The Alligator Gar

0:38 Welcome back to Wild and Kind Kids, y'all. Before we meet today's animal, let's get moving. So I want you to duck down wherever you are and pretend you're a fish swimming underwater. Can you all do that? Swim. Swim. Swim. Now I want you to rise up toward the surface of the water. Lift your head out and gulp.

1:06 Gulp. Take a great big gulp of air.

1:10unknown Oh!

1:11 Nice! Now I want you to dive back down. Swim. Swim. Swim. Well, Lincoln, don't go under the table. Alright, come back up to the surface. Now gulp. One more giant gulp of air. But wait a second. I said you were a fish. Why are you gulping air? Don't fish rely on gills and stay underwater? What kind of fish would come to the surface to gulp air?

1:41 Let's get learning. I'm Carrie, and I grew up on a zoo. I'm Lincoln.

1:49 I'm Eliza. And we're the world about animals.

1:54 Welcome to the Wildcott Kids Podcast. Lincoln and Eliza. Hello.

2:03 Hi Mom.

2:04 You guys, I am so excited for today's animal. It was requested by our listener, Paul, who, rumor has it, might be having a birthday this month.

2:15 Happy birthday to you. Hi, Paul.

2:19 Let's see if our listeners can get it in three. Clue number one. This is one of the largest freshwater fish in North America.

2:28 Hmm.

2:29 They have hard scales that lock together to work like armor. They are named for their snout, which looks a lot like a reptile, the alligator. Alright, you all know what it is. Alligator gar! Nice! Yes, you got it. What a cool suggestion, Paul. The alligator gar has a long body, almost like a torpedo or a barracuda.

2:59 It's usually olive or brownish on top and lighter underneath. And as we said, it's covered in these hard diamond-shaped scales. And their head. Okay, y'all, this is where their name comes from. They have this long, wide, alligator-like snout that is filled with sharp cone-shaped teeth, including, get this, two rows of teeth along their upper jaw.

3:27 And the alligator gar can get huge. Alligator gar can grow to be more than eight feet long and weigh hundreds of pounds. That means the biggest ones are longer than your grown-up is tall. They might even be longer than your couch, y'all. That makes them one of the largest freshwater fish in North America.

3:51 Now, alligator gar live in rivers, lakes, bayous, and other slow-moving waters in parts of the southern United States and into Mexico. They especially like big warm waterways where the current moves nice and slow, but they can live in salt water and even brackish water, which is water that's saltier than freshwater, but not quite ocean salty.

4:17 Who's ready to go looking for one?

4:19 Not me. Not me.

4:22 Oh, alright. Let's hear some facts instead. Lincoln and Eliza, what can you tell us?

4:28 Alligator gars can breathe air. They have gills, but they can also gulp air.

4:35 They can. Now, most fish get oxygen from the water using gills. And alligator gar do have gills. But they have another trick. They have this super cool swim bladder. Many fish have swim bladders. They work like internal balloons that hold gas and help keep the fish afloat. But the gar swim bladder also works like a lung.

5:01 It's connected to their throat, so an alligator gar can swim to the surface and gulp, swallow some air, and use the oxygen from that air. Now this can be especially helpful when they're hanging out in those warm, slow-moving waters where there might not be as much oxygen dissolved in the water. They can survive in places that other fish just can't.

5:27 Because two ways to breathe? Pretty handy. What else, y'all?

5:33 The alligator gar comes with its own garmo.

5:37 Well, they do wear armor. Oh, garmer. I see what you did there. Clever girl. Yes, they have garmer. Now, most fish have overlapping scales that help protect their bodies while still letting them bend, twist, and turn through the water. But the alligator gar is covered in these hard, interlocking, diamond-shaped scales.

6:06 Now, if you've ever seen the mesh that's under a suit of armor, it's kind of the same idea. That mesh is made of interlocking rings that make it super tough. And get this the outside of each alligator gar scale is covered in a hard material that's similar to the enamel on our teeth. So take a second.

6:30 Kind of tap your teeth. Pretty hard, right? Now, these scales aren't completely indestructible, but they are so tough that predators with powerful jaws can have a hard time biting through them. And we humans have taken advantage of that over time. We've used them to make jewelry, armor for ourselves, or even arrowheads.

6:57 Alright, y'all, how about one more fact?

7:01 Alligator gar eggs are poisonous, so I wouldn't go looking for them and eating them.

7:07 Yup. Female alligator gar can lay thousands and thousands of eggs at a time. Those eggs are sticky, so they attach to plants and other things underwater. But here is the really wild part. Those eggs contain a toxin. That means they're poisonous if certain animals, including animals like us, eat them.

7:32 Scientists think that toxin might help protect the eggs from hungry predators before the baby gar hatch. So if you're ever thinking, hmm, alligator gar caviar? Nope. Think again. Leave those eggs exactly where they are. So, y'all, we have a fish that can survive in water with very little oxygen, has its own armor, and lays poisonous eggs.

8:02 Is it any wonder the females can sometimes live nearly 100 years in the wild? Amazing. Now it's time to meet one up close in our story of the day. Deep in the warm, muddy waters of Louisiana lived a young alligator gar named Shimmer. Shimmer made her home in a quiet backwater connected to the mighty Mississippi River.

8:39 Cypress trees stretched their knobby roots into the water. Reeds crowded the muddy banks, and dragonflies zipped above the surface. And underneath it all, Shimmer glided. Alongside her very large family. There was Mama Gar, Papa Gar, Auntie Gar, Uncle Gar, and approximately four hundred cousin Gars. It was just easier to call them all that.

9:15 Okay, maybe not four hundred, but it felt like four hundred. And then there was Grandma Gar. Now Grandma Gar didn't move as fast as she used to, but she told the very best stories. That was one of the many reasons that Shimmer loved to swim beside her. One morning, Shimmer and Grandma were swimming through the shallows when Shimmer bumped straight into a sunken branch.

9:54 She looked down at the hard scales covering her body. Not even a scratch. It's a good thing you've got those scales, Grandma said. Shimmer looked at Grandma's scales. They looked just like hers.

10:11 Wait a minute.

10:13 Grandma smiled. Runs in the family. Shimmer looked closer. Grandma did have the same kind of scales. And the same long, wide snout, and the same big, powerful tail.

10:29 Did I get my snout from you too?

10:32 Runs in the family.

10:34 My tail?

10:36 Grandma opened her mouth.

10:38 I know, I know. Runs in the family.

10:42 Just then Grandma swam toward the surface. Gulp. Shimmer stared.

10:51 I do that.

10:53 Grandma smiled. Wait, that too runs in the family. Shimmer's eyes narrowed.

11:03 How much stuff runs in this family?

11:07 Grandma flicked her tail. Oh little gar, you have no idea. And that was when grandma told her about generations and generations of gars, stretching back millions of years. Small gars, big gars, gars as far back as anyone could imagine. Shimmer's eyes grew wider and wider.

11:34 How far back are we talking?

11:37 Grandma thought. Shimmer froze. Dinosaurs? Dinosaurs. Shimmer imagined it. Giant creatures stomping along ancient river banks, making the trees shake and the water ripple. And beneath that water, ancient fish that looked a little bit like her, with hard scales, long snouts, and even gulp. Shimmer suddenly felt amazing.

12:26 She wasn't just Shimmer. She was Shimmer, first of her name, daughter of the mighty Gar, heir to the ancient waters, descendant of millions of years of fish. She swam home feeling ten feet long. Which was impressive, because Shimmer was definitely not ten feet long yet. But then, as she swam, a little thought crept into her head.

13:04 Her scales from her family. Her snout from her family. Even her incredible air gulping trick from her family. Shimmer stopped swimming. If everything special about her came from someone else, what made her special? And for the first time all day, runs in the family didn't feel quite so exciting. The next few days were hot.

13:41 Really hot. The sun beat down on the river, and the water dropped lower and lower. Until one afternoon, splash, splash. Shimmer stopped. What was that? She followed the sound toward the muddy river bank. And there, just beyond a tangle of sticks and plants was a puddle. A big puddle. And inside it a tiny school of fish.

14:13 They were swimming in frantic little circles.

14:17 We're stuck.

14:19 Very stuck. Is it getting warmer in here?

14:23 Yes, Fred, it is.

14:25 Shimmer looked closer. The puddle had once been connected to the river, but as the water dropped, a tangle of fallen branches, sticks, and plants had become wedged between the two. Now the little fish were trapped on one side, and the deeper, cooler river was on the other. Shimmer swam toward them. Giant fish Everybody stay calm.

14:56 I am not calm.

14:59 Shimmer ignored the shouting. She needed to get those little fish back to the river. But how? She pushed her way into the tangle of sticks. Her hard scales rubbed against the branches. It was a good thing she had those scales. Runs in the family, she thought. It was taking longer than she expected. She surfaced.

15:23 Gulp. She took in a breath of fresh air. Another old family trick. Then she studied that jumble of branches again. Maybe she could push them aside. She shoved her long snout against a thick branch. But nothing. She tried another. Still nothing. The branches were tangled together too tightly. Shimmer backed away.

15:52 Her tail drooped. Maybe there wasn't a way through. She looked at the little fish who were watching her now.

16:01 Is she giving up?

16:03 I don't think so. We're doomed. Fred. Shimmer wasn't ready to give up. Not yet. She paused and she watched. And that's when she noticed a tiny leaf. It was floating in the water beside her. But here was something strange. The leaf hadn't come from the river. It had slipped through the sticks next to the puddle.

16:34 Shimmer looked closer. There, she had almost missed it. Near the bottom of the tangle, two branches had left a tiny opening. Just big enough for a trickle of water to squeeze through. And maybe, just maybe, big enough for Shimmer's snout. She swam toward the gap. She wedged the tip of her long snout between the branches.

17:01 The sticks wiggled, she pushed harder, one branch shifted. The opening grew a little wider, and then a little stream of water began flowing from the puddle toward the river. Shimmer's eyes widened. It was working! She backed up, swished her powerful tail, and pushed one more time. A branch broke loose.

17:29 Water poured through the opening. Mud swirled. And suddenly the gap was wide enough for the little fish to swim through. One by one, they darted out of the puddle and into the deeper river.

17:45 We're free.

17:47 Shimmer did it.

17:48 Thank you, giant fish.

17:51 Her name is Shimmer, Fred. Shimmer beamed. That evening, Grandma found Shimmer beneath the roots of an old cypress tree. I heard something about you today, she said. I heard you did something wonderful. Shimmer stared at the mud.

18:12 It wasn't really me.

18:14 Grandma settled beside her.

18:17 My scales got me through the sticks. My snout move them. Even gulping air. That was all stuff I got from everyone else.

18:29 Grandma was quiet for a moment. And then she asked, Did your scales notice the leaf? Shimmer looked up. The little leaf. Did your scales notice which way it floated?

18:44 No.

18:45 Hmm. Grandma swished her tail. Did your snout decide where to push? She asked. No. Hmm. Did your swim bladder decide not to give up? Shimmer almost smiled. No. Grandma nodded. Then she started to swim away.

19:10 Wait.

19:12 Grandma turned.

19:14 Then who did?

19:16 Grandma paused for a moment. Shimmer sat very still. She thought about the leaf. She had noticed it. She thought about the sticks. She had chosen where to push. And when it hadn't worked the first time, she decided to keep trying. Shimmer looked at her body. It was true. Parts of it came from a family that stretched back farther than she could even imagine.

19:47 But those parts were hers now. And what she did with them? That was hers too. Shimmer looked up. Was it me? Grandma smiled. Sounds like it. Shimmer swam out from beneath the roots. She looked across the river. She was carrying a story that had started millions of years before she hatched. But today she had added something to it.

20:20 Shimmer swam toward the surface. Gulp. Grandma surfaced beside her. Gulp. Shimmer grinned.

20:30 Friends in the family.

20:33 Grandma grinned back. Then Shimmer flicked her tail and splashed her grandmother's head.

20:41 But that part was me.

20:47 In today's story, the part of Shimmer was played by Eliza. Carrie played Grandma Gar. Lincoln played Fred. And John did the voice of the other fish. Like always, today's story has a real science connection. Now, would a real alligator gar rescue a school of fish by busting through a wall of sticks? Probably not.

21:15 That's where we added a little story magic. But Grandma Gar was right about something pretty amazing. Gars come from a very ancient family of fish. Scientists have found fossils of ancient relatives of Gars that lived more than 100 million years ago. And scientists know that because of fossils. Fossils are the remains or imprints of an animal that lived long ago.

21:46 And scientists can compare these ancient fossilized fish with gars living today. And they have found some pretty incredible similarities, including those hard, armor-like scales and those long bodies we talked about earlier. Now that does not mean that an alligator gar swimming around today is exactly the same as a fish that lived 100 million years ago.

22:11 Animals change over time. But alligator gar are part of a family with a very long history on Earth. So when Shimmer looked at her scales and thought about all the generations that came before her, she really was carrying a very long family story.

22:30 Just like all living things are.

22:39 This week, our mission is inspired by something that really happened to alligator gar. Now, for a long time, people saw these huge fish with their long snouts and their mouths full of sharp teeth, and they thought, yikes. Some people believed that alligator gar were bad for rivers because they ate other fish, including fish that people wanted to catch.

23:05 And so for many years, people actually tried to get rid of them. But as scientists learned more about these ancient predators, they realized that gar weren't simply bad fish. They're a natural part of the ecosystems they live in. And they have been, as we said, for a very long time. So today, people are working hard to protect the alligator gar and even bring them back to places where they once lived.

23:35 Which brings us to this week's mission.

23:38 Don't fear the gar, learn who they are.

23:42 Yes. Now it could be the alligator gar or something else, but this week I want you to choose an animal that people sometimes think is scary or creepy or gross or maybe just a little weird. Maybe it's a spider, a snake, or something completely different. And I want you to get to know it. Find out one cool thing about that animal or one way where it helps the neighborhood where it lives.

24:09 Then tell somebody what you learned. Because sometimes an animal seems scary until we understand it a little better. So this week.

24:19 Don't fear the gall, learn who they are. Before we go, it's time for wild and kind trivia.

24:30 Last week, we shared a riddle about an animal we haven't covered yet. Let's re-listen.

24:37 I have eight legs, but I'm no spider small. I'm hairy and mighty, but not very tall. I hide in the rainforest high up in a tree. And sometimes eat birds though insects suit me. I'm one of the largest spiders you'll see.

24:59 We were thinking of the Goliath bird-eating tarantula. I love these guys. These giant arachnids are the largest spiders in the world with very large fangs. And they can eat birds, but despite their name, they are more likely to be caught eating insects, frogs, lizards, and rodents. And one day, y'all, I cannot wait to do an episode on them.

25:27 But for now, how about another riddle to test your animal smarts? Lincoln?

25:34 I'm tiny and fluffy, with eyes big and bright. My furry skin stretches as I glide through the night. No wings or feathers, just a built-in cape to wear. In Japan's forest trees, I can soar through the air. What animal am I?

25:53 Debate it with your family and tune in next time to hear the answer. See you then, long time kids.

26:03 This podcast is produced by John, also known as Lincoln and Eliza's dad. If you're enjoying these adventures, please subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Leave us a review and tell your friends. To find a coloring sheet for today's creature, explore more episodes, or request an animal for a future story, visit wildandkindkids.com.

26:30 You can also find us on Instagram at Wild and Kind Kids Pod. Thanks for exploring with us, friends. Until next time.

26:42 And your curiosity wild.