Wild Animals of South America 2000
Distributed by Chip Taylor Communications, 2 East View Drive, Derry, NH 03038-4812; 800-876-CHIP (2447)
Produced by V.A.N. Productions, Inside Nature of South America Series
Director n/a
VHS, color, 30 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Biology
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Geetha Yapa, Science Library, University of California, RiversideSouth America has a rich and diverse animal population, the most distinctive of any of the continents. This is the result of its wide range of habitats and ecological conditions. The abundance of rivers and waterways and the tropical and neotropical rainforests has led to a greater variety of life forms and the South American flora and fauna are extraordinarily rich in endemic groups and species. However, some of the animal groups that are well distributed over the rest of the world are missing due to South America's isolation. This is quite evident in the video that begins with a series of frames indicating the diversity of animal groups found there.
After the brief initial display of animal diversity, the commentary begins, and with it, the focus suddenly turns to the wealth of birds that have evolved to fill a variety of habitats in Venezuela. The evolutionary adaptations of the birds to live in different ecosystems and their feeding habits are described in such detail that one would get the impression that the video is about the ecology of birds in Venezuela and not one that deals with animals of South America in general.
The latter part of the video covers life under the sea among the coral reefs. It includes detailed descriptions about the habitat and the different creatures inhabiting various ecological niches, as well as their adaptations for feeding with details about the different levels of the food chain. Once again, this seems more like a video on the ecology of marine communities, than an encyclopedic study of the animals of South America as indicated on the cover.
However, between the two ecosystems, there is a brief look into the world of reptiles such as turtles, lizards, crocodiles and the largest snake of all, the Anaconda. This is followed by a look at tree dwellers, small mammals and different species of snakes that live in woodland areas of the Venezuelan Llanos. Although there are attempts to display the diversity of animals found in South America, main groups of animals are poorly represented. Others, particularly Arthropods, Amphibians and Marsupials have been forgotten altogether. The large array of animals that live in South America cannot be fully covered in such a short documentary, yet, one would expect a fair representation of the different faunal groups.
In conclusion, it could be said that despite the title, this video focuses mainly on birds and other animals found in Venezuela in particular, as in many other videos in the series Inside Nature of South America. The quality of the video is quite good but unfortunately, it needs better editing.
It is highly recommended for the study of bird and marine ecology for K-12 collections, and recommended for college and university collections.
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