National Geographic's Really Wild Animals: Amazing North America [VHS]
In thisReally Wild Animalsvideo, Spin, an animated globe voiced by Dudley Moore, leads viewers on an exploration of the varied continent of North America. Music videos such as the opening "I've Gotta Be Wild" are prevalent throughout and combine wonderful nature photography with themes like an animal's need to hunt and humans' effect on animals and their habitats. Spring's arrival inspires Spin to glance at the "meanest hombre of all," the ground squirrel. Chuckle as you will, then watch this clever critter outsmart a rattlesnake! Next is the first of several reoccurring "Meet the Beavers" segments and then a look at how woodpeckers and starlings survive the 105-degree temperatures of the Sonoran Desert. In a summer visit to the Okefenokee Swamp, Spin interviews a biologist who studies alligators by climbing right into the swamp! In stark contrast is the breathtaking footage of white wolf pups frolicking in the frozen tundra of Ellesmere Island. The onset of autumn finds polar bears making their annual visit to the East Coast town of Churchill. The townspeople's preparations are detailed, there's a music video featuring bears foraging in the dump, and we watch one photographer's daring attempts to get close-up shots of these amazing bears. As winter settles in, Spin focuses on a group of people helping an abandoned black bear cub find an adoptive mother. This fact-filled video features a combination of beautiful nature photography and appealing music videos that is sure to captivate your child.--Tami Horiuchi