Tag archives for People
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More than 400 years ago on a remote pacific island,a marooned island faced an apocalypse with no chance to escape. This is the story of Easter Island. Their civilization evolved in total isolation until the first European landed there on Easter Sunday in 1722. Islanders used its timber to erect their 80-ton statues and sustain…
Academics have long believed that this dramatic change of evolutionary pace is the result of discovering how to domesticate plants and animals. Farming allowed us to settle down, which in turn gave us time to think, to create and to invent. That led to the first civilizations and eventually to who we are today. Now,…
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The following is an excerpt from Associate Producer Ari Abitbol’s on-location production journal for the new series Amish: Out of Order: I flew out to Columbia, MO on June 8, 2011. I arrived not knowing what to expect. Okay, I’m here to produce a show about the Amish and the ex-Amish but I wasn’t even…
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National Geographic Channel is excited to announce we have greenlit a brand new series called ‘American Gypsies’ from Stick Figure Productions. Meet the Johns family, one of Manhattan’s most prominent Gypsy families, who are struggling to preserve their age-old customs amid the vices and virtues of the city. Witness the inner workings of the Gypsy…
The Shroud of Turin, an alleged relic of the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion, is to miracle-researchers what the Zapruder film is to JFK assassination conspiracy-buffs. The herringbone linen sheet, 14 feet three inches by three feet seven inches, contains a faint image that some believe is the frontal and dorsal impression of Jesus’ body made after…
Shortly after the news of Osama bin Laden’s death broke on Sunday evening, a boisterous crowd of college students spontaneously gathered outside the gates of the White House. As this local TV news video shows, the revelers brandished flags, chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” and even did a creaky, off-key rendition of the National Anthem. “We killed…
Comparisons to Hitler are a tricky and even dangerous thing, since the sheer enormity of the Nazi dictator’s crimes against humanity—in particular, his effort to exterminate an entire group of people, the Jews—and the virulence of his hatred tend to diminish even the most monstrous evil done by others. Yet there’s an inescapable, almost unsettling…
There are six newly- recognized dog breeds debuting at the Westminster Kennel Club’s 135th Annual All Breed Dog Show in New York City next week. Get to know these pageant pooches and pick your faves for Best in Show! Bluetick Coonhound “Blueticks are scent hounds… they hunt in the swamps of North Carolina,” owner Susan…
Temperatures and tensions rise as summer starts at the DeYoung Family Zoo. With crowds pouring in, Bud and Carrie struggle to keep up. Their to-do lists grow longer and longer by the minute. And Emo, an inbred white tiger, must be neutered to protect future generations from genetic defects. Bud and Carrie struggle to prepare…
© Jim Edds As we all know (especially Nat Geo Wild fans!), wildlife cinematography can be absolutely breathtaking, allowing us entry into an exotic world few humans get to experience first hand. But how did these images come to be? Who made them and under what conditions? Well, behind every camera is a person, and…
When I was a kid, my dad took me to the aquarium to see beluga whales. I was instantly enamored with their glistening silvery-white bodies, loud vocalizations and charming social behaviors. It’s been about thirty years since that day, but last weekend I finally had the chance to get closer to white whales. Along with…
© JWM Productions For more than two decades the DeYoung Family Zoo in Wallace, Michigan has been home to animals from across the globe. The owners of the zoo, Bud and Carrie, work hard to not only display exotic creatures, but also care for the region’s neglected and abused animals – a massive and never-ending…
The black widow – found in every U.S. state except for Alaska – is North America’s most venomous spider. Four species of widow spiders live in the United States. They thrive in hot climates, retreating to cool, dark spaces beneath woodpiles and within garages and basements when they need a break from soaring temperatures. Male black widows…
© Mark Emery The Moose – a member of the deer family that exists solely in the Northern Hemisphere – is an unpredictable animal that has adapted to harsh weather, expanding cities and food shortages from Asia to the Americas to Europe. But what characteristics help them survive the toughest conditions? Moose have sensitive ears…
© Spectrum Field Productions, LLC Billie Swamp Safari– an animal park run by the Seminole Tribe of Florida – is home to many notorious creatures, like diamondback rattlesnakes and American alligators. Usually, the animals co-exist peacefully. But when the park’s best-laying hen, Cindy, goes missing, Park Director Ed woods is on the lookout for a…
© Spectrum Field Productions, LLC / Matthew Williams Billie Swamp Safari is an animal park operated by the Seminole Tribe of Florida. This untamed land is home to over 1500 free-roaming, wild animals, such as American bison and alligators. During the summer months in Florida’s Everglades, violent storms can appear suddenly. And Ed Woods, the…
© Spectrum Field Productions, LLC / Matthew Williams More than ten thousand people visit Billie Swamp Safari every month to get closer to the wildlife of the Everglades. But a swarm of bees have moved into a rental cabin, and the park staff need to move these insects out safely and swiftly. Bees live in…
Green iguanas are originally from Mexico and South America, but came to the United States in a number of ways. They stowed away on ships, escaped from private homes, were intentially released by exotic pet owners, or were brought to the States through natural disasters (like hurricanes). These reptiles are primarily herbivores, feeding on leaves,…
© Nat Geo Wild It’s possible that 100,000 endangered western lowland gorillas live in the lush, dense forests of the Congo Basin. But because of the thick rainforest habitat, it’s difficult for scientists to estimate how many of these animals are left in the wild. And since illegal hunting, logging and outbreaks of disease threaten…
© Nat Geo Wild For the past twelve years, Billie Swamp Safari – an animal part run by the Seminole Tribe of Florida – has cared for four Nile crocodiles. But now it’s time to relocate them into a more permanent habitat outside the park. But catching these African reptiles is a complicated and dangerous task. Many…
© Spectrum Field Productions, LLC Deep in the heart of Seminole Country in Florida’s Everglades, there’s a privately-owned animal park that serves to educate others about the wildest aspects of North America: Billie Swamp Safari. And sometimes a massive alligator will lurk beneath the airboat dock where visitors gather for swamp and wildlife tours. It’s…
© Mark Knobil / NGT The cat: a mysterious creature, at once loving and aloof. As a species, cats are proven survivors – they thrive on the islands of Antarctica, alongside giant lizards in the Galapagos and as urban scavengers in the world’s biggest cities. Across the globe, there are more than 600 million domestic…
In the U.S., pet pythons can be a danger; killing or seriously injuring more than 20 people in the last ten years. A python’s constriction is powered by 10,000 muscles. A human arm has five. Python vs. Gator premieres Wednesday December 15 at 10P et/pt.Video Preview: Rescue firefighters get a 911 emergency call claiming “my roommate is being chocked…
About a year ago, the crew at Billie Swamp Safari rescued baby alligator hatchlings, but the time has come where they are big enough to fend for themselves. It’s a tough world out there for a baby alligator, where male alligators have been known to eat them. The gang at the nature preserve do their…
Less than half of wild warthog piglets ever see their first birthday. So warthog mothers construct elaborate underground burrows in the African grassland to protect her brood from predators like cheetahs, lions and leopards. Warthogs feed on grasses and seeds during the day. In the clearing, warthogs have a panoramic view of all potential predators.…
