TVSquad

When watching any nature special from PBS or the BBC featuring dangerous wild animals photographed at reasonably close range, how often do you stop and consider the very real danger men and women are in while getting that footage?

That danger proved deadly this past weekend when a rampaging African elephant trampled and killed a British tour guide (Anton Turner, 38) who was trying to protect a group of children visiting Tanzania.

The kids were in Africa serving as TV hosts for the CBBC (BBC's children's channel) show, Serious Explorers. Seven children were planning to follow the steps of Victorian explorer Dr. David Livingston.

Reports say, when the elephant charged a group of the CBBC kids, Turner challenged the elephant and attempted to shoot his rifle at the animal. But, he was unable to open fire in time and was trampled. Turner leaves behind a pregnant wife.

It's hard to imagine that anyone would consider TV's sweet-natured grandma Betty White as their "sworn enemy." Except, of course for maybe Mom from Futurama and the bizarro version of Bea Arthur.

But apparently that's the label that Price is Right host Bob Barker has bestowed upon the Golden Girl. It turns out the two aren't pals or confidants. Buzzer Blog reported that Barker threatened not to show up to GSN's 2009 Game Show Awards where he accepted a lifetime achievement award along with Mark Goodson and Monty Hall if White was there.

It gets weirder. The whole thing was caused by an elephant. This is starting to sound less like Hollywood gossip and more like a job for Mythbusters.

Animal Planet host Jeff Corwin was tossed by an elephant while filming a segment with CNN's Anderson Cooper. Corwin is a regular correspondent for Cooper's show, Anderson Cooper 360, for a segment called "Planet in Peril". The duo was in Cambodia at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center when one elephant put Corwin's arm in his mouth and shook him. On his blog, Cooper describes what happened to Corwin as being "tossed like a ragdoll". Corwin also posted on the blog, and describes the incident in very little detail and a non-alarmist way. It's apparent from his post that he's more concerned with the plight of the Cambodian elephants than with what happened.

The video is on Cooper's blog (and on YouTube) right now, and once you watch it, you'll be amazed to know that Corwin was generally okay. His arm wasn't even broken, just badly twisted and bruised. After the incident, Corwin continued filming with Cooper and then went to get checked out by a doctor, who put him in a sling. He may have some ligament damage, but will have to wait to know for sure when he returns to the U.S. I was actually very impressed with Cooper's reporting because he didn't let the incident overshadow the real reason for being with the elephants.

Video after the jump (the attack happens at 2:40 into the video):

[Thanks, Tim UF!]

It's a good week for animals in Los Angeles. Three Hollywood chimps are headed to an animal sanctuary and away from their abusive "trainer" Sid Yost, and one of the L.A. Zoo's inhabitants, Ruby the elephant, is being rescued from her environs by none other than retiring Price is Right host Bob Barker.

Barker has donated $300,000 in order to have the 45 year-old African elephant moved from the L.A. Zoo to a sanctuary in San Andreas, California. The move is coming on the heels of the controversial death of another L.A. Zoo elephant that wasn't treated for more than eight hours after he had begun exhibiting signs of distress. Barker, along with other animal rights activists, have been pleading for the close of the zoo's elephant exhibit ever since. The cost of a new, larger habitat for the animals has been approved by the L.A. City Council, but activists say that it is still not enough. Barker, himself, plead before the council in February for the closure of the exhibit and has appeared before Congress to testify about the abuse suffered by circus elephants.

If you, like me, are a sucker for interesting Animal Planet, Discovery, or National Geographic specials, you'll want to keep an eye out for this one. Using a combination of 4-D ultrasound, CGI, and tiny cameras, a team has been taking pictures of various animals as they develop in the womb. The results are pretty amazing, and will be the focus of a two hour documentary on the National Geographic channel called In The Womb: Animals.

Adam, wrote about the special a couple weeks ago, and linked to the videos. Now, The Daily Mail has more on the special, including a gallery that shows some new pictures with an elephant, dolphin, and dog. The special is scheduled to air Dec. 10. on National Geographic, and sometime in 2007 on Channel 4 in the UK.

[ via boingboing ]

On Sunday December 10, the National Geographic Channel will premiere In the Womb: Animals, a two-hour special that uses ultrasound imagery along with computer imagery and visual effects to show how different species such as elephants, dogs and dolphins develop while in utero. Call me a sucker for nature programs, because damn it, I live for these kind of specials. You'll see how a dolphin learns to swim while still in the womb, and get a glimpse of the wonders of evolution when the elephant fetus develops ducts like a fish, and the dolphin fetus develops "legs" of sorts.

Okay, now I'm starting to sound like a commercial for the program, but what can I say, this science stuff fascinates me. Just look at that picture on the right of an elephant developing in the womb and tell me it doesn't blow your mind*. Okay, I'll stop with the awe now, but if you're as into this stuff as I am, you should check out some video previews here.

*It's actually a CGI, but it's still pretty damn cool.

You knew this was going to happen eventually; one of the rejected contestants from The Apprentice is now running for Congress. Raj Peter Bhakta, a "fired" season two participant, is the Republican candidate in Pennsylvania's 13th district, and he's using some grandiose methods to discuss his platform. For instance, this article mentions that earlier this week he marched an elephant and a six-piece mariachi band across the Rio Grande in Texas to demonstrate how easy it is for illegal immigrants to come into the country (suffice to say, Bhakta wants a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border).

Those of you who remember the bow-tie-clad Bhakta from the Tump-fest already know he had a bit of the showman in him; he wore colorful suits and walked around with a cane on the show, and in one episode tried to get a date from tennis babe Anna Kournikova (he lost the challenge she proposed, and he had to run around Arthur Ashe Stadium in his underwear with his team firing tennis balls at him).

Oh, and because I'm nothing but fair, here's the website for Raj's opponent, incumbent Democrat Allyson Schwartz.