Who will win march mammal madness 2022

• #2022MMM Wild North America Division Round 1- Read All About it

  Printable summary for the #2022MMM Round 1 Wild North America Division

Wild North America Round 1: Grizzly, Bison, Black Bear, Jaguar, Mountain Lion, Elk, Bighorn Sheep, Wolf ADVANCE!!!

Grizzly Bear (1) v. Mexican Free-tailed Bat (16) - Mexican Free-tailed Bats weigh between 10-12 grams, have colonies that sometimes number in the millions (Wilkins 1989). They also might be the speediest mammals in the world with observations of bats reaching nearly 100 mph (McCracken et al, 2016). It was the roughly 500,000 bats roosting in the Carlsbad Caverns National Park that inspired one of the US’s battiest war tactics - bat bombs. Called Project X-Ray, the project faced numerous challenges, mainly because bats don’t really just go wherever we want them to go. Called a Grizzly, Brown, or Kodiak Bear, Ursus Arctos is 1 of 8 bear species that currently lives in the world and is the second largest, behind polar bears. Grizzly bear males in the Kodiak Islands are by far the largest and average 850+ pounds. “Grizzly” refers to a common coat color that is brown with whitish guard hairs (Schwartz et al 2003). “Before European settlement of the North American continent, the brown bear was widely distributed… eastward into Ontario, Ohio and Kentucky and southward into Mexico.” (Schwartz et al 2003).

Tonight’s battle takes place in Cave and Basin National Historic Site in Banff National Park, Canada’s first National Park and part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain UNESCO World Heritage Site. The grizzly bear is pawing through the snow and has just emerged from hibernation, where he only lost about 20% of his mass, and is one of the early risers spotted at Banff National Park. The Mexican free-tailed bat, aka Carl, is MMMagically transported to this cold and rainy new locale. Rain causes bats to expend more energy than normal and can interfere with echolocation (Voigt et al, 2011). Our bat seeks out the nearby caves where the heat from the warm thermal springs produce mist as it hits the colder outside temperatures, but Carl miscalculates and careens toward the giant, foraging bear. Unaffected by the cold thanks to his thick fur, the bear barely feels a touch as Carl smacks the ground. The warm air from the thermal springs washes over Carl and he tries to scramble through the snow toward it. The bear’s two-inch long claws scrape through the snow and dirt, but the bat has made it safely into the warmth of the cave where he can wait out the cold, wet night. GRIZZLY BEAR OUTLASTS MEXICAN FREE-TAILED BAT! Narration written by Alyson Brokaw & Tara Chestnut, summarization by Jessica Martin.

Bison (2) vs Southern Bog Lemming (15) - Southern Bog Lemming is a small rodent with a large skull compared to the rest of its body but otherwise diminutive traits (small ears & eyes, short nose & tail) (Rose & Linzey 2021). They live in the cooler climates in eastern North America where they eat grasses, mosses, fungi, and some woody plants (Rose & Linzey 2021), which might well contribute to their green poop! They make use of latrine sites, meaning they consistently defecate in the same spot (Rose & Linzey 2021). Bison is a huge hoofed mammal (ungulate) that can weigh nearly a ton and stand up to 6 feet tall (Meagher 1986). Their hump is caused by an elongated thoracic vertebrae projecting up from the spinal column! Bison used to roam all across North America but now they are restricted to public lands or private ranches in managed herds (Meagher 1986).

Tonight these two mammals are squaring off in the herds that now roam the Badlands National Park and Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Lemming arrived from Acadia National Park in Maine, which is not so different from the Badlands this time of year. Both our combatants are enjoying the new grasses when suddenly the lemming feels the tightening grip of a Northern Harrier's talons! The harrier had been stealthily using the "hover and pounce" method to catch the small appetizer (Weller et al, 2015; Vukovich & Ritchison, 2008). Bison continues to enjoy the spring sunset. BISON OUTLASTS SOUTHERN BOG LEMMING! Narration written by Patrice Kurnath Connors & summarized by Margaret Janz.

Black bear (3) vs 13-Lined Ground Squirrel (14) - The American Black Bear is an impressive animal, but smaller than its beefier Grizzly cousins. They eat meat, insects, fruit, nuts, and everything in between (Lariviere 2001). Today's combatant bear is from Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, where bears from Minnesota were reintroduced in the mid 20th century to kick start a new population after their extirpation from their historic range in the Great Plains. In Minnesota and other parts of the country, black bear range has actually been expanding! The 13-lined ground squirrel inhabits the plains of North America, building complex burrows and munching grass, seeds, and insects. These ground squirrels spend winters hibernating, surviving for up to 6 months without any food or water. To compensate for these energetic demands, the mitochondria in the squirrel's brain are cranked up to 11 during their slumber! (Ballinger 2017). Today's ground squirrel hails from Indiana Dunes National Park, one of the USA's newest parks! Situated on the Southern Shore of Lake Michigan, these dunes support a rich great plains ecosystem within a short drive of Chicago.

Black Bear has home habitat advantage in tonight's battle, so we find ourselves at dusk in Hot Springs National Park. March in Arkansas Ouchita Mountains sees the final thaw of the winter's frost, and the beginning of springtime. Our Black Bear, after a winter of rest and hibernation, has permanently emerged to begin the process of fattening up for next year's winter. While it is too early for berries, he'll make due with a poorly-secured dumpster at a campsite - the very campsite MMMagic has transported the 13-lined ground squirrel! The squirrel is automatically on high alert, rearing up on its hind legs to survey the landscape. Our bear eventually catches a whiff of our squirrel, but, rather than waste the energy chasing such a tiny meal, goes back to his dumpster feast. Our squirrel however, doesn't take any chances, and as soon as the Squirrel notices our Black Bear, he lets out a high pitched alarm call and sprints to the nearest cover! BLACK BEAR DEFEATS 13-LINED GROUND SQUIRREL!!! Narration written by PhD Candidate Kwasi Wrensford & summarized by Margaret Janz.

Jaguar (4) v. Marsh Rabbit (13) - A robust, powerful carnivore, the jaguar is the largest felid in the Americas and varies in color from pale to reddish yellow and is covered in black florettes surrounding dark brown or red brown spots. The jaguar was once widely found from North to South America and really thrives in forest habitats, including “rainforest, low scrub jungle, lowland semi-deciduous forest, woodland, swampy savanna, lagoons, marshland, and thorn scrub,” (Seymour 1989). A lagomorph with short ears and a dark brown to ruddy body color, the marsh rabbit comes in at a little under 4 pounds living its herbivorous life from Virginia’s Dismal Swamp to the Florida Keys. The rabbit also likes to swim and propels itself through the water with alternating kicks of its legs.

Tonight’s battle finds the combatants in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve on the Yucatan Peninsula which is currently the largest forest reserve in Mexico and is slated to almost double in size in 2022 to protect jaguars as a flagship conservation species. Upon its arrival to the preserve, the marsh rabbit finds itself near a waterhole called an aguada. The rabbit holds still in the strange environment, but the jaguar ambushes. Unable to flee over land, the marsh rabbit leaps into the aguada and does its best to kick-paddle away, but jaguars are fond of the water so the cat dives in and strikes the rabbit on the head with a paw. JAGUAR DEFEATS MARSH RABBIT! Narration written by Katie Hinde; summarized by Jessica Martin.

Mountain Lion (5) v. Kit Fox (12) - Mountain lions are big, top predators that live in solitude except for mothers and cubs. They can breed all year long and have large territories that are necessary to access enough resources like shelter and water. They can be found from the Canadian Yukon to the Andes of South America with populations as far apart in the US as Florida, California, and Washington. Our mountain lion combatant lives in Santa Monica National Recreation area in Los Angeles, California, homeland of the Chumash, Tongva, and Kizh Nations. Not a large predator, the Kit Fox is a teeny tiny socially monogamous mesopredator. Historically, these two species had overlapping occupancy ranges in the southwest US and Northern Mexico, and both still occupy desert scrub and chaparral habitats. Kit foxes are found in arid to semi-arid regions while cougars have wider habitats that include montane forests, swamps, and grasslands. Our Kit fox lives in Big Bend National Park in Texas, though there are some populations of urban-living kit foxes to be found. Big Bend National Park is the homeland of Jumanos Peoples and later Apache Nations.

In the Santa Monica National Recreation area, a mother mountain lion and her two cubs are out hunting; at Big Bend National Park the Mama Kit fox is at her den with her newborn pups, who won’t emerge for about a month, while Papa Kit fox is out hunting for kangaroo rats to bring back to his family - until he finds himself suddenly MMMagicked to Los Angeles, California. The mountain lion’s sharp sense of hearing, smell, and vision help it hunt small prey, so the cougar notices the kit fox. Hunting smaller mesocarnivores is good hunting practice for the young mountain lion cubs, who start to stalk the kit fox. As the fox is sniffing around to get its bearings it registers the pounce of one of the cats and dodges away from the cub, who chases the fox as it runs full speed to the perimeter of the recreation area. The perimeter is adjacent to 8 lanes of traffic on a major highway; the fox darts into the traffic, but the mountain lions are city-savvy enough not to follow. The Annenberg Wildlife Crossing to the 157,700-acre Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation area has finally been approved, but not in time to save Papa Kit Fox. MOUNTAIN LION DEFEATS KIT FOX! Narration written by Danielle Lee; Summarized by Jessica Martin

Elk (6) v. Yellow-Bellied Marmot (11) - Cervus canadensis is a deer of many names. In Shawnee and Cree, this deer is called waapiti (Anglicized: wapiti) for its white rump patch. Notice, *deer* reader, that this is a distinct name from moose (origin: Narragansett, moos). When British settler-colonialists arrived in North America and saw wapiti they initially mistook C. canadensis for what they call elk. In Europe, an elk refers to what we in North America might call a moose. Wapiti are also distributed throughout Eurasia, but those are called red deer and have the Latin binomial (Cervus elaphus). When the British did come across North American moose, they went with the indigenous name moose and kept the wapiti as elk. There will be a quiz on this later. Wapiti are the second largest deer species and come in second only to the moose; they’re also the 3rd heaviest mammal in the US with females weighing 170-290kg and males weighing 178-497kg. The yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) weighs in much lower, ~3-5 kg for males and ~1.5-3.5kg for females. These cat-sized ground squirrels range throughout western North America from the Rocky Mountains to the Sierra Nevadas and White Mountains in California. Our Wild North America spotlight for this species is Great Basin National Park, which was designated a national park in 1986, but the Lehman Caves National monument within the park was designated a landmark 100 years ago, in 1922. The Great Basin National Park is home to the oldest known living non-clonal organisms on the planet: bristlecone pine. Our oldest known tree is more than 4,850 years old.

Today’s battle is in the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains, where a herd of wapiti are grazing. The wapiti here are relative newcomers: they were once abundant in the area, but overhunting by settler-colonialists caused the extinction of the North Carolina and Tennessee populations by the mid-1800s. In 2001, 25 elk were reintroduced to this valley and, after some struggle, were doing well enough to introduce more animals and lead to today’s total of more than 150 in the population. Our marmot finds himself at the edge of the herd, and the wapiti seem familiar, but something isn’t right: it’s much warmer here than it would be at this time of year in the Great Basin National Park. He doesn’t detect any predators, so he sits down on a rock to watch and wait. As the marmot considers where his group might be, a large male wapiti grazes ever closer, so when the marmot notices a groundhog burrow just outside the meadow he heads toward it and quits the field of battle. ELK DEFEATS YELLOW-BELLIED MARMOT! Narration written by Mauna Dasari and summarized by Jessica Martin.

Bighorn Sheep (7) v. Coyote (10) - Our first combaaatant is the Bighorn Sheep, which is named for the large, curving horns found on both males and females. Horns are sexually dimporhic and the males have thicker, longer horns. Horns are projections of boney cores covered in sheaths of keratin and are never shed from the skull. They continue to grow through life and are heavy: a large male’s horns alone can weigh more than 30lbs- almost 10% of his total body mass. The bighorn sheep is covered in short brown fur that helps it blend into the landscape of the arid mountain west. A wily old trickster, the coyote can be found throughout the continent and have been expanding to the northeast and into Central America with the historical loss of large predators. Coyotes’ daring do, intelligence, and prey flexibility allow them to exploit urban areas, and they’re a key study species in the growing research area of urban wildlife, see work of Prof. Chris Schell.

Tonight’s baaa-tle takes place in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation area. This park provides access to the rugged landscape surrounding the dammed Bighorn River. Once fully extirpated from this region, bighorn sheep were reintroduced in the 1970s and are now carefully managed to maintain a population of roughly 200 individuals. Although coyotes call this area home, our coyote has been brought here through MMMagic from Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. Quick to adapt to new environments, our coyote fixates on finding food. Laundré and Hernandez (2003) estimated that a western coyote needs to eat more than 1200 kcal/day. Using highly sensitive smell and ears, the coyote finds a pair of voles and, with a quick pounce and flash of teeth, scarfs them down. A sudden shift in the winds alerts the coyote to the presence of another animal. Higher on the slope is a true unit of a Bighorn Sheep… a large 8-year-old male with deep-curling horns. Like other rams this time of year, he is foraging in the winter range, on a south-facing slope with easier access to thawed out herbs (Festa-Bianchet 1988). Though coyotes will often hunt bighorn lambs, taking on a full grown ram takes some serious tactics and a partner to help take it down or tire it out by chasing it through the snow. The bighorn sees the coyote scheming and snorts, glaring at the coyote with a “try it and find out.” After a few more moments, the coyote makes the smart choice and leaves the bighorn alone to hunt more voles. BIGHORN SHEEP STARES DOWN COYOTE! Narration written by Brian Tanis and summarized by Jessica Martin.

Grey Wolf (8) vs Badger (9) - Grey wolf (Canis lupus) is the largest wild species of canidae,weighing up to 175 lbs. Wolves are famed for taking down larger prey when hunting in packs, but in some seasons wolves will hunt alone and catch medium-sized prey (Mech, 1974). Grey wolves were once found in almost all habitats in the Northern hemisphere, but have been intensely hunted by humans to prevent the loss of livestock (Mech,1974). In Scandanavia, European badgers (Meles meles) are the 3rd most common prey of wolves, after roe deer & moose, representing 8% of meat mass & 23% of individuals killed by wolves (Olssen 1997). Tonight's badger, Taxidea taxus, hails from Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area outside of Boise, ID. Snake River is home to the greatest concentration of nesting birds of prey in North America. The conservation area is also home to one of the nation's largest concentrations of badgers where they move earth to find rodent prey and create "badger mounds" in ~8% of the landscape - about 800 per hectare! (Eldrige, 2004). Our badger is only recently starting to make mounds again after spending much of deepest winter in long periods of torpor while prey was hibernating. As a result, the badger is a little less chonk and below top fighting weight of ~27lbs (Harlow, 1979).

Badger heads out from their den and instead of the familiar sagebrush steppe has been worMMMholed into the boreal forest of Superior National Forest in Minnesota. He begins to explore the land of pine, fir, and spruce trees and streams, rivers, and lakes. Meanwhile, a lone grey wolf is trying to find a mate before April and hunting medium sized prey on his own (Mech, 1974). Wolf hasn't eaten recently and smells the wind for a possible meal. Perhaps in the forest. Within the forest, badger is following a stream access path used by a beaver. Suddenly, wolf blitz ambushes Badger! Wolf uses tactics for attacking a beaver, grabbing him by the scruff and dragging him towards a service road (Gable et al, 2018). Badger's loose skin lets him snap at wolf and slash with his fossorial claws. Wolf drops badger, who runs into the woods. Wolf gives chase and bite-lifts badger, shaking him violently (Ballard et al, 2003). Badger continues to fight, biting wolf's thick neck fur (Ballard et al, 2003). Wolf drops badger again and jumps back. The badger again runs away. Wolf does not pursue this time, thinking a beaver might be a better ambush target (Gable et al, 2018). GREY WOLF DEFEATS BADGER! Narrated by Katie Hinde & summarized by Margaret Janz.

• #2022MMM Round 1 Wild North America Narration - PDF Version

  PDF of the #2022MMM Round 1 for Wild North America division play by play on twitter

• #2022MMM Round 1 Mammal Collectives - Read All About It!

  Printable Summary for the #2022MMM Round 1 of Mammal Collectives Division

Mammal Collectives Round 1: Lionesses, Pandas, Bats, Beavers, Lemurs, Wombats, Weasels, and Skunks ADVANCE!!!!

Pride of Lioness (1) vs Labor of Moles (16) - The hairy mole is not a very social animal. They prefer to spend time alone, digging tunnels and consuming worms, insects, spiders, slugs, and other creepy crawlers. Moles have adapted well to underground life (fossorial) of digging in darkness- they have reduced eyes and 6-digits on their hands. Unlike moles, lionesses are quite social, living in cooperative social groups with their sisters, their cubs, and some unrelated adult males that have shorter tenure in the pride. The lionesses are the heart of the pride, though, and tend to stay in their natal pride (the pride they are born into). Living in prides involves a lot of sharing, but working together allows lionesses to bring down much larger prey.

Our battle takes place in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, the ancestral home of the Baswara people. March is the end of the rainy season, much hotter than the cool temperatures the mole is used to in the eastern U.S., where their mating season has just begun. As the lionesses rest under a tree, one notices a kerfuffle nearby where two moles are fighting in an aardvark burrow. The exertion has the mole breathing heavily, despite having modified hemoglobin which means they can survive in very low oxygen, high carbon dioxide underground environments. The lioness wanders over and paws at the mole, who tries to retreat back to the dark cool underground world. The lioness pats again, and the mole's cylindrical shape means he rolls easily. She sniffs deeply at this plush object and sneezes at the unfamiliar odor. The mole again tries to retreat, but the lioness pats with her claws outstretched and again sends the mole rolling, bleeding through his velvety fur. Before he stops rolling the lioness pounces, landing with a lot of weight on both paws, squishing the mole badly. To not lose or share her mole meal as another lion approaches, lioness snaps up the mole, shearing his flesh with her carnassials. PROUD LIONESS LABORIOUSLY GULPS DOWN MOLE! Narration written by Anne HiIborn & Summarized by Margaret Janz

Embarrassment of Pandas (2) vs Town of Prairie Dogs (15) - The bold coloring of pandas and their lumbering, adorable appearance make them very popular but they aren’t usually found in large groups. As a herbivorous bear that consumes a lot of fiber, Giant Pandas have a 'mix of herbivore and carnivore traits' (Nie et al. 2019). Aspects of their skull, teeth, jaw muscles, & hands help them eat bamboo, but their digestive tract, enzymes, & gut microbes are still very similar to carnivores. The also adorable black-tailed prairie dogs are diurnal rodents that live in grassland areas of North America and weigh under 3lbs. Black-tailed prairie dogs maintain elaborate underground burrow systems of up to 30 feet of tunnels, nesting chambers, & mounds with dozens of entrances. Their large influence on the local ecosystem makes them a keystone species. Family groups (coterie) in these towns are closely-related natal females who inherit the burrow intergenerationally, 1-2 unrelated males, & their young. Coterie intensely defend their territories from incursions by neighbors, and hundreds to thousands of prairie dogs can live in towns of adjacent coterie burrows. Tonight's battle occurs in the largest remaining continuous habitat of the giant panda, and UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Wolong Nature Reserve in the Qionglai Mountains of China. March is the beginning of one of the Giant Panda breeding seasons that lasts until May. An adult male giant panda dines & reclines in a bamboo patch while more than 100 feet away, well out of sight in the montane forest, a female giant panda is similarly engaged. The town of prairie dogs are MMMagicked to the moist bamboo forest, without their elaborate and safe burrow systems. A juvenile prairie dog spots one of our giant pandas and sounds an alarm call. Usually within feet of their bolt hole, hundreds of prairie dogs begin rapidly searching for any subterranean hiding place! Indeed, female black-footed prairie dogs have never been away from their burrow their entire lives & become frantic. One prairie dog female gives a territorial bark "jump-yip" as an unrelated female bumps into her and "starts a chain reaction of jump-yips among black-tailed prairie dogs of the home and adjacent coteries" (Hoogland 1996). The giant panda is overwhelmed by the rodent intensity and stands up to depart for a more mellow scene, unintentionally squishing a prairie dog. The panda’s lumberinig movements escalate the terror of the prairie dogs who now scatter away from the bamboo grove in all directions, desperate to find anything reminescent of home. Soon the panda is again alone in the grove, unsure of what just happened. He awkwardly wipes off the remnants of what he'd stepped in. EMBARRASSMENT OF PANDAS DEFEATS TOWN OF PRAIRIE DOGS! Narration written by Marc Kissel & Katie Hinde & summarized by Margaret Janz

Herd of Reindeer (3) v. Cauldron of Bats (14) - Iconic of the “North Pole,” Rangifer tarandus have a circumpolar distribution, grazing and browsing the Arctic tundras, boreal forests, and mountains of both North America and Europe. Although the same species, R. tarandus are called caribou in North America, and referred to as reindeer (from Old Nordic) in Europe. For safety, reindeer can form herds and in spring, reindeer "ride the green wave" of nutritious plants north as the snow melts, as herds converge into “super herds” with hundreds of thousands of individuals. Herds of reindeer this large, however, are rare; in Norway today there are only ~25,000 total reindeer counting both wild & semi-domestic. Additionally these gregarious "superherds" move in tandem, but are not socially bonded mega units. Reindeer are culturally important for nomadic subsistence Eurasians such as the Sámi in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Russia. Today in Norway, reindeer herding & husbandry is still recognized and protected as a Sámi livelihood. Rather than large herds, the big-eared wooly bats (Chrotopterus auritus) form colonies of roughly 3 to 8 individuals. The big-eared wooly bat is the second largest bat in the western hemisphere, has a 2 foot wingspan, and are fierce hunters of lizards, doves, shrews, mouse opossum and even OTHER BATS!. Our bats find themselves transported via MMMagic to the snowy plains of Dovrefjell- Sunndalsfjella National Park in North-central Norway above a herd of reindeer. Confused by their surroundings, the bats circle the herd as reindeer forage for lichen beneath the snow. The reindeer aren’t worried about the bats, but they are worried about the sudden appearance of a lynx. A predator warning bellow springs the reindeer into action- creating a chaotic, swirling 'cyclone' of deer to disorient & confuse predators. Failed in ambush, the Lynx slinks away. Though the predatory threat is seemingly now gone, the reindeer "hoof it" slightly North to bed down away from a known predator presence... as the bats still flap above the field of battle CAULDRON OF BATS OUTSTAYS HERD OF REINDEER! Narration written by Alyson Brokaw and summarized by Jessica Martin.

Lodge of Beavers (4) vs. Prickle of Hedgehogs (13) - Adult Eurasian beavers, the second largest of all rodents, can weigh up to ~80lbs (13-35kg) and are nearly 4.5 feet long (73-135cm). A Lodge of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) includes a socially monogamous male & female pair and their young from the previous 1-2 years. The much smaller desert hedgehogs (Paraechinus aethiopicus) weigh under two pounds (400-700 grams) & are shorter than a foot long (14-23cm). Desert hedgehogs are distributed across Northern Africa & the Arabian peninsula. It’s Desert Hedgehog mating season in Qatar and the usually solitary female has two unfamiliar males both trying to court her as she attempts to go about her foraging. MMMagic transports the three of them to Beaver Dam Pond! The beaver family are noshing on aquatic vegetation near their lodge within the Saur River of Southeast Norway when they catch a whiff of a prickle of Desert Hedgehogs in their territory. The hedgehogs are well-known travelers within their desert ecosystem, but this lush habitat is very different from the xeric lands they came from. They have poor eyesight and are sniffing on their own for juicy bugs to devour. Eurasian beaver are very territorial. Beaver spring into action when they catch a whiff of the unfamiliar intruders. The big male swims over to the bank where the hedgehogs are approaching. The quills on hedgehogs' backs protect them from predators like owls & eagles, but it better watch out for the large razor-like incisors of the beavers. With the young safely atop the mound and the adult female beaver swimming nearby, the male beaver raises its heavy rudder-like tail up and slams it down hard against the surface of the water making a loud SLAP to warn intruders away. The female hedgehog immediately takes off running into the forest. The males go into defensive mode, tucking their tiny faces into their chests and curling into balls exposing their spiny backsides. Without a follow-up contact attack, the hedgehogs uncurl & once again chase after lady love. LODGE OF BEAVERS DEFEATS PRICKLE OF HEDGEHOGS! Narrated by Daniellee Lee & Summarized by Margaret Janz

Troop of Monkeys (6) vs Wisdom of Wombats (11) - Blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) troops work together to defend home ranges and resources against other troops, but these troops aren’t permanent, often splitting apart and not necessarily in ways that female kin stay together (matrilines). Actual Living Scientist, and co-narrator of this battle, Dr. Nicole González Thompson’s dissertation research showed that mothers who had strong but inconsistent relationships had worse survival than mothers with strong, consistent relationships OR mothers with consistently weak relationships (Thompson & Cords 2018). Common wombats, also called bare nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus), are the largest living wombat species at a hefty 55-88lbs, with short legs and squatty bodies, this marsupial herbivore can best be described as chonky. Common wombats are generally solitary, but have been known to share a burrow in overlapping territories. Tonight's battle takes place in Kenya's Kakamega National Forest. This tropical rainforest is a remnant of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest, which spanned much of central Africa. It's just before noon & a troop of 40 blue monkeys is lounging. Some monkeys are sunbathing while eating from previously gathered food stored in their cheek pouches, others are more actively foraging. Despite a large troop, very few monkeys are actually interacting w/each other. A common wombat emerges from their MMMagic portal burrow. Instead of the expected setting sun for its nightly grazing foray, wombat finds itself in the tropical rainforest. The confused wombat ventures out, suspicious of its surroundings. However, as soon as it's cleared its burrow, it hears something behind it… another wombat emerges from the burrow! And after it, another...and another! Soon, 4 wombats are standing in a little circle on the rainforest floor- 3 adults and 1 subadult! The adult wombats are all releasing low guttural growls at one another and gnashing their teeth. The commotion is drawing a crowd of curious juvenile blue monkeys down to watch fray from the lowest branches. The adult female Blue Monkey in charge of these impulsive younglings drops down as well. As she does, she sees a gaboon viper hungrily watching one of the young monkeys. Female blue monkey calls the alarm, sending the monkey troop off through the canopy, LEAFing swaying branches in their wake! WISDOM OF WOMBATS OUTLASTS TROOP OF MONKEYS Narration written by Mauna Dasari & Nicole Gonzalez Thompson & summarized by Margaret Janz.

Romp of Otters (5) v. Conspiracy of Lemurs (12) - Mongoose lemurs are found exclusively on the island of Madagascar, and this species in particular is found in the dry forests and scrubland of Northwest Madagascar. These lemurs live in small groups of a pair bonded male and female and their offspring. Unusually for primates, mongoose lemur activity patterns shift seasonally. They tend to be nocturnal during the dry season (May-Nov.) & diurnal during the colder wet season. Scientists call this variable activity pattern 'cathemerality'. Another animal that forms monogamous pairs for breeding, the smooth-coated otter lives in aquatic habitats in India and Southeast Asia. Highly social, smooth-coated otters often live in groups of nearly a dozen individuals. Tonight, a mongoose lemur family of 5 suddenly finds themselves in a mangrove stand in Kuala Selangor on the west coast of Malaysia. The lemurs see our otter group in the water, hunting, and mistake it for their tree-climbing predator- the fossa. But the tree canopy isn’t continuous and they can not arboreally flee! The group of otters is busy cooperatively hunting fish, swimming in a ‘V’ formation with the largest otters in the center, undulating to scare and disorient fish into jumping out of the water (van Helvoort et al 1996). Quickly catching the fish, the otters swim to shore and begin playing with their food- tossing the fish up a little and catching them head first to swallow in one piece! Food time was such fun the otters begin playing! Otters are rolling and chasing… and romping right off the battlefield! CONSPIRACY OF LEMURS OUTLASTS ROMP OF OTTERS! Narration written by Lara Durgavich and summarized by Jessica Martin.

Glaring of Cats (8) v. Sneak of Weasels (9) - The Black-Footed Cat, or Felis nigripes, is Africa’s smallest cat, tipping the scale at less than 4bs. Secretive and solitary, this itty bitty kitty is an expert at hunting small mammals and birds with an average rodent capture every 50 minutes in a night of solitary hunting. The Amazon weasel (Neogale africana) is smaller than the black-footed cat, but is South America’s largest weasel found along the Amazon river and its tributaries. Similar to other weasels and its relative the American mink, Amazon weasel has a long, slinky body with short legs and reddish brown coat. Tonight’s battle takes place in South Africa’s Karoo semi-desert, in the clearing outside Black-footed Cat's den. Den sites are fewer than they once were as black-footed cats rely on springhare burrows for dens, but humans perceive the rodent springhare to be a problem for agriculture & suppress the population. A few weeks ago Black-Footed Cat's deteriorating den, an old springhare burrow, had collapsed. Her two kittens, a typical litter size, did not survive. So she found a new den site until the next opportunity to mate. A lone aardwolf trots into the scene... toward the entrance of Black-Footed Cat's den… as three sets of weasel eyes watch from a scrub-shrubbery. The aardwolf gets closer to the Black Footed Cat's den... it's at the entrance... & slips into the earthen abode! Two weasels slither long & low across the slope to the den entrance, up over a rock & begin climbing a karee tree. Following the others, the slowest weasel ends up nose-to-nose with the black-footed cat, the felid sprints toward her den entrance... darts directly into the den… And squeezes past the aardwolf in the larger outer chamber to find her own sleeping spot further in the den system! The insectivorous aardwolf and the rodent-hunting Black-Footed Cat are not in competition or conflict and can, seemingly, hunker down as perfect strangers in shared den systems… beyond the field of battle. SNEAK OF WEASELS OUTLASTS GLARING OF CATS! Narrative written by by Katie Hinde and summarized by Jessica Martin

Skulk of Foxes (7) v. Stench of Skunks (10) - Today’s skulk is made up of bat-eared foxes (Otocyon megalotis). These small foxes weigh 3-5 kg and are found in grasslands and scrublands in southern and eastern Africa. The bat-eared fox's social lives- occasional sister wives, allogrooming, & inter-group sharing of termite nests- lends itself well to ending up in a skulk… and disease transmission, including canine distemper & rabies.This is a reminder to not feed wildlife. In addition to making them unafraid of people, which will only get them in trouble, concentrated food sources can lead to a bunch of sick animals! Our second combatant is the hooded skunk (Mephitis macroura) which is also small (about 2 kg) and found in grasslands, deserts, and pine forests in the Southwest US, Mexico, and Central America. The hooded skunk is MMMagically transported to the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania where it is following the scent of nearby termites. The skunk passes deathly quiet dens, entrances open in a pitch-black, silent wail. The skunk ignores picked over fox bones. Their waddling gait kicks up dust, exposing stickily-dried scraps of pale brown fur, bitten out in clumps. When the skunk arrives at the multiple small dirt mounds that mark active termite nests, it finds three other hooded skunks. Although not terribly sociable, skunks will tolerate co-feeding when there is enough food to go around. The Stench is complete. Also at the feeding ground is a family of seven foxes consisting of a vixen her kits, and her recently-died sister’s kits. The vixen, mistaking the hooded skunks for honey badgers, gets up, her front paws crossed. The vixen takes a few stumbling steps away. Abruptly, her spit-covered haunches collapse into the ground. Hooded skunks & foxes aren't strangers & rarely enemies, so the skunks move closer. One skunk moves too close. A kit lifts its nose moon-wards as if trying to touch its head to its back, paws a-tremble. Another arches its back & tail aggressively. But this kit doesn't flatten its ears, in normal bat-eared escalation. Instead kit charges, wet jaws snapping! The hooded skunk turns just in time, avoiding a bit to the face… but the kit snaps down on skunk’s fluffy tail. The hooded skunk stamps, lifting its tail high, preparing to spray...! The fox kit abruptly turns away, instead attacking their sibling, who is still frozen, twitching, in its eerie silent howl position. The fox kit jaw-locks onto the sib's muzzle & yanks them out of their stupor. A deep hissing-growl sounds, warning of danger, and calling the kits to the vixen. Together, the skulk of foxes stumble or limp from the termite nests, ceding the battleground. The stench of skunks remain, tails held warily high, a banner of white- but on one tail drips of blood red glow in the moonlight. STENCH OF SKUNKS SURVIVES SKULK OF FOXES! Narration and summary written by Asia Murphy.

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Why Not Both? Division Round 1: Walrus, Echidna, Serval, Pangolin, Therapsid, Salamander, Hairy Frogfish, and Swordfish ADVANCE!

Walrus (1) v. Lichen (16) - Walruses are pinnipeds: carnivorous marine mammals that are adapted for life at sea. Translated from Latin, pinniped means “fin foot.” Most marine mammals often have a thick layer of fat (aka blubber) that keeps them warm in the water; however, some marine mammals like sea otters have a dense coat of hair. When it comes to walruses, they have both blubber and fur! In the spirit of “why not both,” the Lichen is often described as a composite of 2 organisms that include a fungus and an algae (or cyanobacteria). Recently, #ActualLivingScientist Dr. Lichen (@TobySpribille) found that the one lichen-one fungus arrangement isn’t always true. Our rivals find themselves at Round Island, part of the Walrus Islands State Game Sanctuary managed by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. Our lichen dispersed as they can on the wings, er, foot of a bird, in this case, on the toes of a Pelagic Cormorant. As the lichen drops from the bird into the walrus colony, where our hulk of a walrus is in a bit of a bluster with another male. Walrus snort growls, sending the lichen wafting up in the air… to be sucked into the offshore air current, out to sea. WALRUS BLOWS LICHEN TO SEA! Narrated by Tara Chestnut & Summarized by Jessica Martin

Swordfish (2) vs Leaf Slug (15). Swordfish live in temperate and tropical waters from ocean surface to over a mile deep! To see the scarce food in these depths, they have massive eyes that require a lot of fuel. Many other fish at these depths are ectothermic (cold-blooded), and swordfish are too. But to keep their big eyes and sharp minds humming, they've adapted to be endothermic in these areas as well. Their brain and eyes can even be 10-15C warmer than the ambient temperature! That's one way to have heat vision! The Leaf slug has adapted a rather interesting diet: they eat animals, plants, AND and when food is scarce they can rely on… photosynthesis. The Leaf Slug normally grazes algae like a typical heterotroph, AND can sequester the chloroplasts from that algae and put them to work internally FOR the slug's benefit in an adaptation named kleptoplasty. These two combatants are meeting off Montauk Long Island, where swordfish enthusiastically dive for squid. Leaf slug is less impressed with the location, finding it cold and dark. Photosynthesis is much more effective in shallower waters. "Who put all these squid here?" leaf slug thinks as the swordfish comes slashing to strike squid with its bone hard sword. The impacts of the rapid thrashing of the Swordfish liquifies the wee sea slug. SWORDFISH DEFEATS LEAF SLUG! Narrated by Josh Drew & Summarized by Margaret Janz

Lungfish (3) v. Spotted Salamander (14) – The Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri) is thought of as a “missing link” showing the transition from water to land and is one of the most ancient still living (extant) vertebrates. Unlike the five other extant species of lungfish, Australian lungfish breathe air optionally (aka facultative air-breathing) with their one lung, but under normal conditions they get the oxygen they need from their gills. The Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) is an amphibian that is widely distributed throughout the US and prefers to live in burrows underground. In the spring, salamanders make their way back to the vernal pool they were born in to start the breeding season. Vernal pools are temporary habitats that form each spring due to rain or snow melt. Fish can't live in these vernal pools so the salamander eggs are safe from fish predation. The salamander eggs have a special algae that grows inside the eggs to help maintain a thick jelly coat that prevents water and oxygen from getting in, but also photosynthesizes more oxygen for the developing embryo. This makes the spotted salamander the only vertebrate - that we know of- with living microbes inside their cells.

The combatants find themselves under the light of the full moon at the Burnett River in Southeastern Queensland after a recent deluge of rain. A massive female lungfish is hungry and swims towards one of the banks where an Australian banyan is growing. At approximately 4 feet long, she has likely lived for the better half of a century and she is looking for some tasty ripe figs. In the buttress roots of the banyan, a 9 inch long salamander was on her way to lay eggs in her local vernal pool. While trying to get her bearings, the salamander is suddenly yanked backwards! The lungfish has mistaken the glint of the salamander tail for a fig. The spotted salamander sheds its tail by autotomy! The lungfish spits out the unexpected tail and swims off in search of a sweeter meal. SPOTTED SALAMANDER OUTLASTS LUNGFISH! Narrated by Mauna Dasari & Summarized by Melanie Beasley

Pangolin (4) v. Painted Redstart (13) - Weighing in at 35kg, the giant ground pangolin is the largest of the pangolins, and makes its home in forests and savannas in Central and West Africa. While pangolins are the only mammals covered in scales, they also have sparse fur on their underside. Sadly, these remarkable mammals are endangered by poaching. Meanwhile, in the mountains of Central America and up into SW United States, we find the painted redstart. This small bird uses a dual approach method to hunting: flushing and pursuing. The painted redstart will fan out its white outer tail feathers to startle insects (flushing) and then race after them (pursuing). Flashing the tail feathers triggers an anti-predator flee response...but the insects are directed right into the danger zone: the painted redstart's face! Our pangolin vs redstart battle takes place in a daytime, forest-edge habitat in Cameroon (as pangolins can be active both at night and during the day, because why not both?). The painted redstart is perched on a tree trunk flushing and pursuing insects; at the base of the tree, our pangolin is ripping up an old log full of yummy ants. With its robust forelimbs, the pangolin sends a piece of wood flying toward the redstart, who is forced to take off and forage in safety. PANGOLIN DEFEATS PAINTED REDSTART! Narrated by Kristi Lewton & Summarized by Jessica Martin

Serval (5) v. Lesser New Zealand Short-tailed Bat (12) – The serval (Leptailurus serval) is a 30-40 lb cat with dorsal stripes and spotty bodies found often closely associated with wetlands across sub-Saharan Africa. The genus name is derived from Greek meaning ‘fine, delicate cat’ and has the longest legs relative to body size of any cat. The lesser New Zealand short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculate; 'pekapeka' in Maori) is one of only two extant, native terrestrial mammals that is endemic to the islands of New Zealand. Though capable of flight, Pekapeka has "astonishing rodent-like agility on the ground" (Daniel 1979) with small talons on the inside curves of their thumbs & feet that give them a run-like gait. The Pekapeka do about 40% of their foraging on the ground with their tiny, sharp, insect-adapted teeth surrounding an extensible tongue tipped with hairlike papillae for lapping up nectar. The combatants meet in a gentle rain as the sun has just disappeared behind the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains, South Africa. Serval tiptoes around a vlei (shallow, seasonal lake) in the middle of its home territory, hunting for rodents. Pekapeka, newly arrived to this place, is unphased by the cool, wet weather, similar to that of its temperature rainforest home. March is peak courtship season for the Pekapeka, who scrambles over to a nearby log to broadcast his high energy, mutisyllabic song. Serval's large, oval ears twitch at the unusual sound. Ears forward, Serval begins to crouch, moving forward by slowly lifting one leg at a time, tail a "constant, nervous twitter" (Geertsma 1976). THUD! Spotted paws land a little too close to the Pekapeka, who launches into the sky from all four limbs. But the Serval pivots and springs straight up into the air, batting the Pekapeka back to the ground. Pekapeka tries to scramble away through the grass, but his wing sticks out at an awkward angle, making crawling through the thick, damp grass impossible. Serval’s canines crush through the Pekapeka’s skull! SERVAL SNACKS ON THE LESSER NEW ZEALAND SHORT-TAILED BAT (PEKAPEKA)! Narrated by Alyson Brokaw & Summarized by Melanie Beasley

Therapsid (6) v. Scansoriopterygid (11) - Lystrosaurus maccaigi is an extinct non-mammalian Therapsid. Lystrosaurus maccaigi belong to the group which hosts the origin of true mammals but they themselves are not directly related to mammals. Lystrosaurus maccaigi is a dicynodont aka ‘two-dog-tooth’, due to their prominent two tusks. Dicynodonts had a toothless beak that like a turtle or triceratops, so they are the only group to have BOTH a beak AND tusks. Their tusks were ever-growing and when damaged the tusks could heal (Whitney et al. 2019). The small Yi qi belongs to the family Scansoriopterygidae. Yi qi means “strange wing” in Mandarin. Scansoriopterygidae is made up of 4 species of climbing and gliding dinosaurs, only two of these species developed a gliding membrane (patagium). Yi qi had both a membrane-based wing AND feathers. New studies reveal that it was unlikely that Yi qi was a flier, but rather an “obligate glider” (Dececchi et al. 2020). MMMagic transports Yi qi to the ever-warming late Permian, 255 million years ago in what is today Karoo National Park, South Africa. The Permian plants and animals are foreign to Yi qi, who is ~100-million-years away from home. As a glider Yi qi’s instinct is to climb high in the tropical lushness of a large glossopteris seed tree fern. Yi qi begins to preen its feathered body, but it hears a high-pitched rattle and sees a large shadow. It's a Meganisoptera! Resembling a dragonfly, the late Permian griffen fly has a wingspan as big as Yi qi’s! Startled, Yi qi glides to the ground landing in some muddy tracks that makes Yi qi’s membrane muddy and feathers sticky. Yi qi climbs up a swaying Dicroidium (a shrub like seed fern) to preen its feathers again but the swaying intensifies. CRACK! A large, fanged beak pushes through the foliage and crops the entire branch beside Yi qi! Its Lystrosaurus maccaigi out for a snack! Yi qi goes to glide, but its membrane and feathers are muddy and Yi qi only falls to a lower branch. Lystrosaurus maccaigi spots the struggling Yi qi and Lystrosaurus' large beak wraps around the muddy feathered body of Yi qi! CRUNCH CHOMP GULP! The glider is opportunistically eaten by the largely herbivorous Lystrosaurus. THERAPSID SNACKS ON SCANSORIOPTERYGID! Narrated by Yara Haridy & Summarized by Melanie Beasley

Hairy Frogfish (7) vs Hairy Frog (10). Fair warning: This matchup gets a little...hairy. Actually, it won't be hairy at all as neither of these combatants actually has true hair. The hairy frogfish gets their name from the spinule structures that cover their body camouflage as it moves through rocky, sandy, or coral reef habitats by walking on its fins along the seafloor. The hairy frog gets a hairy appearance from the modified gills, called papillae, that males develop during breeding season Hairy frogs spend more time in the water during breeding season & the papillae increase oxygen uptake so that males can engage in energetically expensive activities like mating & egg guarding. In this region the rainy season has recently begun and hairy frog is not so hairy at the moment. Tonight MMMagic transports the Hair Frog offshore of Cameroon in Western Africa to water much deeper than he’s used to. As the frog swims he notices a wriggling worm nearby... It’s a lure that frogfish has on their front-most dorsal fin! Within 6 milliseconds of predatorily approaching the worm the hairy frog has been sucked into hairy frogfish’s mouth! Our hairy frog contracts his muscles to break bones in his feet, allowing his 'claws' to emerge through his skin- but too late- GULP- hairy frogfish esophageal sphincter springs closed as the hairy frog is doused in digestive fluids of the hairy frogfish’s stomach. HAIRY FROGFISH CONSUMES HAIRY FROG! Narrated by Lara Durgavich & Summarized by Margaret Janz

Muntjac (8) v. Echidna (9) – The muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) is a small deer weighing up to 21 kg found throughout South/Southeast Asia from lowland rainforests to hilly Himalayan slopes. The muntjac has antlers AND tusks! Antlers are great defensive shields in male-male combat. But big antlers are very easy to get tangled in vegetation, which you don't want to do when you're a small forest-dwelling snack for tigers. And leopards. Dholes. Jackals. The list goes on. Meanwhile, tusks are the best for a vicious offense, slicing & stabbing (& not getting tangled in undergrowth). But they can't protect you from another muntjac's tusk. So BOTH.

Weighing 4-5 kg, the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) is a common mammal throughout much of Australia. The echidna lays eggs (not-so-mammalian trait) and produces milk (distinctly mammal trait). Echidnas are classified in the order Monotremata, which means "one hole". This refers to a cloaca (found in reptiles & birds), which is a single opening for all things waste & reproduction related. The combatants meet in the morning on the home turf of the muntjac at Ujung Kulon National Park on the Island of Java, Indonesia. Muntjac is resting from a bout of pre-dawn browsing. Thunder rumbles above the lowland rainforest canopy, while a nearby river, fed by yesterday's storms, roars. Muntjac keeps his ears pricked for any prowling predators while chewing regurgitated leaves. Short-beaked Echidna ambles through the screen of grass surrounding Muntjac! Muntjac leaps up, prepared to bolt, a dog-like bark in his throat, when he realizes that it is no predator, but something rather small & spiky. Short-beaked Echidna freezes, sensing a threat, then shoves its face into the soft ground. Echidna projects its large, modified hair-spines while hunkering close to the ground, protecting its soft underbelly. Echidna's spines remind the deer of the Indian porcupine, a species Muntjac has learned to avoid. Muntjac departs the field of battle. ECHIDNA OUTLASTS MUNTJAC! Narrated by Asia Murphy & Patrice Kurnath Conners & Summarized by Melanie Beasley

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Queens of Sea and Sky Round 1: Orca, Sea Snake, Map Turtle, Octopus, Parrot, Sea Eagle, Fruit Bat, and Monk Seal ADVANCE!!

Orca (1) v. Common Prawn (16) - Though they’re often called a “Killer Whale,” orcas are actually dolphins! Orcas got the misnomer because they hunt large whales, such as the blue whale. Orcas are easily recognizable by their distinctive black and white coloring. An orca’s teeth curve back and can be up to 13 cm in length (My, what big teeth you have!). But wait! Don’t scrimp on the shrimp - common prawns don’t have big teeth, but they are in an order of crustaceans that all have ten legs: the decapods. Common prawns are found in coastal areas of Northern Europe; the females are larger than males and take longer to mature.

And the common prawn had its work cut out for it today! MMMmagic transported our common prawn to the waters of the Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest, where an orca matriarch is leading her pod in pursuit of the salmon. As an apex predator, the orca isn’t particularly interested in our shrimpy friend; but at an average depth of 140 meters, our common prawn was feeling “out of its depth” and it used its 10 legs to scuttle-swim away. ORCA OUTLASTS COMMON PRAWN! Narrated by Marc Kissel & summarized by Jessica Martin.

Hawaiian Monk Seal (2) v. Iberian Ribbed Newt (15) - The Hawaiian monk seal is an endangered, non-migratory seal found only in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Adult Hawaiian monk seals are dark gray to brown on their back and light gray to yellowish brown on their belly. Female Hawaiian monk seals are a “big deal” since they’re often larger than males and can reach up to 600 pounds!

Meanwhile, our chunky (for a newt) friend the Iberian ribbed newt is found in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. They’re brown-gray in color and have orange-ish poison glands along their ribs that can stick out when threatened. Yikes! The Iberian ribbed newt lives in small or temporary ponds with deep, calm water - when ponds dry, newts migrate across land when it’s raining to find a new pond. Our new(t) friend finds itself on a remote beach on Kaua’i, one of the oldest islands of the Hawaiian archipelago, where our monk seal is camped out on a rocky beach at low tide. As our ribbed newt appears on the rocks it notices gulls and other predators that often eat newts circling overhead, so it quickly makes its way to a dark hole in a rock that looks safe but is the mouth of the yawning seal! The newt deploys her last anti-predator defense: she flattens her body, secretes a sticky substance, and rotates her ribs to protrude out of her body. The protruding ribs deliver venom to the monk seal, who spits the newt out and straight into some rocks. As the newt loses its vision and the monk seal’s head begins to wobble, the RIBBED NEWT PERISHES AS HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL … ADVANCES? Narrated by Tara Chestnut & summarized by Jessica Martin.

Common Map Turtle (5) v. Northern Jacana (12) - Map turtles get their common name and their scientific name, Graptemys geographica, from the lines on their bodies which look like the topographic contour lines on a map. Map turtle females can grow to be twice as large as males. Since bite force increases with body size, females can pack more wallop. The Northern Jacana ranges throughout Central America and the Caribbean. The Northern Jacana female has a territory that includes multiple males half her size that do the parental care of chicks. Map turtle has home habitat advantage along the lower Lamoille River in Vermont at the turtle's hibernation grounds. Alarmed at being alone, the jacana quickly searches for her peeps by walking on the reedy banks with the help of her elongated toes, which displace her weight so that she doesn’t sink. As the jacana searches, the map turtle suddenly rises from the depths of the river where it has been submerged for the past 5 months! Startled by the turtle, the jacana takes to the air to find her way home. COMMON MAP TURTLE DEFEATS NORTHERN JACANA! Narrated by Brian Tanis and Mauna Dasari & Summarized by Jessica Martin

Macaroni Penguin (6) vs. Eclectus Parrot (11). In this Aves vs. Aves battle, the first is the lovely and hydrodynamic Macaroni penguin. Her name refers to her eccentric yellow crest that offsets her black and white body. She outweighs her male counterparts during breeding, making her a real Queen of the Polar Seas. Eclectus parrot is also smaller than our macaroni penguin - about a hundred times smaller, in fact! She’s a tropical parrot whose mostly red feathers, with purple and orange highlights, are quite distinct from the mostly green males of her species. For once the female is the plumage bird! Our birds find themselves on South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic Sea - quite a shock to eclectus parrot. This island is much colder than she’s used to - with average temperatures around 0 degrees celsius. The parrot searches for a place to warm up while macaroni penguin decides to celebrate the end of a successful breeding season to leave the turf for some surf and a fresh seafood dinner.. Our penguin dives into the water… right into the clutches of a leopard seal! Eclectus parrot has beaten the odds and finds shelter from the storm.. ECLECTUS PARROT OUTLASTS MACARONI PENGUIN! Narration by Dr. Patrice K. Connors & Summarized by Margaret Janz

Steller’s Sea Eagle (3) vs Dobsonfly (14): Steller’s Sea Eagle -not to be portmanteau'd to seagull please- is the heaviest of eagles, with females weighing in at 9 kg, 50% heavier than males. Stellar’s sea eagles sport a large, yellow hooked beak that's great for eating fish. These birds are typically found in northeast Asia where some consider them to be keystone species. Confronting the Sea Eagle is our 14 seed, the Dobsonfly. Although the Sea Eagle might have a few (many) stoatweights on this insect, the fly has quite a few teeth on this bird. Dobsonfly larvae and adult females can draw blood with their impressive bite. Ouch! Our combatants today are near the Kennebec River in Maine, USA. That's correct, the 2022 Sea Eagle combatant is that famous vagrant kicking it in New England. Dobsonfly is feeling pretty good about finding a salmon carcass to land on. Soon though the Sea Eagle lands on the very same fish! Dobsonfly is startled but not defenseless. She emits a foul smelling anal spray. But the eagle is undeterred and rips into her good fish dinner, with dobsonfly seasoning. STELLER'S SEA EAGLE TEARS APART DOBSONFLY! Narration by Chris Anderson & Summarized by Margaret Janz.

Arctic Tern (7) vs Indian Fruit Bat (10). Arctic Terns have the longest migration of any bird, chasing an endless temperate summer traversing 40,000-60,000 miles globe from Artic summer to Antarctic summer each year. Arctic Terns experience 80% of the Earth's yearly sunlight. These white and silver birds have a gold medal in protecting their nests: their aggressive dives have drawn blood and repelled polar bears. The Indian fruit bat live across southern Asia and can be found in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, southern China, Borneo, Malaysia, & India! Indian fruit bats are also dedicated mothers who nurse up to two pups at a time, carrying them continuously the first few weeks after birth. From mom’s foraging and their strong sense of smell, young learn to identify delicious fruits, like figs.

March kicks off the migration period for our Arctic tern, who's flying Northwards over the South Atlantic on her way to Svalbard. MMMmagic, the Indian fruit bat and her week old pup are transported from a snuggly warm bedtime to a cold, bright free fall over the ocean! Mom wastes no time sending out distress calls which seem to bring in… a friend perhaps? SWOOSH. Nope, our Arctic tern is focused on reaching her Northern breeding & nesting grounds for the short window she has to reproduce. INDIAN FRUIT BAT OUTLASTS THE ARCTIC TERN! Narration by Alyson Brokaw & Katie Hinde & Summation by Margaret Janz

Blanket Octopus (4) v. Angler Fish (13) The Blanket Octopus is 150cm in width and spends her days feeding on pteropods and small fishes. Basking in sunny waters exposes the octopus to the threat of tropic birds from above, and blue sharks from below. The octopus’s opponent for this evening is the Angler fish, which has traveled over a kilometer up from the depths of the ocean. The Angler fish is 15cm and has a remarkable ability to expand its jaws to eat, and normally uses bioluminescent bacteria in her esca to lure her prey to the doom of her gape. Our battle takes place 100km east of Picard Island, part of the Aldabra Atoll in the Indian Ocean, where the sun is bright and the water is both clear and warm. Unaccustomed to the brightness now that she’s closer to the surface, the angler fish is disoriented and suddenly finds herself in the tight embrace of the blanket octopus. BLANKET OCTOPUS DEFEATS ANGLER FISH! Narrated by Josh Drew & Summarized by Jessica Martin

Olive Sea Snake (8) v. Hagfish (9) - In the shallow, tropical waters around Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Australia we find the Olive Sea Snake. These snakes are large, robust, and well-muscled, but the females of this species are larger than males and reach up to 5.5 feet. The Hagfish, an “eel- like fish that is boneless, jawless, and sightless;” they reach just over 2 feet long and are sexually dimorphic with the females generally being larger than males. Hagfish are widely found across coastal areas of temperate ocean waters. Tonight our combatants are in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park near the carcass of a Humphead wrasse. the hagfish prefers colder water and the sea snake often avoids the sandy open areas, the wrasse carcass is a siren call as food for hagfish and bait for the fish Sea Snake hunts. With her attention focused on the hard work of knotting her entire body to bite into the carcass, the hagfish doesn’t realize that the sea snake is present until the snake bites down on her tail and delivers venom. As a counter-defensive, the hagfish releases slime to jam up the snake’s breathing gills, but the sea snake can hold its breath for two hours and isn’t deterred. Despite the hagfish’s slime capabilities, she’s no match for the sea snake venom; after sliming lose the mortal coils of the snake, Hagfish drifts to the ocean floor and with the last of her energy she burrows into the sandy substrate and the OLIVE SEA SNAKE SLAYS PACIFIC HAGFISH! Narrated by Katie Hinde & Summarized by Jessica Martin

• #2022MMM Round 1 Queens of the Sea and Sky narration - PDF version

  PDF of the #2022MMM Round 1 for Queens of the Sea and Sky Divison play by play from Twitter

Who won the 2022 March Mammal Madness?

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