Nature Season 32 Episode 12
The Gathering Swarms
A look at some of the planet’s great gatherings, creatures that come together in inconceivable numbers – sometimes in millions, billions, and even trillions. Included are bats and bees, locust and ants, monarch butterflies in Mexico, 17-year cicada hatches, grunion in the Sea of Cortez and carp in the Mississippi River, sardine runs off the coast of South Africa, super flocks of parakeets in the Australian Outback, mayflies on the 4th of July, and even penguins and wildebeest. Some gather to breed or to migrate, some for protection, some simply to keep warm in the cold. But in the process, a kind of super-organism is created in which individual intelligence is superseded by a collective consciousness that shares information and moves with a single purpose for the benefit of all. Check out swarm intelligence, essentially a living embodiment of social media in the natural world.
- 32 - 13Fabulous FrogsJun. 25, 2014
- 32 - 12The Gathering SwarmsMay. 21, 2014
- 32 - 11Leave It to BeaversMay. 14, 2014
- 32 - 10Snow MonkeysApr. 23, 2014
- 32 - 9Touching the WildApr. 16, 2014
- 32 - 8My Bionic PetApr. 09, 2014
- 32 - 7Ireland's Wild RiverFeb. 26, 2014
- 32 - 6Honey Badgers: Masters of MayhemFeb. 19, 2014
- 32 - 5The Funkiest MonkeysJan. 29, 2014
- 32 - 4Meet the CoywolfJan. 22, 2014
- 32 - 3Parrot ConfidentialNov. 13, 2013
- 32 - 2Love in the Animal KingdomNov. 06, 2013
- 32 - 1Saving Otter 501Oct. 16, 2013