Are naked mole rats the strangest mammals? - Thomas Park

Get to know the extraordinary, bald and buck-toothed naked mole rats and how their traits make them suited to survive harsh conditions. -- What mammal has the social life of an insect, the cold-bloodedness of a reptile, and the metabolism of a plant? Bald and buck-toothed, naked mole-rats may not be pretty, but they are extraordinary. Thomas Park explains how mole rats' peculiar traits have evolved over millions of years to make them uniquely suited to survive harsh conditions - especially long periods without oxygen. Lesson by Thomas Park, animation by Chintis Lundgren. Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/are-naked-mole-rats-the-strangest-mammals-thomas-park Visit TED-Ed's shop to pick up t-shirts, totes, mugs and more featuring characters from your favorite TED-Ed Animations: http://bit.ly/2IWAKWE Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Michał Friedrich, Arlene Spiegelman, Doug Henry, Alick Au, denison martins fernandes, Hashem Al, Daniel Nester, Richard A Berkley, Benjamin Chan, Dee Wei, Abdallah Absi, Dominick Biolsi, Denise A Pitts, Pi Guanghui, Doris, Kurt Almendras, Raymond Lee, Nicolas Silva, Tsz Hin Edmund Chan, Melvin Williams, Eric Monarrez, Tirath Singh Pandher, Athena Grace Franco, Terry Minion, Ian McPherson, Mauricio Basso, Kelvin Lam, Jamesbo87, Tara Frost, Karlee Finch, Chumi Ogbonna, Barthélémy Michalon, Lefty McGoo, Lucas Pincerato, Prefer Anonymous, Mohamed Elsayed, Ankur Deshwal, Pawan Kumar, Amin Shahril, Mihail Radu Pantilimon, Chris Thompson, Derek Drescher, Karisa Caudill, Diana Habashneh, Zhong Ming Zenny Tan, Christina Salvatore, Brady Jones, Todd Gross, Alexis Hevia, Heidi Stolt, Daisy Trujillo, Robert Seik, Coenraad Keuning, Charles A Hershberger, Alan Wilder, and Laura Cameron Keith.