| [00:00.00] | It's home to a living fossil, |
| [00:02.09] | a relict, |
| [00:03.42] | barely changed for over 100 million years. The tuatara. |
| [00:07.91] | And half the world's population survive on this one island refuge. |
| [00:12.89] | During the reign of the dinosaurs, |
| [00:14.42] | the ancestors of the tuatara were everywhere. |
| [00:17.62] | They survived the cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, |
| [00:21.07] | but then couldn't compete with the mammals and died out. |
| [00:24.95] | Everywhere, except on what was then a mammal-free New Zealand. |
| [00:29.28] | Unlike mammals, |
| [00:30.63] | tuatara live life in the slow lane. |
| [00:34.68] | Days can pass when they barely move a muscle. |
| [00:37.99] | Sometimes taking just one breath an hour. |
| [00:41.49] | They feed on wetas, |
| [00:43.25] | beetles and other invertebrates |
| [00:45.60] | but don't appear very good at catching them. |
| [00:48.30] | Even after millions of years of practice, |
| [00:50.65] | eye-mouth co-ordination is not what it could be. |
| [00:53.86] | "Survival of the fittest" just doesn't seem to apply here. “ |
| [00:58.49] | The tuatara's survival, |
| [01:00.15] | first on New Zealand, |
| [01:01.33] | now on Stephens Island, |
| [01:02.75] | proves a point - islands are pretty safe places to be, |
| [01:06.81] | at least until invaded. |
| [00:00.00] | It' s home to a living fossil, |
| [00:02.09] | a relict, |
| [00:03.42] | barely changed for over 100 million years. The tuatara. |
| [00:07.91] | And half the world' s population survive on this one island refuge. |
| [00:12.89] | During the reign of the dinosaurs, |
| [00:14.42] | the ancestors of the tuatara were everywhere. |
| [00:17.62] | They survived the cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, |
| [00:21.07] | but then couldn' t compete with the mammals and died out. |
| [00:24.95] | Everywhere, except on what was then a mammalfree New Zealand. |
| [00:29.28] | Unlike mammals, |
| [00:30.63] | tuatara live life in the slow lane. |
| [00:34.68] | Days can pass when they barely move a muscle. |
| [00:37.99] | Sometimes taking just one breath an hour. |
| [00:41.49] | They feed on wetas, |
| [00:43.25] | beetles and other invertebrates |
| [00:45.60] | but don' t appear very good at catching them. |
| [00:48.30] | Even after millions of years of practice, |
| [00:50.65] | eyemouth coordination is not what it could be. |
| [00:53.86] | " Survival of the fittest" just doesn' t seem to apply here. " |
| [00:58.49] | The tuatara' s survival, |
| [01:00.15] | first on New Zealand, |
| [01:01.33] | now on Stephens Island, |
| [01:02.75] | proves a point islands are pretty safe places to be, |
| [01:06.81] | at least until invaded. |
| [00:00.00] | It' s home to a living fossil, |
| [00:02.09] | a relict, |
| [00:03.42] | barely changed for over 100 million years. The tuatara. |
| [00:07.91] | And half the world' s population survive on this one island refuge. |
| [00:12.89] | During the reign of the dinosaurs, |
| [00:14.42] | the ancestors of the tuatara were everywhere. |
| [00:17.62] | They survived the cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, |
| [00:21.07] | but then couldn' t compete with the mammals and died out. |
| [00:24.95] | Everywhere, except on what was then a mammalfree New Zealand. |
| [00:29.28] | Unlike mammals, |
| [00:30.63] | tuatara live life in the slow lane. |
| [00:34.68] | Days can pass when they barely move a muscle. |
| [00:37.99] | Sometimes taking just one breath an hour. |
| [00:41.49] | They feed on wetas, |
| [00:43.25] | beetles and other invertebrates |
| [00:45.60] | but don' t appear very good at catching them. |
| [00:48.30] | Even after millions of years of practice, |
| [00:50.65] | eyemouth coordination is not what it could be. |
| [00:53.86] | " Survival of the fittest" just doesn' t seem to apply here. " |
| [00:58.49] | The tuatara' s survival, |
| [01:00.15] | first on New Zealand, |
| [01:01.33] | now on Stephens Island, |
| [01:02.75] | proves a point islands are pretty safe places to be, |
| [01:06.81] | at least until invaded. |
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