: PBS LearningMedia - Kratts Creatures: Koalas and Wombats

: PBS LearningMedia

Back to regular posting. This episode deals with koalas and wombats, two creatures that are completely different from each other but are said to be related. The Kratt brothers learn about the lifestyles of the two creatures: wombats being the ground and burrow-digging marsupial and koalas being the tree-huggers and eucalyptus leaf eaters. Chris and Martin start out the episode by riding on horseback looking for the two animals. Their horses however, suddenly become unnerved and spooked by the sound of dingo howls and run off, separating the brothers. Chris ends up crashing into a tree that happens to have a koala living there and Martin gets thrown off his horse near a wombat burrow. There, he meets a bunch of wombats eating the Australian grass. We learn about the defenses of the two creatures as well: koalas sit up tight in the trees when dingoes are prowling, and wombats run straight for the burrows. Of course, if the wombat senses that a creature is trying to get into his burrow then he uses his reliable rump shield to boot him out. However, I should warn you about the explanation that is given for the relatedness of the two creatures. We are told that through a process known as "divergent evolution" koalas and wombats, being related, have learned to be completely different in lifestyle. Of course, this may just be about adaptation and taking advantage of situations, something that isn't unique to "evolution". Anyways, other supposed examples are elephants and manatees and porcupines and beavers. This is contrasted in the episode with "convergent evolution". This is allegedly when two different creatures start to resemble each other and/or live similar lifestyles. Again, this sounds as if ADAPTATION is the key topic and not evolution. The funny thing though is when different supposed examples were given for this "convergent evolution." Here is just one of them:

- hyenas and tasmanian devils: I gotta say that this is HILARIOUS! The reason is that there are MANY reasons as to why this connection is bogus. 1) T-Devils are marsupials whereas hyenas are placental mammals. (Marsupials carry their newborn young in a pouch to grow and placental mammals give birth to their more fully-formed young through the normal womb process and don't need a pouch.) 2) Devils live alone while hyenas live in packs. 3) Devils are mainly scavengers (eaters of dead meat) while hyenas are mainly prone to hunting live prey for food. 4) Hyenas face much competition for food from other creatures such as cheetahs, lions, leopards and wild dogs while devils don't have that problem as often. The only other competitors might be tiger koals or dogs and cats that have now become wild in Tasmania but that's about it.

Other than that, the episode was a good one. Enjoy!