WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.671 - Can we talk paleontology? 2 00:00:01.671 --> 00:00:02.504 - Well, yeah! 3 00:00:02.504 --> 00:00:03.480 - I know lots of people have questions-- 4 00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:04.313 - Absolutely. 5 00:00:04.313 --> 00:00:05.980 - About, yep. 6 00:00:05.980 --> 00:00:08.260 - Yeah! Just to tell you a little bit 7 00:00:08.260 --> 00:00:10.640 about paleontology and caves. 8 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:15.451 Caves sometimes have very large openings and they go deep, 9 00:00:15.451 --> 00:00:17.635 And they provide a stable environment, 10 00:00:17.635 --> 00:00:20.923 the same temperature and humidity, 11 00:00:20.923 --> 00:00:24.562 and sometimes a lot of animals, large animals and small, 12 00:00:24.562 --> 00:00:28.645 will use the cave as shelter, to hide, or to live 13 00:00:29.542 --> 00:00:31.482 throughout, or just to hang out 14 00:00:31.482 --> 00:00:34.658 and then go outside and bring in dinner. 15 00:00:34.658 --> 00:00:36.283 So, with this, 16 00:00:36.283 --> 00:00:39.018 one of the animals that is found in caves 17 00:00:39.018 --> 00:00:41.018 is a giant ground sloth. 18 00:00:43.105 --> 00:00:47.286 This is a claw, one claw, similar to your fingernail, 19 00:00:47.286 --> 00:00:49.683 or like a cat claw or whatever, 20 00:00:49.683 --> 00:00:52.933 and this was from a giant ground sloth. 21 00:00:54.985 --> 00:00:56.578 These animals became extinct 22 00:00:56.578 --> 00:01:00.185 somewhere around ten thousand years ago, 23 00:01:00.185 --> 00:01:01.705 and they think that humans 24 00:01:01.705 --> 00:01:04.655 actually over-hunted them, because they're large 25 00:01:04.655 --> 00:01:06.765 and slow and they were easy to catch. 26 00:01:06.765 --> 00:01:08.595 Plus, since they were so big, 27 00:01:08.595 --> 00:01:11.205 they threw a really big BBQ all the time, 28 00:01:11.205 --> 00:01:13.481 so it could feed a lot of people. 29 00:01:13.481 --> 00:01:15.156 - That's what I was picturing. 30 00:01:15.156 --> 00:01:17.166 - And so, another animal 31 00:01:17.166 --> 00:01:22.166 that is also found in caves and is big, is an elephant. 32 00:01:22.386 --> 00:01:24.336 Remember I mentioned elephants before? 33 00:01:24.336 --> 00:01:28.086 Mammoths and mastodons did not live in caves, 34 00:01:29.096 --> 00:01:31.456 but the animals that predated on them, 35 00:01:31.456 --> 00:01:34.381 or would capture them and kill them, 36 00:01:34.381 --> 00:01:38.031 would actually bring body parts in 37 00:01:38.031 --> 00:01:39.224 to feed its family. 38 00:01:39.224 --> 00:01:41.653 So, we'll find a lot of this 39 00:01:41.653 --> 00:01:44.236 fossil material from elephants. 40 00:01:45.964 --> 00:01:48.541 - Have we ever found any fossilized toothbrushes? 41 00:01:48.541 --> 00:01:50.119 Cuz that thing is huge. 42 00:01:50.119 --> 00:01:52.989 - Um, no, not yet. But we'll keep looking. 43 00:01:52.989 --> 00:01:54.482 (laughter) 44 00:01:54.482 --> 00:01:56.096 - You keep on digging. 45 00:01:56.096 --> 00:01:57.938 Thank you so much, Barb. 46 00:01:57.938 --> 00:02:00.318 Another online question. 47 00:02:00.318 --> 00:02:04.628 This actually is from some of our friends in Ohio. 48 00:02:04.628 --> 00:02:06.383 From Maddux, a third grader 49 00:02:06.383 --> 00:02:10.693 from Absorbent Minds Montessori School in Ohio. 50 00:02:10.693 --> 00:02:13.053 The question is, do you collect rocks in caves 51 00:02:13.053 --> 00:02:14.005 and sell them? 52 00:02:14.005 --> 00:02:16.380 Do you do the same with fossils? 53 00:02:16.380 --> 00:02:18.277 - Oh, no, we don't. 54 00:02:18.277 --> 00:02:20.065 - No, not at all. 55 00:02:20.065 --> 00:02:21.915 - Barb, you wanna talk about fossils? 56 00:02:21.915 --> 00:02:23.335 - Oh, well, sure. 57 00:02:23.335 --> 00:02:26.265 It actually depends on who owns the cave. 58 00:02:26.265 --> 00:02:27.525 So, if it's federal-- 59 00:02:27.525 --> 00:02:31.245 owned by or managed by a federal land management agency-- 60 00:02:31.245 --> 00:02:34.162 that means the cave belongs to you. 61 00:02:35.015 --> 00:02:37.925 And so, we do not sell any fossils 62 00:02:37.925 --> 00:02:40.092 or anything from the cave. 63 00:02:41.161 --> 00:02:43.925 However, if it's from a private cave-- 64 00:02:43.925 --> 00:02:45.508 private ownership-- 65 00:02:46.345 --> 00:02:48.615 then they may make that decision 66 00:02:48.615 --> 00:02:51.782 to sell material that's from the cave. 67 00:02:52.685 --> 00:02:55.985 But otherwise, for fossils, that's the answer. 68 00:02:55.985 --> 00:02:59.426 - We like the Leave no Trace Principles, right? 69 00:02:59.426 --> 00:03:00.995 So, leave everything where you found it. 70 00:03:00.995 --> 00:03:03.635 Don't take anything out of the cave with you. 71 00:03:03.635 --> 00:03:06.255 Have no impact other than just your footprints. 72 00:03:06.255 --> 00:03:09.563 So, in Forest Service and National Park Service caves, 73 00:03:09.563 --> 00:03:11.618 leave everything where it is. 74 00:03:11.618 --> 00:03:12.618 Appreciate it where it is 75 00:03:12.618 --> 00:03:13.948 so that somebody coming after you 76 00:03:13.948 --> 00:03:15.308 can do the same thing. 77 00:03:15.308 --> 00:03:18.774 - And be sure not to touch the formations 78 00:03:18.774 --> 00:03:20.856 because they're very sensitive 79 00:03:20.856 --> 00:03:22.396 and the oils from your hands 80 00:03:22.396 --> 00:03:26.196 can prevent those stalagmites or stalactites from growing. 81 00:03:26.196 --> 00:03:28.746 So, we want to be very careful when we're in a cave 82 00:03:28.746 --> 00:03:31.656 not to knock down things, not to break things. 83 00:03:31.656 --> 00:03:34.546 And if we see somebody that is breaking things, 84 00:03:34.546 --> 00:03:36.086 let an adult know. 85 00:03:36.086 --> 00:03:37.436 Let a park ranger know, 86 00:03:37.436 --> 00:03:40.776 or Forest Service park employee, 87 00:03:40.776 --> 00:03:44.506 so that they can, you know, do the right thing. 88 00:03:44.506 --> 00:03:47.063 Because we need to protect those resources 89 00:03:47.063 --> 00:03:48.484 for future generations.