Thriving in the Harsh Environment of the Villa Luz Cave
In Thriving in the Harsh Environment of the Villa Luz Cave, narrator Sir David Attenborough takes us on an expedition into Villa Luz Cave, a place filled with dangerous gases and sulfuric acid. Despite these hazardous conditions, fish, bacteria, and other creatures manage to thrive. Learn about the role of extremophiles, strange formations called snottites, and how bacteria form the basis of the food chain in this toxic environment. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
Lesson Express
Q: Why do explorers have to wear respirators in Villa Luz Cave?
A: The poisonous gases, like hydrogen sulfide, make it dangerous to breathe inside the cave.
Q: How do the fish and other creatures in the cave survive in such extreme conditions?
A: The bacteria, called extremophiles, support the food chain by producing energy from the hydrogen sulfide gas.
Q: What do extremophiles do in the cave?
A: Extremophiles live in the sulfuric acid and extract energy from the toxic gas, which helps other creatures survive.
More Like This
In Exploring the Cave of Swallows, narrator Sir David Attenborough dives deep into the Cave of Swallows in Mexico, the largest cave shaft in the world. Despite its massive size, it was only fully explored two years before humans landed on the Moon. Caves remain some of the least explored places on Earth. However, humans are rarely the first to arrive in these dark, damp environments — many strange and fascinating creatures have already made them their home. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Saving the Land of the Lacandon People, host Simon Reeve ventures into the heart of Mexico's Lacandon rainforest, an area teeming with life but facing massive threats. Over just a few decades, outsiders have cleared millions of trees to plant crops, putting this rainforest and the Lacandon people in danger. With over 1,500 tree species and home to a third of Mexico’s birds, this forest is a treasure trove of biodiversity that is beginning to disappear. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Americas With Simon Reeve, in which Simon Reeve explores the landscapes, cultures, and wildlife of North and South America.
In Exploring the World's Largest Submerged Caverns, narrator Sir David Attenborough follows divers as they explore Mexico's flooded caves, using spools of string as lifelines to navigate these perilous environments. The divers encounter the natural formation of underwater caves, the dangers of disorientation, and fascinating phenomena like haloclines — where fresh water and salt water meet. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Beauty of Stormy Seas, narrator Sir David Attenborough uncovers the extraordinary sight of bioluminescent plankton that light up dark waters as sea life thrives with the change of seasons. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.
In Exploring the Cave of Swallows, narrator Sir David Attenborough dives deep into the Cave of Swallows in Mexico, the largest cave shaft in the world. Despite its massive size, it was only fully explored two years before humans landed on the Moon. Caves remain some of the least explored places on Earth. However, humans are rarely the first to arrive in these dark, damp environments — many strange and fascinating creatures have already made them their home. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Saving the Land of the Lacandon People, host Simon Reeve ventures into the heart of Mexico's Lacandon rainforest, an area teeming with life but facing massive threats. Over just a few decades, outsiders have cleared millions of trees to plant crops, putting this rainforest and the Lacandon people in danger. With over 1,500 tree species and home to a third of Mexico’s birds, this forest is a treasure trove of biodiversity that is beginning to disappear. This video is excerpted from BBC’s The Americas With Simon Reeve, in which Simon Reeve explores the landscapes, cultures, and wildlife of North and South America.
In Exploring the World's Largest Submerged Caverns, narrator Sir David Attenborough follows divers as they explore Mexico's flooded caves, using spools of string as lifelines to navigate these perilous environments. The divers encounter the natural formation of underwater caves, the dangers of disorientation, and fascinating phenomena like haloclines — where fresh water and salt water meet. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Beauty of Stormy Seas, narrator Sir David Attenborough uncovers the extraordinary sight of bioluminescent plankton that light up dark waters as sea life thrives with the change of seasons. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet II, a natural history series that explores the world's oceans, the animals that live in them, and the threats they face, using modern filming techniques and equipment to capture previously unseen areas of the ocean.