Why do we harvest horseshoe crab blood? - Elizabeth Cox
Adults AnimalsDuring the warmer months, especially at night during the full moon, horseshoe crabs emerge from the sea to spawn. Waiting for them are teams of lab workers, who capture the horseshoe crabs by the hundreds of thousands, take them to labs, harvest their cerulean blood, then return them to the sea. Why? Elizabeth Cox illuminates the incredible properties of horseshoe crab blood.
Dog Retirement Home | Silver Muzzle Cottage // 60 Second Docs
Adults AnimalsIn Elk Rapids, Kim Skarritt runs the Silver Muzzle Cottage, Michigan's only dog hospice. Many of the dogs there were lifelong pets who've since been abandoned. So far, she's taken in 93 rescue dogs, some even near death. Despite their circumstances, her team works overtime to make up the love and care these dogs deserve. And once a week, the canines visit human seniors in their own retirement home -- sharing yet more unconditional love with another community that needs more of it.
Will the ocean ever run out of fish? - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet
Adults AnimalsWhen most people think of fishing, we imagine relaxing in a boat and patiently reeling in the day's catch. But modern industrial fishing -- the kind that stocks our grocery shelves -- looks more like warfare. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Jennifer Jacquet explain overfishing and its effects on ecosystems, food security, jobs, economies, and coastal cultures.
Art Aquarium: Hidetomo Kimura's fishy installation
Adults AnimalsOne of Tokyo's most popular summer attractions features LED light displays, impressive glass sculptures, an immersive soundscape and, most importantly, thousands of sea creatures. Japanese artist Hidetomo Kimura's Art Aquarium combines the movements of about 5,000 goldfish with light shows, beautifully crafted fishbowls, and projection mapping.
Dog Hair Clothes | Knit Your Dog // 60 Second Docs
Adults AnimalsJeannie Sanke of Evanston, Illinois, knits with one of the world's most unusual materials: wool from dog hair. A proud mom to multiple dogs, Jeannie realized one day that their endless supply of hair didn't have to go to waste -- then picked up her drop spindle and started to knit. Now she sells these completely cruelty-free clothes in her Etsy shop, Knit Your Dog, where people pay her as much as $800 for a dog hair sweater.
The ferocious predatory dinosaurs of Cretaceous Sahara - Nizar Ibrahim
Adults AnimalsIn Cretaceous times (around 100 million years ago), North Africa was home to a huge river system and a bizarre menagerie of giant prehistoric predators -- including the Spinosaurus, a dinosaur even more fearsome than the Tyrannosaurus rex. Nizar Ibrahim uses paleontological and geological data to reconstruct this "River of Giants" in surprising detail.
Why are sloths so slow? - Kenny Coogan
Adults AnimalsSloths spend most of their time eating, resting, or sleeping; in fact, they descend from their treetops canopies just once a week, for a bathroom break. How are these creatures so low energy? Kenny Coogan describes the physical and behavioural adaptations that allow sloths to be so slow.
Why do animals have such different lifespans? - Joao Pedro de Magalhaes
Adults AnimalsFor the microscopic lab worm C. elegans, life equates to just a few short weeks on Earth. The bowhead whale, on the other hand, can live over two hundred years. Why are these lifespans so different? And what does it really mean to 'age' anyway? Joao Pedro de Magalhaes explains why the pace of aging varies greatly across animals.
The three different ways mammals give birth - Kate Slabosky
Adults AnimalsAll mammals share certain characteristics, like warm blood and backbones. But despite their similarities, these creatures also have many biological differences - and one of the most remarkable differences is how they give birth. Kate Slabosky details the placental, marsupial, and monotreme methods of giving birth.