Cane toads: an unnatural history. The Natural history of the chicken [DVD]

Cane toads: an unnatural history: “Bufo Marinus”, the cane toad, was introduced into Queensland in 1935 for a specific reason - to combat the grey-back beetle that was destroying the sugar cane crop. The mission failed: the beetle could fly and the cane toad couldn’t. Oblivious of its failure, the cane toad settled extremely well into its new surroundings and proceeded to breed so rapidly that it has now become a pest of plague proportions. This amusing documentary blends biological fact with human comment to show how the cane toads have become an accepted part of local culture and popular mythology. “The Natural history of the chicken”: Chickens are special creatures, not just something that are consumed by Americans to the tune of $40 billion per year in poultry products. This entertaining documentary spends time with people who are passionate about chickens. In Harpswell, Maine, a woman has 16 chickens, each with their own unique personality. There’s a recreation of a tense day in which chicken number 7 got lost out in the cold, froze, almost died, but was brought back to life by her owner. Time is also spent speaking to a farmer who raises chickens for consumption, the phenomenon of the rooster and the infamy of the “headless” chicken. Footage is also presented of battery hens and an egg hatchery, the scenes passed over without comment, just text on the screen, stark statistics quantifying the actions depicted. Dedicated to the renowned Italian Renaissance natural historian, Ulisse Aldrovandi.