Cuttlefish: The Brainy Bunch

From DocuWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

1 General Information
2 Cover
3 Information
4 Screenshots
5 Technical Specs
6 Links

[edit] General Information

Nature Documentary published by Others in 2006 - English narration

Also known as

Kings of Camouflage under PBS Nova with extra additions

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

Imagine an alien with three hearts and ten arms growing out of its head. This intriguing special reveals the spectacular pyrotechnics of cuttlefish, discovering what goes on between their eyes and what can they teach us about our own brainpower.

This alien actually exists. Cuttlefish are the one of the strangest animals on our planet. Leading expert Dr. Mark Norman reveals how these shape-shifting champions can hypnotize their prey, impersonate the other sex and even turn out to be deadly. And they share something with us: brainpower. Cuttlefish have the largest brain to body ratio of all invertebrates. But does this mean they are intelligent? Can they learn and remember complex new tricks? Cuttlefish – the Brainy Bunch brings to the surface the spectacular pyrotechnics of these clever creatures, discovering just what goes on between their eyes and what they can teach us about our own wits.

Cuttlefish might seem a better subject for Jamie's Kitchen - brushed with five-spice and served with a mango and coconut salad - than for a wildlife documentary, but the first few minutes of Cuttlefish: The Brainy Bunch quickly establish how fascinating the beasts can be, even if they haven't been brushed with five spice and served up with a mango and coconut salad.

Cuttlefish, we're told, are masters of disguise and, just like that, we see them underwater, changing colours and shape to blend in with surrounding coral and rocks. They are also relatively intelligent: their doughnut-shaped brains are proportionately the largest of the invertebrates and they are able to learn and remember tasks.