The Lawrence Jacobsen Library
New Additions to the AV Collection

Note that the numbers preceeding titles below are both the call number of the item, as well as a key to the format of the item. [AT=audiotape; DVD=DVD; FI=film; RE=phonograph record; SS=slide set; VT=videotape]

DVD030 Animal Behavior: Self-Awareness

Distributed by Insight Media, 2162 Broadway, NY, NY 10024, 1-800-233-9910 [DVD; col., sd;; 13 min.: 2005]

This program visits a primate research center and a zoo to examine animal consciousness and intelligence. It follows researchers as they observe, record, and interpret the reactions of chimpanzees, monkeys, fish, and birds when they are confronted with their reflections in mirrors.

DVD032 Primates

Produced by the Discovery Channel. Distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences, PO Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08543 [DVD; col., sd.; 53 min.: 1997]

Jacket notes: "There are 234 primate species and it seems the more that is learned about them, the more humans come to understand themselves. Narrated by Armand Assante, this beautifully filmed program presents a wide variety of primates in their natural habitats. Their social order, family life, diet, mating habits, and even their use of tools are examined and discussed. Starling footage from central Africa, Borneo, Tanzania, and Brazil captures the uncanny similarities between the world of the primates and our own." Chronology: Introduction, 3 min. Great Apes -- Mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei), 5 min; Chimpanzees (Pan), 7 min; Orangutans (Pongo), 9 min. Old World Monkeys -- Yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus), 3 min; macaques (Macaca), 2 min. New World Monkeys -- black, red and brown howler monkeys (Alouatta), 4 min; muriquis (Brachyteles), 4 min; red uakari (Cacajao calvus), 2 min; capuchins (Cebus) and squirrel monkeys (Saimiri), 5 min., owl monkey (Aotus), 1 min; marmosets (Callithrix) and pygmy marmosets (Callithrix pygmaea), 4 min; golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus), 4 min.

DVD033 Jane Goodall's Return to Gombe

Produced by Tigress Productions and Animal Planet [DVD; col., sd.; 50 min.: 2005]

Jane Goodall has been studying chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the Gombe Reserve in 1960. Decades later, Goodall returns to the reserve to check on the chimpanzees she had known for three generations. These chimps, known as the F Family, were led by Frodo. A power struggle has occurred among the chimps and Frodo is overthrown. Goodall searches for the missing Frodo and reminisces about her research. She also expresses her concern for the future of the chimpanzees. Hunters are killing chimps for trade and loggers are cutting down the forest habitat for the logging industry. As more humans entered the forest, chimps become sick from diseases brought with them.

DVD034 Snowflake: The White Gorilla

Produced by Tigress Productions and Educational Broadcasting Corporation. Distributed by WNET, New York. [DVD; col., sd.; 60 min.: 2005]

Snowflake was the world’s most famous albino zoo gorilla. He was born in Equatorial Guinea in 1966 but taken to the Barcelona Zoo as an infant. As he got older he mated with female gorillas, and zookeepers hoped another albino baby would be born. The lack of pigmentation that made Snowflake famous eventually caused his death. Snowflake was killed by skin cancer, caused by his unprotected exposure to the sun. Snowflake’s story served as a reference point to show the changes in the lives of captive gorillas and how their treatment has evolved over the past 40 years. Narrated by Michael Gross.

DVD035 From Orphan to King

Produced by BBC. Distributed by WNET, New York. [DVD; col., sd.; 60 min.: 2005]

Kusasi, an orangutan (Pongo) whose mother was killed when he was a young infant, was taken by humans to be traded, but police intervened and sent him to Camp Leakey, an Indonesian refuge for orphaned orangutans. Kusasi did not react well with humans and didn’t see them as his friends, preferring to remain close to the apes like him. As he became older, he had decided to become the top ape. He has reigned for more than 15 years, but as he begins to age, his rivals sense his growing weakness. He also must contend with new arrivals, displaced by human development of orangutan habitat. Narrated by Tim Matheson.

VT0767 1991 Lemurs: a branch on our family tree

Producer/director: Betty Goerke / Camera One Productions [VHS; sd., col.; 22 min.: 1991]

This video is part travelogue and part anthropological examination of the lemur. It shows the nearly dozen species of lemur in their native habitat on Madagascar island off the east coasts of Africa. Along the way it also brings to life the island's other fauna and flora, including its human inhabitants. The entire footage was shot on tour of the four national parks or preserves on the island.