Awesome Nature

Nature photographer Lothar Lenz captured this incredible macro slow-motion video of hornets in motion, as they fly around, sip water, and live their lives near his home in the Eifel region of Germany. The crystal clear sounds of the buzzing insects are especially immersive with headphones on.

Famed nature documentarian Sir David Attenborough looks back at his more than 90 years on Earth, along with some of his greatest experiences. Along the way, he describes the dramatic changes he’s seen in our planet’s ecosystem during his lifetime, and offers solutions to help save our planet. Drops 10.4.2020 on Netflix.

Despite the massive number of rodents alive today, none of them have horns. But millions of years ago, some did. The so-called “horned gopher” had a pair of bony protrusions on its head, making it look pretty silly if you ask us. PBS Eons explains their purpose, and how they might still be useful if rodents had them today.

Diver and underwater photographer Catrin Pichler introduces us the costasiella kuroshimae, also known as the “leaf slug” or “leaf sheep.” These tiny and unusual marine creatures bridge the gap between plant and animal, as they perform photosynthesis by storing the chloroplasts in the algae they feed on.

Chip Channel spends most of his time restoring rusty old toys. He also has an ant farm. Watch as these industrious little harvester ants start out with a clean slate of sand, and proceed to build out a complex maze of tunnels for their colony to call home. Everything you see here happened in 24 hours.

Pterosaurs were one of the stranger parts of Earth’s evolutionary journey. Despite being able to fly, these giant winged creatures were reptiles. TierZoo turns their attention to these unusual avians to determine where they fit into the meta, and what sort of advantages their build offered them before they went extinct.

Despite their size, insects feature some incredibly sophisticated organic engineering. Using high-speed macro photography, Ant Lab shows off the way that eight different types of bugs take to the air. That plume moth looks a little drunk when it takes off.

Kurzgesagt introduces us to the oecophylla weaver ant. These long-legged insects dwell in tropical jungles, building incredible colonies that spread upwards and sideways between trees. They’re not only incredibly industrious, they’re fierce warriors and defenders of their kingdoms.

Before his passing in 2019, scientist and photographer Andreas Kay captured some amazing imagery of the diverse lifeforms in Ecuador. We especially enjoyed this slow motion, macro footage of a tortoise beetle as it opens its wings and lifts off. He also rigged up a spherical treadmill to shoot footage of insects as they walk.

Hummingbirds are most amazing creatures on the planet. Having to stay airborne for the vast majority of their lives, their tiny hearts thump up to 1260 beats per second as they buzz around sipping twice their body weight each day in nectar. ZeFrank offers up a few more interesting facts about these insect-sized birds.

After introducing us to the charming little globular springtail, biologist Dr. Adrian Smith AntLab wanted to capture slow-motion footage of other jumping insects. In this fascinating video, you’ll see how leafhoppers, treehoppers, planthoppers, and froghoppers spring up off of the ground and take flight.

Brothers Kevin and Páraic McGloughlin teamed up with a talented group of artists to create this hypnotic short film that offers a unique perspective on the impact of development on our landscape. Sound by Max Cooper, fluid art by Roman Hill, Thomas Blanchard, and Oilhack, drone photography by Colm Hogan.

When it comes to places to visit in America, there nothing quite like the majesty of our national parks. Enjoy scents reminiscent of these beautiful locales with Good & Well’s soy candles inspired by parks like Glacier, Yellowstone, Crater Lake, and more.

We’ve always had it in our minds that snakes stuck to the ground. But it turns out that some of these reptiles can climb trees and actually glide through the air. Nature Video offers a look at this unusual behavior and how a tree snakes’s undulating movement improves its aerodynamics.

The nature film experts at John Downer Productions show off another one of their animatronic camera spies. As an eagle drone flies overhead, a robot turtle on the ground infiltrates a bale of 20,000 olive ridley sea turtles coming ashore on a Costa Rican beach to lay their eggs. From “The Tropics” episode of Spy in the Wild 2.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) introduces us to one of nature’s weird and amazing creatures. The lampocteis cruentiventer aka “bloody-belly comb jelly,” is notable for its iridescent ctenes, which help it swim and eat, along with a blood-red belly which conceals any bioluminescent prey that it eats.

Filmmaker Devin “Supertramp” Graham and his team take us on a journey to one of the most beautiful places on Earth, as they explore the mountains, waterfalls, ice fields, and rock formations of Iceland. From its serene daytime vistas to amazing nighttime views of the Aurora Borealis, it’ll make you want to pack your bags today.

Part of Vans’ recently-released National Geographic collection, these classic canvas sneakers feature bold and colorful imagery from the magazine’s storied photographic covers, celebrating the publication’s 130+ years in business. Naturally, they feature Vans’ trademark waffle outsoles for grip and style.

“Follow me, while we go inside behind the tiger.” While your average house cat might not be an expert predator, felines do have some pretty impressive skills when left in the wild. ZeFrank’s nature video explains how cats have evolved to be so good at hunting down their prey.

During the lockdown, the digital artists of Universal Everything imagined what the world might be like if society as we know it ended, and nature took back over the planet. The first of the two infinite-loop vignettes replaces highways with grass and flowers, while the second envisions an airport overgrown with greenery.

The nature photographers at John Downer Productions are known for building all kinds of creative rigs to get up close and personal with wild animals. But this clip from BBC’s Spy in the Wild proves that their robotic camera pig is no match for a gang of hostile komodo dragons.

“This moment can lead us back home. That’s our test.” TED-Ed and famed primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall offer up some serious food for thought, reminding us to take advantage of this brief moment in time where things have slowed down to look at what we have done to our world, and how we might do things better.

Venus fly trap and sundew plants are known for their carnivorous desire for insects of all kinds. Another Perspective captured some incredibly crisp macro footage of bugs and snails as they attempted to escape from this peril. We were particularly impressed by the beetle who chewed its way out of the plant.