Life in the Undergrowth

November 23, 2005 7:22 AM

Mating Leopard Slugs entwine- one of the untold wonders of the animal kingdom captured on video.... The BBC gets up close and personal with Life in the Undergrowth in their new wildlife documentary. A must see for any animal, insect or David Attenborough fan... (If the main vid link doesn't work for you try it from here - realplayer needed)
posted by 0bvious (32 comments total)

General connection error. Yay for me- though watching slugs bump uglies in time-lapse video must be so rewarding.
posted by malusmoriendumest at 7:25 AM on November 23, 2005

Direct link to the RAM file.
posted by quiet at 7:28 AM on November 23, 2005

Those slugs, they have no shame.

It's like they never lefty the garden or something.......


Hey, wait !

I guess they never did. They're in my garden at least, or they were until the frost. I don't know where they are know. That's a mystery to me. What do they do - go into little burrows and hibernate ?
posted by troutfishing at 7:29 AM on November 23, 2005

Ach, I'm in a rush. I should learn from the slugs and slo down.
posted by troutfishing at 7:30 AM on November 23, 2005

And well worth the 131 seconds.
posted by quiet at 7:31 AM on November 23, 2005

General error- no matter which format I try it. Damn Windows! Please....
posted by malusmoriendumest at 7:32 AM on November 23, 2005

slimyfilter

Very alien and very beautiful. I take it that those gigantic translucent things (about the same length as the slugs themselves) are their sex organs?
posted by xthlc at 7:38 AM on November 23, 2005

David Attenborough is genuinely unimpeachable; I can't think of anyone alive who is so impossible to criticise.
posted by spinoza at 7:48 AM on November 23, 2005

I was going to think of something flip or funny to say .. but after seeing it my reaction is ... awesome. ...you learn something new every day.
posted by celerystick at 7:50 AM on November 23, 2005

Spinoza is right. David Attenborough is God. I remember watching Life On Earth when I was young and it was broadcast on PBS. It always ended with the somewhat cryptic (to me) statement: "Life On Earth is brought to you by Mobile."

If I could have any job in the world, cameraman for Attenborough's Blue Planet series would be way up there.
posted by The Bellman at 7:55 AM on November 23, 2005

ooops, sorry about the link problems. thanks for the ram link
posted by 0bvious at 7:56 AM on November 23, 2005

Broadcasts tonight in the UK at 9pm. I love the BBC. Charlie Brooker's piece in the Guardian TV guide on this is very good - here's a linkto it.
posted by jiroczech at 7:59 AM on November 23, 2005

As I watched this, I found myself flipping from revulsion to wonder in pretty quick fashion. Every time I started think "wow, that's beautiful" I remembered that "oh my god these are gross slimy slugs."
posted by mikeweeney at 8:08 AM on November 23, 2005

Now there's something you don't see every day. If they're going to entwine their male sexual organs, they at least need to have some Madonna playing in the background.

Yesterday it was 8-bit versions of Slayer, and today it's slugs doing it. Thank you, internet!
posted by Gamblor at 8:39 AM on November 23, 2005

Does anyone know if and when this is showing in the US?
posted by Gamblor at 8:45 AM on November 23, 2005

This is almost as purty as them gay cowboys...and crist-o-mighty they're...HUGE...
posted by tula at 8:57 AM on November 23, 2005

This just in... slugs are having more beautiful, more inspirational sex than you are.
posted by insomnia_lj at 8:59 AM on November 23, 2005

Apparently it's coming out on DVD in a couple of weeks, but it'll be Region 2.
posted by Gator at 9:02 AM on November 23, 2005

So, Spartacus MetaFilter...
Do you prefer oysters or snails?
posted by insomnia_lj at 9:09 AM on November 23, 2005

I am SO hot right now!
posted by papakwanz at 9:26 AM on November 23, 2005

Eww slugs having sex. I almost didnt get off. Almost
*hides*

Awesome
posted by lemonfridge at 9:27 AM on November 23, 2005

I remember watching Life On Earth when I was young and it was broadcast on PBS.

Yes! I watched that show religiously when I was young (really, young enough that watching a long, slow nature show on PBS must have been...weird). I was enthralled by David Attenborough...so much so that I think the "Life On Earth" book was the first thing I recall saving up my money and buying. Also, Mr. Attenborough's lecture around that time at the Brattle Theatre was, I think, the first time I ventured into Harvard Square...I BEGGED my mom to go. I think she was concerned.
posted by tpl1212 at 9:33 AM on November 23, 2005

Also...

Metafilter: Sliding downwards on a rope of mucus
posted by tpl1212 at 9:34 AM on November 23, 2005

OK, that first link is evil, so I stopped there. Do no resize my freaking browser.
posted by 3.2.3 at 9:54 AM on November 23, 2005

i LOOOOOOOOVE David Attenborough! Just went to the National Botanical Gardens in DC to witness the 10 year blooming plant-all i could hear was David Attenborough describing the smell before putting his head in it a second time. .......wotting cawrwion.
posted by tarantula at 10:58 AM on November 23, 2005

Bow-chicka bow-wow
posted by kosher_jenny at 11:03 AM on November 23, 2005

/thought the slugs could use some mood music
posted by kosher_jenny at 11:04 AM on November 23, 2005

NSFW (if you work for slugs).
posted by ZenMasterThis at 12:36 PM on November 23, 2005

Just watched this on BBC1 on a huge widescreen tv. Sooooo gross. Sluts.
posted by brautigan at 1:27 PM on November 23, 2005

And now there's a centipede menage a trois...

Ewwww.
posted by brautigan at 1:29 PM on November 23, 2005

The slug video is strangely beautiful. I just called my girlfriend in to watch, I was that moved by it - and now she thinks I'm slightly strange...
posted by greycap at 2:45 PM on November 23, 2005

There was a scene very much like this one in Microcosmos, except I think it was very large snails getting it on. I had a head full of LSD and after watching a good hour of macro shots of these pointy robotic insects running to and fro, a slimy, squishy sex scene just seemed so....out of place. And *cough*really hot*cough*.

I think that was the day my brain broke.
posted by quite unimportant at 3:54 PM on November 23, 2005