --> 00:08:31,310 Ray, that is a great pick. 168 00:08:31,310 --> 00:08:35,114 I didn't even think of that when I was thinking about this episode. 169 00:08:35,448 --> 00:08:35,948 Yeah. 170 00:08:35,948 --> 00:08:38,851 What does the grandma in Moana turn into? 171 00:08:38,851 --> 00:08:40,887 Turns into? Yeah, she turns into a manta. 172 00:08:40,887 --> 00:08:41,521 Does she? 173 00:08:41,521 --> 00:08:42,522 I love that part. 174 00:08:42,522 --> 00:08:45,525 Towards the end of her journey and her grandma shows up as a 175 00:08:45,525 --> 00:08:48,528 manta ray, all sparkly and just swims right under the boat. 176 00:08:48,861 --> 00:08:49,896 Oh yeah? Yeah. 177 00:08:49,896 --> 00:08:53,733 I mean, if I could come back as an animal, a manta would be kind 178 00:08:53,733 --> 00:08:54,667 of the perfect choice. 179 00:08:54,667 --> 00:08:56,335 Yeah, it's like you could fly. 180 00:08:56,335 --> 00:08:58,437 You're flying underwater all the time. 181 00:08:58,437 --> 00:09:01,474 Rob, why do giant manta rays make you happy? 182 00:09:01,974 --> 00:09:05,912 Manta rays are like the spirits of the ocean. 183 00:09:06,078 --> 00:09:11,250 And when you're in the presence of a manta ray, it's a magical feeling. 184 00:09:11,250 --> 00:09:12,552 It's really special. 185 00:09:12,552 --> 00:09:15,621 And I mean, honestly, the thought in my mind 186 00:09:15,721 --> 00:09:19,692 every single time I'm with a manta is I can't believe I'm here right now. 187 00:09:19,759 --> 00:09:21,060 Yeah. Interesting. 188 00:09:21,060 --> 00:09:22,929 This is incredible. 189 00:09:22,929 --> 00:09:25,131 Yeah. That I get to do this right now. 190 00:09:25,131 --> 00:09:30,670 It's like the manta ray has chosen you like I'm going to come see you. 191 00:09:31,037 --> 00:09:31,537 Yeah. 192 00:09:31,537 --> 00:09:36,742 One of my favorite encounters was in Hawaii and it was the sun was going down. 193 00:09:36,742 --> 00:09:38,678 The light was kind of coming through the water 194 00:09:38,678 --> 00:09:42,448 and this beautiful kind of dazzling light rays flashing around. 195 00:09:42,715 --> 00:09:47,386 And a group of mantas showed up and they were just following each other, 196 00:09:47,386 --> 00:09:50,756 and I, I free dove down underneath them to get a 197 00:09:50,756 --> 00:09:53,759 look at what they looked like under underneath. 198 00:09:53,926 --> 00:09:56,696 And one of them got spooked a little bit and pooped on me. 199 00:09:58,798 --> 00:10:00,766 A magical manta poop. 200 00:10:00,766 --> 00:10:03,002 But I took it as a sign of good luck. 201 00:10:03,002 --> 00:10:04,203 I think it was. 202 00:10:04,203 --> 00:10:07,707 It's kind of like good luck when a bird poops on, you know, all that 203 00:10:07,707 --> 00:10:09,542 good luck that you get when birds poop on you. 204 00:10:09,542 --> 00:10:11,477 Yeah. Isn't that a thing? I always say it's a thing. 205 00:10:11,477 --> 00:10:13,813 If bird poops right on you, it's good luck. 206 00:10:13,813 --> 00:10:17,350 So I think if you end up swimming through a cloud of manta ray poop, that's extra 207 00:10:17,350 --> 00:10:18,084 good luck. 208 00:10:18,084 --> 00:10:21,287 Yeah, I'd say the theme so far our episode is 209 00:10:21,287 --> 00:10:24,590 just like magical encounters with animals that you don't see very often. 210 00:10:24,590 --> 00:10:26,192 And then when you see them, 211 00:10:26,192 --> 00:10:29,161 it really makes you feel like something special has happened. 212 00:10:29,462 --> 00:10:29,962 Yeah. 213 00:10:29,962 --> 00:10:30,429 All right. 214 00:10:30,429 --> 00:10:32,732 So Manta Ray was Rob's pick. 215 00:10:32,732 --> 00:10:35,701 A wonderful choice for a big ocean animal. 216 00:10:35,701 --> 00:10:36,902 Thank you Laura. 217 00:10:36,902 --> 00:10:39,138 And now it's time for a song. 218 00:10:39,138 --> 00:10:42,475 Here's a song I wrote about one of my all time favorite 219 00:10:42,475 --> 00:10:47,013 big ocean animals, the Mola mola, or ocean Sunfish. 220 00:10:47,179 --> 00:10:50,282 This song turned out a little bit like if the band Coldplay 221 00:10:50,282 --> 00:10:54,520 had decided to have a second career as marine biologists, and joy. 222 00:11:05,431 --> 00:11:08,034 I've traveled the world. 223 00:11:08,034 --> 00:11:11,037 Sailed every sea. 224 00:11:11,103 --> 00:11:16,075 Thought I had seen all there is to see. 225 00:11:16,308 --> 00:11:19,045 Then I saw your face. 226 00:11:19,045 --> 00:11:21,747 And I couldn't believe 227 00:11:21,747 --> 00:11:26,185 how a fish like you could ever come to be. 228 00:11:26,185 --> 00:11:27,820 Mola mola. 229 00:11:27,820 --> 00:11:30,923 Now you’re swimming through my dreams. 230 00:11:30,923 --> 00:11:32,191 Mola mola, like a dinner plate with wings. Mola mola. 231 00:11:32,191 --> 00:11:35,294 . How I wish that I could be 232 00:11:35,294 --> 00:11:38,531 a mola mola, mola mola. 233 00:11:38,531 --> 00:11:40,766 Mola mola, I can't believe my eyes. 234 00:11:40,766 --> 00:11:42,435 Mola mola, at your enormous size, Mola mola. 235 00:11:42,435 --> 00:11:48,307 Nothing else is like a mola mola, mola mola. 236 00:11:48,307 --> 00:11:51,310 You look just like 237 00:11:51,811 --> 00:11:54,714 two enormous fins 238 00:11:54,714 --> 00:11:57,183 attached to a head, 239 00:11:57,183 --> 00:12:00,653 but without the body, the largest bony fish , 240 00:12:02,688 --> 00:12:05,391 up to 14ft, 241 00:12:05,391 --> 00:12:10,663 5,000 pounds, eating mostly jellies. 242 00:12:10,763 --> 00:12:13,599 Mola mola. Now you’re swimming through my dreams. Mola mola, 243 00:12:14,967 --> 00:12:16,268 like a dinner plate with wings. 244 00:12:16,268 --> 00:12:17,670 Mola mola. . 245 00:12:17,670 --> 00:12:23,242 How I wish that I could be a mola mola, mola mola. 246 00:12:23,342 --> 00:12:24,510 I can't believe my eyes. 247 00:12:24,510 --> 00:12:28,814 Mola mola, at your enormous size, Mola mola. 248 00:12:28,948 --> 00:12:33,219 Nothing else is like a mola mola, mola mola. 249 00:12:35,354 --> 00:12:38,124 From the surface above 250 00:12:38,124 --> 00:12:40,860 to the blue below. No, 251 00:12:40,860 --> 00:12:43,529 you're like ghost. 252 00:12:43,529 --> 00:12:46,198 Tell me, where do you go? 253 00:12:46,198 --> 00:12:49,101 If I could make a wish. 254 00:12:49,101 --> 00:12:51,737 And have it come true. 255 00:12:51,737 --> 00:12:54,540 I want to be 256 00:12:54,540 --> 00:12:57,209 a fish like you. 257 00:12:57,209 --> 00:13:02,381 Mola mola, like a dinner plate with wings. 258 00:13:02,381 --> 00:13:02,615 Mola mola. . 259 00:13:02,615 --> 00:13:07,186 How I wish that I could be a mola 260 00:13:07,186 --> 00:13:10,923 mola, mola mola. 261 00:13:13,993 --> 00:13:14,627 I can’t believe my eyes. 262 00:13:14,627 --> 00:13:15,661 Mola mola, at your enormous size, Mola mola. 263 00:13:15,661 --> 00:13:20,299 Nothing else is like a mola mola, 264 00:13:20,299 --> 00:13:24,303 mola mola. 265 00:13:25,137 --> 00:13:28,374 Before we get on with the show, here's a quick message for the grownups. 266 00:13:29,642 --> 00:13:32,611 And we are back. 267 00:13:32,678 --> 00:13:36,348 It's that time in the show for the happiest Fanimal, 268 00:13:36,482 --> 00:13:40,252 where a fan like you gives us clues for what? 269 00:13:40,286 --> 00:13:41,887 Animals making them happy. 270 00:13:41,887 --> 00:13:46,692 Today's submission is from five year old Leilani from Kihei, Hawaii. 271 00:13:46,792 --> 00:13:48,761 And here are the clues. 272 00:13:48,761 --> 00:13:50,029 Clue number one. 273 00:13:50,029 --> 00:13:52,765 This animal wears a tuxedo. 274 00:13:52,765 --> 00:13:53,866 Clue number two. 275 00:13:53,866 --> 00:13:56,602 It flies super fast. 276 00:13:56,602 --> 00:13:57,703 Clue number three. 277 00:13:57,703 --> 00:14:00,706 It knows how to fly from Alaska to Hawaii. 278 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:02,575 Clue number four. 279 00:14:02,575 --> 00:14:05,644 It travels super far and goes back 280 00:14:05,644 --> 00:14:08,747 to the same lawn or grassy patch every trip. 281 00:14:09,415 --> 00:14:14,720 And the answer is a bird called the Golden pullover. 282 00:14:14,954 --> 00:14:17,790 The golden plover makes Leilani happy because it doesn't 283 00:14:17,790 --> 00:14:20,960 stop flying all the way from Alaska to Hawaii. 284 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,963 And it's so tiny. How does it do that? 285 00:14:24,096 --> 00:14:26,765 Thanks for your submission, Leilani and Grown-Ups. 286 00:14:26,765 --> 00:14:28,500 If you or your family would like to submit 287 00:14:28,500 --> 00:14:32,538 a happiest animal, visit our website at Happiest Animal Show. Com. 288 00:14:33,906 --> 00:14:34,773 Our special guest 289 00:14:34,773 --> 00:14:38,744 today is Tierney Thies, a National Geographic Explorer 290 00:14:38,844 --> 00:14:42,581 and research associate at the California Academy of Sciences. 291 00:14:42,615 --> 00:14:44,650 We are lucky to have her. Tiffany. 292 00:14:44,650 --> 00:14:48,721 Thank you for joining us on The Happiest Animal Show. Yay! 293 00:14:49,388 --> 00:14:50,856 I'm happy to be here. 294 00:14:50,856 --> 00:14:54,326 So Tierney here's the big question. 295 00:14:54,460 --> 00:14:57,463 What animal is making you happy today? 296 00:14:58,097 --> 00:15:01,100 Well, I have many animals that make me happy every day. 297 00:15:02,134 --> 00:15:04,370 So it's hard to choose just one. 298 00:15:04,370 --> 00:15:07,139 One animal that I've been studying for many years 299 00:15:07,139 --> 00:15:10,142 is the ocean sunfish. 300 00:15:10,409 --> 00:15:12,912 Ocean sunfish? 301 00:15:12,912 --> 00:15:14,713 That's such a great pick. 302 00:15:14,713 --> 00:15:18,083 I love ocean sunfish so much. 303 00:15:18,250 --> 00:15:21,253 They're also called molas. Yes. 304 00:15:21,654 --> 00:15:23,489 I love how bonkers they look. 305 00:15:23,489 --> 00:15:26,458 They're big and they're just the most weird looking fish. 306 00:15:26,458 --> 00:15:30,396 It's so cool to know that weirdo animals like that exist out there. 307 00:15:30,663 --> 00:15:32,965 Yeah. I mean, Rob loves them. 308 00:15:32,965 --> 00:15:35,134 I gave Rob them all a sweatshirt for Christmas. 309 00:15:35,134 --> 00:15:37,836 So why do ocean sunfish make you happy? 310 00:15:37,836 --> 00:15:40,205 For so many reasons. Makes me happy. 311 00:15:40,205 --> 00:15:44,109 I started studying it about 30 years ago, and I never thought 312 00:15:44,109 --> 00:15:48,314 I'd spend three decades of my life studying it, but it's. 313 00:15:48,681 --> 00:15:50,816 Well, this makes me happy. 314 00:15:50,816 --> 00:15:53,886 For people listening who have not seen an ocean sunfish or a mola. 315 00:15:53,919 --> 00:15:56,322 How would you describe what they look like? 316 00:15:56,322 --> 00:15:58,691 Well, say they're they're, 317 00:15:58,691 --> 00:16:02,428 a swimming head with no tail, but a tail to tell. 318 00:16:02,761 --> 00:16:05,197 It moves mainly with its big fins. 319 00:16:05,197 --> 00:16:07,566 It's like a swimming head with fins. 320 00:16:07,566 --> 00:16:08,233 Yeah. 321 00:16:08,233 --> 00:16:10,602 And, yeah, that's the way I've always thought of them. 322 00:16:10,602 --> 00:16:11,971 Strange things about them. 323 00:16:11,971 --> 00:16:14,873 Like their backbone is completely fuzed. 324 00:16:14,873 --> 00:16:15,841 Wow. It's solid. 325 00:16:15,841 --> 00:16:18,077 It's like it got a rod through its back. It doesn't. 326 00:16:18,077 --> 00:16:19,611 Yeah. It's not able to move it. 327 00:16:19,611 --> 00:16:20,746 It just moves us. 328 00:16:20,746 --> 00:16:24,850 Fins both a little peg fins by its chest and then little ones. 329 00:16:25,150 --> 00:16:28,954 But it can't wiggle its backbone like so. 330 00:16:28,954 --> 00:16:31,323 It can't really wiggle like a fish. 331 00:16:31,323 --> 00:16:34,493 It's just the only way it moves is its fins. 332 00:16:34,493 --> 00:16:37,496 Its fins. It's like a little tank with fins. 333 00:16:37,629 --> 00:16:40,833 And they can actually move quite quickly when they want to 334 00:16:40,966 --> 00:16:45,771 and fly up out of the water, clear water by three body lengths. 335 00:16:46,271 --> 00:16:47,373 No way they can jump. 336 00:16:47,373 --> 00:16:48,907 They can jump out of the water. 337 00:16:48,907 --> 00:16:49,575 They can breathe. 338 00:16:49,575 --> 00:16:53,012 Wow. Yes, that must be a sight. 339 00:16:53,012 --> 00:16:58,350 The snake didn't flap down and make these loud slapping noises. 340 00:16:58,851 --> 00:16:59,985 Fish cannonball! 341 00:16:59,985 --> 00:17:00,819 That's awesome. 342 00:17:00,819 --> 00:17:04,456 But it people think they're, lethargic. 343 00:17:04,456 --> 00:17:07,092 Slacker or clumsy? 344 00:17:07,092 --> 00:17:09,061 Clunky, ugly. 345 00:17:09,061 --> 00:17:12,498 And when you get to know them, they are nothing of the sort. 346 00:17:12,631 --> 00:17:15,968 They have an interesting diet where they eat all sorts of things 347 00:17:15,968 --> 00:17:17,036 when they're little, 348 00:17:17,036 --> 00:17:20,672 and then when they get to be a meter, then they start to specialize on jellies. 349 00:17:21,607 --> 00:17:23,809 They can eat, they can eat. 350 00:17:23,809 --> 00:17:26,578 You know, Portuguese man of war. 351 00:17:26,578 --> 00:17:29,081 The animals sting everyone else, but they just 352 00:17:29,081 --> 00:17:32,251 they can do it, come down and have tentacles all over their face. 353 00:17:32,251 --> 00:17:32,985 And it's like, 354 00:17:34,053 --> 00:17:37,022 oh, this is giving me serious Superman vibes. 355 00:17:37,289 --> 00:17:38,257 Clark Kent, right? 356 00:17:38,257 --> 00:17:40,926 Seems clumsy, nerdy, overlooked. 357 00:17:40,926 --> 00:17:44,596 But then you realize he's Superman and he can fly and battle 358 00:17:45,097 --> 00:17:46,665 alien type creatures. 359 00:17:46,665 --> 00:17:47,633 This is like a mullet. 360 00:17:47,633 --> 00:17:51,670 So someone, someone out there needs to write a story called, you know, mole Love 361 00:17:51,703 --> 00:17:56,542 and Truth, jellies and the ocean way. 362 00:17:56,942 --> 00:17:57,376 Yeah. 363 00:17:57,376 --> 00:18:01,013 He wears glasses, and you can't tell that it's a mole. 364 00:18:01,914 --> 00:18:04,216 So he takes his glasses off. 365 00:18:04,216 --> 00:18:05,417 Wait a second. 366 00:18:05,417 --> 00:18:08,420 Where did this giant fish come from? 367 00:18:09,788 --> 00:18:10,089 Yeah. 368 00:18:10,089 --> 00:18:12,491 So somebody out there write a story about a mole? 369 00:18:12,491 --> 00:18:16,028 A man, battling a Portuguese man of war or something? 370 00:18:16,161 --> 00:18:17,496 And then eating it. 371 00:18:17,496 --> 00:18:18,697 Yeah. You get. Right. 372 00:18:18,697 --> 00:18:21,266 So many fun things about molars. 373 00:18:21,266 --> 00:18:24,536 Tierney, you told me something interesting about their eyes. 374 00:18:24,536 --> 00:18:25,104 What's that? 375 00:18:25,104 --> 00:18:28,140 They. Yes. They have these muscles that can. 376 00:18:28,140 --> 00:18:31,143 They can pull their eyes deep into their socket. 377 00:18:31,443 --> 00:18:32,611 What? Yeah. 378 00:18:32,611 --> 00:18:36,181 They suck their eyeballs back into their head, their eyeballs, skin, 379 00:18:37,649 --> 00:18:40,385 eyes, big eyes for their size and their visual properties. 380 00:18:40,385 --> 00:18:43,422 But they do have this ability to pull those eyes 381 00:18:43,422 --> 00:18:46,425 and protect them from those stinging tentacles. 382 00:18:47,025 --> 00:18:47,626 Yeah. Wow. 383 00:18:47,626 --> 00:18:49,361 That's a really cool trick for their bodies 384 00:18:49,361 --> 00:18:51,330 when they're eating a Portuguese man of war. 385 00:18:51,330 --> 00:18:52,531 Are they getting stung? 386 00:18:52,531 --> 00:18:54,533 Do they have a protection against that? What? 387 00:18:54,533 --> 00:18:55,901 Why don't they care about it? 388 00:18:55,901 --> 00:18:58,704 Well, they have a lot of thick mucus. 389 00:18:58,704 --> 00:19:02,040 And that mucus has, a pungent smell. 390 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:06,879 So, I was doing some work at the Monterey Bay aquarium during graduate school. 391 00:19:07,246 --> 00:19:10,182 I took on that pungent smell. 392 00:19:10,182 --> 00:19:11,416 Oh, yeah. 393 00:19:11,416 --> 00:19:13,352 All right. I'm smelling like mole every night. 394 00:19:13,352 --> 00:19:15,687 I got some funny nicknames from the staff. 395 00:19:15,687 --> 00:19:16,421 Yeah, yeah. 396 00:19:16,421 --> 00:19:20,492 So for those of us listening who have are not familiar 397 00:19:20,492 --> 00:19:23,595 with the ocean sunfish, are they also called mola mola? 398 00:19:24,029 --> 00:19:28,534 Well, there's there's multiple species of ocean sunfish. 399 00:19:28,534 --> 00:19:31,537 One species is called the mola mola. Okay. 400 00:19:31,537 --> 00:19:34,773 And then there's other ones, the Mola alexandrini, 401 00:19:35,340 --> 00:19:39,912 the Mola tecta, the Ranzania Laevis and the Masturus Lanceolotus. 402 00:19:39,912 --> 00:19:43,482 Okay, that's that's all the mola in the family of Molidae. 403 00:19:43,849 --> 00:19:46,985 Those are hilarious genus species names. 404 00:19:47,252 --> 00:19:49,321 Mola alexandrina. 405 00:19:49,321 --> 00:19:51,690 That's going to become my new international spy name. 406 00:19:53,292 --> 00:19:53,859 It sounds 407 00:19:53,859 --> 00:19:57,062 like a character from an Indiana Jones movie. 408 00:19:57,062 --> 00:19:59,898 Yeah, she would double cross you 409 00:19:59,898 --> 00:20:01,533 and Mola Tecta was it? 410 00:20:01,533 --> 00:20:04,703 Mola Tecta is going to become a DJ name 411 00:20:05,103 --> 00:20:08,207 Mola tecta to spin some serious ocean beats. 412 00:20:08,674 --> 00:20:09,007 Yeah. 413 00:20:09,007 --> 00:20:14,446 Then Masterus lanceolotus sounds like Knights of the Round Table, right? 414 00:20:14,646 --> 00:20:15,547 Like right. 415 00:20:15,547 --> 00:20:19,985 I now dubbed the Knight of the Round Fish table. 416 00:20:20,919 --> 00:20:24,523 For those of you listening out there, what Mola genus species 417 00:20:24,523 --> 00:20:28,227 name would you most like to have if you could have one of these names? 418 00:20:28,427 --> 00:20:32,698 Mola alexandrina Mola Tecta, Ranzania 419 00:20:32,698 --> 00:20:37,869 Laevis, Masterus Lanceolotus and don't forget the mola mola. 420 00:20:38,136 --> 00:20:41,740 Yes, but the sunfish has all sorts of other interesting things. 421 00:20:41,740 --> 00:20:44,743 I mean, it is the world's heaviest bony fish. 422 00:20:45,877 --> 00:20:47,879 There are other bigger fish, like the whale shark. 423 00:20:47,879 --> 00:20:50,749 But then you got bony, right? Well we do. 424 00:20:50,749 --> 00:20:51,416 Yeah. Well, sir. 425 00:20:51,416 --> 00:20:52,818 So that's cartilage. 426 00:20:52,818 --> 00:20:55,153 Yes. Yeah, yeah, but this is a bony fish. 427 00:20:55,153 --> 00:20:56,321 So, you know, everything 428 00:20:56,321 --> 00:21:00,125 like tunas and halibut are your standard, more standard kind of fish. 429 00:21:00,125 --> 00:21:05,097 And it's the heaviest of the bony fishes getting to be over 6,000 pounds. 430 00:21:05,097 --> 00:21:07,633 And that's a pretty new world record. 431 00:21:07,633 --> 00:21:10,535 One washed up in Horta which is in the Azores. 432 00:21:10,535 --> 00:21:14,106 And, it was over 6,000 pounds. Wow. 433 00:21:14,306 --> 00:21:16,775 A mola can weigh more than a great white shark. 434 00:21:16,775 --> 00:21:18,110 Oh, yes. Awesome. 435 00:21:18,110 --> 00:21:21,913 Yes. When you're when you've studied molas and you've had a chance to touch one, 436 00:21:21,913 --> 00:21:23,882 what is the what does it feel like when you touch? 437 00:21:23,882 --> 00:21:26,285 Oh, they are very rough. 438 00:21:26,285 --> 00:21:29,288 It looks mola mola is very rough skinned. 439 00:21:29,421 --> 00:21:34,226 They're related to porcupine fishes and puffer fish who have plates. 440 00:21:34,226 --> 00:21:37,262 And on their plates, their skin have little, 441 00:21:37,562 --> 00:21:40,532 you know, hooks, hooks and spines on them. 442 00:21:40,832 --> 00:21:42,968 So it's like this tide. 443 00:21:42,968 --> 00:21:46,371 There can be inches, like two inches thick. 444 00:21:46,371 --> 00:21:48,073 Whoa. 445 00:21:48,073 --> 00:21:51,076 And it's like no other fish skin I've ever seen. 446 00:21:51,543 --> 00:21:53,912 Yeah, just so many interesting things about it. 447 00:21:53,912 --> 00:21:57,983 And then what questions, are you trying to answer about Molas? 448 00:21:58,383 --> 00:22:00,152 You've been studying them for 30 years. 449 00:22:00,152 --> 00:22:02,321 What are the questions you have about them? 450 00:22:02,321 --> 00:22:06,792 Well, we're still really interested in their longevity, how long they live. 451 00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:10,162 Because it's not really known. 452 00:22:10,162 --> 00:22:11,430 There have been some papers that say 453 00:22:11,430 --> 00:22:15,400 they can live upwards of 80 years, but we don't know that for sure. 454 00:22:16,134 --> 00:22:19,504 That's what's exciting about the ocean, is there's still so much to discover. 455 00:22:20,105 --> 00:22:25,410 Oh my gosh, we've only just really seen about 5% of the ocean with our own eyes, 456 00:22:25,844 --> 00:22:29,781 and it's 99% of the living space on this planet. 457 00:22:30,349 --> 00:22:32,551 And so you flip that around. 458 00:22:32,551 --> 00:22:35,554 We land loving, desiccated humans. 459 00:22:36,021 --> 00:22:40,525 We, we just live on 1% of the available living space of this planet. 460 00:22:40,592 --> 00:22:41,660 Yeah. 461 00:22:41,660 --> 00:22:43,729 And look what we're doing to it. 462 00:22:43,729 --> 00:22:47,432 Our planet is an ocean planet, and we really don't know 463 00:22:48,033 --> 00:22:49,501 what's going on in there. 464 00:22:49,501 --> 00:22:53,939 Lots of work and lots of good science, but so much more to discover. 465 00:22:54,773 --> 00:22:58,310 What I've discovered today is that an ocean sunfish looks like a swimming head. 466 00:22:59,044 --> 00:23:00,579 It can't wiggle its body. 467 00:23:01,980 --> 00:23:05,384 It can suck its eyeballs back into its head so it doesn't 468 00:23:05,384 --> 00:23:08,387 get stung by things like Portuguese man or while it's eating it. 469 00:23:08,820 --> 00:23:11,890 Its skin, is so rough 470 00:23:12,524 --> 00:23:15,327 that it's astonishing 471 00:23:15,327 --> 00:23:17,963 and weighs more than a great white shark, 472 00:23:17,963 --> 00:23:20,966 and it has these long teeth in its throat. 473 00:23:21,199 --> 00:23:24,936 Oh, for for helping catch jellies. 474 00:23:24,936 --> 00:23:28,173 Yes, because it's actually spits and doesn't 475 00:23:28,173 --> 00:23:31,143 want those jellies crawling out of its gullet. 476 00:23:32,043 --> 00:23:35,213 Well, thank you, Tierney for being here on the Happiest Animals show. 477 00:23:35,213 --> 00:23:37,949 This was a huge treat for us. 478 00:23:37,949 --> 00:23:40,285 Oh, totally. My pleasure. 479 00:23:40,285 --> 00:23:43,855 And now, the moment you've all been waiting for 480 00:23:44,022 --> 00:23:47,025 the answer to our animal joke of the day. 481 00:23:47,559 --> 00:23:50,562 Why did the whale cross the ocean? 482 00:23:51,196 --> 00:23:52,931 Do you have a guess? 483 00:23:52,931 --> 00:23:54,633 The answer is. 484 00:23:56,735 --> 00:23:59,738 To get to the other side. 485 00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:02,941 And before we go, 486 00:24:02,941 --> 00:24:05,944 remember, we live on a beautiful planet. 487 00:24:06,211 --> 00:24:09,181 So go out and find what makes you happy today. 488 00:24:12,150 --> 00:24:14,820 Hey, Grown-Ups, we know you're busy, but if you like 489 00:24:14,820 --> 00:24:18,056 our show, we'd love for you to tell your friends and family about it. 490 00:24:18,423 --> 00:24:21,927 It's the best way for our podcast to grow and grown ups. 491 00:24:21,993 --> 00:24:25,831 You can also follow us on social media at Happiest Animal Show, 492 00:24:26,298 --> 00:24:28,600 or check out other fun things on our website, 493 00:24:28,600 --> 00:24:31,603 like how to submit an animal and how to get merch. 494 00:24:31,770 --> 00:24:32,237 Visit Happiestanimalshow.com. 495 00:24:32,237 --> 00:24:35,140 The Happiest Animal 496 00:24:35,140 --> 00:24:38,410 Show is created by Laura Sams, Robert Sams, and Dave Cain 497 00:24:38,543 --> 00:24:42,881 produced by Sisbro Studios, hosted and directed by Laura Sams 498 00:24:42,881 --> 00:24:43,448 and Robert Sams, and written by Laura Sams, 499 00:24:46,051 --> 00:24:49,054 Robert Sams with story editor Dave Cain. 500 00:24:49,154 --> 00:24:53,191 And with only a little help from our cat walking across the keyboard. 501 00:24:53,625 --> 00:24:55,794 Now let’s talk music. 502 00:24:55,794 --> 00:24:59,731 Original music is written and performed by zero time Grammy Award winning 503 00:24:59,731 --> 00:25:03,568 songwriters Laura Sams and Robert Sams, except for the end credits music 504 00:25:03,568 --> 00:25:06,271 which was written by Laura and Rob’s Grandma Max, 505 00:25:06,271 --> 00:25:09,574 and the joke answer suspense music was written by David Schultz. 506 00:25:09,841 --> 00:25:11,576 The theme song was written and performed 507 00:25:11,576 --> 00:25:14,813 by Laura and Rob and mixed by Jason Wells of Audio Wells. 508 00:25:15,614 --> 00:25:17,649 Thanks for listening. You're the best.