WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.339 Craig, stop me if I've done this mini before. 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:09.060 I think we haven't. So this one is from IndiaDefenseReview 00:00:09.060 --> 00:00:12.539 .com. Highly reliable source. We use them all 00:00:12.539 --> 00:00:14.539 the time. They've never steered us wrong. Almost 00:00:14.539 --> 00:00:20.300 exclusively, yes. And it's from April 17, 2025 00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:25.179 by Oreski Amiri. And it's titled, It's Official. 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:28.199 Orcas and dolphins have crossed the point of 00:00:28.199 --> 00:00:31.460 no return in their evolution to live on land. 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:34.700 Something that is blowing my mind constantly 00:00:34.700 --> 00:00:37.560 that... Yeah, I have so many questions about 00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:40.340 it. It's now official? We'll get to it. Yeah. 00:00:40.700 --> 00:00:43.380 Okay, okay. The read time's three minutes, just 00:00:43.380 --> 00:00:46.259 so you know. Which makes me feel happy. But also 00:00:46.259 --> 00:00:47.759 pressured, right? Because you only got three 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:51.600 minutes now. It's true, it's true. Those people 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:54.159 looking down at the time left in this podcast 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:57.640 and seeing over the 10 minute point. You know 00:00:57.640 --> 00:01:01.100 how I do under pressure and it is not good. It 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:03.759 is never good if I am under pressure. Dolphins 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:06.760 and Orcas have undergone such extensive evolutionary 00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:09.780 changes to adapt to life in the ocean that returning 00:01:09.780 --> 00:01:14.299 to land is now impossible according to a study 00:01:14.299 --> 00:01:17.120 published in Proceedings of the Royal Society 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:20.519 B. These iconic marine mammals once descended 00:01:20.519 --> 00:01:23.859 from land dwelling ancestors have now passed 00:01:23.859 --> 00:01:27.450 a critical evolutionary threshold. locking them 00:01:27.450 --> 00:01:30.670 into their aquatic environment forever, which 00:01:30.670 --> 00:01:34.450 makes me feel really claustrophobic just reading 00:01:34.450 --> 00:01:38.030 that. I feel like they have no choice now, which 00:01:38.030 --> 00:01:40.609 makes me really sad for them. Do you think every 00:01:40.609 --> 00:01:43.250 orca generation before this one had the choice? 00:01:43.269 --> 00:01:45.609 They're just like, no, let's not go there. Let's 00:01:45.609 --> 00:01:50.209 not go back yet. We still have time. That's sad. 00:01:50.629 --> 00:01:53.349 Scientists gave us 10 ,000 more generations. 00:01:55.129 --> 00:01:58.709 Roughly 250 million years ago, some mammals made 00:01:58.709 --> 00:02:02.069 a remarkable shift back into the water, a reversal 00:02:02.069 --> 00:02:04.790 of the earlier transition that saw the first 00:02:04.790 --> 00:02:08.210 tetrapods move from aquatic to terrestrial life 00:02:08.210 --> 00:02:12.409 approximately 375 million years ago. This return 00:02:12.409 --> 00:02:15.330 to the sea happened more than once and eventually 00:02:15.330 --> 00:02:18.330 led to the evolution of today's whales, dolphins 00:02:18.330 --> 00:02:21.490 and orcas. I don't know what I'm reading. You 00:02:21.490 --> 00:02:23.210 want to know something too, Chelsea? Yeah, I 00:02:23.210 --> 00:02:25.150 do. The scientists were probably saying they 00:02:25.150 --> 00:02:28.189 were locked into land dwelling too at the time. 00:02:28.590 --> 00:02:31.849 I bet you they were. Those bastards. Over time, 00:02:32.150 --> 00:02:35.830 dolphins and orcas acquired a suit of specialized 00:02:35.830 --> 00:02:38.870 adaptations that made them highly efficient marine 00:02:38.870 --> 00:02:41.729 predators. They evolved larger bodies that helped 00:02:41.729 --> 00:02:44.789 them conserve heat in cold water, shifted to 00:02:44.789 --> 00:02:52.979 a coniferous diet. Yeah, carnivorous. Carnivorous! 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:57.580 Okay, I thought it sounded wrong. I did think 00:02:57.580 --> 00:03:02.439 that was wrong. Okay, quick. It's very slight 00:03:02.439 --> 00:03:07.020 in the English there between the two. I've never 00:03:07.020 --> 00:03:10.819 thought of that before. It's very slight though. 00:03:11.099 --> 00:03:13.500 Like it sounded right to me looking at the word. 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:16.020 I wouldn't have thought it before, but here we 00:03:16.020 --> 00:03:20.159 are. You're welcome. Thank you for listening 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.939 to Journey to the French. The mini is now over. 00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:30.259 You are educated. Yes. carnivorous diet that 00:03:30.259 --> 00:03:33.539 matched their high metabolic demands and developed 00:03:33.539 --> 00:03:35.939 physical traits that enhanced their swimming 00:03:35.939 --> 00:03:39.020 and diving ability. Damn it, it's the three minutes. 00:03:39.240 --> 00:03:42.460 So much pressure. These anatomical transformations 00:03:42.460 --> 00:03:45.120 didn't just support life and water, they fully 00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:48.280 committed these animals to it. Jesus. According 00:03:48.280 --> 00:03:51.780 to Bruna Farina, a PhD student in the University 00:03:51.780 --> 00:03:54.680 of Freiburg and lead author of the study, this 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:57.719 evolutionary journey reached a point of no return. 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:01.120 Her research examined more than 5 ,600 species 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:03.960 of mammals, classifying them into four categories 00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:06.479 ranging from fully terrestrial to fully aquatic. 00:04:06.659 --> 00:04:09.699 Her analysis revealed that once species cross 00:04:09.699 --> 00:04:13.180 from semi -aquatic to fully aquatic, their evolutionary 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:16.019 path becomes irreversible. Sorry, I just need 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:18.120 to get this straight in my mind. So, it's not 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:20.879 that they just have crossed this threshold, it's 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:24.240 just that she has determined, this scientist, 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:26.839 that they can't come back. Yes, that overwhelmed 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:28.949 me. seemingly seems like what it is. That is 00:04:28.949 --> 00:04:31.730 different than this generation. They don't have 00:04:31.730 --> 00:04:35.040 the choice anymore. Yeah, that's true. That's 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:37.500 true, which makes me feel better. And it also 00:04:37.500 --> 00:04:39.300 makes a lot more sense that you can make this 00:04:39.300 --> 00:04:42.180 declaration on all whales and dolphins and not 00:04:42.180 --> 00:04:45.699 the subspecies within there. That's true. Farina's 00:04:45.699 --> 00:04:48.480 research highlights a crucial tipping point, 00:04:48.600 --> 00:04:51.259 beyond which marine adaptations are no longer 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:54.279 reversible. This concept aligns with Dolo's Law, 00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:57.879 a theory proposed by Belgian paleontologist Louise 00:04:57.879 --> 00:05:01.339 Dolo in 19th century, which posits that evolution 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:04.060 generally does not reverse once a complex trait. 00:05:04.009 --> 00:05:07.050 has been lost. In the case of dolphins and orcas, 00:05:07.149 --> 00:05:09.730 this means that their extensive adaptations for 00:05:09.730 --> 00:05:12.930 ocean life has closed the door on any return 00:05:12.930 --> 00:05:16.329 to land. Their entire anatomy, from their breathing 00:05:16.329 --> 00:05:19.129 and locomotion to their reproductive systems, 00:05:19.329 --> 00:05:22.189 is now dependent on a fully aquatic environment. 00:05:22.370 --> 00:05:24.870 The study suggests that these animals are trapped 00:05:24.870 --> 00:05:28.069 in their watery waves, unable to evolve back 00:05:28.069 --> 00:05:30.649 toward a terrestrial lifestyle. While these changes 00:05:30.649 --> 00:05:33.009 have allowed them to thrive in the ocean, they 00:05:33.009 --> 00:05:35.589 also leave them highly vulnerable in the face 00:05:35.589 --> 00:05:38.490 of environmental disruption. But they adapted 00:05:38.490 --> 00:05:40.550 to go into the water. You don't think that they 00:05:40.550 --> 00:05:42.829 can adapt back? Yeah, that's something I wanted 00:05:42.829 --> 00:05:44.889 to talk about. Also, is it just me or are they 00:05:44.889 --> 00:05:47.370 kind of making it seem shitty to be stuck in 00:05:47.370 --> 00:05:48.990 the ocean compared to land? They really are. 00:05:49.009 --> 00:05:52.389 It's really giving me a lot of anxiety as an 00:05:52.389 --> 00:05:54.930 orca. Yeah, you don't want to be stuck in that 00:05:54.930 --> 00:05:57.610 shit hole where all the fish and the whales are 00:05:57.610 --> 00:06:00.490 pooping. I know, and I feel like I'm an orca 00:06:00.490 --> 00:06:03.060 and I feel like I still want to have... the choice 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:06.540 to go back and I feel like who is this person 00:06:06.540 --> 00:06:09.879 to say that I can't? That's all I have to say 00:06:09.879 --> 00:06:13.459 as an orca. That and fuck the odds. As climate 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:15.939 change and ocean pollution continue to threaten 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:18.839 marine ecosystems, the irreversible adaptations 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:21.740 of dolphins and orcas raise serious concerns 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:24.519 because these species can no longer return to 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:27.500 land. Their survival is tightly linked to the 00:06:27.500 --> 00:06:30.740 health of marine environments. Any degradation 00:06:30.740 --> 00:06:33.660 in ocean can conditions could have severe consequences. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.300 This is such a weird article. This vulnerability 00:06:37.300 --> 00:06:40.379 is compounded by their extreme specialization. 00:06:40.540 --> 00:06:43.000 Traits that were once evolutionary advantages, 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:46.100 like deep diving abilities or streamlined bodies, 00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:49.839 now limit their adaptability. But they were wolves 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:56.360 before! And they were fish before that! If their 00:06:56.360 --> 00:06:59.199 habitat changes in ways they can't handle, these 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:02.300 animals have few options left. This is just doom 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:05.720 and gloom. This study adds a new dimension to 00:07:05.720 --> 00:07:08.860 conservation discussions, emphasizing how evolutionary 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:11.680 history can limit a species' future resilience. 00:07:11.860 --> 00:07:14.360 The more specialized an organism becomes, the 00:07:14.360 --> 00:07:16.860 less flexible it is when the environment changes. 00:07:16.980 --> 00:07:20.060 That's the end of the article. Wow. What did 00:07:20.060 --> 00:07:23.540 I just read? I really want to go read this science 00:07:23.540 --> 00:07:27.319 paper. just to see if it starts out with a sentence 00:07:27.319 --> 00:07:30.720 isn't it shitty to be stuck in the ocean anyways 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:35.800 sucks to be you, marine animals. They're talking 00:07:35.800 --> 00:07:39.720 about it like the dolphins and whales are just, 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.300 I'm struggling to find words here for what I 00:07:44.300 --> 00:07:47.480 just read. I understand now why this is your 00:07:47.480 --> 00:07:51.459 source for this article. Yes. What an interesting 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:54.560 way to come at that. Yeah, I guess I understand 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:56.600 where they're coming from. Everything that stays 00:07:56.600 --> 00:07:58.720 in the water permanently is going to have a very 00:07:58.720 --> 00:08:02.000 tough time to evolutionarily change back. But 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.610 at the At the same time, there are subspecies 00:08:04.610 --> 00:08:06.569 within that group. We've talked about the orcas 00:08:06.569 --> 00:08:10.069 that literally go on the land to hunt for a very 00:08:10.069 --> 00:08:13.250 short period of time. I like those guys. And 00:08:13.250 --> 00:08:15.970 I can't wait until the worlds collide between 00:08:15.970 --> 00:08:19.529 those guys and the rich people and the oceans. 00:08:20.430 --> 00:08:23.149 The beach just gets a little shallower or a little 00:08:23.149 --> 00:08:25.509 closer to the water so that they can try it out. 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:28.079 on those land yachts they've been seeing from 00:08:28.079 --> 00:08:31.980 afar yes they're gonna be real close real soon 00:08:31.980 --> 00:08:34.620 but they better be blasting their heavy metal 00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:37.120 music in those rich people's houses oh they better 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:40.720 they better what i'm hearing here is that once 00:08:40.720 --> 00:08:44.039 we're mermaid we can't go back pretty much because 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:47.460 we've adapted too much into the sea But is there 00:08:47.460 --> 00:08:50.299 a way that you can adapt too much into the land? 00:08:50.539 --> 00:08:52.779 I would have thought that too with both of those. 00:08:52.919 --> 00:08:55.840 But like, we can't really become mermaids because 00:08:55.840 --> 00:08:58.860 mermaids are half fish. So we'd have to become 00:08:58.860 --> 00:09:01.399 like... At that point, we'd be gene splicing. 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:03.679 So I don't see why we couldn't gene splice back 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:07.279 the other way. Wolves didn't. Wolves didn't just 00:09:07.279 --> 00:09:10.159 convert their bottom half to a fish -like species. 00:09:10.759 --> 00:09:14.159 They converted their whole body into a streamlined 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:18.279 yet still mammalian body. Well, we could convert 00:09:18.279 --> 00:09:22.679 to what I would call a mermaid, and it wouldn't 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:25.019 quite be a mermaid. It's probably like a ningen 00:09:25.019 --> 00:09:27.419 or something. It's much uglier than a mermaid. 00:09:27.419 --> 00:09:29.259 Yeah, it's ningen. Oh, actually, it's probably 00:09:29.259 --> 00:09:32.460 like a beluga whale, to be fair. For humanity, 00:09:32.759 --> 00:09:35.080 with how our society's been going these years. 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:38.500 Oh, the poor manatees. I love those majestic 00:09:38.500 --> 00:09:41.700 little guys, big guys. It seems arbitrary where 00:09:41.700 --> 00:09:44.059 she can make that determination. And like you 00:09:44.059 --> 00:09:46.620 would probably say most land based species are 00:09:46.620 --> 00:09:49.179 stuck on land, but they've found a way to go 00:09:49.179 --> 00:09:52.139 back. Yeah, it really didn't show any of her 00:09:52.139 --> 00:09:54.200 research. It was just like, well, they're done 00:09:54.200 --> 00:09:56.600 for. They're never coming back. Yeah. And it 00:09:56.600 --> 00:09:59.639 sounds like this is a woman who had to rush her. 00:09:59.820 --> 00:10:02.799 I assume I can't remember the name, but who had 00:10:02.799 --> 00:10:07.059 to rush her. sciency paper out to press so she 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:09.059 had to come up with the topic because she spent 00:10:09.059 --> 00:10:12.279 too much time with fuming hatred just sclaring 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:14.879 at the ocean yeah when she should have been writing 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:17.080 and that deadline was looming and she came up 00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:21.080 with this and like it took a weird turn at the 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:25.080 end where it was like and plus Since they can't 00:10:25.080 --> 00:10:27.980 come back, they're basically fucked because we're 00:10:27.980 --> 00:10:30.899 polluting the ocean to all hell. At least we're 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:34.659 polluting. Yeah, too bad they can't come back 00:10:34.659 --> 00:10:36.600 because anything else in the ocean. It was just 00:10:36.600 --> 00:10:40.679 a beautiful, untouched land. As if there's no 00:10:40.679 --> 00:10:43.899 other animals or marine life in the ocean at 00:10:43.899 --> 00:10:47.889 risk. Just the ones that can't come back onto 00:10:47.889 --> 00:10:51.230 land. Yeah, no otters are fine. Seal's fine. 00:10:51.629 --> 00:10:54.789 Absolutely, actually doing better somehow. Totally 00:10:54.789 --> 00:10:58.110 fine. Yeah, they're thriving because they can 00:10:58.110 --> 00:11:01.330 come out of the ocean. Yep, for those sweet, 00:11:01.429 --> 00:11:09.169 sweet land breaths. Anyhow, you guys got 48 hours. 00:11:09.230 --> 00:11:11.909 You suck in that beautiful, beautiful land air 00:11:11.909 --> 00:11:15.320 as much as you can. Cherishes. Don't think about 00:11:15.320 --> 00:11:17.080 how we're stuck here. Bye.