January 12, 2015

Giving Birth To A Tropical Parasite [Video Not For The Squeamish]

“Why is it that an animal that is actively trying to kill us, such as a lion, gets more respect than one that is only trying to nibble on us a little, without causing much harm?” -Piotr Naskrecki Biologist Piotr Naskrecki, who traveled with me to Belize last year, returned home to find himself incubating [...]

By Alex Wild

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"Why is it that an animal that is actively trying to kill us, such as a lion, gets more respect than one that is only trying to nibble on us a little, without causing much harm?"
-Piotr Naskrecki

Biologist Piotr Naskrecki, who traveled with me to Belize last year, returned home to find himself incubating several skin parasites. Piotr is a talented photographer and a reflective thinker, so the mini-documentary that emerged in the flies' wake is, of course, both stunningly filmed and narrated with unusual depth and reverence.

Do yourself a favor and watch:

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This sort of project is, I hope, the future of nature documentaries. Mainstream programming has descended into fearmongering, clickbait, and outright fraud, but the widespread availability of video technology offers a modicum of salvation.

Rather than hoping against hope that cable television might occasionally regurgitate a worthwhile series, scientists now have the tools to tell their stories themselves. As Piotr's fly video shows, a real story about real nature, unembellished, can work.

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