THE CUTTING EDGE - Nature's Innovations

"How cutting-edge engineering borrows nature’s innovations" PBS NewsHour 2/6/2019

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In the never-ending hunt for new designs that jump, pump, or run faster and better, scientists are finding inspiration in nature.  The field of biomimicry blurs boundaries between living things -- like the butterfly’s proboscis or the flea's powerful legs -- and the inanimate to spur new problem-solving technologies.  Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.

AFRICA - Elephants That Come to Dinner

At a five-star lodge in Zambia, a bizarre phenomenon is stumping wildlife experts and delighting tourists.  An elephant family, led by a matriarch named Wonky Tusk, is overtaking the lobby.  Though elephants can be violent in the wild, here they climb the stairs of Mfuwe Lodge and grace past reception without bumping a chair.

ARIZONA - Attack of the Killer Bees (no kidding)

"Thousands of bees kill landscaper in Arizona" SFGate 10/9/2014

DOUGLAS, Ariz. (AP) — Thousands of swarming bees have left one landscaper dead and another critically injured after the men were stung in southern Arizona.

Douglas Fire Department officials say the landscapers were working on a home around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday when they were attacked by the huge swarm of bees.  One man later died at a hospital.

The names of the victims weren't immediately released.

A hive was found inside the home's attic and a beekeeper later exterminated it after parts of the roof of the home were torn off.

NATURE - Dolphin Seeking Help From Human

This is a video of a dolphin in distress that SEEKS help from a human diver.