00:01
So there are a couple different adaptations that animals in the arctic use to keep their feet warm.
00:05
For example, you have what's called countercurrent exchange.
00:11
And basically, this is when you have hot blood coming from the heart and going down the arteries.
00:18
So you see that here.
00:19
And then you have cold blood going up the leg toward the heart in the veins.
00:24
Now, if the foot is in contact with ice, that means that this bottom of the foot is going to be really cold.
00:29
So you're not going to want hot blood to come in contact with this really cold surface because it can cause extreme issues with body heat regulation.
00:40
So instead, what happens is the animals cool down this blood.
00:45
And then as it's going back up, it actually takes the heat from this artery and transfers it to this vein blood.
00:56
So this actually starts to get slightly warmer so that the rest of the leg is warm, but this blood is cold...