Frogs have been hopping the planet for more than 350 million years; evolving into some of the most wondrous, diverse and beloved animals on earth. Suddenly, they're slipping away. Some say it's the greatest extinction since the dinosaurs. Ecosystems are beginning to unravel and medical cures are vanishing. It's a global crisis, mobilizing scientists around the world to stem the tide, before the next frog crosses the thin green line.
Australia's bushfires that tore through Victoria in 2009 incinerated over a million acres of land, including mountain ash forest ecosystems. The immediate aftermath of this firestorm was devastation, millions of animals died. But burned and traumatized survivors nursed back to health at wildlife hospitals showed an ability to bounce back, and the damaged environment demonstrated an extraordinary capacity for healing itself.
Exotic beauty, outrageous intelligence, and remarkably advanced language skills have made parrots one of the world's most popular pets. But unlike dogs and cats, parrots have not been domesticated. Their hard-wired ear-shattering squawks, and unpredictable behavior are designed for the rainforest, not for captivity. An intense need to bond, complex emotional lives, and the ability to reach ages of up to 80 or 90 years complicate the equation further. Sooner or later, many owners come to the conclusion that they have taken on a more difficult challenge than they can handle, and turn to already overcrowded shelters and sanctuaries for help.
Animals dance, sing, flirt, and compete with everything they've got to find and secure a mate. For many, the all-important bonds they share as a couple are what enable the next generation to survive. But can we call these bonds love? In this delightful, provocative look at the love life of animals, we see the feminine wiles of a young gorilla, the search for Mr. Right among a thousand flamingos, the open "marriages" of blue-footed boobies, the soap opera arrangements of gibbons, and all the subtle, outrageous, romantic antics that go into finding a partner. These are love stories all right, as various and intriguing as the lovers themselves.
In anticipation of the 25th anniversary of the historic nuclear accident at Chernobyl, filmmakers and scientists set out to document the lives and genetics of packs of wolves and other wildlife thriving in the "dead zone" which still surrounds the remains of the reactor.
From birth to weaning, from territorial disputes to courtship and mating, from brush fires to drought, gum trees are what determine a koala's success or failure, survival or mortality. This film will explore the remarkable bond between the koala and the eucalypt trees it so depends upon.
My Life as a Turkey is the account of an amazing experiment: Naturalist Joe Hutto incubates two dozen wild-turkey eggs with the intention of human-imprinting and raising them. But the relationship that develops between the author and the birds changes his life so that he wonders who has imprinted whom.