Just a few months old, Baby Gladys is an adorable little gorilla that is currently being raised by a team of 10 human surrogates at the Cincinnati Zoo. She and the potential surrogate gorilla mothers at the zoo are learning about each other with the help of their human team. The goal is for one of the gorilla moms to take over Gladys’ care within the next few weeks.

Start here to watch Gladys’ entire story on video as the zoo helps all the gorillas with this rewarding transition.

There are also more gorilla and zoo videos in the archives. 

Premier Automne, a short film by French studio Je Regarde, is beautiful and emotional journey that explores nature’s balance: life, death, and the seasons.

Abel and his skeleton puppies live in an eternal winter. Apolline and her summer puppies frolic in the green. Keepers of their own seasons, they first encounter each other with curiosity before they both realize how different their worlds are, and how their worlds respond to each other. 

This story sparked a lot of discussion in our house, and the simple last scene has become an instant favorite. If you want to see how the animation was made, there is also a Premier Automne: Making Of video that shows some beautiful detail.

More nature, more seasons, and more animation in the archives.

via UFunk.net.

This phenomenal little clip is from Kalahari, the first episode of BBC’s Africa series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough. A golden wheel spider evades the attack of a pompilid wasp… I will leave you to watch how in the clip, but I will say this: up to 44 turns per second.

All six episodes are available in HD on Amazon Instant Video.

A character in a moment, one created each day for 30 consecutive days, animated as an exercise of skill and imagination by UK-based animator Geoff King. He writes: 

It was difficult to even think of what to animate most days. I spent a few hours on average for each day, sometimes it felt like all day. I originally intended to do them quicker but they usually didn’t get going till the late evening. This also meant all the days where only ‘first passes’ or ‘straight aheads’. After the first 5 days I realised I should try to maintain a reasonable quality. It wasn’t easy, a lot of time was spent hitting a wall but I had fun trying something different everyday.

30 Days is also a nice example of how a sketch can connect with its audience with motion and emotion in only a few seconds. No dialog required. Music: Le bal de Rémy by Circus Marcus.

Related watching: One second (or so) per day for a 2-months in Asia.

via The Curious Brain.

Earth Unplugged films the northern goshawk’s magnificent speed and precision skills in slow motion as it aims for lures and water balloons.

via Laughing Squid.

After this, watch an owl in slow motion, or up the challenge: How small of a space can a northern goshawk fly through?