Animals Videos - The Documentary Network

Taxidermists

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 14:25:00 +0000

For some, taxidermy is a practice about art, science and a love of wildlife. There is something supremely uncanny about taxidermy: the hyperrealism of its representation makes the inanimate seem animate, and – for some – uncomfortably real. That sense of eerie realness is the exact quality that makes for a superior piece of taxidermy – the kind that wins awards at the World Taxidermy Championships. Nicole Triche’s short documentary provides a balanced look at an uncommon profession, addressing the relationship between taxidermists, animals and nature, and the practitioners’ struggles to be taken seriously as artists.

Swimming with sharks

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 16:14:11 +0000

We head to the Bahamas to monitor tiger sharks, the largest predatory shark in the tropics. Spending five days and nights on a floating lab at Tiger Beach, a team of scientists - led by research assistant professor Neil Hammerschlag at the University of Miami - attempt to tag and track around 20 tiger sharks to learn more about their habitat. With around 100 million shark deaths every year, aggressive overfishing has threatened some species to extinction, despite the sharks playing a crucial role in the health of our oceans. The sharks are killed for their fins, flesh, and liver and conservationists have become increasingly alarmed by the low number of pregnant tiger sharks visiting the beach. "As an apex predator, meaning that nothing eats them, they live at the top of the food pyramid and play an important ecological role. When you remove that large predator there can be this domino effect on other members of the community," Hammerschlag says. We join the experts, who use innovative technology to trace the sharks' movements and habits, as they find new ways to protect the species. We also explore the relationship between the crew members on the floating lab and how they've come to view sharks despite their reputation as a menace of the seas.

California’s Sea Lion Die-Off

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 11:40:30 +0000

Thousands of sick sea lion pups are washing up ashore and dying along the California coast, with over 3,100 pups reportedly becoming stranded in 2015 so far — an amount greater than the reported strandings from 2004 to 2012 combined. Scientists believe that warming ocean temperatures and changes in availability of their prey are likely contributing to this unprecedented spike in deaths. And as sea lion mothers are forced to travel further offshore to find food, many pups are left to fend for themselves. VICE spoke with the California Wildlife Center in Malibu about the challenges of keeping up with the thousands of sick and starving sea lion pups washing up along the coast, as well as what this crisis means for the overall health of the ocean, and the future of the sea lion population.

Tackling The Global Honey Bee Crisis

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 20 May 2015 13:04:36 +0000

The world is experiencing a global bee crisis, with Australia the only country not yet affected. With bees responsible for almost a third of the food on our plate, this is a crisis that could affect us all. In the winter of 2013, Europe saw its bee populations fall by 53%. This year the US has seen populations fall by 42%. Astonishingly, Australia is the only country in the world where the bee population continues to thrive. As commercial beekeepers are pushed out of business elsewhere, Australian bees are exported to pollinate foreign farmlands. However, the fate of Australian bees hangs in the balance. It seems that the bee crisis is intricately tied to the way we have changed our planet. Preventing the migration of the varroa mite from Asia remains the biggest challenge: "Once that arrives here, we'll have about three to five years before the massive collapse of potentially commercial beekeeping", explains breeder Tiffane Bates. In an attempt to save the bees, scientists are now trying to breed resistant bee populations, and understand the complex genetics of the hives. This insightful report reveals the fascinating and secret lives of bees, and explores the ground-breaking methods being used to preserve them.

Chicken factory farmer speaks out

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 15:15:04 +0000

After 22 years of raising chickens for Perdue, one brave factory farmer Craig Watts was at his breaking point and did something no one has done before. He invited us, as farm animal welfare advocates, to his farm to film and tell his story.

The Real Planet of the Apes

Documentary.net staff — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 16:20:09 +0000

Travel to remote Liberia to discover 'Monkey Island,' an area inhabited solely by former lab tested chimpanzees who survived disease and two civil wars. We go to the island, interview the locals and meet the scientists involved in the testing facility 25 years ago. The Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research, also known as Vilab II, was funded by the New York Blood Center, shut down in the mid-2000s following growing pressure from activists looking to end the use of chimpanzees for research. Now the lab's apes live on a series of islands that were originally set aside for their retirement. In this documentary, made possible by the new Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, our team treks deep into Liberia to visit the island and investigate the legacy of the researchers who called it home.

In the Wild – Dolphins With Robin Williams (1994)

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 12:33:21 +0000

Playful, gentle and inquisitive, dolphins are among the most endearing of wild animals - and Robin Williams may be their perfect human counterpart. Williams, whose adventure takes him to the Bahamas and Hawaii, talks with research experts and attempts to communicate with dolphins in captivity. In the wild, he frolics with 60 spotted dolphins and forms a special kinship with one older dolphin. This entertaining and touching program reveals Robin Williams as the hilarious performer we know, and as a curious, sensitive investigator. PBS's In the Wild series follows famous actors as they travel to remote locations, accompanied by zoologists and guides, in order to meet and greet their favorite wild animals. This episode finds Robin Williams hamming it up for the camera as he swims in the ocean with a pod of 60 spotted dolphins, and attempts to communicate with dolphins in captivity.

Planet Ocean

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 15:49:24 +0000

he film narrates the most marvelous and also the most terrifying human experiences of our time. Filmed in extreme geographical conditions all over the globe, it describes the modern Odyssey of people who go out to discover their blue planet. Can we imagine a film that would change the way people look at the ocean? Can we explain simply, to everyone, the greatest natural mystery of our planet? And lastly, can we help our children believe in a better and more sustainable world tomorrow? This is the triple challenge of a new cinema adventure signed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand and editor- in-chief Michael Pitiot, who brings with him the scientific missions of TARA, a unique pool of researchers, oceanographers and biolo- gists from several countries. Thanks to its astonishing photography, the film takes us on a magnificent and unprecedented journey into the heart of the least known regions of our planet. The film is also a plea for humanity to respect the world in which we live. It serves a noble and universal cause that will be defended at the next Earth Summit, in Rio, in 2012.

The secret life of plankton – by Tierney Thys

Documentary.net staff — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 15:25:49 +0000

New videography techniques have opened up the oceans' microscopic ecosystem, revealing it to be both mesmerizingly beautiful and astoundingly complex. Marine biologist Tierney Thys teamed with Christian Sardet (CNRS/Tara Oceans), Noé Sardet and Sharif Mirshak to use footage from the Plankton Chronicles project to create a film designed to ignite wonder and curiosity about this hidden world that underpins our own food chain.

Sick chicken: what you need to know and what the government won’t tell you

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 24 Jul 2014 11:54:49 +0000

A Guardian undercover investigation exposes conditions inside the chicken factories that supply some of the biggest supermarket and fast-food chains in the business, including KFC, Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Marks & Spencer and Nando's. Find out why the drive for cheaper chicken is making more than 250,000 of us sick every year. Three of the UK’s leading supermarkets have launched emergency investigations into their chicken supplies after a Guardian investigation uncovered a catalogue of alleged hygiene failings in the poultry industry. Undercover footage, photographic evidence and information from whistleblowers has revealed how strict industry hygiene standards to prevent the contamination of chicken with the potentially deadly campylobacter bug can be flouted on the factory floor and on farms.

Zoochosis – The living conditions of animals in captivity

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 18:46:44 +0000

Ensuring a good welfare for animals housed in zoos, is not an easy job. It might not even be something we will ever really get a perfect grip on. Animal species have evolved over many years and their physical, physiological, social and behavioral traits have been developed in order for them to survive as best as they can in their natural environment. In captivity, animals may face a number of challenges which evolution has not prepared them for and disables the animal to fulfill their behavioral needs. The absence of these, climate, diet, the size and characteristics of their enclosure or the fact that they have to rely on humans for their every need can cause an animal to feel stressed in which it starts to perform a stereotypic behavior. Repetitive, abnormal behavior is often regarded as an indicator of poor welfare and is studied as a coping mechanism, and measures of stress which can potentially go on to cause brain dysfunction. I believe, that the display of abnormal behavior patterns are not recognized enough by the public eye. That is why I have decided to make this documentary to educate you about what lies behind these stereotypic behaviors which we can easily identify, but might not have given a further thought about, or brought a negative judgement upon when visiting the zoo. The study of stereotypic behavior is complicated with many important factors that determines the health of a captive animal. 'Zoochosis' will bring you the whole picture of how animals experience living in a stressful and unnatural environment, and how it effects their mental and natural life.

Natural Genius: Lights, Signals and Mirrors

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 18:35:07 +0000

Color, light and movement, properly combinated, can produce messages. Some symbols are universal, however other visual languages are issued and understood only by a few species, and are like a secret code only for their eyes! Reflecting the light a thousand ways, some of them by night, others by day, color becomes words. Colors and feelings. The man does too, and we call it art.

An Inside Look at the Exotic Animal Trade

Documentary.net staff — Mon, 19 May 2014 18:30:17 +0000

Wildlife trafficking is estimated to be a $19 billion per year global business, surpassed only by black-market sales and trafficking of drugs, humans, and firearms. In the United States, regulation of private ownership of exotic animals is determined by each state, allowing for loopholes and oversight. Animals are bought and traded through auctions, backyard breeders, illicit online sales and more. The industry is growing right in our backyards. We travel to Ohio to rescue a cougar, then to Texas for an exotic livestock auction and undercover visit to a gaming ranch where the animals are sold and hunted for up to $15,000 a piece.

The Jellyfish That Holds a Key to Immortality

Documentary.net staff — Wed, 07 May 2014 15:34:59 +0000

By reversing its aging process when it gets sick or injured, Japan's tiny Turritopsis dohrnii jellyfish is one of the only known animals that has figured out how to defeat death. We travel to Japan to visit the only researcher in the world who is studying the microscopic animal to see if humans can eventually do the same.

Amazonia: The price of life

Documentary.net staff — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 12:24:20 +0000

In this film we will look at the paths followed by biopirates to steal brazilian nature. Follow in the footsteps and latest Fiscalização Department of IBAMA, in their fight against international trafficking of species. We will see several different operations confiscation of specimens by the aforementioned department, risky operations on many occasions, and where our camera has been at the forefront. Finally, whether the impunity with which they move through the world and of course in our country, animal traffickers.